#toph slays

[nocturnalmoonmind]

Zuko: You can’t be my best friend

Sokka: I am your best friend

Zuko: You can’t be my brother-in-law and my best friend. Who will I complain to about my wife?

Katara: Hey!

Toph, raising her hand: I’m available

[linzumi]

getting the gaang back together

[witchering10123]

serving up some fire nation toph!

(template by mondlichtkatze)

[hadesisqueer]

Doing kill counts of the ATLA universe out of boredom (not including the Yangchen or Roku novels because I have not read them yet, so no spoilers).

Sozin: Unknown, but he committed genocide on the Air Nomads, so at least thousands.

Azulon and Ozai: Unknown but are to blame for the death of thousands, maybe millions.

Jianzhu: Kelsang, Saiful, Chamberlain Hui and a few other sages, all those Yellow Necks-- he had confirmed kill count of over 5000 people.

Tagaka: Unknown amount of people, but she killed Amak and clearly killed more. So at least one known and many others unknown.

Amak: Unknown but he was a professional assassin, so-- yeah, probably a dozen or two at least.

Kelsang: The Living Typhoon! He caused the deaths of a bunch of pirates. Unknown amount of kills, though.

Hei-Ran: Unknown amount of kills, but she had the record of most kills during Agni Kais, so several people at least.

Yun: Like four randos in the Earth Kingdom, Jianzhu, Lu Beifong, Chancellor Dairin, a bunch of Fire Nation guards, Father Glowworm-- like a dozen kills at least.

Kyoshi: Killed Xu Ping An, Yun and Chin the Conqueror, so known kill count of three. Unknown, definitely more.

Lao Ge: Unknown but probably many people.

Kuruk: No known human kills, but did slay several dark spirits.

Gyatso: He was surrounded by a lot of corpses of Firebenders, so the guy definitely killed like a dozen people at least.

Aang (possessed by the Ocean Spirit): A few hundreds at least. Then again that wasn't really him because the kid was possessed, that was the Ocean Spirit*

Zhao: One known, the original Moon Spirit.

Long Feng: One, Jet. Thought it was really unclear at the time.

Yon Rha: One known, Kya.

Sokka: One, Combustion Man*

Azula: One, Aang. Sure he came back but the kid was dead.

Ursa: One, Azulon.

Zaheer: The Earth Queen, and I guess you could kinda count Aiwei? Though he didn't really die. Anyway, one or two.

Ghazan: I guess you can count himself?

Tarrlok: Two, himself and Noatak.

Unalaq: One, Raava I guess? She came back though.

Korra: Technically One, Unavaatu. Sure, her uncle was gonna die anyway, but she finished the job and felt responsible for not saving him, so she kinda saw it as killing him.

Mako: One, he killed Ming-Hua with lightning.

Suyin: One, he killed P'Li.

Kuvira: Hiroshi and two guards, so like three.

So far I can't think of any other deaths? Like there's people like Iroh who was a general and most likely killed people as well, and you can argue that the rest of the Gaang likely took some more lives (most of all Sokka, Toph and Suki while they were taking down those airships during the comet, I mean someone had to fucking die there c'mon), as well as probably believing that the rest of the Red Lotus killed as well. And more probable kills from more people. But no confirmation though lmao.

[liefstevicky]

Zukka modern AU where they all work at an ice rink:

- Zuko and Azula have been ice skating their entire lives and have done a lot of competitions as children

- after the scar thing Zuko and his uncle moved and Iroh reconnected with an old friend who owns the ice rink (Piandao)

- now he sells tea there and Zuko teaches kids how to skate

- Katara is manager of this whole mess because I can't really imagine her on skates but I very well think she was born with a clipboard

- Sokka is part of the college hockey team that trains there (defence)

- Mai and Ty Lee are defying gender norms and do ice dancing together (slay)

- Suki and Toph are playing hockey for fun because Toph would definitely be a goalie and Suki would scare every single one of the guys on the college hockey team

- Aang is referee and skates for fun

- Jet is the weird kid that hands out the renting skates

- anyways, Zuko has too many kids in his class so Katara signs Sokka up to help him teach

- they initially clash because Sokka really wants to be Zuko's friend but he comes in a little strong and Zuko is very awkward

- but they eventually manage and Zuko is very impressed with Sokka's teaching skills

