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comradekatara · 2 months

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i rly don't like when ppl draw older sokka being buff or ripped or shredded or broad-shouldered, even. i know that people who design him this way are probably basing those designs off of a) hakoda b) his frankly heinous design in lok c) the logic that since sokka is hot, he must have a six pack, because hot guy have big muscle, or d) all of the above. but the thing about sokka is that he is, fundamentally a skinny scrawny little nerd. he cannot win fights with his brawn alone, so he must rely on his brain. he finds creative ways to use his weapons, he learns the technique of the kyoshi warriors (using an opponent's strength against them) and the ways of the sword (creativity, versatility, intelligence) and is an excellent fighter and warrior despite his malnourished victorian orphan physique because he is so excellent at learning and adapting and knowing how to use every resource to his advantage in creative ways during fights. and obviously he isn’t frail, he is very strong, especially evidenced when he uses his sword to slash through solid metal, or when he carries toph like she weighs nothing. but he appears frail, much more so than zuko (in books 1 and 3b at least) or even aang (buff baby). and i think it’s thematically significant for sokka to maintain that physique as an adult. people see him and think he's just a pencil-pushing non-bending nerd who weighs 10 pounds soaking wet, but they'd be in for a rude awakening if they ever actually tried to fight him. and that discrepancy represents such an integral part of his character, so it’s a real shame that it’s so ignored in favor of imagining him as being more conventionally attractive, because it betrays a fundamental aspect of his character for shallow purposes. not mention that implying that guys can only be hot if they’re buff is just plain silly.

#I hate you lok older gaang character designs kys official older gaang character designs #sokka #hot takes #I also feel this way about ppl who draw twelve year old toph w huge muscles #bc the fact that she’s actually tiny & ‘frail’ is crucial to her character #but I think drawing older toph w big muscles is fine as long as you are also butching her up in general #also SUKI should ALWAYS be drawn as buffly as possible. obviously #anyway.

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moonsaver · 1 month

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Wait listen‐totally out of the blue but modern!au atla in a high-school or college setting. Zuko x reader btw

Listen listen. Zuko drops down from being a cool popular kid after he joins the gaang,but also? He's kinda the school's crush. Like yes, most of azula's fans and many kids in general from the fire nation dont like Zuko anymore, but many people develop a crush on him. And he's so painfully oblivious to it.

And the gaang is always making fun of his loser aesthetic, posting him on social media and forcing him to actually start using his social media account. He never does use it much except for reposting photos and statuses his friends have on there.

Until you.

He was especially struggling with a problem and awkwardly asked you for help. You were technically just polite out of general respect but you were... really nice. And he groans into his pillow at night when he realizes that small interaction has an irrational grip on him. To make it worse? Sokka from the other side of the classroom saw it and made it his personal mission to track down your socials.

With a lot of pain and difficulty (none, actually. Turns out Suki is quite media-literate), the gaang manages to find your account and send it to the group chat. For once, Zuko's.. actually trying to do normal social media things. Some of them start bickering on whether or not Zuko should send a follow request, but by the time they're done, you've already accepted it, and Zuko curiously scrolls through your profile. The gaang frantically tells him not to like your old photos, he's confused at the concept, but begrudgingly listens anyway. If this happens when they're all meeting up, then they huddle around Zuko and watch the tiny screen and point out all things about your little profile, and ogle at every tidbit of your life. If it happens when they're all at home, then they collectively cyberstalk you, sending various screenshots to the groupchat and discussing about you.

You on the other hand, only know Zuko as the kind of cute, awkward guy who needed your help with a math problem. You wondered if you messed something up while explaining the problem to him, and then brushed it off and forgot about it entirely until you woke up one day and noticed his entire friend group had viewed your status. A few of them had even liked it. (Ahem, Aang and Toph).

It's not soon until one of them actually comes up and talks to you, because Zuko is deathly afraid of messing things up, and he stutters so much everytime Sokka makes him practice talking to you, it's like a lost cause. Of course, in the end, it's Katara and Suki to the rescue! All three of you get along surprisingly well. It's only a matter of time until you actually get added to the friend group. Until then, maybe pretend Zuko's acting skills are believable as he asks for your help with the simplest problems, to borrow your stationaries, and make awkward small talk. You go along with it anyway. He's cute.

#moonink #atla #atla x reader #atla x you #the last airbender #atla au #atla zuko #the last airbender zuko #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #zuko x gender neutral reader #prince zuko

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artkaolinite91 · 2 months

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(8/366) Zutara- preparation before the liveaction

I draw this some times ago when Entertainment magazine released the Gaang pictures..hahaha. (way before the premiere, but I forgot to pust it here..)

Have you watched the LA? I finished all 8 episodes yesterday and I love it! For me it's acceptable..hehe

Although, because of episodes mix and match, sometimes I need to think which episodes it's referencing to...

Anw, there's a tiny crumbs of zutara in Ep. 3 and I am gonna draw it..hahaha

!!!!Please do not repost/use/edit/ my artworks!!!!

please support me via Koffie if you like my arts~ thanks

#my art #zutara #zuko x katara #atla #atla live action #avatar the last airbender

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oneatlatime · 22 days

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Sokka's Master

pleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegood

Strange choice of master but we'll see where this goes.

The meteor shower animation is quite meditative. I wouldn't mind it as a screensaver.

How to describe something exceptional to your blind friend: "You've never not seen anything like this." It's amazing the quality put into even the tiniest of throwaway jokes.

Are meteor strikes flammable?

I love how whenever Sokka's disappointed he gets noodle arms. A surprisingly consistent characterisation.

