#I only feel comfortable posting about this in the zutara community

[forevermore05]

You know, I have one thing to say to the writers of ATLA after taking South Asian culture and Hinduism and using it as the backbone for your show and then also demeaning its values and scripture.

विनाशकारी विपरीत बुद्धि। which means destructive opposite intelligence

This speaks for itself in all aspects of the show, whether that be how the characters were written, or the romance (ifykyk) and morals that are in this show.

[the-badger-mole]

There's A Difference

I think I've said this before- in fact, I'm almost certain I've said this within the last few months- but the reason I can't let Aang's actions be dismissed by his age is because his worst traits are never addressed in canon. The reason why I personally find him very incel-ish is because the grown men who created him and project onto him strike me as incel-ish (and yes, I'm aware that at least one of them is/has been married. Incel is more of a frame of mind than an actual state of being). Aang could have had a growth arc, but instead Bryke chose to either ignore his flaws or make them out to be virtues. I'm judging Aang as a character, not a child. Because Aang is not an actual child. An actual child might have been confronted on the things Aang did. Aang is a character whose creators want fans to think is perfect, even when they themselves introduce the idea he might not be (Aang's being a terrible father is not that surprising to me, but even then Bryke had to scramble to tell us he wasn't actually that bad 🙄)

I am a lot less harsh with Zuko because he actually faced the consequences of his poor decisions. He worked to make amends not only for himself, but for his family. I empathize with his losses and his personal tragedies because the narrative actually cared about how those things affected him in just about every episode, unlike Aang, whose devastating losses are only touched on when they're convenient to that episode's plot. Otherwise, he is the picture of unbothered to the point that I question if he even knew most of the time that he was in a war (the answer, it would turn out in the penultimate episode, was no, apparently not). There's not much I can criticize Zuko on that wasn't already touched on within the show. Why would I judge Book 3 Zuko based on Book 1 Zuko (who btw, I still think was a much better rounded character than Aang in any of the series)?

When it comes to Katara and the misogyny inherent in how she was treated in her canon ship? Well, I can only point to canon and aks to be proven wrong. Katara had very little to do with the development of Kataang during the series, and that little was usually prompted by someone or something outside of her own thoughts and feelings bringing the idea up. Meanwhile, we know from the beginning that Aang likes Katara (well, he likes how she looks anyway). His feelings matter to the narrative: Katara's not so much. Then the disastrous comics where Katara's character from the show is completely stripped from her and she ends up being the cheerleader girlfriend of the Avatar. I know some of that is walked back in the more recent comics, but we already know how it ends for Katara and her kids. Also, the post LoK scramble to give Katara more agency honestly just makes me think that my original assessment of her relationship with Aang was spot on.

Zutara, in my opinion, would have been a great relationship for them both. They would've been just about perfect together, because as hot tempered as they can both be, they also both get really good at communicating with each other, which is something that Katara never really has with Aang. That's why it doesn't surprise me to find out how dysfunctional their family is. Katara and Zuko know how to work together as a team. In a relatively short time, they got comfortable opening up to each other. They are both passionate to the point that they can be really hot-headed, but they are both also extremely empathetic and compassionate. They are a couple that would've helped each other grow, and would have been so much more interesting than anything that happened with their actual canon relationships.

I get that there are people who would rather believe that Aang could outgrow his selfishness. That's totally valid, and has made for some great stories. However, I don't think saying the way he was written in canon has shades of incel is wrong. Especially by Book 3. I could see that guy growing up to be a viciously obnoxious narcissist. I bet those of us who know an "Aang" IRL can picture that, too.

[soopersara]

Do you have any zutara podfic recs? I’m all caught up on a tale of ice and smoke, and am in need of a fix

Ooh, I hope you've been enjoying Ice & Smoke! I cannot believe how close I am to posting the entirety of Book 1 at this point! (Which... I mean, it's still going to be several weeks, but considering the fact that it's been going for well over a year, THAT'S REALLY CLOSE!)

Soooooo... I was going to say that I feel really bad about how I've barely listened to any Zutara podfics that aren't my own, but it turns out that the Zutara podficcing community is like... really small 😅 Small as in, of the 53 total Zutara podfics on AO3, more than half (28 of them, to be exact) are mine. So on the bright side, I don't have to feel so bad about slacking when it comes to listening to other people's podfics. On the less-bright side, there's just not much selection out there.

Anyone who might have been thinking about getting into podficcing, go ahead and give it a shot! It's not going to make you fandom-famous or anything (which is arguably a good thing), but there's not a lot of competition for attention either!

As far as podfics by other people go, I'm at least aware of owedbetter's i'm still here and The Jasmine Dragon Tea Hour's adaptation of Tempest in a Teacup by akavertigo. I'm pretty sure both of those are dramatic adaptations with more than one voice actor, and I think JD Tea Hour did adaptations of a couple of other fics and has had another in the works for... a while. I don't see any other fics that I know well enough to recommend in the list of Zutara podfics, but I have read both i'm still here and Tempest in a Teacup, so I can at least say that I liked the stories, even if I never got around to the audio versions.

And then, since I kind of stumbled into becoming the Zutara fandom's most prolific creator for its least popular format, I might as well do a bit of self promo too:

Only by Starlight is the longest complete podfic I've posted so far - basically Book 3 Painted Lady/Zuko shenanigans with some angst and hurt/comfort

A Father's Pride

Told You So

Date

Caught

Awkward

The last five are all oneshots - check the summaries and tags to see if any of them sound interesting, I guess! I do have podfics out there for a BUNCH of other fics too, but... they were recorded before I owned a real microphone, and the sound quality from my computer's built-in mic is Not Great. I'm working on remakes of all of those fics, which will start coming out sometime after I finish posting the I&S Book 1 podfics, but the originals are still out there if you're willing to deal with some less-than-spectacular audio.

I'm also working on a podfic of Stolen Bending, and I'll be starting on I&S Book 2 within a couple of months, but those probably won't get posted until the fics themselves get to the 'light at the end of the tunnel' phase, so probably not worth marking your calendar for those ones yet.