- Sokka says: "bitch, hold my hockey stick" one way or another (no you don't get context)

- Sokka really wants to learn ice dancing so Zuko teaches him (or tries)

- Katara takes matchmaking upon herself and arranges a same sex ice dancing competition and Sokka jumps at the chance to skate with Zuko

[kitttttchaos]

Toph being unhinged in the Avatar comics (keep scrolling if you don’t want spoilers)

starting off with this gem

debating whether or not I’m a Penga stan

😳 I mean slay

Yes! Destroy Liling’s decor!

my Type 8 and wing 9 arguing with each other

This is just perfect

And of course we love a humble queen

[wilcze-kudly]

Reasons why YOU should ship Bolin and Wei Beifong:

1.Gay🏳️‍🌈

The Avatar universe has a lot of WLW characters, but not many MLM ones. And having another member of team avatar be comfirmed as queer is always a good thing (they're all canonicaly queer in my heart tho).

Also having Bolin be queer adds a lot of interesting dimension to the character, eapecially to his previous interactions with female love interests. I've always headcanoned Bolin as very comphet. Discovering you're queer is something I wish were more explored with Korrasami, but Bolin 'i have a new heterosexual love interest nearly every season' would also be an imteresting character to follow through that process. Feel like it would give him an existential crisis and I want to see that bisexual disaster happen.

Especially if contrasted by Wei, who comes from the very liberal Zaofu. Look me in the eyes and tell me Su doesn't support gay rights. Zaofu is like the gayest city in the Avatar universe. Just look at their slay outfits and Aiwei's cool nosering.

2.Good Chemistry

Between the cute little sparring moment with the pebble and the famed rescue scene, these two do have some excellent chemistry. Look at them. LOOK AT THEM.

The lil 'you impressed?' eyebrow raise and smirk from Bolin. Wei's smile. THE PAT PAT. Bolin's little confused bi moment. The fact that they're just CHILLIN with Bolin holding Wei bridal style while Toph is RIGHT THERE and the fact that they're in such a high stress situation and that the rest of Wei's family needs to be rescued. BUT NO, THEY'RE JUST STARING INTO EACH OTHER'S EYES BECAUSE THEY'RE IN LOVE, YOUR HONOUR.

3.Rivals to friends? to enemies to friends again to lovers???

Wei and Bolin's first interaction is a little squabble during sparring, where Wei sandwiches Bolin with 2 metal plates and Bolin smacks Wei with a pebble. They've got this whole cute little rivalry thing going on and i think it's adorable.

Assumedly, they start getting along more after Bolin and Opal start dating. This probably doesn't last long, since after Bolin joins Kuvira, his relationship with the Beifongs probably sours tremendously. Even outside of a shipping context I would wanna know what Bolin's relationship with the other Beifongs was at the time.

I imagine especially after the Beifongs get captured by Kuvira's forces, Wei wouldn't be too inclined to like Bolin. But when Bolin comes to rescue them, Wei is the first to get tossed over, which would require a lot of trust in both Lin and Bolin. And Wei's first interaction with Bolin after Bolin catches him is *ahem* very friendly. Which seems to imply that, at the very least, Bolin is somewhat forgiven.

I also think it's really fucking cute that Bolin brought metal wires for Wing and Wei to bend and I'm devastated that we didn't get the scene of him giving them to the twins. I am shaking my stick at the heavens as we speak.

Presumably, fighting side by side against Kuvira would have Wei and Bolin bonding more and perhaps striking up a genuine friendship. I love it when gays bond over traumatic events. It's the purest form of courtship.

Also whenever the twins are standing next to Bolin, Wei is always the one closer to the guy... like i know im grasping at straws here but i just... im not sane anymore

4.Lavabending/metalbending symbolism

Do I need to say more? They're both talented in two of the most prominent earthbending substyles. Also there is interesting symbolism to Bolin having struggled to learn metalbending his entire life and failing but then getting a metalbender boyfriend could be really cute. THEY LITERALLY COMPLETE EACH OTHER GUYS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

(also you can't tell me that Wei wouldn't find lavabending incredibly.... hot....)

5.Tension filled sparring

Their first interaction was a sparring session during which they were playing litte dirty tricks on each other. Also we all love sexually charged sparring sessions.

