#I shipped zutara so hard as a kid

[dreamchasernina]

Went to kataang tag to see some cute art and fluffy fanfics but found kataang bashing, aang hate, zutara hate like…isn’t most of the fandom adults at this point? Why the hell do you care what someone else ships? Why do you feel the need to put hate in the ships’ tag?

[dukeofdelirium]

https://www.tumblr.com/xabura/752028677741608960/bryke-confirming-that-katara-loves-aang-like-a?source=share

I gotta ask you something? Apparently there was a behind the scenes interview and Bryke compared Katara loving Aang like a babysitter or to a younger brother. This confuses me so much. Especially seeing as this is from the creators who are Pro Kataang as far as I know and the show itself contradicts this as Katara doesn’t view herself as babysitter or Aang as a younger brother despite what the ZKs will say. What does this mean? Are the ZKs right? 😱

Zutarians are so obsessed with trying to find canon “validation” for their fanon ship that they’re digging up shit from almost 20 years ago and then misconstruing what Bryke even said 😂

Bryke didn’t literally say “Katara and Aang are like siblings and her role in the story is to be his babysitter”. They were talking about how they liked teenage drama stuff and always found it fun and engaging, which is why they then began discussing common tropes WITHIN said genre of “teen drama” which is a younger guy liking an older girl and how said girl usually viewed him more platonically at least at first.

They were literally just discussing different things that they found some sort of inspiration in or that they wanted to play on in some manner in their own storytelling. They weren’t literally discussing Kataang itself as it is written when they mentioned genre tropes 🤦🏻‍♂️ they then go on to say they feel that Katara is really the “heart” of the group while Aang is the “spirit”, and that Katara is really the first person Aang feels a deep connection to and that she and Sokka are like his new family. They are also strictly discussing book 1.

Bryke drawing some kind of inspiration from teen drama and its many tropes doesn’t make anything in their show a 1 to 1 replica or iteration of such. Writers know how inspiration fuels their own work, and I say that as a writer myself. Small things can spark ideas of your own, especially if you enjoy the tropes and genres already which bryke literally said they frequently watched happily.

It’s crazy to me that they still try so hard to invalidate kataang by failing to actually listen to anything bryke is saying as they meant it. The whole behind the scenes thing was also not even for ATLA itself but was rather over the M Night movie. Like???? Zutara is never gonna happen, stop trying to make it happen 😂 kataang is canon and endgame. “reeee they’re siblings!!!!!” they had 3 kids 💀

[mahiiragi]

I find it so funny when people say zutara fans are delusional or that Zuko was never an option for Katara and that kataang was always going happen... I mean, yes, kataang was probably always going to happen at the end of the day since Aang is Bryke's favorite and they have a "soft spot" for kataang (do you ever wonder why he resembles Michael DiMartimo in The Leyend of Korra? And by "soft spot" I mean they are die hard fans more immature than Aang seeing the Boy in the Iceberg, they got to the point of making a whole ass video mocking the ship and the children who liked it out of spite because zutara had fans in the first place and some kids didn't want Aang to end up with his "forever girl") and they have the final word for what goes in the avatar franchise.

Subparagraph to say that everytime I remember that Bryke made a video mocking zutara fans I lose my mind. What are you, grown ass adults, doing ridiculizing kids for a fictional couple that wasn't even canon and was not ever going to be canon because you, creator of the show, had the power to decide that? Don't you see how stupid and frankly evil and mean-spirited it is? Focus on developing your ship so it can have more fans instead; show us how Katara sees him as an equal, someone who she can share her burdens with, how she sees him through pink lens, how she decides to be with Aang because she chose it instead of just some "destiny" bullshit, how he challenges her and promotes her growth, how he supports her in her sorrows instead of being mostly the other way around, how Katara doesn't stop being Katara after she got together with Aang, HOW DID SHE LET AANG NEGLECT HER KIDS??

But people can't say zutarians are just "seeing things" or that it undeniably was never an option when there is a lot of official content implying Zuko and Katara as a couple and it was discussed in the very own writers room if Katara would end up with Zuko or Aang because many writers liked zutara (probably the reason we have too many winks at the ship in the show, books and promotional material in the first place) and it doesn't say anything to you that half of the fandom likes the "ship with no content" or the one that was created "out of the air" more than the one we see since ep 1??? Hint: it isn't because people are delusional, as Bryke said that one time: "Zuko and Katara may have shared some sparks"

Even my fifty-one year old mother likes zutara I swear to god. She saw both atla and tlok and thought zutara had a lot of potential and preferred kataang as a strong platonic relationship.

[somewhereincairparavel]

Can I just add that Zuko is much much more than his romantic relationships? Like forget Zutara, Maiko, Jinko, or even Zukka. They're all great ships, don't get me wrong, but the way Zuko picks himself up every time he falls and eventually ended up being close to azula's equal in the final Agni Kai, should be talked about more. You have to remember that he was considered a very dull kid compared to azula, his talents paled in comparision to her, he didn't shoot blue lightning like she did, yet he was able to sustain the fight for SO long that even azula began to feel inferior.

