#dad bato

[billsbae]

this account supports the gay dads

[cienie-isengardu]

Sokka's sexism

Sokka’s sexism from the earliest episodes is an interesting case, because the Southern Water Tribe, at least from what was presented to us on screen, doesn’t seem to operate that much on gender roles? Especially when compared to the Northern Water Tribe?

I mean, yeah, warriors (men) went to war, while women, children and the elders stayed at home. But as Hama’s story shows, when Fire Nation attacked Southern Water Tribe, both female and male benders were fighting against invaders arm to arm and it seems like they were the actual first line of defense there, not the non-bender warriors.

In contrast, during siege of North Pole, in the final of Book 1: Water, we don’t see any female bender helping defend their home except Katara, who was involved in protecting Aang when he was in Spirit World.

Since all the waterbenders were captured from the Southern Tribe, it makes sense that non-bender warriors stepped in and got involved with war, while the kids and elders were left under women’s care.

Another example comes from “a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust”, known as ice dodging. As Bato explained, it is a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members and in their village “done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs.” When a child turns 14, their father was supposed to take them to ice dodging, so they could earn their mark. Though the episode itself was focused on Sokka’s ceremony, Bato never specified it as something that boys alone should do and not only Katara (girl) but also Aang (outsider) is allowed to take part in the ritual. Once Sokka proved himself, everyone of their group got a mark, as a sign they passed the test. Interesting thing to note, since Bato did not specify it is a rite of passage for boys alone, it suggests girls were expected to know how to sail in boats of the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, again, war didn’t allow to continue this tradition as men (Hakoda, in case of Sokka & Katara) left to fight against Fire Nation.

Later, when Sokka and Katara reunited with their father, Hakoda did not try to send away Katara nor relegate her to just a medic job during the invasion. In Northern Water Tribe episodes, we learned that teaching for waterbenders there was defined by gender - women were allowed to learn only how to heal, while men how to use their bending in fight. Hakoda, nor Bato nor other of their warriors even for a moment questioned Katara’s presence on the battlefield nor the presence of women in the ranks of their allies like a blind, 12 years old Toph or the female water benders from Swamps or female(?) soldier from Earth Kingdom

And during battle, Katara did not fight in rank with other soldiers, she first alone secured Appa during submarine attack, then alongside her brother and father took down guardhouses - Hakoda himself told her and Sokka to attack one when he took down the other one

showing how much he trusted his 15 years old son and 14 years old daughter while ordering them attack on Fire Nation adult soldiers hidden in well guarder place.

Later, when Hakoda got seriously injured and Sokka temporary took the command of their forces, we could see that Hakoda relied on Katara to follow his troops and not ever once tried to send her back “to safety” or argued she should leave him behind, as often it happens with heroic (male) figures. Quite the opposite. When Katara offered him to “wait here if you want”, Hakoda firmly said “I want to press forward with the others”, which meant his daughter needed to come with him directly into an already ongoing fight (even if they stayed more at the rear of their army, they were still on battlefield).

She and her brother, alongside with the youngest members of Invasion, were forced to flee on Appa once the battle was lost, but no other adult woman was included. During Zuko’s coronation, when all war prisoners were released, in the background we could again see the female character(s) from Swamps.

And let's not forget how impressive Hakoda was by Suki when she single-handedly captured the warden at Boiling Rock prison and did not try to stop her from fighting against Ty Lee alongside Zuko and Sokka against Azula.

Understandably, we have no idea how the Southern Water Tribe and its culture looked like before the war, even arguably, the characters themselves may not have a clear idea due to growing up in dire times. But my point is, Hakoda and Bato, the two main adult Southern Water Tribe’s warriors that Avatar: The Last Airbender allowed us to know more about, have never shown any direct sexism toward Katara or other female characters. And though Sokka was the oldest boy at their village, there is no reason to think women did not hunt in absence of men, because one person would not be able to provide for a whole community 24/7. Also, as Hama proved, the Southern Water Tribe’s waterbenders were capable of fighting and their gender did not play any vital role the way it happened in their sister tribe at North Pole. 

