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NEED HELP WRITING? (a masterlist)

I have likely not added many that I've reblogged to this list. Please feel free to roam my blog and/or ask/message me to add something you'd like to see on this list!

Synonym Lists

Look by @writers-potion

Descriptors

Voices by @saraswritingtipps

Show, Don't Tell by @lyralit

Tips & Tricks

5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists by @writingwithfolklore

How To (Realistically) Make a Habit of Writing by @byoldervine

Let's Talk About Misdirection by @deception-united

Tips to Improve Character Voice by @tanaor

Stephen King's Top 20 Rules for Writers posted by @toocoolformedschool

Fun Things to Add to a Fight Scene (Hand to Hand Edition) by @illarian-rambling

Questions I Ask My Beta Readers by @burntoutdaydreamer

Skip Google for Research by @s-n-arly

Breaking Writing Rules Right: Don't Write Direct Dialogue by @septemberercfawkes

Databases/Resources

International Clothing

Advice/Uplifting

Too Ashamed of Writing To Write by @writingquestionsanswered

"Said" is Beautiful by @blue-eyed-author

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I love how whenever ATLA recognizes Sokka is smart enough to solve a problem but it’d be too fast they just stick him in some kind of situation. Like he COULD’VE stopped jet from drowning a town so they tied him up and dumped him in a forest. He COULD’VE figured out what that spirits deal was so they lost him in the spirit world for 24 hours.

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This =

Do you guys see my vision

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hakoda would be a facebook dad, solely because i think it would be fucking hilarious

follow my Twitter | COMMISSION INFO

original under cut 👇🏽

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loveee the thought of zuko as fire lord making his first diplomatic visit to the SWT and sokka taking FULL advantage of his and zuko’s friendship status to mortify his fellow council members and the general population of the south pole, as well as the fire lord himself.

like zuko will be chatting with some council members and sokka comes up and just starts roasting the fuck out of him. just saying shit like “who let you off the boat in THOSE shoes” to get a reaction out of the council members, who are making giant eyes at him like this is a professional visit where the fuck is your father to restrain you?!!!?

bato would be having an awkward conversation with zuko about resource allotments for the rebuilding effort and sokka needlessly throws in “did you know zuko sings to himself when he’s alone? he’s pretty good. give him a demo, zuko, come on,” and zuko’s grimacing because it was one fucking time sweet spirits sokka and bato is giving sokka the most embarrassed look of his life

sokka throws snowballs at zuko in the middle of the village and zuko falls over four consecutive times as a result.

for all his outward expressions of aggravation, it eventually becomes apparent to everyone that zuko isn’t too bothered by the teasing and sokka doesn’t mean anything by it, because every night they sit at the water’s edge and joke for hours.

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random fire nation diplomat #492 will never understand the complex and fucked up relationship between the water siblings like I do 🙄

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18. Snooze

Appa and Momo snoozing. Wanted to draw something of them after that sad sad episode. 😭 precious little babies

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South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 2)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

Part 1

In the previous post, I discussed some of the things ATLA got right in its depictions of desi and hindu cultures. unfortunately, they also got plenty of things wrong - often in ways that leaned towards racist caricatures - so let's break them down, starting with...

Guru Pathik

both the word "guru" and name "pathik" come from sanskrit. pathik means "traveler" or "he who knows the way" while guru is a term for a guide or mentor, similar to a teacher.

gurus were responsible for the very first education systems in ancient india, setting up institutions called gurukuls. students, referred to as disciples, would often spend years living with and learning from their gurus in these gurukuls, studying vedic and buddhist texts, philosophy, music and even martial arts.

however, their learning was not limited merely to academic study, as gurus were also responsible for guiding the spiritual evolution of their disciples. it was common for disciples to meditate, practice yoga, fast for days or weeks, and complete mundane household chores every day in order to instill them with self-discipline and help them achieve enlightenment and spiritual awareness. the relationship between a guru and his disciple was considered a sacred, holy bond, far exceeding that of a mere teacher and student.

