Latest Posts by ashtonq247 - Page 9

Kaminari Denki headcannons!!

Bc it’s his bday and I love him (this will not cover his fam bc I switch between backstories with him so much that I just have no clue)

Buckle up bc this is a very long post I did not mean to get this deep lol

Let’s start with the most obvious- he makes friends easily, but I’m not just talking other students, I’m also talking the staff. This boy makes friends with the janitors and the lunch ladies and even the teachers!! He also makes friends with the security bots and pranks them a lot

This stems from him wanting ppl to like him. I think this bc of the fact that his character sheet says he likes all things “trendy” - I think he rlly wants to be known as the cool guy bc he is rlly insecure of himself

And as much as I think he is very trendy, I also think he is a big literature nerd! I believe he is more likely to listen to audio books tho, but I’m not entirely 100% sure though. He tries to keep this underwrap, but eventually he does join momo’s book club and brings completely different analysis to the table :D

He is just generally into the arts (we see this in cannon- he plays guitar, is seen drawing Aizawa, references Hemingway) so I see him as a more creative guy rather than a logically minded dude

This boy has adhd, anxiety, and dyslexia and dyscalcula (he was able to work through dyslexia bc he read so much, but still has problems with his dyscalcula) and this causes issues for him in school. He also a HUGE procrastinator. He often feels stupid and dumb bc if it (also doesn’t help that even his friends joke abt it too, but as long as it’s just a joke he shouldn’t make a big deal abt it right??)

I say he has anxiety because of the way he reacts to when he is training- always panicking and frying his brain. I think what stans between him and being rlly op is his anxiety and view of himself

Speaking of him frying his brain, I headcannon he has litchenburg figures, which if u don’t know r these rlly cool scars that look kinda like branches with what kinda looks like flowers so cool tbh, and BEFORE u say “he obviously doesn’t have them cannonly” let me just say that his quirk affects his brain cannonly!! It’s not weird for it to also affect his skin!!! I think he might have had litchenburg figures if they were more commonly known as it is a very cool thing tbh

I also think that bc his brain gets impacted by his quirk, sometimes his nerves get impacted too. This means he sometimes can’t taste food (and he doesn’t eat it when he can’t taste it, which pisses Bakugo off) and he also can’t feel things as well (I believe the class figures this out after Denki went to poor himself some tea but didn’t know the kettle was still rlly hot and so he grabbed it not knowing he was burning himself until he handed it over to someone who then dropped the pot bc it was so hot- needles to say he had to go to recovery girl that day)

He has never been to the aquarium bc as a child he had terrible control over his quirk and that made ppl nervous to put him near water (he goes as a teen with the bakusquad and is absolutely floored- his favorite creatures are of course all the sting rays, jelly fish, and electric eel- cue bakusquad comparing him to the brainless jellyfish)

He also doesn’t know how to swim till he was in middle school (once he was in better control of his quirk he went out and learned to swim on his own bc he had to learn how if he wanted to be a hero u know? He never quit got the hang of it tho)

Storms make him very energized and his already low ability to focus worsens. Prone to accidentally zapping ppl. He mostly stays in his room when storms happen bc he doesn’t want to hurt ppl/ wreck electronics on accident. He doesn’t even get to chat with friends on the phone bc he would wreck it so storms get rlly lonely :(

Also is basically a lightning rod. It hurts bc of how forceful it is, but it’s also not that big of a deal to him

Is prtty forgetful unfortunately due to all the times he fried his brain. It’s something he really tries not to think about

He probs can’t sleep very easily due to all his energy

He hates frying his brain bc it’s very hard to understand what’s going on when he does. Everything is a lot more sluggish and things are simultaneously way too much and he gets hyper sensitive and at the same time his senses are also very groggy and weird. It’s over all a bad time, but he got used to it

Whenever he fried his brain instead of being all wheyyy and thumbs upy he use to act more vegetative which rlly freaked ppl out so he eventually learned to get to where he is now when he fries his brain

Kids use to take advantage of his whey mode and do pranks on him which often got him hurt, but he never rlly felt it at first so he didn’t mind to bad. As long it was just joking and they were having fun right??