And thanks for the ask, @amandayetagain! It's always so cool to hear that someone is listening to my podfics and enjoying them!

[blunixfurtle]

I didn't want to get involved in the current issues in the fandom. The atmosphere felt so aggressive and as if I would get attacked if I said the wrong thing. I just wanted to enjoy being around fellow zutara shippers and talk about the two characters I loved. But this all had to turn into Twitter 2.0 and it's so hostile. But I realized that as an East Asian girl, I can and am allowed to say something for this issue.

I was born in Japan but grew up in a South Pacific country, the local population were mostly Pacific Islanders. This is a rare case I guess where even though I was the minority there, the majority were also POC.

Since I could remember, me and my community there have been shown micro and blatant racism. From seeing a bunch of adults pulling their eye corners at us when we were just casually driving by, to having a birthday party of one of the kids in my community get attacked by drunk locals who were passing by and I guess got offended of our existence? it got so bad that they hid me and the other kids in the basement and locked us in there because they were afraid they'd hurt us too. That hour in there being able to hear screaming and human bodies hitting against the walls and floor, I'll never forget. The police didn't respond immediately, I guess because it's us. When it was over, I had to see many of the adults in my community, including my dad, that day go to the hospital, bloodied and beaten.

I've had more individual experiences as well, like not being given awards and scholarships I earned, because I was asian, but what I'm trying to say is that I grew up in a place where my race was met with hostility, and hate.

The situation got a little better though when the country got ahold of anime and asian dramas. My aggressors now enjoyed media that primarily had Asians in it. So now instead of seeing me and my community, and feeling hostile, they now associated us to those shows they watched, which was positive to them in context.

We got less and less racist encounters and some people even started learning and saying japanese greeting phrases they learnt to us when they met us somewhere. My classmates back then would finally ask me about my home country, curious about Japan. For a few years now even, my dad would always be given a budget and begged to bring one of his signature japanese dishes to office parties. He would always return home with an empty platter and look very happy he was able to share our food with others.

Some people might call this fetishizing my people and culture, but me and my community saw this as breaking the ignorance they have of our people and cultural appreciation. Because they were exposed to media they enjoyed that had Asians. They began seeing us more as fellow humans who just happened to be from different countries.

My brothers had a lot of girls and guys liking them, but that was even before the asian media hit the country. Girls and guys liked them because of their personalities and how nice they were, and yeah according to them they were also handsome. These guys and girls however only felt more free to show their attraction to my brothers, after the media came and made it more okay for people to show positive reactions to my community. Not once though did they mention that they liked them because they were asian. And back when it was still the ignorant times against Asians there, one could even argue they liked them 'despite' being asian.

What I'm getting at is, the whole discourse going around about fetishizing east Asians, feels like a very American discourse to me. I don't know about east Asians from actual east Asia, but as an East Asian that lived in non america, as long as Zuko's east Asian features were not blatantly being the things mentioned that people found attractive, then I do not see it as fetishizing.

I've had my fair share of being fetishized myself. From people saying they want to have my eye shape to look more 'kawaii', to guys full on telling me they wanted to carry me around because I was petite and short like anime girls. This is when I think it's fetishizing asians. But when my boyfriend, who isn't japanese, tells me I'm hot in general, that's not fetishizing.

So far, those shirtless Zuko posts don't mention any east Asian features once. The character happens to be east Asian but the intent and the wording behind shirtless Zuko posts were not mentioning or fetishizing his east Asian-ness. Because a lot of people have abs. And so far, those that I've seen participating in shirtless Zuko, have also other posts that find other, non east Asians hot.

I sympathize with fellow east Asians that find those posts disturbing, uncomfortable and don't want to see them. Your feelings are very valid. But, the discourse around this has blown out of proportion, and so hostile that even I, a fellow east Asian, do not feel comfortable to disagree with the other east Asians talking about this, else I be labeled something I'm not. Or invalidated and ignored. Because living in the islands, I've had enough of that.

I'm all for having WoC voices heard, but when one side is making this discourse feel so hostile and 'twitter cancel culture like' it actually makes other WoC who disagree with their side, feel afraid and unable to voice out themselves.

[sokkas1mp]

I gonna break in this acocunt with me being angry about something that doesn't really matter (very fitting for tumblr if you ask me), this article.

First: "And I’m sorry to open with this, but part of that is due to the age difference between them. Two years is hardly worlds apart (I’m personally working with four), but a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl are. Especially the way these two are drawn. Not to be too voyeuristic about Y7 cartoons, but Katara has clearly gone through puberty, while Aang hasn’t. There is something just…off, about a sixth grade boy having a full on make-out sesh with a high school girl."

This argument is one of the most stupid ones if you ask me, because it blatantly ignores the culture we have been presented by the show. I can understand why people find this weird, but we have to try not to look at it as if its our society, because its not. In A:tla, specifically the water tribes, 16 is marrying age. Right there, our "age norms" (idk what else to call it) are very different. And there are no divisions between ages in their world like we have with middle and high school. To me, two people are fit to be together based on their maturity, not their age. That's why 45 & 40 is not the same as 15 & 10, or 20 & 15. This is the same for Kataang. They have very similar life experiences and matured together, literally side by side, so a two year ago gap is irrelevant.

Second: "...Katara took on a very maternal role with Aang. Sure, she’s a caretaker and sort of a “mom friend,” but it’s a bit more than that. She served as his literal guardian during the show’s run—there’s just no other way to look at it. By the third episode, she called herself his “family,” and later even went on to role play as his mother to get him out of trouble at school. Aang, meanwhile, was… Well, I wouldn’t say “immature” for his age, […] However, Katara is 14 going on 25, while Aang is just, Aang."

