that no one asked for but here they are because I wanted to write more
Part One here and links to all of my other TS headcanons and such at the end!
*rubs hands together*
let’s start with premonitory urge and Sokka’s experience with it!
for those who don’t know, premonitory urges are essentially sensory tics. It’s when you feel a sensation or a discomfort in your body where you want to– no, need to do something for touch something. For example, it can be as simple as this feeling in my body and head that I need to rub my phone screen a certain way. If I don’t rub it, the uncomfortable feeling will linger and make me anxious or extra fidgety. They can also increase tics.
Now, in Sokka’s life with TS, he has had… some problems with premonitory urge. When he was younger and training to be a warrior, there were multiple occasions where he almost sliced his fingers off because he kept getting this physical feeling that he had to touch the swords or spears etc… a certain way.
When he gets older, he finds that they start to bother him during council meetings in the Fire Nation, especially when Zuko is doing important stuff so he has to sit far away.
They’ll be in the middle of an important meeting when Sokka looks up from his doodling to glance at Zuko and this tingling, gravitational feeling suddenly moves through his body and he can’t stop staring at the edge of Zuko’s chair and he knows that he needs to rub it.
Obviously, he can’t just get up in the middle of the meeting, walk over to the Fire Lord, and rub his chair (even though they are dating and Zuko window definitely let him)
I have had experiences like this during class where I would mentally shut down or have to calm myself down from an anxiety attack because I need to rub the white board my teacher is writing on or the teacher’s desk but we are literally in the middle of class so I can’t do that (doesn’t always end like that, but that’s worse case scenario). And it sucks. So much. So, Sokka is miserable.
One time Sokka was so focused on not having an anxiety attack because his body was telling him that he needed to rub the surface of a Fire Nation elder’s desk-thingy that’s in front of his chair (because sometimes his body hates him and it happens to people he doesn’t know that well’s stuff) that he mentally shut down. He ended up squatting in his chair, rocking back and forth for ten minutes after the meeting ended without realizing it because all he could think was don’t interrupt the meeting, don’t be weird, don’t embarrass Zuko
Zuko, being the fantastic boyfriend he is, noticed that Sokka didn’t leave the meeting and thought it looked like an anxiety attack. He kind of just sat with him. He didn’t touch him because he knew Sokka wouldn’t want it and wouldn’t be able to coherently answer if he asked to touch him. Zuko just started talking about random things to try to get his mind off of the feeling.
Once he got back into the moment (with help from Zuko’s dulcet voice), he ran to the desk-thingy and rubbed it. Like, almost dramatically ran his hand across the desk and kind of just let his hand take over and rub whatever part he needed to.
Zuko was confused because this had never happened before (well, it had, but not to this extreme in front of him and Sokka never said anything) so Zuko never knew).
Sokka was kind of embarrassed, but he told Zuko about it and together they came up with a signal for when it got really bad so Zuko could either call a five minute break or make an excuse to switch seats so he could sit next to his boyfriend.
This is another reason that Zuko keeps random things on him at all times so if it gets bad, Sokka will have more to do with his hands than draw, write sentences over and over again, take notes, and tap.
Actually, lowkey stealing this particular headcanon from @tikmasjiens and their story For When He’s Being a Dumb*ss (which I highly suggest reading– it’s fantastic!): Katara and Zuko (for the purposes of later in life when they’re dating because of course imma make it Zukka) carry little fidget kits / bags around for Sokka because he is forgetful and is sometimes so focused on one particular thing that he starts to run late for a meeting or lunch or hang out that he forgets his own personal fidget things.
The amazing Katara and Zuko have random things: brushes, atla equivalent at paper clips (aka metal things he can bend) (yes, yes, we’ve been hiding this from the world, but people with Tourette’s are actually paper clip benders lol), dice, Pai Sho tiles, and other little trinkets.
One time when Sokka was walking around an Earth Kingdom market out of boredom (and this is after the war because I just want him to not be on edge during this), he sees this young girl making noises and movements similar to him and he sees these two other kids mocking her and laughing at her and Sokka just sees red.