Momo butt skate.

Iroh. The fuck?

ok. So he's playing a part for the guards. Why?

Pretty.

Funny to think about, but as a former WWE character, Toph's probably had more hero worship than the Avatar.

Lots to say about this! First, I stand corrected! i honestly thought that Sokka would be immune to this specific insecurity by virtue of him not being a bender. I was wrong! Second, I love how, as soon as Sokka expresses that he feels that he isn't as talented as the rest of them, the others respond by listing his actual, invaluable talents, without which the group would be completely at sea. They don't respond with "no you're perfect!" they respond with "no one can read a map like you can" and how he keeps their spirits up with jokes. They're not using false praise. They are using specific facts. I love that an episode that looks like it's going to deal with a character feeling down on themselves establishes from the get go that the character is invaluable, actually. So often, the 'low self esteem stock episode' puts the affirmation of the character's value at the end. Which means the viewer spends the whole episode being convinced that the character in question might actually be useless. Here, we're told from the start that the character is invaluable - the problem is that they do not perceive themselves to be so. Quite on the nose for a show that deals so much with identity.

OMIGOD IT GETS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!

Validating Katara sweeps in and a) validates his feelings, while b) clearly explaining that his self-perception is not in line with how the others see him, which c) doesn't invalidate a) !!!!

Katara has such emotional intelligence when she chooses to use it.

Nuanced intelligent discussion of the complexities of emotions and self-perception in a Sokka episode I am so happy I am blessed the gods are shining on me today I'm sitting here twirling my hair and swinging my feet and doodling hearts on the corner of my journal

SHOPPING!!!!!

btw that's the same face he makes when he says SUKI!!!

"Reinvigorate my battling" this boy. just. this boy.

He lasted a lot longer than I would have with nun chucks.

Aang the Happy Meal toy.

Some say that Halberd is still spinning today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: the 45 degree Sokka.

Some Foley artist had the time of their life with this weapons sequence.

Why thank you for that exposition, Mr. Exposition. Now walk away and we'll never see you again.

Toph does NOT move ONCE this whole scene and it's ever so slightly freaking me out.

Toph tells you she learned from Badgermoles and no one wants to discuss this further?!? We're going to gloss over that?

So this episode has a training montage theme.

Sokka goes freestyle on those door knockers.

That's one hell of a castle. Must be dark in there though. Tiny windows.

Which explains the several hundred candles. This show. Set up with one hand; slam dunk with the other.

This guy's reciting Sokka's s1 introduction on Kyoshi Island.

Sokka: Actually. I am a dumb. The Master: Sold.

The face of someone who is definitely picking up what you're putting down.

It's been ages since I watched the episode, but is some of what the Master saying here about swords an echo of what Zuko says to the kid in Zuko Alone when he's decapitating sunflowers?

A Sokka-less Gaang. Depressing and they know it.

The way Katara's voice actor says "oh everyone's a critic" is gold.

Multidisciplinary education vs. kid who's never been within a mile of the box he's being told to think outside of. Fight!

Yikes that was a meaty hit. Does Sokka have a nose left?

They're wearing beehives on their heads.

Was Sokka always this short?

The greens in this episode are such a delight.

The way he says "I'm finished!" Sounds like "Am finished" and you can actually hear the smiley emoji he throws in.

He's good.

What do they FEED him?

Sokka's voice actor had a great time this episode. All the voice actors had a great time actually.

Sokka invents the La Z Boy

Katara inadvertently invents a fandom war by attempting a joke.

They're all so useless and it's wonderful.

That was all only one day? That's a lot of outfit changes for one day.

"You mess things up in a very special way." Compliment? Let's go with compliment.

Sokka is so very Sokka this episode.

A reason to live is coming!

*thundering herds of shippers in the distance*

That's clever. The inciting incident gets smelted. Haven't seen that before.

This whole Iroh gets buff montage has been completely dialogue free on Iroh's part. Crazy levels of inner peace, that he'd doesn't need to snark back at the guard.

Seriously. What are they FEEDING these children. Also how is that door that shiny.

Sokka really has it in for those door knockers.

Apropos of nothing, the clouds in this episode are all so yummy. All these soft slate colours and misty layers.

Meteoric iron is actually a thing, right?

Ok but aren't mold made swords crappy?

HI YUE

I love how they managed to made a crafting montage where the character who does the least work is the one who looks like he's working the hardest.

"I saw a heart as strong as my garden decor"

"No it certainly wasn't your skills. You had none."

Creativity, versatility, intelligence, meat, sarcasm.

You've known him like two days and you can already tell he's more worthy than any man you've ever trained? Sounds like you had poor taste in students.

"No. This is my fight. Alone." Bro you are going to DIE. The first time you held a sword was two days ago. You might need the avatar on this one.

Guard who never shuts up actually kind of has a point here. He's a dick about as usual, but it's entirely possible that the rank and file of the Fire Nation army view Iroh's actions as a betrayal. Does anyone remember in Star Wars movie number 7, or maybe 8, when that Trooper sees Finn after he's switched sides and yells "traitor!" and it's the best part of the movie? Yeah, like that.

This episode throws the concept of linear time out the window. In two days, Iroh gets swole and Sokka masters sword fighting.

Do you think Sokka's realised yet that this is his final exam?

Yummy yummy clouds.

One in a million pocket sand shot.

One in a million stick placement.

So this master is like a sword spirit or something. He can't be human. There's no way he could get the scabbard to fly on perfectly without seeing.

"Try Lee, There's a million Lees. There's a tea shop in Ba Sing Se that has a super cranky waiter called Lee."

