#because zuko is a simp

[billsbae]

zuko would wear one of those "i love my girlfriend" shirts because i believe in simp zuko supremacy

[ladyloveandjustice]

So I have no stake in ships in Avatar the Last Airbender, I do not have any real ships for the show. But when I was looking in Katara's tag for art and stuff, I saw this reoccuring claim that Katara always supported Aang with his problems and feelings, but that Aang never supported her back with hers.

And I don't care about the ships, but I do really like the friendships in Avatar, and that bothers me. It's a slight on Aang, but also on Katara (implying she wouldn't stand up for herself and break it off if a friend was all take and no give, which doesn't fit her personality at all.)

Aang does support Katara whenever he gets the chance, which is unfortunately few and far between because Katara seems to have a hard time leaning on the people she cares about and talking in depth about her own trauma and feelings about it, though she will do so when she literally doesn't care what the person thinks about her (and both times she opened up to Zuko about her Mom initially were her lashing out at him and not caring what he thought about her in return).

This would be something that would need to be addressed for a romantic relationship between them to truly work, and I imagine it would be part of the journey of finding a way to stay together, but it's very much not Aang's fault. And as I said, when he gets a chance to support her she does. Since I just recently rewatched most of the series, have a list of those times!

-His first time being supportive of her is literally a half hour after they first meet. As soon as she tells him about wanting more waterbending experience, he enthusiastically offers to fly all the way to the north pole so they can find her a master. And this very clearly means a lot to her.

-I don't think Aang knew how supportive of her he was being here, but there's the "I haven't done this since I was a kid" "You still are a kid!' exchange. As much as people accuse Aang of seeing Katara as his Mom (he's literally the one character who doesn't express that he does in The Runaway btw and I think that's for a reason) their first interaction establishes that he sees her as a kid, just like him, and think she should have fun like a kid does. This must have been huge for Katara, who'd been forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, who resented having to hold the family together, who thought her childhood was over. Aang helped her have fun and be the kid she is, and he'll continue to do so.

-When she lost her mother's necklace (And Zuko subsequently stole it) he was very concerned for her feelings and seemed to immediately understand the weight of that loss, due to his own experiences with loss. Not only did he make her a new necklace to wear as a way to comfort her, as soon as he saw Zuko had it he said "you're giving that back to me" and risked being hit by Zuko in his attempts to grab it. Then he gave it back to her and she was ecstatic!

-He was so supportive of her during the waterbending scroll episode it's actually ridiculous, despite how she lashed out at him. It's unclear if he actually understood she was upset or if this was just his unwavering respect for her coming out, but when she was upset that he learned the first move faster than her he said "well you didn't have such a great teacher!" and it clearly makes her feel better for a bit. He immediately forgives her for lashing out at him, doesn't judge her at all for stealing the waterbending scroll, or for accidentally dragging them into trouble. He, in fact, goes out of the way to reassure her, looking happy at the chance to work together and reminding her they need two waterbenders. And he appreciates her joke at the end (he's just straight up being simp (affectionate) there, and I get it).

-When Pakku won't teach her he immediately denounces him as wrong and unfair and is willing to sacrifice his own education (which he needs to save the world) because he won't stand for it. He remains upset about it even after Katara persuades him, tries to secretly show her what Pakku taught him, and cheers her on when she fights him.

-When she's crying over Jet's death, he's the first one to notice and reach out to her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder and drawing her into a hug (that becomes a group hug). She smiles and clearly feels comforted. They probably talked about it offscreen too (but this cannot be shown as they would need to directly acknowledge his death to do so)

-He's pretty much always praising her as a teacher, and when she grumbles about him not calling her Sifu, he goes out of his way to call her that.

-He notices that she's mad at her Dad and asks her about it, but she deflects

-He looks really sad when he has to remind her she has to take off her mother's necklace for their Fire Nation disguises, again it's something he very much seems to empathize with her about, he understands the weight of what it means to her.

-He not only doesn't judge her for lying during the Painted Lady saga, but praises her and enthusiastically helps her commit ecoterrorism.

-Both he and Sokka move to comfort her when she's crying after the bloodbending fiasco. Most of the comforting of her happens offscreen, which I do think is a shame, and a contrast to how Aang is handled- but it's more of a "he's the main character" thing, since the same happens for Sokka as well (I'm sure Katara and Aang talked to him about Yue's death and at least tried to comfort him, but we don't get to see that).

