#suki: imagine not being powerful

[mythvoiced]

OPEN STARTER | Patrick Finch

"I condone lying. I encourage it, even. I recommend it. I could hardly live without it."

[spirantization]

I'm surprised at the hate that Sokka's character arc from NATLA is receiving. To me, Sokka's development and characterization was one of the strongest adaptations the series made.

In the original ATLA, Sokka's character arc revolves around him unlearning his own misogyny. He makes pointedly sexist comments throughout the early episodes like "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!", "There's no way a bunch of girls took us down!", etc.

Sokka's comments have a strong narrative purpose: they give a platform for women in the show (Katara & Suki mostly) to refute his attitude. Katara emphasizes traditional "women's work" (cleaning, cooking, sewing, etc), which forces Sokka to confront its inherent value. Suki is able to prove to him that women can fight too and he learns to respect female warriors. It's a great character arc and it's well-executed.

It's also characterization that is in direct response to the culture and feminism of the 90s and early 00s. The representation of women in the media at that time was...oof. It was not great. One-dimensional love interests whose only purpose is being saved by the male protagonist, mostly. Female protagonists were not as common, and certainly not ones who were depicted as being able to fight, and certainly not in cartoons. Female protagonists in animation were almost exclusively princesses.

ATLA was progressive in this regard. Katara was a complex female character in a time when there were not a lot of them, in media in general but especially in animation and kid's shows. (I grew up in the 90s; there were no characters like Katara in animation on screen for me.) ATLA incorporated the zeitgeist directly into the story, which is why we have Sokka learning to overcome his sexism in his interactions with Strong Female Characters.

If you go back and watch the original cartoon now, Sokka's sexism feels a bit dated. It's a very 90s, Girl Power, "girls can fight too" style of social commentary. It doesn't match with the media landscape of today. We've got 20 years of media with female superheroes behind us. If your message is "girls can fight too!" the response for the most part is going to be "yes, we know that. And?"

So imagine you're adapting the original ATLA for a live-action remake. You want to keep Sokka's character arc intact, but you want to update it for the 2020s. So what do you do? You look at the conversations that are happening today.

The 90s were about "girls can do everything boys can do", but the 20s are over that. The conversation is more about gender: gender expression, gender roles, gender dynamics. What does is mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a man?

Sokka's character arc in NATLA is focused on this question: What does it mean to be a man? At the beginning of the series, it's his identity as a warrior that defines him. He needs to be the warrior, the protector, the leader. He's constantly trying to reaffirm this part of his identity, and it's completely tied up in his perception of his value as a man. Instead of his interactions with Suki being about "how could girls possibly be warriors", it shifts to Sokka saying "I'm ALSO a warrior" and trying to justify that to Suki (and mostly himself).

His arc over the series is about him accepting other aspects of himself and relearning how to define his masculinity. He can still have value as man without being the greatest warrior. He can still have value as a man by using his skills as an engineer. He can still have value as a man by offering compassion and kindness to others, like the little girl with the doll & Yue in her final moments. Instead of rigidly defining himself by a specific set of gender roles & expectations, he learns how to define himself through his own strengths and qualities.

I know there are a lot of people who are upset at this change to Sokka's characterization, and the most common thing I see is that it results in changes to Katara's character and her anger in response to Sokka's comments. I think there are valid criticisms to be made about how the show handled the adaptation of Katara's character, but I won't go there with this. In terms of Sokka and his characterization, it was well-done and thematically consistent with the original. It's not an exact port, and it never needed to be. It's still a feminist arc that centres on unlearning harmful misogynistic worldviews, but the focus has shifted from external (roles of women) to internal (his role as a man). And his journey is one that people would benefit from seeing represented.

[atla-confessions]

I've seen ppl sharing their sexuality headcanons so I thought I'd share mine!!! These accidentally ended up getting progressively longer with each character (whoops!):

Aang - bi (every Avatar with a confirmed sexuality has been bi so far, so...) before Katara, he had a crush on Kuzon!

Katara - straight (mby bi-curious but never explored it. If she was sapphic I think she'd only be interested in masculine/butch girls)

Toph - pan and tragically bitchless sigma female (I'd like to imagine she had a crush on nearly every Gaang member at some point, all unrequiented. Later in life she'd date a lot but nothing longterm, she doesn't wanna be tied down)

Sokka - flaming heterosexual (ik bi Sokka is a popular fandom headcanon but idk he gives off "the slightly flamboyant guy everyone assumes is closeted but is actually just straight")

Suki - bi (the first time she found a girl pretty was when she was looking at that Kyoshi statue in her village, it awakened something). Suki and Sokka have huge "bi girl and her slightly fruity straight boyfriend" energy imo

Zuko - he gives off huge "aroace guy who doesn't know what that is so he assumes it's normal to no have any desire to seek out a romantic relationship on his own, but still dates bc it's nice that someone wants him (he's deeply insecure & extremely touch starved) so he goes his entire life thinking he's straight" (I also like gay Zuko for the extra angst though, even if it's not rly how I see him)

Azula - extremely repressed lesbian with painful internalized homophobia. Master of ignoring & internally denying the fact she's interested in women. Was in love with Mai since they were kids and was always extremely bothered by Mai's interest in Zuko. Even post redemption (Azula gets redeemed in my brain, though it's a year long process), she's still secretly hoping Mai and Zuko will somehow break up. (She's manifesting their divorce so hard)

Ty Lee - lesbian but closeted and keeps her relationships private from everyone, even friends (having grown up in a homophobic environment she always needed to be careful). Probably delt with comphet at some point, but during the show's plot she's already aware she's a lesbian, though fakes interest in men to conceal this fact (and bc she thinks it's funny to mess with them snd have them do her favors). Had a crush on Azula when they were little, but it never went anywhere and disappeared as soon as she realized the power Azula has over her and how scary she can be.

Mai - bi or straight. Bi Mai is great bc I'd like to imagine Azula being extremely confused "what do you mean you are bi and still somehow more interested in Zuko then me???" Though straight Mai is also real because a worryingly large amount of goth women end up dating men that they are way too good for.

Ty for reading :D

X

[prodkatsu]

he comforts you during a panic attack ⨾ bakugou katsuki

"hello, love!"

"i don't think i can do this."

"what—" the painful sobbing from the other side interrupted katsuki from finishing his sentence.

"it's too much. the world is spinning around me and i think i'll throw up if this goes on. im not enough prepared for this. they'll know im not the best and im nothing but useless bitch who can't do much other than being nervous. i don't think i can do—" your sobs of panic were interrupted.

"breath, love, breath for me." the soft voice of your boyfriend spoke from the other side — this is the softest you've ever heard him. you take a gulping breath, choking on the process. "i need you to calm down and tell me what happened, 'kay?"

you nod. "words, love, i need words. tell me what happened."

and you started to tell him all your worries and he listened to those, patiently among all the chokes and sobs you let out. "—and i don't think im qualified enough to give this exam. all the people around me are so talented and experienced, and im nothing but a blabbering mess. i don't think i come even close to them." your sobs swallow few words but katsuki caught up to them "it's— i— ugh! i feel so insignificant among all this amazing people. it's tough imagining that i'll even do well, let alone score good."

you started to sob into the phone, praying that no one will use the restroom at this moment. you don't think you'll be able to take the humiliation along with this anxiety.

the line stayed quiet for some time, making you blabber more nonsense than you mean. "im so sorry. i did not mean to disturb you during your duty. i know how busy you are. oh god! i can't even be a good girlfriend—"

"hey! enough. stop saying shit about my girlfriend. i know my girlfriend better than anyone and i love her despite what she thinks of herself, so do not say anything bad about her." he said sternly, his words making you smile through the tears slightly.

clearing his throat, katsuki said in a soft voice, "i was giving you time, love, to organize your thoughts. im sorry it gave you more things to worry." you shake your head on the other side, realising he can't see. "you know what i think, i think you'll do amazing. ive seen you work hard and i know how much effort you put in your work."

