#sokka crit

[velveteenbard]

Biggest casualties of season 1:

“I think this guy might be the Avatar” ~ Secret Tunnel minstrels (about Sokka)

“Do you wanna…do an activity together?” ~ Sokka to Yue

“You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun” ~ Zuko to Katara

“No, no, if it were a choice between kissing you and dying” ~ Aang to Katara

“You’re just a child” ~ Zuko. “Well you’re just a teenager” ~ Aang

“Come back, I wanna eat you!” ~ Sokka to Momo

Sokka in Kyoshi-warrior getup

The off-key and very stoned secret tunnel singing

Aang dressed as Avatar Kyoshi

Aang dressed as an old man

Katara freeing Aang through a feminist rant

Iroh. Just… Iroh

[comradekatara]

do you really think sokka's a lead-from-the-front guy like his dad, or is he more the lead-from-behind kind of guy? from what we DO see with the gaang, I think of him as a more lead-from-behind guy, but I could be wrong

no he absolutely is. he doesn’t like taking on front facing positions of power, but would rather plan and lead from behind the scenes. katara, aang, and zuko (even suki) are all far more front-facing leaders, whereas sokka is the one who provides guidance for them and helps them reach their goals. coming to understand that his leadership style is less about taking the spotlight and more about backstage management, but is no less valid as a form of leadership, is also part of his growth. he’s not like hakoda in every single aspect of his identity, and that’s okay! in fact, katara is much more like hakoda in this way, as an outspoken and heroic leader who inspires people to act. sokka makes the plans, but katara and hakoda make the speeches. hence why i think that katara would be the one to follow in hakoda’s footsteps and become chief, whereas sokka would spend his life working behind the scenes to guide katara, aang, and zuko (primarily, as well as others, such as kuei) without actually taking any of the credit for it. hence why lok establishing that sokka is a highly visible politician undermines his character so drastically (even if it’s not as egregiously offensive as making toph a cop lol), because it’s so crucial to his character that he is a leader without being the exact kind of leader hakoda is, and then they just… made him hakoda 2.0 anyway. he’s not his father he doesn’t have his father he’s his own person!!!!!!! whatever tho.

[merrilark]

I don't want to sound like I'm hating on something before it's even had a chance to be released, but if the news is true, there's something a little amusing about the LA!A:TLA show supposedly watering down Sokka's arc because his sexism in the OG show "was iffy". A:TLA, the show with one of the most widely loved redemption arcs... The show most people think of when they think "well-written redemption arc"...

Like... are we going to water down Zuko, then, too? Or does he get a pass at being crappy because he's a "villain", while Sokka, a "hero", isn't allowed to be a little dislikable?

I'm too zonked today to put my thoughts together eloquently, sorry, but something about only allowing "bad" characters the room to do bad things and expecting them to grow, while assuming "good" characters must always be good and never make mistakes because duh, they're the GOOD guys seems... really ironic for a show that constantly pushed the thought that there is good and evil in everything, and what might look like acts of heroism to one person may look like acts of villainy to another. Villains will often see themselves as the heroes of their own story because they're doing what they believe is right according to their environment or circumstance. No one is perfect and everyone has the capability to evolve and change for the better (or the worst). Etc. etc.

Obviously Sokka's sexism is nothing compared to the harm Zuko does, but that makes the possible watering down of Sokka's arc worse, in my opinion. It creates this idea that badness is exclusive to identifiably "bad" people and that "good" people will always be right and just, and are above being influenced into bad ideas or beliefs. But that's just not true! Zuko and Sokka are both products of the places they came from, the culture they grew up in, and the trauma they endured. Sokka grew up in a tribe that had at least some heavy focus on traditional gender roles, enough that all the men were expected to go to war and the boys, like Sokka, left to defend the tribe. Being the oldest boy and carrying around the horror of losing his mother and potentially his father to the threat of the conquesting Fire Nation, it's no wonder Sokka carries some sexist notions. He's a young teen who feels he has to shoulder the weight of protecting the entire Southern Water Tribe alone. I'm shocked he's not more sexist, actually, because it's also a matter of pride, duty, and promise for him to protect the women and children around him. It makes just as much sense that he would believe in the rigidity of gender roles as much as Zuko, also a teen, also burdened by the weight his father placed on him, believes that his quest for finding the Avatar is important. Honor is important to both of them, because it's really all either of them has or have known.

But even if Sokka's sexism wasn't rooted in something as dramatic as his mother dying in a Fire Nation attack or all the other men going off to war, getting to see him grow through his experiences with Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors is so satisfying despite how quick it is. It's fun to see characters like Sokka get a little humbled, it's fun to see them change and grow and become more likable, because that's real.

