#so sokka’s just like ‘okay. well he deserves this’

[comradekatara]

2 kinds of grad students (both massive nerds)

#id in alt text #avatar the last airbender #atla #sokka #zuko #zukka #<- seems like i may as well tag it. considering #sokkaxzuko #(secretly this is sokkaxsuki tho. just look at sokka’s hoodie) #modern au #art #mart #if you’re wondering why there’s only one pile of graded papers it’s because sokka saved that paper for last #bc the handwriting was so illegible #(and zuko is responding even tho sokka isn’t talking abt his work bc he’s touchy. bc he knows he isn’t ocean vuong) #also before anyone’s like ‘shouldn’t sokka be the one writing poetry?’ YES sokka also writes poetry but it’s like. #silly little rhyming poems #he would never do an mfa art is a hobby to him and he thinks getting a degree in it is a waste of time #but he doesn’t tell this to zuko bc zuko wasted so much time suffering in undergrad trying to pursue a ‘respectable’ degree #so sokka’s just like ‘okay. well he deserves this’

[drpoisonoaky]

Training routine

Azula is... a person made by routine. She starts training every day at 5am.

But one day she said said “None of you, menaces to society, can do it too” so they try to prove her wrong.

Azula: Oh you made it. Sokka: Of course. Azula: But you look like shit.

Sokka: Well, I didn't sleep, so I can be awake right now. Azula: You didn’t sleep? How do you pretend to follow my training session? Sokka: To be honest, I didn’t think I’d made it this far and I’m too tired to even care anymore.

Suki: Ok smart-ass let 's begin. Azula: You look awake. Suki: I am. You’re not the only one who usually does this.  Azula: I know it’s not a Kyoshi warrior thing because I know Ty Lee.  Suki: It’s my thing. Believe or not I’m more than a “fan girl”. Azula: And she has humor too. Suki: So? Azula: Honestly, you were the only one in that group that I knew was capable of doing my training. So if you want to go and do your thing, it wouldn't change my mind or what I'm going to say to them. Suki: I’m here for your training. We will do that. Azula: Hmn. Suki: What are you waiting for? Azula: Fine pretty girl. Let’s start meditating.

Toph: I know you’re nuts but this is madness. Why do you have to start to do this so early?! Azula: Good morning to you too. When do you want me to do it? Toph: I don’t know, in the afternoon or after breakfast. Azula: After breakfast, I have to read the scrolls for the meetings that will take place that day. I have two hours to do this, and if I don't need all that time, I do paperwork. Azula: Then the meetings start. Usually everything for the day is set before lunch. Toph: Have lunch later and train there. Azula: After lunch I have to appear in several places in Caldera. You know, publicly blah, blah, blah. Toph: When you finish, you can train there and you can use it to relax. Azula: After that I have to have dinner. Toph: I’m pretty sure you can have dinner later. Azula: Dinner is with Katara. We hardly see each other during the day. Toph: So train after dinner. Azula: No. Toph: Why? Azula: Because that time is usually reserved for Katara and is non-negotiable. Toph: Her words or yours? Azula: Your poi- Don’t you dare to do a whip sound. Toph: Sure, domesticated prissy princess. Azula: Enough of this small talk. We have lost so much time already. Toph: And we don’t want to reduce your Katara time. Azula: Horse stance NOW.

Ty lee: Good Morning. Azula: At least open your eyes first. Ty lee: I train like this. Azula: You train in your pyjamas? Ty lee:  Azula: Go to sleep. Ty lee:  Azula: You tried and you are not a menace. Well, you never were, because you weren't included in that statement. Why are you here? Ty Lee: I'm too tired to shout at you, but in 3-4 hours, be prepared.

(Mai didn’t try it or even talk about it)

Aang: Good morning Azula! Azula: Oh, you look fresh? Aang: Is that a surprise? Azula: Yes. Let’s train. Aang: Sure, but it wouldn't kill you to say good morning too.

…

Azula: We'll see how Zuzu does, but by far you and Suki deserve a bit more respect from me. Aang: Thank you! That's nice, I guess. So if Zuko does well, you would give him more credit? Azula: Of course not.

Zuko: Of all of the things you have done to me, this is the most evil. Azula: Aren’t you a morning person? Zuko: Yes but when it’s morning. THE SUN IS NOT EVEN THERE. Azula: Don't worry, Zuzu, the sun will be there when we're done.

…

Azula: Zuzu, can you please stop throwing up, I want to have a bath and then breakfast. Zuko: I hate you. Azula: Don’t worry, you aren’t the only menace, you should have seen Sokka. Zuko: Aang? Azula: Nah, he did it well. Zuko: Suki? Azula: Don’t do this to yourself Zuko.

Katara, still half asleep in bed: Who’s turn is today? Azual, already up and ready: Yours. Katara: Oh okay let me just…*takes all the bed for herself* Katara: Have a good time. Azula: Don’t you want to prove that you are not a menace to society? Katara, almost asleep: I’m dating you.  Azula: See you point. *kisses her forehead* Sleep well, see you for breakfast. Katara: *snorts*

#avatar the last airbender #atla #azula #katara #azutara #kazula #fire siblings #suki #sokka #aang #toph #mai #zuko #redeemed azula #idk if we could count this as a little bit of suki/azula #maybe

[electro-strike-zukka-time]

El sequel Part 1

Zuko rubbed his eyes which only caused them to hurt more. Ever since he left Sokka he hadn't been able to do anything. His mind just kept circling back to the hurt look of Sokka's face as he left. Try as he might to read the pile of scrolls on his desk his mind just came back to those blue eyes. So he ended up just lying on his bed definitely not crying

 Spirits Zuko loved him but he couldn't-

“ALRIGHT!”

Zuko sat up immediately as the doors to his room were kicked in. He looked over and saw Sokka walking towards him. “What the-Sokka what are you doing-” “After careful consideration of your proposal I have rejected it.” Sokka said, climbing onto the bed. Zuko stared at him “What? There was nothing to reject Sokka.” 

Sokka sat crossed legged in front of him “Too bad I reject it anyways” he said smiling. 

Why was he smiling? “Sokka I can't-” Sokka moved forward and hauled Zuko into his arms which was easier than normal since he didn't put up any fight. Gods he couldn't even stick to his decisions for even a day. It took a bit of finagling and tangling of limbs but eventually Sokka was situated with his back to the headboard and a bundle of Zuko in his arms. “Sokka what are you doing?” Zuko asked quietly.

“Gonna hold my boyfriend until he stops being a idiot

He is still calling me his boyfriend. “I’m not being an idiot”

He felt lips press against his temple and a small whine escaped him as he melted further into Sokka’s arms. This only resulted in Sokka’s smile growing much larger.

“Hmmm I disagree.”

“I-I was just trying to protect and make you happy Sokka” Sokka tucked his face into his hair and said “I know and appreciate the thought baby but did you consider what I wanted?”

“I-” “Ask me what I want, Zuko.” “What do you want Sokka?”

“I want to keep being with you Zuko cause no matter what the world or you throw at me, I can handle it. Because all of that is nothing compared to how happy you make me Zuko.” Zuko's heart was definitely going to burst at this point and a few stray tears had already started to slip down his cheeks once more.

Sokka lifted a finger to wipe away tears before continuing “And even when I travel, I will always always come back to you Zuko. There is nothing in the world that could keep me away from you

Zuko let out a small sob “What if I'm not enough for you to come back?”

“Did you not hear what I just said? You are always enough babe, you think I’m gonna let something as perfect as you out of my life?”

“I don't deserve you Sokka,” Zuko said, burying himself in Sokka’s chest completely. 

“Well too bad cause you got me,” Sokka kissed him once again, “spirits love have you got me.”

He had tried to push Sokka away, to tell him to leave. But Sokka had said no, had come back, told him he loved him and would never let him go. Zuko didn't deserve him in the slightest and Sokka had rejected that notion too.

“I'm sorry Sokka, I’m so fucking sorry.” Zuko’s words came out strangled as he started to hyperventilate.