aang's training with guru pathik mirrors some of these elements. similar to real gurus, pathik takes on the role of aang's spiritual mentor. he guides aang in unblocking his chakras and mastering the avatar state through meditation, fasting, and self-reflection - all of which are practices that would have likely been encouraged in disciples by their gurus.

pathik's design also takes inspiration from sadhus, holy men who renounced their worldly ties to follow a path of spiritual discipline. the guru's simple, nondescript clothing and hair are reflective of the ascetic lifestyle sadhus are expected to lead, giving up material belongings and desires in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and, ultimately, liberation from the reincarnation cycle.

unfortunately, this is where the respectful references end because everything else about guru pathik was insensitive at best and stereotypical at worst.

it is extremely distasteful that the guru speaks with an overexaggerated indian accent, even though the iranian-indian actor who plays him has a naturally british accent. why not just hire an actual indian voice actor if the intention was to make pathik sound authentic? besides, i doubt authenticity was the sole intention, given that the purposeful distortion of indian accents was a common racist trope played for comedy in early 2000s children's media (see: phineas and ferb, diary of a wimpy kid, jessie... the list goes on).

furthermore, while pathik is presented a wise and respected figure within this episode, his next (and last) appearance in the show is entirely the opposite.

in the episode nightmares and daydreams, pathik appears in aang's nightmare with six hands, holding what appears to be a veena (a classical indian music instrument). this references the iconography of the hindu deity Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. the embodiment of divine enlightenment, learning, insight and truth, Saraswati is a member of the Tridevi (the female version of the Trimurti), one of the most respected and revered goddesses in the Hindu pantheon... and her likeness is used for a cheap laugh on a character who's already treated as a caricature.

that's bad enough on its own, but when you consider that guru pathik is the only explicitly south asian coded character in the entire show, it's downright insulting. for a show that took so many of its foundational concepts from south asia and hinduism and yet provided almost no desi representation in return, this is just rubbing salt in the wound.

Chakras

"chakra", meaning "circle" or "wheel of life" in sanskrit, refers to sources of energy found in the human body. chakra points are aligned along the spine, with energy flowing from the lowest to the highest point. the energy pooled at the lowest chakra is called kundalini, and the aim is to release this energy to the highest chakra in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment and consciousness.

the number of chakras varies in different religions, with buddhism referencing five chakras while hinduism has seven. atla draws from the latter influence, so let's take a look at the seven chakras:

Muladhara (the Root Chakra). located at the base of the spine, this chakra deals with our basest instincts and is linked to the element of earth.

Swadhisthana (the Sacral Chakra). located just below the navel, this chakra deals with emotional intensity and pleasure and is linked to the element of water.

Manipura (the Solar Plexus Chakra). located in the stomach, this chakra deals with willpower and self-acceptance and is linked to the element of fire.

Anahata (the Heart Chakra). located in the heart, this chakra deals with love, compassion and forgiveness and is linked to the element of air. in the show, this chakra is blocked by aang's grief over the loss of the air nomads, which is a nice elemental allusion.

Vishudda (the Throat Chakra). located at the base of the throat, this chakra deals with communication and honesty and is linked to the fifth classical element of space. the show calls this the Sound Chakra, though i'm unsure where they got that from.

Ajna (the Third Eye Chakra). located in the centre of the forehead, this chakra deals with spirituality and insight and is also linked to the element of space. the show calls it the Light Chakra, which is fairly close.

Sahasrara (the Crown Chakra). located at the very top of the head, this chakra deals with pure cosmic consciousness and is also linked to the element of space. it makes perfect sense that this would be the final chakra aang has to unblock in order to connect with the avatar spirit, since the crown chakra is meant to be the point of communion with one's deepest, truest self.

the show follows these associations and descriptions almost verbatim, and does a good job linking the individual chakras to their associated struggles in aang's arc.