Anyway. That's a lot of words for really just trying to say that I think "good" characters should be allowed flaws just like "bad" characters, because in the end, everyone is a person and what is A:TLA about if not the power of nuture vs. nature, and the ability to choose your own path?

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Katara Propaganda

"She's smart. She's powerful. She an eco-terrorist. She's got the ability to grow as a person. She's a victim of misogynistic fans who codify her as an annoying bitch (sadly not affectionate) cause she's the "mom character." And that's all she will ever be is "The mom character." She bested Azula and could blood bend your ass but won't cause she's chosen not to be a monster! But she's the annoying mom instead."

"if i have to hear ONE MORE *touches necklace* joke i’m gonna mcfreaking lose it"

"despite being one of the most well-written feminist characters of children’s TV, the fandom decides to define her based on her very realistic 14-year-old girl flaws. Ignoring her complex independent arcs and motivations, people love justifying their hatred towards her based on her one line directed at Sokka that he didn’t love his mother as much as she did. Which, if we’re being nitpicky, isn’t so harsh given that it was Katara who shouldered most of the burden of her death, as well as Sokka’s admittance that he doesn’t even remember his mother. Not to mention that ALL the characters make selfish mistakes given the fact that they’re all aged 12-15??? (Aang hiding Katara and Sokka’s father’s letter, anyone???) She really is an elegant breakthrough of the typical female character molds of “girl who is badass” and “girl with a crush on the mc who sits on the sidelines” and it’s so frustrating to see her get the most hate out of the Gaang"

Mabel Pines Propaganda

"[insert "i am 12 years old" comic]"

"You probably already know about this but back when the series was airing people were really pissed at Mabel because she was supposedly selfish. Yeah ok guys asking for a fucking megaphone to help a merman find his family was TOTALLY unreasonable. Dipper giving up one (1) "date" with a girl way older than him to save Mabel's pet was SO not worth it. (This is sarcasm btw. Side note a lot of these have to do with Dipper's crush on Wendy which is a whole other discussion.) And then there's the big one. Mabel causing Weirdmageddon. What people fail to realize with this is that 1) she was extremely stressed when she handed Bill the rift 2) she was tricked by Bill, a being that is A MASTER AT TRICKING PEOPLE, into thinking that she was being handed a magic solution to what felt like the end of the world to her, and 3) she was TWELVE. Not to pull out the "she is literally neurodivergent and a minor" card but do you really expect a 12 year old who's just been told that she's gonna have to face a big and difficult transition WITHOUT her brother who's been there for her all her life to make a rational decision? Y'all seriously fell for Bill's empty words in Sock Opera. Absolute bufoons. You would not survive Weirdmageddon."

"Oh wow, a preteen girl under extreme distress acts like a preteen girl under extreme distress. Whoda thunk?"

[huge-fuckin-nerd]

9 people you would like to get to know better

I was tagged by @gaysessuale aaaaa thank you these are always so fun!

Three ships: okay so the current ones I can think of are Perchalia (Percy and Vex from critical role; vox machina specifically), Shadowgast (Caleb and Essek from critical role; but mighty nein this time), andddd Geraskier (is that the ship name? Idk, Geralt and Jaskier/Dandelion from the Witcher). I haven’t been consuming a tonnn of stuff recently so Witcher and crit role ayyyy

First ship: oh god what was my first ship??? It was probably Sokka and Suki from Avatar the last airbender? There was probably some like warrior cats ship I was into but I have blocked it from my mind lol

Last song: Clueless by UNWELL I think; either that or it was Marbles by The Amazing Devil. Could I check by opening Spotify? Yes but I’m being lazy

Last movie: I don’t watch many movies so probably Fractured? It wasn’t good lol, watched it on a whim and then was determined to finish it

Currently reading: I’m re-reading the Sawbones book!

Currently watching: in the middle of my rewatch of critical role EXU calamity because I like to suffer

Currently consuming: Dr Pepper & cream soda

Currently craving: I’ve been wanting snickerdoodle cookies like all day I cri

Uhhhh who to tag? I don’t think I have 9 people oops; Anyone can feel free to do this because my brain doesn’t wanna work for tagging people

[mightyoctopus]

This fandom has produced some amazing chronic pain Sokka content, which I love, but one thing I noticed is that chronic pain most often shows up in angst fics. Fics where Sokka is angsty specifically because of his injury and the resulting chronic pain, where he is reluctant to use a mobility aid, where he struggles with self worth, where he feels like he is no longer a proper warrior and cannot fulfill his role.

Thoughts like these are not unusual in real life, but it makes me wonder - why would Sokka, specifically, have these thoughts?