This guy's just this side of committing treason and I love it.

I see this Master is a devotee of the 'Hakoda school of shoving outrageously over the top compliments into Sokka's thick skull in the hopes that 1% of them will stick.' I approve.

This last scene has gorgeous hills and skies but you'll have to take my word for it because I've hit the image limit.

Sokka's been inducted into the super secret boy band!!!

He saved space earth for Toph! He's so considerate! He's fuelling the ships!

Let's compromise and call it space dirt instead.

Final Thoughts

This episode every two minutes: Sokka, you are currently flawless and you're about to get better. Me: Yes. Yep. Yeah. Seconded. I concur.

I like it! It's great! It's 24 minutes of the writers and characters fangirling over Sokka! Of course I like it! It made me criminally overuse exclamation marks! What else can I say?

Hands down my favourite episode is Bato of the Water Tribe. For Sokka's story, this episode is Bato of the Water Tribe part 2. Of course I'm going to love it. This episode was lab grown specifically for me.

Now let's see if I can say something about this episode that isn't poorly disguised squealing.

I love how the characters respond to Sokka saying he's not special with an evidence-based refutation rather than blanket reassurance.

I love how shopping cheers up Sokka. I love how Katara knows that shopping will cheer him up. This must be something she's learned since the show started. I don't think there were malls in the South Pole. So Katara was paying attention when Sokka and Momo went through the bag saga.

I love how much the master is baffled yet impressed by Sokka. He seems almost charmed by this breath of fresh air. I think it's hilarious that, when Sokka first approaches him, he's expecting early season 1 Sokka. He'd better send Suki a thank you card.

I also really like "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation." It seems obvious to us, but in a world where there are weaponisable skills that are quite literally inseparable from the nations their wielders inhabit, it's probably something no one in the Gaang has ever heard before.

Obviously the episode is a little rushed - half hour kid's show and all that - but it's still pretty crazy that you can apparently impart a solid basic knowledge of swordplay in two days.

Toph going all tsundere is funny, and makes Aang and Katara unapologetically desperate for Sokka's company twice as funny as it already is. Toph's like "whatever" and the other two spent the day making a welcome home banner.

I love how Sokka's happiness is always so loud and shameless. It makes it contagious.

This episode highlights what Sokka's actual strengths are, by instructing him in what he thinks his strengths are. If that makes sense? Sokka is brain, which he's finally starting to realise by attending brawn lessons.

He's also heart, and I'll die on that hill.

Iroh getting swole was honestly just a thing that happened. No comment really, except it was interesting to have a reminder from the guard that a character we perceive as the good guy is currently perceived as the bad guy by everyone but us. When the Fire Nation does inevitably get defeated, a whole nation is going to have to reset their worldview and that will not be an easy process.

More like this please!

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #sokka's master

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narrativelysignificantturtleduck · 2 months

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any gif/photoset of sokka and piandao inevitably has some discussion in the notes about how "omg sokka is the oldest of the kids but he still looks so tiny next to actual adults 🥺" and possibly some retort of "actually sokka's 15 and most kids are fully grown by that age maybe piandao's just tall lol" and i think the answer is both. like piandao IS notably tall among adult characters (look at him next to the rest of the white lotus) but also there's a pretty strong case to be made for the southern water tribe and even the gaang on their travels having some level of food insecurity. like when sokka's deep in his sexism he thinks that "men are better at hunting and fighting" which means that one of the main sources of food for the southern water tribe was traditionally provided by men - the men who are now at war. obviously, the water tribe warriors wouldn't have wanted the tribe to starve, sokka on his little boat probably wasn't meant to be hunting for the entire village (and it's not like women DIDN'T hunt in the societies that the swt is based on) BUT that does mean perhaps it was a little harder and sokka probably felt it was his duty to give most of what he hunted to the women of the tribe bc that's what men do. when traveling with the gaang sokka seems to think of himself as the provider and struggles at times to provide enough (thus forcing them to go into towns and encounter The Plot) and to me there's a sad possibility that his complaining about hunger and wanting meat could be a cover for the ways he actually goes hungry. he doesn't want katara to realize he's giving her all his food, so he complains in a way that she dismisses as him being a stupid teenage boy.

so perhaps he is not at his full adult height for uh. malnutrition reasons :(

#nina's personal log #sokka #not sure if there's some content warning tags i should be using here. let me know

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dunnowho180125 · 14 days

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yes again

OK OK ok so

Zukka AU where Zuko has a tiny bit more common sense and realizes his father is batshit insane a few months after the start of his banishment so he ends up being a menace for the fire nation (especially Zhao) and NOBODY can catch him and his crew (which are loyal to him cause Iroh tells them the story of his scar earlier) and one day he has to go to Kyoshi Island to restock and also to catch up with a friend (Suki) he made while talking shit about the Firelord but when he arrives everything is on fire because Zhao, who was tasked with the mission of retrieving the Avatar after informants report the Big Avatar Beacon, is an ass so Zuko goes to help and almost gets killed by Sokka, who does not know who he is, and they all end up with very awkward presentations to do but the Gaang doesn’t rly trust Zuko at first and then Suki (who know about the scar) makes a joke about “the Firelord burning Zuko’s other eye because it worked so well the first time” and they are all like yk what after much reflection we are adopting you and Sokka is like “Aang if you don’t kill the Firelord i will” and-

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juicyreptile · 4 months

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Things in ATLA fanfics that really butter my bread

zuko described as breathing out sparks/embers/smoke/steam, especially unconsciously

aang forgetting he is the most powerful human alive

sokka gets the braincell

the gaang (aang or zuko esp) gets to be feral. as a treat ❤️

rotational team parent - everyone gets a turn to try and corral (and fail!!) the other members!