“I know babe I know.” “I just wanted-” He could barely choke the words out as he tried his best to breathe and talk at the same time.

“It's okay love I understand, now just breath for me love” “See once again your putting up with my weird shit and-”

Zuko felt a hand press to his chest “It aint a one sided thing love I help you and you help me, but for now just breathe for me okay?”

They stayed curled up together for a while, Sokka kissing him every now and then and whispering all sorts of sweet things in his ear. Zuko didn't know how long they stayed like this but eventually his mind had stopped racing enough for him to speak once more.

“I love you Sokka” “I love you too, you big idiot.” Zuko chuckled, “Yeah I deserve that.”

Sokka smiled “So do I get to be your boyfriend officially again?”

“If you want to.” “Zuko,” Sokka said with a warning look.

“Yes, yes I know.” “Then?” “Of course you can be my boyfriend again Sokka”

Sokka shifted to kiss him fully on the lips and Zuko let himself get lost in it.

“Thank you for not giving up on this Sokka.” “I am never gonna give up on us Zuko, I will always be yours” “And you will always be mine.”

#zukka #zuko #sokka #atla #avatar the last airbender

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

zuko doesn't think about katara outside of how she coudl bring aang to life and ruin the approval from his father.. zuko remembers aang suggestion of being friends

zuko getting a rainbow dance with aang

zuko/aang being sozin/roku parallel Zuko joking about capturing Aang / Aang worried about zuko going off to face azula alone

zukaang deserves more love its way more soulmateism than zutara will ever be iif only aang was older then it prob be the main gay ship tbh i think zukka is very overrated, no offense to zukkas but i just find the idea of what fandom presents of em as boring and it always makes zuko look like the girl of the ship kinda just want gay fanart to look like well gay fanart instead its usually just so.. heteronorative.

I usually don't like to call any gay content "heteronormative" because 9 times out of 10 is just dumb people on the internet misusing a term until it loses all meaning just so they berate other people for "enjoying fiction the wrong way"... but boy, do Zukka fans often fit that 1 time out of 10 in which it is used correctly.

I'm not anti-fujoshi, and a lot of times the "we must not allow straight girls to like gay stuff" is just misogyny dressed up as "fighting against objectification", but BOY, so much of the Zukka content post 2019 just screams "Okay, Zuko is the japanese guy, that means he's so feminine and submissive he just HAS to be 'the girl' of the relationship, while Sokka has dark skin, therefore he must be the aggressive, manly man that never bottoms" with manages to be homophobic, sexist and racist all in one go.

It's the same thing with some Zutara fanarts. I lost count of many times fandoms will want to lynch some poor artist because their drawing of a dark-skinned character has their skin be slightly darker/lighter and thus be called blackface/whitewashing even though the difference is barely even perceptible - meanwhile in come the worst zutarians with fanarts in which Katara looks like she was either drawn by a member of the KKK that is trying to make her look barely human since she commited the crime of existing while brown, OR they make her look so white she can be mistaken for Azula of all people.

I am not kidding. I once was going through Tumblr, saw what I assumed was a Zucest fanart because the girl had dark hair, pale skin, red lips and was wearing a red dress with all gold accessories... then I notice she has blue eyes and a blue necklace around her neck. I check the notes and yep, that was supposed to be KATARA.

HOW does one fuck up that badly?

(Also the Sozin/Roku parallels are objectively the gayest thing about Zuko and Aang's dynamic. Even gayer than the iconic "You're the thing that fuled my fire. No homo")

#anti zutara #anti zukka

[zukkaart]

Prompt where zuko had to go abroad for a year for diplomatic reasons. Sokka gets insecure about the fact Zuko might find someone there that's better looking but Zuko proves to him he loves him the same(maybe even more. Distance makes the heart fonder or whatever the saying is