6.Detecting lies/performer symbolism

So I've kinda talked at length about how Bolin is a 'performer'. (Which @thenamescaba has pointed out could very well be masking. Bolin is very autism) Bolin often seems to act in a manner that would make people like him, rather than genuinely. Which is pretty in line qith his childhood. Assumedly being homeless didn't win him any perks socially, so now he's compensating by trying to garner as much positive attention as he can nowadays.

This can have an interesting contrast with Wei, who comes from a family with the ability to detect lies and assumedly also has this skill. I could totally imagine Wei calling Bolin out on contorting himself in order to be more likeable.

7.Height/Size difference

This is just self indulgent to be honest. I headcanon all the Beifongs as a pretty short family in general and while I'm pretty sure that Wei isn't very small, I have a soft spot for tall/average characters who are absolutely dwarfed by their giant, bulky partners. Also, how strong is Bolin because he is just holding a guy his age with apparently no effort???

8.Daring rescue/princess carry aesthetic

Listen, fairytales had this trope down pat for a reason. Sure it's cliche and overdone but it is a guilty pleasure for a lot of folks. Plus, I do think there's a lot of humour a usually capable metalbender having a major case of damsel-in-distressitis.

There is also the fact that the scene is unintentionally (or intentionally, i feel like SOMEONE in the writer's room has it out for me) paralleling the Nuktuk posters, for which Bolin posed with a love interest.

9. The Freedom/belonging contrasts

Now this here is a stretch, but an interesting and fun one. With Bolin we see a huge, underlying theme of him 'trying to find himself', practically feom the first season. He bounces from job to job, tries new things but nothing feels good enough. This probably stems from his childhood in the streets, he may be compensating for all the lost opportunities or something else. What does matter is that Bolin is 'untethered' and floating rather aimlessly, to his great distress. It's shown in book 2 that he envies the rest of team Avatar, who have already found their places in life.

Now, for Wei we can only use context clues and his siblings as reference but bear with me. We see that Suyin is a slightly overprotective mother, who would rather all her kids stay at home with her. We see this with Opal's hesitance to leave doe the Air Temples and with how harshly Su reacted when Kuvira nad Baatar Jr left Zaofu. This, paired with the fact that Wing and Wei are the only ones of their siblings who are 'upholding the legacy of their mother and grandmother ' might place them under a lot of pressure.

Therefore, Wei, in stark contrast to Bolin has a firmly set place in the world, one from which it would be incredibly difficult to free himself. This is completely different from Bolin, who , while he hasn't found himself yet has the freedom to be whomever he wants to.

One could set forth the idea that Wei and Bolin envy one another.

Bolin, envying Wei for having everything Bolin had wanted as a child. A stable family and life and a meaningful legacy. While Wei could be jealous of Bolin being able to forge his own path, instead of treading water.

10.Good angst potential

Being in love with your sisters boyfriend (why yes, I cannot look at Satisfied from Hamilton the same way, how did you know) is angsty even of itself, but then said boyfriend joins your fascist estranged siblings? Is this a greek tragedy? Especially that the twins and Opal seem rather close, so I think it would be unlikely that Wei would try to interfere in his sister's happiness.

Even as an unrequited romance, weilin provides a lot of potential for an amazing story. And we get to torture one of Toph's grandkids. As a treat.

On Bolin's side, realising you're queer can be a long and arduous process, especially if you've been taught otherwise. And I don't exactly believe the Triple Threats would be super accepting. This could also lead to some really sweet moments between Bolin and Mako, because Mako, for all his flaws is a very good big brother. And Korrasami could be the cool bi mentors. DO YOU SEE MY VISION. (Also Opal would be 100 percent supportive she's an absolute queen)

11.Good comedy potential

Just two himbos, dumb as the rocks they bend, tryna get together but both being too stupid and nervous to actually take the plunge.

Bolin is usually very forward with his advances, but perhaps trying to get with a guy the first time would feel like unfamiliar territory and make him even more nervous. And even so, Bolin's usual flirting is a sight to behold.

While we don't exactly know how Wei would react to this i can see him being a bit of a tsun. He just has that vibe. I could also see him not knowing how to react to being flirted with, since I can imagine that he spent most of his childhood isolated with his siblings.

I can totally imagine them both being much too awkward to make the first move and everyone around them being absolutely mentally exhausted by this weird little himbo mating ritual.