Time for happy ones!! His favorite foods (besides burgers, those r his favorite cannonly) all have some coralation with memes (speggeti tacos, mac n cheese, “chonky” milk, chicken nuggy, etc)

He is a meme lord yes

Stans pikachu (obvi)

U cannot convince me that he doesn’t paint his nails black, maybe with a little lightning bolt on his middle finger. This boy cannonly wears a choker common

He does face masks with Mina!! I believe he cares abt his looks greatly, and does beauty routines with Mina all the time. I’m constantly switching btween wether or not he owns it, or is a bit insecure and tries not to show this side to much to the boys

Why does this show not give him skinny jeans?? I mean common his entire style calls for skinny jeans. Maybe it’s Japan fashion or smth bc if it was in America he’d have skinny jeans bc it’s the trendy thing u know

Cannot cook. Can barely work the microwave. Claims unmarked food and eats it at midnight

Has a lot of weird info stored in his brain- how weather works, psychology stuff, weird facts abt bees, etc- that he learns randomly, never rlly trying to learn them but it sort of just happens u know. This frustrates Bakugo and jirou to no end bc he knows all these useless facts about how 1,200,000 mosquitos is all it takes for them to all at once drain a human of all their blood in a second, but not about how to work the pathagorean theorem

Idk why I think this (and it’s a popular headcannon too), but he knows at least 3/4 languages. It just suits him?? Bc he is a ppl person??? I don’t know??

Gets major test anxiety

Teachers either love him or hate him no in between. A lot of his elementary teachers absolutely hated him and would tear him down by calling him stupid and annoying. In middle school when he learns to control his quirk better, teachers rlly liked him- in the way that class clown trouble makers are liked by teachers. He may not excel in his class but he is a pretty funny dude.

He is constantly either underestimated or overestimated. Kaminari himself does this as well. It’s part of the issue with his hero training

Cats do not like him. They may like being petted bc if the static electricity, but when Kami pets cats he just absorbs the static- no pleasure :(((- or he accidentally has too much static electricity. If so then only tge rlly fluffy cats like him. Either case, shinsou finds a cat that likes kaminari as well and it is very cute :33

THE class prankster. Even on the teachers! The death glare Aizawa gave him on the one time prancing him worked is one kaminari will never forget (he still tries to prank him despite this lol)

Constantly teasing Bakugo as a way to press his buttons. It’s debatable on wether or not this helps bakugo’s anger issues

He is the wingman between Bakugo and Kirishima change my mind!!

Also mandatory kaminari is bisexual headcannon bc he rlly gives me those vibes. I think he doesn’t know yet that he’s bisexual, and when he thinks a fellow bro is hot he thinks he’s just admiring his bro u know. Maybe even thinks he is jealous. He does flirt with all genders tho mostly as a joke. He draws dicks as jokes but he always puts a little too much detail in them for him to rlly be straight

Can be used as a defibrillator as long as he can focus

Honestly there’s so much stuff kaminari has the potential to do with his quirk it’s a shame the manga/anime doesn’t use it

Like I rlly want to see him use his quirk in training to blow out all the lights in a building so he can use it for his advantage

That’d be badass

Also his quirk makes him very hard to be caught when their training. He can slip out of ppls grasp easily with a shock, and he also just has good reflexes in genral (I think this is cannon). Cue class 1-a running around trying and failing to catch him lol. Their best bet is to get him to fry his brain :(

He was popular in school before UA bc of his quirk and bc of how charming and easy to get a long with he is. This lead a lot of his friends to be very shallow. He didn’t rlly think about wether or not someone was trying to be his friend or not, he just liked being liked. This lead him to his whole liking trendy things, and he often felt that if he wasn’t seen as cool or funny his friends would all leave him. His whole rlly liking to talk thing caused a lot of ppl to think he was annoying at times, but he was never rlly able to lose that trait

The bakusquad was the first friend group he got rlly close too. He felt he can be himself around them and be the crackhead he was always meant to be. He still always concerned about wether they might leave him if he’s too annoying bc of anxiety but he’s getting better :)

He is a bringer of chaos and that’s part of his charm! Never dull with Denki around. He’s always doing the weirdest stuff, and ever since Mina, Kiri, and Sero, this has only doubled!