He was born as a "dull" kid with "no spark" according to ozai, he was a considerably slow learner compared to Azula, and had to work twice as hard as her to get to azula's "basic" level. He had to watch as his sister was being put in a pedestal and most likely had to listen to people badmouthing him as being "not worthy" enough to be a ruler.

Yet he never gave up?? It's easy to give up in his situation considering that he'd been belittled by his dad and sister his whole life, heck, he'd been PUBLICALLY humiliated by him. Yet he had the resilience to prove his worth.

He has a backbone of fucking steel that really inspires me tbh.

[korra-bending]

I need to rant a little about the shipping wars in the Avatar fandom.

I have to dig DEEP through the cesspool to find people who feel the way I do. I know they're out there too.

I am a Zutara fan, I have been since the show came out. I'm also aware that people fight now and they fought then.

What I dislike, on both sides, are people putting each other down for liking a ship.

Yes I understand Kataang is canon, and within the current narrative Zutara is not. Personally I feel like there were seeds planted for Zutara that simply never bloomed, even the writers considered making them endgame. But unfortunately that never happened, and you know what? That's okay, because look at all the wonderful discussions we get to have about it, allowing us to look deeper into why we think they would have connected so well. On top of that, so much amazing art and fanfiction is out there for us to enjoy. I love seeing everyone's interpretation of how they would have wanted things to happen.

What I dislike about some fans of Kataang, and this is obviously not all of them, is that some are alluding to Zutara fans being delusional and idiotic simply for liking the ship. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a ship different from yours. if you disagree with it, IGNORE IT. IT'S NOT THAT HARD. And it's not going to kill you to see a different ship on your timeline, if it ruins your day then you need to look at yourself and why you feel so strongly about that. Just let Zutara fans have their enjoyment, there's nothing wrong with it.

As a Zutara fan myself, I also see problematic people on this side as well. I see people bashing on Aang's character all the time, and I don't understand that. I get the writing was a little silly sometimes, but at the same time Aang is just a kid. When we were 12, many of us loved like Aang did. There's nothing wrong with that. I also see people bashing others who like Kataang. Let them enjoy their ship!! Once again, there is nothing wrong with loving a different ship than yours.

Lastly I have an issue with the "anti-kataang" and "anti-zutara" tags and how much it upsets people who put the tags in their post that others don't want to see. Don't look at it then! Keep scrolling and move on with your day. It's not that deep yall. If it really is that deep for you, once again take some time to figure out why it's bugging you so much. Do some introspective work, because it seems to run deeper than seeing a ship you dislike.

When I was a kid in this fandom, I didn't see people being this awful to each other. Maybe I wasn't in the spaces where it was so bad, maybe I was lucky. I feel like during that time it was more lighthearted and fun instead of constant undermining and arguing.

All in all, if you love Kataang, that's wonderful for you. Have a great time! If you love Zutara, also wonderful for you and have a great time as well! Stop putting people down for having different views. Put that energy into more important things that actually matter.

[starartist]

Hi! I just discovered your blog and it’s wonderful! Your art is great, and it’s impressive how you’ve improved since the start of this blog!

Long live Zutara nation! 💙❤️ Wish you good luck creating and a lot of feedback, you deserve all the best!!

May I ask about your story of falling in love with Zutara? Did you ship them as soon as while watching ATLA for the first time, or did it take time to realise how awesome they were? Maybe some creators from the fandom were the ones who showed you the beauty of Zutara?

And the second question: what are some of your Zutara head canons? You probably have hundreds of them, so feel free to provide only the favourite ones!

That’s all for now, have a good day! 🫶✨

Hiii, thank you so much! 😊 I've been working hard to improve my drawing skills, and I'm glad to hear that the progress is noticeable✨️

I fell in love with Zutara when I was a kid and watched Avatar for the first time. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed when I saw the kiss between Aang and Katara in the final episode🥲. I had hoped that she would end up with Zuko until the very end. Of course, I've watched Avatar another 100 times since then, but that's okay. Later, I started seeing Zutara fan art on Pinterest, and I really enjoyed looking at them. About two years ago, I bought a tablet with a stylus just so I could draw on it. Honestly, at first, I was drawing myself and Zuko together, trying to insert myself into the story—whoever says they didn't have a crush on Zuko as a kid is lying! 😂

One day at school, I was drawing some human figures and thought, "Hey, this could be a Zutara fan art." When I finished it, I debated whether or not to post it on Tumblr, which I had installed just to look at Zutara fan art. So, I uploaded my first piece, not expecting even 20 likes, but the Zutara fans really liked it. From then on, I started drawing almost every day at school and posting my works and ideas.🫶

My favorite Zutara headcanons, even though there are hundreds of them, are:

• The Fire Nation Ambassador- if Katara had stayed true to herself, she would have become a powerful politician, serving as an ambassador for both the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe, dedicated to maintaining peace across the world. Naturally, she would have grown closer to Zuko and they would fall in love❤️‍🔥 .

• The Fire Lady Katara- just imagine if Katara and Zuko had ended up together—I think the show would have ended with Zuko's coronation and him proposing to Katara with a necklace, or maybe even their wedding where Katara is crowned as the Fire Lady🔥.

• Love After the Agni Kai - Imagine the Agni Kai is over, and while Katara is healing Zuko, he confesses the feelings he has long kept hidden inside. He declares his love for her, and she admits that she feels the same. And they are kissing💋.

