#they have to be nice to kids and be absolutley devoted to theirs

[chiptrillino]

you guys seem to forget that hakoda is not the only decend dad in the show. no scratch that hakoda isn't even a deacend dad for leaving his kids alone!!!

all of stop being thirsty and appriciate arnook, the mechanist, tyro, gansu and than more!!!

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

#its like all of you only think off dilf as buff headsome midle aged man. but no they have to be dad material#they have to be caring!#they have to be nice to kids and be absolutley devoted to theirs#good listeners#being there for their kids!!!#awsful jokes#teasing them helping them grow#in hakodas defence i do get it why he left! i really do but it feels to me like he ran away form his own grief and failure to protect kya#not able anymore to keep on hearing katara crying herself to sleep#or looking at sokkas face and seeing the memory of kya that lost her radiant smile#bato called him an idiot for leaving (but joined othervise hakoda would die stupidly without his protection)#and kana silently judged him. but he had to do it for himself and hopefully creating egnouth of a difference for a better future#argh... okay fine hakoda is dilf material too but he is not like at the top of the list!!! (original tags)

you are so right about this. i think aside from looks people think hakoda is such a perfect dad bc in "the awakening" his scene of reconciling with katara is put against zuko & ozai, and obviously in comparison he's the better dad. but the two scenes are similar in that there was a separation between the parent and child, a separation that the parent initiated, and this is the moment where they meet again. ozai accepts zuko back because he believes zuko has "earned" it. there's no apologies or true reconciliation. meanwhile, hakoda is apologetic, reassures katara that leaving didn't mean he didn't love her and sokka. he did far less wrong than ozai and he addresses it far more compassionately. but that doesn't mean that the scene is about how he's a perfect dad. it's about how he's a better dad because he actually recognizes how he hurt his kids and tries to make it better.

it's also a good contrast because ultimately the fire nation is just as responsible for this broken family as it is for the royal broken family. as chief he has to think about the broader safety of his people, and leaving to go to war against the fire nation is a totally understandable choice after the fire nation raided their village and killed someone. and if he made that choice partly because he was personally affected by that raid and fleeing the trauma of losing his wife, well, who caused that trauma?

hakoda is not a perfect father. his relationships with his kids are strained and they were hurt by his actions. but he also clearly loves his kids and is trying his best under extremely difficult circumstances, so it's easy to be sympathetic to him. a dilf, but a dilf with more complexity than i think people generally want to see

you guys seem to forget that hakoda is not the only decend dad in the show. no scratch that hakoda isn't even a deacend dad for leaving his kids alone!!!

all of stop being thirsty and appriciate arnook, the mechanist, tyro, gansu and than more!!!