"your classmates might be good, but you're better, you can't underestimate your power, you understand?" you nod. "i need words, love." you reply in a shaky voice, "yes."

"good. you need to know it's normal for you to feel nervous but please believe in yourself. i know you have work hard and i know how good you are. you need to believe in yourself and see what an amazing person you are, yes?" you sobbed and reply, "yes."

"good. now go out there and break legs. i mean literally." you laughed which pulled a smile on katsuki's face. "you good now, baby?"

"yes, im better." you wiped your eyes and nod your head.

"that's my girl. you're better you need to know." you hummed and stood up to dust your dress. walking out of the toilet stall, you went to wash your hands.

"'suki, do you ever feel nervous?" there was a pause before his voice came through.

"always, love, always when you're not with me. i always feel nervous that a time can come when im far from you and you get hurt and im not fast enough to save you. this always haunts me in the night." you can hear the vulnerability in his voice. your katsuki was many things but vulnerable wasn't any of them. he only let this side show with you, that's what you admire the most. he was a force to reckon with but soft breeze when he was with you.

"you're the best, 'suki, i love you." katsuki could feel his ears turning red. you still have that effect on him even after being in a relationship for four years, and on the way to get married. "i love you too, baby. now go and do your best."

you whispered a farewell to him and left the restroom with a new earned determination.

you have prepared your best so you don't need to worry about anything else.

© prodkatsu 𔓘 — do not plagiarise, translate or repost my work on any other sites. the characters that i write about are not mine (sadly), they belong to their respective creators.

[yikes-kachowski]

"Not to mention, I don't think the equalist movement is completely without merit. I actually have a lot of thoughts on equalists and nonbenders in general in meta and in universe."

I 100% agree, would you mind elaborating on this?

I swear had my thoughts on this written down some where but it looks like I do not. So @shalheretical is usually the one who handles these types of questions for me, but I'm doing this one. Sorry if it's not as good as it could be.

I want to start with the meta because I like to use the meta to inform the way nonbenders are seen in their society. In the meta, nonbenders have three ways they can be: evil, useless, or good at everything warriors. All nonbenders who are good and useful have to be smart and perfect at fighting and usually can't fight benders alone. Other nonbenders in any position of power are either evil and conniving or stupid and naive.

Nonbenders are also less spiritual than benders. They don't consider the environment. That's constant. In the show, in the comics, a nonbender looking for ways to become equal to benders or provide for their community is usually careless toward the spirits. They are almost insulting nature by thinking they can have power.

Bumi's plotline of being disconnected from his cultures because he can't bend was "solved" by him getting bending. After he gets his bending he tells Tenzin, "I never felt like an air nomad." Tenzin tells him, "Well you are now." Why only now? Why not you've been a part of your culture all along? Why couldn't the writers find a different way aside from giving him bending?

Fanon has this issue too. The issue i lovingly call "the bumi problem." When trying to solve the way aang and katara made bumi feel excluded they say "he trained with sokka and suki, and became a great warrior." That's not the issue though. He doesn't need to be sent off to other people, he needs quality time with his own parents in his own culture. His siblings get a sacred practice that they spend hours paracticing with their parents each week. Obviously, bumi wants that too. But no one says "he learns how to cook air nomad food with aang" because that makes his skills less important. It's not about the fighting ability, it's about the culture and love. Now, in universe stuff. Bending is tied with power, inherently. The avatar, most powerful person, can bend four elements. That's how they show they are favored by the spirits and they are in charge. The fire nation sought to wipe out everyone who wasn't a firebender. They used their own nonbenders as canon fodder. (This colonial fire bending supremacy could have taken some hold in the places they harmed)

In TLOK they show nonbenders literally havinng to watch what they say around benders because it's so easy for them to be bullied into silence. The bender that harmed them for speaking their mind being Korra, by the way. Not to mention later when we hear them pleading "youre our avatar too."

The racketeering from the triads also unfairly targets nonbenders as does all violence in the atla universe. They are the most helpless in any given situation. Hiroshi Sato brought his daughter up training in self-defense. That shouldn't be a requirement for nonbenders to feel safe.

The police in their universe, have a specialized team of metal benders to violently restrain people with whips.

In their universe, it just takes one bad night from a bender for your whole home and livelihood to be destroyed. This goes back to the racketeering, but also just one drunk earthbender getting angry. And the law does not seem to protect them.

Beyond that, imagine being raised your WHOLE LIFE knowing that the spirits didn't bless you, but they did bless the fire nation soldiers that murdered your grandparents. And they did bless the triad member who steals half your paycheck.

The nonbenders also seem to be shoved into on neighborhood according to TLOK season one which is just uncomfortable. Is there nonbender red-lining? Are they all so low income they can only afford to live there?

Lastly, in TLOK, after the equalist movement is brought down (firstly, i find it sort of disappointing in a meta way that nonbenders could only be granted power from a bender) no one even entertains the idea of looking at ways to make things more equal. No one even considers it. Anyway, those are just some thoughts. This isn't 100% solid, but it's angles to consider. I find it interesting anyway. If you have a different perspective feel free to share :)

[botherkupo]

i think people let nostalgia blind them a little when it comes to atla. don’t get me wrong, it’s great cartoon and i’ve rewatched it countless times but i also recognise it’s fine for the live action to make changes because that’s what happens when you adapt something. the live action is not perfect, but i had fun watching it and it feels like some people are just watching to nitpick and hate

Big agree. There are weak spots in the cartoon and also weak spots in the live action show. Are both enjoyable shows, though? Yes.

And that’s what I feel people can’t grasp. They’re like oooh they cut this, or why did they add that, or this character isn’t the same blah blah — and like yeah it’s not the same. I had zero interest in watching a replica with real people. I’ll just watch the cartoon and enjoy it

Like shows with real people have a lot of limitations, and not just because of budgets. It shouldn’t be news to people that there would be changes and a lot of stuff will get condensed, cut, or adapted in a different way. That was always going to happen.

I’ve seen people complain about Bumi and I’m like you know what I really loved the live action show Bumi. It’s a different take on it — him feeling bitter, showing obvious trauma from the pressure of ruling during a war that’s lasted this long, and being more unhinged rather than all super goofy guy like hey Aang just wait till you realise who I am. It’s different, more serious, and that’s okay. You can still enjoy cartoon Bumi. He ain’t going anywhere

Ppl complain about Katara, and like yeah I get it. She’s not as “fierce” in some aspects. But she suits this version of atla. She suits feeling more like a younger sister instead of a pseudo mum. She suits getting angry when Sokka treats her like a little girl rather than angry he doesn’t wash his own socks. She suits being paralyzed during fights at first because she has major ptsd and has been hiding her bending gif so long. It is realistic and fits the show, just as Cartoon Katara fit the cartoon and is still there. You can enjoy her. Cartoon Katara is not going anywhere

Like please will ppl stop looking for the things to complain about and instead see what we’re being given — an adaptation that is intense, funny, emotional and yes different.