He actually goes over and scolds the kids (who don’t care enough to stay and listen ugh but that’s not the main focus of Sokka’s concern so it’s whatever for now) and this young girl sees him (at around age 17-18) making noises and moving ‘weirdly’ too and she’s just like “I’ve never seen anyone else do that stuff before”
and Sokka kind of just sits down with her and talks to her about his own experience and it’s not anything to be ashamed of, even though it can feel like that sometimes.
he rummages through his pockets and pulls out some of his fidget stuff and gives it to her. He, Zuko, and Katara have plenty of fidget stuff for him. Losing a few won’t matter.
Eventually, her parents return and they part ways. They never see each other again, but they never forgot each other either. It was both of their first time seeing someone else like them.
(and personal anecdote, but one time I was faculty at a camp for the weekend, and one of the kids in my group had just gotten diagnosed with Tourette’s and that was one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had. I got to talk to him and his mom about my experience and it was… I’ll never forget that)
Sokka may be the protective older brother, but Katara is also the terrifying ‘you hurt my brother I will ruin you’ younger sister. One time, someone mocked Sokka’s tics and Katara’s protective instincts kicked in and she lectured them so hard. and very loudly. so everyone heard.
again, y’all, I know this is about Sokka with TS but WOW I love Katara too, what a queen. Let’s take a moment and appreciate the queen that she is.
Ty Lee and Sokka do yoga together at least twice a week. They both find it relaxing and fun and nice, but it also helps Sokka begin the day with less stress in his body. It doesn’t cure his TS, because there is no cure and he needs no cure, but it definitely helps sometimes.
Something that absolutely kills Sokka is that he wants to cuddle with Zuko at night so badly, but sometimes he genuinely just can’t. Zuko’s arms around him will make him feel too trapped and restrained, his arms around Zuko make him paranoid that if he moves too much, he’ll make Zuko uncomfortable and just stressed himself out by only being able to think about “am I moving too much?” “can Zuko feel me move?” “stay still stay still stay still” and it’s just not fun and he gets tense
But sometimes, he can cuddle and he loves it! Because as much as he hates being held, he desperately longs to be held. As self-conscious as he gets when he holds Zuko, he wants to be able to hold Zuko.
So when he feels like he can cuddle with Zuko, he gets so excited!
Zuko swears up and down that the lack of cuddling on occasion does not bother him, but Sokka still has trouble believing him (not that he doesn’t trust him, but he can’t understand how someone would be okay with it)
One time, Sokka was so distressed about whether or not Zuko was upset with him or pretending not to be upset to spare his feelings that Zuko invited Toph over so she could inform Sokka that he was, in fact, telling the truth about it being okay that they can’t always cuddle and be physically affectionate.
Sokka’s verbal tics both annoy him and don’t annoy him. He’s so used to hearing them that they don’t bother him anymore, but sometimes they make it hard for him to talk and he can feel them and that’s what bothers him.
He’s also self-conscious that everyone hates his verbal tics and are annoyed by them.
On a really bad head day for Sokka, the gaang was going to see a theatrical show per Zuko’s request and it was the first time in months they had all been able to hang out together and Sokka wasn’t having a good tic day and was so genuinely afraid to go to the show because he was going to tic and make noises and what if he distracted everyone? what if the strangers in the audience got mad at him? what if the ushers forced him to leave? how embarrassing would that be?
