#honestly the only thing i like about the atla comics

[burst-of-iridescent]

well since i can already tell that we’re all going to be subjected to the same old tired mai & mai.ko discourse for the foreseeable future, let’s get it clear right now that the atla comics have never been, and will never be acceptable mediums of character development, and here’s why:

1. the comics are given the benefit of hindsight, which impairs organic character growth.

it’s become extremely clear over the last few years that many of the comics are made as, or include, direct responses to criticisms of the original show — especially when it comes to katara, mai, and the canon pairings. aang didn’t ask katara for consent? look, he’s checking if he can kiss her! mai doesn’t care about fire nation imperialism? here, she’s an anti fascist! iroh was a creep to june? don’t worry, here he is apologising!

many of the things the characters do or say in the comics feel unnatural because they are not written as characters, but as mouthpieces for the creators to address fandom complaints from the original show.

“but that’s good, right? they’re trying to make it better!” i mean… sure? it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s damage control, and that no matter what stories span the middle, the arcs of these characters still begin and end with avatar: the last airbender, and the legend of korra, both of which are fixed and immutable. the comics cannot retroactively fix the issues of either show, because they’ve already been defined as the goalposts of the characters’ lives, and there is no way to undo that.

it’s like if you eat a meal that isn’t to your satisfaction, and maybe the chief makes you another dish, which is all well and good — but it doesn’t fix the fact that the original meal still sucked! sometimes, accepting criticism means accepting that there’s no way to go back and fix it but to do better next time, with the next story you wish to tell.

if the legend of korra didn’t exist, and the arcs of the characters were left open after atla, then maybe there would be for the room for the comics to function as character development if not for the fact that…

2. the comics are intended for a very different audience than the show.

it’s obvious that the audience for the original show vastly outnumbers the audience for the comics, likely by thousands, if not millions. this isn’t the mcu, where the installation of any atla property is vital to understanding the next, and so on. you can skip the comics and miss nothing whatsoever (and honestly your life would be far improved by doing so).

those who read the comics are likely only the real diehard fans of the show — and the creators know this, which is why we have the whole issue of point one above. but this difference in audience matters, because it reflects the significance of the story being told, and how important it is for the audience to know it. this is why, if the characters’ development and storylines in the comics truly, genuinely mattered, it would have been in the show already.

i’m not saying that the gaang wouldn’t have continued to grow and change post-atla, but generally stories exist as closed circuits, self-contained within themselves. when you end atla, you’re meant to believe that those arcs are finished. that’s the whole reason the comics deal mostly with fun silly adventures, or with quick, temporary conflicts instead of grand, overarching narratives, because they are not truly meant to function as a continuation of the story of atla, or its characters.

(if you ask me frankly, they’re meant to be nostalgia cash grabs, but that’s neither here nor there.)

creator intention matters with the atla comics (or any atla property, in fact), because creator intention was the subject of criticism for the original show in the first place. why must we rely on the comics or the cookbook or avatar legends to tell us that katara did things with her life outside of aang? why do we need to turn to something released nearly two decades after atla to find any evidence that mai denounced the fire nation’s imperialist indoctrination, when she’s romantically involved with one of the show’s most important characters? why are these stories relegated to a medium with far less reach, far too late?

the answer is that the writers didn’t find those stories to be originally worth telling, and that is the real problem fans have been pointing out since 2008.

so, tldr:

[ziezii]

does anyone have any fics where suki and zuko go and talk to each other, just for zuko to spill the beans that he's liked katara all this time? fics anyone???

[fruit-snacker]

Watched the live action avatar show and honestly its solidly in the "its oookaay-ish" bracket.

There is one addition that i quite like though, the fact that the soldiers that zuko was sent with was the group that would have been sacrificed had he not spoken up

The live action was awful in a million ways, but they took home at least one win

[kataraslove]

how do you feel about people saying Katara post the show was just a “house wife” and a “baby maker”? I personally think it’s super stupid and fucked up…while I do understand the criticisms for the comics ESPECIALLY the promise. TLOK criticisms for her character are pretty damn dumb to me…honestly the only thing I can get is the critical for her not being at Jinoras ceremony.

something that the original show does really well is present the dichotomy of katara; she's hot-headed, stubborn, determined, argumentative, protective, a fighter and a warrior. at the same time, however, she's presented as compassionate, kind, caring, nurturing, a healer. atla does an incredible job to avoid caging katara into one facet, unlike other media that tend to restrict their female characters who present feminine personalities into the group's resident healer/mother teresa figure. fighting and healing are core tenets of her identity. she uses both of these aspects of her identity to win the war, to save the lives of her friends and family, and most importantly, connect to and honour her decimated culture.

i don't think tlok makes an attempt to capture the fighter aspect of her identify, hence where the argument that "she was reduced to a healer" comes from. yes, she's incredibly old. yes, she deserves to rest after a lifetime of fighting. however, you could make the argument that toph and zuko are still in active combat mode during their old years. it's an all or nothing scenario; either everyone in the remaining gaang deserves a fight scene or no one gets one. so i can see where that criticism stems from. however, much of the criticism also stems from the fandom's refusal to correlate power with healing; to see how being a healer is an honour in it's own right, especially in the atla world where it's the equivalent to being a doctor (and katara would be the most renowned doctor there is).

katara does not deserve a shoe-horned fight scene where she's going to be tossed down in the snow five seconds later (like zuko) or where she's going to complain about her back problems (like toph). i can go on and on about how toph’s depiction in tlok is another form of sexist writing, but i think this post highlights it perfectly well and captures everything that i wanted to say.

if it were up to me to write tlok katara, i would:

have spent more time exploring her role in the white lotus. how much input did she have on korra’s training during the south, because i doubt caging her up until she’s 17 and delaying her spiritual journey is something that katara necessarily would have agreed with. i imagine that she would have (should have, at least) a lot of sway in the decisions surrounding korra as a world leader and legendary hero [per avatar legends]. if not that, even as korra’s waterbending master, the companion and spouse of the previous avatar, and the mother of the only airbending master in the world, would be enough to earn her decision-making title.

actually have her take part in the council of elders, especially during the civil war in book 2. no bryan konientzko, a tumblr post explaining that you can see her on the council of elders while your show is airing isn’t enough. we should have gotten katara’s perspective on the independence war currently happening with her tribe. particularly, it would have been an excellent opportunity showcasing her leadership abilities that we saw in imprisoned and the painted lady, encouraging her tribe to fight for their justice and independence.

expand upon her relationships with her children and grandchildren. yes, the legend of korra isn’t about katara or any of the former gaang members. but jinora, tenzin, kya, and bumi are all important characters that should be defined by their respective relationships with katara, much like how they’re defined by their relationships with aang. bryan and mike shy away from featuring former members of the gaang to avoid nostalgia bait, but there comes a point when deliberately avoiding the presence that your original characters play on their successors ends up hindering the success of your show. i think katara should be a critical character in the subplot between her and aang’s children, providing her perspectives on her husband’s parenting and relationships with their children.

have her actually leave the southern water tribe. if toph can leave the swamp to stop kuvira, and zuko can leave the fire nation to stop the red lotus, then why was katara constantly portrayed in the southern water tribe? there was an excellent opportunity to have her attend her granddaughter’s air mastering ceremony. i actually disagree with claims that the writers were avoiding having katara and zuko in the same scene specifically because of zutara; i think they didn’t want any of the former gaang in the same place. hence why we don’t ever have zuko and toph meet, or katara and toph (i know toph mentions katara by name, but i truly believe that that was a throwaway line serving as a substitute to appease the audience’s thirst for old gaang interaction. kind of like a, “here you go!! toph mentions her. now shut the fuck up.”)

give her a statue representing her bravery, courage, and determination. this one’s self-explanatory.

she didn’t need to be present at the bloodbending trial if the focus was for the avatar to take away yakone’s bending (and her being a bloodbender, i mean.. there’s NO WAY for anyone else to suspend yakone if she’s there). but i do believe the show should have mentioned something about katara not being able to there last-minute, due to tensions in the south or whatever, and how they cannot delay yakone’s trial even by one week.

i disagree with criticisms that katara became a “baby-making machine” for the air nomads. there’s no substantial support that katara and aang had children solely to repopulate the air nomads. there’s contrary evidence, in fact:

tenzin was the only airbender. if katara’s purpose was to serve simply as a baby maker, aang would have tried to have more children. from a writing standpoint, i think the narrative would have gone out of its way to portray kataang’s family as only having airbenders, or having more airbenders than non-benders or waterbenders.