He is always calling Momo a genius (bc she is) and they are rlly good friends

Is an unofficial emo squad member (just look at his hero costume)

A sinnamon roll I’m srry but he ain’t a cinnamon roll. He has a dirty mind lol

Peepee jokes

Probably does tik tok dances I’m sorry

Nintendo fan for life

Xbox or PlayStation?- “Nintendo wut u mean”

Abbreviates so much it’s kinda hard to read,. Like if u thought I was bad this boy is soo much worse

It’s kinda ironic bc he has a very large vocabulary lol

He only uses it when he’s being sassy or very passionate

Mixes his gen z lingo with his big brain vicab to create atrocities of sentences

”bro the rise of the proletariat is lit tbh”

He is the worst to text with. He gives Bakugo aneurysms

Yeet yote to be yoted

3am shower thoughts

Unpopular opinion: i don’t think he likes weed. It probs reminds him too much of his whey mode

He’s a good strategist, but let’s the other team members think of the plans bc of insecurity, and otherwise his anxiety causes his smartness to shut down

Very good at zoning out. Sometimes he accidentally zones out so hard during class he misses the entire lesson and is only brought out bc of the school bell. Aizawa is best at snapping him out of it

Tbh I don’t think UA would be good with mental health. You’d think they’d hire a professional therapist or smth, but maybe it’s bc hero’s are so glorified ppl don’t ever think about these issues

I doubt the teachers had very good teacher training u know

We’ve mostly seen young heroes. I bet that’s bc they die so often, and if they don’t die in battle the mental health issues that stem from trauma and the media’s pressure are such an issue that it’s not uncommon for hero work to have high suicide rates

Anyway I’m starting to lose track of things thanks for coming to my ted talk I think I’ll stop here

I was wondering, do you think sokka witnessing yue turning into the moon spirit ever had an effect on his view of spirits and the 'skeptical' approach to mysteries he sometimes takes during the series? (not that science and spirituality are opposed, necessarily, but sokka tends towards a more skeptical approach before considering spirits/supernatural are involved in a mystery). would he lean into skepticism, away from it, or more generally reconsider his position on spirits in light of events?

this is a really good question because i feel like i’ve seen a lot of people point out, usually facetiously, that it shouldn’t make sense that sokka is a skeptic considering he’s friends with the avatar, spent a day in the spirit world, watched his girlfriend turn into the moon, found wan shi tong’s library, and generally has seen some shit. like... what exactly is he skeptical of? y’know? 

well. 

sokka would have to be willfully ignorant not to believe in spirits. he’s quite literally been to the spirit world (not that that ever got explored and that makes me salty beyond belief where is sokkated away, the movie, dammit! but i digress). sokka knows that spirits exist. he can see the moon. 

what sokka is skeptical of is not the existence of spirits, but the idea that spirits are mystical, and thus, we should deify them. sokka believes in spirits because he’s kissed (at least) one (we don’t know what happened in the spirit world ok), but what sokka does not believe in is mysticism. mysticism runs directly counter to sokka’s entire worldview, which is essentially boils down to the scientific method. (for more on that, i recommend this delightful lecture by feynman. don’t worry it’s only 10 mins.) 

sokka knows that spirits exist well enough, but he doesn’t think that they can’t be explained, simply that he does not yet know the explanation for their behavior. the reason that the spirits are revered by humans is because they supposedly work in mysterious ways, but sokka doesn’t inherently respect the spirits (he respects yue, but that’s not the same) because he thinks that’s bullshit; the spirits must operate on a plane of logic that we have simply yet to understand. 

but sokka is aware that there’s plenty he doesn’t understand (like socrates). if anything, his familiarity with the spirits makes him more of a skeptic, because what he is skeptical of is the notion that they are exotic and intangible, and he knows that that’s not the case. sure, maybe the physical laws of the spirit world are different from those in their dimension (that’s the only explanation for bending, after all), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be explained through math, only that humans have yet to discover it. (and if anyone could, it’s sokka.)

WEAK HERO

You guys need to read Weak Hero on Webtoons. It centers around a kid named Gray who hands bullies their asses. But he is not like and underdog. He is a goddamn OVERdog. Like the thing is BEAUTIFUL and y'all should check it out. Read the description yourself and get into it.

It kind of saddens me to see that not many people talk enough about Sokka's pain and sadness. Everybody knows Aangs pain of losing everyone he every knew and loved, his friends and family. His culture, his people, his very way of life.