so he pretended to be sick and didn’t go
but Toph saw through his crap and stayed behind as well because “you’ve heard a play once, you’ve heard it a thousand times” and when everyone leaves, she calls Sokka out and asks him what was up
and he knew he couldn’t get away with lying to Toph, so he told her the truth and she just kind of laughed and went “they don’t bother any of us, seriously”
and Sokka was just “how do you know? It’s not like how much my tics don’t annoy you come up naturally in conversation”
and Toph goes “I don’t need to talk to them about it to know that no one’s bothered by them. Besides, they care about you more than they care about what sounds you make” then punched his arm
(and if Sokka silently cried, no one needed to know)
so, overtime, he gets the nerve to ask everyone individually (because there’s no way he could do everyone at once) just to make sure he wasn’t bothering them. He doesn’t get to ask everyone because some of them kind of get a feeling that he’s anxious about it (and if Zuko maybe mentioned it to some people so they approached him and causally mentioned they weren’t bothered, no one needs to know oops) (don’t worry, Zuko didn’t say anything super personal. Just like “tell Sokka his tics don’t bother you because he thinks they do”. Not like the details and stuff Sokka told him in private)
Katara didn’t answer, just asked if she could hug him and said that she loved him no matter what (and ten minutes later asked him if anyone told him that because if someone in the gaang said it, then she wouldn’t be afraid to spill blood)
Zuko, ever the dramatic and romantic one, knelt in front of Sokka (who was sitting) and went “I love you. I love every single part of you.” *kisses his hands* “I love you for your finger clenching and fist pumping.” *kisses his shoulders* “I love you for your shoulder rolling…” *kisses his neck* “your neck twitches…” *kisses his nose* “your nose scrunching…” *gently kisses each eye* “your blinking…” *kisses his lips* “and for every verbal and motor tic you’ve ever had and ever will have”
(look, I’m just… I’m so soft for that moment and I think about it constantly)
Suki gives him this hard and serious look and says “you are not annoying. You never have been and you never will be” and from just her stare and tone of voice, he knows she’s telling the truth.
Aang immediately just starts rambling and is like “I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel that way but you as so far from annoying! Honestly, sometimes I forget they’re even there I’m just so used to them– not that they’re forgetful or anything, but they’re just so normal to me that I don’t notice– why are you crying? Did I say that wrong? I’m sorry–”
and Sokka just grabs him and hugs him and says “No. I love you. Thank you.”
Mai is bad at emoting but she tells him “I don’t mind them. They’re comforting. Sometimes. Better than the sound of an empty house or screaming.”
Ty Lee immediately goes into “who told you you were annoying? I have some new moved I’d like to try. Give me names and they’re test subjects number one” and even Sokka feels fear at the look on her face even though the anger isn’t directed towards him
Azula is kind of snarky at first (because she’s trying not to, but it’s hard and it’s not her fault). She just gives him this seriously? look and kind of goes “you really think they’re significant enough to bother me?” and Sokka knows that’s Azula’s healing way of saying “no, they don’t bother me”
okay but let’s also talk about Hakoda and Piandao and Iroh because I want to and I love them
Hakoda kind of does what Katara does and asks if he can hug him and just tells him how proud he is of Sokka for the man that he’s become and that his TS is a part of who he is and it’s a part of his identity and there’s nothing his TS could ever do to make him any less proud
Piandao actually talked to Sokka about it during Sokka’s Master because it was holding him back of bit. Sokka was kind of embarrassed and was getting frustrated with it. Piandao sat him down and told him that perceived weaknesses are actually one of our greatest strengths. Being a nonbender looks like a weakness to many benders who rely solely on their bending, but it takes a certain kind of person to be a nonbender and that’s something to be proud of. The things that make you different are sometimes the things that teach you how special you are.
Piandao just sees so much potential and good in Sokka and Sokka looks up to him so much.
Iroh always lends Sokka extra or old Pai Sho tiles to fidget with. He also has this relaxing tea that helps his mind feel calm. Again, not with the intent to “fix” or “cure” him, but it helps his anxiety levels go down, in turn helping his tics relax.
Iroh tells Sokka that his tics are nothing to be ashamed of and that true friends would stick with him, tics or no tics.
hey? hey? guess what? Bumi ll didn’t just inherent the nonbending from Sokka, he also got the Tourette’s genes:)
imagine the Uncle / Nephew bonding between them
like, Bumi ll asks him why Kya and Tenzin don’t do weird things but he does? and Sokka just smiles sadly because he knows the feeling and talks to him about Tourette’s.
Bumi ll also got lucky because Katara saw the signs instantly and got him tested as soon as she could.
