deepdive-zutaraverse

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Something about this sequence of frames specifically makes me feel so feral.

There’s no reason for Katara to even feel bad here. Azula has never been someone even close to an ally. She killed Aang, colonized Ba Sing Se, attacked the Western Air Temple, literally just shot lightning through Zuko’s heart with the full intention of letting him die and tried to end Katara’s life when she went to heal him. Why would Katara care if she’s having a breakdown because she failed at those last two things? She’s an empathetic person, but that’s pushing it, lmao. The very sincere pain on her face here doesn’t make sense.

Until, the next frame.

Katara doesn’t have a reason to feel bad for Azula, but Zuko does. That’s his sister, after all. So, Katara feels for him, because she cares about him, not in an obligational “you saved my life, I saved yours, we’re on the same team, against one enemy” way, but in a “I really feel the pain you’re in right now because I love you” way.

This is peak animators shipping zutara lmao and you can’t convince me otherwise.

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I think we’ve all heard the complaints over the finale of Avatar and what happened with the lion turtle and energy bending. But one thing I don’t think I’ve seen pointed out that often, is just how similar energy bending feels to another, more maligned power.

Energy bending involves reaching into someone, dominating them, gaining control and permanently disabling them. Except for the last part, doesn’t this sound a lot like blood bending? Both are invasive and involve bending another person directly. Hell, LoK even backs this thread of thought by directly allowing blood bending to do something similar to energy bending in sealing away bending!

The main difference is one is treated as a great evil or sin by the narrative, and the other a great triumph. Both serve similar purposes in neutralizing a threat by not allowing them to act. Despite that, only one of them is permanently disabling, only one of them has consequences and effects that last long after the fact. But hey, it has a cool light show going for it at least and no creepy sound effects so it’s obviously morally superior compared to the other.

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This is what I mean when I say that ATLA ended up being liberal propaganda, despite the show using the aesthetics of revolution.

“you guys know that murder is like....a bad thing....right? especially for a 14 year old? you guys know that revenge murder isn't a healthy strategy?” They are saying this about a genocide survivor seeking retribution against the genocidal colonizer who burned her mother alive. The show forces the audience to root for said genocidal colonizer to be forgiven because that’s what the main character advocates for.

This is because liberals believe that the oppressed can’t ever retaliate against their oppressor, they have to fight back peacefully and without causing any damage. An oppressed person wanting to use revolutionary violence is immediately labelled as “revenge” and demonized.

I’m going to be very forward, in a time where the biggest superpower in the world is funding a genocide, it’s dangerous to approach media that deals with themes of imperialism through this liberal reductionism.

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Zutara Week dates are here! This year's fandom celebration will be held August 10th thru August 16th, 2025 here on Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, and Bluesky! We'll be posting official guidelines in the following weeks regarding submissions and how to participate for new folks, but please feel free to send a message to our ask box if you have questions/concerns prior to the event! Also big shoutout to @addictofreading for volunteering their art for this year's icon/prompt menu! Go give them a follow! Discord Server :: http://discord.gg/e24vVT8YeR Mods :: @pugcrumbs @a-rose-by-any-other-doctor @soopersara

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return of the dadko

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" Pourquoi es-tu ici, Katara? " " Je suis venue te soigner... " " Je n'ai plus besoin de soins depuis longtemps. Pourquoi es-tu ici ? "

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Hi,

Hope you are doing well.

I saw one of your posts on TSR, where you argued that Yon Rah being retired as a case of moral luck, and that Katara and Zuko were supposed to have known it all along.

The thing is Yon Rah could have been active for all they knew. Katara was 8 when her mother was killed, and she is said to be 14 throughout TLA, Yon Rah could easily have been active for six years as well. So, even if Katara was "consumed by revenge", her taking out the Raiders, even if Yon Rah was not there wasn't wrong. Because I think I did bring up earlier how probably many others suffered at the hands of the Raiders.

Also, why does the narrative think they should have known? Its actually more likely he would have been active.

I would like your thoughts on this.

I think the main point about Yon Rah being retired is that Katara gets to see that not only is she "not that helpless little girl anymore," but seeing Yon Rah in such a diminished position is meant to be symbolic of Katara's empowerment.

The problem is that by switching the power dynamic this way, the show falls into the problematic trope of portraying an oppressed person gaining power over their oppressor as "just as bad" as the original oppression.

I don't necessarily think the show expected Zuko and Katara to know Yon Rah was retired, but it does play it like a gotcha, like we're supposed to think Katara was out of control. I've also seen many people argue just that, despite the episode portraying her as showing incredible control throughout.

The other problem has to do with atla being bad with time in general. Like, this subplot is presented as if Katara's mother's murder was so long ago, and that Katara should be over it by now. Katara's confrontation of Yon Rah is using classic coming of age themes, but the thing is that Katara is still barely of age. She's still a kid.