• Love Without War - Imagine if the Fire Nation never declared war and peace prevailed. Avatar Aang's era has passed, and a new Avatar is born—Katara from the Water Tribe. While traveling the world, the time comes for her to learn firebending, and she is assigned a talented young prince, Zuko, as her teacher. They fall in love, and the rest is history💞. (This is my idea, and it’s for the next drawing that you’ll soon see on my profile)

I'll get back to regular drawing in two weeks as soon as I return from vacation and start my final year of high school. I have a thousand ideas for new pieces, and I hope you all will enjoy them! 💙❤️

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Anti Tagging is a Broken System

So there was this anti Zutara post that I saw a while ago that was tagged as both 'anti zutara' and 'zutara'. As you can imagine, zutara bloggers were mad and the OP claimed they tagged the post as 'zutara' as payback for zutara fans bashing kataang in the 'kataang' tag.

There was also a jedi critical post that was considered to be insulting to someone's religion or culture or some other nonsense. The person asked (**demanded**), the post be tagged as 'anti jedi' because seeing it in the 'jedi order' tag was causing real-world harm.

It confirmed my belief that the tagging system is severely broken and lacking.

These are two issues at play that I notice:

Villain vs Hero Double Standard

What's interesting is that this issue is mainly relevant for protagonists. If I want to bash Ozai, Palpatine or Joker on Tumblr, I don't have to tag my posts as anti. Maybe their fans would prefer it but we all know that these men are villains and the lowest scum in media. It's not bashing - it's the cold hard truth.

So why is it that my calling Ozai a bad father is not Ozai bashing, but me calling Aang a bad father is Aang bashing?? Why the double standards?? Sure, the hero will likely be more sympathetic because we are meant to root for them. But at the end of the day, just like Ozai, Aang played favourites and this left scars on his kids even in their fifties. If you are an Aang fan you can try to justify it, but his actions still hurt his kids no matter how you spin it.

What Does 'Anti' Even Mean??

There are too many ways to be anti character, anti ship etc which makes things murky.

Let's use Kataang as an example. Are you anti Kataang because you objectively looked at the ATLA show and you think how it is presented makes it a bad ship? Are you anti KA because you genuinely like the ship but you think it was not developed properly or did not go the way you thought best? Are you anti KA because you are just emotionally repulsed for whatever reason even though canon may give you reasons to support it? Are you anti KA just because it may be popular to be so in your circle?

That's the problem. Theoretically, the first two scenarios could be classified under the general 'kataang' tag. Because people who hold those opinions are not just bashing it for no reason but have objective truths that they have observed about the ship. Saying that Aang kissed Katara without her consent is an objective truth. Why should that be labelled as 'anti kataang'? It's the truth about the ship.

How would I address this?

The general tag should not be treated as a safe space. If you want a safe space, stick to a 'pro' or 'anti' tag. The general tag should be treated like a neutral zone where everything is laid on the table for debate and discourse. So if I browse the Jedi Order tag, I should see metas about cool Jedi powers and master-padawan relationships but also metas about the separation of families and the social harm it causes kids.

People need to stop being babies and grow up. If someone posts a critical meta about the Jedi order, it does not mean they are attacking whatever religion you have or calling for genocide in real life. Do you know how much witchcraft, paganism, atheism and other kinds of Christian bashing posts I see in the Christianity tag?? If you don't like something, just scroll past it like a big kid. Don't send death or rape threats to someone if you disagree with them.

I think if someone does not have substantial or accurate reasons for hating something, they should stick to the anti tag and avoid the general tag.

What do others think?? Tagging is hard because it's up to the discretion of the poster but I hope my arguments here made sense.

@caripr94

@tragicfantasy-girl

@sokkastyles

@the-badger-mole

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

I truly dont understand the amount of hate zutara shippers get, in almost every online space atla/ kataang fans get so angry at the mere existence of ppl who like zutara, its just odd like your ship is canon why are you policing what other parts of the fandom like

i honestly dont really get it either. from my own experiences, my mutuals experience, and even some irls experience, kat@angers have been the ones going into our tags and community for the explicit purpose of spreading hate. the amount of threats and shit that my mutuals and i have gotten for simply existing in our own space is crazy. there are obviously also some zutarians who go out of their way to start shit, but i feel like typically the hates comes to us.

shipping characters from a kids show is not the end of the world. im still seeing people on tiktok and shit talk about how nasty and rude we are, as if half the time we're not the ones being dragged into it. i really dont know what it is about zutara that gets people so upset but at this point its just weird. if you don't like a part of the fandom, just dont interact with it and dont post things in their tags its really not that hard

[starboysbrainrot]

got a few asks in the last days asking me what ships I liked in atla, and so let’s do a quick recap here of what ship I like and why. (no proshit stuff on my blog dw) reminder that I am a multishipper so yes you should see fan arts of all these knuckleheads at least 1 time on my blog if atla keeps inspiring me to draw.

let’s start with the canon ones !

