#as always my anti kataang posts are more

[ecoterrorist-katara]

The tragedy of Katara’s parentification

Sokka and Katara were both parentified, and it’s a profoundly life-changing thing for both of them. One of the saddest things in ATLA, though, is how Sokka sort of got to outgrow parentification, but Katara never did.

Sokka’s told to be the man. The provider, the protector. He’s not so good at the former (his hunting failures are a consistent source of comic relief), and he takes failures of the latter very, very hard. He doesn’t manage to save Yue, and that wrecks him. After Yue, he becomes extremely protective of Suki in a way that’s borderline offensive to her. He’s willing to do anything to protect his friends and his family, including something as irresponsible as breaking into the Boiling Rock. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sokka is the only one of the Gaang who unambiguously kills. The rest of them may technically have clean hands because of cartoon logic, but Combustion Man is very dead, and Sokka is the one who killed him. We don’t know how he feels about it, because the show never goes there, but I have a pet theory that Sokka is so uncharacteristically (remember he was team “leave Zuko to freeze to death”) against Katara confronting Yon Rha in The Southern Raiders because he’s the only who knows what killing feels like and wants to protect Katara from it.

But by the end of the show, Sokka’s in a place where he can start to let go of his need to protect. Objectively, all his friends are unbelievably powerful and can take care of themselves, including his sister and his girlfriend. Suki is the one who saves him in the final battle, representing not only a reversal of his initial cartoonish misogyny, but also demonstrating that he is worthy of protection. And of course, he and his friends saved the world, so there isn’t really an enemy that he has to protect them from anymore. Sokka’s loved ones create the conditions under which his parentified behaviour is no longer necessary. Sokka would still have to take the first step to stop seeing himself as the one who has to lay his life on the line, but at least it’s possible for him.

But not Katara.

Katara had to take on the mom role after their mother was murdered, which meant she was responsible for domestic labour and emotional support. Sokka says in The Runaway that her role was to keep the family together. Unlike protection, that’s always a full time job regardless of the war. We see Katara spending more screen time than anybody cooking, getting food, mending, and generally doing women’s work. We see Katara giving everyone emotional support, including strangers and her enemy. We see Katara putting aside her own discomfort and her own hurt in The Desert because if she falls apart, they all die. Nobody ever showed her that she doesn’t need to be the only one who cooks, or that somebody else can be responsible for the emotional wellbeing of her friends, or that — god forbid — someone else can actually be responsible for her emotional wellbeing.

That’s why I never cared for the Ka/taang argument of “he teaches her to be a kid again!” Putting aside the fact that Katara ends up taking care of Aang a lot more as the series goes on, the whole tragedy of parentification is that you can never again be a child. That part of your childhood, your god-given right, is robbed from you. It is extremely precious and important to still be able to be a kid, but breaking free of parentification is not about seeing yourself as a kid. It’s about breaking free of being responsible for everyone’s feelings and behaviours.

For Katara, that responsibility is not problem of perception, but of reality. Unlike Sokka, who was told and shown that his loved ones are capable of protecting themselves, Katara has zero reason to believe that her loved ones are able to feed and clothe themselves and not fall apart emotionally. Between Toph and Sokka who emphatically don’t want to do this work, it all falls on Katara. Telling a parentified child that they just need to loosen up is akin to telling an overworked mother that she needs to just relax (“happy Mother’s Day! You get a break from chores, which you will catch up on tomorrow because nobody else is doing them”). It doesn’t accomplish anything if nobody creates the circumstances under which it’s possible to let go of responsibilities. A lot of Zutara fans, spanning all the way back to the early days of the fandom, like the “Momtara and Dadko” trope where Zuko also does chores. Why? Because even without the concept and language of parentification, many fans recognized that Katara’s performance of domestic and emotional labour is inequitable and probably very taxing.