Of course, Fire Nation’s repeated attacks affected residents of South Pole and their living conditions but from the little bits the show gave us, I think it is correct to assume if Sokka grew up with Hakoda around to guide him as he should, his behavior would be different from the sexism and dismissive attitude toward Katara or Kyoshi Warriors. For one, logically thinking Southern Water Tribe’s warriors need to do all the cooking, sewing and keeping their camp clean all on their own during war so it is not a “girly job” but a vital part of a warriors skills to survive and ensure their equipment is in the best condition. But Sokka doesn’t know it, because there is no one to teach him the importance of those skills. All Sokka had was father’s farewell words to cling to - and I’m not sure if Hakoda truly expected his son to be able to protect Katara and the village in his absence, or he just tried to make Sokka feel a bit less depressed about being left behind. You know, by giving him purpose and a Big Important Job to focus on and to feel needed and trusted. 

Which leads me to think that Sokka’s sexism is not rooted in Southern Water Tribe’s culture itself, but in his own insecurity and pressure of being the oldest boy in the village. If girls could be warriors - and be better than him - it would put into question all his self-worth, purpose and the trust given by father. Once Sokka met Kyoshi Warriors and later all the skilled girls, it challenged him on a very personal level, but he accepted the truth and moved on and alongside, finally became a true warrior and a man. 

And I find it indeed an interesting case, as Sokka’s sexism and dismissal of girls is not necessarily stemming from the culture he is part of, but rather is the effect of not knowing said culture & pre-war history of his Tribe. And of course, from his own insecurity. 

[neechees]

Just remembered somthn i saw a lil while ago but I hate fan art depictions of Katara telling Sokka he "needs a haircut" bc 1. Basically all the Watertribe men are shown with long hair, so this goes against their worldbuilding canon to begin with 2. Just reads as a racist microaggression & part of the wider issue of white ppl making fun of Native men for having long hair.

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

atla dads as shirts i found when googling dad t-shirts to draw hakoda in

arnook:

bato:

hakoda:

iroh

the mechanist

ozai

piandao

tyro

[illicitcab]

can we talk about the most underrated ship aka bakoda?? like they were so Married™

like ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW???

[muffinlance]

scaled salvage: there are some... innocent misunderstandings between the earth kingdom and the southern water tribes about what an "information gathering" session with the prince entails - kutsaa is left to patch up the aftermath with a disturbingly calm zuko, bc if he interacts with a single earth kingdom representative he'll cause a diplomatic incident.

zuko isn't sure why everyone is so surpised or upset.

hakoda is quietly filing away the notion that zuko thought they *knew* what the earth kingdom was going to do and didn't try to fight back or refuse, to deal with at a later date.

“But…” the prince started. Again.

Hakoda stared him down, until he shut his mouth. “Just answer their questions, the same way you answered mine. Listen to them, behave for two hours, then you can come back to our ship.”

The prince didn’t agree, per se. But he let himself be marched across the gangplank, which was agreement enough.

“He’s convinced you’re going to break his hands,” Hakoda said, to Fong’s representative. A joke that was a warning. 

“He’s your prisoner, not ours,” the man said. “We can respect that.”

Hakoda nodded, once. “Try to get something out of him that we can use as proof of life. I’m pretty sure my crew could forge a more personal letter than the ones he’s been writing.”

“Of course,” Fong’s representative said, with a smile.

* * *

The prince was returned before dinner. He walked stiffly back aboard, and took up position behind Hakoda, like he wasn’t sure he was dismissed. 

“Your proof of life,” Fong’s representative said, handing Hakoda a strip of something black. “Thank you again. That tip about his hands came in very useful.”

It took until a long moment of staring to recognize the strip for what it was: dragon hide. He’d… never touched it fresh.

* * *

The kid didn’t say anything as Hakoda led him down to Healer Kustaa’s. 

He needed leading.

“Out,” Kustaa said, and closed the door.

* * *

There was the barest hint of a burn on Prince Zuko’s hand. The flame they’d used, to make him shift. The threat behind it, if he refused.

The skin had been sliced neatly from between his shoulder blades. It was… not a disabling wound, for a human.

Kustaa rigged up a kind of wrap, to keep the prince’s wings immobilized. And mandated that he spend at least half the day as a dragon, to aid with healing across both forms.

“Will it heal?” Hakoda asked.

“The scales on his face didn’t,” Kustaa said.

The black dragon spent a lot of time stretched out, unmoving, on a yard of the mainmast. The easiest he could climb to. Hakoda did not climb after him. 

