#but thats okay cause hes always telling HIS friends about how weird mai and sokka are

[comradekatara]

what would sokka and mai study in the atla universe? the only university mentioned in the series is ba sing se university, so they’d probably go there (also sokka likes the city, I forgot how mai feels about it tho). what classes would they share? what classes would they take alone? you mentioned that sokka would probably take some sort of spirit science type class, would mai be interested in that or would she take some other, equally niche class? you’re so genius for this,,, their friendship is so excellent,,, nerds,,,

uh huh...... i fucking love the concept of them going to college and sharing an apartment together in ba sing se cause the ideal future for both of them (at least in their 20s) is grad school in a huge fucking city where they can meet lots of interesting people and have all kinds of new experiences (that aren’t inherently traumatizing) while still maintaining relative anonymity due to the massive population of the city. so like, i imagine in this scenario they’ve been tasked with overseeing the restabilzation of the capital of the earth kingdom. cause, yknow. after the white lotus reclaimed it in the name of the earth king....what then? does kuei assume the throne again? does he implement reforms in ba sing se so that it’s no longer a dystopian police state? i think it makes sense that out of everyone in the group sokka would be both the most willing & capable to tackle that particular challenge, and mai would be the perfect partner in that diplomatic mission. 

since gears turn really slowly in bss, i think that would be the perfect opportunity for them to actually enjoy the city. they are both well-aware of its many gaping flaws (which they are now tasked with filling, even if mai did help expose some in the first place. her bad u guys she was bored, and also, like, hangry??), but there’s also a lot of diversity and culture and a monorail and poetry houses and restaurants and architecture and other shit that makes the city appealing to sokka despite its not so subtle dystopian underbelly (which he is working to fix thank you very much!) and since mai is such a fucking new yorker, she’d obviously feel the same. she didn’t exactly have fun the last time she was in ba sing se (she had to wear so much makeup for one thing; that fully sucked), but this time she has a lot more freedom (relatively speaking) and also she gets to take as many classes as she wants. 

i think it was kuei’s doing, as a gesture (maybe with some white lotus––piandao & iroh, to be exact––interference) who allow and encourage mai and sokka to take as many classes as they want for free at the university (you just know that institution is private and elitist as fuck, but since sokka and mai are like basically in charge of the whole city, their other qualifications, or lack thereof, are rendered insignificant) and they totally take advantage of this opportunity to learn. so. much. in their “free time.” (also the fact that they live in the same city as iroh in this scenario is so funny to me like i rly do think sokka and iroh would be best friends if given the opportunity cause they are uncannily similar in many key ways and their pai sho games would last days! mai isn’t a huge fan of iroh’s but sometimes will piandao will be at the jasmine dragon just to hang out with his favorite white lotus members, and mai does think piandao is chill. but i digress...)

as for the classes they take. physics, obviously. lots of physics. they both love physics. but all kinds of stuff, really. art history, chemistry, poetry, engineering, semiotics, bio, visual arts, pure math (as an #applied bitch myself, idgi but i respect them), bending theory (cause that’s a subject in their world, yknow), polisci (okay they take that one to laugh at how stupid the professor is, like they could easily teach that class better, in their sleep, but still. its fun), comp lit, ancient history, a class that’s just called “kyoshi” that is the most popular class the history department has to offer every single year without fail... etc. etc. etc. sokka does a lot of research in bending theory and Does A Heresy by essentially creating the field of metaspirituality and like, revolutionizing science and religion just by daring to apply math & logic & reason to spirits. (cause he’s in a very long distance relationship with the moon so he has reason to care more than most, ok! also cuz he’s a genius.) and mai helps with his research and also maybe teaches a comp lit class or theoretical physics or whatever it is she feels like talking about at that moment. bc they’re not officially affiliated with the university so they’re kinda just allowed to do whatever they want cause aang and kuei and everyone else in charge of Everything said so. 

they have a fucking blast. 

#GREAT QUESTION thank u!!!!! #can u tell ive been dying for an excuse to talk about this #i want this for them...... #also they have a third roommate who is completely weird but only in really subtle ways and hes kind of the butt of a lot of their inside jo #but thats okay cause hes always telling HIS friends about how weird mai and sokka are #though in fairness none of them are wrong #theyre all weird as fuck #just 3 new yorkers #mai&sokka #sokka #mai #iroh&sokka #kuei #asks #mrsmiroir #sokka and mai in ba sing se #postwargaang #sokkademia