we would have seen a lot more children in a relatively short time period. bumi, kya, and tenzin have sporadic age gaps, indicating that their conception wasn’t really at an urgent pace, but something that katara and aang took their time with, due to life events and circumstances.

as for whether the show turned katara into a “baby-maker,” by highlighting her family relations over her career prospects, i disagree. i don’t think we’re shown anything about katara in the legend of korra; i think we’re presented with limited information about her on all aspects. from a family perspective, all we know is that she had three children with aang. the narrative goes one step further to even separate her from the family conflict, such that the cloudbabies do not pull her into their grievances with their father and childhoods. kya and bumi’s overall arcs are about embracing their father’s legacy, while tenzin’s arc is about moving away from his shadow. from a career perspective, we know that katara at some point banned bloodbending, became one of the best waterbenders and the greatest healer in the world, then trained korra. in fact, katara’s relationship that is given the most narrative weight is her relationship with korra. i can understand if people’s criticisms are her being reduced to korra’s mentor and a healer, but i will not be able to understand the baby-maker or housewife claims simply because there is no proof.

if we’re examining tlok katara, i think there are many criticisms to be held, many missed opportunities and abandoned threads, but i do not agree with fandom extremes that she was ever presented as a “baby-making housewife turned healer.” i disagree with claims that tlok emphasized katara’s legacy as only having children (particularly her one airbender child). especially because tlok goes out of its way to separate her role in her children’s life, instead emphasizing her role in korra’s life. narratively, we get more exploration of toph’s storyline with her children than we get with katara.

as for the shitty gene yang comics that mischaracterizes just about every member, even momo and appa, i’ve got much to say on that. i think the only comic worth exploring is north and south, and katara’s portrayal in that. rather, there’s a particular criticism of katara’s portrayal in north and south that i want to rebut.

[umeumeumee]

Hii! for your atla/lok event, can i req a tophxfem!firebender with the prompt “please just listen to me” angst and romance if that’s fine? thank you!! :)

whispers in the dark

ᥫ᭡ hello! I’m sorry this took a while, i really (don’t like it very much) but hope you like it! i love toph<3 (this takes place after the events of atla, and the comics, so they are 15-16 or something) (also… i didn’t proof read it, so sorry for any errors)

toph beifong x fem! reader

ᥫ᭡ when on a mission with toph, you reveal your most regretful mistake and biggest secret. you feared it would forever ruin your most dear relationship.

Silence crept up the bone of your spine.

it was suffocating— the heat was scorching, you felt as though your limbs could fall of any second. Your heart beat was fast— not because you couldn’t get a clear path, but because you couldn’t breathe. The air in your lungs was nonexistent, your body barely hanging on to the big gulp of oxygen you provided before making the most stupid decision of your life.

You kept close to Toph, making sure not to loose her in this tunnel— knowing she was the only where who knew exactly where to go, when to go.

the only sound in the never ending cave was the constant beat of her bare feet moving through the dirt, listening, waiting, like a preditor to prey. It was gnawing, the silence— the lack of oxygen , the sticky air.

you wanted gasp, to breath— but you couldn’t, too afraid you would give away your position.

your lungs ached, scratching your throat and piercing your chest cavity— desperately trying to get what they want, but you fought it, puffing your cheeks and calming your rapid heart.

You couldn’t see— anything— Toph was your only hope of survival, and only you knew that without her— and without your flame, you were dead.

A rough hand met yours, pulling you forward when you staggered behind, urging you to continue on your path. You shut your eyes— because; open or not, the only visible thing was darkness.

you followed toph blindly, holding the air in your lungs as long as you could.

your head felt fuzzy.

you shut your eyes, shaking your head and swallowing harshly. your body began to contract, its need for air conditioning you to suffer. Toph caught on, and you wondered how she could hold her breath for so long, as she didn’t seem to falter nearly as much as you.

Finally, after what felt like neons, she stopped walking, her grip on your hand loosened to the point she let go, leaving you to put your hand to your mouth, and the earth began to shake.

She lifted you two from the tunnel, slowly, so agonizingly slow, you could pass out.

finally, finally, you were met with the bright light of the shining sun, meeting the familiar sight of freedom. You released your gasp, lungs taking in as much air as you possibly could, toph doing the same. You coughed, breathing in the freshness of the outside world. You fell back, laying flat on the high grass that was new behind you, continuing your heavy breaths and deep breathing.

“Finally,” Toph managed out, and it was astonishing how she could find her voice after so long of holding her breath. you couldn’t find yours, only nodding and staring at the sky.

you groaned when she obscured your vision, and you sat up.

“I thought i was going to die,” you exclaim, sighing heavily and placing a hand to your temple. Toph laughed, crossing her arms.

“c’mon, we have to meet the others,” she says, offering her hand out to you. It was pointed a little too far to the left, but you decided to say nothing of it and took her hand palm in palm with yours.

You and Toph, along side Aang, Katara, and sokka, had just escaped a highly secured prison. The reason you were there? you couldn’t answer. Half the time with their group, you didn’t know what you were doing.

They mentioned something about letting someone out, but you didn’t know if that meant they were letting someone out, or if someone else had let that person out. Honestly? you decided not to get too involved

In fact, the only reason you were here, and not back at camp— was because toph had insisted you come. why? once again, you hadn’t an idea.

Your friendship with the legendary earthbender was a deep one, a connection that ran though you both like tree roots through the ground. You enjoyed her company, as did she, yours, but you couldn’t help the tinge of guilt that ate at you with every second you spent with her and the others.

You both had met when the 100 year war was ‘Still forging onward,’ being accepted into their group at such a calloused time lead for the truth to be slightly bent in your favor, a favor you knew you’d regret not fessing up to immediately.

While the one hundred year war was continuing, firebender’s were the most feared and despised people in the world, why would anyone— especially the avatar— want anything to do with someone of that caliber?

You were a firebender. And growing up in the fire nation, you were a pretty damn good liar as well.

When toph had used her ability to tell if you were lying, you easily passed her test with flying colors and slowly earned the trust of the gang. She trusted you dearly, as did the others, but you couldn’t help but was to burn off your own tongue for lying in such a crude way.

The guild will never not burn you.

you cleared your throat as you walked beside her, hoping your façade wasn’t slipping away and she couldn’t catch you. You sent her a side glance, her hair falling afront her face.

if the truth got out, you fear the person you find most dear will be lost forever.

“So,” you hummed, the silence falling between you both was not like the suffocating kind. it was calming.

“where exactly are we going?” you ask, hands intertwined behind your back, glancing occasionally to the girl beside you.

Toph didn’t say anything, only throwing a harsh punch to your shoulder out of nowhere. “Ouch!” you exclaim, furrowing your brows as Toph smirked. “What was that for?”

“felt like it.” toph hummed out, putting her arms over her head so her elbows stuck out, her smirk adding to her cocky look.

“so mean, toph.” you playfully said, sniffing jokingly. she waved her hand, cracking a laugh at your actions.

“we’re meeting aang up the hill,” she says, answering your previous question and walking faster. You jogged to catch up, still rubbing the sore spot on your shoulder from her punch.

you didn’t reply, her answer didn’t really call for a response in itself.

once again, you two walked in silence. The birds sang and the wind hummed, it was calming.

but you felt a pitch in your stomach.

Your pace with toph faltered momentarily, and it caught the girls attention. she asked what was the matter, and you shrugged it off.

“Nothing.”

your walking continued, as did your feeling. You swallowed. You’ve felt this many times before, like you were being watched, scavenged— hunted. You’d witnessed it first hand, and the feelings as well too familiar.

But, you opted to believe it was your imagination, as Toph seemed fine. She kept her normally quick speed, which you failed to catch up to due to your unfortunate instant of feeling.

A twig.

You halted, and Toph did too— her hers pinned in the same direction as your eyes. To the forest point of the trail. You stood ground, scanning— waiting.

you knew something was out there— Suddenly, a giant burst of flaming hot red fire shot towards toph, the heat passing by you and burning the skin of your forearm.

You yelp momentarily from the pain, you were out of practice.

but, quickly regaining self and taking action by stepping afront the earthbender to protect her— smoothly redirecting the flame to the source.

A groan was heard from the woods as the fire shot through and to the original predecessor, who now lay limp on the floor.

You assumed nothing of him— quickly turning your attention to toph. You’d just firebent— infront of her.

your heart dropped, the expression on her face was unreadable, almost unsettling— her eyes held nothing, you couldn’t decipher what she was thinking.

“I—” your words were cut off by the sting of your burn, causing you to breathe in roughly through clenched teeth.

You clenched your jaw when Toph stepped away from you, her feet tightly ground to the floor.