Katara everybody knows as well. She mentions it rather often. Which is understandable, she lost her mother at a young age. Anyone would be hurt and traumatized by that. And I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about either of them, or try to lessen them in any way. Both felt much pain and sadness and both should be allowed to feel it and I'm so super honored to be able to share in their adventures.

But Sokka also lost his mother. He doesn't show as much pain or sadness as Katara. But I believe this has to do with him be a family man more than anything else (something I will discuss in a future post so forgive me if this point seems short at the moment).

Sokka and Katara father left them and they BOTH felt it, they were both hurt and betrayed. They both reacted differently and I think both reactions are justified according to their culture and personality.

Sokka was also in charge of taking care of Yue. Who became the moon spirit. This isn't touched on often but we do get scenes where we see this hurt him terribly.

He thought he had lost Suki, and this also cut deep at his heart. He lost so many people to this war, in one way or another. Yet he rarely ever shows it.

He always laughs and jokes and keeps things upbeat. When he's gone the team has a hard time staying energized. But more than that, he has become their emotional center and I think he knows it. They all feel pain and sadness and they need to keep tabs on one another constantly to make sure their alright. But no one really does that for Sokka, because he's determined to make sure they don't need to. They have to much else to worry about.

We see one clear example of this in the swamp. Katara see's her mother and Sokka sees Yue. But while Katara lingers on this for a moment, Sokka immediately brushes it off but we saw just a scene ago that it does pain him. But his sister and his best friend are in danger, so he brushes off his own feelings and reassures them their is a solution and explaintion.

One of the few scenes we ever get where we see his passion seap through is when Azula mentions Suki and implies she been hurt, and/or killed. Sokka cries but again shakes it off, perhaps not easily but much more so than most people possibly could.

Even his need to have an explaintion for everything shows hints of trauma. He believes in science, not faith. He needs a logical answer for everything. We see this often in our own world. People who have had loved one's die, or had to experience great trauma tend to look at one of two things. Faith and spiritual beliefs (which can be healthy), like Katara. Or science and pure logic (which can also be healthy), like Sokka.

Both siblings are in pain and both are looking for ways to be healed and to help others. But we see and understand Katara. Sokka however does his best to remain hidden. Katara looks to others. Sokka trusts others, but only really looks to himself.

Katara and Aang had each other. Even Zuko had Iroh. Sokka only ever wanted to have himself. Not because he didn't love his sister or his friends, not because he didn't trust them. But because he did love and trust them, and never wanted to burden them. He understood someone needed to keep them focused and even distracted. Or the pain could very easily consume them. We know this, because it's what he does for himself too. Keep things funny, keep things on task, don't be distracted.

Sokka like so many others in the show is an amazing character and I'd love to see more people talk about him on a deeper level. He deserves that, after all he did for the team, and for the audience.

i used to hope that Sokka eventually was able to get space sword back, but more and more recently i have comforted myself with the thought that maybe through stories told and spread and passed down through generations, Sokka’s sword became somewhat of a legend, that there would be talk of a Great Sword from Another Earth that belonged to a powerful nonbender who helped the Avatar defeat the Fire Lord and bring an end to the Hundred Year War, and that if a nonbender were to find the sword and be deemed worthy to wield it by the spirit of its creator, they would be gifted with Sokka’s bravery and skill and wit!!, perhaps be destined to fight side by side with the newest Avatar. and, you know, maybe there’s a certain power in legends and storytelling too, and through spirity magicky stuff that would have made Sokka cross his arms and argue about how there’s no scientific reasoning to support it, the legend would come true after all

Avatar: The Last Airbender | 1.02 - “The Avatar Returns”

god with Sokka's whole quiet fear of losing someone else the way he lost Yue I can't even imagine how he must have been feeling when he watched Katara and Zuko go where he can't follow to face Azula, who literally killed Aang the last time Team Avatar fought her, and this time they don't have any spirit water

Sokka just stares at them for a bit before they leave and you can just tell he's trying so hard not to consider that he might not see them again

we don’t talk enough about the fact that Suki, Sokka, and Toph took out an entire fleet of airships BY THEMSELVES

I cried so much at the end of atla partially because of the realization that now, Iroh not only has Zuko as a son, but he has a whole gaggle of dumbass children to love and give wisdom to over cups of hot tea.