There's a compilation of Katara doing thing with Aang that if someone saw a mother doing with her son they would call it incest:

Katara definitely acts motherly towards Aang, but that is just her nature. She is more than just motherly with him. And some people like to call the check kisses familial (which is kinda weird imo), but we know Katara herself doesnt think that:

"Easy there, big brother" She pushes Sokka away. Not to mention, this was about a scene or two before she kisses Aang on the check.

Calling someone close to you your family does not mean you see them in the same way you see your parents/siblings. And Sokka played Aang's father in that scene, but we aren't sitting here using that as evidence to call him Aang's paternal figure.

Something Aang haters forget (or chose to ignore) is that being lighthearted and goofy does not equal immature. Yes, Aang does some juvenile things, but that shouldn't take away from his growth and maturity.

Third: "In fact, in the last season, Katara was shown to be uncomfortable each time Aang kisses her, and even went as far as to tell him to back off with the romantic stuff in the episode before the finale, because she was confused about how she felt. [*new paragraph*] Yet, in the end, she just trots up and blushes at Aang, than happily makes out with him when he goes for it,"

Katara initiated 2/4 of the kataang kisses (not including the check kisses). The kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers and the kiss in the finale. Yes, she's the one that "goes for it" in the finale (she also initiates the hug). She only pulls away once out of the 3 times we see a kiss end (this would be excluding the kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers). She wasn't confused about her feelings, she didn't want to have to worry about a relationship when they were nearing the end of the war.

Fourth: "The post-canon comics only furthered the lack of exploration of her feelings in this relationship"

Fifth: "[referencing a scene in The Promise in which Katara is jealous of a fanclub being around Aang] "I'm sorry, this amazing, adult communication is blowing me away"

The are both still teenagers, who have zero previous relationship experience. Also, Aang had no ill intentions and Katara recognized it.

Sixth: [refencing Katara's role in The Legend of Korra] "Did Katara want to do anything other than sit in a healing hut and be known for having Aang's kids?"

This is another argument that just pisses me off. You can not use Katara's lifestyle in her 80s (she is 85 in s1) as judgement for her adulthood. It's purely assumption based. Constantly this author assumes that because she is in a relationship with Aang, Katara would drop her whole personality. What? Katara would not and could not be forced to do something or conform to some label and Aang wouldn't let it get to that point either. He would squash any idea that she is just "The Avatar's wife" or "The mother of the Avatar's children" the minute he heard it.

Seven: [comparing Katara's reaction to Aang The Desert to Aang's reaction to Katara in The Southern Raiders] "You'll spend a long time looking for her condescending tones. "Anger won't help, Aang," Katara never said, because she got that he was processing something painful and needed to sort it out himself. This difference in behavior is something that would be really fitting for a twelve year old boy to learn and understand. There's just no indication that he ever did."

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I don't remember Aang being condescending towards Katara. He was offering his advice because he knew her and knew that she would regret doing what she thought was right when her judgement was clouded by anger. And guess what. He was right. He never forced anything on her, either. Sure, he was a bit more pushy than he could've been, but in the end he let her go on the trip with no complaints. He even agreed that this was something she had to do.

Eighth: [referencing The Ember Island Players] "When the actor says 'Wait! I thought you were the Avatar's girl', Aang agrees. Katara is his."

You know damn well Aang doesn't see Katara as just his. And she's give him PLENTY of reason to believe that his feelings are reciprocated (which they are).

Ninth: "It's the story of a woman who swallows everything lest the man she's interested in has to learn anything about his behavior that violates her boundaries."

Ha! You said she was interested in him.

But in all seriousness, you mentioned how Katara stood her ground and told Aang that she was confused, but apparently now she's swallowing her feeings.

Tenth: [talks about the cloud babies daddy issues]

I don't disagree with what is said here, for the most part, but I don't think it is a reflection on Aang and Katara's relationship.

Eleventh: "... given what what we got with Kataang, it's completely unsurprising that Aang and Katara's parenthood/adult life was defined by a lack of communication and availability, at least from what we can tell. This also puts Katara's choice to immediately moved to the South Pole once Aang died in perspective; perhaps the city he poured all his energy into, at the cost of his family, held some bitter memories."

Once again with the lack communication. We can't use the early years of their relationship to determine their whole relationship. Also, there wasn't consistently a lack of communication, you just pointed out one time and ran with it.

We don't know at what point Katara moved back to the South Pole, but there are plenty of reasons for Katara to leave Air Temple Island:

a) Her son moving in/or planning to move in with his family.

b) She was no longer needed in the city and thus had no need to stay.

c) She wanted to go back to her native home for comfort after the love of her life died at a relatively early age.

d) The next Avatar was discovered and she came home to train them.

That's all. Thank you for reading my unnecessary rant if you made it this far, and I just want to close out with a few things:

- There were some things in the article that I did not include for the fear of this becoming a novel of me repeating myself.

- I agree with most thing said in the final segment of the the article. Most, not all.

- I appreciate the author for not trying to shove Zutara in just because Kataang wasn't there. That is becoming increasingly uncommon, so it was nice to see.

[nellasbookplanet]

Was tagged by @saturdaysky for this fic ask game. Thanks, this was fun!

Answers are going to be under the cut bc I naturally got a little rambly

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Only 2! I'm pretty much unable to write shorter works/oneshots, so I don't make a lot of stuff but I do make them long.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

210 852 as of this moment.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I was going to say two (critical role and the 2012 teenage mutant ninja turtle show back in my midteens) but then I had the horrifying realization that I did indeed write Starshine Legacy fanfic when I was, like, eleven. I didn't even know fanfic was a thing back then. I just liked the games and I liked writing so I combined the two.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Only two fics to rank (those early works are on other platforms), but:

The Worlds Between Us with 401

Among the Nein with 361

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I tried with Among the Nein and like the first chapter of Worldhoppers, but it got a little overwhelming after a while. Communication is hard, you know, and I ended up spending a disproportionally large amount of time trying to figure out how to reply and still ended up going just "thanks for commenting :D" most of the time. I'll probably reply to the comments of the last chapter for Worldhoppers when it’s eventually posted though.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I tend toward happy endings, actually! And of my 2 critrole fics only one is finished so far, so hard question to answer.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I mean, Among the Nein is a critrole among us au, that probably counts as a pretty crazy crossover? I also played with the idea of a critrole taz balance crossover (even started writing it, featuring Kravitz coming to reap an amnesiac tiefling who refused to die) but ended up discarding the idea.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I did get a negative comment on one of my tmnt fics back in the day. Funnily enough, I didn’t realize its meaning at the time, as it used an english expression I hadn’t heard before. To me it was jibberish, which really is what that commenter deserved (I did eventually look up the meaning and get a bit upset, but not very much)

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do not, and doubt I'll ever feel comfortable doing so. I'll probably be skirting the edges of it with later chapters of Worldhoppers, though.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Also nope.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

It tends to fluctuate depending on whatever story I'm currently fixated on. Zutara has a special place in my heart however, seeing as it's the first ship I remember shipping. At the moment it's probably shadowgast (surprising no one).

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Thinks wistfully about that critrole taz crossover.

15) What are your writing strengths?

Definitely world building! I adore world building, be it fantasy or sci fi. I also think I'm fairly good at writing distinct characters and character interactions. (According to comments/reviews I'm also good at writing funny things, which I find continuously odd since I rarely aim to be funny in my writing and my jokes irl tend to fall flat).

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I can get really rambly and preachy, lol. 

I’m also hindered a bit by the fact that I’m constantly mentally stuck somewhere between English and Swedish. I always keep google translate open in a tab to hop between the two for when I can only figure out a word in one of the languages, and an English synonym site since my vocabulary isn’t quite as varied as most native speakers (I tend to fixate on certain words and overuse them). I still probably fuck up grammar and expressions a lot more than I’m aware of, and I know I mix American/British spelling (why are they different?? it’s the same language??) so I’m kind viewing this whole fanfic thing as practice in case I ever want to write seriously in English.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Don't like it as a rule, but sometimes I can’t help it bc languages are fun when you know them (irritates the hell out of me when I read something and suddenly there are whole phrases I don’t understand, though. At least add a dictionary or something at the end!).

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Starshine Legacy spooky horse games featuring talking horses, girls with super powers, and an alien kraken locked up under the sea back in elementary school. It was the first full story I ever finished! It was written entirely in Swedish and posted on a forum. (fun fact: one of the readers suggested I also post on a fanfic site and linked me to ao3. I checked it out and came out disappointed that everything there was written in English).

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Most of the time my favorite is whatever I'm working on at the moment, so right now it's Worldhoppers.

[gemgirl28]

ATLA Q&A

Thanks for the tag @authorjoydragon​ As if I don’t talk about ATLA/Zutara enough (constantly folks. Just, all the time) let’s go for it!

Had to start a new thread because tumblr hates me but what else is new?

General Questions

1. Who’s your favorite character? Katara. Katara Katara Katara.

2. Who’s your comfort character? Aside from Katara? Zuko.

3. Which element would you bend? I think water.

4. Which nation is your favorite? I love how important community is in the SWT, so probably that.

5. Why do you love ATLA? Man, I just. Incredible characters. Wonderful worldbuilding. Beautiful settings. And the animals? Hecka cute. 100/10 am mad at myself for not watching it when it aired (I was at the point in middle school where “it wasn’t cool to watch cartoons.” Middle School gem was pretty insecure.)

Could get you attacked questions

1. Who is your least favorite character in the gaang? Not a huge fan of this question because I think everyone in the gaang, at some point, has done something I don’t 100% love (Except Katara. She’s perfect). But I guess I just relate to Aang the least? Wishy washy answer, I know, but it is what it is.

2. What character do you think is severely underrated? SUKI. SUKI SUKI SUKI.

3. What’s your least favorite nation? The Northern Water Tribe for two reasons. 1. I don’t handle cold anymore and 2. Sexist bastards.

4. What’s your controversial ATLA opinion? I don’t know what some people might consider controversial (since I’m still VERY new to the fandom and also very much live in my Zutara bubble) but I guess the fact that Bryke should have let the WRITERS WRITE. This is not me being like “only artists can art and only writers can write” because that’s not true. But Bryke’s strength is in character and concept design, not storytelling, and Aang’s arc (and everything they did post-canon) suffered for it.

Shipping Questions

1. What’s your favorite ship and why? Zuko x Katara. I did not know that I was such a simp for enemies to lovers until they were introduced to me. They just get each other on a level no one else does, you know? And the whole thematic parallels, and the sun/moon symbolism, I just- For a show that their main theme was BALANCE I seriously don’t understand why Zutara wasn’t endgame.

2. What’s your least favorite ship? Katara x Aang. There was no build up from her side and I will NEVER forgive Bryke for pushing Katara’s feelings under the rug just so “the hero could get the girl.”

3. Do you sometimes self-insert? I wouldn’t define it as “self-insert”, more like I’m writing about Zuko’s trauma so I draw upon my own experiences. Or like, with the World will always welcome lovers, I poured all of my years of customer service experience into Katara’s interactions with Zuko.

4. What’s your crack ship? SUKITARA. Can you imagine the power? The absolute adorableness? The idea of Katara roasting her brother everytime he does something dumb like “No wonder Suki picked me over you” just makes me cackle with glee.

5. What ship would you make canon if you were the creator? Ok before I get into it, let me just say that honestly, only Sukka should have ended up together in canon. They are all KIDS and after everything they went through, they all need therapy before pursuing a romantic interest. Not to say you can’t fall in love and be in a healthy relationship while you’re still working on yourself BUT they weren’t there yet. I mean for crying out loud, Aang never unblocked his chakra. But I digress.

Zutara, duh, because they are just perfect for each other. Also, like 10+ years down the road, Taang because of balance and friends to lovers and basically all of Aang’s vision of Toph in the Swamp.

If you want to share consider yourself tagged!

[fyrapartnersearch]

Why can't I hold all these cool stories?