“Toph, please just listen to me.” you pleaded, but before you could step forward, earth engulfed your moving foot, preventing you from stepping forward.

The lump in your throat was worse than suffocating.

The stone in your heart was heavy enough to make you drown.

Toph walked off, rolling her jaw with stiff shoulders and fists clenched so tight you worried she might draw blood. You called after her, apologies behind each step she took.

You couldn’t stop the tears from brimming in your eyes. You didn’t know if it was from the severity of your burn, or the fact that the most important person to you had found out the one thing you regret most.

you let tears roll once the girl was gone from your vision, cursing yourself over and over.

You were such a Fool.

ੈ✩‧₊₊˚⊹♡

Toph clenched her jaw so tight, she swore she heard the crack of her bone. each step she took felt like she had just stepped in burning hot magma, leaving her body to ache and scream.

you were a firebender.

You lied to her. How could you? after everything?

you’d won the poor girls heart, caught in between your hands like a firefly in the night. this is how she gets repaid for being docile. this is what she gets for feeling such things for you.

toph angrily grunted, kicking rocks from her path and wanting to throw herself off the cliff.

how could you?

“Toph!” the familiar call of Aang paused her thoughts, the girl completely halting her movements as the boy approached. She felt the confusion swirl within him, and nausea flooded her like a river. how was she going to tell him?

“Where’s Y/n?” aang asked innocently, curiously and worry brimming his tone with concern for his friend. Toph bit her cheek, no doubt a sour look on her face.

“You mean the liar?” she bit out, almost surprised by her own tone. Aang flinched at the unexpected gesture of reply, confusion placing itself on his face.

“what?” Toph almost felt bad for him. Aang really liked you, and he often found himself pulling strings with you and toph for fun.

Toph crossed her arms, “yeah. the liar,” she repeated, passing by the boy with a soft shove to his shoulder— but for him, enough to send him slightly staggering backward.

“What are you talking about?” he insisted, and Toph knew for a fact that if she could see his face, she’d feel even more horribly.

She suddenly turned around— Aang, who had previously been closely following her footsteps— slammed into her rock hard form.

She laughed bitterly. “Our little, innocent friend y/n,” she says mockingly, usung her hands to add to her tone in physical gestured expression. “Is a firebender.” she could feel the hitch of aang’s breath and the grip he held on his staff tighten.

“she’s been lying to us this whole time.” her words were sour, like eating spoiled fruit, or drinking poorly done tea.

Aang’s reply didn’t come anytime soon, and toph could only guess his feelings on the subject.

Toph knew that it mattered mostly because your lie was told during the most important time of their lives. The hundred year war. You lied to them about.. everything. During the day if the black sun, Sozin’s comit, you lied. Every, single, time.

Toph kicked a massive chunk of dirt off the cliff, hearing it slam down the many feet of rock to the base of the hill.

“i can’t believe this.” she spoke, sitting down on a rock nearby and letting out a deep, heavy sigh. She was hurt.

she felt like her heart had been ripped apart. damn organ never learned.

“We can forgive her, Toph. make her amend,” aang finally said, “Yes, she lied, but she is still y/n. her bending doesn’t define her.” he added.

sometimes his optimism was too much.

Toph shot from her seat, fuming. “Forgive her?” she shouted, expanding a hand to where she had left you, feeling you still in the grasp of the earth she left you in. “She lied! for over two years, aang. She’s a liar— how do we know she isn’t lying about everything else she’s told us?” she bit, clearly more upset than the Airbender.

Aang took a deep breath, he was calm. the flaming opposite of toph.

“I understand that, Toph, but we met her a while ago during the war, and, well, being a firebender was definitely.. not the way to join our group.” he recalled, referring to when Zuko tried to join after almost a year of hunting him and his friends down.

“Zuko is a firebender. And now we are all close friends, even to y/n. even though she lied.” aang stepped closer to toph, who’s nose was scrunched. “I’m sure she didn’t plan to keep on lying.”

“But she did,” the beifong quickly bit back, figuring for anymore reason to continue her strike on you. “the war ended almost two and a half ago, and she is with us so often. Why wouldn’t she just tell us? Why didn’t she use her firepower during the Comit?”

Aang pursed his lips as Toph continued on, and his understanding for her rage deepened.

It wasn’t.. a big secret, the way that toph felt for you. She had no doubt the biggest soft spot for you than anyone else in the group— heck, probably anyone else in the world. She put up with you day and night, and being the busy person she was, she would uncharacteristically drop both important as well as unimportant things to spend her time with you.

Aang may only be fifteen, but he wasn’t stupid.

Aang grew up in the air temples, where people didn’t hide who they loved, men or women alike. The air nomads were accepting of all differences and embraced everyone, no matter their orientation. and right now, aang felt as though Toph could use some good avatar wisdom.

He placed a solid hand to the shoulder of the furious Earthbender, her words dying in her throat. “Toph,” aang said, and said girl knew she was in for it now.

“The feelings you hold for Y/n aren’t a mystery,” he says, his hold on toph unwavering as she visibly stiffened under his words.

“I understand why you are so upset, the betrayal and hurt you feel must been worse than any pain,” he sympathized, surprising himself how he was able to actually, somewhat, cool toph down. “But we should hear her out. At least for a little while.”

the beifong sat down once more on the rock after shoving off her friends hand, keeping her feet firm to the ground, she spoke. “Fine.”

Aang instantly went to fetch you, finding you in no time. He approached slowly, your figure rolled into a ball. He saw your foot held tightly by the earth, causing you to not be able to escape — although if you wanted to, you could.

“Y/n?” he called slowly, hearing your sniffling. You quickly lifted your heard to the familiar sound of your friends voice.

Aang frown as he saw you— tear stains ran down your face, your lips and eyes puffy from crying. You didn’t speak, only looking away from his eyes in shame.

he knew how horrible you must feel. Lying, no matter how justified , is a punishment for both ends of the party.

You stood up as he came closer, clumsily wiping your cheeks free of the previous tear stains, and it was only then did he notice the burn on your forearm. He took note of it for later.

Your face was skeptical with each step he took, like you didn’t know if he was going to hurt you, or help you.

Your eyes widen when the grasp of earth on your foot fell away, retreating back to the earth by command of the Avatar. You watched it go, flickering your gaze to meet the sincere eyes of aang.

He expanded his hand for you to take, and with caution— you accepted it.

He led you back up the hill, guiding you slowly and smiling every time you caught his eye.

The feelings you harbored for toph weren’t a mystery, either. it was painful to see any interaction between you both , as everyone who bore witness was at the edge of their seat with suspense. You are always eager to help, offering to fill positions people didn’t want, hoping to it easier for everyone— when, well, toph just did what she wanted, when she wanted. he was surprised you two got along so well when you’d first met.

your steps halted when aang’s did. You could almost feel toph’s displeasure in the air. You couldn’t dare to look up, even if she couldn’t see you.

Aang cleared his throat, releasing his comforting grip on your hand and stepping between you two.

“So,” he started, nodding. “there has been a.. miscommunication between all of us, and we have brought you, y/n, here help us resolve it.”

you were genuinely surprised by how calm he sounded, almost like he wasn’t bothered with the fact you’d been lying to them all this time.

You stood awkwardly when no one said anything, too afraid of Toph screaming at you for opening your mouth.

“Y/n,” he called, “Why don’t we start with why you decided to lie in the first place.”

that’s how it started. you were honest from the very beginning. You had told them the truth of most things, you were raised in the fire nation, just not in the less population areas. you did undergo training, but it was not just physical combat but fire as well. You did not want to lie, but you saw no other option.

you never wanted to hurt them.

Toph abruptly stood up when you finished, clearly still fuming. She walked off, fists clenched. You watched her do with shameful eyes, gnawing your cheek.

Aang saw, stepping forward.

“I’ll help your burn, and then you can go talk to her.” you wanted to refuse his offer, after everything you’ve done he wanted to help you? but he didn’t list it as an option to say no.

You let him heal your arm with waterbending he learned from Katara— someone you knew would not take this lightly.

aang had a plan. heal you up, and get you to talk to Toph. despite how obviously upset she is, she has yet to lash out on you. the soft spot she has for you hasn’t left, and he’s hoping this whole thing will reveal it to you.

“Done,” he says, wrapping a cloth around the burn and securing it tightly. You winced, knowing you were definitely going to have a scar.

“go talk to Toph.” he motioned in the direction she went, and you faltered. “Aang,” you cleared your throat to hide the crack in it, “She hates me.” your words seemed to physically pain you. “I.. can’t. She will just be more upset. she deserves space and time and—“ you stopped, his hand was placed to your shoulder firmly. A grip he did to stop rambling.