kataang : when platonic very sweet, i just think that their development in season 3 is a bit wacky, but i enjoy them nevertheless, ESPECIALLY in fanfics (i spend my summer in 2022 reading kataang fics, that was my personal therapy for a bit lol). my only problem is that i have a lot of issues with some kataang fans, and that made me loose interest in the ship in 2020-2021. (before getting back on board) + I’m a platonic kataang stan

sukka : an all time favorite of mine ! absolutely love their development in the series. I hope to see more of them in the movies (if we get to see Suki !)

jetara : ooooh my, as a kid i hated that ship but in late teen years i started really liking the conflicting feelings such a ship holds. the few fics I’ve read about them made me sob like a baby lol

jinko : one word : adorable

non-canon ones :

zutara : that ship has been a fundamental part of my teenage years and even now it holds a special place in my heart. I read many good fics about them, and the special bond they share in the series still makes me emotional after all those years. I personally enjoy the ship platonically but also romantically. I just have a lot of issues with some zutarians.

zukka : a ship that I personally had never considered (and seriously idk why cuz they’re such a fun ship) before gaining back my atla hyperfixation in 2023. lots of very sweet fan arts and the fics !! absolutely adore them

jetko : another personal favourite of mine. I just adore the dynamic, the angst, and the gut wrenching thought that the canon gave us a doomed relationship between them from the beginning. the potential such a ship holds is what made me liked them in the first place.

taang : ooooh the sillies !!! I love them so much. they’re I think my favourite platonic ship. I usually read about them when I feel down. I just like how they’re complete each others and the special bond they share in canon.

sutara : probably my fav wlw ship in atla after mailee. they have so much potential, and the “badass duo” dynamic has always been a favorite of mine haha.

azulee : toxic doomed Yuri, but if we’re speaking seriously, I really think that their dynamic is very interesting. not my fav ship for ty Lee but it’s still a very cool ship if you ask me.

mailee : these two <3 idk i just love the grumpy x sunshine when it’s done right and for me they are the only ship in atla that can do that dynamic correctly.

azutara : another ship I discovered recently but damn is it interesting. the possibilities !! there is so much to explore here and i absolutely love that

zuki : as much as i despise the comics… that’s one good thing that came out of it !! they have a very interesting relationship and there’s something especially sweet with these two that i really like.

harutara : a ship i don’t see very often in the fandom but they’re cute !! like that’s legit why i like them. no drama, no hard feelings, just fluff

jetkotara : is it possible to have a more angst-concentrated ship ? I don’t think so. on a more lighthearted note, the idea of zuatara sharing the same ex makes me wheeze. also it’s might just be my fav polyship in atla

suki/sokka/zuko : do they have a ship name ?? idk but I love that dynamic. again it’s a rare treat in that fandom but I love it nonetheless.

I think that’s all. the only ship that I don’t really like is maiko, but that’s purely personal. I thought that their relationship was rocky at best and toxic at worst in the series. but absolutely no hate to the maiko shippers ! y’all have are some really skilled artists and I’m always in awe of your fan arts.

so anyways. if you have others ships that you like, feel free to share it here under that post. my blog will always be a safe space for shipping.

[alchamy34]

The hate for Randy Cunningham x Shezow makes zero sense

To hear that this fanon ship has hate makes me depressed.

I mean, it was kinda noticeable that Randy was at LEAST bi or closeted queer, maybe bi curious. And fans who didn't notice were too focused on the teen crush this idiot had for Theresa Fowler. I was okay with it as I saw nothing wrong. But it's a hidden secret that Randy's relationship with Howard was a little too...romantic fluffy. Of course it didn't become canon because Disney was homophobic then.

As for Shezow, loved him as a trans role model. I loved that the show tried convincing viewers to accept trans community. I mean he wasn't the first character I've seen crossdressing but he's still a comfort character and a good way to prevent kids from becoming transphobic assholes.

Now let's talk about the "crackship".

Everyone has their own opinions about stuff, so I'm not trying to force people to like this.

But despite being just fanon and might never be canon, there's nothing wrong about liking fanon ships. I'm not only talking about crossovers, I'm talking about some ships between characters from the same fandom but aren't canon either.

For example:

Kacchako

Zutara

ghostfox

Zuko x Song

Jaybabs

Aragami x yamiko (video game)

Randy and Guy Hamdon make sense to me. It would be fun, sweet, maybe emotional...

Randy is an idiot, anyone who watched the show is well aware. Guy is also a bit of an idiot though slightly smarter.

I have already noticed headcanons that fit their relationship.

Ninja would crush on Shezow first who would reject him multiple times. Because he thinks She is a She.

Guy had dated boys before but it's a bit hard for him to be completely honest, not just the secret identity but also fear of being hated for fighting crime dressed as a girl. This is so understandable it breaks my heart.

Randy is at first convinced he's straight, because he never stopped to question why he's happier with Howard or that there may be more chemistry with him. Like I said, he's an idiot (or should I say shoob?)

Shezow keeps rejecting Ninja (who pathetically doesn't get the hint). But he later starts falling for him (not saying why or how because its obvious).

Randy, after finding out who Shezow is, is in denial that his crush is a boy. This could be what he needs so he can go on that journey to self discovery.

This ship makes sense, that and I love mlm ships (that aren't seriously controversial).