12.Because i said so

[punkeropercyjackson]

If Zutara is a feminist ship then it's absolute bottom of the barrel feminism SORRY like it's so downlow💀Katara's a fem girl with parentification trauma and open softness and Zuko's a masc dude who turned into a Team Dad to heal his inner child and break the cycle of abuse and high up walls so they're already a cisheteronormative ship based off that alone but there's also how while Zuko made up for what how he hurt Katara,his attacks and insults to her were racially motivated and that adds a thick layer of racialized misogyny AND directly goes against Katara's wishes to force Zuko onto her because she fought for a loooong time to break the mold of womanhood should only exist in 'what girls are SUPPOSED to be like' and frankly the emphasis on supposed 'realism' when it comes to girls and Zutara said by the shippers so often has transmisogyny underlaying it,if not then at least bioessentialism,with how cis and exclusive of unconventional girlhood it is and it dosen't help their case that they often feminize Toph when she gets older when in CANON she stayed gnc and ruthlessly talk badly of Aang because he's a boy who's feminine and gets hurt when bullied for it in-universe and he has a fucking right to even if he's cis!!!!They're making fun of him for being himself!'Fragile masculinity' my ass,if you saw a stud or a non-fully transitioned transfem you'd hurl and he thinks Katara's punk girl slay is the hottest shit ever and showed hints of crushing on Toph's butch ass too

But back on topic,this is why i can't stand Zutara man,there's nothing for me to relate to!I'm a punk femme woc like Katara and i headcanon her as trans,bi and autistic like me because i relate to her in some very important ways(though i hc her as transfem while i'm transmasc bigender)and this is also a big part of the appeal of Kataang for me because i'm the girl who had a crush on Aang instead of Zuko Zutara shippers always told you don't exist and i loved Taang because i was rowdy tomboy like Toph but i never had a beef with Kataang,i didn't see anything wrong with it!!!I minded my own damn bussiness and let Katara just vibe instead of making her some evil bitch!And while i'm in love with Zuko now thanks to the comics going into the Gaang's adult years,my canon self-insert ship with him is him and Ty Lee because i'm a super bubbly and optimistic pastel girl who's interests are considered 'stupid/silly/lame' by society and is high maintenance but nice to everybody instead of demanding and it turns out that me as a kid and me now are those ways due to autism and transgenderism!!!!

Zutara does nothing for the woc in me because Katara dosen't look like me since i'm black,i love her and Zuko as bickering found siblings,i have older sister/maternal feelings towards Aang like Zuko does older brother/fatherly ones,i see Mai as a comphet (trans) lesbian but love Maiko because she's weirdgirl rep and Zuko's in love with her and there's also black etchnic subgroups in each nation confirmed in Turf Wars so i don't got anything stopping me from making an Atlasona instead of ruining characters and dynamics!!!!!Zutara is such a less than nothing ship if you're 'not a normal girl' and the fandom's make it beyond crystal clear how they feel about us so that's why i hate it so much in addition to what ass is is!The only thing Z/k's were 'robbed' of is the ability to get a grip,a boyfriend,friends who think they're goddesses platonically like mine do to me and me them and media literacy seeing as Atla's title refers to Aang being the sole survivor of a genocide based off an irl one but they will do everything and anything to remove that out of the context in analysing him and the franchise as a whole

And not to diverge topics again but this is why i'm okay with shaming and mocking Zutara re Natla(and no i don't mean harrasing,i mean og posting)by me and anybody else,they deadass SHOWED PART OF THE AIR NOMAD GENOCIDE and ALSO ADDED 'TOKEN GOOD' FIRE NATION SOLDIERS and it's so beyond fucking racist and disturbing that they're trying to do any gotcha or praise of it involving their military war ship.You's grown and Zuko loves Aang the most anyway,you normie losers

[thirdlotusprince3]

Most Likely To

Slaying the Nemean lion

Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra

Capturing the Ceryneian Hind

Capturing the Erymanthian Boar

Cleaning the Augean stables in a single day

Slaying the Stymphalian birds

Capturing the Cretan Bull

Stealing the Mares of Diomedes

Obtaining the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons

Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon

Stealing three of the golden apples of the Hesperides

Capturing and bringing back Cerberus

Hercules also had to hold up the sky. Steal golden apples from Hera and the dragon. The Augean stables have flesh eating horses.