Six years IS a long time when you're a fourteen year old, but to Yon Rah, it was actually no time at all. The show kinda lets you think that Yon Rah doesn't remember Katara because it was so long ago, and emphasizes that with his portrayal as a pathetic, retired old man, but what's more likely is that he doesn't remember her because what he did was probably barely a blip for him. It's actually even more horrifying when you look at it that way. Katara has been holding onto this memory for half her life, and this moment changed her entire world, and this guy doesn't even remember her, not because it was so long ago or because Katara is just consumed by this, but because Kya's death meant so little to him.

And that's a better takeaway, not that Zuko and Katara "should have known," but the injustice of finding out that the thing that so irrevocably altered a child's life was just a job to this guy, that he could discard just as easily as a shirt.

It's like Ozai shrugging off the possibility of Ursa being alive with a "perhaps." These women's lives meant nothing to these men, and everything to their children. That's so terrifying and enraging. It should make you irrational. It should make you crazy. It should make you rage and scream and want to fight the world. The idea that we should face such an injustice with calm restraint is a centrist fantasy designed to gaslight the victims.

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In fact, I really like this bunch of dialogues and events. Like...

Zuko:

You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.

Then Azula to Long Feng :

I can see your whole history in your eyes. You were born with nothing. So you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with. The truth is: they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting down on that throne, and which of us is going to be bowing down. But *I* know, and *you* know.

And then we get this:

Actually, I immediately think about it when I watch the arch with the earth king and it makes me giggle, but that's not really the point right now.

In fact, I have reasons to assert that the ideals of the Fire Nation of honor, glory and power are not their real worldview and values (this applies mainly to the ruling elite) and their way of manipulating others. For example, the ideal of a "strong man with honor and blah blah blah" (let's be honest, does anyone from the upper class in the Fire Nation have this honor?) He is only a cog in the huge propaganda machine that they spread to their people. The scene with Azula is quite revealing. Their whole worldview boils down to who you were born to be and your supposed superiority because of it, but it's fake and an illusion because this "superiority" is not their merit at all. But a man who wasn't born with power and somehow made his way there is being belittled because he wasn't born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Then what does a strong and ambitious person and everything like that have to do with it if it all comes down to something given from birth anyway? It's also a typical racist and nationalistic idea of someone being great simply because they were born as someone specific. In the scene at the North Pole, Zuko not only tries to resist his father's toxic image of himself, which he has been trying to hammer into him all his life, but also rejects one of the main ideas of his country. Because "luck" here is the meaning of something given to you from birth, which defines you in the future but Zuko doesn't agree with that.

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"Do the tides command this ship?"

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found an image from the movie Painted Skin on pinterest and Immediately thought of Zuko in his Firelord era, so I drew it bcs why not and damn it fits so much jsjs

I tried to play a with a little bit of a meaning to the piece, attempting to make zuko look fierce and stuff while his reflection has more of an insecure and scared expression. Y'know, typical Zuko shit.

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Art by polluxery on twitter

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happy katara katurday 💕💕

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Omg the tags these are amazing 😂

#oh so u like long hair? I had it. U like guys with dual swords? I have dao swords

#oh so u like puppies? I can be one! I'll do everything you ask even carry your bags for u unprompted!!

#oh so u like respectful! I can be that... I'll be super respectful

#oh u like freaky? Ok I'll be keeping your necklace around my arm so i can sniff it at all times..hope you don't mind

Thinking about the fact that Zuko has had every possible hairstyle Katara could have ever been into (from bald to long hair). He wields dual swords like Jet. He is a powerful bender as the fortune teller intended. He acts as a "vigilante of sorts" like Jet did. He can be a puppy like Haru. He can be a badass like Jet. Truly the most versatile ever. He's the 1000 in 1 boyfriend fr.

Not to mention the parallels with her ofc, if we're going to consider Blue Spirit x Painted Lady shenanigans, the mommy issues, the dry sense of humor, the nerdiness, the sense of responsibility... All things that match Her regardless of her possible interests in romantic partners. It's just too amusing to me.

My dude was truly dedicated to the cause. I salute him.

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LOOK WHAT OOMF SAID ON TWITTER YALL- OH MY SHAYLAAAAA ZK STEAMBABY LUTEN

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I'm in a mood I guess ❤️

everything is wrong, but it's alright

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Zutara: Fire Touching Water

This scene was inspired by that one scene in Elemental where Ember and Wade are at the beach and while they're having an emotional moment, the sun is setting over the ocean... or fire is touching water.

Wanted to try drawing their young adult versions this time (yk the ones we got from that poster that was released while lok was going?)

Yeah anyway idk how I feel about this one, but I'm tired of looking at it so... here you go