I mean if more people wrote this ship as fanfiction then more people could start seeing the reasons why this ship deserves more attention. Not to mention but the pairing would remind me the Ladybug and Chat Noir dynamic.

[elledberry]

No, but like, WHY do people care so much about other people ship preferences?

I get it, I don't ship the obvious ones or the "right" or what was given to me by the author, but IS JUST A SHIP.

Look, don't get me wrong, I'm not angry at other preferences when it comes to this. What I get annoyed at is that when there is an illustration, an edit, a fucking fic, any kind of media, that shows that romantic dynamic between the characters they will be like

"siblings 🩷" "omg no how could ship that? They aren't like that." "Have you read the books ?" "Omg, people actually ship them?" "The author said..." "omg but this (name of other ship), it's so much better," and so on.

My beautiful person who comments in every edit of (some examples, but I'm sure that there's more) harmony, lunami, zutara, sasusaku .... do you really think that they/we don't know or care about this ? Do you know what you look like when u comment stuff like that? An idiot who can't let others have a different opinion on literally fiction character's romance life, like that one kid in kindergarten who saw another kid getting a toy and go's on about how that toy is lame compared to theirs, a spoiled brat.

You have so many things to be arguing about in the actual plot, but you can't cus you think that the idea of nami and luffy together is so wrong that you go around in every media of them "oda said..." But with other members of the crew, oda said absolutely nothing... not only that, but are we really discussing this ? Can we be talking about I don't know... how racist and hypocrites are some people in this famdon? Really give your disappointment and disgust to that(what is actually important).

Harry and Hermione are another great example of "I know they aren't like that but I like the idea of it" WE KNOW THEY AREN'T LIKE THAT but we think is cute it could HAVE BEING cute, sometimes people just grow up shipping and seeing they as a possible couple, like people who grow hating sakura and now simply can't have a actually good argument of why she should be hated on... that was an ironic comment by the way but also not, ( no, her not liking the main character the same way shouldn't be one, or the author not giving her screen time either much less cus of the fact the the anime did her dirty with so much disconnect things from the manga, like her relationship with sasuke <his perspective of it > or naruto himself for that matter, hate on a literally 12 years old for saying shit that every fucking person in the village grew up thinking, funny, why not hate on the thirdkage then? The person who could have actually stopped the hate on a little kid) [Sorry that got out of the main point]

Or zutara, my God, people get personal with just as harmony, relax, just cus I like them doesn't mean I hate kataang, surprise or not I do think they are indeed very cute, I'm pretty sure some other people who ship zutara too... we just see the potential, what could have happened, once again, enemies to friends to loves, the plot, you know ? There is no need to get offended by the IDEA of it. We love the drama and the fic, the illustrations, the edits are just a format that represents and shows it, share if people who likes it, you don't like it ? Oh well, let me tell you a secret, ignore it, you probably ignore so much more important things, why not a fucking edit of ship you don't even like ?, oh you can't ? You can't see other people "toy" and shut about your disappointment on it, is it that hard ?, oh well, have you actually not known that there's an amazing thing within social media, when you hold/press or simply click on the 3 dots on the top of the post, there's a option there, that's right, BLOCK IT the algorithm will understand if you continue blocking it, unlike some people.

I'm just rambling about this because I'm sick and tired of people being such a killjoy, I just want to enjoy "my ship" and see the comments of people who actually likes it to, not yours "siblings 🩷" in post which is definitely not about that, or "oda said..." when i didn't ask what he said, you know people have different things that brings them a scape from reality that brings them a funny giggle (no killing others people joy, when it's such a basic no harmful thing), wave of emotion for those who don't get to feel much in the day-to-day life or simple just cus.

It just petty of you, be better.

Ps.. There is no offense for those who ship other characters within these plots(or different ones), original, popular, or unpopular. Do your thing. Be happy. Just don't spoil others.

Ps2... NO I'm not defending incest that's no it at fucking all ( sorry if I didn't make it clear). I said "siblings" when it came to lunami and Harry x Hermione (cus people like to comment that on posts that aren't even about it < the platonic soul mates comment>), they AREN'T related or grown up at such. Point is you hating the idea of it and going on every post about the ship and hating there. hate all you want, but not on ,obviously, posts that are for the fans of the ship.

[jetsteelyourheart]

My top 5 Crackships

Inspired by my top 5 8 characters thing going around, I want you all to vote on your favorite of my Top 5 Questionable Rare pairs

I will be providing excuses reasoning excuses below the poll, so if you feel like roasting me properly seeing my justifications, do that - or don't!

And remember, they're fictional characters, so it costs nothing to be normal about this and have fun

*Not all of these are controversial, but those that are? watch out!

Excuses:

Zuki:

If you follow me then you know I'm an OG Zutara fan, but on the rare occasions I'm feeling Cannon Compliant, Zuki is my go too ship. This has all to do with the comics, where basically Zuko's only confidant is Suki and you get wild panels of them looking at each other like this:

I was devistated when Korra came out and it seemed like Sokka and Suki didn't last, but if the above is why, then I'll take it.