Let’s just say, aside from the gaang, the Kataang family is the most supportive family of his TS:) (it doesn’t hurt that his aunts and uncles will hung down anyone who ever makes him feel like trash and lecture them or their parents oops)
this is something I have mentioned before, but Sokka struggles to sit through meetings. Having TS and ADHD make it so hard for him.
sometimes he just feels so out of place because in this room full of people, he’s the only one rocking back and forth in his chair and changing his position every three seconds and jerking his head. He just feels… so wrong when he sees how still everyone else is sitting. Yeah, occasionally he’ll see some people tapping their foot or tapping the table in front of them with their fingers, but it’s not the same.
BUT on a happy note and not to make this all depressing (because TS sucks sometimes, but there’s nothing wrong with it or us and it’s a part of who we are) Sokka 100% has a top ten list of his favorite and least favorite tics of all time (I don’t know if people keep track of their favorites or if that’s just something I like to do, but I would imagine that a decent amount of people with TS know their favorites and least favorites)
I won’t bore y’all with an actual list, but his favorite tic is rocking back and forth. The motion is so soothing and comforting to him. Like, it feels right to be rocking. Yeah, sometimes he gets self-conscious about it, especially if he’s the only one in the room moving, but it feels so nice and right.
Sokka: *tics a couple times in a row* ughhhh that was not fun
Toph: *jokingly* wow, I mean, can’t you just, I don’t know, stop? Just, not do it?
Sokka: *jokingly* great idea, Toph! Why didn’t I think of that? All I needed to do all along was just not want to tic!
Toph is the only one ever allowed to do this bit with him. Sokka thinks it’s the funniest thing and it never fails to make laugh
Toph said that out of sarcastic instinct one time and almost choked on her drink because she felt so bad but Sokka was stifling a laugh and replied super sarcastically and then just laughed.
Toph still felt really bad and apologized (Sokka told her it was fine and he wasn’t upset, but she’s also been on the other side of jokes like that and it’s not fun).
Now, though, it’s kind of their thing. They do it every once in awhile and it flows like any other banter. It just happens and they don’t even blink.
(if anyone else did that to Sokka, though, Toph would probably rob them or like soak their clothes in cactus juice so they’re all sticky idk, she just wouldn’t stand for it)
Sokka actually takes a leave of absence from being an ambassador to travel around the four nations and visit schools with Toph and Zuko (who also take breaks). The three of them go to educate schools on disabilities (their own and others).
Sokka also personally makes it his mission to sit in one class at every school and see if there’s anything that he can give advice on. Sometimes, he talks to principals and teachers about how to help accommodate students with learning or “disruptive” disabilities so that they can get the best education that they can while still feeling comfortable and safe.
Now, the three don’t get this all done at once, it takes a year or two, but they do it and all three are just… really proud of it.
Sokka really struggles with Locus of Control (LOC). For those who don’t know, LOC is “ a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives” (Ed.glossary.org).
Sokka, as many headcanon, likes having control over situations or likes having things ordered and scheduled. He doesn’t like changes to his schedule, he likes having schedules… his tics, on the other hand, are not something he can control or schedule
Giving up that control is hard for him. It wasn’t too bad as a child in a super small village, but once he left the SWT with Aang and Katara, he realized how different having tics was (although he was the only one back at home with tics, he often worked with restless children)
He went through a period of time where he thought that he could control his tics, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. Thus, the loss of control he feels.
He actually went through a ‘phase’ once where he thought that maybe he was making his tics up and doing them on purpose for attention or to be different or something. Katara quickly shut him down and told him that he wasn’t doing that.
I once saw someone say that Sokka has imposter syndrome and I think it correlates a bit with LOC in this context (I should actually do some research about that…).
Learning to understand that he won’t always have control is hard for him. Like. Really hard. He tried so desperately to control his tics and it just increased his anxiety and wore him out. Trying to control tics freaking hurts.
Aang is actually the one to help him with that. He’s had a lot of experience of not being able to control his own life, and although their situations are different, he has methods he uses to attempt to prevent himself from overthinking too much and letting his anxiety take control.