If you're looking for angst then bb you have come to the right place I despise the miscommunication trope so you're lucky I love you.

~~~~~~~~~~

One thing about Sokka is he has abandonment issues.

After his mother died and father left before he was even ten, there was little anyone could do to quell his anxiety. Especially when Aang almost died, he felt like that eight year old boy all over again as he cried into his father's chest.

He knew it wasn't their own faults, not really, and he didn't hold any resentment. It still didn't change the way he reacted whenever one of the people he cared about had to leave. He always felt like something would happen and they'd never return.

Over the last five years with everyone having to return to their respective nations as well as travelling around the world as diplomats Sokka had no choice but learn to adapt.

He wasn't expecting his anxiety to jump back through the roof when Zuko finally asked him to be his boyfriend on a visit to the South Pole. It was one of the happiest days of his life, until it wasn't.

Sokka didn't anticipate the way panic would grip his chest when the fire lord had to return to his people. They wrote letters back and forth almost every day, and they visited each other whenever possible. It had been three years since they began their long distance relationship and he still had no idea how Katara and Aang did it.

It had been okay between them for a while, Zuko was very good at reassurance and Sokka was content to drive himself in to his work and travels to distract himself. However, with everything so peaceful he hadn't had a reason to travel to the other nations, which meant he hadn't seen Zuko in almost 8 months now.

"Sokka? Are you alright?" Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, starling him awake from where he had fallen asleep across his diplomacy plans and maps.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "I was just trying to figure out the best trade routes between us and the NP before going through the Earth Kingdom,"

The truth was, he wasn't okay. He had barely been eating or sleeping. Zuko had been in the North pole for the last three months, so on top of still not being able to see him he was now an entire world away, and they were corresponding much less frequently due to the distance and Zuko's endless work to improve relations.

Sokka couldn't help but feel like the longer he went without seeing his boyfriend, the less likely he was to come back at all. The added factor of being in a relationship made him feel like not only was something terrible likely to happen, but he also constantly worried that Zuko would find someone better... especially in the North Pole.

The North Pole had a large army full of brave warriors, and Sokka felt that any one of them was worth two of him- even after everything that he'd done. Zuko deserve someone better, but he still wanted the person he chose to be him. He had never spent more than two months in another nation at a time. Sokka couldn't help but feel like maybe he found someone.

"Come on, some messenger hawks just came in," Katara sighed, not failing to note the dark circles under his eyes that seemed to get deeper by the day. Sokka mumbled his agreement and pulled on his parka to follow her.

They finally reached the hawk perches and Sokka's mood was unimproved when he found no letters for him except updates from Toph and Aang on the construction of Republic City. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, and he knew she was about to suggest she use some healing on him to help him sleep, but she never got the chance,

"Ship in port! All hands!" The dockmaster called, but it was the middle of the night. So Sokka and Katara took off running to help, practically falling through the snow as they went.

It was in fact a ship, a fire nation ship. Sokka felt his heart leap in his chest. That would explain the lack of correspondence. Zuko never write while he was sailing, he always insisted on focusing on helping his crew.

Sokka and Katara took the ropes that the crew tossed down and began working with the few dockhands working the night shift to drag it in to port. It took them a while. The moment the anchor was dropped Sokka sprinted up the gang plank and on to the ship, practically knocked the captain flat on his ass.

He righted him with a quick apology. "Where is Zuko?" He asked slightly frantically.

"The Fire Lord? Why would he be here?" The captain asked,

"Well because he- I...." Sokka dropped his head, not letting go of the captains shoulders, "He's really not here?"

The captain offered him a sympathetic look, "No, but that's actually why I'm here, to bring you back to the Fire Nation," Sokka's disappointment was instantly replaced by icy fear running up his spine. "What? What's wrong? Is he okay?"

That time the captain laughed lightly and gently removed Sokka's hands from his armor. "Nothing is wrong, your presence as an emissary is simply requested on behalf of the fire lord." He handed over an official correspondence with a royal seal.

He spoke the truth, so Sokka said his goodbyes to Katara and made sure she was alright. She assured him she was since Aang would be arriving in a few hours and their father would be sailing back from the EK in a week. So he packed a bag, hugged her goodbye, and set on his way. It would take them a month to reach Caldera City.

~Z~

"Your highness, embassador Sokka has arrived," The court announcer found him in his room, where he was frantically trying to figure out how to string leather. He had barely just returned from the North Pole where he had spent the last three months trying to learn every Water Tribe tradition possible surrounding marriage and betrothal. Most of them were simple, but carving a necklace? Proved to be nearly impossible.

He spent an entire extra month than anticipated there, just working with their best carvers and creating a design all his own. He broke a frankly absurd amount of bone circles in the process, but eventually made one that was perfect. Only one thing left to do.

~S~

He couldn't help his hands from shaking as he walked up the steps of the palace, he was about to open the large main doors when a servant ran up to him, practically out of breath.

"Embassador, the Fire Lord requests that you meet him by the turtle duck pond, shall I escort you?" He gasped for air

"No," Sokka couldn't help but crack a smile and place a comforting hand on the frazzled young man's shoulder. "I know where it is,"

He made his way around the palace and through the outdoor pathways that he could have walked in his sleep. Zuko always met him there if he was feeling stressed or had something important to talk about. His enthusiasm slipped back in to anxiety the closer he got. What if he did find someone else? What if he only brought him all the way here to break up with him in person?

I should just get back on that ship and go home

But it was too late. His feet had taken control all the way in to the garden, where Zuko was just sitting peacefully in the late afternoon light watching the turtle ducks swim around.

If this moment was to end, Sokka convinced himself to stand in it a moment longer. If he could just keep sitting there... so beautiful.

Zuko must have felt his eyes because he turned his head then, and beckoned him over. Sokka obeyed and sat down next to him. He reached a hand out but Zuko pulled away.

Tui and La spare me if this is how it ends

"What?" Zuko asked, and Sokka realized he must have that that out loud. He couldn't bring himself to say anything else, only to meet his eyes, tears welling in them.

Zuko immediately dropped whatever he was holding on to the grass in favor of taking Sokka's face with both hands.

"My love what's wrong?" Sokka couldn't stop the tears then from freely rolling down his face as he began to sob,

"I"m so sorry, I should have visited you more. If you found someone else it's okay but I don't want to know and I don't want to meet them," He gasped in between sobs, "Please, please spare me that,"

"Sokka? Lover, what are you talking about?" "You spent so long in the North, longer than usual right?"

A indecipherable look crossed Zukos face

"Yes," He confirmed, and his eyes flickered down, "A month longer, but it-" "I knew it," Another sob wracked his body as he yanked his face from Zuko's grasp and immediately began storming off. He heard shuffling behind him and silently prayed that Zuko would let him go with his dignity. He said as much,

"Sokka please! It's not like that, just wait!" "Leave me alone! I don't want to hear it!" He snapped back

"Sokka you absolutely wonderful idiot," Zuko grabbed his arm and yanked him around so they were face to face,

"Don't call me a-"

"Sokka I'm trying to propose!"

"You...what?"

(This one is literally so long my badddd but I hope you like it)

#avatar the last airbender #zuko #atla #sokka avatar the last airbender #zuko x sokka #zukka nation #zukka au #sokka #zukka incorrect quotes #adult zukka #zukka prompt #zukka fic #asks #send me asks #send me prompts #one shot #zukka #katara #aang

[nevercomingoutofthecloset]

this isn’t to dig on ur anti zutara post but rather start a discussion.

in my experience, the reason we zutarians don’t like zukka is because of the animosity we get from the fandom. we analyze the subtle details we are given because practically every zuko and Katara interaction in the show is because all of them save the first have some degree of zutara in it. their chemistry- be it platonic or romantic- is undeniable.

and yet, we are told by zukkas and kataangers that we are wrong for shipping the ship. a lot of zukkas sideline the women in atla- sokka is given a lot of Katara’s qualities that are stated in the show (ie: people claiming that sokka is the team dad when he literally confessed that he saw Katara more as his mother than his actual mother), mailee is just there (majority of the mailee fics on ao3 are just them being a side couple in zukka fics), and not to mention comradekatara’s posts from back when they were lesbians4sokka about Katara being homophobic. even if it was a joke, it was something that people took seriously. a lot of the same zukkas are the ones making fun of katara for talking about her mother’s death when that literally happened three times outside of the southern raiders episode.