“Go talk to her.” you couldn’t deny his demand, nodding and slowly turning away to walk after the Earthbender. Aang sigh, scratching the nape of his back as he watched you tumble away.

You held your burnt arm, his healing skills not nearly as good as Katara’s , hence the pain you continued to feel.

after what felt like days, you finally found Toph. Sitting once more on a rock as her pale green eyes found solace on whatever was infront of her. You knew she knew you were there, her feet hadn’t left the floor since you’d met her.

you approached with caution, stopping when she shifted in her seat to cross her arms. You took a leap of faith and sat down beside her, swallowing the lump in your throat as you tried to find the words.

all that came out was a weak apology.

“I’m so, so sorry.”

your voice was trembling, almost like you were scared. Toph didn’t know what you had to be afraid of, and she wondered if you were scared of her.

when her reply didn’t come, you went to stand up— to give her the space she so desperately needed, but before you could get too far, a calloused hand caught your wrist.

You froze, Turing to face her. she was standing up with her expression once more unreadable, but the grip she had on you was strong enough to leave a mark.

You went to utter another apology— but before you could muster up the courage— a pair of soft lips met yours.

If you could die from pure and utter shock and surprise, you would be dead. Was she.. kissing you? Now? here? after what you did?

you were too surprised to do anything, but eventually you snapped back and cautiously kissed her back. It was soft, like a shallow embrace. it was warm, like holding someone in a cold night.

you pulled back first, breathing nervously through your nose. You stare at her, not missing the sprinkle of pink dusting her pale face. You were about to open your mouth when a very rough punch came your way.

Her fist landed right above your burn, causing you to genuinely wince of pain. It didn’t really seem to bother her, though. and you took that as her way of getting back at you.

She slipped a small, shy smile.

“Don’t lie to me ever again, stupid.”

[hazbin-a-helluvamagines]

How about this? Headcanons for Loona and Octavia (separate) with a nerdy!male!reader??

Idk, but when I was thinking of this I thought of him just being Milo thatch from Atlantis: The Lost Empire if he was an imp (and maybe looking like him with a human disguise).

"My Geek" ; Loona, Octavia Ars Goetia

AN: I have never seen ATLA, so I hope I did this okay for you!!

Loona would tease you. Brutally, in fact. But she does it all out of love. She just doesn't really know how to show people that she cares about them, so she resorts to teasing to hide the fact that she does. She doesn't want to seem vulnerable, after all. Look where that's gotten her in the past.

With that said, that doesn't mean she lets anybody else makes fun of you. No, only SHE'S allowed to do that. Girlfriend privileges, she calls them. Even before you're actually dating.

But the second someone else tries? Ohhhh dear, be prepared for tears. And not hers (or yours).

"Don't be such a prick when he manages to pull hot bitches with his nerdiness, and you're going to die a loser virgin."

She'd of course comfort you afterwards, in her own Loona way. Telling you how that person was a loser, anyway. How they didn't understand your "weird, shitty hobbies", but that that only made them a little bitch.

Loona will act like she doesn't care about what you're suggesting to her, but in reality... well, her Mammazon cart is full of her gift ideas for you for special occasions. Comic books, manga, movies, costumes, you name it.

And y'know what? She'll never tell you that she actually paid attention to what you told her.

"Here. A random shut-up gift."

That's code for "I've been listening a lot, actually, and I know these are things you like, so I wanted to get you something that lets you know I paid attention", by the way.

Honestly, I feel like she'd prefer a nerdy S/O for a guy, though?? Someone she can be playful and fun with without having to maintain her stone-cold persona.

Now your human disguise... oh boy.

You saw how she was with Vortex? Yeah, well, with you, you can basically amplify that by ten.

Basically heart eyes lmao.

Don't worry, she eventually starts acting more normal around you in that form once she begins associating it back to you, her loving boyfriend.

She'd still have those momentary slip-ups where she says something she normally wouldn't, though, although they're much more welcome when you're actually her boyfriend.

"Uh... Loona? You okay?"

"You're hot... I mean, uh- Y'know, literally. Cuz it's... a hot day out."

Girl is down bad.

Honestly? Octavia seems pretty nerdy, too. Probably has a secret comic book hobby. So she doesn't see anything wrong with your hobbies. She even finds them endearing.

Likes to hear your little hot takes, whether or not she really agrees with them. It opens the floor for some productive discussion and banter.

"Oh yeah? And what happens if I do something like this?"

And she proceeds to either do it, if it's a physical thing she can do, or explain the idea, eager to hear your take on it or if it's something you'd suggest in that scenario.

Due to that, she really isn't hard to make conversation with at all, since she can relate pretty well to your more geeky interests, and even be persuaded to get into the same fandoms. Or have fandom battles, like Marvel vs. D.C..

She'll always side with D.C., though.

And of course, she'll happily come with you to those types of movies, since she usually really enjoys them, herself.

She's more of a music nerd, though, and she'll definitely try to get you to listen to some of her favorite artists. The music is pretty angsty, but it's not bad, either. And you love her, so you bear with it for her.

Definitely the type to take you to one of those geek stores for your birthday and just let you pick whatever you want.

Girl comes from money, and she knows how to spend it. :)

"S/O? What about this one? It's got that thing you like on it."

As she's proudly showing you a T-shirt of a character you mentioned liking, excitedly looking around for her own things, as well.

Always a fun couple experience.

Oh, also, Stella HATES you, but that's probably to be expected. Not that Octavia really cares for her absentee mother's approval.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

The only stereotypically masculine thing about Aang…is his romantic arc

There’s a really popular post on Tumblr called “Avatar Aang, Feminist Icon.” The thesis is basically that Aang, unlike his female teachers and friends, is actually not a badass. He listens, he defers, and he respects women. He seemed to have no problem with Katara’s crush on Jet, despite his own crush on her. He chooses love and kindness and friendship and pacifism. He’s not tall and handsome as hell or buff. He wears flower crowns!

And I agree! This is Aang for most of the series and I love those qualities (though I do think the bar is in hell if those traits make a character a feminist icon, as opposed to a person who simply sees women as human beings). Anyway, I just think there’s a glaring omission. And that’s Aang’s romantic arc in season 3.

Bryke managed to take the worst of both worlds: Aang’s romantic arc retains the male-centricity that make most romances so problematic, while retaining none of the characteristics that make problematic romances compelling to women.

Aang falls in love at first sight with a beautiful girl. For the majority of their friendship, he remains respectful and supportive. As his crush hits an all time high, however, it gets distinctly more stereotypical: he kisses Katara at the invasion, and when she didn’t want to talk about that kiss, he firebends at her (the fact that this comic is canon, and was published years after ATLA’s conclusion, only demonstrates that the creators still don’t understand critiques of their romance). Aang considers Katara “his girl” and becomes furious (“I would be in the Avatar state right now!”) when the actress version of Katara didn’t like him romantically, and then he kisses her again — this time explicitly against her wishes. Throughout the show, people reassure him that she will come around, continuously reinforcing the idea that Katara is “his” and he just has to be patient. And even though Ka/taang is supposed to be endgame, we never hear directly from Katara how she feels, even though we’re no strangers to her opinions and feelings on other topics. It’s almost like the creators wanted Katara’s feelings to be a mystery because we’re meant to resonate with Aang. That’s…a male-centric, action hero romance.

In addition, the friendship dynamics between Katara and Aang feel pretty gendered. The distribution of emotional labour between Aang and Katara is quite skewed: Katara takes care of Aang much more than he takes care of her. She’s the one responsible for calming him down from the Avatar State. She’s the one who cooks for him and performs a whole lot of domestic chores. Post-canon, Katara’s storyline revolves around Aang, and she’s treated as his accessory and the keeper of his legacy instead of her own person, to the degree that she’s not even recognizable in LOK anymore. A beautiful, badass, independent woman who dedicates her energy and intelligence to a man’s needs? Wow, that is definitely something I’ve never seen in media geared towards men!

A lot of gushing about Aang’s lack of stereotypical masculinity seems to also hinge on how Aang is not conventionally attractive, but that’s…not true. Aang may not behave like James Bond, but he has plenty of admirers. Meng and On Ji liked him even without knowing that he’s the Avatar. Post-series, Acolytes descend en masse to steal Katara’s man. And of course he grows into a tall, buff dude. Aang’s romantic arc is not about becoming attractive to women, or finding a woman who loves him despite his looks. His romantic arc is about getting the girl who’s hard to get, because she only sees him as a friend or a little brother / babysitting charge.