* * *

“You knew they’d do this,” Hakoda said.

“You told them to.” 

He hadn’t known what he was asking for.

“Why would you let them?” Hakoda knew it wasn’t the right thing to say, that it wasn’t the prince’s fault that he’d been skinned, but he also knew that nothing on the Earth Kingdom ship had been lit on fire in the process and he couldn’t understand how those facts fit. 

“You said I had to listen to them,” Zuko said, “before I could come back.”

The prince had wanted to come back, even thinking that Hakoda had—

Of course he had. It was better than being sold to the Earth Kingdom. This ship was… it was safe, for him. The safest option he had right now. 

Being sent off to be deliberately hurt, then coming back to where they only hurt him accidentally: that was the prince’s idea of safety. 

…Hakoda hadn’t known what he was asking for. But he had a child aboard now, and it was time he figured out what that meant.

[sockfus]

dad bod hakoda. and the crowd cheers

[chiptrillino]

i'm sure someone's told you this before but im genuinely obsessed with how you draw sokka's nose . i think it's also similar to how bato's nose looks in the show which is a nice touch

i see it sometimes in the tags and it makes me so happy every time!!! so thank you! but this is the first time it got compared to batos canon nose.

[ultfreakme]

Zuko crushing on Sokka- 9/10

Zuko crushing on Hakoda because he's a gay disaster & Hakoda is just objectively hot & Sokka & Katara are out for Zuko's blood(its nothing serious its like a celebrity crush)- 10000/10

[lesbiancocksucker]

hey avatar guys would it be totally crazy for hakoda and lieutenant jee to hook up in my wip. i am picking up on tension i didn't mean to write in and uh,,,, the characters are running with it

[aimlacely-sapphic]

I love that we as a fandom looked at Hakoda and Bato and immediately, collectively went "Gay Dads."

Like they are an absolutely fabulous couple, and one that could be extrapolated from the show if we wanted to, and I love that we all immediately went "those guys are absolutely going to be the gay dads who adopt the entirety of the Gaang.

[erisenyo]

Not the same anon who sent the thing about bato/sokka but MAN do I see the potential. The angst of hakoda finding out and being furious because bato is his best friend who has known sokka his whole life and went behind his back to sleep with his young son.. bato having a moral crisis the whole time because he feels as if he's taken advantage of sokka, and maybe he HAS taken advantage of sokka, who is bright eyed and eager for affection and bato couldn't help himself when faced with a chance to finally get something close to what he wants (hakoda). And on the other side of the angst, sokka feeling horrible because he looks up to his dad so much and feels bad for hiding it and lying, but maybe even feeling complimented bc in his naivity he thinks bato thinking he's like his dad is a good thing. Like omg.. I do have a bit of a thing for sneaking around in relationships in fics and this ship is PERFECT for it- sokka convincing bato to fuck him or let him suck his dick and bato knows hakoda is literally a room over.

I do LOVE a sneaking around fic, and the drama potential of it is truly amazing. Hakodas inevitable anger, Sokka’s inevitable struggle to define himself outside his father's shadow and be seen as an adult and taken seriously in his own right as a man, Bato trying to figure out if he even feels this thing anymore that he's been carrying for so many years. Everyone feeling like they can't trust their own wants and impulses and judgment and going for it anyway.

And then layer in that Bato and Hakoda both haven't seek Sokka in *years*, and only for a few days at a time once they did, and now suddenly here's a Sokka who has led battles and planned a war and orchestrated the downfall of a nation and definitely killed people even just as collateral damage to those falling airships.

And here too is a Bato and Hakoda pretending you can just go off and fight a war and come back home and have home still be the way you left it, can still have *you* be the way you were when you left.

And now it's just a pressure cooker of too many expectations, too much trying to live up to an image that never existed in the first place, too much trying to fit a role that you've never known how to embody. Somethings gotta break first and, well. It's not going to be Hakodas determination to pretend everything is fine.

[chaotic-tired-bastard]

I praise thee for appreciating the old and middle aged men (Roku, Sozin, Hakoda, Bato). Top tier right there 👌

Ah, a fellow DILF connoisseur I see

You 🤝 Me amazing taste

[rifari2037]

They talked about cultural differences?? Really??? I laughed so hard 🤣

Do they realised that air and water are different too?? That their cultural are completely opposite???