-He was trying to support her during the Southern Raiders ep, whether you believe he did it well or not, both according to his beliefs and cultural values and by trying to emulate the ways she's talked HIM down from revenge and hatred in the past. He specifically brings up those two incidents- losing his people and losing Appa- where she stepped in to keep him from losing himself to rage. As this post notes, he also specifically echoes her phrasing from when she was urging him not to lose himself to the Avatar state (she says "watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary" and he echoes "you're feeling unbelievable pain and rage" while talking to her in this ep.)

It's not just the air nomads he's trying to emulate here, but her. Just like Katara doesn't want to see him consumed by hatred and pain, he wants the same for her. His concern is not for her mother's killer, but for her, he fears this will hurt her, just like her concern was always for him and how this would hurt him in those times he was raging.

He wants to do for her what she did for him. But, Katara is not him. She is not someone who will be talked down by someone else when she is grieving, angry, and looking for revenge. Nobody can stop her when she sets her mind to it. She needs to wrestle with whether to kill him and she needs to come to her own conclusions, because she's the only one that can stop her. And Aang realizes that. He says it's a journey she'll have to take on her own, that she needs to face him doesn't stand in her way.

(I wonder if it kind of hurt, deep down, that he couldn't reach her the way she always reached him. I wonder if he felt upset that he couldn't find the right words like she did for him. But I don't think there were any right words. She needed him to step back. It was her choice to make. So he did.)

And in the end, he was correct that she didn't want to do it. She did choose that based on her own feelings and values.

His assumption Katara not killing the guy = forgiveness is definitely him just kind of applying his assumptions and values, but when she says she doesn't forgive him, he doesn't like, judge her or anything that we can see.

So yeah, quite a few examples! It can feel lopsided because more attention is paid to Aang and Katara's personality affects things.

Katara is both open about her emotions and not. She's someone who will look after other's feelings but not really discuss her own pain with people she cares about, until it all builds up and bursts out.

And it's not surprising she's most concerned about Aang, if my friend had recently (from his perspective) survived a genocide where he lost everyone he loved and was now tasked with saving the world at twelve years old, I'd be pretty worried about him and want to support him too! Aang goes through a lot by virtue of being the protagonist, he has the most pressure on him, he's routinely in the most danger, he literally dies for a few minutes. It's not surprising Katara has more opportunities to comfort him, but he unfailingly supports her in any of her problems of goals (when they're not murder) when he can.

I do think there's some missed opportunities to explore Katara and develop their relationship, but it doesn't make Aang a bad, unsupportive friend, or Katara his Mom and not his peer.

[donitasalpastor]

With shame I confess that it took me YEARS to watch Avatar The Last Airbender until the pandemic, and yes, it was the best decision I made in 2020. Literally my confort when I have blue days. (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

Curiously, I started watching the series because of Azula and unexpectedly ended up simping for Zuko like never before lol.

I hope someday I encourage me to publish old drawings of Zuko *cof coff* ˢᵒᵐᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ˢᵉˡᶠⁱⁿˢᵉʳᵗ ╰( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )つ──☆*:・ﾟ

App: AmberDraw

[starlight-bread-blog]

How The Bond of Zuko and Katara Enhances the Themes of A:TLA

When a subplot is intertwined with a story’s core themes, it creates a more cohesive experience, resonating more profoundly with viewers. For this reason, a good writer must always aspire for a coherent narrative in all of its aspects. So, what are the themes of A:TLA, and how do Zuko and Katara fit into them? To answer that, I’m going to break down each theme and discuss how it relates to the pair.

On Destiny

Your destiny might be unexpected, controversial, but it’s yours. No one can take it away from you. In Lake Laogai, Zuko and Iroh shared the following exchange:

Even if people try, even if it isn’t acceptable to other people. Your identity will always be there, and you must make the choices that reflect your identity will always be there, because it’s your destiny. Near the series finale, in Sozin’s Comet Part 2, Iroh said:

“Sozin's Comet is arriving, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord.When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation,so the Earth Kingdom can be free again”.