Cosmic Energy

the idea of chakras is associated with the concept of shakti, which refers to the life-giving energy that flows throughout the universe and within every individual.

the idea of shakti is a fundamentally unifying one, stating that all living beings are connected to one another and the universe through the cosmic energy that flows through us all. this philosophy is referenced both in the swamp episode and in guru pathik telling aang that the greatest illusion in the world is that of separation - after all, how can there be any real separation when every life is sustained by the same force?

this is also why aang needing to let go of katara did not, as he mistakenly assumed, mean he had to stop loving her. rather, the point of shedding earthly attachment is to allow one to become more attuned to shakti, both within oneself and others. ironically, in letting go of katara and allowing himself to commune with the divine energy of the universe instead, aang would have been more connected to her - not less.

The Avatar State

according to hinduism, there are five classical elements known as pancha bhuta that form the foundations of all creation: air, water, earth, fire, and space/atmosphere.

obviously, atla borrows this concept in making a world entirely based on the four classical elements. but looking at how the avatar spirit is portrayed as a giant version of aang suspended in mid-air, far above the earth, it's possible that this could reference the fifth liminal element of space as well.

admittedly this might be a bit of a reach, but personally i find it a neat piece of worldbuilding that could further explain the power of the avatar. compared to anyone else who might be able to master only one element, mastering all five means having control of every building block of the world. this would allow the avatar to be far more attuned to the spiritual energy within the universe - and themselves - as a result, setting in motion the endless cycle of death and rebirth that would connect their soul even across lifetimes.

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i had a dream that there was a new atla video game, and if you played as sokka, you could just chop jet up with a sword during the pre-fight scene. if you chose to do this, everyone there (which included the freedom fighters, and for some reason, iroh) would watch in absolute horror, and you wouldn't be able to recruit any allies for the rest of the game because no one would trust you anymore.

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I know I’ve said before that characterizing sokka and zuko as “rivals” is obnoxiously inaccurate, since zuko is more than happy to follow the group dynamic of just deferring to sokka for all their important plans & decisions, but honestly, it’s even more than that: the fact that zuko doesn’t feel the need to compete with sokka is a testament to how much he’s grown to value himself and his own strengths after rejecting ozai’s influence.

like, zuko’s spent his whole life in the shadow of azula, lu ten, iroh, ozai, etc. people who excelled at war through strategy, skill, cunning, power, intelligence, ruthlessness, ambition. not even counting their run-ins in the past (in which sokka would’ve decapitated zuko with his boomerang were he not wearing a helmet, in which sokka successfully outmaneuvered them from both zuko’s crew and pirates, in which sokka successfully outmaneuvered them from june the bounty hunter—and also called him stupid to his face, in which sokka loudly advocated to let him die in the snow, etc etc) zuko witnesses sokka a) kill combustion man effortlessly (whole zuko was busy getting tossed around like a pizza) b) successfully infiltrate and escape the boiling rock by putting together not one but two successful escape plans on the fly c) nearly kill azula but then decide to spare her life even though he clearly knows that if the roles were reversed she wouldn’t hesitate, not because he couldn’t kill her, but as a mercy d) tell aang he needs to kill a guy, perform a brutal demonstration of how exactly to kill said guy, and everyone knows he means it because they all saw him kill a guy (as opposed to zuko’s melodramatic posturing).

like, azula clearly sees him as a threat. she acknowledges his role as the “leader” of the gaang and his authority on the day of black sun. from the very few interactions they do have, it’s also pretty clear that iroh admires sokka as well. upon joining the gaang, sokka is no longer zuko’s enemy, but a guy his age in a similar position to him, only with fewer resources at his disposal. and he’s an excellent strategist, he thinks things through, he’s effortlessly likable (even his dad likes him!), he’s a talented warrior despite his lack of formal training, azula respects & fears him, and he’s ruthless in a way zuko fundamentally isn’t.

the fact that zuko doesn’t envy him, but rather respects him and follows his lead, really speaks to how much of the fire nation propaganda zuko has already unlearned. he doesn’t want to be ozai anymore. he’s no longer jealous of azula. he’s accepted himself. he’s not jealous of anyone.

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ARE YOU KIDDING ME THIS IS THE CUTEST SHIT EVER

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Thinking about how Sokka sometimes seems like the only one who sees Aang as less than the avatar, as someone less than perfect, someone who needs help and something to watch their back.