[starboysbrainrot]

How do you think the Gaang would react if Iroh was forced to face a tribunal for his actions during the war, particularly his actions during the Siege of Ba Sing Se?

that’s a very interesting question, because one of the most out of character writing in atla is how almost all of the gaang acts with Iroh. so let’s just ignore canon to answer your question.

I would like to say that Toph would change her mind about him, but there’s no way that as a noble earth kingdom citizen she didn’t learn about the siege of Ba Sing Se. I think that she just didn’t care, and focused on the fact that he wanted to help them now, and that what he did in the past didn’t matter.

now, even though Aang is the most forgiving one in the group, I’d say that he would definitely acknowledge what he did and at least confront him about it. in The Firebending Masters, he immediately reacts to Zuko saying that Iroh slayed the last dragon. he seemed surprise and maybe kind of disappointed. I think this shows that Aang has some kind of naivety and idealism that clouds his judgement of Iroh, but he isn’t completely blind in regards of what Iroh did.

Sokka would honestly maybe not hate him, but definitely not like him. I kind remember him being especially fond of Iroh in canon anyways, and I don’t think that knowing about his past actions would make that any better.

Katara is a bit more of a tricky one. because yes, she’s an idealist with a big heart and a big ass capacity to forgive the one that hurt her, but she would have a hard time forgiving him, especially because Iroh killed a lot of people. it’s the fact that he’s a killer, and the one that terrorised the city of BSS for 600 days. I honestly do not know if she could get past that. yes she forgave Jet, who nearly drown an entire town. but here’s the thing. 1) nobody was harmed because the town was evacuated (and yes ik that doesn’t change the fact that he wanted to do it but here’s the thing : it didn’t happen. nobody died. and that matters most.) 2) he’s a 16 yo traumatised orphan boy who lost his parents to the FN, something she can empathise with. 3) he actively did everything in his power to change for the better. that’s what makes it possible for Katara to forgive him. same thing for Zuko. yes he attacked them, on multiple occasions, he chased the Avatar around the entire world, he burned down Kyoshi village, and he betrayed her in BSS. but : 1) he didn’t kill anyone 2) he ultimately chose to make his life turn 180 just to help the Avatar, putting his life on the line by betraying the Fire Lord 3) he gave the possibility to Katara to get closure, not once being bitter about her hating him for what he did 4) he’s also 16. with a father that wants him dead, no home to go back to and a broken family.

but Iroh ? he’s old, he did the things he did with pride (hence the letter he wrote to Ursa and the children in Zuko Alone), he was a full grown adult, pampered since birth, with a father that adored him, and yet only the death of his son made him rethink his actions when he was already an old man. I don’t know if Katara would really be able to forgive him given the circumstances. yes she did forgive some cranky old men (Pakku) but the context was different. so, I honestly just don’t know.

now Suki. my girl is so flat in canon that I don’t really know. the Kyoshi warriors are not really active in the war, they try to stay out of it, so they may not even know about the BSS siege. if she knew she would probably be distant, maybe a bit cold. but I also can’t really see her being actively angry at him ?

now about Zuko (don’t know if you count Zuko as a part of the gaang anon) I think that him realising that Iroh is in fact not perfect, that he’s very much flawed and actually did messed up stuff would be kind of a big thing for his redemption. maybe even the beginning of a possible reconciliation between the fire siblings. but the writers are incapable of seeing that Iroh is an absolute asshole to Azula and that he’s kind of a shitty uncle to zuko so, yk, i know it will never happen but i can always dream.

beside the BSS siege, some things that might be interesting to write about in regards of the gaang reaction to Iroh’s past might be :

1) learning about Mongke and his fighters, who killed Jet’s family, and were under Iroh’s command

2) learning about Zuko’s scar and how Iroh was actually there when it happened, and did nothing against it.

3) the gaang interacting with Azula during her healing arc, learning about how Iroh was an absent figure of Azula’s life who pretty much needed his help as much as Zuko (but given the wonderful job he did with zuko idk if that’s the best idea) back then

anyways, I miss book 1 Iroh. peak characterisation.

in conclusion, my biggest problem here is that the show portrayed the gaang being more angry at characters like Jet, Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, Mai etc who are still children, than the 60 yo warlord. which wouldn’t be a problem if it was to show how naive they are, but it’s not. it’s never even ever talked about.

[nocturnalmoonmind]

Toph, smug: Katara, let’s play fuck, marry, kill. Haru, Jet, Zuko.