Bryke do not deserve the credit for creating a “feminist icon,” not when the only stereotypically masculine traits they gave him are in relation to his romance arc. It honestly feels more insidious this way, because it’s like, “see? You don’t have to be masculine to reap the benefits of performing masculinity” — the benefits being, of course, “getting” the girl you want.

[rose-bunny-28]

I genuinely feel bad for Azula.

^Side note - Yes, I know standards for royalty are different than common everyday standards. Still, it's personally upsetting to me.^

I just finished ATLA for the first time (I'm late for the party, yeah, yeah I know), and I was honestly sad about what happened to Azula. She had so much damn pressure on herself to not mess up and to please her father. She was only 14. Fourteen. She was way too young to be experiencing everything she did. She always had to try to not disappoint her dad, and was taught driving fear into people is better than friendship.

I wouldn't say Azula is like, the best character ever to exist. But she's very well written. I really like her, she's complex and very interesting, and honestly I believe she lived in fear, but doesn't know how to handle it.

I believe that Ozai made her live in a way where she feared that she could be banished, or hurt like Zuko was. She didn't want to be a disappointment.

She says she doesn't have any problems, but in the Ember Island episode, quote "My own mother said I was a monster." For a second, she did seem genuinely sad about it.

But, then she pays it off as if she isn't hurt one bit.

Azula doesn't know how to express herself like normal people. She's a bit like Mai. Mai doesn't express feelings and doesn't really know how to. Azula doesn't know how to express feelings either. So, she hides it all under a mask of confidence and high dignity.

Before her coronation, she had lots of anxiety and didn't know how to handle it. So she was banishing people left and right out of her anxiety that she could be killed.

And when she lost against Zuko and Katara, that was her breaking point.

In the comics after the events of ATLA, it's shown she was put in an insane asylum.

Really if you think about it, everything that has happened to Azula and Zuko is because of Ozai. If he wasn't so strict or cared only about one thing, they wouldn't have ended up how they did. Sure, Zuko got something great but Azula has gone insane.

If people who know me irl read this, they would say it's because I have lots of empathy, so of course I feel bad for Azula. I guess, but also, Azula didn't deserve what happened to her. She deserves better.

Thanks for reading this. Have a great day/night.

And if you want to add something, don't be afraid too. Reblog or commenting something would help.

[seyaryminamoto]

Any thought on Toph's writing and "arc" in ATLA? I personally think Toph was the most stunted and underdeveloped character. She never really develops at all and is mostly just a walking joke. It's clear that the writers loved her but also clear that they never did anything with her.

If you mean stunted and underdeveloped character in the main cast, definitely yes. A lot of minor characters were done a disservice by the show, given next to no complexity, so I wouldn't rank her as #1 altogether, but among the main cast, absolutely.

Now, I wouldn't say she had zero growth, it's just... not an arc. I also don't think she was only a joke, though they used her for comedy a lot. It's part of why it weirds me out when the fandom acts like Sokka, and only Sokka, was comic relief in ATLA. Toph, Aang, Iroh, even Zuko whenever the narrative wanted to poke fun at him, provided comic relief often, so it's kind of stupid to pretend it was only ever Sokka.

... But that ridiculous perception, then, caused the not-so-funny LOK phenomenon of "Bolin is the funny one", where basically all comedy was meant to be about/around this one character, which didn't work nearly as well as they expected it to, and did nothing for the team's synergy and bonding, but I digress...

What do I think about Toph's story and journey in ATLA?

Toph starts out as a girl who wants nothing more than to be independent and for people to stop underestimating her. When we consider that, in her final action scene in the show, she's clinging by her fingertips to someone else, and that her survival and life depend expressly on HIM, it suggests that she's learned that she doesn't have to go at everything alone, and also that she doesn't have all the answers to all situations. The first time we met her, it doesn't really feel like she wants to work alongside other people, as shown in her conflict with Katara in The Chase, where Toph felt absolutely no need to chip in and help out with anything but her personal needs.

I will say, in Toph's defense about that last thing, it's perfectly common for a child who has spent most her life being cared for, not having anyone expect a single thing out of her, to not understand why she needs to contribute ANYTHING to the team. It doesn't hurt that she's new, which implies that the others have been setting up camp, finding food, traveling across the world, without needing an earthbender's contributions. So it's fairly easy to see her side in this: why does she need to help at all? Why can't they handle things on their own when they always did?

But in her chance encounter with Iroh, Toph is given a chance to think on things and ponder that there's nothing wrong with relying on others. It's so effective that this scene concludes with Toph telling Iroh that maybe he should tell Zuko that he needs him too. This might even be one of Toph's strongest moments in the entire show, honestly. She has no idea who she's talking about, has never met Zuko or Iroh before, but what she tells Iroh doesn't sound like it comes only from having determined that IROH needs Zuko: it sounds like self-reflection, based on Toph realizing that maybe she can open up to needing her friends, too, and working alongside them isn't such a bad thing.

I think this is decent writing. Really!

The issue is... this is about as good as it gets with Toph.

I really like her character, she has a lot of good jokes, some interesting moments of vulnerability here and there, but this scene with Iroh is the only instance of the show I can think back on that actually features Toph questioning her strict ideas and reasoning with them, choosing a different path and abandoning something else she wasn't ready to forsake (complete and utter independence). What's more, this isn't even the kind of growth where Toph has COMPLETELY abandoned her individualistic mentality: she's adjusted it. She allows herself to consider she could be part of a team, to have friends, to work with others, but that doesn't mean she's tied down to them. It never stops feeling like Toph is more than ready to do things on her terms, in her own ways. No matter how much she bonds with the others, she will rely on them exclusively when she needs them (see how she clings to others when she has little to no visibility), or when they need her in combat and such, but outside of such spaces? It's unlikely that Toph will be the type of person who feels the need to be accompanied all the time, who feels better if someone is constantly watching over her. Her friends allow her to find some kind of balance between her need for independence and the comfort of having allies and friends to connect to... but that doesn't mean that she'll never break off on her own when the urge hits her, when the big battles are settled, when problems are resolved.

And I'm the last person to think Yang, of ALL PEOPLE, has any solid understanding of these characters, but whether it was his idea or Bryke's to feature Toph as a teacher, and to have the Gaang drop by to pick her up during The Promise? Ultimately, this just proves she doesn't feel the need to be with Aang, Sokka and Katara non-stop. If even someone like Yang thought she'd go do her own thing (... the quality of what he wrote is, of course, forever in question), down to even leaving her out of The Search entirely? It's clear that they're not trying to promote the idea that Toph is forever clinging to her friends now. She's still independent.

But like I said earlier... this balance Toph finds between her friends and her freedom isn't the product of multiple episodes and lots of hard work and bumping into obstacles to achieve. This... is literally just Toph's second episode. That's the last time the show actually challenged Toph on a PERSONAL level that doesn't involve "becoming a more powerful bender".

Take her relationship with her parents, for instance: the fandom is convinced they were abusive as fuck and that Toph would hate them forever. Ironically, the show DOESN'T promote this notion at all (which makes The Rift kind of insane when compared to the show's treatment of Toph's parents), for it features her parents as two idiots who underestimate Toph immensely and who simply want her to come home and stay out of danger. This could be deemed as abusive in some people's minds, as usual the word needs to be taken more seriously nowadays... they're not good parents, there's no denying that. They don't understand their daughter, outright. They allow their preconceptions of her disability to determine who they think their daughter is. There's nothing in the show that suggests otherwise.

So why, exactly, is it that every instance where Toph considers communicating with her parents or meeting them, she seems to be perfectly content with doing it?

Xin Fu's trap for Toph was completely cemented on the notion that Poppy Beifong had come to visit Ba Sing Se and that she finally accepted her daughter for who she was. Toph's reaction isn't some kind of jaded dismissal because there's noooo way her mom would ever accept her... she outright goes to see her. Which allows Xin Fu to trap her. Which then results in Toph discovering she can metalbend. But the thread that started this whole plotline? It... goes nowhere. Of course, Toph's parents AREN'T there, there's no real reason to assume they've changed, and this was just a trap... but we get no reaction from Toph when it comes to this. We see no conflict. She simply embraces her new abilities and runs back to Ba Sing Se. A quick glance through the transcript shows zero focus or interest in what she went through. Hell, there's not even any acknowledgement that she learned to metalbend. It's all about Aang's struggles with the Avatar State and Katara being in danger.