everyone forgetting that zuko is a master of stealth and/or zuko getting to actually use those Blue Spirit skills

Everyone's Uncle Iroh is Best Dad

ZHAO ALWAYS GETTING FUCKING DUNKED ON, NON-STOP. fuck zhao all my homies HATE zhao

suki my beloved suki

toph being the absolute gremlin that she is

aang being a troll

physical differences in benders!! like, firebenders running HOT, being hard to burn; waterbenders running cool, able to deal with colder temps easier; earthbenders have denser bones, tougher skin; airbenders having huge lungs, superior senses of balance/up-down; ect ect, (this can also extend to non-benders of the dif nations in less dramatic and/or obvious ways)

zuko being the leading expert on airbenders/the avatar to the surprise of everyone, with the excuse that he was hunting for the avatar for three goddamn years and looked up any tiny scrap of information he could find. (also extends to him being super knowledgeable about the customs of other nations/places because he's literally been all over the world)

found family gaang real; they're all stupid and protective over each other, sharing one braincell collectively and doing incredibly dangerous things but then all just pile up in one place to chill and take a group mirmir

outsider POV of the gaang, esp ones were people are incredibly alarmed over this group of feral children being the ones running the world now but also wtf else are they gonna do?? they gonna tell the Fire Lord what to do? they gonna tell the AVATAR what to do?????

please share with me YOUR favorite things in fics i wanna hear them ❤️

#atla #the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the gaang

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azulas-lightning-bolt · 1 month

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sooo I’m insane about mako right. well. well ho hum well do you remember the other ball of repressed rage firebending member of team avatar.

yeah so imagine the timeline gets switched up a bit. aang (sorry aang ily but it’s for the plot) dies a lot earlier so the gaang is all in their early thirties late twenties when the krew start to be born. none of the major plot events are going to really change (gaang will be atla white lotus age by canon, almost 60s) and rc has for the most part been established.

boom around ten-fifteen years later they’re all around fourties. the krew is in the ten-fifteen y/o age range—korra’s training in the compound, asami is being groomed into a businessgirl, but yk what that means for my favorite bending brothers? the streets.

the gaang minus aang are still active and about (sokka is alive Because) so it’s zuko’s turn to help toph run the underbelly of rc. she always gripes that she’s doing fine in her old age (she’s like,, 38) and they can just leave her alone with the damned city to rot (she mostly hates her job. only reason she sticks with it is because it’s a sort of backwards way to take care of su and lin*. if the city streets are safe, there’s no reason not to let them off free) but of course the gaang has a rotation anyway. they try to stay sort of in contact after ending a hundred year war together because that’s kind of big.

*by the way sokka is not their dad. they were made in a terrarium because toph Built kids out of boredom and aang gave them bending as a joke and they just. grew. became alive. idk it seems more in character than toph having kids the normal way.

so anyway zuko is out patrolling. he’s on gang-spotting duty, so basically toph has the aging fire lord running around after guys who graffiti gang signs on walls and Politely Asking where their hideout is. today he happens to stumble upon an inter-gang scuffle. it’s pretty typical, and he’s moving to stop it when—boom, lightning and screaming. now, it was mostly thanks to his (and a reformed azula, because she will be getting in here somehow) efforts that lightningbending masters took hold and spread the subbending more commonly, but it’s still not typical to see it in poorer areas. yet there’s one person with a gang rumored to have it—you guessed it, zolt!

so zuko goes chasing after the source of the lightning, thinking toph is gonna be so happy she won’t punch him for a week and keep her griping to a minimum once he brings in one of the biggest thorns on her side.

but it’s not zolt he’s chasing. it’s twelve year old mako, scared shitless that the firelord is chasing him down and nowhere near fast enough to outrun him or hide. none of zolt’s cronies are dumb enough to try and bail him, he knows, but he also doesn’t want to leave bolin waiting on a dead brother.

zuko catches him, baffled that ‘zolt’ is so small. mako says nasty shit (because in best impression of 12 y/o mako voice : royalty. You are the 1% that makes Us like this) trying to wriggle free, revealing himself as definitely not zolt.

Zuko stares at this grimy, angry little twelve year old with old, peeling burn scars (I’ll make a post soon about the scars he definitely has from like,, everything) and fresher lightning scars and is like,, hmm. tiny angry firebending child with scars and likely insurmountable levels of trauma=me as a child who just needed some guidance and turned out fine (not really but it’s the thought that counts)

and then he uses his brain really hard and decides he will give tiny angry firebending child with scars and likely insurmountable levels of trauma guidance. so mako gets picked up by the scruff and is dragged, kicking and screaming, by the firelord to the police station.

toph hears a child shrieking and is immediately like no. get it away. out of my police station NOW. and mako is like YES get me out of her police station NOW. and they have a moment of commiserating mako’s presence in the police station together.

but then zuko is like what if we gave him Guidance. toph says bring that bullshit to katara and gtfo. cue lin and su, annoyed teenagers/young adults around canon krew’s ages for highest potential siblingism. btw the beifong relationships are much better in this. su is immediately like. can we keep him mom please. lin agrees with toph and wants it OUT she just started working here and tenzin’s yapping about kids does not need to follow her to the bullpen.

mako is put into police custody (su drags him around with her and watches him overnight). he wheedles her into finding bolin and becomes much more agreeable when he has his brother to hold in a death grip. when asked to separate, he threatens multiple creative methods of murder.