Katara: Fuck Zuko, marry Zuko, kill Ozai.

Sokka: That’s not... THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS.

Sokka: ZUKO ARE YOU INTO MY SISTER-

[atla-suki]

what’s ur opinion on suyin being sokka’s daughter?? (🤮🤮🤮)

oh my god i love this questionnnnnnnn😁😁😁😁😁😁 bc i get to argue against everyone’s silly little theory🤭🤭

my opinion is that that statement is WRONG! and that every reason people use to justify said theory that suyin is sokka’s kid is weak bc it can ALSO be used to justify the theory that BAATAR is sokka’s kid. (or varrick but i don’t like that one so i’m gonna #ignore it 😌)

“her kids look like sokka!” no. they look like their father. and HE looks like sokka.

“when we first meet suyin, she’s wearing armwraps like they do in the water tribe” literally what ru even talking about 💀her entire dance team wears them too - does that mean they’re all sokka’s kids???

also like in what world would SOKKA of all people be an absent father?? even if it was a fling or whatever idgaf he wouldn’t be completely absent from his child(ren)’s lives. not only because he’s loyal and caring and a beautiful man and i love him so so much, but also because he comes from the SWT and family and community are so so so important to them. ESPECIALLY to sokka, as someone who was entrusted with such care of his people and of his sister and so on. we see TIME AND TIME AGAIN how protective he is and how much he cares for those he loves. these are not traits of an absent father.

back on that baatar thing, it makes like 90x more sense for HIM to be sokka’s kid (and suki’s bc i love sukka and i am deciding that they stayed together forever bc it’s my blog and i make the rules).

an architect non-bender with darker skin who literally LOOKS like he’s related to sokka?

an architect. non-bender. who literally. looks. like. sokka.

based on pretty much no info of either suyin’s or baatar’s parentage (except toph), isn’t it more tangible that the metal clan get their supposed water tribe heritage from their father’s side?

anyway slay the boots house down baatar is a sokka kid #not suyin😌

[sharlmbracta]

i can't help but think that the two firelords in aang's fever dream would've been ozai's previous, early-staged designs, from the concept of the "firelord" to the concept of "ozai"

1.

this guy literally has fire shaped eyebrows and a fire nation insignia (or what it used to be?) stuck on his forehead. his blatant (stereotypical?) theme from his appearance is powerhungry(small eyes, bulky form), greedy-arrogant(eating grapes as a symbol?), brute-forced(war-themed clothing). I think this could be the very first design of him when creating the first idea of the "ultimate hero" and the "ultimate villain". The marks of the "first" can also be seen from the clothing design (the scarf? napkin? thingy around his chest) and simple color choices (simple red with simple yellow).

also you can see that he was agreed to have a very long and thin beard from the beginning which would feed on the "wisdom" "intelligence" and "strength" propaganda

2.

again, simple red and simple yellow.

clothing looks rather flashy, which means this look of him was also made at early stages of development and the atla fashion in general hasn't yet been stabilized. (: the flair in his wrists and the thing that goes across his shoulders to his chest. makes no sense. the top half looks like a flashy sleeping robe while the bottom half looks like... an outdoor activity metal skirt?)

he looks older than the previous one. does he? he looks more manipulative though. i think this is where his "slick tongue" personality was established bc a narrow eyes, narrow eyebrows character design kinda points to a stereotypical "rat person". i think. again long beard. that points to his high status or whatever.

this design looks like it was given to an earthbending trainer who haggled on money rather than actual teaching, who was assigned by toph's parents to be her earthbending teacher

3.

this is the very first time his face is actually shown. in seasons 1 and 2, his face was intentionally hidden, probably a tactic to bubble up the audience as "what could a monster like him look like 😱".

but ironically, he's a very normal looking guy. in fact, the most normal looking guy the designers could ever make intentionally. No part of him that could make anyone go "yep this is the face of the villain." this design of him is meant to convey that looks are often the most deceiving to your judgement. this ALSO shows when the gaang finds his baby picture in his beach house on ember island and mistake him for baby zuko.

it represents that everyone can go crazy with propaganda and an insane amount of power. like aang said, how everyone is capable of "great evil" and "great good".

taking katara's quote on the baby picture, "but he looks so sweet and innocent": his "innocent" look acts like a mask he puts on, as well as the mask of neutral expression, on top of the mask of his slick tongue.