After that, Sokka doesn’t struggle with LOC as badly as he did before. It still sneaks in time after time, but it’s never too prominent and Aang is always there with some advice and distractions:)
(I just also love Aang so much and he deserves the world)
Although Sokka is “weird” with touch, there is one type of touch he is almost always on board with: massages. Massages. I’ll say it one more time: massages. They feel so nice. He carries so much stress in his back and shoulders because of how much he moves them due to his tics.
Zuko can tell when Sokka’s shoulders and back start to hurt really badly and will just sit behind him, heat his hands up (not too much), and give him the absolute best massages.
No. Seriously. Zuko gives the best massages (Sokka once wanted to return the favour and uhhh…. Zuko was not a fan. Although Friends isn’t the best show to take examples from, but uhh Sokka gives massages like Monica Gellar. That is all. Zuko gets his massages from Ty Lee).
Suki gives the second best massages.
Katara third.
So, there’s this one Kyoshi Warrior that works with Suki on guard that Sokka just can’t crack. She has an RBF and rolls her eyes and stuff a lot and she uhhh is kind of rather facially expressive but like, RBF style, so one time when Sokka is having a bad tic day, she makes a face.
It wasn’t aimed towards him, it was about something else, but his heart just breaks because this girl he had been trying to get to open up a bit to him and let loose and not be so freaking serious all of the time hates him.
and later she approached him and just “Sorry. I don’t… I don’t get annoyed by your tics or you or anything. I find them soothing and, I don’t know, nice. Like a reminder that the Fire Lord’s boyfriend is still safe. And they sound nice. I don’t hate them. Or. You.” (look, feelings are hard for her)
and Sokka just 😀
alrighty, this is longer than I intended… so we’ll end with me mentioning something I mentioned last time: Yue! (I love her). She never once brings up Sokka’s tics. She never makes faces or asks him why he makes sounds. She’s studied a lot, and while there isn’t too much out there about TS, it’s the NWT, they have lots of books. She could see the signs and assumed.
Never once in the amount of time that they knew each other did she mention it. Sokka appreciated not having to explain himself. He felt safe and welcome there with Yue.
Hi!!! It warms my heart that you can find some familiarity in my headcanons! Yes! Stimming and echolalia are incredibly similar and most certainly transcends just Tourette’s (I’ve done a lot of research on TS because, well, first of all I have it, and I also wrote a paper about having TS in the classroom for a class haha!).
I agree, disability representation is so incredibly important and, I feel, oftentimes rather under-looked. I was actually really nervous sharing my Sokka with TS headcanons the first time since, in my personal experience, not many people understand it super well, but the fact that multiple people have told me that they feel heard or understood from simply headcanon representation speaks volumes and means the world to me!
YES! I absolutely believe that Zuko is autistic and honestly, autistic!Zuko and TS!Sokka is fantastic!
In terms of their relationship, I have touched on this a few times but not in depth, but touch is something sacred to them in a way that few of their friends understand. For Sokka, unexpected touch makes him feel constricted or makes him think that if he squirms or stims or tics too much during the touch, the person will notice and get upset with him. Zuko has a special relationship with touch as well (also due to abuse, but right now I am focusing entirely on autism). I feel as if Zuko has heightened sensory perception, particularly on terms of people touching him. He is “acutely aware of people touching [their] skin”, thus sometimes people touching him sends this hyperaware sensation through his body.
They both are not huge fans of touch, but that makes them both feel better, in a way. Yes, Sokka does often worry that Zuko will be upset with him because he can’t always cuddle at night (because Zuko loves cuddling with Sokka, the feeling of Sokka’s skin is familiar to him), but Zuko manages to make him aware that cuddling does not matter as much as being with each other. They both have an intense amount of respect for each other and their hesitance with touch only makes them more compatible!
Many people with TS and Autism have sensory issues as well. I headcanon that the two actually have rather different sensory issues– Zuko can’t take loud noises and Sokka feels sensory overload with… this sound is hard for me to describe, but I call it “static” or “the muffled sound of nothing” (because this is the noise that sends me into sensory overload oops). I guess you could say, Sokka has a problem with a more muted version of the loud noises Zuko gets sensory overload from.