dont get me wrong, I know that the zutara fandom was absolutely rabid in the early 2000s and that’s where we get our bad reputation, but the only time that we’ve had issues with other people in the atla fandom was when they interacted with our content and it blew up.

Honestly you make some points I agree and disagree with so I'll go one paragraph at a time

1.

I do agree that some zutirans get hate that isn't deserved. I definitely think that a lot of the fandom doesn't like zutartians, I'm part of that group as well (for the most part). I also do think they have chemistry, but more in a way that's more like family rather than lovers.

I think the over-analyzing is a bit too much, I'm overwhelmed every time I see a zutara post. Obviously, some analyzing is okay, I sometimes analyze ships, but I feel like zutartians do it sm that it feels kind of annoying?? Maybe that's just me, but I feel like you don't have to analyze things just to justify your ship. Just ship what you like

2.

I agree with the fact that zukka shippers tend to sideline women in fics. I've def read fics where katara is sort of villanized, and I definitely don't agree with that. A lot of the time, ppl prefer MLM ships to than WLW ship, (which if you ask me, is because ppl prefer male characters to female ones (*cough* misogyny *cough*)(though i dont think most of the misogyny is purposely done)) m 6

Idk if it's bc we're in different parts of the fandom, but I've never really seen ppl say that shipping zutara is wrong?? I've seen ppl say they don't like it, and why, but they always state that they don't care if people ship zutara and that they're only stating reasons they personally don't like it.

Perhaps it's because I tend to stay away from the more toxic part of the community because if I see smth I don't like I more often than not just scroll past. But I def believe that their are zukkas who are toxic, but I think some of that is just because ppl are toxic, no matter what fandom you're in.

I can't really speak on kataangers because while I do like the ship, I'm not really in that part of the fandom, so I'm not sure if ppl are unnecessarily mean to zutarians.

(Edit: nvm kataangers can be real assholes, I def believe that they're unnecessarily mean to ppl who dont ship kataang 😒😒)

3.

As for the zutara Fandom in the early 2000s I can't really speak on that bc I didnt watch atla until I wanna say 2017 or 2018. So I don't really know what the fandom was like.

So yeah, that's kinda my take?? Idk I spent like a good while trying to figure out what to say 🤧🤧

#atla #zukka #kataang #anti zutara #im not gonna tag zutara cuz i dont wanna put stuff in zutartians tags if the post is about how i dont like zutara

[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!

#avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #katara #ozai #ursa #azula #iroh #atla suki #atla #avatar aang #sokka #atla jet #toph beifong

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

So I just went on tiktok and saw people shitting on the adaptation. And it's like...Is the netflix atla flawed? Yes, of course. It it a perfect adaptation? Come on, it's like you're living in a world where such thing exists. If you are not enjoying the show - it's completely fine.

But it absolutely does not deserve the utter hate I see from those guys.

I'm sorry, but what did you expect? The very same show as the animated series but this time with real life people? Sorry to break it to you, but it's impossible.

Look, I don't really remember the first season of animated series all that much, I absolutely do not remember all the details. But I can tell the shitshow when I see it and that's not it. People who adapted aang's story clearly love the source material and care for it and they did a great job with adapting the plot to the live action series format.

Yes, of course, they downplayed some of the characters. Aang is much less joyful and childish - but maybe it's because they don't have 20 episodes for him to realistically go from actively avoiding responsibility to fully accept it. Like, yes, you can probably say that the episodes length compensates amount of them, but it doesn't really work that way for emotional journeys. Usually each episode has it's own little emotional arc for every character - so for animated series we have 20 little arcs showing Aang's emotional growth with 20 stages. The netflix series has only 8 of them. Even if the amount of time in theory adds up - it's not the same, it's not how the episode are being structured.

Then there's Katara. I admit - I do not like that they downplayed her motherly nature, her emotional maturity contrasting her rage. I do not like that they got rid of most scenes between her and Aang, especially her teaching him and calming him down. But do you know what I expected? I was so afraid that they would do the same thing the modern medea does to almost every single female character - deprive her of any trait of her character that is remotely traditional feminine, deprive her of her emotions and leave her with only badassery and girlbossery. And I'm so glad they didn't do it that I actually don't care that much.

I heard the guy whining something about "they didn't do the secret tunnel right" and I just can't. You understand why they didn't do it exactly like in the animated series, right? Riiight? It's probably has something to do with kissing between literal children, even if it's just implied. Personally, I wouldn't want that to happen. It was kinda cringe even in the animated version.

Also I saw a video of a guy (90% of such videos are guys) being just "the animated series did this and that, and the netflix version did another thing and it's not like the original" about Suki and Sokka and there was something about "...and then Suki just beats up Sokka's ass out of nowhere". It's like - have we watched the same stuff? She comes to see him training because he is this boy from outer world, from bigger land and she is interested. And then they train together for a little bit and she beats him in a training fight - that is literally what happened. It wasn't ou of nowhere, it was Suki being a girl that doesn't know how to communicate with a guy she kinda likes! Well, I don't know if she actually likes him at this point but she's clearly interested in him. Does it take being a girl myself to understand?

There are many more flaws and drawbacks but it's okay because overall the show is very enjoyable. It doesn't deserve the hate I saw.

#netflix atla #atla spoilers #avatar the last airbender #atla #i haven't seen all of it #just the first 4 episodes #but come on

[zukos-tiny-burnt-ear]

Here we are! My version of the older gaang!

I'm gonna detail some of my thought processes below the cut

(Original for reference)

So for Aang, I had several gripes about his older version. The first and biggest one was that he looked wayyy to angular, so I softened up his feautures. Additionally, he's supposed to be about 23 in that drawing, and I mean, I thought he looked much much older than that (being 22 I think I have a little insight), so I tried to keep him a little uounger looking as well. Next problem was his clothes. To be perfectly fair I hated just about everything about them lol. Weird long-sleeve shirt under a vest/cape under a sash? It looked. Silly. I opted to keep his clothing similar to his Book 3 outfit, as I really liked it, and added his prayer beads(?), as well as a betrothal necklace! I feel by this point he and Katara would likely be married, and I liked the idea of Katara carving a necklace for Aang

For Katara, at first glance I didn't dislike her design, but then I looked at it closer. The short-sleeved shirt with the fur, implying that its made of quite a heavy and thick fabric sounds like a sensory nightmare. She appears to be wearing a shirt underneath, but the sleeves are clearly no longer than the topshirt, which seems. Weird and unnecessary. Skirt was okay, just a little boring, and she also is wearing pants underneath? So what I did was keep the general vibe, but made the top robe longer, and keep the bottom layer as just pants, trying to be more reminiscent of her old outfits. Gave the belt a little more ✨️pizazz✨️, and also gave her back her water pouch. I liked it, wanted her to have it. The last big change I did was I read up on Inuit tattoos, and decided to give her tattoos as well (Sokka was also originally going to get tattoos, but as it turns out the practice is almost done exclusively by woken and for women, so I decided against it)

Toph. I completely hated and have always hated the notion of her being a cop. It just. Doesn't really sit in line with her as a character imo. My other big gripe is they did nothing different to her hair! Anywho. So my biggest challenge was what would Toph actually do in the future? And I landed on pro-bending! I think she would have really enjoyed it, she'd get to Earthbend for a living (one of her favorite things), kick people's asses (another favorite thing), and make hella money (another favorite thing!) So I decided to put her in a pro-bending uniform, and try to imagine what early ones would look like (I figure she'd probably be one of the first pro-benders). Not much changed to be perfectly honest, aside from some coloring differences, more green trim denoting her as an Earthbender, rather than the neutral yellow/ reddish trim on the modern ones (also I realized only now that i covered her feet. Woops lol). I also chopped her hair short. I think she deserves it (eventually I'll get around to drawing a more up close version of her face/hair)

Zuko. Umm. His outfit baffles me. I cannot make any sense of it tbh. The shirt under the shoulder armor under the outer robe. The motorcycle-esque saddle bags. The skirt over the longer skirt. It all had to go lolol. I get that they were going for him being more like, adventure-ready/battle-ready, but he has a country to run! And is also trying to move away from the heavy militaristic/imperialistic image of said country. So I gave him a more relaxed, diplomatic looking outfit. Also. Where did his crown go? I put that back. He's the oldest of the groip, but still not quite 30. He's the only one that recieved any age lines, and it's just between his eyebrows (I imagine doing paperwork and sitting in meetings would make him furrow his brow a lot). Gave him the teeniest bit of facial hair, tbh I truly think the only one to grow reliable facial hair at this age range is Sokka lol