Next time? The Runaway. A very frustrating and annoying episode. What happens here? Katara decides to dig into Toph's old wounds regarding her parents, tries to psychoanalyze her and decides that all of Toph's rebelliousness against authority boil down to having a bad relationship with her parents. Which... maybe it's true? Doesn't really justify Katara trying to act like her mother anyway? And then the episode ends with Toph asking Katara to help her send a letter to her parents, which sounds like Toph has made her peace with them and like she's ready to accept that she would like them in her life too, and that she wants them to accept who she is. Yay.

... The issue here is there's no follow-up. This doesn't feel like development because nothing comes from it. Nothing really changed. It doesn't come from organic writing either: it comes from Katara's forced "mother friend" role that she didn't use to hold at all (as I said in the ask about why I think Katara loses her appeal as a character the deeper we go into ATLA), and it never actually confronts Toph with her parents again. It doesn't feature a deeper reflection from Toph regarding why she feels the way she does about her parents, nor does it feature Katara realizing that Toph's parents actually did fuck up a LOT with her and that she has every right to push back against them. It merely makes Katara calm down because she realizes the others care about her (while eavesdropping, ofc) and are ready to accept her for who she is... even though she, too, merits a LOT of reflection regarding this mom friend role and nobody else should be comfortable with that, let alone her :'D

Point being, the show really just holds this as the only thing about Toph that wasn't actually resolved, but it acts like it's fine because Toph sent a letter. What growth did we see in Toph that actually means this letter makes all the difference, though? We have no idea how it affected her parents -- as much as Yang acts like it didn't affect them at all, it could have made them rethink some things, or it could have made them mount an even more desperate search for their child, who knows? And it's a pretty solid thread to pull at, to tug loose, to TRULY challenge Toph's character... aaaaaaand they just don't do it at all.

The way I see it, that's really what it boils down to. The show doesn't challenge Toph in any significant way after her... second episode. This isn't the case for most main characters, and I'm not even asking for Toph's story to feature an intense, horrible, super harrowing and difficult plot...! Just, make some things complicated for her. Show her frustrations, show her difficulty to grasp things she hasn't experienced before. Confront her with realities that she, a sheltered girl from a pretty well-off city, has never really needed to face before. Her attitude towards Ba Sing Se is never questioned or challenged narratively: she's constantly proven right about the city being fucked up, and about her reads on all high society people. While all this makes Toph feel smart to a viewer, the issue really comes where this character basically only has her admittedly sizable charisma to win us over. She succeeds! But what does this show give her to work with besides a very quick "I don't wanna work in a team-I learned to work in a team" conflict that is resolved even faster than Sokka's sexism, which pretty much died out within 4 episodes?

There's definitely a component here were Toph is successful not only because of her personality, her abilities, her strength... but also because of the message she conveys regarding disabilities. A LOT of disabled people have clung to Toph as an example and inspiration to not allow whatever ails them to define them or hold them back. Whether the comparison between a blind girl with magical powers and a disabled person of our world without them is valid or not? The effect Toph has had on a lot of viewers who related to her struggles is undeniable. In a sense, it almost feels like the fandom's worship of Toph suggests that in not giving her further challenges on a personal level, they actually hit some kind of jackpot as far as social messages are concerned... but once you actually scope in and pay proper attention to her character, you might find she's got so much more potential that went ignored by this story in favor of presenting her as this unquestionably strong girl who relies on others when she really needs to but otherwise is independent and free from all of society's restraints on her.

Personally, I know this to be the case because of the pushback and reactions my version of Toph in Gladiator initially resulted in. She had no reason to think anything of Sokka and damn near killed him when they first clashed in the Gladiator League... and this horrified a LOT of people! They couldn't BELIEVE Toph could be like this! An older Toph, 7 years older to be precise, who broke free from her parents' hold, struck a bargain with her would-be-captor to get him MORE money than he'd find if he turned her in, and who wanted nothing but to measure her strength against other powerful fighters. If she doesn't have Aang's group's influence on her as early on as when she's 12-years-old, is it REALLY that crazy for Toph's problems with her parents and authority to fester, for her craving for independence to reach new heights, for her readiness to prove herself stronger than anyone to actually be a hazard for other people who stand in her way?

Thus... a lot of the work I've done with this character has been deconstructing these flaws, building her into someone who understands herself better. It's in learning from the examples Sokka and Azula set for her that she starts to realize what kind of person, what kind of LEADER she wants to be. One of my favorite scenes to write about Toph is when she's setting her city free from Fire Nation control, extending her earthbending reach all across Gaoling, putting a stop to the FN army while focusing on creation rather than destruction. On building up her people, on leading her forces with the power of her seismic sense, on capturing the enemy leader, all of it without razing her home city to the ground. Early Gladiator Toph? She wouldn't have cared one bit to join the war to begin with, and if someone had told her that her city, the place she associated with rules, limitations and restraints would be razed to the ground? She might have even encouraged it. Yes, a part of her would have felt guilt over her parents... but she would have been so emotionally stunted that she would have forced herself to ignore any part of her that still cared about them.

And worth noting? One of the biggest personal issues Toph faced was actually nearly killing Azula and Sokka because of her absolute determination to win against them during an event. They were already friends, but they were also each other's biggest rivals in the League... neither side holds back when it comes to this particular competition, and Azula and Sokka had actually beaten Toph and Iroh on their previous encounter! Which meant Toph's desperation for victory was driving her a bit crazy. But once Toph takes it too far at one point, she freaks out. It triggers guilt that actually jumpstarts a much deeper and more complicated arc than anything she'd been through before. Her determination to win at all costs, her pride over her lifelong winning streak within the League... she's suddenly facing the possibility that all this shit she used to cling to, so damn hard, means NOTHING when she could lose two of the people she cares most about if she continues to privilege all that stuff over their wellbeing and safety.

And this doesn't mean that she didn't like fighting as a Gladiator anymore... it means she really came to terms with the fact that other things mattered more. Later on? She realized there are BIGGER fights out there, too, than what's going on in the League: she was the last line of defense against a brutal attack by a rogue waterbender who killed a lot of people and could have killed many more... and after the fact, she spends quite some time worrying about what could have happened if she had failed to protect everyone, if her strength had faltered when she needed it most.

Yes, touting my own horn a lot... but everything I've typed about my own story is exactly why it can even piss me off, at times, to see Toph's potential as a character squandered to the extent it is in canon. I've done so much more with her than they ever did, and granted it's a huge story, but Toph ISN'T the main focus on it and I still managed to give her more to work with than canon ever did. It makes no sense, does it?

I don't think she was given the respect she deserved, and partly, I feel this happened with a lot of female characters who straight-up don't have arcs at all. There's this latent fear that in questioning a character, showing they're flawed, they could become unlikeable... ironic how this is seldom a concern over male characters, but it is with female ones. And mind you: it DOES happen to male characters, because Aang himself is the most egregious example of a male character showcasing flaws and people spiraling over them, turning them into something they never were, all be it to pretend SOMEONE ELSE (*cough* Zuko *cough*) is that much better than him. But they WEREN'T scared of writing Aang into complicated situations that showcased his flaws and resulted in his growth, though. They are with Katara, Toph, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee... :') wonder why, huh?

Ultimately, Toph is a much better character, boiled down to basics, than many characters I tend to talk about and criticize openly. The issue with Toph, for me, isn't really that she fails as a character, or conveys wrong messages, or that the narrative is biased in her favor (though sometimes it is...).

The problem with Toph is she has no chances to truly grow into her own. That her biggest growth comes from a singular conversation with Iroh in episode 2x08 is incredibly unfair to a character who can provide SO MUCH if you simply give her a chance and let her be... human. Flawed. Complex. There's so much more that can be done with her, and if given a chance? She really could have been the best character of the entire show. Too bad they didn't have the guts to let that happen.

[angelpuns]

Hi there, I love your stuff, I hope you don't mind but I wanted to do an ask the artist

Where are you from?

What's your favorite color?

How long have you been creating art for?

What drives you to make art?

What is your favorite piece of artwork of yours?

What is your favorite fan artwork that was done for you?

What character of yours is your favorite?

If you could go to any fictional world which one would it be?

Do you consider what will please your audience or do you just do your own thing?

What made you want to start your AU?

oh thank you :3 Sure I don't mind a few questions

Kentucky. Not gonna doxx myself entirely but it sometimes makes for funny conversations

Pink! And some combo of other warm colors

uhhhh like 15 years or somethin. I started out drawing American Girl ocs so whenever that started I guess

Being able to show it to other people. i really don't make a ton of art just for myself, the whole point for me is to be able to share a piece of myself with other people :3

I have this one painting above my desk that I still like for some reason :3 I won't show it here cause it's v v v gore heavy, but maybe in the future I'll post it

I don't have a favorite! I'm honestly always so happy to get them when I do get them :3

For normal ocs I'd say Melvin, but for turtle characters I'd say L330-N. Even though I haven't focused on him a ton lately he's still my special boy

ATLA or Fullmetal Alchemist. The worldbuilding in both is just phenomenal. I want to go to there.