this got really out of hand but the idea is that katara and sokka side with zuko and they all gang up on toph, who somehow caves and agrees to let zuko give Guidance to tiny angry firebending child with scars and likely insurmountable levels of trauma. she forces bolin on suyin but she doesn’t mind too much, shoving metalbending down his throat.

korra meets them earlier on, finally having some friends her age! they’re all really really weird though so none of them are well adjusted when korra finally runs away to rc (they follow her everywhere). how terrible. but mako and bolin are like 5000x stronger without even trying and they also have money.

all three teenage freaks meet asami (who is immediately endeared by their weird asses), shit goes down, but this time featuring nebulously-father zuko, favorite person-without-title-but-probably-scary-aunt azula definitely mom-adjacent katara, weirduncle sokka, toph who goes to the swamp whenever she wants because lin is basically chief of police already and big sisters lin, su, kya and izumi. also featuring cousin-ish iroh II and long distance/reluctant (respectively) older brothers bumi and tenzin.

I believe both mako and bolin, if possible, would be considerably more batshit insane considering who they were raised by, but also more calculated on mako’s part because azula absolutely got her time in with him. I think katara would’ve taught them, for an absolute worst case scenario, how to handle bloodbending, so they would’ve wiped amon. I think mako, considering azula, definitely wanted the kill with that lightning on amon but, considering azula, knew it would only turn him into a martyr for the equalists to rally behind without exposing him first.

also puppy love makorra in the compound. then korrasami in rc because pretty girl with a bike but then ‘sorry I kind of have a crush on your childhood best friend korra but I’m still in love with you’ ‘WOAH sick really? same lol.’ ‘we should all kiss.’ then makorrasami!!!!

so yeah I totally lost my train of thought but that’s like. generally it(?)

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a-todd-illustration · 2 years

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All the hastles of being manhandled, and then realizing that you now have to carry your own weight.

#myart #fanart #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #g/t #tiny #tiny zuko #big gaang #zuko #aang #sokka #toph #katara #handheld #handheld g/t #giant #fearplay #au #avatar au

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comradekatara · 1 year

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how tall r all the members of the adult gaang + fire nation girls

i've talked about this before but i didn't give their specific heights so you know what. i shall do so now

aang: 6'5" reaching cousin greg levels

katara: 5'7.5" but she rounds it up to 5'8" when asked

sokka: 6'1" respectable but still significantly shorter than aang :(

toph: 5'1" she stays tiny her whole life

zuko: 5'11" and yes it bothers him so much that he is one inch away from being six feet

suki: 5'8" only ever so slightly taller than katara but it bothers katara so much

ty lee: 5'5" the exact same height as everyone in her family

mai: 6'1" she wears platform boots specifically so she can be taller than sokka

azula: 5'3" she got iroh's short genes and it infuriates her

#the gaang and #whatmyface #asks #toph and azula being tiny is so important to me #aang is a whole 16 inches taller than toph #like that scene in west wing when cj and kristen chenoweth are walk and talking and cj is like 'i cant believe we're the same species'

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burst-of-iridescent · 9 months

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Hi! Just a quick message to say that I love your analysis on Katara and Zuko and their dynamics with each other. I personally love how you place the emphasis on them having their journey towards growth together, but an individual one as well. I've only started watching AtlA two years ago, but reading your remarks during my second rewatch of the show made me appreciate the nuances of their relationship and arc more <3 I was just wondering, because you've made some good Zutara fic recs in the past, which Zutara long fic would you absolutely recommend? Thank you so much!

aww, thank you so much! i haven't read long zutara fics in quite some time actually but off the top of my head here are my favs:

the color of the stars by bluenebulae: yes i know i've recommended this fic a hundred times already but i will continue to do so bc it's SO GOOD. this is a book 3 canon divergence where zutara get captured together on DoBS and need to find their way back to the gaang together and it is just everything.

tempest in a teacup by akaVertigo: if you've been around in zutara fandom for a while, you probably already know this fic but i couldn't not include it. this is an au where katara ends up in the fire nation as a child after her mother's death and she and zuko grow up together. fire nation katara AUs do make me a little suspicious because they can easily be done wrong, but this one does it right and the writing is absolutely stunning so trust me when i say you won't be let down.

zuko's tiny dilemma by boogum: book 1 au where zuko is accidentally turned into a 6 year old (with his 16 year old consciousness) and the gaang ends up having to take care of him. i know that sounds like a weird set-up for romantic zutara but i promise nothing gross happens. it's actually a very funny, sweet and wholesome fic so i strongly encourage that you give it a chance!

the worst prisoner by emletishfish: book 1 au where sokka accidentally kidnaps zuko during the events of the blue spirit, and shenanigans and zutara ensue. this is the funniest zutara fic i have ever read AND there are two more installments in the series so you will be good to go for a long time.

(i couldn't find this fic in my bookmarks at first because my browser logged me out of ao3 and i nearly had a breakdown thinking it was gone forever and texted my friends in full panic mode, so that should tell you how much i adore it.)

once around the sun by eleventy7: i would be deeply remiss in offering fic recommendations if i didn't mention one of the most goated zutara fics of all time. i'll warn you now that though this fic has a happy ending, you should absolutely check the tags or you will be stabbed in the heart halfway through just like i was. the pain is definitely worth it, though.

i hope you enjoy reading these! <3

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara fic recommendations #zutara asks

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muffinlance · 1 year

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Baby Zuko (13 year old) being babysat by the Gaang straight after rescue (kidnapping) off the Wani?