In the end, everyone goes to their destinies. The destinies that they’re forging. Aang will spare the fire lord, Toph will use her metalbending to take down the airship, and Zuko and Katara will stand side by side against Azula. Who would have thought? Your destiny might be really surprising. No one could have guessed that Toph would invent metalbending, or that Aang would meet a lion turtle, or that Katara would stand by her former enemy’s side - by Zuko’s side.

Katara and Zuko’s closeness fulfill the show’s themes of destiny by being subversive and unexpected. They are fire and water, the daughter of the chief and the fire lord. Their friendship is rather odd, but it’s their destiny - not what was forced upon them. Moreover, their bond is subversive because it didn’t start as lovingly as it ended. Zuko and Katara were enemies, no one could have anticipated that they’ll grow close, but as I said, and the show said, destiny can come from an unexpected place.

On Diversity

Separation is an illusion as well as the four nations.

Zuko and Katara were not only enemies, from opposite sides of the war, but they were polar opposites – the Prince of the Fire Nation and the last waterbender of the small Southern Water Tribe, fire and water. However, all of these differences didn't matter for them to form a beautiful friendship. Because they're not actually separate, they're both kind empathetic people. They have much in common. The superficial predetermined differences aren't separation. They're one in the same.

Additionally, one will gain from learning about the other nations, or as Iroh put it:

Zuko and Katara leaning into their opposites ties into the theme. In fact, Zuko himself learned to redirect lightning from a waterbending technique.

On Redemption

Many characters in A:TLA were given a chance to redeem themselves. From Mai and Ty Lee redeeming themselves by betraying Azula near the end of the show to Iroh whose redemption has long ended before the story starts. A:tla firmly tells us that while the path to redemption can be long and hard, it’s a path worth paving and it’s yours to carve. Zuko’s redemption arc specifically is praised as one of the best redemption arcs in tv history.

A part of Zuko’s journey towards redemption is his interactions with Katara. Earning her forgiveness is his final step into integrating into the Gaang, and his final act of redemption is to jump in front of a lightning bolt for her. It’s significant that it’s Katara who represents these milestones in his arc. He redeems himself to everyone, but not in the same way as Katara. The path to redemption through Katara’s eyes is longer and ends with a bang.

On Morality

Black and white notions of the world are incomplete. The Fire Nation isn’t all evil, as seen in The Headband, their citizens are simply indoctrinated. And there can be band people on the other side of the war, such as Jet. Fire isn’t just destruction, it’s also healing and life. And the opposite of fire can be just as destructive, as seen in The Puppetmaster when Hama showcases her bloodbending. In 06×03 A\ang concludes the following:

“Anyone’s capable of great good and great evil.Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance.”

When Zuko and Katara first met each other, they thought of each other as enemies and nothing more. Katara saw Zuko as his worst self and the manifestation of her hatred of the Fire Nation. In the Crystal Catacombs Katara described him as "the face of the enemy". She saw him as all black and no white, but then he opened up. They discover they actually have shared experiences despite being on opposing sides. When he betrayed her, it seemed to confirm that they're not similar, that everything Katara thought of Zuko was correct. Of course, he came back, but Katara can only forgive him once she lets go of some of her hatred of the Fire Nation. His connection to Katara proves that they’re both seeing the world as shades of gray.

—————————

In conclusion, the profound connection between Zuko and Katara enhances the themes of the show and their connection is a perfect example of the messages it’s trying to put out. Rather it’s about destiny, morality, diversity or redemption, Zuko and Katara’s relationship is remains one of the most relevant examples of these themes in the show.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

one thing about zutaras is that they're always gonna shift the goal posts. the upcoming comic reveals that mai has reformed to the point that zuko trusts her to teach anti imperialism to schoolkids, so now that their "mai gets no development/doesn't redeem herself in any way" argument is null and void they are dismissing this comic outright, claiming it doesn't count as character development. if that's the case then why do they constantly cite the comics in their anti mai/maiko rhetoric?

And don't forget: her changing sides at all is bad because "life revolves around a boy", but any scene of her having her own goals, problems and interests is proof that she's a selfish person that doesn't want to let Zuko in.

Same for Aang: if he's paying attention to Katara's wants and needs, he's a pathetic simp. If he's taking care of other stuff then the relationship is "unequal" because "Katara does too much for him"

They can't win.