tbh, i never thought lars and sadie were going to end up together. 

like. the writing was always on the wall that they don’t work, even if they care about each other / want the other to be happy. they’re better as friends. sadie was never what it took (nor should be made responsible) to push lars in a better direction. even when they were together, lars didn’t become the emotionally open person sadie needed. and i never got the sense that you should just mash them together once lars had grown a bit. that’s not who they are now.

there was never a strong throughline of sadie obsessing over lars in space, because it wasn’t about her or their relationship - it was about his growth. sadie needed to try to move on and live her own damn life (even if that made lars initially upset). her growing separately, into someone who is primarily concerned with what she wants & needs, always felt like the right move. and from there… they’re friends, yeah, but they don’t have the basis for a real relationship. sadie should never be lars’ prize for his growth. 

there may have been a time she was happy to put herself in that position - always waiting for him, passively hoping for him to get better… but going off on a tour of self-discovery, with new interests and a new partner? that seems to be a much better message - she deserves a life not dependent on his growth. agency in her own story. all without making lars a shallow ex-boyfriend stereotype, who can’t accept change. once? yes. but not now. he’s got his own life. of course he’s going back to space, that’s where he found himself. he’s got every incentive to go - and sadie has every incentive to stay on earth. 

so having her always be looking up, waiting for him to return, maybe even growing old like that… felt wrong. acknowledging that “growing apart” can sometimes be a good thing for both parties seems, to me, like a much more mature conclusion. it respects the characters they’ve become. they aren’t right for each other, without that being either’s loss. 

and of course, steven feels like that’s another instance of him failing to fix something… but this was never his to fix. it’s about them, not him. it’s private.

what was sokka’s relationship with his mother like? did she, like ursa with zuko, encourage him to feel safe transgressing gender norms? did she patiently coax him into talking out his problems, letting him know that it is safe and healthy to express himself? did she marvel at his drawings just as much as she did at his handcrafted fishhooks and harpoons? did she tell him stories from her childhood in the north pole, sparking sokka’s interest in other lands even before he knew she was talking about another land? did she read to him? 

when he started to become a leader among the kids his age, did she take care to watch his mood to make sure he wasn’t burning out from the responsibility? when he devoted himself to protecting katara, did she make sure he knew that he was equally important? did she say it with enough conviction that he believed it in spite of the evidence to the contrary? 

when she bandaged his scrapes, did she stop him from brimming with pride over the injury? did she make certain he understood that violence and defending others weren’t what made him strong? 

when he lost her, did sokka try to keep her lessons in mind even as the mounting need for a strong military defense began to take over their village? what was it like the day sokka resolved in his mind that it wasn’t appropriate for a warrior to draw or read or feel?

when sokka needs advice about how to process something internal, private, he’ll typically take it to toph. her calm manner of listening puts him at ease and he never doubts that she’ll keep his vulnerabilities to herself. her advice is frank, realistic and fair. 

when he needs someone to distract him, he goes to suki. she has a way of assessing what’s on his mind and pivoting madly away from it. her charm is impossible to resist, so when she puts her mind to it, she never fails to make him smile. 

when he wants someone by his side while he fixes a problem, he can’t go wrong with zuko. zuko proved that at the boiling rock. he’s ride or die, and sokka will never get over how validating it is to have an ally he can rely on no matter what. well, two allies. they also bring momo. 

when he wants someone to just sit with him and understand, that’s a job for katara. she’s his shadow and his witness, just as he is hers. no one else will ever be up to that task. 

but when there’s an external problem out in the world and he doesn’t know what to do about it, that kind of question can only go to aang. and nothing makes sokka happier than getting to watch the gears in aang’s brain work as he figures out a solution. this is what aang is great at, and it’s a treat to watch him excel at what he does. there’s that sense of pride, too, that sokka was part of this kid’s upbringing and now here he is, all wise and shit. (he was always wise, but let sokka have this one!!!) sokka was taught that it isn’t right to ask for help, but he knows better now, and when it comes to his amazing, brilliant, empathetic, wise friends, he never minds at all. 