Like, Sokka was the one to decide to leave during the Bato episode. He sees Aang as someone to be held accountable, whos capable of messing up, but he's also the one who realizes that Aang needs them.

He's the one who acknowledges that Aang's a kid in the beginning while everyone sees him as the avatar. He's the one who watches Aang face Hei Bai and decides he needs help. He's the one who decides to play air ball with him. He's the one who chooses to climb a fucking volcano just to back up Aang who wanted to get a flower for a girl.

But he also gracefully allows Aang to step into the avatar role and as the series goes on, allows Aang to start taking up the mantle of leadership. He sees Aang grow up and allows it, defering to Aang's judgment multiple times.

But still through it all, his plans for deafeating the fire lord always revolve around being there to back Aang up bc he doesn't see Aang as some inhuman being whos incapable of failure. He plans the invasion, he trains them against the melon lord, and at the end, when asked where he felt he needed to be, Sokka says they need to go after the air fleet and half his reasoning is so if Aang needs them, they'll be there.

Hell, he's the one who's all for Aang pretending to be dead because that keeps him safe until the invasion, because Sokka knows Aang's not infallible and the element of surprise could really help him.

And Aang trusts him so much. He believes in Sokka without question so many times. When Aang has failed to find the fire lord during the invasion, he turns to Sokka, because he knows he can always rely on Sokka to find a way through.

I love them so much. Aang deserves someone who sees him as something needing protection and Sokka deserves someone who trusts in his genius no matter how much stupid shit he does jsndjsndndnd

Not saying other characters don't do this, but they don't do it as much as these two. Sokka's arguably the most protective of Aang and Aang's arguably the most trusting and has the most faith in Sokka

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rewatching Avatar is so weird because Sokka is literally the only thing keeping them alive and fed. He constantly is like,

'guys we're out of supplies/ we need to stop/ we're attracting too much attention with the flying bison we should walk' etc.

Like in the ´The Storm' when they're completely out of money and supplies the one to get a job in hopes of making money (he never actually gets paid, the world hates him) is Sokka.

In 'The Waterbending Scroll,' it's Sokka who's concerned about their lack of supplies when Aang sends them in a wave down the river, and is making sure they're careful with their spendibg when in town shopping.

He's also seen to catch fish and gather nuts (I know more often than not he fails to catch things on screen but it's implied he's the one that does most of the hunting and gathering)

It's like- Aang totally would have starved to death or gotten completely off track with often they're completely out of food and money

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Was rewatching the Southern Raiders episode of Atla and honestly still really mad about the shit Katara says offhandedly to Sokka about their mother, and she never apologizes to him for it. Like, those are some really cruel words to say to your own brother who suffered the same loss as you, and not only does Katara say those words so boldly, but also while having the knowledge that Sokka has been keeping his feelings about their mother's loss inside because he's been trying to be the strong one for her this entire time. And not only did he lose his mother, but he can't even remember what his own mother looked or sounded like, which would be devastating to any teenager to lose someone who they cared about that much and now they've forgotten these important parts of this person, while Katara still has the luxury of remembering those things.

Sokka, which Katara never acknowledges until maybe, I guess somewhat in the episode with Piandao, lost a huge chunk of his culture and his support system as well. He is a teenage boy who never got to do the traditional rites of passage for men of their tribe, he never got to train and hunt with the men of their tribe, he never got the same knowledge that is meant to be passed down from father to son, but Katara still has her heritage as a woman of the southern water tribe because of Gran Gran and the other women of the tribe. He's a teenage boy surrounded by women all the time and he can't talk to any of them about his problems, he cant even rely on them to offer the same support his father or the other men would when trying to find himself as a person.