Thoughts like these are common in people who were born non-disabled and acquire a disability later in life, *and* who do not have contact with or exposure to disabled people.

Sokka grew up during a 100 year war in a close knit community. There is no way he doesn’t know disabled veterans. (In fact, he canonically knows a disabled veteran in Bato.) On top of that, 20% of the real world population is disabled. If we assume these numbers translate 1:1 to the atla world, that means that at least 20% of Sokka’s tribe is disabled. Maybe the numbers are even higher, due to the war and harsh living conditions.

During a lot of western history, disabled people were abandoned or hidden away, and that is the background a lot of writers come from, but that is not the type of culture Sokka lives in.

I’m sure that in the Water Tribe, all members are treated equally and given the support they need.

I’m sure Sokka has daily contact with disabled and non-disabled people and doesn’t even think about it. (This isn’t even speculation, after Toph and then later Zuko join the gaang.)

I’m sure he thinks of the disabled members of his tribe as just as valuable as himself.

The thing is, if you (as a non-disabled person) view disabled people as just as valuable as yourself, and then you become disabled, you’re still as valuable as before.

There will be new limitations in your life, and there will be practical concerns, but it won’t be a question of self worth, because disabled people are worth as much as everyone else.

That might sound overly simplistic, but take it from a multiply disabled person: It’s possible to just not be ableist. It’s possible to accept yourself the way you are, because there is nothing wrong with you or your disability.

Now, I don’t think it’s bad to write angsty fics in general, especially if it’s a way to cope with your own disabilities by projecting them onto Sokka. But I do think it’s a good idea, especially for non-disabled authors, to take a step back and ask yourself: Why am I including this element in my story? Why do I think Sokka would have internalized ableism? Why do I think the Water Tribe would foster these thoughts?

These are not rhetorical questions.

Like I said, these plot lines are not inherently bad. They can be great for authors and readers alike who struggle with their own internalized ableism, but they can also be harmful. They can perpetuate stereotypes about disabled and/or indigenous people.

So ask yourself, did you include heavy angst and internalized ableism because you feel you have to? Did you even question it, or did you see it as a given? Do you think disability is all about suffering, and Sokka can only be disabled if he suffers on-screen?

Because if yes, I beg to disagree.

We see disabled people living and thriving in atla. Their stories don’t revolve around suffering, and Sokka’s story doesn’t have to revolve around it either.

[listless-brainrot]

sure is shrimpteresting how most atla fans, especially fanartists, obsess over the idea of zuko having long hair as well as giving him out of character and traditionally feminine attributes that make him much softer and compliant, both in terms of appearance and personality. this surely has absolutely nothing to do with the fetishization of east asian men, especially when said character is often headcanoned as gay and put into many gay contexts. i cannot possibly fathom why zuko, a lighter skinned asian boy, is treated as more feminine in comparison to someone like sokka, a darker skinned indigenous boy who has worn makeup, gotten excited over shopping, recited poetry, and even more ‘feminine’ things. it’s almost as if the consistent fanon interpretation of zuko is a culminating result of white (notably female) writers projecting their fantasies onto him repeatedly, boiling down personalities to focus much more on stereotypical, mostly nsfw-inspired dynamics instead of treating characters as actual characters.

[itsmoonpeaches]

TW: mentions of racism, scathing language, overall anger

You morons really did it, huh? To make matters worse, you continue to do it. If you really didn't want POC in a fandom, you might as well say that to our faces. It's pretty low of you to use gross, disrespectful language to a POC in a fandom circle and then not listen to their pleas of you know...stopping that.

Hi, ATLA and LOK fandom. It's you.

Of all the asinine things I am accusing you of, it is racism. It is ignoring POC. It is using platforms that are supposed to be a safe space for content creators who are POC or otherwise to express themselves and harassing them for their valid views. It is selectively hearing POC. It is choosing to push POC to the side and not letting them be angry when they have every right to be.

Microaggressions are one thing, and can be remedied with time and effort and understanding because a lot of the times these things are just simply unknown. But abuse? Blatant racism? Attacking people for having views, for being who they are, and calling them known racist slurs? That's unforgivable.

Until the ATLA Renaissance, I never expected this out of this particular fandom. Lo and behold, I guess I'm the naïve one. I'm sorry, what year is it again? Did we not just go through 2020? Were all the protests on police brutality against the black community not enough for you? ("Only justice will bring peace." -Avatar Kyoshi) Are we not currently living in a world where the tag #StopAsianHate is an actual thing? Are we also not currently trying to survive through a pandemic?

I guess I really thought better of you ATLA/LOK fandom. You are aware that this show has an all POC cast, right? Are you delusional to think otherwise?