Stobin:

I am going to get so much flack for this one I think. BUT. Consider: The cannon ships in the show are generally not well written. I like Hopper/Joyce, I like Max/Lucas, but Nancy/Jonathan and especially Mike/Eleven do literally nothing for me, they are so bland. I do see the irony that one of the things that makes Stobin well written is because its one sided on Steve's part because Robin is gay. But their interactions are literally the reason to watch the show if you ask me. Pushing past these excuses though, I just kinda dig the ship. In my head its an open poly situation for certain, but sexuality is so wild and fluid and weird, and Gold Star status is gatekeepy at best anyway, so like, why the fuck not. I had a great aunt who had an open marriage with a gay man, (big beard behavior) and they had kids and did everything together. Its like... Platonic soulmates + if you will. And that's what I want for Stobin. Platonic soulmates + and a big ole polycule surrounding them. Or maybe its just my incoherent bisexual ass talking

(If I could put fan-art with the polycule in it I would but I wouldn't repost someones art like that... so I'm stuck with cannon images)

Zacknei:

No one has played this game. When people think Zack, they either ship Cloud or Aerith, and honestly I ship both those as well (though ClAerTi will always be my top for them). But I love Cissnei. She has big Sydney Sage energy for me, and all of Zack's emotional beats in the second half of the game surround her (...or cloud) not Aerith (just for the record). Also if you join all the fanclubs and work hard you get invited to your own fanclub and I'm pretty sure there's evidence that Cissnei is the president which is hilarious. I just love their interactions and was DEVASTATED at the end. Analytical Girl & PuppyDogHimbo is a beautiful ship dynamic. Also Rick Gomez will always be my Zack Fair VA. I hate the new guy so much (and its not his fault!! Sorry man!)

Aquarella:

So the section is really short. But my god. Cinderella and Aqua have the most chemistry of any character in that game series bar none. I'm including Riku and Sora in this. I'm including Roxas and Axel. Ok, not really this is not the hill I want to die on. BUT. At least in Birth By Sleep, this is the emotional high-point. Aqua taking her hand like a gentleman at a ball? The way Aqua saves Cinderella from getting run over by her demonic carriage??? The way she lovingly protects Cindy's body with hers? Did you see Prince whats his face doing any of that ? NO. And then. If Aqua were a guy everyone would've seen it when this game came out (but I guess gay people weren't invented until 2015 or whatever.

look how devastated Aqua is when Cinderella goes to Charming at the end. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEM.

Sorayla:

I really do like Raylum, but this is a poll on my hot take rare-pairs, not cannon compliance. Let me start off by saying, no, I haven't seen this season yet, it only came out twelve hours ago whats wrong with you? This pair grew on me starting in Season 4 after the time skip. I think it goes along side my preoccupation with tough smart girls and their dumbass golden retriever himbos. They have a nice trajectory, and with Callum going a lil dark and edgy on us recently, I like their banter a lot. Especially in Season 4 I was surprised by them and I crave more adventures with the two of them alone. I don't think it will ever happen, but I like it none the less. They bring a certain... Sokka & Suki vibe to the party that I'm here for.

Anyway, I tag @ebbilayart @retiredficwriter & anyone who decides to do it!

And if no one feels like setting themselves up as a target, that's good too!

[punkeropercyjackson]

Zutara arguments be like

Dadko is canon therefore Momtara should be too(Zuko being the Team Dad of the Gaang was a sign of character development by healing his inner child and breaking the cycle of abuse while Mom Friend Katara is a compulsive trauma induced trait she's always talking about hating and wanting to be just a kid)

Aang is too immature for Katara so Zuko is better fit for her(See above)

Katara can only like brown guys(Jet and Haru)as a stepping stone to Zuko or it's #problematique and not real interracial rep

They used to hate eachother so it's destiny

Red x blue and sun x moon(Symbolism with zero in-universe romantic connecations and afaik not common irl ones either)

Zuko is a boy and Katara is a girl=Opposites attract because complimentary

"Ugh i wish i didn't try to get oppressed for saying Zuko is STRAIGHT,i hate you STUPID GAYS"

Mai is a girl with the same personality as Zuko and this means she's abusive because REAL girls don't bite back or have non-quirky emotions

"Aang sexually assaulted Katara by kissing her and her and Zuko have repressed sexual feelings for eachother-No i am not a pedophile for refusing to not associate children with sex,why are you such an abuse apologist omg!!!"

Katara was a teenage anarchist with a gnc bf who was previously her first ever and also best friend instead of Zuko's rebellious gf he taught to truly understand him and to not judge a person just by their actions and beliefs but rather how much they fit into beauty standards and how hard their childhood was so the entire Atla crew are self-inserters who hate women

Calling Korrasami forced pandering bs and Asami a badly written character who's inherently colorist and overhyped in the fandom

Completely ignoring Ty Luko both as the most supported non-canon Zuko ship in-text and as a fandom rarepair so they can say every Zutara anti just has internalized misogyny while also being revolted by Aang's femininity and multigender/transfem egg hcs for him and even Zuko ironically enough despite claiming to love them for being 'a female fantasy'

"I'm [insert non native american/indigenous type of poc here] and i had crush on Zuko SO WE WERE ALL ROBBED!WHY DOES EVERYBODY CALL ME A COLONIZER APOLOGIST,ALL I SAID WAS KAT IS A CUTER NAME THAN KATARA!"

