Dark Sunny Was Here

another atla power couple ❤️‍🔥

inspired by one of my illustrations for kataang week I did a while ago~ probably gonna draw a sukka one to make these a series

Fast Toph painted sketch

Role swap au where Zuko was the Avatar who got frozen for a hundred years, so when he’s rescued from the ice instead of a goofy twelve year old Katara catches this mysterious teenager with long hair and a cool scar and a fucking DRAGON

Katara: BOY???? HOT BOY?????? HOT TEENAGE BOY?????????

Zuko: *speaks*

Katara: nevermind I hate him

How does Aang factor into this? I ask because the more I think about it the more I want him to somehow be trying to capture the Avatar.

Aang is 112 years old, decided he was going to be Zuko’s airbending teacher, and refuses to take no for an answer

Aang: Aw, the new Avatar doesn’t want me. Aang: *gets out a weighted net* Time for Plan B then.

JDJSHJABDBFJSH

Look, you know how you keep a net from falling on you? YOU AIRBEND IT, SUCKA. Air comes right after fire in the cycle so it’s not like the guy has any other options. Do you want a flaming net falling on you? No? Then learn to airbend. Or this tiny old man will cart you away like a trussed turkey and lecture you about the power of laughter, going with the flow, opening your chakras, and other hippie shit.

Sokka, slouching against a fence, not moving: Oh nooooooo, that creepy old man stole the Avataaaaaaaaaar. Sokka, sitting down on the ground: We should dooooo something. Sokka, pulling out his lunch: Otherwise he might actually learn something. That would be teeeerrible. Katara, indignant rage coursing through her body: Sokka!!!!!!!! We have to go look for him!!!! Sokka: Might! Actually! Learn! Something! Katara! Katara: *wavers* Katara, also sitting down: We have to go look for him…. *gets out her own sandwich* But, maybe after lunch.

I love that this transforms Aang’s role in the full Team Avatar familial situation from the baby of the family to the Grandpa with weird hobbies

My brain, immediately after the “Aang won’t take no for an answer” post:

Aang: I’m gonna ride him! *jumps on Zuko’s shoulders*

Actually, I thought a bit more about this: If Aang is “grandpa figure who won’t fucking stop teaching Zuko to be a better and more spiritually fulfilled person,” then what is Iroh doing?

And then it hit me.

Iroh: *sitting in a teahouse at a paisho table* Iroh, deadpan: I must capture the last airbender.  Iroh: It is the only way to make sure the powe rof the Avatar won’t be turned on the Fire Nation. Iroh: Only then will I be redeemed in the eyes of the Fire Lord for my failure at Ba Sing Se. Iroh: … Iroh: Anyway, it’s your turn.

About half of the B plots are just Iroh finding new ways to feign incompetence and bad luck so that his political watchdog can’t prove that he’s letting Aang - and by extension Zuko - get away.

@ray10k

Sometimes Iroh plays paisho with Aang, whose entire disguise during these games consists of a painfully fake mustache.

AANG WAS THE OTHER PLAYER IN THAT SCENE OF COURSE IT’S PERFECT (the moustache is just a bit of Appa’s fur tied in a string)

i think about this post all the time and if i may, i would like to suggest keeping the banished royalty angle for zuko.

he was the eldest son of fire lord sozin, who knew the avatar was the greatest threat to the fire nation, but also knew the new one would be a firebender and he couldn’t exactly merc his own people, now could he? but he always planned to order a convenient little assassination on whoever the new avatar turned out to be and in the meantime took out the air temples so that avatar couldn’t learn the next element in the cycle. of course, when it turns out to be his son, sozin, stellar dad that he is, thinks “if you want something done right” and shoots a fire blast at his firstborn.

zuko enters the avatar state, blows up half the palace, etc etc as one does, gets a nasty scar for his trouble, and escapes, hence why he was hanging out far enough south to necessitate katara and sokka cracking open a cold boy a century later.

all this is to say 1. i think it’s a good way to maintain zuko’s background and characterization in an au like this and 2. it leads to a secret second roleswap

because this makes zuko iroh’s uncle.