the only thing that changes from here on is the frame of his face for anatomy i guess

below is also an impacting scene in my viewpoint:

how his face contorts from this

to this

in less than a second at azula's proposition of "burning it all to the ground". shows him that he's able to mask everything as he want it to, especially about stuff like neutral-face and power-face as that is NOT his ego-high power-tripping face:

THIS is his ego-high power-tripping face

and this is him putting back on his slick face right after a moment of being unable to mask his shock-rage and consequently rage-stripping himself

"now the universe delivers you to me like an 💅act 💅 of 💅 providence 💅" yep the providence that single-handedly blew your fucking ship up

also i forgot that the scene right after defeating ozai existed, i forgot how much of a drama queen he is:

"i'm STILL ALIVE"

and "i AM the phOEnix KING"

ok girlie fellow girlie

one more thing: he sounds genuinely proud of zuko when he commends him for "slaying" the avatar. and he reprimands aang for being "weak even with all the power in the world". looks like he really does think everything around power and ONLY power. hmm, i wonder who taught him that, hmm? tragic.

[girlbosstourney]

GIRLBOSS TOURNEY ROUND THREE: YEAH THESE TWO SEEM TO HAVE BAD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR DAUGHTERS

Select which one you think is GIRLBOSSIER, i.e., which one is the better girlboss

Propaganda

Toph Beifong:

The strongest earthbender in history at age 10. Invented metalbending. Regularly defeats opponents several times her size and/or age. Learned to earthbend from a giant animal. Uses her earthbending to see.

Grandmother Raven:

made the universe after her stupid ex-husband goads their children into destroying what is essentially heaven. she creates a universe that at its core both hates her husband irreconcilably and cannot function without him, steals his heart to create it, and then locks him in a pit forever. she starts getting cold feet about it so she steals her own sense of love and shoves it into her demi-god daughter so she doesn't have to deal with it anymore. she masquerades as a loving benevolent grandma before coming out in the third arc of the game as just a little batshit. also she's a gilf who slays hard.

[thesleepypuffin]

Modern high-school/uni ATLA AU!!

Placed during comics

Basically a modern day version of their world but with no bending

Zuko is sophomore at Ba Sing Se University studying political science cuz he HAS too in order to run his country, but his real passion is... THEATER

Sokka is his roommate; he’s studying mechanical engineering and is in the fencing club AND the DnD club but still managed to be a jock; he’s dating Suki of course 🛳 

Katara is a high school senior and for some crazy reason is dating AANG who is a genius and graduated high school when he was 13 so now he’s a freshman in college at 14

Appa is a big, fluffy, ADORABLE sheepdog and Aang has an old van painted to look like him (arrows and all, yip yip) BUT he's only allowed to drive it on back roads because he doesn't have his license yet HAHA so Katara has to drive him everywhere

Aang is allowed to take Appa to school because Aang has anxiety and Appa is his ESA

Momo is literally Toph's seeing-eye lemur

Toph is also a high school sophomore, still blind of course, loves her SONY headphones, birkenstocks, recycle or die ♻️, is a black belt in judo

Suki and her Kyoshi warriors are sorority girls EXCEPT the sorority is just a cover because they're actually Zuko's elite guards and have to be at the university with him hehehe, but it's also still just a sorority 

Suki is on the University’s volleyball team and she slays obvi; also goes the fencing club with Sokka sometimes and is also a brown belt in Karate

Azula is still kinda psycho, likes crashing parties and making life harder for Zuko, likes stealing, college sophomore, she has therapy but ditches sessions, went to college two years early because she was two grades ahead because she was super smart but now her grades are dropping and so are Zuko's because he has to deal with all her misbehavior

Mai is still dating Zuko of course, is extra fashionable and scary, college freshman, has a huge vertical garden in her dorm

Ty Lee does dance studies, yoga, and is definitely a pilates princess who is permanently in Lululemon, college freshman

[zukkarights69]

AtLA characters as things my friends have said;

Aang- (about the xenomorph) I can fix him

Katara- President of Norway slayed

Toph- I'll shit your bed no takesies backsies

Sokka- screw toeing the line, they're stepping over it with their dick out

Zuko- (To the tune of "Get down tonight") do a little dance, wiggle off a bridge, have a breakdown time

Azula- i would love to remove all gay ppl from my life but then i would have no one left