Going with “only Zuko is aged down” and, to avoid just writing Little Zuko v the World again, “instead of Uncle Iroh, he sails out under the auspices of Uncle Zhao <3”

- - -

Fire Nation jail cells were everything Sokka ever imagined, if by ‘imagined’ he meant ‘had nightmares of’. And it was really inappropriate, and not a thought he’d ever share with Katara, but the longer they were down here the more his thoughts kept roaming back around to I’m glad mom was never in one of these.

There was rust, but not in any strategically important, make-it-easier-to-break-out places. Water dripping, but not in his cell where he would have been getting really close to wanting to lick it off a wall. Guards, but at the far end of the cell block, where they refused to interact with his witty banter and/or attempts to lure them into grappling-through-the-bars range. The only one who ever got close enough to grab was the tiny semi-feverish child who, given the huge fresh sorta oozy burn wound over half his face, Sokka was going to go ahead and classify as not the best hostage material.

Unlike the son of Chief Hakoda, his waterbending daughter, and—

“How’s Appa?” Aang, who was another tiny child, who was the Avatar, who was arguably the reason Sokka and his little sister were in this mess but Sokka was still wrapping his head around the Avatar part, said. Said after wooshing towards the bars, and then wooshing again in a way that made him not hit the bars, and then he was holding them and leaning as far as he could through which was almost but not quite enough for him to slip through entirely.

“Fine,” the kid who’d gotten on the bad side of his own country croaked. Sokka did not get the impression he was allowed to talk much, outside of the prisoner block. The kid’s face was twisted into even more of a scowl than just the burned-on one. “He’s too fast for the catapult operators. Zhao said he’s going to keelhaul them if they keep missing, but when I yelled at him about it—”

The kid stopped mid-sentence in that sort of horrifying way he did sometimes. And then he set down his tray and gave them all their slop, which they got once a day, and which contained all the water they were getting, too. Something about Katara’s extremely ineffective waterbending had the big bad Fire Nation spooked.

“Thank you,” his little sister said, her own voice a rasp-croak that pained Sokka a lot more than the random Fire Nation brat’s.

The kid scowled harder, which was his general reaction to any gratitude from them.

“So,” Sokka croaked his own croak. “About helping us with that escape…”

“I’M NOT,” the kid shouted, and then the guards turned to look at them all, and then he hunched in on himself and re-evaluated his volume decisions. “I’m not helping you escape.”

“Why not?” asked Aang, bless him.

“Because,” the kid said, which is usually as much of a reply as they get before he stormed off. But today he added, even if it was really hard to hear: “Because I want to go home.”

“So,” Sokka said, “did you get that on the ship or at home?” And he waved at his own face, like the subtle genius he was.

Ah. There was the storming away.

“You forgot our bowls!” Sokka called after him.

“Keep them,” the kid shouted back, and left Sokka alone with a metal spoon and a Fire Nation lock.

- - -

The lock was a bad idea, actually. It would have taken way too long to file the spoon down against the floor so it would fit, not to mention made way too much noise. Also: Sokka did not actually know how to pick a lock.

The screw slots on the hinges, on the other hand…

- - -

“What?” the kid got out, all sleepy-confused, before Sokka was shoving a literal sock in his mouth and tossing him over a shoulder and running as quickly and quietly as he could with a very angry sack of potatoes bouncing on his back.

“Go go go go,” Sokka said, as he vaulted the rail into the saddle waiting below.

“Yip yip!” said Aang.

The catapult didn’t even come close to hitting them, in the darkness. Sokka kind of really felt bad for the operator team and their future date with the hull, but there was only so much saddle space, and there was an upper age limit on the Fire Nation soldiers he was willing to pardon no-questions-asked.

“Let me go!” shouted their squirmy new friend, as Katara held him around the middle, because otherwise he’d have thrown himself into the ocean an alarming number of times by now.

“Nu-huh,” Sokka said, patting the kid’s angry little head, right on its ridiculous little ponytail. Which was nothing at all like his own extremely masculine wolf tail. “You’re our prisoner. Relax, and enjoy the improved living conditions.”

“My father isn’t going to pay for me,” the kid said back, with a glower.

“...Please, please don’t tell me that Zhao guy was your dad.”

“What? No,” the kid said.

And then he opened his mouth again, and Sokka’s world got both way more complicated and way more simple.

#so to return to an earlier question #did you get that scar on the ship or at home?#I see I see #and you need the Avatar to go home #yes yes #so hypothetically speaking #I could put you and the Avatar at the head of a fleet #and we could just… sail into your nation’s capital?#noted #avatar the last airbender #atla #Zuko #ficlet

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smorpher · 1 month

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I've realized that by the time Legend of Korra comes around, everyone really just doesn't think of Zuko's time hunting the Gaang. That was like 6 months of his life before he spends decades as one of them. Maybe they know from like history books that he spent a short time hunting him, but to them that's just a tiny blip where really they think of him as one of Aang's friends and his firebending master and probably don't think of his interactions with the Gaang as more than like a sentence or two.

Like, he wouldn't have hidden his past, it still exists obviously. People know about it, he still talks about it in LoK. But that's not what people think of when they think of him. He's Firelord Zuko friend and Firebending Master of Avatar Aang.

We spent so long getting to know him as the banished prince that we always think of him like that, but at the end of the day, that was a small blip in his long life.

Like, the history books would have a chapter on him and for like a paragraph it would mention how he was banished for three years by Ozai and sent to hunt the avatar. Then Aang came back and he spent a few months hunting him. Maybe mention his brief return to the fire nation before going into him joining the Gaang.

Then we'd have a different paragraph describing defeating Ozai, the agni kai against Azula. And suddenly we're into pages of his post-war reparations. The Harmony Restoration Movement. His revamping of laws and such in the fire nation.