In my personal opinion, Sokka's original design is the best one. My least favorite part is probably the compression sleeve under the arm wraps, which seems redundant somehow. But overall not too bad! Still, I said I was gonna redesign them all, and I knew I could add a lil more sparkle to it. I wanted to take inspiration from Hakoda's outfits. Sokka really looks up to his dad, so I feel like modeling some of his clothing after him isn't a stretch at all. I also just personally believe that Sokka would wesr Uggs. So I've given him shoes similar to them lolol. Also gave him some facial hair starting to become similar to his dad's as well

#atla #avatar the last airbender #my art #art #zuko #aang #sokka #katara #toph #gaang redesign #ryn rambles #i had fun with this tbh #it just took a while to get the designs set #also remembered i do designing better in traditional art so i had a couple attempts digitally before #i just drew it in my sketchbook lol

[transboysokka]

ok im all for your take of zuko not having a praise kink due to trauma, like i kind of adore that. growing up the way he did, praise probably only ever came as a disguise for something else, so it makes sense that he'd immediately be suspicious of any praise he gets. not believing it or thinking that there's some other meaning behind it. and suddenly being thrown into the headspace of childhood emotional defenses isn't exactly great for the bedroom adhjsgf

and im a hurt/comfort glutton, so now i cant stop thinking about a scenario where zuko and sokka really figure this out the first time. like, everything's going well, and sokka starts saying praising nothings, cuz it's what he'd like so why not try it? and even zuko isn't entirely sure what's going on with himself, but suddenly he's defensive and uncomfortable and the mood is thoroughly ruined, and sokka and zuko have to pause and figure out wtf just happened. cue yet another insight into zuko's fucked up childhood, and sokka going "WOW. OK. what yhe fuck." and then its cuddles and a long talk about what type of language is and isn't allowed during sex

EXACTLY! Great minds think alike, haha

Here's a short little something for that:

CW for vague sexual content and discussion/mentions of past child abuse bc Ozai Is An Asshole

"Good boy." "Take it for me, I know you can." "Are you gonna come for me like a good boy?"

It didn't bother him at first, because Zuko could see Sokka... enjoyed? Talking to him that way... But every now and then some of those words would send a shiver through his body.

("Good boy, at least you can be useful for something.")

"Hey, babe?" he breathes, moving a hand up to cover Sokka's mouth. "Hm?" "Stop talking."

He couldn't stay quiet for long.

"Look at you baby, just like that." "You take my cock so well." "Fuck, good boy. Thank you so much baby." "You listen so well." "You're perfect." "You're such a good boy. Tell me what you are."

Zuko froze as if he'd been doused with a bucket of freezing water.

("You're an ungrateful bastard who doesn't deserve the title of Prince." A slap. "Tell me what you are." Another slap. "Good boy.")

He rolled off of Sokka to the other side of the bed, panting hard, covering his face defensively.

No nonono, not now...

"Babe! Zuko!" The concern in Sokka's voice grounded him enough to stop the spiral.

Zuko removed his hands from his face and peered over at Sokka, embarrassment creeping in.

Sokka stared over at him, a mix of emotions on his face: confusion, hurt... worry. He scooted carefully to Zuko's side, knowing enough not to make any sudden movements at a time like this.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Tell me what I did wrong. Talk to me," he tentatively reached an arm out to grip Zuko's hand, who took it and held on tight.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said eventually, "I just... Please don't talk to me like that..."

His boyfriend nodded, but still didn't seem to understand.

"Sure, babe. We're still figuring out the sex stuff, right? Remember, anything you need me to different, you just need to say. Can you tell me what it was I said that bothered you?"

Zuko drew Sokka's hand in closer to his chest, trying to think of the words to say that would bring back the least amount of pain.

"Any of the... good things you say. I just..." He subconsciously reached up with his other hand and touched his scar, a motion Sokka quickly recognized. His eyes widened.

"Oh shit, babe, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Your dad...?" Sokka reached to wrap his arms around Zuko, and he settled into them gratefully, leaning into Sokka's chest, "Sorry, you don't have to give me the details if you don't want."

"It's okay, I..." He took a shaky breath, "He... would mock me. He spoke to Azula like that, with love, and meant it. But to me..." Zuko's voice trailed off and he buried his face into Sokka's shoulder, suddenly ashamed.

Sokka didn't say anything at first, running his fingers through Zuko's hair, then tilting his chin up so they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Zuko. That's really fucked up and I know you hate it when I say it, but I'm sorry that happened to you because you didn't deserve it, him twisting up love and hate like that for you."

"I know." A tear rolled down his cheek. Over time, it was getting easier to hear and accept those words- and believe them- but the embarrassment never quite went away.

"I won't talk to you like that during sex anymore, okay? Thank you so much for telling me. But um..." Now it was Sokka's turn to blush. Zuko waited curiously for him to continue, "Do you think... you could try... talking to me like that?"

Zuko blinked, surprised. He thought about it and nodded slightly. It... might actually be good to take control of a situation like that, take the words back... But all he said was, "Oh."

Because he was a little surprised Sokka wanted that.

"I just-" Sokka was blushing now, like he sometimes did when he was trying to talk about something serious and personal, "I've always liked to feel useful you know, and nobody's talked to me like that since my mom-"

Ah.

"Okay, yeah, I get it. You... want me to call you a good boy? Stuff like that?"

Sokka nodded, face as red as the sheets they lay together on.

"Thanks for telling me, babe."

Zuko kissed his forehead. This was going to be kind of cute, in a sexy sort of way.

#quesTian #drabble #zukka #atla

[theowritesfiction]

'The Tales of Ba Sing Se'

I don't really have much to say about this episode. I like it just fine, but I don't know what to say about all these little vignettes that only tangentially tie into the overall plot.

The Toph and Katara bonding moments are probably my favorite of the episode. They have been working together well in the previous episodes, but this vignette cements their friendship. Them teaming up to teach those mean bully girls a lesson is just epic moment for them both. I love that even though Toph keeps repeating that she doesn't need anyone's approval, she is deeply appreciative of Katara's support and kindness.

It's great to see Iroh helping people without asking for anything in return, and him breaking down as he reminisces about his son is heartbreaking, but as an Azula stan, the vignette also makes me salty. So everyone deserves your help, Iroh, but not your niece. Okay, I see how it is. Still, a wonderful tribute to Mako.

I have literally nothing to say about Aang's vignette. It's a nothingburger for me. Would have rather checked in with what Azula and the dangerous ladies are up to, this was boring.

Sokka's haiku duel is perhaps one of the better examples of Sokka the comic relief being used in a truly amazing way that elicits genuine laughter from me even if I've seen this bit about a dozen times. It's just brilliantly written.

My god I had completely forgotten how nonexistent Zuko's game is with Jin. If not for the recovery at the end of the date and lighting the lanterns for Jin, I'd say Jin would have probably ranked him as her worst date ever. And Zuko, no, it's not really that complicated.

Momo's vignette... eh, bit of time wasting. Anyway, I have to say I didn't find this episode quite as fun as I remember it being. I guess it's an okay filler episode. But there definitely aren't any jerk points to award.

Ugh, Appa's episode is next... that will be a sad re-watch. :(     

#my atla rewatch #atla book 2 #the tales of ba sing se

[comradekatara]

sorry if someone’s asked this before (i tried looking thru previous posts but didn’t see anything), but in modern au atla what clubs and/or sports would everyone join? i feel like sokka and suki would both do soccer (and thus sokka’s sexism storyline plays out) and sokka would also do like robotics or something. katara’s maybe in some environmentalist club and i get the feeling that she and azula would run against each other for student body president. zuko’s a theater kid and mai does tech or stage crew. toph does wrestling and aang’s probably in basketball and/or one of those peer leader things where he volunteers to help out in classrooms

okay some of this will be rehashing old stuff so if you’re as intimately familiar with my modern au as i am (which. how. that’s literally impossible) then this will be old news to you but just try to suck it up kthx

also, quick disclaimer that i do not think sokka would be sexist (not like, notably so anyway, obv everyone raised in a patriarchal society internalizes sexist notions, but he wouldn’t be like “girls can’t play soccer!!!” lmfao) in a modern au. like, if sokka grew up socialized around kids his own age that simply would not be an issue for him. the closest he gets to ever pissing katara off thru misogyny (he still pisses her off in a lot of other ways, of course) is when katara is like “can you believe this ‘male loneliness epidemic’ bs???” and sokka (terminally offline) is just like “well isn’t there kind of some truth in that…” and katara’s like “sokka. this isn’t about guys whose girlfriends have DIED, this is about guys whose vibes are so rancid that they cannot get a gf in the first place.” and sokka just like “oh. well then i guess they deserve to be lonely.” and that’s that.