[shamelessliarkickapow]

Arrvatarr! The Last Arrbender! silly, playful, minimal angst Zutara pirate AU rated M fer Mizzen Mast

Read chapter 1 on AO3 here! Chapter 2, part 1/3

chapter 2, part 2/3

“Get out of my room.”

“Not your room anymore, buddy. All this stuff is the property of pirates now, so, you know, argh.”

The swordsman - Sokka, Zuko recalled with no small amount of venom - waved a dismissive hand at him and then reached up to take down the broadswords he had been admiring.

“Oh, these are nice.”

“You’re holding them backward, idiot. Switch hands.”

Sokka did not switch hands. Instead, he cast Zuko another of his irritatingly smug smiles. “Not really my style, though. I’ll probably trade them for new boots or something. Maybe a new bag. I’ve been meaning to get a bag.” The smugness thickened obnoxiously. “Got any bags, Prince Zuko?”

“Princes don’t tote around their possessions like vagrants,” Zuko sneered, folding his arms over his chest to stop himself from doing something violent.

“Yeah,” chortled the metalbender - Toph Bei-fucking-Fong - behind him in the corridor. “They seem to have trouble picking up and carrying anything of their own. Are you gonna get your stuff or what? I don’t have all day here.”

“You know, Katara made a pretty good point earlier,” Sokka said almost idly as he sheathed the swords and slung them over his shoulder. “You really should put on a coat or something.” Instead of just taking the swords and leaving, he continued poking around Zuko’s scant belongings, pocketing stuff seemingly at random. “It can be chilly in the brig and we wouldn’t want you to catch a sniffle during your stay.”

Zuko watched his Earth Kingdom knife disappear into one of those pockets and worked his jaw to the side. Technically, he would not be breaking his oath if he shoved this guy down some stairs or otherwise knocked him around, but that would no doubt violate the ‘good behavior’ agreement Iroh had made that won them the chance to take some of their belongings before the ship was sunk. Since there could be no escaping and any misbehavior on his part would almost definitely complicate whatever Iroh was planning, Zuko would just have to play nice with these gibbering morons for the time being.

But that didn’t mean that he had to expose a potential vulnerability by letting on that any of the stuff this pirate was stealing meant anything to him. So he stood there, stoically witnessing the ransacking of his few earthly possessions to make sure the things that mattered to him made it off the ship. He would just take them back later. That was fine. This was fine.

He had not felt so violated since Azula stole and burned his toys as a child.

Sokka paused with Zuko’s combed-wool blanket wadded under one arm and cast him an assessing look. “Unless you plan to spend your entire kidnapping with no shirt on? Which I guess is kind of a boss move, but still-”

“Ho ho!” Toph chirped. “No shirt, huh? I thought I felt a lot of skin-on-metal but it can be hard to tell with stuff that isn’t earth. Are you shredded? Got those ripply abs? What’s the chest hair situation?”

Zuko, realizing she was reaching out toward him like she meant to feel him up, took a long step away from her - into the room - and shot her a disgusted look she couldn’t see.

“Do not,” he snarled, “touch me.”

Sokka sighed behind him. “Seriously, Toph. Way to make it creepy.”

“What? We’re pirates! If somebody’s not feeling at least a little sexually threatened, we’re not doing it right. And since you and Suki are joined at the face like some kind of gross romance novel rejects and Twinkles is a kid, Sweetness and I have an image to uphold, here. Besides, she’s the one who really-”

“Don’t bring my sister into this,” Sokka nearly-shrieked. Zuko watched him pat at the air and calm himself quickly. “Look, I’ll keep an eye on Prince Zuko. You can go ahead and get the coal transferred.”

“Fine,” she huffed, then stomped off, grumbling. “Buncha lily-liver pearl-clutching prudes…”

She disappeared down the corridor and Sokka let out a deep breath.

“Teenagers, am I right?”

Zuko glared back at his shrugging, almost apologetic face. Then he snatched up his robe from where he had discarded it before bed and shoved his arms through the wide sleeves.

Sokka stood a little awkwardly, examining the stitching around the edge of the blanket he had pilfered. Zuko felt compelled to break the uncomfortable silence.

“The waterbender is your sister?”

“Katara. She might be nicer to you if you learn her name.” Sokka squinted thoughtfully. “Or maybe not. She’s not a big fan of firebenders as a general rule… and she seems to especially dislike firebender princes so, you know, probably a lost cause there.”

Zuko had gathered as much… and he also knew what her name was. He just didn’t want to let on to this guy. Her brother. Actually, he didn’t really want to talk about her with him at all.

Because talking about her felt dangerously close to reflecting on her looks and threats. And Zuko was intensely curious as to what kind of trouble she thought he might get into. What did that even mean?

But that wasn’t a conversation he was about to have with her brother.

“You’re taking the coal.”

Sokka blinked and then nodded.

“What do you need coal for? You came in a sailing vessel.”

For a long moment, the other guy just stared back at him thoughtfully. At length, he shrugged. “We use it as supplemental heat for our village through the winter. There aren’t enough hunters left to keep us in our traditional fuels - oils and blubbers. Coal is disgusting - no offense - turns the igloos black and smells awful, but it’s better than freezing to death.”