It would probably then go on for pages about all he did to rebuild the fire nation infrastructure after years dedicated to war. They'd talk about all the money he pumped into funding the arts so that there were better theaters than the Ember Island Players all over the fire nation.

Some fire nation kid sees him, and he's Fire Lord Zuko, friend and firebending master of Avatar Aang, rebuilder of farmlands and the father of modern theater in the fire nation

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #atla zuko

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dreamchasernina · 25 days

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do you think kataang was handled poor after the invasion.

Yeah, I do. Like I said before, the romance aspect of the show is the weakest. I feel like it was mostly an afterthought. I think they had a good plan for Kataang, but the execution got lost in all the other plot points they had to tackle.

Would I have loved to see more development for Kataang overall? Of course. Would I have loved to see little moments of Katara looking over at Aang and blushing? Of course. Tiny moments that don’t require much attention - like that jealous moment she has in the headband, or how she’s holding him after his encounter with Combustion man. Little moments like these would have solidified the pairing for a lot of people.

As much as I love this ship, I know its not perfect and I will accept valid criticism. So yeah, Aang kissing Katara on the day of the invasion and it being ignored until the episode before the finale - sucks. There should have been more. Aang kissing Katara in the ember island players episode - sucks. There was no reason for that. I don’t even get why they needed to have that talk about Katara being confused since they ignored it until that episode...AND they get together the next episode, so what's the point of that conversation and the kiss? I think the writers wanted to throw another will they/won’t they moment there, so that’s why they did it. But yeah, that was unnecessary and could have been handled much better. (Do I think Aang assaulted Katara? Fuck no).

While we're talking about the episodes after the invasion, I have to say that I think those episodes were a bit rushed overall. I think there should have been another 5-6 episodes before the finale, but I guess they had a limit and chose to focus those last 5 episodes on Zuko bonding with the Gaang, and I get that, that was necessary, but to accomplish that in like 5 episodes meant they had to give up the focus on some other things. Like, Aang, the main character, disappeares almost completely for the last 4 episodes of the show. And as much as I love this show and it’s sacred to me, I do think that part could’ve been done better (that's why a lot of people think Aang's inner conflict of not wanting to kill Ozai is rushed). So I think there were some mistakes made in the last season, in more aspects than just Kataang. But yeah, I do think Kataang suffered a lot from it. I’m not saying there needed to be a whole episode addressing their feelings, but again, little moments like the ones in the headband or the beach would have made a huge difference.

Thanks for the question :)

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #avatar #kataang #aang #katara

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oneatlatime · 7 months

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The Blind Bandit

I had honestly forgotten that the Gaang were trying to find an earthbending teacher, so the 'previously on' segment was actually useful instead of spoilery.

Nobody's face is having a good time.

Look at this sweetheart. You go ahead and treat yourself honey. You've single-handedly escorted a pair of earth-shatteringly overpowered tweens around the world for months; the least you deserve is a shopping trip.

"You kids like earthbending?" Has the same energy as "wanna buy a sun dial?" from that animated Hercules movie.

This guy is one of those strip mall karate types.

I take back everything I ever said about Zuko's season 1 haircut. This guy has a dust bunny poop on his head.

Momo's bag now.

My absolute favourite girl power: incredible violence!

The acoustics at this earth rumble place must be great. I don't see any microphones.

"That's what I paid for." Sokka is a simple creature at heart. Likes food and violence.

Something very strange about this guy's face. I think his mouth moves but his eyes don't.

So apparently earthbending gets you mad air.

Oh! I get it. This is a WWE parody. Somebody on the writing team did their homework too. Don't ask me how I know, but this is a very accurate parody.

Sokka thinks listening to big muscles is a very good idea actually.

And here's the heel. Complete with russian accent. And oddly homoerotic anthem. And cowardice when challenged! Yep, total heel.

I LOLed at the zamboni badgermoles and hockey organ.

She's like two feet tall!

I'm. in love.

I could watch little girls beat up grown men all day.

Earthbending sonar?

Omigod it predicts. She can see moves before they happen.

Well it's a good thing Bumi said to look for someone who Waited and Listened rather than Watched.

"I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you." Says the guy who just volunteered, in front of a full stadium, to FIGHT her. Time and place, Aang.

Get back on the ground you flighty airbender. She sees with that ground. No fair.

This is about the face I made when Aang pulled that move. Does this boy think at all? I love him, but what part of stealing her well-earned title is supposed to convince her to talk to him?

You messed up.

I love sartorially inclined Sokka. It's a tiny an innocuous little trait, but it rounds out his character so well.

I get to watch two different girls terrorise idiots this episode. I am blessed.

So I'm guessing the two idiots at the earthbending academy are doing that excercise where kung fu people stick their hands in sand (I've seen videos of it) but it really looked like they were in the 'beat back the dough' phase of making bread.

In this universe of plot-convenient clothing blindness, how do Dumb and Dumber recognise Aang as the one who beat the Blind Bandit?

I think the voice actor for the dumb kid with actual hair did a bunch of voices in season 1. The soldier who gives Aang Bato's map comes to mind.

Have I said recently how much I love Sokka and Katara?

These wrestling guys keep switching between first and third person. Too many rocks to the head.

This could be a board for a murder mystery board game. Or a map for a DND dungeon.

It's her hair. I thought the Blind Bandit had a cap type thing with a little brim for her costume, but it's just a pile of her hair? Like a beehive?