katara is the queen of after school activities. she plays soccer, hockey, basketball (she’s not actually tall enough but she’s got enough spirit!), is on the swim team, she does it all. she’s the captain of the hockey team, but suki is the captain of the soccer team. azula is also on the soccer team and suki is constantly having to separate them bc they’re always getting into very violent fights in the dirt before the game even starts. katara prides herself on being the most athletic girl in school (aside from suki), and pushes herself so hard to be the best at every single sport. (for no reason in particular…)

when toph wants to start a wrestling club, katara is the one who starts a petition after the administration says it’s “too dangerous.” because aang asks nicely, they finally get enough signatures that the administration is just like “fine, whatever,” and gives them a room. for the first few meets, it’s just katara and toph wrestling each other with aang and suki sitting in the stands and that’s it, but eventually more people show up and it becomes a whole big thing. no one is as good as katara and toph, though. especially not when they fight each other (bc for them, it’s personal).

when azula runs for student body president, katara gets so pissed off that she also runs for student body president. toph’s just like “uhh.. no one will vote for you. everyone finds you abrasive.” and katara’s like “wow. that’s rich coming from you.” but toph’s like “no they hate me too, that’s how i know.” which, okay, fair enough. katara does actually win in a landslide though, because azula’s platform is bonkers. her campaign promises are all about improving test scores and gpas in somewhat violatory and terrifying ways, whereas katara’s platform is to abolish homework, abolish grades, make gym class a triple period, abolish math, and put a composting bin in the cafeteria. only one of those things actually happens once she gets elected, but at least the other kids can rest easy knowing that their president is a girl of the people.

katara is in a bunch of activist clubs that she started herself, and the only reason anyone ever shows up is because aang always shows up and everyone loves aang. toph shows up to katara’s indigenous students alliance and katara’s just like “uhhh…. i thought you were chinese??” toph’s like “oh. i am. but sokka promised he’d do all my homework for a week if i agreed to take his place at this thing.”

aang kind of just shows up to whatever katara is up in arms about this week. he can’t be bothered to join after school activities of his own because he’s too busy being a cool and popular kid (a very time consuming profession fyi), but he always shows up to every one of katara’s games (of which there is at least one a week), and all her little clubs and fundraisers for the poor (aang is almost always tactful enough to never say “um. aren’t you poor?”) and whatever else she needs him around for. every time aang is sick or otherwise indisposed, whenever katara attempts to organize anything, no one ever shows up. aang doesn’t even do anything in particular, he kind of just hovers near her, but his presence is like a magnet. people flock to him. katara, not so much.

sokka is actually on the baseball team. he joined after accidentally watching a full game of baseball on tv once in a doctor’s waiting room and realizing that baseball is actually just physics. he’s their star player, because he can score a home run with his eyes closed. if any of his friends ever actually showed up to his games, they’d be wildly impressed. but because katara’s propaganda, that baseball is the most boring of all the sports and who would wanna waste their time watching it, is so effective (because she’s right), no one who actually matters to sokka is in any way aware of his gift. he doesn’t really care, because he thinks sports are frivolous anyway, but it means a lot to katara that no one ever find out that he secretly has athletic talent. he already has ALL of academics, he doesn’t need to encroach on her thing!!! her ONE thing!!!!!

sokka is also in go club, chess club, robotics club, debate club, and mathletes. he also works multiple jobs after school and tutors other kids. no one knows how he has time for all his shit, especially considering he’s also never handed in an assignment late and has a perfect gpa, but whenever he shows them his color coded schedule timed down to the second they immediately regret they ever asked. (his secret is that if he doesn’t exhaust himself both physically and mentally with one million activities per day, he will succumb to his depression and never get out of bed again and possibly kill himself. so whenever anyone’s like “aren’t you tired!!” sokka lies and says “nope!” in truth, he’s exhausted. he just knows it’s wayyy better than the alternative.)

toph first meets sokka as her tutor. she had previously driven 11 other, much more qualified tutors away by being too smart for their bullshit. poppy is desperate by the point she agrees to hire sokka. she basically just needs someone to transcribe toph’s homework for her (and not fall into the trap of simply writing it for her, which she’s very effective at tricking people into doing), but sokka and toph quickly become actual friends. it doesn’t take long, they both just start shit talking her parents and realize that they already have so much in common. sokka still demands to get paid all throughout highschool, but toph knows it’s not personal and never feels like their friendship is transactional. sometimes she does ask sokka to teach her things, though, which he always happily obliges. although, on occasion, she’ll ask him about a subject he doesn’t already know about, at which point he’ll be like “that’s a good question. let me think on it, and i’ll prepare some materials for a lesson plan tomorrow!” at which point he goes to a library, gets a massive textbook on whatever topic toph was interested in, stays up all night reading it, and then comes back the next day and recites the entire book to her from memory. toph usually gets bored after like five minutes of this, but knows she’s in too deep to just say “forget i asked,” and politely waits out his lecture.

besides wrestling club, toph also tries to play soccer (it’s the closest she can get to actually joining the football team, which is her ultimate dream), but the administration forces suki to ban her from the team “for her own safety.” it makes suki furious, because toph is actually an excellent goalie and they’d know that if they ever saw her play, but they assume that because she’s tiny and blind there’s simply no way in hell she’s ever blocking a single goal. but katara is this close to threatening that they burn down the entire school to teach them a lesson, so instead suki’s just like “what if you guys started a wrestling club?? that could be fun.” and thus the highlight of toph (and katara’s) entire life is born.

suki is widely regarded as being one of the most popular girls in school, because she’s incredibly athletic, but also has a very cool, carefree, laidback attitude that doesn’t make her seem intimidating to guys (unlike. uh. some people). every single girl in school, gay or straight, either deeply admires her or straight up has a crush on her. this is why she ever has enough people agreeing to join her roller derby team. sokka comes to a game to support her and is just like “uhhh….. this should be illegal???”

suki also does martial arts after school, although not in any way affiliated with the school. however, they may as well be, because all the girls who are into her will show up to her dojo knowing that she’ll offer to train them in a hands on, personal session. to be clear, she’s fully aware of what she’s doing. it’s basically is her go-to move. when she first develops feelings for sokka she tries to do the same thing, but sokka just assumes that suki is looking to humiliate him as retribution for him knowing how bad at physics she is, and politely declines.

zuko IS a theater kid but throughout all of high school (this changes in college) he’s terrified of ever even glancing at a stage. he’s like “if i join any sort of theatrical project everyone will think im gay……………….which would be BAD because im NOT.” it’s very obvious that he’s an aspiring thespian/dramaturg, though, because every time the school puts on any kind of play all his friends are subjected to merciless critiques of how they’ll inevitably butcher the source material in such and such ways, as they always do. suki finds these diatribes particularly amusing. she’s just like “uh huh. sure honey.”

at one point zuko gets it into his head that if he did mathletes like azula maybe ozai would like him more and thus treat him better, so he asks sokka to teach him to be good at math so that he can be good at mathletes. sokka is like “shouldn’t your first goal be to get better at math so that you can stop getting C’s on all your math tests?” zuko is very stubborn about it, though, so sokka just shows zuko the kind of problems he works on for fun and zuko is immediately like “nvm. maybe i’ll do a sport instead.” sokka’s like “yeah! you could join the baseball team it would be really fun!” but zuko’s like “okay nvm AGAIN. why are all your hobbies boring and evil.”

mai doesn’t do clubs. mai doesn’t play sports. she is a loner, not a joiner. she’s like “maybe if there was a club for cool girls who play niche indie games and read dostoevsky….” but this all changes when sokka forces her to join his robotics club meeting. mai is just like “holy shit? you made this???” and after that day she is the number one robotics girlie and becomes obsessed with those robot death matches. she and sokka waste so much time building the most useless little robots. mai is really good at coding and sokka is really good at engineering, so their robots are actually quite impressive. katara thinks it’s the lamest shit ever, and wishes they’d stop bringing giant pieces of scrap metal into her house.