Zuko frowned at him, trying to convince himself that this could be some kind of deception… but he found he couldn’t. “And the food and medicine you wanted, that goes to your village, too.”

“That’s the piracy game,” Sokka said as he went back to picking over the last few things that sat out on Zuko’s shelf.

“You aren’t pirates,” Zuko huffed. “You’re obviously-”

“Do you want this picture?”

The portrait in Sokka’s hand was, in fact, the last thing in the room Zuko might have taken. He tried not to look at it. Sokka peered at him, then down at the image.

“Pretty lady.”

Zuko worked his jaw to the side.

“Maybe I’ll keep it,” Sokka said idly, tilting his head and smiling a little dreamily down at the portrait. “Is this, like, Fire Nation erotica or something because - mm. That’s a nice looking woman right there-”

Zuko snatched the portrait - which was obviously not erotica, it was obviously a royal portrait of a wonderful sexless woman with warm, shining eyes! - from that savage’s disgusting paws and stalked off to grab a blind armload of clothes from his dressing room.

Following along behind him, Sokka stifled a chuckle.

[rulesofdisorder]

i wasn’t really involved in the atla fandom when the show was airing bc i was a little busy being a child who didn’t know what fandom was and i didn’t join til like 2020 when everyone else did so idk how the fandom was before but why are some of yall so mean for no reason. when i was a kid i shipped zutara and the fondness for it has carried over, even if i now like other ships more. but why do some of yall act like people who ship them are delusional and stupid? like i know it isn’t canon but neither are half the other ships in the show? i just don’t understand the disdain for them like i can’t see a zutara post without at least 10 people in the comments talking about how stupid the ship is. like if you don’t like something just scroll away? you don’t have to engage with it? like especially on tiktok where if you engage with content you are going to see more of that content, bc it doesn’t know that the comment you left was hate it just knows you left a comment. like why can’t yall just be nice. there are plenty of popular ships that i dislike so i just don’t seek out content about them. it’s not that hard.

[azulas-daddy-kink]

I know dunking on Zutarians is fun and all, but can we please talk about Tyzulaians? Cause they are almost as delusional, if not more than, Zutarians. Maybe they might have been friends when they were kids, but all of Ty Lee's interactions with Azula in the show are clearly that of someone deathly afraid of their superior snapping, and therefore kissing ass much as possible. For fucks sake, the advice Ty Lee gives to Azula during that Ember Island party in regards to getting boys is what she uses to placate her. And even though basically every single piece of post-Sozin's Comet media has all but said that she loathes Azula to the point that she eventually overcame her fear of her so she could hunt her down, Tyzulaians still cling to their ship.

And have you seen the ridiculous handwaving they do in regards to Azula's dream world showing her have a male love interest? I've even seen edits on TikTok where they blurred out Ruon-Jian.

Also, just like Zutarians like to call anyone who disagrees with their ship racist and sexist, among other things, Tyzulaians call anyone who disagrees with their ship lesbophobic, even if the person doing the criticism are queer themselves.

I know that Zutarians have engaged in mass delusion ever since Korra made their ship explicitly fanon, but I really wonder what is going to happen once we get hard confirmation that neither Ty Lee or Azula are queer, or if or both them are, Tyzula is not thing on one or both of their parts? Especially in regards to Azula stans that are also hard-core Tyzula shippers considering the current comics writer got death threats by a crazed Azula stan that made her wary of writing a comic involving Azula for quite sometime?

Yes, please, Anon!

I am always down to call out the toxic Tyzula shippers, and have done so on this blog several times.

I've seen everything you're talking about more times than I can count. The lesbophobia accusations, the copium, and essentially gaslighting themselves into believing their ship is/was canon and that Azula is 100% a lesbian.

Just today, I witnessed them claiming that SOKKLA is a self-insert ship beloved by men who identify with Sokka. Probably the worst case of projection I've ever encountered in this fandom, considering Tyzula shippers are pretty much all just baby gays self-inserting as either Azula or Ty Lee (usually Ty Lee). From what I've seen, Sokkla shippers are mostly women so we're definitely not inserting ourselves as Sokka lol nonsensical.

"Just write a self-insert, you cowards!" - decries a discord user named "Azula kisses women". Absolute clown shoes.

Their favorite thing to do though, aside from going out of their way to bully people who like other ships, is deny canon by saying Azula's interest in Chan was "comphet". Yes, comphet is a real thing but can we be honest with ourselves and say that was not the intent of the writers? No one was gay in a 2005 children's cartoon. And even if Chan was comphet, where does the supposed interest in women come in? If anything, this is an argument for her being asexual or aromantic, because Azula has never shown romantic interest of any kind toward another girl.

But when you criticize this and point out the obvious flaws, they again just say you're lesbophobic, which is their go-to when someone doesn't agree with them.

Honestly, at this point they are just as bad as Zutara shippers, if not worse. And you know why they're acting this way? They're losing and they know it. Sokkla grows stronger by the day, has the best fics and art, and a thriving, supportive community. They're lashing out because they feel threatened... which is actually insane, considering neither ship is canon, and shipping isn't a contest. It's supposed to be fun! Tyzula shippers are straight up ruining the Azula fandom with their toxicity.