We get Jet and the freedom fighters bombing places in omashu than wanting to flood a fire nation village. That’s not a bad thing. It cut out a whole lot of unnecessary stuff and also gave us an emotional scene with Jet and Katara. Did the part where she freezes him and says goodbye feel less dramatic? Yeah, honestly I would have been down to see her angrier. But I also think part of that is the limitations with special effects and waterbending (which always looks the weakest). the actress playing Katara is also dojng her interpretation of the character. (And can I just Jet was perfectly cast and I couldn’t imagine a better Jet)

So we didn’t get Sokka being with Jet? Who cares. Sokka’s story arc is focusing on different things. I loved how his interactions with Suki went. I love even more the scene where he’s listening in on Hakoda and Bato’s conversation and that line “some people aren’t made to be responsible for others lives” or whatever it was. It was so powerful.

And the cave of two lovers being resolved through family love? YES. I love that so much. Like thank you for giving non-romantic love a moment to shine. Katara and Sokka’s argument in that cave had so much weight and emotional intensity. It’s different from the arguments we get in the cartoon and that’s okay. Their dynamic is slightly different and that’s okay. THE CARTOON IS STILL THERE. YOU CAN ENJOY THE CARTOON OKAY

And honestly I could scream for days about what they’ve been doing with Zuko and Aang. I love them both so much and I love the extra stuff we’ve been getting with them. The Blue spirit stuff and that scene after was sooooooooo good. The little smile, the way they start to connect, and then Aang says t he wrong thing (bringing up Ozai) and Zuko lashes out and it’s just perfect ahhhhh

Also Zuko actually fighting back in the Agni Kai but hesitating to hurt his father was such a good choice. I love the cartoon for having him cry and beg to the end, but I also love the live actuon show for giving us something different. I WANT TO SEE THESE KIND OF CHANGES

And maybe I’m in the minority for that and I really don’t care if ppl think my opinion is rubbish. I love the cartoon. I love tye live action show

I wish ppl would understand that it’s okay they are different

[paperbag34]

It's like, 11pm for me rn. Long post ahead lmao.

Y'know, I was just thinking about that one post I saw a while ago about Katara faking being the Avatar instead of ever finding Aang, and, well. How much of ATLA's stuff wouldn't happen or happen differently if Aang wasn't there?

Also, travel time lol. The Gaang gets the advantage of Appa being able to Literally Fly, but without Aang, no Appa, and thus no flight. You can just handwave it by saying Katara can travel faster by water using waterbending I guess. A surprising amount of ATLA happens a reasonable distance near bodies of water, but some parts happen unchangably inland. Also, Si Wong Desert lmao. Aint no way she's waterbending herself across the desert.

Also, imagine how much power Katara needs to fake being Avatar. Aang is OP, frankly. He's practically a one-man army. To be able to fight on the Avatar's level, with waterbending as well as her "fakebending", she has to be an abnormally powerful waterbender. Her fighting style would probably evolve to be a form of immense field control, spreading water all throughout the land so she can use it at any time to mimic different bending styles.

Anyway my thoughts on season 1:

In "The Boy in the Iceberg" and "The Avatar Returns", Zuko has no real reason to be aware of the Avatar's presence. Since Aang never gets unsealed, the giant sky-beam of light never happens, and Zuko never gets alerted to what Katara's doing. The Fire Navy ship doesn't happen either, since Aang doesn't get Katara to go in, so the flare doesn't go off. Zuko can literally leave the South Pole without ever meeting Katara or knowing about her (false) status as Avatar.

If we really wanted to make them meet, they could meet as Katara and Sokka boat themselves out of the South Pole, on the ocean. Zuko ignores them, of course, because what does he get from shooting traders? It's dishonourable. He does see them boating their way out though.

In "The Southern Air Temple", the world has no way of knowing the Avatar is back. Even if they decide to visit, since Katara isn't actually the Avatar, she can't resonate with the Avatar statues, and none of the worldwide temples get the big glowy light message. It would also be funny if Katara pays her respects to the past avatars, explains her plan, turns to leave, and then the past avatars just go "Eh. She'll do." and send out the "Hey, Avatar's back guys!" message.

Zhao also never gets the news about the Avatar being there. Zuko can just dock to resupply, get insulted by Zhao, win the Agni Kai, etc.

"The Warriors of Kyoshi" is probably the first place where it would make sense for Zuko to meet Katara. As a neutral spot, Zuko can reasonably dock there. Maybe Uncle Iroh gets him to take a break from Avatar hunting. While it's highly possible that this is where they can first get into conflict, as Zuko sees Katara demonstrate her "Earthbending" in town, it's also possible that Suki and the Kyoshi warriors get get them to Not Do That, and get Katara not to fight them, leading to a peaceful interaction between Team Katara and Team Zuko.

Omashu would probably be where news of the Avatar could spread to the world for the first time. Katara would obviously want to advertise herself as the Avatar for hope-bringing reasons, so the news spreads throughout Omashu. Fire Nation spies in Omashu can reasonably send word to the capital, which is how while Ozai would learn of the Avatar, Zuko would not, at least for now until he gets wind of the rumors.

"The King of Omashu" and "Imprisoned" can still likely happen, since Bumi obviously wants to get a handle on this new Avatar that replaced his old friend, and it's reasonable that by the time of Imprisoned, news of the Avatar's description wouldn't have reached that far yet.

"Imprisoned", though might go a little differently. The main thing in Imprisoned is Aang and Sokka ferrying themselves over using Appa, then Aang airbending all the coal out of the prison burners for the prisoners to use. Katara... can't do that. Or, well, she can because her pretending to be the Avatar in this AU means she's also ridiculously OP. So either she beats the warden's ass herself, or she uses waterbending to both douse the burners and steal the coal, which is explained away by her recognizing she has to help the prisoners save themselves or something, idk.

"Winter Solstice Part 1" might actually be almost identical to canon. Roku's reason for calling Aang is to warn him about Sozin's Comet. Assuming Roku knows about this upstart Water Tribe girl impersonating his successor, it's highly possible he'd also summon her to give the same warning. The village chief can have maps so they can find Crescent Island, and Zuko still shows up to see the Avatar because he's heard of her by now and realized his mistake.

Part 2, could also be pretty close. Being even more powerful in this AU, she can pass the blockade no problemo. The rest goes literally exactly the same, though in my opinion, Katara would have to experience backlash from hosting Avatar Roku in her body. She's no the actual Avatar, after all. Alternatively, she doesn't do that, and gets out on her own strength. Roku doesn't destroy the temple, and they either beat Zhao's ass or just straight up run away.

"The Waterbending Scroll" is interesting, because Katara being pissed off at Aang is arguably what causes the conflict in the episode. She steals the scroll and stays up late praticing because she's mad that Aang's natural at waterbending, so she gets captured by the pirates. It still makes sense for her to steal the scroll (Liberating waterbender stuff from pirates, wanting to see what actual waterbending forms are like), but I'm not sure how the pirate confrontation goes down, because at this point in the AU, Katara's could probably beat their ass just fine.