[longing-for-rain]

I’m very confused by the idea that Book 1 Zuko has “dark and sexy” energy tbh.

I’m speaking as an unapologetic Zuko simp btw.

But honestly if you’re above the age of like, 12, and think Book 1 Zuko is dark and intimidating…I’m embarrassed for you. He acts like an overgrown toddler throwing a tantrum and that’s the point. He’s supposed to come off as spoiled and childish. Very unsexy.

And it’s important to the beginning of his character arc too. Book 1 Zuko is naïve, brainwashed by the ideals he was raised with, and has no outlet for his trauma because the idea of what he experienced being abuse is forbidden to him. Questioning the way he was treated by Ozai is treason in his mind. He’s all bark and no bite, angry but doesn’t know what to do with himself, unaware of the realities of the war, and so very young and inexperienced. It’s a brilliant foundation for his character and the man he grows into.

[aangsdefensesquad]

Genuinely how can you call yourself an Aang stan while shipping him with someone who’s insanely uninterested in him, she literally has a crush on Haru after a day, a huge crush on Jet after a day, and damn near falls in love with Zuko towards the end of the show which is wild to me, SHE LITERALLY ALMOST FALLS IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS WRONGED HER IN THE WORST WAYS POSSIBLE WHILE BARELY BEING FRIENDS WITH HIM. She can take interest into whoever she wants but it baffles me how people act like Aang benefits from this ship at all when in reality he doesn’t and deserves someone who actually has interest in him lol. It sucked seeing him be a simp over her and sadly they got MARRIED TOO, I wouldn’t be surprised if she cheats on him in the movie because she DOES NOT love him at all. Genuinely what do people see in this ship? It’s just Aang bending over backwards and being his weakest as a character for a girl who pays him no mind at all, I’ll never understand.

Did you watch the show?it’s not about shipping or anything but it’s the Katara hate that makes me mad rn.

“katara doesn’t care about aang at all” she was literally ready to leave her family when they decided to kick aang out and genuinely cared for him in many cases. When the whole group started laughing at aang for his decision to not kill ozai, katara was the only one who was concerned and didn’t pick on him and even attempted to run after him to make sure he’s ok.

she was never interested in zuko, she hated him throughout and was completely ok with aang killing him in the comics. She was never interested in haru. she has a crush on jet cuz he perfectly manipulated her into thinking he’s a good guy. she showed interest in aang from day one from running to rescue him in the first/second episode after zuko took him. She hinted that she and aang kiss while they were in the caves.

katara would NEVER EVER cheat on aang cuz she clearly loves in both of the show and the comics and isn’t shown to want a stable future with him. She loves aang and still loved him even after his death‼️

I don’t even care who you ship with but regardless of ships, KATARA ISNT SELFISH, KATARA ISNT TOXIC, SHE IS A CONFUSED TEENAGE GIRL WHO WAS FORCED TO GROW UP FAST AFTER HER MOTHER’S DEATH AND AANG WAS THE ONE WHO SHOWED THAT SHES A KID AND KATARA WILL NOT BE TOLERATED‼️‼️‼️‼️

The fact that you have a beef with a 14 year old fictional girl of a show that aired more than a decade ago is so stupid. Get a job 🗣️🗣️🗣️

But since u took the time and effort to write that stupid long paragraph, Here’s a star for effort

[stardust948]

To keep on theme with the recent Urzai week:

Do you have any headcanons for them? Either canon atla of your own au

I have some for both!

Canon:

It was always an arranged marriage whether Ursa was a noble's daughter or if we're following the comics and she grew up as a peasant. She and Ozai had a bit of an awkward start, but they learned to get along mainly out of survival. (The Fire Nation Courts are brutal especially when you're the Firelord's least favorite).

Ozai is lowkey a simp. Ursa said one genuine nice thing to him, and he nearly went into an angst coma.

Ursa reigned Ozai in a lot which is why things immediately went down the drain after she left.

PDA is frown upon for Fire Nation royalty, so Ozai would make up for it by buying a lot of gifts for Ursa.

Ozai always planned for Ursa to return and rule by his side which is why he never remarried. She eventually fell of radar and presumed dead.