CURRENT CRAVINGS: Please see this GDoc, because I have some plots I’d like to try! I’m primarily interested in original plots and characters; setting them in original worlds or fandom worlds is fine. I am not interested in playing canons other than as side characters/world filler as of right now.

DISCORD: KYLO REN AT CHILI’S#8808

  PERSONAL PREFERENCES

I’m over eighteen, and would prefer my partners are, too. This doesn’t mean I’m interested in NSFW-heavy plots; I do not write smut. It just means I’m more comfortable writing and interacting with other adults.

I consider myself to be lit-adv. I tend to enjoy partners in the lit+ category, but as long as you’re an enthusiastic and engaging partner, I don’t care about perfect grammar. I would rather write with someone just as involved and excited as I am, than I would with someone who isn't very engaging but knows exactly what to do with obscure punctuation.

I’m not interested in playing only one type of character or playing against only one type of character. I typically don’t enjoy writing with people who are only interested in playing one type of relationship dynamic or one kind of character (such as only m/f, playing the female, or m/m, playing the “bottom”). I have no problem with these dynamics or characters at all, nor do I have an issue playing against them. I just prefer more variety, compromise, and opportunity.

 OOC chatter is really important to me. I can’t write with someone that I don’t feel like I can get to know. I’m looking for friends, not a faceless reply robot. I won’t communicate over any medium but Discord. I've tried Kik, Hangouts, etc.; they just don't stick for me. If you would prefer first contact be through email, you can shoot me a quick message and your handle to jordrps@gmail.com.

I’m fine with threading in a GDoc or a server, but I will not thread over DMs. It’s difficult to have OOC chatter and the thread over the top of each other.

If you're looking for a partner that writes a reply a day without fail, that's not me. I prefer that we don't have "posting schedules” or set posting times, because I find that it turns writing into a chore. It's great if you reply immediately, and it's totally okay if you need a week to figure something out! You’re absolutely free to poke me. I’m not always the most mindful. However, I’m not going to reply every day. Three to four times a week is my frequency.

  PLOT PREFERENCES

I’m interested in both fandom and original settings, and I’m down for playing both canon characters and OCs. I don’t necessarily prefer one or the other. 

I definitely prefer canon doubling from my partners in fandom plots; I mesh better with people who do a little give-and-take when it comes to that. If you only play one canon character or only play OCs against canons and won’t play canons, I don’t think we’ll work.

I can play as many characters as needed, whether it's just one or it's six. Whatever our story calls for, I can manage that. In fact, I would love to play multiple “main” pairings so we can both get what we want, versus a single main pairing (unless it’s a pairing/dynamic we both like equally well). I find more than one facet to a plot really interesting, and multiple characters helps flesh out a story’s dimensions.

I’m absolutely interested in joining groups, so please don’t be shy about asking me to participate in plots with more than two players. So long as they don’t involve me writing sexual NSFW, we’re Gucci; everyone else writing NSFW isn’t a deal breaker for me.

Multiple threads and plots at the same time are no issue for me. In fact, I love the idea that we click so well that we just can't stop coming up with good ideas! So definitely don't be afraid to pitch something new to me, whether it's because you want to switch gears (and drop a thread for another), or want to do everything at once.

Romance is a must for me! I prefer slow and agonizing journeys to get there, but my attention is best held by romantic chemistry between characters.

I can provide writing samples upon request, though I never require them from my partner. Additionally, I have some plots written out if you're interested in that sort of thing. Otherwise, we can brainstorm together!

  FANDOMS

I’m very much a fandom player. I’m always down for AUs, or inserting our own characters into the plots of fandoms! This is in no way a complete list; never be afraid to ask if I’m into something! I’ve probably forgotten a hundred things I love. 

Most of my fandoms will have favorite canon characters listed with them, both who I like playing and playing against; you’re always welcome to ask about others not listed.* There’s a good chance I’m pretty good with them!

*I will play OCs in every fandom, but I might not play canons in every fandom.

  ALWAYS

The Bartimaeus Trilogy (Nathaniel, Kitty Jones, and Bartimaeus), DC (any Titan, Jinx, Arthur Curry, Steve Trevor, Circe, and Diana Prince), Elder Scrolls (player canons and/or OCs preferred, but feel free to ask about canons), Fallout: New Vegas and 4 (Arcade Gannon, Paladin Danse, R.J. MacCready, Arthur Maxson, Veronica Santangelo, Cait, Rose of Sharon Cassidy, and player canons), Game of Thrones (Sansa Stark, Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Ramsay Bolton, and Willas Tyrell), His Dark Materials (OCs preferred), Hunger Games (OCs preferred), Inception (Arthur, and Eames, but OCs preferred), Marvel (Peter Parker, Scott Lang, Bucky Barnes, Miles Morales, Loki Laufeyson, Thor Odinson, Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, Kitty Pryde, and Megan Gwynn), Miraculous Ladybug (Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste), The Mortal Instruments (Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, and Alec Lightwood), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Will Solace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez), Star Trek (Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy, S'chn T'gai Spock, and Pavel Chekov), Star Wars (Obi Wan Kenobi, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel, Mara Jade Skywalker, Rey Skywalker, Poe Dameron, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Sintas Vel, and Ahsoka Tano), The Walking Dead (Glenn Rhee, and Negan), Warriors (Firestar, Squirrelflight, Jayfeather, and Hawkfrost)

  SOMETIMES

Boku no Hero Academia (Bakugo Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Shinsou Hitoshi, Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijiro, Todoroki Shoto, and Uraraka Ochaco), Bungou Stray Dogs (OCs preferred, but feel free to ask about canons), Digimon (OCs preferred), Dragon Age (Fenris, Cullen Rutherford, Cassandra Pentaghast, and Dorian Pavus), Final Fantasy VII (Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, Reno, and Sephiroth), Harry Potter (Narcissa Malfoy, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Regulus Black, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood; play my favorite ship with me, and I'll do whatever you want, literally.), Mystic Messenger (Choi Saeyoung, Han Jumin, Kang Jaehee, and Choi Saeran), Naruto (Hatake Kakashi, Umino Iruka, Gaara, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke), Ouran High School Host Club (Ootori Kyouya, Hitachiin Hikaru, and Hitachiin Kaoru), Pokémon (Red, Blue, N, Guzma, and player canons)