"Jet" goes pretty much the same, actually.

"The Great Divide" is a surprisingly problematic episode for this AU. This is a pretty Aang-heavy episode, with Appa being used to ferry the sick Zhang and Gan Jin over to the other side, Aang playing peacemaker in a way that really only he can, and most importantly, Aang being actually 112 is what lets him pull off his bullshit story at the end. I have no clue how to handle this episode, tbh. Let's pretend that this doesn't happen because Katara travels more by water, okay? TGD is kinda dumb anyway.

"The Storm" can also go basically the same. it's fine. Katara's a waterbender in a storm.

"The Blue Spirit" also can go remarkably similar too. It's unfortunately a rather important Zuko moment, so skipping this is out. Canonically, Katara gets sick. So here, she also gets sick, so she can't just power through Pouhuai. Simple solution, though it does feel rather contrived.

"The Fortuneteller" either goes with Katara beating the lava's ass, or the village being destroyed and them moving out of it, proving Aunt Wu wrong. Aang solidified the lava by airbending it, so Katara could do something similar by waterbending it. Maybe she can "fake earthbend" the trench even deeper than it reached in canon so

"Bato of the Water Tribe" goes similar. Maybe Bato can help Sokka and Katara fight off Zuko and June, since Aang isn't involved here. Zuko tracks Katara as usual, gets beaten up, they leave.

In "The Deserter", I think it'd be cool for Katara to challenge Jeong-Jeong to a spar. Why? Simple. She wants to feel firebending in a more controlled environment - The only times she's been firebent at so far she was fighting for her life - so she can mimic it more effectively. I think at this point she'd already have taken her Icebending to the other extreme in Steambending, so this fight would be her trying to either refine it, or come up with a more visible technique to mimic firebending.

Can waterbenders bend alcohol? Katara bent perfume once, so she should be able to bend low proof alcohol. A quick googling shows that our modern perfumes are around 15-20% alcohol, so reasonably Katara can probably bend alcohol made with ATLA level tech, the proof can't be that high, and the water content will be. Quick way to firebend, I guess. Keep a supply of spark rocks around to light alcohol on fire. Maybe Jeong Jeong drinks in this AU and she uses his alcohol to develop alcoholbending I guess.

(Side note, why do earth and firebenders get all the cool LoK bending? Waterbenders get healing and spiritbending, which is cool, but Earth and Fire get bending that feels different, while waterbending always uses the same water.)

"The Northern Air Temple" goes similarly, but for the life of me I don't know how Team Katara would discover the War Balloons. You know what? Maybe they don't! They discover the war balloons when War Minister Qin pops around and they confront him, leading to events as in canon. Maybe the Fire Nation never gets the original War Balloon here, actually, because Katara beats their ass and as such it never goes down, but Teo's father actually gets to show off the War Balloon to Qin, and if the Fire Nation can build a big-ass drill, they can recreate the War Balloons from a detailed description.

Finally, we reach "The Waterbending Master" and both parts of "The Siege Of The North". This is, quite literally, Katara's element. "Avatar" Katara beats Pakku's ass, finds out about the "Grand-Pakku" thing, the invasion goes as usual. Zhao might not get to kill the Moon Spirit here, since, well. Katara kind of relies on the Moon Spirit, so she does everything possible to get his ass before he gets the Moon's ass. Alternatively, this is a great place to have Katara's secret unveiled to any potential companions she's hiding it from, and also Iroh. Zuko isn't there, Yue dies so the secret isn't spilt by her, and whatever remaining fire nation soldiers won't be there when Katara reveals, at around the same point Aang does the Big Fish Thing, that she can't bend. iroh, I think, is willing to keep it a secret, especially since he's seen how powerful Katara is, and that she's actually pulling it off. This would also tip Team Katara off to Iroh possibly being on their side as well.

Finally, I wonder if other companions could join Katara. Assuming Kyoshi Island doesn't get Zuko'd, Suki might be a contender for a companion, wanting to help the Avatar on her journey (and also Sokka, but less so). Sokka comes along, of course. he's Katara's brother, he's not letting her con the entire world without him. I'm drawing a blank for any other potential companions, though. Maybe they cna meet Toph early lol? I really want Katara to show up at Earth Rumble as The Avatar though, so probably not.

Idk. This is my two cents on this idea, maybe one day I'll actually write it, but that day is not today. Maybe I'll get back to this with my thoughts on season 2 as well.

[kyoshi-lesbians]

hi anon 👋 i'm not going to respond directly to that post (there's a lot there) but I will go into why I personally find ty lee & suki interesting!

the fun part of tysuki for me is that they would not get along at first. it would take time for both of them to trust each other and significant growth, especially for ty lee. (also, to note for this analysis, I interpret ty lee as having air nomad heritage and being aware of this in some way. that’s just sort of the base for any post-war imaginings I have for ty lee. an interpretation of their relationship where ty lee is not an air nomad is interesting for how it is a sort of microcosm of the decolonization and reconciliation that must take place after the war, but I won't delve into that.) what makes their dynamic compelling to me is suki’s justified distrust of ty lee and ty lee striving to become worthy of suki’s trust −  because she would respect suki, who leads the warriors with love and compassion and without competition, unlike any group ty lee has been part of before (including the circus, the cruelty of which we see through the eyes of appa). 

first step would be ty lee sincerely apologizing to suki for her role in the war. no matter the circumstances ty lee was operating under, she caused immense harm to the world and suki personally. ty lee may have earned the trust of the other warriors but suki wasn't there for that - that suki doesn't advocate to kick her out of the warriors is a testament to the level of trust between suki and her sister warriors, and probably the structure of decision making in the group as well (consensus or majority rule). 

but as an ongoing practice, ty lee would struggle to let her guard down around the leader of a powerful warrior group, while some honest vulnerability is a part of what suki would need to trust ty lee after the war. their skills and personalities complement each other, but only after they understand the logic the other operates under. 

as intelligent as ty lee is, as much as she can recognize and appreciate that the kyoshi warriors have a unique culture that is nothing like the fire nation, ty lee has been operating under (cultural) threat for her entire life in the fire nation and direct physical threat from azula for several years (childhood, with a break from her time in the circus, to being back under her thumb in more danger than ever.) her way of navigating the world wouldn’t completely change, but I do think it will take time, energy, and a lot of healing for ty lee to develop a ways of relating to people (other than mai) that are more emotionally honest and healthy.

but ty lee could. as a part of the warriors she would start using her people skills for group cohesion instead of solely her default state of personal protection (and, even more important to her, protection of mai). she starts to consciously consider it her social role/ responsibility within the warriors to manage the tense moments that come up in any large group −  even a tight knit, disciplined sisterhood like the kyoshi warriors. once suki recognizes ty lee is actively choosing to do this for the group, only then does she fully emotionally accept ty lee as one of the warriors. suki (to her own surprise) even starts to rely on ty lee's perceptiveness for group dynamics during difficult situations.

however to suki's dismay, ty lee can read her too, including when suki is struggling but not showing it for the sake of the other warriors. initially suki would be deeply uncomfortable with this, offended even when ty lee attempts to support suki personally (how dare she question suki's leadership? suki is fine. she's a teenager leading an elite warrior group while reconstructing her village, their island, other towns in the earth kingdom, providing advice to the fire lord to maintain world peace, she's fine, she even got a full 4 hours of sleep last night. she doesn't need ty lee telling her to take a nap while ty lee takes over leading afternoon training) but suki grows to accept the support, eventually recognizing that she has a responsibility to her girls to take care of herself.