ty lee does ballet quite intensely and gymnastics fairly competitively outside of school. everyone sort of assumes she’d be a cheerleader if their school had a cheer team, so she gets the reputation of one without having to actually do any of those dangerous stunts. she’s also in go club and chess club. sometimes she and sokka are the only two people who actually show up and they just play one continuous game that lasts for hours. she also joins the roller derby team and suki’s dojo, for no particular reason.

finally, azula does everything. literally everything. even clubs she despises, because her number one goal at all times is someday getting into harvard (and then graduating harvard top of her class and then going to harvard law and then making partner within her first year at a big firm and then becoming queen of all totality). her number two goal is showing up sokka. she plays every sport the school offers, joins every club, volunteers, interns, tutors pro bono (only because she knows that sokka charges, and she wants to rub in his face that she doesn’t need money), takes every language their school offers at once, and demands extra credit homework even though her gpa is already perfect. she’s part of the young republicans but will also canvas for local democratic candidates because she knows that it looks good on an application. besides mai and ty lee, who have known her for long enough that they simply find her antics amusing, no one likes her. many are genuinely terrified of her. sokka, however, does not find her scary at all, a fact which infuriates her to no end. in his mind, she is just zuko’s little sister, that girl katara hates, or, the most annoying girl on the debate team. she fantasizes about murdering him every night before going to bed. it helps her fall asleep.

#okay NOW i had to put it under the cut #bc i truly wrote so much #the gaang and #modern au #my vision for my modern au at this point is such a rich detailed tapestry

[vodkacheesefries]

Okay so I finally watched the Netflix Avatar series and I have thoughts. Overall I actually thought it was okay. The rest of my thoughts are bullet pointed because it's easier for me to organize thoughts and keep them shorter that way.

What I disliked first:

They didn't trust the audience enough to fill in the blanks. The dialogue was really hand hold-y. It was almost like the writers were scared of silence and felt like they had to fill it.

They didn't/couldn't find the right balance between keeping the spirit of the cartoon and making it more serious. This caused the overall mood of the show to feel disjointed and almost like a different show at times.

Some of the wigs/bald caps werrrre...not great. Shoulda hired some drag queens.

I don't like that Mike and Bryan aren't involved. You can feel their touch missing.

I didn't care for the actor who played Sokka. It was partially what he was given to work with, like in the script, but I just...he didn't feel like Sokka. And I'm a Sokka girlie so that was sad.

Some slight changes were made to Aang's avatar state and. Idk. He doesn't even try to water bend this season? Weird choices, didn't care for those.

That was NOT Bumi. I refuse to believe that was actually him.

They needed more than 8 episodes. If they don't want to do a traditional 20+ episodic TV series, they need 10 at the bare minimum, but 12 would have been ideal.

Things that were okay:

Getting kids to act well is difficult, but I did think for the most part they did pretty good. But sometimes it was a little shaky.

Momo and Appa. They looked okay, but I hate it when things are very obviously CGI and have that like. Plastic shiny look to them almost.

They also weren't in the show enough for my liking.

The musical score for the most part, wasn't super memorable. The parts I do remember were the bits they took right from the show. Which is fine, I just wish they would have either done something completely new and WOWed me or utilized even more of the original score and really lean into it.

This could have been caused by the mood rapidly shifting from campy to Dramatic™️ so fast, but it sometimes it felt like an old kung fu movie and I think that saved some of the "worse" acting.

Things I, dare I say, loved:

Without getting too much into spoilers, because I do think the whole scene was pretty dope and you deserve to see it unsullied: Kyoshi.

Just in general, actually, the entirety of episode 2. The Kyoshi warriors were just. PERFECT.

The fight scenes were actually really well done and if they wanted to just film and animate people bending ala those old stick fight videos I'd watch that shit.

Oma and Shu are a win for sapphics everywhere

The avatar state visuals were also dope.

Dallas Liu as Zuko. He did SO well.

The Blue Spirit mask. Holy shit. That whole part of the episode. I love Zuko. So. Much.

While I'm talking about Zuko, because, AGAIN I love him, they made some additions to his backstory that I think worked really well. I can also see how, given they had 8 episodes to the original 20, these changes make it easier for people who didn't watch the original show to start to maybe like Zuko.

Ozai was already scary but he's. SCARY. Like. Daniel Dae Kim is scary in this role and I love what he did.

I did enjoy Azula being in it a little more than she was in the cartoon.

Most importantly: They let Sokka say ass. (Now let Aang say fuck.)

So like. Overall when I weigh what I liked vs didn't like, and how much I liked the things that I did, I'd give it a 3.5/5.

You will be disappointed if you go into it expecting it to be exactly like the cartoon. I do acknowledge I am an easy nerd to please, but just go into it with an "open mind" or whatever. Is it good? Eh. Is it fun? Yes! Will I watch it again? Probably not, but if there's a season 2 I'll watch it. 🤷

#rachel talks #i am mildly less than sober and was like everyone has to know my thoughts rn #anyway. #tldr: not perfect but fun

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E5 THOUGHTS

EP4 - EP6

I think I’m progressively getting more confused with how they’re structuring this plot. At what point does an adaptation stop being a necessary rearrangement and starts being changed for the sake of change. I don’t actually have the answer to that, but I’m going to keep that in mind moving forward. 

So there’s a lot going on in this episode, with an arc that again spans episodes 5 and 6 (as a guess). It seems the writers are bringing in elements from book 2, which they were doing before, but this time I’m not entirely sure as to why? I’m a little perplexed about it, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a fairly enjoyable watch, but I do think I would sooner rather rewatch the cartoon again before this episode. 

There was a character officially introduced this episode that said some things that I feel directly conflicts with their character in the cartoon, and I’m finding it difficult to reconcile why the writers made this change. 

Lastly, this was the first time in this series where I immediately noticed a parallel between Zuko and Aang, which was always something that Made the original series for me, so I appreciated its inclusion here.

As always, spoilers and live reactions under the cut.

judging by the description, we’re in the winter solstice proper now.

katara is advancing in a much more believable way now

are they gonna do the misogyny in the northern water tribe thing? 

yeah this is def the opening to the winter solstice episode. does that mean we’ll go to the fire temple and meet roku after?

woah that shot with Aang on his knees in the burnt forest was the exact same one in the cartoon

“my name is sokka, rhymes with okka”

PIPPINPADDLEOPSICOPOLIS THE THIRD THAT’S CRAZY!! where was this in omashu

zuko’s being rude to his subordinates <3 love that guy

oh okay so the yuyan archers are being given to zhao. will this tie into pohuai somehow? should i expect to see the blue spirit next episode?

ozai is. talking up zuko?? to deliberately put down azula?? i mean. yeah okay i can accept that. if they’re making ozai turn on azula a little, then that means they might be setting up for an azula redemption arc down the line. i might miss the ultimate tragedy of her character, but tbh she deserves something good. it’ll be interesting to see how this affects zuko’s redemption arc as well

ooh the bear statues are nice. hei bai time

oh they’re. all in the spirit world? from just aang meditating??? that feels like that’s not how that should work, but okay

pirates, canyon guide? the callbacks, huh? we haven’t seen the adaptations for the waterbending scroll or the great divide, so are they implying that some abridged version of these events have happened in this version of canon offscreen? hm

june <33

HELP SHE’S FLIRTING WITH IROH

WAN SHI TONG???? love love love, he looks incredible!! that sure is a big fucking owl. why is he here though

has azula not figured out blue flames completely yet? they were orange, and flickered blue

i am enjoying this early azula arc, if not just because i love azula

they’re gonna adapt the bato episode, right? bc june is here. that might be coming soon, right?

hei bai <33 he looks great too

no bending in the spirit world

wait is this. an adaptation of the hallucinations in the swamp from book 2?? it’s kind of giving swamp. how much do we wanna bet that the three tailed fox was a representation for yue? i’ll bet it was the same actress doing the voice work

well. goodbye kya

face. stealer? koh is that you? 

well fuck. no bato episode, sokka’s already been ice-dodging. bato is in this flashback, but at what cost. i guess this does eliminate that aang miscommunication plot point, which i did hate.

sokka. bullied? 

this better not be real. hakoda would never say that. he Wouldn’t!! what the fuck. this better be a swamp-esque hallucination. i’m gonna be so mad. hakoda is a supportive figure in sokka’s life, sokka’s insecurities aren’t supposed to stem from the things he says, even if hakoda doesn't think sokka can hear. i would buy it if the village boys were the ones causing sokka issues, but in my opinion, hakoda should be part of the solution, not the problem.

koh the face stealer confirmed. this goes kinda hard

did anyone tell aang about the whole expressionless thing. what’s stopping koh right now

GYATSO????! this is peak gyatso he’s real