Growing out of parentification is about more than just letting go of old expectations: it’s also about finding a new way to value yourself beyond the role you grew up with. I’ve said this before, but it’s very important to acknowledge that just because a kid is parentified doesn’t mean they’re actually good at being a parent. In fact, it’s probably a given that they’re not, because they’re kids performing roles that are developmentally inappropriate! Sokka remains a shit hunter; he becomes a decent fighter but he’s still miles behind his friends. A big part of healing from his parentification is finding another area — strategy, engineering, project management (what else do you call that schedule) — where he actually excels, to which he can dedicate his time and from which he can derive satisfaction and a sense of identity. For Katara, fighting for the oppressed and combat waterbending give her that. Crucially, however, Katara does not stop being a girl when she becomes a warrior. She’s still responsible for domestic and emotional labour. Unlike Sokka, whose protector duties were more or less relieved as the series went on and he found new ways to contribute to the group, Katara continued to perform her old role in addition to her new one (which is depressingly realistic btw, look up feminist theory around the concept of the second shift). Still, it’s important that she found these new ways to value herself and her contributions…

…which disappear in her adult life. Where’s adult Katara fighting for the oppressed? Where’s adult Katara enjoying her status as a master waterbender? Where’s Mighty Katara? Where’s the Painted Lady? Where’s the person who vanquished a whole Fire Lord?

What do we know about adult Katara? She’s no longer a rabblerouser or an ecoterrorist. She did not translate her desire to help the downtrodden into a political role, like being Chief or on the United Republic Council. She’s not known as the best waterbender in the world, only the best healer, even though her combat abilities are what she took the most pride in. Even as a healer, she established no hospitals, trained no widespread acolytes (except Korra, I guess?), and made no known contributions to the field.

What Katara is known for…is being a wife and a mother. The same role she was forced to take on at age 8. One which she performed for the next 80+ years.

[autistic-katara]

oh my god can ppl find a reason to ship/not ship something that’s in the middle of a ship war w/o trying to make out the other character to be the worst person in existence? honest to god it’s not that hard to say “this ship doesn’t work for me bcz of xyz” u rlly do not need to go “uhhh actually no it’s not character a that’s a horribly racist asshole who thinks SA is cool (that’s so stupid wtf, they barely did anything), its character b. did u not see how they [smallest thing possible]??? can’t believe the hypocrisy u have going on here…” like seriously PLEASE u do not have to justify urself to this level it just makes everything 10x more annoying

[crienselt]

So a few days ago I saw someone (elsewhere) questioning Zutara fans’ excitement about the scarf scene. It wasn't a mean comment, more general curiosity. And well, I didn't have time to get my thoughts out then. But they haven't gone away, so I'm getting them out here:

Here’s what everyone need to understand about Zutara shippers. We were baited baaaad during the initial run of the show–from the magazines to the shorts to the trailers and how they were cut. And Zuko and Katara’s relationship on the show certainly underwent a lot of development and featured objectively emotional–if not overtly romantic–moments between the two. We were well fed, and we had reason to hope. Right up to the end, we had reason to hope.

The shipping wars were the shipping wars, of course, with all the usual tensions; there are always going to be overzealous fans of each (and any) pairing willing to get toxic. Generally, I think Kataang fans were always jealous of Zutara’s popularity and Zutara fans, post finale, were jealous of Kataang’s, well, canon status. But really it operated much the same as any other large fandom’s shipping wars.

And then came Bryke and the panel where they showed and mocked Zutara fan art, some of which had been created by teens if not straight up children. Then came their, “Come on, kids! It was never going to work. Zutara is just dark and intriguing.”* And the pièce de résistance, their telling Zutara shippers (specifically girls/women) that they were doomed to have failed romantic relationships. Like, what? The thing with the art was arguably cruel, and the rest of it was oh, so condescending. Just all around not well done. 