Imagining Iroh’s voice saying “uncle zuko” I’ll be busy laughing for the next few hours.

@good-ho-mens

I’m fucking crying

tbh zuko in his Prince Zuko™ phase was the most dramatic character in the history of fiction, i mean he just went on ridiculous rants and speeches constantly. they seemed so well prepared too, like did he practice?? who remembers when he shrieked and sobbed at lightning?? who remembers when he decided to rant about his feelings to aang while aang was literally in the spirit world and physically incapable of hearing him?? who remembers when iroh was like “calm down my guy” and he screamed “I’M COMPLETELY CALM” then set his room on fire?? he’s so unsubtle, not a lick of slyness in his body, he literally told everyone about his daddy problems constantly it was unbearable 

Toph + Zuko friendship is something that can be so personal

[ID: a digital line drawing of toph leaning on zuko’s head as he sits on the ground, cross-legged. “toph,” sokka says, offscreen, “you can’t just use zuko as an armrest.”

“what?” toph asks, irritated. “do you see him complaining? get off my dick!”

to which katara exclaims, also offscreen, “toph!”

zuko doesn’t seem bothered. an arrow points to him with the text, “just happy to be included”. /end ID]

ID by @maileesque 

We all knew in our hearts that Toph swears like a sailor and I’m glad we have the courage to say it now.

Oops, my hand slipped

AU where Sokka’s high-on-cactus-juice encounter with the giant mushroom takes a dark turn. (Also he has a gun)

based on this beautiful tumblr post

bonus:

Absolutely hilarious. 😭😭😭

Been experiencing two polar thoughts about this scene…

1. There is no way Sokka is expecting to win this battle. He is the one and only warrior left in the village, about to face down a Fire Nation ship all by himself. Sokka has been the epitome of bravery since the very beginning.

2. Sokka can’t draw worth shit, and yet he sure can perfectly apply war paint on himself without even so much as a mirror aksdflj

oh I’m gonna cry…all of this.

Like I feel like the show is more blatant in the “Katara had to grow up too young after the murder of her mother” but…Sokka’s loss of innocence is also present in the show in shit like this, and his discussions with Piandao where we see this contradiction between the kid and the warrior and that need to protect his family and his diminished self-worth

Like how many times do you think he mimicked dad’s warpaint, knowing one day it would be him donning that? 

How many nights has he spent going over the worst possible scenarios and planning for how he’d keep the people he loved safe?

Like. He’s able to apply warpaint but not draw because he too lost his chance at living a normal childhood and just. dude all the kids in this show have so much trauma it’s unreal

I officially have a head-cannon that Sokka was meant to the next Avatar. Why? Because I really the like the idea!!!

You don’t have to like it but i think its cool

A bit more explanation…

We all know that after Air, Water comes next. Hence Korra.

But we also know Aang disappeared for a 100 years. So technically if he had lived his natural lifespan, never went into the ice, and lived anywhere to be like 80 something years old. A good long lifetime, (Avatar Roku lived to be 70 but Kyoshi lived to be 230 years old. In the show Aang lived close to age 70 but a different life means a different ending)

There’s a good chance someone else would’ve been the next Avatar, not Korra.  

But because Aang didn’t die when he should’ve the person that was REALLY meant to be the next Avatar didn’t get to fulfill their destiny.

What if this person was Sokka.

Why not Sokka?

Sokka who is still the same Sokka. Except for this one, he always thought he was normal. Until… he didn’t. And argument with Katara causes both of their powers to unleash a giant explosion.

Not long after Sokka is told he’s the next Avatar

This image is pretty much Sokka all through Headcannon Book 1.

Everyone keeps their storylines. 

Katara is super powerful Waterbender sister. They would’ve learned together.

Zuko would’ve still hunted him down

He still would’ve met Toph.