Once Ursa returned after the war and sided with Zuko's anti-imperialism, Ozai saw it as a betrayal and personal rejection much like how Azula viewed Mai and Ty Lee after the Boiling Rock. (Yes, Ursa was previously an imperialist like the rest of the Fire Nation Royal family).

Brave is the heart that loves / Dragon AU:

Ozai and Ursa did shortly break up after they ran away together. Both were very stressed from trying to survive on the streets and got into a huge fight.

They spent a couple of days apart before tracking down each other. They both apologized and promised to support one another from then on.

Zuko was conceived that night.

Frenemies / High School AU:

They got together freshman year when Ozai filled as the Dragon King when the original actor Ikem got sick. It was Ozai's first real play in the Performing Arts high school he fought his father tooth and nail to enroll in, so of course he was nervous. But Ursa helped him through it.

They had an impromptu kiss on stage during opening night. The director liked it so much he added it to the script permanently. Ikem was highly pissed because he was going to use the play to confess to Ursa, but Ozai beat him to it.

They had an on again off again relationship throughout high school. It was either a lot of PDA or screaming matches. Sometimes both at the same time.

The relationship became toxic senior year, so Ursa broke up with Ozai for good. But by graduation, they were on friendly terms after some personal growth.

A few years later, they reunited at Hakoda and Kya's wedding and decided to give their relationship another chance. Since they're more mature this go round, it worked out and they get married sometime later.

Their friends, the rest of the Gaang's parents, NEVER let them live down their cringy high school years.

Apothecary AU:

Ozai set out to make Ursa his pawn, but he ended up becoming hers'.

He becomes legit depressed after Ursa was fired from her apothecary job to the point Iroh convinced Azulon to let her return.

Ursa loves it when Ozai drops his stern prince act and goofs around with her.

The whole palace knows they're courting before they do.

Ursa's a little unhinged in this AU and often experiments on herself to test the medicines. Ozai had learned the hard way not to eat her food or tea.

That said, Ursa was way too eager to help Ozai assassin Azulon. She had the poisons already picked out and ready to go. Ozai should be concern, but he's too far gone at this point.

Very match my freak energy.

Rivers in the desert AU:

Ozai and Ursa's relationship was really more of a partnership with benefits before they were forced to flee. After being separated, romantic feelings began to develop.

There is an inversion appearance wise. Ursa's darker skin tones, which made her stand out like a sore thumb in the royal courts, allowed her to pass for Earth Kingdom with the right clothes. Ozai is the exact opposite.

~Going into spoiler territory~

Ursa cannot, for the life of her, believe Ozai knows how to use a stove now. (Ursa: "Who are you and what have you've done with my husband???") Ozai took Ursa's airbending pretty well. (It was a long day and he's tired.)

Both had changed a lot once they reunite but Ozai a bit more self-conscious. He did not have access to his expensive beauty products for years and body type had changed. He's still fit but his abs are gone. (Nearly starving to death will do that). Ursa assures him it's alright and she likes that his body is softer now.

They both have gray hair strands (The Gaang is great, but we all know what they're like.)

Once the Fire Nation is defeated, they swear to not have any more kids. Kiyi was a pure accident.

@urzaiweekblog

[dreamchasernina]

Kataang could have been developed more after The Invasion Kiss but on the other hand it is important that katara hugged him after the defeat and stood very proud next to him when he thanked everyone for participating. Then they were very chill sitting next to each other in the western air temple and even in sozins comet part 1 after their biggest fight so far they stood next to each other in their group hug and katara watched him training when zuko taught him how to redirect lightning. If aang was really such an incel or simp like people make him out she would try to avoid him at all costs but she didn't.

I agree with you, if Katara was at any point uncomfortable by Aang's advances...actually, the only two advances he has ever made at her, she would definitely distance herself from him, or, knowing Katara, would just talk to him. Of course even after the kiss at the invasion Katara is comfortable with Aang. It wasn’t even their first kiss, they canonically kissed in the cave of two lovers!

Don’t even get me started on the topic of people calling Aang an incel HOLY SHIT that is a different level of dumbassery, please. I don’t even know where it’s coming from. The way Aang kissed Katara in the invasion? Well let’s see, Sokka kissed Suki THE EXACT SAME WAY IN THE SERPENTS PASS AND NO ON EVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. So please tell me, how the way Aang kissed Katara is any different from the way Sokka kissed Suki?