  NOT SURE, BUT WILLING TO EXPLORE

Avatar: the Last Airbender (particularly Zutara), Eragon, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiznaiver, The Legend of Zelda, Soul Eater, Steven Universe, Tokyo Ghoul, Twilight, Yuri!!! on Ice

  GENRES

For the most part, I’ll genuinely play most any genre! Of course, everyone says that, but then they shoot down all your suggestions because everyone has stuff they don’t like doing. I’ll try to make this as brief as I can, and know that if something isn’t listed, but you’re pretty sure (based on everything else) that I’m into it, then definitely let me know what you’re thinking!

SETTINGS

A/B/O (I will not play only alphas for only omegas, nor will I play overly trope-y, non-con, “boys love”/"yaoi" plots.), Age of Sail, alien worlds/alien invasions, celebrity, fairytales and mythology (including “inspired by” retellings), fantasy (including medieval, urban, and high fantasy), alt-historical and modern royalty, mutants/gifted, organized crime, science fiction (especially including aliens), some historical (excluding medieval, colonial, and the Roaring Twenties/Great Depression), supernatural, Victorian (especially the London ton), post-apocalyptic

PAIRING DYNAMICS

arranged marriage (I’m always down for slinging our characters together, whether or not they want to. It’s always a bonus if their families hate each other.), enemies to lovers (I love conflict of any sort, especially romantic!), human x not-human (The not-human must be sentient.), bad guy x good guy, intellectual x emotional, captive x captured (especially when the captured is willful, annoying, and full of fight), step-siblings (I don’t play step-parents x step-kids, so please don’t ask!), status/power imbalances (such as characters being from different socioeconomic strata or different ranks/positions in an organization), celebrity x bodyguard (I’m okay with the celebrity being the son/daughter/offspring of someone famous!), famous x not famous, rivals of any sort, unwilling traveling companions, unwilling soulmates

  If any of this interests you, please feel free to reach out to me however! I'm really looking forward to hearing from you!

[rp-dreamland]

Why can't I hold all these cool stories?

CURRENT CRAVINGS: Please see this GDoc, because I have some plots I’d like to try! I’m primarily interested in original plots and characters; setting them in original worlds or fandom worlds is fine. I am not interested in playing canons other than as side characters/world filler as of right now.

DISCORD: KYLO REN AT CHILI’S#8808

TIMEZONE: CST

PERSONAL PREFERENCES

I’m over eighteen, and would prefer my partners are, too. This doesn’t mean I’m interested in NSFW-heavy plots; I do not write smut. It just means I’m more comfortable writing and interacting with other adults. 

I consider myself to be lit-adv. I tend to enjoy partners in the lit+ category, but as long as you’re an enthusiastic and engaging partner, I don’t care about perfect grammar. I would rather write with someone just as involved and excited as I am, than I would with someone who isn’t very engaging but knows exactly what to do with obscure punctuation.

I’m not interested in playing only one type of character or playing against only one type of character. I typically don’t enjoy writing with people who are only interested in playing one type of relationship dynamic or one kind of character (such as only m/f, playing the female, or m/m, playing the “bottom”). I have no problem with these dynamics or characters at all, nor do I have an issue playing against them. I just prefer more variety, compromise, and opportunity.

 OOC chatter is really important to me. I can’t write with someone that I don’t feel like I can get to know. I’m looking for friends, not a faceless reply robot. I won’t communicate over any medium but Discord. I’ve tried Kik, Hangouts, etc.; they just don’t stick for me. If you would prefer first contact be through email, you can shoot me a quick message and your handle to jordrps@gmail.com.

I’m fine with threading in a GDoc or a server, but I will not thread over DMs. It’s difficult to have OOC chatter and the thread over the top of each other.

If you’re looking for a partner that writes a reply a day without fail, that’s not me. I prefer that we don’t have “posting schedules” or set posting times, because I find that it turns writing into a chore. It’s great if you reply immediately, and it’s totally okay if you need a week to figure something out! You’re absolutely free to poke me. I’m not always the most mindful. However, I’m not going to reply every day. Three to four times a week is my frequency.

PLOT PREFERENCES

I’m interested in both fandom and original settings, and I’m down for playing both canon characters and OCs. I don’t necessarily prefer one or the other. 

I definitely prefer canon doubling from my partners in fandom plots; I mesh better with people who do a little give-and-take when it comes to that. If you only play one canon character or only play OCs against canons and won’t play canons, I don’t think we’ll work.

I can play as many characters as needed, whether it’s just one or it’s six. Whatever our story calls for, I can manage that. In fact, I would love to play multiple “main” pairings so we can both get what we want, versus a single main pairing (unless it’s a pairing/dynamic we both like equally well). I find more than one facet to a plot really interesting, and multiple characters helps flesh out a story’s dimensions.

I’m absolutely interested in joining groups, so please don’t be shy about asking me to participate in plots with more than two players. So long as they don’t involve me writing sexual NSFW, we’re Gucci; everyone else writing NSFW isn’t a deal breaker for me.

Multiple threads and plots at the same time are no issue for me. In fact, I love the idea that we click so well that we just can’t stop coming up with good ideas! So definitely don’t be afraid to pitch something new to me, whether it’s because you want to switch gears (and drop a thread for another), or want to do everything at once.

Romance is a must for me! I prefer slow and agonizing journeys to get there, but my attention is best held by romantic chemistry between characters.

I can provide writing samples upon request, though I never require them from my partner. Additionally, I have some plots written out if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Otherwise, we can brainstorm together!