I'm oscillating on whether they would develop a leader/second-in-command type dynamic. it's a role ty lee could slot into comfortably, hopefully now in a healthy way. either way, the work they go through to trust and understand each other would, i think, create something beautiful. 

and maybe, after some time (and a visit from aang) ty lee would open up about her heritage to suki. and suki, who as a kyoshi islander exists on the margins of the earth kingdom and whose home was destroyed by colonial powers, would understand. (this shared personal understanding is maybe the one thing that mai can't provide ty lee. and I think mai would recognize this and be grateful for the people in ty lee's life who can, like suki.)

ty lee wouldn't stay on kyoshi island forever… maybe a year or so before moving on to the most important mission for herself and the most meaningful she could do in the service of kyoshi: rebuilding the air nation with aang and her own family. but when she or suki need some rest or some fun, kyoshi island is just a bison ride away.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Why I think neither ATLA nor LOK are true masterpieces.

First, I think ATLA was too short. It should've had 4 seasons.

Ozai was a boring and wasted villain. He should've been the one behind the Great War in any way while also still being the "final boss" archetype he was used as before. If I'm to truly believe that only the Avatar can win against Ozai and that doing so would instantly end the great war, I need to be shown, not just told.

Aang never truly mastered all the elements. This was even acknowledged in-universe. In each season, Aang spent one or two episodes gaining an element and barely practiced it. The rest of each season mostly consists of the gaang stopping whatever bad thing the FN is up to at the moment, having some expedition dump, and putting the spotlight on Zuko every now and then.

I'm even beginning to doubt that Aang truly mastered airbending and he prematurely got his tattoos as a result of this air scooter, because, as the monks tried separating Aang from Gyatso, they wanted to send Aang to other air temples to complete his training. That's odd because if Aang had mastered airbending in every way, what more could Aang learn? Why not send him to one of the water tribes as the cycle demands?

Most people agree that the lion turtle and the pointy rock showing up out of nowhere were a lazy robbery of Aang doing any real work to find an alternative and the agency of Aang making a choice and dealing with the consequences of it. He never tries to take advantage of energybending and bestow airbending to any of his new-found actolytes.

The established relationships between Aang and Katara, plus Zuko and Mai, don't really fit with the narrative, imo, they bring the four characters down, not up. There's a reason why the dynamic between Zuko and Katara is much more appealing and compelling.

I don't like how Katara was virtually erased from history by the time of LOK. There's no statue of her, no credit as a founder or republic city along with Aang and Zuko, she never shows up to her granddaughter's tattoo ceremony, or calls out Aang for being too favorable of their youngest son.

She's only called the world's greatest healer who illegalized bloodbending but she's never given a chance to show that off as she's apparently unable to undo Amon's damage, instead, it's her dead husband who saves the day.

It's even worse for Suki. No one even mentions the Kyoshi Warriors.

I think it was a waste not exploring the world and seeing how the world progressed in Korra's time.

Harmonic Convergence and the dark avatar arc didn't fully fit with the tone LOK was trying to show, so I imagine that airing in ATLA instead. I would've been ok with Korra losing her past lives if they were exchanged with Vaatu's powers/status being siphoned away and combined with Raava's after Vaatu is purified. True balance is restored but at a great price.

Aang was overly coddled by the narrative while Korra was given the exact opposite treatment and was forced to believe she deserves whatever suffering she goes through in order to be more respectful. Sound familiar?

Nobody get it twisted. I don't fully hate ATLA or LOK. There are many things in both that are very much enjoyable, especially season 3 of LOK. But they are not as perfect as Disney's hunchback of Notre Dame 1 and pre-Disney Star Wars.

[djemsostylist]

Toph and Zuko, Headcanon

Generally, I don't ship noncanon ships, but in this case, I'd say this is less of a case of noncanon and more a case of after canon. After all, ignoring LOK (which I'm rather more than happy to do tbh) the last we see of these two they are still children--we don't know what their future holds.

But I want to work within the bounds of canon as much as possible--leaving ATLA as is, and working off character established in canon but working forward.

I talked in another post about the idea that Zuko and Toph would work well together as a adults for a few reasons. Firstly, personally I like the idea of the core six (that is, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Zuko) being paired off. I think they went through an experience together that is so singularly unique, it would be hard to ever find another person who could understand it quite the same way. I also think that given a lot of their issues, trust would be hard to achieve.

(More under the cut bc I'm just rambling now lol)

Now, I know in canon Zuko has Mei, but he's 16 and she's familiar. I got the feeling that Mei and Zuko were more of a "it's what you do" couple than one with any sort of lasting power. I'm not saying they didn't love each other--I think they certainly did, but I also think they were very young and they were both going through sort of a big life change. When Zuko gets together with Mei, he's teetering on the edge of trying to find out who he is and what he wants for his life. Mei is very much a person that old Zuko would have been with--she makes sense for him in that life. And I think there is genuine affection between them--but I also think a lot of it is tied up with other feelings. Her best friend's older brother she maybe always had a little crush on, the rebel son, etc. That she does eventually support his choices to change is a good thing, but I don't know that I see their relationship lasting into the future. Zuko still has a long way to go and a lot to handle when he becomes Fire Lord at 16--I think he probably isn't exactly going to be focused on a relationship all that much in the beginning, and frankly, I think Mei needs to to figure out who she is without the context of Zuko and his sister, since her entire life seems to revolve around their family. I could see their relationship sort of slowly backing off until they eventually end things mutually, no hard feelings, just a natural sort of ending to a childhood romance.

For Zuko, I imagine he would then spend most of the rest of his time not in a relationship. He's dealing with a lot with his country and his family and dealing with forgiving and understanding himself--again, I doubt a relationship is the priority. He probably maintains close contact with most of the Gaang--Aang in particular probably makes it a point to come see him, and I can see him and Sokka still having pretty close contact, especially with Sokka stepping up as the future leader of the Southern Water tribe and etc.

Toph, I think, would be dealing with a lot of similar issues to Zuko. Both of them are trying to define what home means--Zuko in the place he grew up that he both recognizes and doesn't, and Toph unable to go back because she isn't sure what she'll find. I imagine Toph spends some time with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, but it's not like she would particularly be comfortable at the poles in ice and snow, and I also think she'd want the chance to explore, to see the world, to find out who she is and what she wants from life. So around a yearish after the end of the world she sort of goes out on her own into the world and starts a sort of long, wandering slow journey. She stops along the way to do various things: sometimes she works, sometimes she helps others, sometimes she just sight sees, sort of goes where whim takes her. She sees most of the Gaang often enough, with how much the others travel, but I'd imagine she hardly ever sees Zuko (as he is busy running a kingdom).

Now we get into deep headcanon territory. I had seen it posited that Sokka invents a version of braille (in a fanfiction I believe, though I'm not sure if the idea started somewhere else, and I honestly can't recall the fanfic), and I like this idea, both because it makes sense for Sokka to do something like this, and also because it gives Toph a way to continue a bit of a relationship with Zuko whilst traveling. So basically for about the next 6 years or so, Toph and Zuko exchange letters while she travels around. They have a lot they can relate on, and talk about family and belonging and guilt and love and etc, as best they can. But they don't see each other much--maybe once or thrice throughout the intervening years, as they both grow up.