Watching Avatar I found myself always forgetting that Sokka is an underated genius. He's such a doofus and sometimes a down right idiot but then he does something genius and then ur like, oh yeah, I keep forgetting he does have a brain. I remember being mosly confused by his character????? Like why are u getting super serious, ur supposed to be funny????? Yeah it's called depth and that's what I love abt the series, none of them are one thing, especially sokka. I think his character shows that contrast the most but I feel because aince he's not a bender or Zuko, he gets kinda side lined. Honestly just seriously watching it again he is such an underrated character. He's the only one since the very beginning who pretty selflessly supported his friends. Katara was sweet and she really really cared but I feel like she was often swept up in her own head with things. Not bashing Katara because we all know she's a badass who would sell her soul if it meant saving her friends. Just Sokka never fell apart on them, never made his problems other people's and when he did need stability he went to his friends in a healthy manner. He might not have always been emotionally sensitive but I really feel like he was the rock of the group, the grounding constant that kept them together. He couldn't bend but he was still a nececity to the team because he was strong in ways the others weren't, not that it's a bad thing on their end. He's just a good boi. A dummy thicc brain boi who drinks the quenchiest of cactus water and is hella supportive and responsible. He made battle plans, kept the gaang on time, BASICALLY LEAD A REBELLION BY HIMSELF, was super supportive of aang when it didn't work, always helping toph (don't think I didn't notice who's arm she grabbed when she couldn't use her earth bending to see) supported his sister even when he didn't agree and was super quick to forgive zuko and treat him like a friend. I feel like he's often written off as just "the funny one" and he deserves better respect than that. This wasn't really prompted by anything, I just wanted to say this. Sokka is an A+ dude.

Very good post 10/10

So my brother and I were just talking on the phone and we realized: Aang might have mastered all four elements but Sokka mastered the non-bending styles from all four nations!

He already knew how to fight with Water Tribe weapons/regalia:

Then, in what’s likely the first Earth Kingdom village he’s ever visited, he learned how to fight with the Warriors of Kyoshi:

When he reached the Northern Air Temple, he was able to tap into the philosophy of the airbenders and realize that the best way to win a battle is to avoid face-to-face confrontation by instead using creative means (and the sky) to take down your opponent:

And finally, when he reached the Fire Nation, Piandao taught him how to forge a unique weapon and hone his swordsmanship:

Sokka learned all four non-bending styles!

Really puts Iroh’s quote into a different context:

“Understanding the other nations will help you become whole.”

No one helps, cares for and looks out for Katara the way Sokka does. The most important relationship of her life and vice versa

idk if youre still doing these but 🔥 sokka? im watching atla for the very first time rn and im loving your takes on it

not too late for these, especially for one about sokka

i love sokka

my main controversial opinion is that he’s really smart. I don’t really think that’s a controversial opinion though (anymore), and the show gives us plenty of evidence, especially in s3 (but as early as s1 and 2 too), that sokka is the brains of the operation, that he’s the voice of reason and rationality, and has all the strategic/tactical nous. i think he just largely uses humour to cope with his situation and all the pressure that’s on his shoulders as he’s the elder brother and the oldest (and only) warrior left defending the village & the last southern waterbender (and later that changes to the avatar and the last southern waterbender). i think he also tends towards a more scientific outlook probably because he’s a non-bender with a powerful bender for a sister, surrounded by other benders, who have connections to mystical creatures and the spirit world and so on.

i think sokka also acts in the way he does largely because he’s trying to imitate his father - who is both a skilled warrior and a clever tactician - & wants his father to be proud of him, as well. like there is a lot of ‘boy trying to be a man’ in sokka that is equally funny and sad. i think this idealism helps him avoid the pain of his father & all the adult men in his village leaving him and the others behind.

i think when he grows up, after the war has ended, I definitely think he might have more mixed feelings about it all. sokka spends a lot of time trying to be the best possible warrior and tactician, and takes it fairly seriously as well (consider how in s3 he’s always telling the gaang they’re running out of time), because he wants to be his dad, and assumes he’s going to be doing the same thing his dad is doing, and i think in five years time or so it might dawn on him that actually, after all his travelling with the avatar and co, and because they’re in an era of peace now, that absolutely isn’t going to be the case, it’s a whole new world, and he spent a lot of time trying to fit a mould that isn’t needed anymore.

& maybe, just maybe, he might feel a little bit of bitterness about how back then he felt like he was supposed to be responsible for everyone, at the age of 15, when he was still a kid himself.