Plus people who call him an incel think he forced Katara to be with him, bothered her after she told him to stop multiple times. And please, what show are you people watching? Aang never lets Katara know he has feelings for her until the invasion episode!!! Where exactly is the forcing? Where exactly is Katara turning him down? Are you making stuff up?

The kiss in the cave was initiated by Katara, Aang didn't let her know of his feelings for her. If she knew he liked her, she wouldn’t be offended when Aang tells her he wouldn’t want to kiss her. She's offended because Aang makes her think he doesn't like her...why would that offend her if she herself didn't like him, and didn't want him to like her back?

The first time Aang EVER shows Katara he has feelings for her is halfway through the third season! And the only time Katara turns his advances down is in the last episode before the finale, after which we never even see them together. Aang totally backs off until she’s the one who kisses him in the finale.

The whole time Aang is pining for her secretly. He just has a crush on her, and even that is exaggerated by the haters. It's not like they don't have a relationship outside this crush. The crush is such a minor detail in their relationship. They have mutual respect, trust, they're each other's moral compass and biggest supporter. Aang's crush on Katara comes up in 13 episodes out of 61! I literally counted! And I counted every tiny thing like Aang blushing at Katara in City of Walls and Secrets, something that lasts 1 second. MOST of those crush moments are so tiny and have little to no impact, but even counting those, it only comes up to 13 episodes! And some of them don't even include Katara in them, like The Guru. So if the crush is not referenced or mentioned in 80% of the show, how exactly is Katara pressured or pursued constantly, to the point where she has to tell him to stop? Did the turning him down get lost somewhere between all the kisses on the cheek Katara gives him throughout the show?

Look, I would take all that criticism seriously, but literally anyone who ever said that is a ZK shipper. Which just makes it disingenuous, because they’re only saying all that stuff to prove their ship should've been canon...which in no way makes it canon anyway so what's the point for all this hate? I just don't get it for the life of me.

[ultfreakme]

Once again remembered that Zuko broke into a prison and called a spar 'sword bending kai' all because Sokka asked. With little to no actual urging.

He's such a simp.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Give how I've seen people complain about the idea of a Redemption for Chloe while also praising the show for redeeming Gabriel, Felix and fucking Andre, they would probably be fine with a Zuko redemption, an Azula or Girl!Zuko redemption on the other hand

See Zuko is a tossup because ML is weird but in every other fandom it'd make sense because Zuko has Pretty Privilege.

Like to bring back the bnha blorbos: People unironically say that Endeavor is an awful person who didn't deserve a redemption arc while saying that Dabi should've, despite only one of these men showing remorse and change within Canon. and that's because you have old man built like a brick house vs. early 20s prettyboy hot topic mall emo.

Zuko, under most circumstances, would be given a pass because people think he's hot.

But to keep with atla, if we saw Iroh's redemption arc in full instead of it happening pre-canon, people wouldn't be as on board because there's less people simping and going 'oh I can fix him!'.

ML on the other hand is weird where they'll give characters the most half-assed 'redemption' but there's no pretty privilege to make up for it to explain why people think this other than just the gaslighting of 'oh well it's not /really/ their fault' or 'he felt some love so it's okay'.

[bluespiritshonour]

I can't believe I'm about to do this but I'm sick and I'm not the one who believes in taking the high road (although here I have to force myself not to take the high road because the alternative is just THAT reprehensible to me)

BUT IMMA DO IT.

Disclaimer: The Beach is a very well-written epsiode. It also makes me want to bury Zuko upto his neck in sand and stone him.

Now that we've got that out of the way, to the Zutara shippers who say they'd rather Jinko than Maiko (I've never seen an actual Jinko shipper dunking on Mai: probably because it's a rarepair, statistical probability what would you?)

I'll explain it to you in your language (you know, the language you understand): Zuko was possesive to the point of being vile when Mai was concerned. He beat up a dude for it even though his insecurities were unfounded. Now compare that to his date with Jin: “She’s not my girlfriend!”

And you say he wasn't heads over heel for Mai?

I hate that this is the only “example” of Zuko simping for Mai. As if jealousy isn't about the person's insecurities instead of a measure of love... But y'know what, the people I'm talking about don't see it that way so they don't get to point that out.