Then, when Toph is about 18/19 (making Zuko 22/23) he gets word from Toph that she's in jail and needs a bail out. At this point, he's tired, a little overwhelmed, and he's been a little lonely lately (Aang and Katara are married and still sort of in the honeymoon phase, Sokka is super busy with building a city in the south and all his various projects, Suki is the leader of his secret police so he sees her often but she's also often abroad) and so he basically decides to go get Toph himself. He hasn't seen her in a while, he misses his friend, and he's also more than a little curious as to why she's in jail in the middle of a nowhere town at the ass-end of the Fire Nation.

Toph, for her part, had written both because she hadn't wanted to bug the others and also because Zuko still owes her a Life Changing Field Trip and she's ready to collect. And also because she misses him maybe a little and also she knows he could maybe use a break.

So Zuko shows up and Toph is A Woman now and his poor little brain is like, trying desperately to square this information in his mind because of course he knew she wasn't 12 any more but also he wasn't expecting her to look Like That and also Toph can sense you know, everything, and she's trying to be chill also because it's just Zuko only Zuko spent the past 6 years stress working out and also somewhere along the way became A Man but this is fine and everything is fine and they are still friends right?

So Toph convinces him to play hooky for a while and come with her to track down some asshole (working on those details--some person scamming refugees maybe or something with disappearing kids? and she's trying to get to the boss) and Zuko is tired and overwhelmed and also maybe a little bit smitten and he agrees and then they go on the Life Changing Field Trip only this one is the one where they fall in love.

And it's the easiest thing they've ever done and the hardest thing all at once. Because they understand each other and they are determined to be more than their parents and together they heal.

I have so many little headcanons and one shots and larger story arcs bouncing around in my head with all this, and bless @bonesingerofyme-loc for thinking them all through with me.

I have actually written some ficlets, but they are currently pretty rough and disjointed (it's been a while since I've written) and I'm not entirely sure if I want to save them to write into a cohesive story, or tell their story in parts as I am inspired. I sort of have some scene ideas and others being build off prompt lists. I might share disjointed here and then wait to publish on AO3 until I decide what I what to do, but I'm not sure.

I will, however, share the very silly headcanons that Leo and I came up with. My Toko/Zutoph tag will be otp: it's me if you want more of my dumbass thoughts on these two lol. (Like what Toph did to end up in jail and how Sokka got Zuko's wedding invite and wasn't sure who the bride could possibly be and how Aang knew from the beginning but never said bc it wasn't polite or how Toph refuses to let Zuko ask for her parent's permission and he's like, dying slowly over the propriety of it all or how he courts her Properly™ once they are back in the capital and Toph is secretly thrilled or or or. Also Leo may have maybe made some AI adult Toko pics I can share that killed us both lol. )

[smallsinger5901]

Songs I would give each ATLA character!

Aang: Me gustas Tu (by Manu Chao). Got both the good vibes and love for everything, but also sort of melancholy and unresolved.

Katara: My Sister's Crown (by Vesna). I love Eurovision and do know the meaning behind this song, but it also bangs so hard as a female empowerment ballad. Can imagine Katara rocking someone's shit while this plays in the background.

Suki: W.I.T.C.H (by Devon Cole). Same as Katara's in that I can imagine her absolutely kicking some guy's ass while this plays in the background, plus Sokka at the start- 'Why you scared of a woman in charge?'

Sokka: Puppy Princess (by The Hot Freaks). C'mon, 'you know me as your boyfriend's goofy friend, I seem to have this effect on women'? This is my man.

Toph: Wrecking ball (by Mother Mother). I think the name is pretty self explanatory- she IS a rock on top of the sand in s2X9 :)

Zuko: Ain't no crying (by Derivakat). There is no other song I could possibly have put for Zuko. Every. Single. Lyric. Is perfect for him. I can't even cite just one here because I'd end up putting the whole song.

Iroh: Just A Man (by Jorge Rivera-Herrans). Perfect mix of sad and powerful, with just the right amount of love for the boy who's 'as old as [his son] was when he left for war.'

Ursa: Labour (by Paris Paloma). All of the second verse is brilliant for this, and the whole mood of the song encapsulates that stuck feeling that's crucial to Ursa's character.

Ozai: Digital Silence (by Peter mcPoland). Okay, this one was really different because Ozai can't just have a good song, he doesn't deserve to take one of those! But in the end I did choose this song- which i love- because of its sinister vibes and anti-progressive lyrics.

Azula: Crazy Girls (by TOOPOOR). Personally I listen to it sped up a la tiktok edits, but it's the lyricism that sells this one. Like most of the other songs, it's the second verse that sells it, but the pre-chorus fits her so well too. And, after all, she is a 'crazy' girl at the end.

Jet: Preacher (by Roe Kapara). He's a bit of a random one, but the essence of Jet's character lives in this song I think. The second verse (who'd've guessed) feels like his life and death in Ba Sing Se, and even reaches being slightly meta: 'They'll sell you your forgiveness if you pay them with your life'.

I can't think of many other characters that need songs, but lmk your ideas!

[idkaguyorsomething]

Sailor Earth and the Crystal Senshi and Firelord Katara both sound interesting, could you tell me a little about them?

¡Absolutely!

Fire Lord Katara is a slight AU fic where, after the Agni Kai in the finale, Zuko ends up in a coma for a hot minute, leaving something of a succession crisis as to who will take the throne. As it turns out, Katara. Katara takes the throne and becomes Fire Lord because technically she’s the one who defeated Azula in an Agni Kai. What follows is her trying to navigate the royal court, dismantle the bender’s prisons, and pay reparations to other nations without getting overthrown, at least until Zuko’s recovered enough to take back the throne. Iroh, Ty Lee, Mai, Suki, Hama, and maybe Azula are all involved. There’s not actually much romance, mostly just Katara trying to make the best of a tough situation while being her awesome self. A story of politics, trauma, unexpected friendships, Katara badassery, dismantling the prison system, and tea. Technically more of an outline than anything else at the moment.

Sailor Earth and the Crystal Senshi is a Sailor Moon roleswap between the Inner Senshi and Heavenly Kings with a bit of mystery. Mamoru rescues a talking cat one day who discovers that for some reason he is the guardian of the moon, even though by all accounts this shouldn’t be possible. Even more mysteriously, four other teens manifest the power of the other planets despite being boys, and there’s a weird blonde vigilante that keeps shooting top hats at people, plus reports of four young women going missing whose descriptions match up with the generals they’re battling… it takes more inspiration from the old anime than the new one, but it’s not a beat-for-beat retread, and there’s a lot of exploration of gender roles and identity going on in between everyone trying to figure out why all these people have the wrong powers. A story of transgenderism, dysphoria, questioning one's assigned roles, confusing feelings, fabulous crossdressing, mystery, and THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP Also I changed the ages to make it a bit less squicky. Here’s an excerpt:

Masato set his drink down and looked at the binder again. The picture stared up at him, that stoic face inscrutable. He’d reread all the information over and over again, and all he’d gotten out of it was a headache.

“Heeeey!” a shout made him look up. Usagi stood across the street, waving at Masato. Behind her stood Jirou, both of them carrying several brightly colored shopping bags.