They both learn about each other’s sensory issues rather early on and can recognize the signs quickly. When Sokka gets overload, he starts stimming more to distract himself from the panic. He paces, goes for walks around the palace or market or wherever he is, sometimes covers his ears… Zuko helps him with this by making him leave the room / area (because Sokka feels too embarrassed to leave). He also (as I have mentioned many times because I feel strongly about this) keeps stuff for Sokka to fidget / stim with! When Zuko gets overload, Sokka will make excuses for why they have to leave so Zuko can be professional (even though Sokka knows it doesn’t matter in the long run and Zuko’s a kid so he shouldn’t have to feel like he has to be professional). Zuko close his eyes or flinch when it gets too loud. The flinching is instinct but the eye closing is to help calm himself down. He’ll repeat things to himself, like he’ll count to ten over and over again. He’ll grab Sokka’s hand and squeeze it because Zuko is one of two people who are allowed to touch Sokka whenever they want to!
Ahhhh I got a bit carried away… I just think TS!Sokka and Autistic!Zuko would have this really special understanding and respect for each other that others sometimes find it hard to comprehend. It’s just so important and meaningful and it helps them to work as a unit, to understand triggers and how to help (not that the others don’t, because they do try and help out whenever it’s needed, but this is also on a romantic level lol) and ahhhhhh I’m so soft for them hunbvftbygnhmnugbh
I hope you enjoyed this and feel free to share your thoughts as well! Again, I am so happy that you found understanding and representation in my headcanons!!!
(I don’t have Autistic!Zuko headcanons written out as of yet, but I might write some once I finish classes!… I’ll probably also write more TS!Sokka when classes finish for the semester… I’m not gonna lie lol)
zuko, who grew up thinking azula ty lee and mai were just How Girls Were, trying to befriend a girl in the real world: um so like….uh. whats your preferred specialized murder method?
book three katara: you might have everyone else buying your… “transformation”, but you and I both know you’ve struggled with doing the right thing in the past. so let me tell you something right now. you make one step backward, one slip up, give me one reason to think you might hurt aang, and you won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore. because I’ll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there. permanently.
I was thinking about how Zuko touching the left side of his face where his scar is does seem to indicate that Aang touching specifically the left side of Ozai’s forehead to remove his bending is significant, and not just Aang touching Ozai’s left because he’s using his right hand because most people are right-handed. Although as I said in that post, it also could just be mirroring Zuko’s scarring, which is on Zuko’s left because Ozai was using his right hand.
Then I thought about how Zuko is using his left hand to touch the left side of his face when he gets sick.
Which, again, could just mean that it’s the left side, where his scar is, that is significant.
But then I thought…what if Zuko is left-handed? That would be thematically appropriate.
It’s kind of hard to tell what Zuko’s dominant hand is since he fights with dual swords.
However, Zuko seems to do most things with his right hand. He uses his right hand to write his letter to Mai.
I think he leads with his right hand when firebending, although he does sometimes alternate between using both so it’s hard to tell.
My left-hander’s brain: What if Zuko is left-handed but was taught to use his right hand by his tutors (who of course never told Ozai that Zuko was left-handed)? Most countries throughout the world had a history of forcing left-handed children to use their right, and specifically in Asian countries, left-handedness was considered bad luck, something that is canonically associated with Zuko by his family. This could also be the reason he struggled with learning certain bending forms. Forcing left-handed children to use their right also can cause anxiety and other sorts of developmental disorders (including speech impediments, although that headcanon about Zuko exists because of his VA and doesn’t have an in-story explanation). What if the reason he seems so natural fighting with dual swords is because it allows him to use both hands while also covering up the fact that he’s more comfortable using his left hand?
This is entirely headcanon but I think it’s neat. Left-handedness can be symbolic for duality, crossing between boundaries, and moral ambiguity, so it would be thematically interesting for Zuko to have taught himself to use both hands because of being taught that being left-handed was wrong and shameful.
ifesbob 