(sokka probably has a “quarter-life” crisis about this at the age of 23 or something. painfully relatable, if i’m honest.)

i can honestly imagine sokka doing anything in the future except becoming the chief of his tribe. not because he neglects the responsibility - on the contrary he’s always risen to that responsibility, but more because he realises that isn’t where he’s most useful, and that’s not the role for him anymore.

(tbh my own headcanon is that katara becomes chief instead)

EDIT: just wanted to add that i don't really blame hakoda for all of this, like it was a difficult choice to decide to leave his kids behind & it was one imposed by years of fire nation raids and imperialist policies.

i also wanted to add that while i love the fire nation sibs (zuko & azula) to pieces i think something that is very very overlooked with sokka and katara is that while on the surface they're far more functional, they have an equal amount of depth and are also dealing with a lot of trauma. the loss of their mother, the absence of their father, & the effect that fire nation imperialism has on them and how it has hurt their tribe has a very profound effect and the way sokka acts, the way he throws himself into a position of responsibility at such a young age, is a product of this.

1. a) sokka crying because he his father is going to war and he cannot join him b) hakoda crying because his son rescued him from being a prisoner of war

2. a) sokka crying because he could not rescue suki from being captured.  b) suki crying because sokka came to rescue her

3. a) yue crying because she cannot protect sokka  b) sokka crying because he could not protect yue

i find it very interesting that unlike the other prominent characters in the series, we rarely see sokka cry. there are plenty of moments in which crying would be appropriate, and in that same circumstance, aang and katara would shed tears without hesitation. even toph and zuko, who feel the need to conform to an invulnerable ideal and “show no weakness” cry more readily than sokka does, who only cries once in a moment that is neither a flashback (to before the men left the tribe) nor played to comedic effect. it is why that moment in “the day of black sun” when azula is baiting him is all the more impactful. 

sokka is someone who refuses to show weakness or rely on others, and it is likely that he has internalized the notion that any display of emotion is a weakness. while he is very expressive, he does not wear his heart on his sleeve like katara does. he cares deeply, and is overtly loyal, but he is also hyper-rational and thinks any display of vulnerability on his part is a fault.  

even though toph is more detached and logical than katara and aang, she is also in tune enough with her emotions that she cries freely when she is upset. and though it is clear that ozai held zuko to a very similar standard of masculinity that sokka holds himself to, in which crying is a weakness, zuko still cries quite a bit throughout the show. 

after hakoda left when sokka was 13, sokka made it his mission to take responsibility for the tribe, for katara, and for anyone he comes to care about over the course of the show. whenever someone he loves gets hurt, he considers it a personal failure, that he could not protect them. it is his greatest weakness, and azula is able to exploit it by reminding him that he was unable to protect suki. in a way that is usually unlike him, he lets his emotions get the better of him despite knowing full-well that it’s a trap. since he became the quote unquote “man of the tribe” when he was 13, he has successfully remained composed – and thus, not “weak” – but it is the reminder that he failed to protect someone that undoes him. 

sokka’s immense guilt over not being able to save suki or his father wracks him, and he willingly – irrationally – puts his life on the line to save them both at the boiling rock. he will do anything he can to save those he loves. though sokka prides himself on his logic, he will always put his loyalty and devotion first, above reason, above rational detachment. 

sokka cried exactly three times in atla, each time because he was unable to protect someone he cared about. and they all cried over him too. 

am i… the only one who thinks sokka would improve on his art? that he would practice and get better, and would develop the habit of just absently drawing what he saw? his sketches of wartime water tribe life being displayed in cultural centers, his drawings of early cranefish town, his sketches of the FIre Lord and the Avatar and Master Beifong and the Kyoshi warriors becoming important cultural pieces in themselves? maybe they’re not photorealistic paintings, but the feeling of intimacy of these important– near mythical– figures in history being drawn by their close friend… Fire Lord Zuko with his hair down, Avatar Aang with his children, Master Beifong’s concentration as she practiced her forms, all of them having tea together. maybe he draws the group every time they get together, and all of these drawings are donated to a museum after Aang passes away. shit dude, artists are valuable!! 