Like, I see a lot of people focus on Katara's trauma and her loss and her heritage that she misses out on, but very few people acknowledge that a lot of the times, she takes those things out on Sokka who has lost just as much as she has. And she never once apologizes or acknowledges that, and Sokka never once points that out to her. He takes all of her anger and her problems and her aggression and just let's her use him like a punching bag, even when it comes to her bending because he knows that's important to her and he's not going to deny her something that's so integral to who she is as a person, but we see numerous times when she does this to him in return, like making jokes about the fact he lost his boomerang (something that is a huge part of his identity both in his tribe, as a warrior and his connection to a father that, until later on, he thought he'd never see again)

Yes she is a teenage girl, but Katara has been shown numerous times offering empathy and understanding to everyone BUT her own brother. She helps Haru and his people, she helps Jet and his freedom fighters, she even helps the river people as the Painted Lady, but she rarely ever offers this same empathy for her own brother who has struggled and, as we see in season three, feels like he's lost so much of himself and he is so insecure about who he is, his purpose and his identity.

They both suffered the same losses, but Katara's always gets higher priority and recognition because she's a teenage girl so it's just expected of her, but that's just a really bullshit excuse when we see her self awareness numerous times in the series. She just never offers that same empathy and compassion to her own brother who has sacrificed everything for his little sister time and time again. Sokka was even willing to give up the opportunity to see their dad and the rest of the tribe, so she could go see their family and he would stay behind to plan the invasion on Black Sun, and that honestly speaks volumes for his character and how much he constantly gives up for her sake, as well as the rest of the gaang.

You guys may have different thoughts on this but like, I've just always been salty about how dismissive Katara is to her own brother and how badly justified people try to make it. I feel really bad for Sokka everytime and Katara just acts way out of line sometimes in how she treats him.

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some art about sokka’s grief that i did for a recent exchange (see last post for all the other wonderful works!). there’s a fic to go with these pieces here!

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Which is worse? Forgetting your own [mother’s] face, or being forced to witness it every day?

little comic that didn't take long at all to draw hahahaha (i love pain)

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I think Sokka would low-key resent Iroh for reminding Yue that she is blessed by the moonspirit, resulting in her sacrificing her life without question. Sure Iroh did it because there is no other choice, and really sokka would understand, but really, that boy has the right to atlest dislike someone who encouraged his (ex) girlfriend to die turn into the moon.

Thoughts?

yeah i’ve talked abt this exact thing before (can’t be bothered to locate the post but it basically just states this) and i definitely think that it’s one of many reasons sokka has to resent iroh. i mean despite being such beautiful foils (in many ways, iroh is just oldass sokka), sokka is the only member of the gaang to not trust iroh implicitly (which is funny only because they all at least vaguely know that he is the dragon of the west, and yet sokka, as usual, is the only one with enough common sense to be wary of him due to this fact) and treats him with a baseline hostility throughout the entire show (my favorite detail being how offended he gets when iroh puts his hands on sokka’s shoulders. and actually just sokka’s outrage whenever anyone he doesn’t like in general places a hand on him, it’s so funny). i mean even in their final scene, i always sort of read sokka asking “what about us? what’s our destiny today?” not as like, an earnest, deferential question, but rather as a sort of challenge. he obviously thinks that iroh sounds kind of cuckoo whenever he talks about destiny or intent-based morality (“good inside him isn’t enough, come back when it’s outside him too!” speaking of which, sokka would beat immanuel kant to a pulp you know it’d be on sight), and so here (at least how i read it), he’s kind of just saying “okay smart guy, so you’ve got this whole day mapped out according to your prophetic dreams and visions, but what about us? are you just forgetting about three perfectly good soldiers?” and i think iroh’s response here is the first time he actually sort of wins sokka’s approval, because he turns that question back around to sokka and says, no, “what do you think you ought to do?” recognizing sokka’s role as the planner, the delegator, the strategist, affording him the respect he deserves. and obviously sometime in the (near) future after the war, sokka is going to join the white lotus and work more closely with iroh and play the same game of pai sho with him for days on end, etc. but i think that one tiny moment really lays the groundwork for any possible future relationship they might have in good faith. and i also think that at some point, sokka would ask iroh to teach him how to enter the spirit world, at which point he will have finally atoned for the fact that yue sacrificed herself upon his suggestion.