FANDOMS

I’m very much a fandom player. I’m always down for AUs, or inserting our own characters into the plots of fandoms! This is in no way a complete list; never be afraid to ask if I’m into something! I’ve probably forgotten a hundred things I love. 

Most of my fandoms will have favorite canon characters listed with them, both who I like playing and playing against; you’re always welcome to ask about others not listed.* There’s a good chance I’m pretty good with them!

*I will play OCs in every fandom, but I might not play canons in every fandom.

ALWAYS

The Bartimaeus Trilogy (Nathaniel, Kitty Jones, and Bartimaeus), DC (any Titan, Jinx, Arthur Curry, Steve Trevor, Circe, and Diana Prince), Elder Scrolls (player canons and/or OCs preferred, but feel free to ask about canons), Fallout: New Vegas and 4 (Arcade Gannon, Paladin Danse, R.J. MacCready, Arthur Maxson, Veronica Santangelo, Cait, Rose of Sharon Cassidy, and player canons), Game of Thrones (Sansa Stark, Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Ramsay Bolton, and Willas Tyrell), His Dark Materials (OCs preferred), Hunger Games (OCs preferred), Inception (Arthur, and Eames, but OCs preferred), Marvel (Peter Parker, Scott Lang, Bucky Barnes, Miles Morales, Loki Laufeyson, Thor Odinson, Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, Kitty Pryde, and Megan Gwynn), Miraculous Ladybug (Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste), The Mortal Instruments (Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, and Alec Lightwood), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Will Solace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez), Star Trek (Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy, S'chn T'gai Spock, and Pavel Chekov), Star Wars (Obi Wan Kenobi, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel, Mara Jade Skywalker, Rey Skywalker, Poe Dameron, Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Sintas Vel, and Ahsoka Tano), The Walking Dead (Glenn Rhee, and Negan), Warriors (Firestar, Squirrelflight, Jayfeather, and Hawkfrost)

SOMETIMES

Boku no Hero Academia (Bakugo Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Shinsou Hitoshi, Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijiro, Todoroki Shoto, and Uraraka Ochaco), Bungou Stray Dogs (OCs preferred, but feel free to ask about canons), Digimon (OCs preferred), Dragon Age (Fenris, Cullen Rutherford, Cassandra Pentaghast, and Dorian Pavus), Final Fantasy VII (Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, Reno, and Sephiroth), Harry Potter (Narcissa Malfoy, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Regulus Black, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood; play my favorite ship with me, and I’ll do whatever you want, literally.), Mystic Messenger (Choi Saeyoung, Han Jumin, Kang Jaehee, and Choi Saeran), Naruto (Hatake Kakashi, Umino Iruka, Gaara, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke), Ouran High School Host Club (Ootori Kyouya, Hitachiin Hikaru, and Hitachiin Kaoru), Pokémon (Red, Blue, N, Guzma, and player canons)

NOT SURE, BUT WILLING TO EXPLORE

Avatar: the Last Airbender (particularly Zutara), Eragon, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiznaiver, The Legend of Zelda, Soul Eater, Steven Universe, Tokyo Ghoul, Twilight, Yuri!!! on Ice

GENRES

For the most part, I’ll genuinely play most any genre! Of course, everyone says that, but then they shoot down all your suggestions because everyone has stuff they don’t like doing. I’ll try to make this as brief as I can, and know that if something isn’t listed, but you’re pretty sure (based on everything else) that I’m into it, then definitely let me know what you’re thinking!

SETTINGS

A/B/O (I will not play only alphas for only omegas, nor will I play overly trope-y, non-con, “boys love”/"yaoi” plots.), Age of Sail, alien worlds/alien invasions, celebrity, fairytales and mythology (including “inspired by” retellings), fantasy (including medieval, urban, and high fantasy), alt-historical and modern royalty, mutants/gifted, organized crime, science fiction (especially including aliens), some historical (excluding medieval, colonial, and the Roaring Twenties/Great Depression), Southern gothic, supernatural, Victorian (especially the London ton), post-apocalyptic

PAIRING DYNAMICS

arranged marriage (I’m always down for slinging our characters together, whether or not they want to. It’s always a bonus if their families hate each other.), enemies to lovers (I love conflict of any sort, especially romantic!), human x not-human (The not-human must be sentient.), bad guy x good guy, intellectual x emotional, captive x captured (especially when the captured is willful, annoying, and full of fight), step-siblings (I don’t play step-parents x step-kids, so please don’t ask!), status/power imbalances (such as characters being from different socioeconomic strata or different ranks/positions in an organization), celebrity x bodyguard (I’m okay with the celebrity being the son/daughter/offspring of someone famous!), famous x not famous, rivals of any sort, unwilling traveling companions, unwilling soulmates

If any of this interests you, please feel free to reach out to me however! I’m really looking forward to hearing from you!

[thevagueambition]

Atla, Zukka and Sokka :)

ATLA

Favorite character: Zuko, 100%. He’s a character I relate to a lot, eg the whole “hard work vs natural talent” thing... I even have a costume, although I didn’t get a chance to use it when I meant to so I haven’t really done so yet OTL

Least Favorite character: Hmm, god, I don’t know.... Bumi, maybe? As a comedic character he feels a bit too “haha crazy” and he doesn’t really (imo) work well as a dramatic one... 