I was waiting for someone to make this distinction between Iroh and Sokka! I headcannon that Sokka is the only one of the gaang who can beet Iroh at Pai-sho

One of the things that I’m fascinated by as a concept is that Sokka and Iroh are simultaneously very similar and also total opposites in many ways. There’s an aspect where they’re very tactically minded, intelligent leaders with a history of eccentricities… But Sokka is also one of the people for whom it would make the most sense for him to get argumentative with Iroh, and actually has done. 

Sokka constantly poo-poos the idea of destiny and spirituality, and gets mad at Iroh for suggesting that they rescue Zuko from the Crystal Catacombs because he doesn’t care about the “good inside” him. They have similar skill-sets and influence, but their ideologies are mostly incompatible. So I absolutely want to see more of Sokka actually debating him; that would be way more interesting the typical interactions we see with Iroh anyway.

(Zuko watches this in horror like a high-speed ping-pong match.)

I also like the idea of Sokka enjoying many of the same things as iroh, but in ways that make Iroh shudder. For instance:

–Sokka is good at, and likes playing Pai Sho. However, he is very much of a disrespectful opponent who engages in trash talk and speed plays. 

–Sokka also likes tea, but he is prone to dumping all sorts of ingredients into it that’s besides the norm, including sugar and honey and generally just “ruining” the natural flavor of the tea. (Sokka invents ‘iced tea’ which Iroh secretly views as blasphemy.)

–Again they have a penchant for strategy, and debate hypothetical scenarios, but Sokka is noticeably less honorable and is willing to resort to dirty tactics in spades if he thinks it can net him victory.

–They both have a thing for poetry, but iroh is very prosy and thoughtful, while Sokka can just string together whatever first pops into his head and fashions that into a workable poem. 

weird kid

there are only so many world leaders, right? and they’re all beholden to sokka in some major way…

the avatar: will be 35 years old and still have a pavlovian response to sokka saying “all right everyone, time for bed!” 

the firelord: so ride or die it’s honestly concerning

the earth king: owes to sokka his newfound knowledge of basic critical thinking skills

chief of the northern water tribe: his daughter seemed to think he was pretty dope before she turned into the moon

chief of the southern water tribe: thinks her brother is an idiot but has good ideas sometimes, and appreciates the fact that he doesn’t care whether or not he gets credit for them as long as they’re implemented 

not to mention that toph is basically a one-woman weapon of mass destruction who does not listen to anyone—with the crucial exception of one person—and guess who that is!

and he’s basically an honorary member of the white lotus???

basically what I’m saying is sokka secretly rules the world

Sokka is the member of the Gaang that scares me the most because while Katara, Toph, and Aang are all extremely powerful and talented they all consistently trained with immense dedication and effort. Meanwhile Sokka learns fighting techniques in a matter of days. He's a skilled welder but this never comes up after a couple of episodes. He's instictually good at haikus??? He's a skilled inventor and scientist but I have no idea where LEARNED it in the first place. I imagine he grew up hunting and trying to defend his village. He fucking invented the submarine during the series. Sokka is TERRIFYING not because he's more powerful than any other member of the group but because he picks up skills so quickly. If he had the time consistent training and instruction he would too powerful

sokka and azula have a fascinating dynamic because they are both insufferable perfectionists, due to the need they feel to be perfect carbon copies of their fathers, whom they hero-worship and believe can do no wrong. and they’re also the only person in the war who can outsmart the other, which leads to….. problems. sokka decided he wanted to die after azula sabotaged his invasion plan, and azula decided she wanted to die after sokka beat her at the boiling rock. so it’s just like. imagine them playing scrabble together. zuko walks in the room to find azula shaving her head because sokka spelled “dimethylpentane,” meanwhile sokka is calling his dealer because there wasn’t enough room left on the board to add an s that could have doubled his score. zuko’s just like what the fuck is a dimethylpentane, and sokka and azula both stare at him as if he is an idiot.

Sokka!! He is best character and I love him

“bitter work” aka “angry local gays yell at god”

Iroh: People work their entire lives to find spirits and access the spirit world. It has taken years of dedication and study for me to reach the small part of it that I’m able to find.

Sokka, who accidentally steered a canoe to where the Avatar had been frozen for a century and then fell in love with the moon and also spent 24 hours in the spirit world that one time and was the only one who the hallucinations flat-out spoke to in the magical swamp: what, like it’s hard?