Aang, before he died, would’ve put as many Airbenders underground as possible where the Fire Nation couldn’t find them. Maybe had kids of his own. Grandchildren. One of which would’ve help Sokka learn his abilities.

Zuko would’ve had the same story arc/

So again, why not Sokka.

Sokka who had the ability to master all four non-bending fighting styles from each nation. Sokka who had the ability to adapt no matter  where he was and learn from everyone around him and  grow.

Sokka who can honestly say he once dated the MOON!

Sokka was legitimately was of the most badass character of the show.

Even Azula instinctively knew Sokka was a threat.

Honestly, I understand that Sokka went through a shit ton of character development and became bad over time. But…

For my headcannon, I think that Sokka always had this power inside of him waiting to be tapped into and unleashed… His Avatar state

But because Aang never kicked the bucket, Sokka could never reach it so instead it manifested in other ways.

Also…

Some excellent contributions to an excellent post in the notes…

But did you ever think about how Aang defeating Ozai without killing him not only meant that the fire nation had failed to kill all air nomads but also that after all, their spirit and philosophy prevailed ? Sozin could take all his people but in the end, Ozai could not take his culture.

#which is why flat arcs are so incredible#and why aang's flatt arc is ESPECIALLY incredible#anyone who dares tell me aang is a boring character needs to go back and actually THINK about aang and his journey#because i can assure you that once you have looked at him through a mature standpoint /man/ does this kid's light really shine through#atla

THANK YOU.

By killing Ozai, Aang would be completing the erasure of the Air Nomads and negating the Avatar’s goal of restoring balance to the four nations.

Seriously tho, however much I joke that Kyoshi would've completely obliterated Ozai without hesitation, it was SUPER IMPORTANT that Aang, a 12-13 year old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders, didn't have to compromise his core beliefs in order to maintain balance.

Despite the advice of his allies and his own past lives, he follows his own path and effectively breaks the cycle of violence that Sozen started, all while keeping the beliefs and culture of his people alive.

And I'd just like to add, with regards to how Aang becomes a fully realized Avatar by the end of his arc, the key moment is not when he enters the Avatar State in that final battle. He becomes a fully realized Avatar the moment the strength of his spirit overcomes Ozai's, the moment his spirit is shown to be "unbendable", the moment he restores balance by following his own path.

And all the kids cried out, “Please stop, you’re scaring me” I can’t help this awful energy Goddamn right, you should be scared of me Who is in control?

zukka au where aunt wu looks straight at sokka and instead of telling him that his future is full of pain and anguish caused by his own hand, she tells him that he’s going to marry the fire lord and sokka is like “EXCUSE ME?”

sokka, whispering to himself: omg my ability to making royalty fall in love with me has come too far

sokka, immediately writing a letter: dear firelord ozai, I am flattered, but since you are pretty old and super evil, I-

Sokka, while yelling insults at s1 Zuko: And tell your dad I'm not interested in having a jerk like you as a step-son!!

I need a whole plotline of Sokka wondering who this fire lord person is going to be

Season 2

Aang: I wish that Iroh guy was the Fire Lord, he seems pretty nice

Sokka: Yeah the Fire Nation would probably be better off with him as Fire Lord, but he’s so old and more of an uncle figure, you know? Not really my type.

Aang: What

Early season 3

Sokka, waking up in cold sweat: Oh no. What if... Azula is the future Fire Lord

Late season 3

Katara: Sokka what should we do? The invasion failed, we’ve been hiding in this temple for weeks and Sozin’s comet is almost here

Sokka, mumbling to himself: I hope Zuko becomes Fire Lord he’s pretty cool

Katara: what?

Sokka: I said we need to defeat the Fire Lord soon

Sokka internally having a Firelord tier list during the series is something that I never knew I wanted.

*when zuko and katara arrive right before azula's coronation during sozin's comet*

Zuko: Sorry. But you're not going to be the one marrying Sokka.

Azula: What.