Water tribe people killed animals for food, furniture, clothes, etc. That's their culture! Air nomads don't killed animals, even a fly, for any reasons, they're vegetarian. That's their culture!!

There's nothing wrong with both cultures, but if we think about it with sense, can two people with extreme cultural differences marry and accept each other's cultures easily?

No, it won't be easy. Katara and Aang got married without any problems about cultural differences because Bryke were the writers!

Do they know that Aang/Kataang stand was aware about it and wrote this???

Do they even realise that in canon Aang doesn't really like Water Tribe culture?? Yes, that's CANON!!

Katara : Bato, it looks like home! [Bato, Katara, Sokka, and Aang file inside.] Sokka : Everything's here, even the pelts! Aang : [Sarcastically.] Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins.

Katara : [Surprised and delighted.] No way! Stewed sea prunes! Bato : Help yourself! Sokka : Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things! Aang takes a bowl of stewed sea prunes and sniffs it, but looks away in disgust and sets it to the side.

Aang : Hey everyone! Sorry I was gone so long. Katara : [Turns to face him.] Hey, Aang, I didn't notice you left. Aang : Yup, but now I'm back. [Sitting down.] Sure could go for some delicious sea prunes! Aang quickly takes some bites of sea prunes, but chokes them back up, yet he pretends to enjoy them. Katara, Bato, and Sokka look at him strangely.

Hama : I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough. Aang : [Sticking his tongue out in disgust.] Great!

Aang : [Whispering to Toph.] I'd steer clear of the sea prunes. Toph : I thought they were ocean kumquats. Aang : Close enough.

Oh, btw, An ocean kumquat is a small, round fruit often consumed in the Fire Nation. That's close enough with sea prunes, water tribe cuisine.

When Aang doesn't like water tribe cuisine, I can imagine Zuko and Katara having dinner, sharing water tribe and fire nation dishes and they enjoying it because it taste similar. 😂

Fire and water are the opposite elements, that's why they are compliment each other.

Yin and Yang shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section.

Remember what Iroh said about the elements? Let's see if fire and water don't mix together, especially for Zuko and Katara.

"Fire is the element of power..."

"...The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want."

"Water is the element of change..."

"...The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things..."

"...They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

Young Zuko : [Zuko is shown standing up.] You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?

Zuko and Katara would bicker and not get along well, they said?? Really??

Every time Katara is mad, Zuko just silent and listen to her. Even when they're still enemies!!

Oh, btw, Katara not 'always' threatened Zuko to kill him if he hurt Aang. It happened once. She is still mad at him not because of Aang, but because he betrayed her.

That's personal to her, she is mad not because he hurt someone else but he hurt her. I mean, if she really mad at him because of Aang, why is she connected her anger at Zuko to her mom, not Aang (again)?

And after this moment, after Katara by her own choice, forgives Zuko, do Zuko and Katara always bickering and not get along at all??? No, they're not!!

Zuko gives Katara advice, Katara listens. Katara gives Zuko advice, Zuko listens.

They reassure each other at a very important moment.

Lastly, I don't understand how Zuko and Katara, who they said would never get along, always save each other lives, even Zuko sacrifice his life to her?

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

something that's really funny to me is that katara and sokka would both have some complicated feelings about bakoda but none of it would ever fall on bato. katara's feeling some type of way about hakoda moving on romantically from their mother but it's not about bato "replacing" kya, he was already part of the family even when she was alive. there's no resentment towards him it's solely about how she and hakoda deal with kya's memory. sokka's world is kind of shattered by hakoda being bi and not the stereotypical hetero manly man he thought but finding out bato's gay doesn't bother him at all, he didn't base his sense of self on his perception of bato. if anything bato being gay just explains why he was always hanging around during their childhood and never had kids of his own.

it's like, bato joining the family? hell yeah bato's great we love bato. hakoda dating a man? well that'll take some getting used to

[sneezypeasy]

If Katara became Fire Lady, the person who this'd suck the most for isn't actually Aang, it'd be Bato's kid (or whoever's mum or dad happens to be good friends with Hakoda). Can you imagine? Your mum's voice?!?! Hakoda's kids are your age and they're out there being chief of the SWT and co-ruling over the Fire Nation. Who are you chieftain of?? You can't even govern a penguin. Disgusten.