Oh this is a hard one. Since almost everything I make is FOR other people, thinking about what my audience would like is usually the most important. There are v few things that I won't budge on, if someone came to me and told me they hated an update I'd probably go back and rewrite it tbh :/ Everyone's opinion matters to me a LOT. The only thing I do that I won't change is make the spinoff comics canon, despite everyone wanting it.

I first saw @/time_woods' turtle tot au and decided to draw a bunch of turtle tots art. And then I read CAS by @/somerandomdudelmao and then when I finished my own fanfic I read The Same Little Faces by awkwardusagi (ao3) and ended up having an idea for Kid Leo. I had Rural Au before that, but that one is purely self-indulgent haha!

I hope these answers make any sense, I sort of am just rambling :3

[linkspooky]

Hey. Long time follower here. Your metas, your discussions of "bad victims", your nuanced view of heroes and victims, your favoritism towards "losers"...not only did you heavily influence my own writing and my own favorites in different medias (I'm entirely blaming you for me being a Makima stan) but you helped through an extremely dark time in my life. I don't think that you just made me a better writer, you also sort of saved my life. I'll always be grateful for that.

There's something I want to ask. You answered to another ask that you don't regret reading MHA because focusing on what doesn't work about it made your writing stronger. Do you feel the same about Homestuck? Or about the more disappointing parts of Tokyo Ghoul (and, while we're being candid here, Avatar?).

Thank you for your compliments they're very encouraging to read.

At this point this blog is becoming the bad victim lovers support group where we all hug each other and cry over how MHA is treating all of its bad victims.

HOMESTUCK: Honestly, my main problem with Homestuck is that ACT 6 was so long and uneventful full of characters not doing anything that by the end of it the only character I was invested in was Vriska. ACT 6 also did go out of it's way to kill my enthusiasm for everything I liked in ACT 5, especially John Vriska. I've never seen a comic throw out all of its previous development that the audience was invested in and like everything that was foreshadowed - oh wait My Hero Academia. Unfortunately Vriska is an all-time-fave so I still write Homestuck Fanfic about her to this day. I used to like think the finale of Homestuck was one big "meh" but after years to reflect upon it, I do like Vriska's arc ending on a final note of Terezi searching for her in the void, possibly forever, and the ambiguity of whether they'll reunite.

TOKYO GHOUL: I remember being mad about Kaneki getting a happy ending that he didn't earn. Kaneki was a character that really frustrated me for a long time, but I came to realize that if you like remove Kaneki from his group of codependent enablers he's actually a really interesting character when he's alone. So he's a character I love to explore in fic, even if I disliked what they did with him in canon. Also, Tokyo Ghoul killed off its biggest victims Furuta and Rize in a really cruel way, but it didn't kill off every single victim so it just disappoints me instead of making me sick to my stomach like MHA does.

ATLA: I actually think the Avatar the Last Airbender ending is fine. Which like, isn't saying much because I think the Season 1 finale and Season 2 finales are some of the best things ever put to television. The worst sin that the ending does is number one lack of foreshadowing in earlier in the season and number two rushed plot points. Aang not wanting to kill the Fire Lord makes sense. I think the reason a lot of people criticize this and call it an ass pull is that it's not even BROUGHT UP until the finale. Vash the Stampede is pacifist and one of my favorite characters, but it's established from episode 1 that Vash is constantly up against people who want to kill him and he either has to run away or find a way to fight back nonlethally. Azula's insanity and mental instability could have been a thing, but it's not foreshadowed at all so all it ends up doing is conveniently nerf Azula for Zuko, and also being ableist. The worst problem is while there are epic fights it doesn't feel like an ending, because everyone's character arcs are 3/4ths of the way through. ESPECIALLY ZUKO's. Like people say Zuko is acting out of character in the comics, but I think Zuko is the only person in character in the comics because that's how Zuko without a proper end to his character arc would act. It really feels like they had plans for a fourth season that they didn't get, and their solution was to cram an entire season worth of development in everything post the eclipse on season 3. The fact that Azula is left as such a hanging thread is like proof of that, and the fact that Azula's last shot in the series is just her crying and screaming with like no follow up afterwards is something I've been bitter about for fourteen years.

I could write an entire post about how Zuko's redemption arc is unfinished though. It's like the same problem as Catra. I like both characters and I'm glad they got redeemed but they crammed in the entire redemption arc into 1/2 of the last season and that simply wasn't enough time.

[biconickyoshi]

Hello! I wanted to ask, in The Avatar and the Fire Prince AU, how does reincarnation (The Avatar Cycle) works? In Canon, the Avatar is a human soul (Wan) who after death reincarnates on Earth in a new body to live a new life with the Spirit of Peace (Raava) bounded to it. But how about in your AU? I'm asking because I want to know whether or not we're going to have a scene with Aang having an existential crisis over the fact that in his previous life he was Zuko's great-grandfather.

Hello anon! :) Yes, I do my best to ensure that my AU is as canon compliant as possible when it comes to lore (including all known lore from Legend of Korra, the comics, the TTRPG, and the Chronicles of the Avatar novels), so the Avatar Cycle does indeed work the exact same.

I honestly haven't given a ton of thought to Aang and Zuko's reaction of who Roku was (though it will definitely still be revealed at some point just like in the show). While I think they would both maybe find it a little weird of a coincidence at first, I don't think it would cause either of them to freak out or anything lol.

We've definitely seen weird coincidences/connections like this before with other Avatars - for example, Kuruk and Hei-Ran were past lovers (before he met Ummi), and then he was reincarnated as Kyoshi, who fell in love with Hei-Ran's daughter Rangi. Then we have Korra, who was taught waterbending by someone who is basically a grandmother figure to her (Katara), and who was also technically "her" wife in her past life. She was also taught airbending by someone who is a father/uncle figure to her (Tenzin), who was also technically "her" son in her past life.

In general, there seems to be an understanding amongst everyone in the world of AtLA that each Avatar is very much their own distinct person, each with different lives, memories, and personalities. Sometimes more spiritual people - like Toph for example - can see that the Avatar has the same spirit/soul, but again, even Toph knows Korra is her own person and not just Aang with none of his memories lol.

Of course, if Aang had a problem like Yangchen did in which he was constantly having flashbacks to memories from his previous lives, then I'd say that yeah lol, he'd be much more likely to have an existential crisis. But as far as we know, Aang does not have any "memories" of living as Roku or any other previous Avatar - he only views previous Avatars' life events from an outside perspective. And even if he did have the ability to "remember" living as Roku, at least he wouldn't be able to "remember" actively being a grandfather to Zuko, since Zuko and even Ursa were born decades after Roku's death. That would definitely be awkward if that wasn't the case lol.

All of this has actually got me thinking about the theory where an Avatar could possibly reincarnate as their own child/grandchild/relative, especially with mixed-ethnicity/nation families becoming more common in the time of Korra. Like, say an Earth Avatar dies right as their child with someone of Fire Nation descent (or their grandchild, or sibling, or cousin, etc.) is born. As long as they have the right DNA, a relative of the Avatar could theoretically be the next Avatar in this scenario. The closest thing I could compare this to is like a Steven Universe situation (where he kind of both is and isn't his own mom - it's hard to explain if you haven't seen that show lmao).

Anywayyyy sorry for the long ass response anon lol. I just love talking about AtLA lore! :)

[dreamchasernina]

What was the moment u started liking kataang and why

Thank you for the question!

I’ve shipped them ever since I can remember honestly, ever since I was 16 and decided to watch the show from beginning to end. There was a phase when I was like 12 that I kinda shipped Zutara but that was before the show even ended and I think it was mostly based on the first season. You could say I started shipping Kataang when I saw their last kiss at the end of the series, I found it so sweet and such an amazing closure to the show. The show starts with Katara and Aang and it ends with Katara and Aang, I always found it beautiful and that moment always brings tears to my eyes. So that was when I was 16.

So fast forward to me 28, I went through a really hard time in my life and I did what I always do to make myself feel better, I watched ATLA again. So when I finished it I was thinking - hey let’s see some cute Kataang fan art on tumblr. So I went into the Kataang tag and I was surprised to see so much hate for 2 of my favorite characters of the show. Rants after rants about how Kataang is toxic and forced and I was shocked…did we watch the same show?