A lesson in character writing: if you want to make someone look super dumb, have them earnestly believe in the credentials and authenticity of a guy you have previously set up as a borderline con artist. Lookin at you, Blind Bandit's dad.

"Basic forms and breathing exercises only." That line is just so funny. And they're all so stupid. She snapped like half a dozen spines last night and this guy is preaching breathing exercises.

Wow! I hate her dad!

I hate him more!

Sokka going ham on some rice rather than listen to the idiots. Good priorities.

This passive aggressive fight between the girl and Aang at the dinner table is so fun.

Looking for somewhere to store your meal after you've face planted into it? Try the top of your head!

I need to get a hold of some of those magic napkins. Wiped up a whole multicourse meal in like 5 seconds.

That is indeed the appropriate reaction to this pint sized badass. Glad Aang is learning. (Also this episode needs more Appa. The last couple have been sadly bereft.)

Called it. Earthdending sonar. Or is it more like echolocation? No! Whiskers!

How does this pint sized badass - who if I am understanding correctly, is not known to exist outside the walls of her house - have more emotional intelligence than the entirety of the Gaang put together?

So much for the guards in the garden. They'd actually be useful now.

Sokka. Priorities. Although given how many times Aang has escaped custody/kidnapping he's probably ok to take a minute to fangirl over an autograph.

These idiot parents don't know their daughter at all. That chafes.

"I'm not smiling." I LOLed at that too. Perfect delivery.

Hippo man having a snack before he gets down to business. No wonder he's missing teeth.

All this blind and tiny and helpless and fragile talk is really making me hope someone smacks the crap out of the dad. What an awful thing to say, nevermind saying it where your daughter can hear.

SMACKDOWN INCOMING

This is gonna be good.

If this girl does join the Gaang the writers are going to have to nerf her in every major conflict. She's too powerful. I bet she could take on the firelord now.

And that's why you don't announce sneak attacks.

So remember how Sokka was absolutely losing his shit over the Boulder? That's me right now.

She waits. All these idiots are losing because they're getting impatient and attacking first. Which means that, to her senses, they're telegraphing their moves. That is so cool. And so is this visual.

Here's your chance Dad. Are you going to mess it up?

"I love fighting. I love being an Earthbender. And I'm really really good at it." me:

I don't have words for how much I LOVE when little girls STAND UP for THEMSELVES and THEIR INTERESTS. This would have had me HOLLERING if I'd seen it as a kid. It was a message I needed to hear too.

Wow I want to kill her parents.

OH FUCK OFF

COME ON

You made my girl cry.

Get wrecked belt stealer. I LOLed at this too.

Sokka just beaned a blind girl on the head. Not a good look. I laughed though.

Fun fact: everyone in this picture is a piece of shit.

I haven't been this steamed since Zuko's dad burned half his face off.

Final Thoughts

IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, this episode feels like it's movie quality. This show is usually excellent, but this feels like a cut above. I feel like I could sense the love the writers, animators, voice actors, everyone had for this episode. They had a good time making it and were enthusiastic about it. And there were lots of tiny background details in this episode too. I'm sure I missed quite a few. Oh No! I'll have to rewatch it!

New team member! That hasn't happened since Momo. Actually, no wonder the episode was so good. Introducing the first new team member in at least a season's worth of episodes is a delicate operation. I bet they were workshopping this episode since early in the first season.

And Toph! (thank you credits for how to spell that - I was really hoping it wasn't Toff). Be still my heart I love Toph. She may well take Sokka's spot as my favourite character. Strength of character, self-assurance, emotional intelligence, badassery, mastery of violence, what's not to love!!!

How did she get so emotionally intelligent and articulate if her parents have kept her caged her whole life? I don't know but I'm not complaining!

How did her parents get away with caging her for her whole life? I do know (money) and I am complaining. Very much so. And yet Toph can still find it within herself to have an honest conversation with them, including apologising for leaving said cage. I never would have had the maturity to do that in a similar situation. I would have gone the Katara explosive rage route.

A little girl who stands up for herself. Against HER PARENTS. I just. Do you know how amazing that is? Especially in a kids' show? I was ROBBED by not being able to see this show when I was Toph's age.

Does bending work like a muscle, in that you build up stamina? Because if so, then Toph is the strongest human earthbender in the world by default. If she's using it in place of seeing, then she's using it 100% of the time that she's awake, all day every day. By the time she was like 5 years old she'd probably used her bending more than the average earthbender does in their whole lifetime.

My one complaint is Toph's voice. Nothing wrong with it; this is a me thing. It fits her perfectly, but my ears do not play well with nasal voices, which hers is. I had to rewind quite a few times and resorted to subtitles by the end. Hopefully I'll get used to it like I did Zuko's.

Sokka! My soon to be demoted beloved! He shone in this episode. I love that he has fashion sense and is not afraid to show it. I'm thinking, what with how hung up he was on masculinity at the start of the show, that the water tribes have a different conception of masculinity: one that classes fashionability as a masculine or gender neutral trait. Even back in season one it didn't take much to get Sokka into the Kyoshi warrior uniform, and he's shockingly good at applying face paint symmetrically. Which I still cannot do with winged eyeliner.

Katara! Not headed for a career in diplomacy but so satisfying to watch. I would love to have a Katara in my pocket that I could unleash on people. And her and Sokka bouncing off each other this episode was great. Every one was at peak performance this episode, except Aang. Not at his brightest this episode.

Checking for typos before I post this and I realise I'd already forgotten that Toph is blind! Just like in the Northern Air Temple, this is how you do disability right: as just a part of who they are, rather than an entire personality. This show is so good.

In sum, Toph:

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the blind bandit #avatar the last airbender

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