maybe. worry about your friends a little more though aang

“imprisons people in their darkest memories” huh. that means. hakoda was really saying that about sokka? hm

you uh. just gonna leave them there? 

it’s good that they’re still paralleling aang and zuko. that was very nice, and also a staple of WHY i liked the cartoon in the first place.

liked: wan shi tong's design (he looked cool as hell), koh's design (appropriately scary), the general look of the spirit world, possible (unconfirmed) foreshadowing of yue in a swamp-esque style

worried about: if they keep adapting things from season two and cutting things from season one, what's going to happen in later seasons?

disliked: hakoda's characterization (i know it didn't seem mean-spirited and i know he didn't think sokka was around to hear, but in my heart of hearts he would never say that. why does bato seem to believe in sokka more than hakoda)

#atla #atla live action #atla netflix #avatar the last airbender live action #avatar the last airbender #long post #listen i'm not disliking the series #it's a fine watch #but there's def choices being made here that i don't like

[renatogpadilla]

My thoughts on the AtlA Live Action as someone who's fresh off the original Show:

I won't say it was bad, because it wasn't. Hell, up until the fourth episode it was done about as well as the Live Action One Piece! The problem is that they tried to streamline too much and they tried to fit too much unnecessary stuff in.

This is more of an issue with Theming rather than Timing. While they DID have the time to fit in the entire OG Season 1 scene by scene, even if they did, there would be the problem of "episodes have to have a theme".

For example, the third and fourth episodes, "Omashu" and "Into The Dark" had bits and pieces of Jet and his Freedom Fighters, the Artificers and Cave of Two Lovers.

And the streamlining of it was good! Because it made sense to streamline that knowing that in Book 3 we're gonna have to have them all show up again.

Unfortunately, after episode 4, the streamlining gets out of hand. By trying to fit as much as they possibly could in one episode (Heibai, the Spirit World, Sokka and Katara getting sick, June and Roku's Island) they lost track of every individual thread of said plots.

For Example: Heibai never gets healed, instead giving more screentime than he deserves to Koh the Face Stealer, which was AWESOME TO SEE, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't fix the problem.

Having said that, I do gotta give it props for a bunch of things:

- The cast FEEL like the characters, with only few exceptions (Roku isn't that goofy, Azula isn't vicious enough for this time in the story, Zhao feels TOO out of control, even for him, etc) and they genuinely tried their absolute best with what they were given.

- The locations and sets are AMAZING (I don't really care about the look of The Volume)

- The Fight Choreography is CRAZY! The Mixed Martial Arts into the Bending was INCREDIBLE!

I'm just honestly gonna list a bunch of things in the Show now, so you can judge for yourself with the info you're given:

- Momo's barely in it. (Like, seriously, he has 5 scenes in the entire thing.)

- Appa is in it only a bit more.

- Sokka's sexism being gone wasn't even that big of a deal. If anything, it was a lesson on studios needing to shut the fuck up about their shows until they release.

- Iroh doesn't bust himself out. It's done in a way that makes you see more of Iroh's story through the eyes of someone else, so it's okay, but it was still something I missed.

- Katara still dealt with Sexism over at the NWT.

- AANG DOESN'T ACTUALLY DO ANY WATERBENDING IN THE ENTIRE SEASON. (This is my biggest complaint.) In fact, they don't go into the Bending AT ALL. No "Fire comes from your breath." No explanation of how Waterbending feels different than Airbending and no Jeong Jeong to teach Aang Firebending and use it as an excuse to wait to the last season for it, etc...

- Mai and Yue don't look like their characters. Like, the feel is there, perfectly, but not the look. Mai is too chubby to be a flipping and dipping weapon thrower martial and Yue's hair was... Off. Something about it was a little much.

- Yue's betrothed wasn't an asshole.

- Koe the Face Stealer gets some original plot which would be REALLY COOL if it wasn't taking the space that could have gone to Zuko carrying Aang out of the NWT.

- NO HARU. AT ALL. HE DOESN'T EXIST. NEITHER DO THE WEED BENDERS BECAUSE THEY SKIPPED THE SWAMP WITH THE SPIRIT REALM. And they're not doing the Library it seems, because they used the Owl already.

- No big blockade in front of Roku's Island, and Roku doesn't fight. We DO get Kyoshi fighting to counterbalance it, though!

-No romance between Aang and Katara yet, which I get, given how the kids that play them are still a bit young for that, but they should have left Secret Tunnel for Season 2 if they weren't gonna do that now.

Stuff like that. There were a bunch of things that worked (the OG Music being there and a remix of "Leaves from the Vine" for Iroh's theme was GOOD!) and others that were complete misses that I'm willing to overlook if they use the "saved" time to focus more on Toph training Aang along with Katara.

Either way, it's a solid 6 outta 10 for me... Wouldn't watch it again for me, but would like a Season 2!

#atla #atla netflix #avatar the last airbender #avatar live action #avatar

[spectralscathath]

do you have any voice headcanons for Antares? how they talk, stuff like that?

Okay well here’s the characters that I think would keep the voices similar to what they have in show, because the performances given were excellent and really defined the character to me. The cadence, the tone, all that, these ones work well.

Winter, Ironwood, Tyrian, Watts, Salem, Hazel, Oscar, Ozpin, the Ace Ops are all solid, Robyn, Whitley, Sienna, Raven, Mercury, Vernal.

So here's the ones I'd mess with:

Ruby: I’d want to still have her sound light and innocent, but I’d definitely make her way less squeaky then she was in the show. A voice that can still have a bit of grit, if she needs it. I’m picturing something like Dani Phantom in Danny Phantom, or X-23 in x-men evolution (Andrea Libman’s version). Childish but able to get dangerous.

Weiss: definitely something posh but not necessarily snooty. She should have a very clear voice, one that’s clearly been through a million dictation lessons and speaks quite musically at that. Pick a soprano broadway singer, go from there.

Blake: I think she’d probably have the deepest voice of the main four girls? Not raspy, but resonant. Able to soften up, I picture something like Vi from Arcane or Korra from Legend of Korra.

Yang: Not as deep as Blake’s voice, but definitely with a bit of grit to it that gives her that tough vibe. Where Blake has resonance, Yang does have rasp. Sorta Ryuko Matoi-esque, or like Amethyst from Steven Universe.

Qrow: as much as I like Jason Liebrecht’s work I don’t think he works quite as well for Qrow, which is not anything against him just the voice doesn’t fit as much as I’d prefer. I’ve always felt Qrow should have a voice with a deeper register anyway, so I’d be picking a performance like Wolverine from X-Men Evolution, or Ghazan, Legend of Korra.

Sun: I really like Lego Monkie Kid and all the voice actors are great, I just can’t decide if Sun gets MK’s voice (younger, peppy, excited, also Sokka) or Monkey King’s (equally peppy, a little more deep, a bit tricksy, also Goku).

Ilia: I think Cherami Leigh’s voice acting is great (maybe she can be Blake?) but my Ilia is a bit younger and a lot softer so I’d want her to have more of a higher voice, to contrast Antares-Blake’s lower register. Something that still cracks, a bit like Luz from Owl House, mayhaps, or Marcy from Amphibia.

Summer: if any of you have watched Critical Role 3 Bells Hells and have listened to Ashley Johnson’s voice for Fearne, that’s it exactly. Really soft and breathy and gentle, really distinctive from the rest of the cast.

Tortuga: Tortuga had a very deep voice compared to the other Ace Ops, but not gravelly. Not quite on the levels of like, James Earl Jones, but more like Keith Davids in his Dr Facilier role, able to be quick but with gravitas.

Cinder: needs to be huskier, definitely able to have charisma behind it rather than risking sounding childish, or whiny. I picture something like Meg from Hades or Lust from FMA.

Jaune: I think he’d have one of the higher pitched voices of the male cast? Definitely a tenor, speaks fast and nervously, I picture kinda like Martin Blackwood’s voice from the Magnus Archives (I have no idea what anyone’s accents are and I don’t want to think about it), or Rocky from Lackadaisy.

Nora: super high pitched and nasally, but really sweet and cute nonetheless. I’d say kinda like, Molly from Epithet Erased, or Ivy, Lackadaisy again.

Pyrrha: I think she should have the most standard teenager voice? She deserves it, she deserves normal and not exceptional. I picture, like Gwen Stacy from Spiderverse, or Wendy from Gravity Falls?

Ren: a very subdued, almost monotone voice, its not necessarily particularly low or high, but could totally drop down to something very menacing if pushed. I’m thinking, like, a chilled out version of Percy from Vox Machina, with that same ability to go right down into a danger zone.

Emerald: what if we took Cherami Leigh's Ilia voice and just moved it here what then? Other options I think would suit her would be something like Miriam from Dragon Age (Kimberly Brooks is always a win)

Penny: If Nora was high pitched I think Penny should sound like a literal child, on account of Pietro really leaning into the 'innocent little girl' thing when he was downloading voice clips to make into her synthesizer- or, hear me out: Penny voiced by a vocaloid.

#asks #scorruby au #I watch a lot of media I promise but I have FAVOURITES #this is all purely based on Vibes #I don't hate most of the mainstay rwby voice actors (except for Arryn and Miles and Barb) #but I don't think everyone's performance is great #Kara's is maybe the strongest of the main non-professional cast but there's still a slight quality gap particularly in earlier seasons #Shit I forgot adam uhhhh animated Clone Wars Anakin there we go