“What’s going on?” before long, the duo was seated across from him, setting their bags down in the cafe floor, and Jirou was asking him questions. “Weren’t you supposed to be paying off that shrine today?”

“That’s already done,” Masato waved him off. “Something more important’s come up. Where's Mamoru?”

"He was called in to work today," Jirou shrugged. "Some flash-in-the-pan diva idol showed up at the studio and they needed all hands on deck to record a music video."

"I wanted to come along, but he said no," sighed Usagi. She looked up with a dreamy expression on her face. "Could you imagine being an idol and having all those adoring fans?"

"I don't need to," Jirou grinned haughtily. A bit of his model's grace found its way into his pose. "It's good of you to keep imagining, though. Everyone should have at least a few impossible fantasies."

Usagi smacked him with one of her shopping bags. She turned her attention towards the spread of paper that Masato had laid out over the table. "What's all this?"

"Paperwork for the shrine," answered Masato. "I was reviewing how many people worked there to see how many people to compensate."

"How interesting," said Jirou, rolling his eyes. "I don't suppose you have any of that huge allowance of yours left over to compensate the brave heroes who saved the shrine?"

Masato ignored him and kept talking. "However, I learned that one of the workers there had disappeared a few months ago. The granddaughter of the owner, a young lady who was by all accounts very hard working and dedicated to her job. What's more, she disappeared only a few weeks before the youma attacks began, according to Luna."

Both Usagi and Jirou's expressions grew more serious.

"Hey, what're you implying here?" asked Jirou.

Masato laid down the photo on the table and Usagi immediately snatched it up. Both she and Jirou's eyes widened when they saw who it depicted.

"General Mars?" she gasped. Masato nodded solemnly.

"Wait, but- no, the youma transform their victims all the time, so their leaders-" Jirou curled his hands into fists and let out a cry of frustration. "This is a joke, right?"

"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?" Masato snapped. "We may have been responsible for the death of an innocent girl brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom."

Usagi, looking down, clutched the photo to her chest and asked softly "What do we tell Mamoru?"

"I don't know," he rubbed his fingers against his temples.

"We tell him the truth, obviously," Jirou glared at Masato. "And we ask that stupid cat if she knew about any of this, and if there's a way to turn people back from being generals."

"Yeah, maybe Luna can help!" Usagi said with a sense of renewed hope.

"Maybe," Masato let out a sigh. "But let's just give Mamoru some time before telling him anything, alright? It would be counterproductive to not tell him, but with his work and this new 'General Venus', he already has a lot on his mind. Let's just not put everything on him at once, alright?"

The others agreed that it was already a busy weekend, perhaps they should wait until the end of it to lay this revelation on Mamoru. The stresses of leading a double life were known to all of them. Just focusing on one or the other instead of trying to juggle both was practically a break at this point. A little bit of tedium might have been what all of them needed right now, especially Mamoru.

Elsewhere, Mamoru was being chased by a giant record label youma hurling exploding vinyls at him.

[il0vep0rtal]

Avatar AU ideas (mainly just a list of random ideas I have)

If Katara was the Avatar:

The most interesting outcome, I think, is where she doesn’t discover she’s the avatar until, like, early teens. I think she would struggle between her ideas of responsibility. She would feel a sense of duty to her tribe. Not only in the roles women traditionally serve there but also as the avatar. She would want to stay, to be able to protect it if another raid occurs. But she would also feel a responsibility for the world as a whole; to the water tribe soldiers fighting and the colonized Earth People. Eventually, this would propel her out of the Water tribe to be an active participant. Of course, Sokka won’t let her go alone so he tags along. I can definitely see them going to Kyoshi island to try to connect with past avatars. Also, due to the lack of waterbenders in the South Pole, she wouldn’t start learning the elements with water but probably with Earth. They have to pass through the Earth kingdom to get to the Northern Water tribe anyways, so she may as well try to learn.

If Sokka was the Avatar:

I imagine he wouldn’t learn he was the avatar until he was in his teens, about 15. He would have the same trouble as Katara as there are no water benders to teach them. He I imagine his success comes not from skill but from creativity, as in Sokka’s Master. He leaves the Southern Water tribe in a similar sense of duty as that of the men of the tribe. Katara insists on going because like hell is her entire family going to leave her. Sokka tries to refuse but Katara is a force of nature unto herself so she goes along.

If Suki was the avatar:

I feel she would be an incredible warrior. She would have a similar character arc as she did in the show (and Katara hypothetically): where at first she just stays as a protector of Kyoshi island until she eventually leaves to be a greater part of the war. I think she would be way more connected to Kyoshi than Roku.

If Zuko was the avatar:

He would probably wouldn’t discover he is the avatar until after he is banished which leads to an oh fuck moment when he finds out. He’s torn between fear and love. He hopes that if he were to bring himself to his father, he would be accepted. This might make up, in his mind, for the fact he’s a weak bender compared to Azula. There’s also the propaganda angle of having the avatar a member of the fire nation royal family. But he’s also very afraid of what his father might do. He knows that the avatar should restore balance so he knows he should do something, especially after all he’s seen after being banished, but is too afraid of his father to turn again him. Iroh (and the gang, eventually, when they find out) pressures him into learning the elements. (The gang hopes to also teach him the power of friendship and doing good and all that). Zuko doesn’t want to. He thinks that if he sticks with fire bending, he can hide the fact he’s the avatar.

[sukirichi]

SUKI HEAR ME OUT controversial opinion: I know we all hate Rin (I hate him too), but I think he's a really complex character. People forget he has a ton of brothers and is the only legitimate child of the king and queen so imagine the pressure. He wasn't the king's favorite either and he has to fight even harder for the throne, which should be his by birthright. Butttt the more I reread the latest chapter I think Rin is lying to himself. He doesn't seem eager to be king for the power or wealth cuz he just wants things to go his way, and becoming king is the only way he sees that happening. He's manipulative and controlling BUT not very smart. His plans could fail, and we're already seeing that. He's a terrible prince and husband, but I'm so curious why he's like this. Out of all the princes, he seems the most desperate, which is weird because he has the biggest birthright and the more I read DTD, the more I think Rin is actually really insecure 💀

controversial takes LET’S GO

‘he doesn’t seem eager to be king for power or wealth because he just wants things to go his way.’ you’re actually so right for that! rin was conditioned from a very young age that being king was his only option. he has no other choices or plans in the future but to become what is expected of him. the only difference is that he doesn’t care much about being the most powerful man, he’s not ambitious enough for that and work barely interests him, but he does want the influence to bend things his way. also not youu saying he’s not very smart lmfaooooo 😭

also yes yes yes, hundred percent agree. it’s so weird that he’s the most desperate one. he technically has nothing and everything to lose at the same time. and yes... yes, he’s insecure :(

[witchering10123]

my "divorced" zukka au, slammed back into my memory by @transboyzuko latest addition (a true hero right there yall)

story idea is below the cut because whoo boy it became a lot longer than i thought it would

sozin's comet, sokka and toph are dangling off the ship, there's smoke and fire everywhere, it's getting hard to breathe, hard for sokka to see, and without his weapons, sokka is unable to see a way out

a figure of a guard appears through the smoke, and sokka jerks back and away from the man (in vain) but in doing so, jostles his leg. the pain and the shock combined, toph's hand slips out of sokka's grip and he watches helplessly as she falls

sokka makes to jump after her, but the guard grabs him before he can and yanks him back onto the safety of the wider platform. sokka tries to fight, but he's quickly subdued and he falls unconscious