To be a fan of a story that preaches equality, peace, freedom, and balance, I would think that we were all on the same page here. Apparently we're not.

Apparently there are some actual toddlers here. Whiny, awful, toddlers that need their hands held and that will never learn a lesson after being told that what they're doing is bad. You few out there, whoever you are, you are disgusting.

Get out. You don't belong in this fandom. You don't belong anywhere, least of all hanging out in an inclusive environment.

If all you wanted was to see fandom spaces wiped of POC, then create your own racist trash bin in some other septic tank where your stench can keep up with the other shit.

Your stupidity is the reason why POC leave the internet, why we leave fandom, why we stop creating.

I did not need to see person after person leave the fandom disheartened for the last few months. I did not want to see friends hurt by your poison. I don't want to see it again. Yet, I just did.

Go to hell.

If you're complacent, then you're part of the problem.

[aroace-mako]

can people please stop acting like zuko is the only person in the gaang with trauma

[comradekatara]

if lok adult gaang character designs have a million haters, then i am one of them. if they have ten haters, then i am one of them. if they have only one hater then that is me. if lok adult gaang character designs have no haters, then that means i am no longer on earth. if the world loves lok adult gaang character designs, then i am against the world.

[katarascape]

can we, as a fandom, please take a minute to appreciate that reducing sokka - the guy who canonically invented submarines and worked out the flaws in the war balloons - to a himbo, or the ‘dumb comedic relief’ is not only inaccurate as far as canon goes but also super fucking racist.

you don’t need to go very far back in world history to see how white people have viewed poc (especially dark-skinned poc) as ‘inferior’ including - you guessed it - intellectually.

for anyone not understanding that: dark-skinned people were believed to be dumb. and clearly some people still think that.

because, guess what, sokka is dark-skinned! and actually really really smart! and writing him off as a himbo is just wrong.

[eternalwormdevouringconneticut]

i know i talk a lot about why the woobification of zuko is racist, but let’s talk about how making sokka, a darker skinned poc man, dumb, uneducated, etc. he has proved himself time and time again to be very very very smart 

[army-of-mai-lovers]

tbh there are some strains of atla/lok crit that are...really colorist. And two characters that often bear the brunt of colorist atla/lok crit are Jet and Wu. Obviously, these are both characters that I personally really enjoy, but if they’re not your vibe, then they’re not your vibe! Some characters will appeal to me and not you, and that is completely valid. However, it’s always  interesting to me to see people in this fandom defend characters like Azula and Kuvira, but not extend an ounce of compassion towards Jet or Wu. Azula is an imperialist, and Kuvira is an authoritarian who puts people in reeducation camps. I’m not saying that I think you shouldn’t have sympathy for those characters, or even that I dislike those characters, but it’s so interesting that people will go to the ends of the earth to defend light-skinned imperialists and authoritarians in atla or lok, but when it comes to a Brown character violently resisting imperialism, or just being kind of annoying, suddenly the defenses dry up, and people feel okay saying that these characters are worthless.  

Also, while Wu is definitely a symbol of lok’s prioritization of the powerful over regular people....so is almost every other character in the show??? And yes, Mako and Bolin too (or did you forget that when we meet them they’re famous probenders, and then Mako goes on to become a literal cop, while Bolin stars in Cultural Appropriation: The Movie before becoming a fascist sympathizer?) By all means, criticize that aspect of the show, because it is incredibly problematic, but also ask yourself: is it necessary for me to vehemently criticize one of the only Brown characters in the show for being a facet of a larger issue that permeates the writing of practically every single character, without criticizing anything else? Because it usually isn’t. 

tl;dr completely valid of you to not like a character! live your best life! fly free! but also, consider how your internal biases might be encouraging you to read darker-skinned characters negatively, with no room for nuance, while at the same time being willing to see complexity in the stories of authoritarian or imperialist light-skinned characters.   

edit: I conflated two things that should not have been conflated in the original, pls rb this version tysm!

[babydotcom]

nah nah eat shit everyone who leaves sokka out of content where literally every other character is in it. ??? you really can't find room for him in your space odyssey adventure au???? why don't you like him, hm?? is it because he can't bend?? hm??? is he invaluable to you because he can't bend and his sister can??? do you not care about sokka and katara's relationship as the core dynamic in the entire show???? is it too hard to have him there when you want katara to be a helpless maiden, and you know that having a non-romantic relationship for katara with a boy would suck to write bc you want a white knight to come save her??? what. what is it.

[bum-ju]

firebender!sokka aus are racist, stop writing them

[sokkagatekeeper]

very fun how sokka being sixteen instead of fifteen would be 10 times more damaging to his eldest sibling trauma martyrdom protector complex and guilt complex and overall mental health somehow