Well you know what I did after that? I decided to rewatch the show yet again and this time to really focus on Kataang to see maybe it wasn’t as natural as thought it was. And you know what I found? That I shipped them even harder than I ever did before!

This time I kinda noticed the little things I didn’t before. Like the way Katara talked to Aang in the avatar state episode, how she practically told him she loved him. And then how she calmed him down in the desert episode (I’m also a sucker for the trope “the man loses his shit and she’s the only one who can calm him down”).

Then I guess on this rewatch what solidified it for me was her reaction to Aang getting shot. I watched that show so many times I lost count, but somehow this time watching it as 28 year old I felt Katara’s heartbreak so deeply, like the expression on her face said it all, how deeply she feels for Aang. And then in the Awekening, like my second favorite Kataang episode of all times, is when I was all like….that girl is so obviously in love with that boy, what is everyone else on? I guess they see what they want to see?

Like, it’s so obvious they’re each other’s person! They’re the ultimate friends to lovers and they just warm my heart so much. And so I finished the show and found myself starved for more Kataang content so I read the comics again, and I was being FED!

So that’s how I went from loving them as a couple to completely obsessed and I will defend them until the day I die!!

Mother/son relationship my ass, watch the damn show again and with your eyes open this time please! And Katara wouldn’t appreciate you adultifying her, she’s fucking 14! Sorry I just saw another anti kataang post and I’m fuming.

[jetsteelyourheart]

My top 5 Crackships

Inspired by my top 5 8 characters thing going around, I want you all to vote on your favorite of my Top 5 Questionable Rare pairs

I will be providing excuses reasoning excuses below the poll, so if you feel like roasting me properly seeing my justifications, do that - or don't!

And remember, they're fictional characters, so it costs nothing to be normal about this and have fun

*Not all of these are controversial, but those that are? watch out!

Excuses:

Zuki:

If you follow me then you know I'm an OG Zutara fan, but on the rare occasions I'm feeling Cannon Compliant, Zuki is my go too ship. This has all to do with the comics, where basically Zuko's only confidant is Suki and you get wild panels of them looking at each other like this:

I was devistated when Korra came out and it seemed like Sokka and Suki didn't last, but if the above is why, then I'll take it.

Stobin:

I am going to get so much flack for this one I think. BUT. Consider: The cannon ships in the show are generally not well written. I like Hopper/Joyce, I like Max/Lucas, but Nancy/Jonathan and especially Mike/Eleven do literally nothing for me, they are so bland. I do see the irony that one of the things that makes Stobin well written is because its one sided on Steve's part because Robin is gay. But their interactions are literally the reason to watch the show if you ask me. Pushing past these excuses though, I just kinda dig the ship. In my head its an open poly situation for certain, but sexuality is so wild and fluid and weird, and Gold Star status is gatekeepy at best anyway, so like, why the fuck not. I had a great aunt who had an open marriage with a gay man, (big beard behavior) and they had kids and did everything together. Its like... Platonic soulmates + if you will. And that's what I want for Stobin. Platonic soulmates + and a big ole polycule surrounding them. Or maybe its just my incoherent bisexual ass talking

(If I could put fan-art with the polycule in it I would but I wouldn't repost someones art like that... so I'm stuck with cannon images)

Zacknei:

No one has played this game. When people think Zack, they either ship Cloud or Aerith, and honestly I ship both those as well (though ClAerTi will always be my top for them). But I love Cissnei. She has big Sydney Sage energy for me, and all of Zack's emotional beats in the second half of the game surround her (...or cloud) not Aerith (just for the record). Also if you join all the fanclubs and work hard you get invited to your own fanclub and I'm pretty sure there's evidence that Cissnei is the president which is hilarious. I just love their interactions and was DEVASTATED at the end. Analytical Girl & PuppyDogHimbo is a beautiful ship dynamic. Also Rick Gomez will always be my Zack Fair VA. I hate the new guy so much (and its not his fault!! Sorry man!)

Aquarella:

So the section is really short. But my god. Cinderella and Aqua have the most chemistry of any character in that game series bar none. I'm including Riku and Sora in this. I'm including Roxas and Axel. Ok, not really this is not the hill I want to die on. BUT. At least in Birth By Sleep, this is the emotional high-point. Aqua taking her hand like a gentleman at a ball? The way Aqua saves Cinderella from getting run over by her demonic carriage??? The way she lovingly protects Cindy's body with hers? Did you see Prince whats his face doing any of that ? NO. And then. If Aqua were a guy everyone would've seen it when this game came out (but I guess gay people weren't invented until 2015 or whatever.

look how devastated Aqua is when Cinderella goes to Charming at the end. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEM.

Sorayla:

I really do like Raylum, but this is a poll on my hot take rare-pairs, not cannon compliance. Let me start off by saying, no, I haven't seen this season yet, it only came out twelve hours ago whats wrong with you? This pair grew on me starting in Season 4 after the time skip. I think it goes along side my preoccupation with tough smart girls and their dumbass golden retriever himbos. They have a nice trajectory, and with Callum going a lil dark and edgy on us recently, I like their banter a lot. Especially in Season 4 I was surprised by them and I crave more adventures with the two of them alone. I don't think it will ever happen, but I like it none the less. They bring a certain... Sokka & Suki vibe to the party that I'm here for.

Anyway, I tag @ebbilayart @retiredficwriter & anyone who decides to do it!

And if no one feels like setting themselves up as a target, that's good too!

[the-badger-mole]

While a part of mine wants nothing to do with the upcoming atla movies, another part of me wants to see them butcher Zuko, and flop so bad and see if, finally, that manages to destroy the bryke pedestal (*insert that one pic of please god let that happen because it would be so fucking funny*)

Honestly, I don't think Bryke are doing as well as people think. What have they really done that's gotten any attention? I know they're still doing the comics thing, but I barely hear about them anymore. Like I don't even hear people complaining about them anymore. I'm not claiming the gift of clairvoyance or anything, but I think this movie will be their last real attempt before they finally let this franchise die and leave it to the fandom. I am further predicting this will be another excuse to live vicariously through Aang, and the story will suffer for it. Aang will neither learn nor grow from his experiences, and his dumbest decisions will be lauded by the other characters as the height of wisdom. This movie is a transparent attempt to draw attention from the live action show they were dropped from quit. Who knows, maybe this movie flopping will be a good thing for them, and they will finally come up with another idea after 20 years of beating their first, and only idea to a pulp and then griding it into sausage meat.

[kepler-station]

— sumi rants... ၇⃪⃖ꪆ୧ ; legend of korra's toph.

look, i love korra and all but like, the main reason why i've been leaving off watching legend of korra is because of how dirty they did toph, and i'm not talking about her design as an old lady.

she's written to be a neglectful parent out of a desire to give her children the life she never had and give them the one thing she would've loved to have as a kid ; freedom. and the effect of that was her children trying so hard to get her attention even as adults, lin literally became her mother in a sense that she took over the job her mother retired from and suyin became a criminal in hopes it would get toph's attention, and it did, but she got sent away.

but in the avatar lost and found comics, we meet luumi, a child who is stuck under rubble and traumatized for a reason. katara, sokka and aang all try to get the child to open up, but she only opens up to toph. throughout the comic, toph is portrayed to be actually really good with kids, she even gets complimented for it by katara. if they kept her personality accurate and in-line with atla's toph and the toph in the comics prior to the legend of korra timeskip, she would've been there. she would've been an amazing parent, we saw her acting the part with luumi, she was able to get the traumatized and reserved child to open up, she would've been an amazing mother. but she did have children out of wedlock, maybe it was postpartum depression? but i doubt it, that postpartum depression would've lasted a long time for it to affect lin for this long, well into her and suyin's 40s-50s. it would've lasted for a long time for it to sully the beifong name and stir up this much drama.

more over, they made her a police. the chief police, in fact. honestly, i'm so lost. where did the child who loved breaking rules from? "yeah, let's break some rules!", she was a rebel and a rulebreaker ; she literally ran away from home, scammed people, and was always portrayed to be against being enclosed and stuck as a person she wasn't. and the writers decided to turn her into a cop. i know she canonically enjoys bossing people around, but i just don't see it. she's a hypocrite, canonically. once the rulebreaker, now the rule enforcer, toph beifong.

no hate to the writers in charge of legend of korra, but i just don't see the way they wrote toph is supposed to line up with how toph was portrayed in atla.

she would've been the opposite. i wish they did toph justice and made her align with the toph we saw in atla and in the comics.