(fear not, toph does live: she falls from sokka's grasp, but what sokka doesn't realise, due to the intensity of the smoke and fire, is that suki is right beneath them, and she catches toph. do not worry i am not killing toph, i am too scared to do that)

the airship pulls away from the battle, with the most senior commander taking over and urging a retreat to one of the southern fire nation islands, where he, and a number of powerful fire nation lords, hail from - that part of the fire nation does not recognise the authority of fire lord zuko, however it is unclear if they would recognise ozai, now that his bending is gone (and besides, quite a number weren't wholly impressed with him usurping iroh), so the war has become more of a civil war, with the separatists (they're not separatists but idk what else to call them) planning to take over the fire nation and then continue the war

the gaang are now faced with a fire nation civil war AND convincing the many ek provinces and water tribes to support zuko so that the 100 year war can truly end, however many ek ministers and some northern water tribe ambassadors believe this is a trick

during this time, sokka is a prisoner of the separatist group, and has resigned himself to this fate, believing toph to be dead and ngl perhaps suki as well, but he's definite that toph is dead and he's definite that his actions led to her death, so MAJOR survivor guilt

this is, of course, exacerbating his guilt about not protecting yue, his mum, katara (even though she's not dead he still doesn't know what happened to her)

so yeah, sokka's feeling very guilty and feels as if he deserves being imprisoned/tortured/etc, so he's not making any escape plans or anything, he's just done

BUT THEN

a new political prisoner is placed in the cell next to his: a young boy called hinata (imagine like 7 or 8) who the separatists are using to try and goad one of the fire nation nobles who is supporting zuko - he reminds sokka a bit of the boys back home in the swt that he cared for

sokka begins to feel very protective of this kid, especially when the guards come round to do their usual tormenting, or when they give out too small rations, or when hinata has a nightmare, and after a while he realises that he needs to get out, but not for himself, just for hinata

so they do, they escape (you'll notice how much thought i've put into this lmao) but they can't get back to hinata's family because it's all a massive war zone so sokka grabs the kid and they head for the ek, and not just the ek, like south east of ba sing se ek, near the eastern air temple ek, like as far from the fire nation as possible, sokka isn't letting anyone near hinata

yeah, he essentially becomes an older brother to hinata

now sokka has every intention of reuniting hinata with his family once the war is over but unfortunately they are very remote and so the village they are staying in doesn't exactly get the news asap. or like, at all

aang is visiting the eastern air temple a few months after that war has ended (i'm thinking at least a couple of years after aang defeated ozai but hey whatever floats your boat) and he stops by at a village to get supplies and lo and behold sokka and hinata are there

the reunion is very accidental, one of appa's buckles on his saddle snapped and aang landed near the village because he didn't want to continue his flight to the eastern air temple with a broken saddle and he needed supplies anyway, and so he enters the village, asks a nearby kid who looks strangely fire nation "hey, do you guys have a blacksmith" and hinata is like, "oh yeah, come with me" and he takes him to sokka

yes sokka would become a blacksmith fight me if you dare

(also i'm imagining that during sokka's time as a prisoner, he definitely lost his leg that got broken because like the separatists would have gone for the easiest route with sokka's broken leg and if it's broken too badly then why bother trying to heal it just go chop chop- so yeah, sokka makes himself a prosthetic and specialises in mobility aids, which are sorely needed in this area of the ek with the amount of refugees that fled to that province when they couldn't get access to ba sing se, but he does other engineering things as well and his ideas are, ngl, creating a bit of a hub near the eastern air temple, so slay for sokka)

regardless, aang and sokka reunion :)))

long chat about hinata having to return home, because like yes that was always the intention but aang reveals to sokka that hinata's family were killed when hinata escaped and the separatists had no more leverage over hinata's family (he doesn't reveal that to hinata for obvious reasons, he lets sokka do that) and hinata and sokka have become a little dependent on each other

it's not co-dependency per se, but like it was definitely going that way before they reached the village and their community helped them begin to heal from their trauma and stuff, but regardless they don't want to be separated, and so after much deliberation sokka and hinata decide that they want to stay where they are and if the gaang want to visit that is fine but if there's nothing tying them to the fire nation then why leave their new home

sokka's part of the decision is most definitely fueled by shame over losing toph and not being able to protect the people he loves, but aang doesn't realise that sokka doesn't know that toph is alive so aang doesn't mention anything, he just agrees to tell the gaang and family and all and leaves

aang returns not even three weeks later with katara zuko toph suki, a couple of hinata's uncles who want to at least see that hinata is alive, and a letter from hakoda and bato saying that they're aboard a ship sailing over

angsty reunion for sokka as he realises that toph is alive lemme assure you that was not on his reunion bingo card no siree

angsty reunion for suki and zuko with sokka because zuko and suki were very sure that sokka was dead and sokka was very sure that zuko and suki would hate him for getting toph killed

angsty water tribe fam reunion obvi with a heavy dosing of katara hakoda and bato assuring sokka that he did not fail

...so yeah it's angsty it's dramatic it's miscommunication it's long distance it's kind of technically not really divorced au but it's got a bit of flair and that's all that really matters

[director-yomi-hellsmile]

YIPPEE HERE COMES MY YAPPING

I really like when Shuichi is like. THE stereotypical obsessive DR fan. Up at 3am arguing about ship discourse and shit. To fit into him being the Ultimate Detective in the actual game maybe he has a blog where he posts leaks of new seasons and shit. So imagine. Imagine one day. He discovers Kiibo (who is still a robot I'm sorry human pregame kiibo is boring to me) this guy who was literally born for the show. And shuichi is a FAGGOT I mean. No he's a faggot the Danganronpa association is just a huge win also. He keeps showing up around Kiibo who just wants to go to school and go home every day (if he even leaves the house. I imagine being born for the sole purpose of a shitty reality TV show would make anyone depressed) but this nerd keeps annoying him. Shuichi uses the fact he knows kiibo's role as like blackmail like pleeeease hang out with me. Or else I will post this to my leak blog <3 so kiibo is begrudgingly hanging out with this guy while Shuichi is overjoyed. There's kinda two ways for this to end either Shuichi let's Kiibo go to do the next season (auditioning so he can be there too) OR he's like. Noooo mine <3 and kiibo doesn't even wanna do danganronpa so he's like. Fine. Kind of consensual kidnapping but also kiibo hates this guy. Simp and this guy who dgaf. They make me think of Deco's new song "Monitoring" and also the classic Suki Suki Daisuki. ALSO I like the idea of them like. Being really touch starved but kiibo is in the way where he's like Don't Touch Me and Shuichi is in the Touch Me Now. Please look at this formative video of them

https://youtu.be/fjzfPuUUo9s?si=A6xK8Apgj90xbGbJ

I had this old fanfic I was making back in my wattpad days that was gonna be aaaall about this. With Tsumugi and Kokichi as main characters too. Pregame Saiibo my beloved (I lost power can't ramble anymo rr)

hehehehehe yay :DD (i think this is cool yet have no vocabulary unfortunately please believe im being genuine and the . yayay :333)