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Zukka

Hakoda/Bato

Roku/Sozin

Tyzula

Jetko

Character I find most attractive: Zuko. Particularly s3 ofc lol

putting the rest under a cut for length

Character I would marry: idk. not big on marriage really

Character I would be best friends with: Sokka

a random thought: The true hero of ATLA is Iroh and I feel ashamed of not having mentioned his name yet in this

An unpopular opinion: The age difference between Kataang is 2 years which is the exact same age difference between Zutara and neither are particularly weird regardless of the fact that I don’t care about either ship

My Canon OTP: Don’t have one. Sokka/Suki is cute I guess is the closest I come to having strong feelings on a canon ship

My Non-canon OTP: Zukka

Most Badass Character: Toph but also low key Sokka bc he’s a non-bender

Most Epic Villain: That old blood bending woman who gave us all nightmares

Pairing I am not a fan of: Zutara, but that’as as much about fandom behavior back in the day as anything else

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Korra, all of LoK 

They gave Toph too little to do in s3 and she SHOULD have had her Zuko outing like all the others >:( Actually Zuko and Toph have a lot in common in certain ways and that was never fully explored

Also obviously SOOOO many characters in this series who were written as straight when they shouldn’t be lol. We get it, it was a kid’s cartoon in the 00s, but they didn’t have to agressively pair off everyone in neat m/f couples by the end of the series

Favourite Friendship: Aang & Zuko

Character I most identify with: Zuko, as mentioned above. He’s also the same MBTI type as me haha (INFP). Also, Sokka mix of being simoultaneously really clever and extremely stupid is a gigantic mood.

Character I wish I could be: Idk... Iroh, in some ways, certainly. Honestly, by the end of the series all the main kids are pretty admirable people. Who wouldn’t want Aang’s kindness, Katara’s righteousness, Zuko’s determination, Sokka’s cleverness, Toph’s independence, Suki’s leadership, etc? Hell, Mai’s bravery and Ty Lee’s loyalty? I love all the main kids.

Zukka

When I started shipping them: Only a year or two ago, actually! I think last time I rewatched The Boiling Rock I was like 👀

Originally when I was an ATLA fan I was still in the “we must adheer to canon” phase of my existence in fandom and then for a good while I was still affected by my... hesitance to look like a, idk, stereotypical slash fan, in the sense that back in the day people were REALLY hostile to slash ships that seemed, idk, contrived. Zukka also just wasn’t a big ship back in the day I don’t think, Jetko has always been more popular. 

My thoughts: The cammaraderie that developes between them over their stay at The Boiling Rock is incredibly compelling to me and I think that... the ways in which Sokka holds Zuko accountable through “jokes” but still allows him the space to prove himself is really interesting and probably... something that is actually better for Zuko than either Katara’s rage or Aang’s kindness? Idk. 

Also they both have pretty complicated relationships to masculinity and what it means to be a man in their respective cultures and their sort of struggles with that and how those struggles look different due to circumstances like their parental situations and different cultural expectations... Zuko’s is less directly about masculinity per se because the Fire Nation has less strict gender roles, or at least ones that don’t code certain activities as purely masculine endeavours (eg warfare) but certainly there are shades of Ozai’s treatment of Zuko and Azula that are gendered as well as about birth order and it’s interesting how Zuko and Sokka both impose restrictions on themselves about how they should behave and what they should live up to culturally.

What makes me happy about them: I think they complement each other really well. They have a lot in common but are pretty different about their approach to things... I also just really like battle couples lol 

What makes me sad about them: Their respective trauma is part of what makes them compelling but it’s certainly also sad, so in that sense...

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: So much of it is modern AU and i don’t care for it lol. Completely ignoring any sense that the Avatar world must have some elements of homophobia bothers me to exist in the ways it does, but as does completely overplaying it, idk. It’s a balance not everyone strikes well. Also obviously when people demonise Suki or Mai to account for them not being in the picture that’s bad.

Things I look for in fanfic: Honestly, more than anything? Good characterisation. This is a ship that lives and dies by good characterisation. I also really like when they’re set during the time at the Western Air Temple.  

My wishlist:

Swordfighting duels!! Practicing swordfighting together!! Bonding over swords like the dumb teenage boys they are!! Yes I know about the innuendo that only makes it better!! 

Hakoda not just being cool with it but realising about Zuko’s abuse and being like Actually I Am Your Dad Now

I always want fic where the gaang find out about how Zuko got his scar and that with Zukka is even more *chef’s kiss*

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Hmm ending up with, huh? I like Jetko for the drama but not necessarily as endgame. Sukka is pretty cute so I’m down for that but Maiko is.... look, it made sense for the time that Zuko was back in the Fire Nation because but I 100% don’t think it’s something either of them benefits from afterwards. They’re better off as friends imo also Zuko’s gay

My happily ever after for them: I want them to travel the world together tbh? I never quite know how to account for Zuko becoming Fire Lord in my thoughts about him post-canon because... well obviously I hate monarchy and I don’t actually think Zuko would be particularly comfortable being the leader of a nation, so... I don’t know. Maybe after some years, maybe a decade, of guiding the nation back towards stability Zuko starts reforming the country towards something more democratic and becomes less personally involved in the affairs of running the country? I don’t see them as people who would or really could be tied down by each other because they each have responsibilities to their respective communities and I don’t necessarily find “and then they lived in the Fire Nation palace together for the rest of their lives” compelling... 

Sokka

How I feel about this character: I love him so much. His character developement is so compelling and as one of the very few prominent non-bending characters he is also compelling in the ways that situate him within the world and forces him to look for other things to contribute with. Again, the ways in which he is undeniably very clever but simoultaneously kind of dumb is also just... Very Good and Relatable lol. He was someone I overlooked a bit for a while but I think Sokka’s Master really awakened me to how great he is and on rewatches he became one of my faves. Also, you just gotta love any character that uses sarcasm as a shield lol. 

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Zuko, primarily, as discussed above. I’m fine with both Yue and Suki as canon ships but I’m not really invested in it. When I was younger I liked Sokka/Toph somewhat but actually Toph is a lesbian so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You could always do Suki/Toph, kill two birds with one stone you know

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Gotta love a good father-son relationship <3

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t know what the popular opinions about him are tbh. I’ll use this to say I think ADHD!Sokka makes sense though

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Hmm, idk... the episodes he had that were focused on him were very good and did a good job of exploring his inner life in the face of how often he’s a comedic character, so it would have to be more in terms of his relationships with other characters. More interactions with Zuko would have been good ofc ! :3c

Favorite friendship for this character: Hm, probably Aang. Protective Older Brother Mode for a character that isn’t even technically his sibling is Very Good.

My crossover ship: I don’t really have crossover ships