[loopy777]

Why do people think Zuko is a simp for Mai? Well, apart from the believe me she doesn't [need protection] which felt like it came out of nowhere.

Came out of nowhere? Mai and Ty Lee won all their fights- except against Appa, the best single fighter in the entire Avatar saga. ;) Zuko's assessment was completely accurate, as I'd expect of a boyfriend. Everyone should know the combat capabilities of their significant other(s).

As for the 'simp' reputation, there's also this moment:

Look at that face! And that's in response to "The gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" Most people would consider those personal flaws. Zuko practically melts into a puddle at the thought.

I mean, I get it, Maiko doesn't have the greatest writing in the cartoon (and hoo boy, let's not get into the comics). I would have expected Zuko to show some sign that he's worried for this girlfriend after the whole Saving The Jerk Who Dumped Me incident. But I consider that a writing failure, not a sign that Zuko doesn't worship his girl.

Unless you object to the specific term "simp" because it's meaning has been twisted from something more one-sided to now basically meaning "big fan?" In which case, if we're going to fight that kind of war, I'd rather do it over a more worthy term, like "stan."

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

Anime Club HCs

Mai gets Katara into BL manga and anime. They decide to make their own manga together with Mai writing and Katara drawing. They make Zuko and Aang pose with each other for photo references. One being the wall slam. The boys are reluctant but do it because they’re simps and will do anything their girlfriends ask of them.

X

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

It's always funny how zuts always try to portray Aang as someone who's a bitter jealous guy intimidated by Zuko, Jet and occasionally Haru(?) and insecure over Katara's relationship with them and pretend there's some over dramatic love triangle, rectangle shape thing between them. First of all, Aang is not intimidated by those guys because he can easily kick those guy's collective butts with his eyes closed.

Second, Aang geniunely loves those guys. Seriously, did these people not watch the Jet episode? Katara wasn't the only one who fell for Jet's freedom fighter act, Aang was simping for Jet right alongside her. And once Zuko made his heel turn, Aang easily forgave him and welcomed his friendship. That's another thing, Aang was willing to give Jet and Zuko second chances, he probably would have given them a third, aang held no grudges against either, Katara on the other hand did not forgive as easily. She was openly antagonistic to both and would have been happy to never think about them again if it was up to her.

And the feelings go both ways. Jet and Zuko both risked their lives to help Aang, Jet unfortunately lost that gamble, but both also believed in Aang and both saw hope in him for better days. I honestly think that Jet and Aang not having more screen time together was one of the show's biggest misses.

So yeah, there's absolutely no animosity between these guys especially over Katara, and that's ignoring the fact there was never anything between Zuko and Katara. They would have been bros alomh with Sokka if it wasn't for the war.

As for Haru, I don't know. That's a werid one, I don't know why they keep shoving him in these things. I don't even remember if he and Aang ever said two word to each other.

Anon, don't you see? Aang NEEDS to be jealous of any male that so much as exists near Katara, otherwise zutarians can't demonize him for being abusive, possessive and controling - and then inevitably go "But Zuko would never, therefore Katara should kiss him instead."

[ecoterrorist-katara]

I think it’s really crazy for kataang shippers to say Aang isn’t “stereotypically masculine” not only because….yeah….any 12 year old isn’t “stereotypically masculine”……but also due to how when he grows older he DOES look like that

dcinejncejn EXACTLY and it’s very funny when KA stans say “see? Aang got hot!” / “adult Aang is taller than Zuko!” Like ok first of all I thought he was a short king who is not super ripped and that was part of what made the ship so “””wholesome.””” And second of all Aang is canonically really attractive to girls in his age range? For all that we joke about Water Tribe Rizz, Aang isn’t too shabby himself. Meng and On Ji liked him just fine, plus all those Air Acolytes. (And as an aside, the only people on Team Avatar who don’t pull are Toph and Suki. I recognize that Toph may be too young but Suki would be a prime target for simps and it’s weird that’s not canon. Zuko has negative rizz but he still pulls, and I respect that)

Anyway it’s funny to me when KA stans and Aang stans act like he’s this super unattractive individual in comparison to Zuko. Like, he’s not — he’s just twelve batting outside of his league (puberty).