The after effect was that Zutara went from being simply a fanon pairing to a wrong pairing. The ATLA fandom at large became a far more hostile place for Zutara fans, who were now more commonly deemed delusional and viewed as lesser fans. The vitriol only got worse when the show came to Netfilx and the next wave of antis rolled up with their co-opting of legitimate socio-political terms to paint Zutara not just as wrong but morally corrupt if not evil. It’s all very puritanical.**

So Zutara fans need to be reminded that we weren’t delusional, and we aren’t alone. It’s why it means so much to know that Dante Basco and Mae Whitman shipped their characters. And that so many other VAs came out as Zutara supporters too: Jack De Sena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Grey DeLisle, Janet Varney--even the cabbage man. For it to be revealed that it was discussed in the writers room; that the writers fought over it; that it WAS a canon possibility. (And that writers Joshua Hamilton and John O’Bryan are perfectly comfortable admitting their preference for Zutara.) To know that the Elizabeth Welch Ehasz described Zuko and Katara as an “Avatar-style Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” in the script for The Southern Raiders, and used the phrase “Zutara-feuling synchronicity and cooperation” to describe their action sequences. To see Giancarlo Volpe, a Kataanger, admit Zutara might been the better pairing in retrospect and choose a quiet scene between them (to see their “chemistry”) as what he’d most look forward to in the live action adaptation. It’s why we cling to the artwork done by Korean animation director. We aren’t delusional. We aren’t alone.

But try telling that to the general fandom, right? Most are ignorant of a lot of this, particularly Hamilton and O’Bryan’s revelations re: the writers room. A lot of Zutara fans don't even seem to know. But being baited by Netflix on their official accounts? Oh, people see that. And we are reminded in a big way that we aren't delusional and we aren't alone. And everyone else has to remember it too.

So, of course, we're having fun clowning over the scarf scene. And I think most Zutara fans know we are clowning. I don't think most expect to get canon Zutara in live action because of one little scene or the fact that their Netflix icons are facing each other. (I headcanon that that was totally the doing of Zutara shipper on staff, though, lol. Because there are a lot of us, and we are everywhere.)

And this is okay. Zutara has been doing just fine as a fanon ship. Meanwhile, NATLA might actually do Kataang justice. It always worked better as a future ship. (Really all the pairings do. But I especially don't ever need to see another 12 year old kissing let alone making out, in animation or live action, ever again.) There's a reason Padme and Anakin don't get together in Phantom Menace, after all. Also, there's always the chance they could give us Dante's or Mae's headcanon of them basically suppressing their feelings and choosing duty over love/right person-wrong time. And the odds of getting some more moments to clown over are high enough. 

Anyway, TLDR: Zutara has been made to feel like an out-of-nowhere crack ship and the live action crumbs remind us that it is not. And this is at least partially why we are enjoying it. (Because, also, it's just fun!)

*Side tangent: I’ve never gotten this dark and intriguing comment. Even during Season 1, the height of the capture fic era, Zutara was always a ship fundamentally about hope, predicated on Zuko's redemption. (Back in the day, there were also plenty of antis arguing that there was no way Zuko would ever be one of the gaang.) And they say “intriguing” like it’s a bad thing? Are we not supposed to be interested in the relationships of their characters???

**There have been some very good think pieces written lately on late stage capitalism and consumption as morality. Worth googling.

[the-badger-mole]

But FWIENDSHIP!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Okay, so you all know how I get when something gets stuck in my head, but yesterday I saw a post talking about how Katara and Zuko's potential romance messes with their friendship, and I don't understand how, but that's beside the point. This is an anti-Kataang post.

I will once again admit that I don't spend a ton of time in Kataang/anti-Zutara spaces (cause I'm respectful like that), but every so often, I see one of those takes pop up in my safe area (because respect isn't always a two way street, unfortunately). It's interesting to see how many times this take seems to crop up. Katara and Zuko falling in love would ruin their friendship, yet those same people fail to acknowledge that Bryke went ahead and ruined their friendship anyway out of jealousy. These same people also tend to hold Kataang as a prime example of Friends to Lovers, the only problem is, Aang isn't Katara's friend at any point.

Throughout the series, it's made very clear that Aang likes Katara, but for most of the series (until literally the last few seconds, in fact) it's also clear that Katara only sees him as a friend. This should have been an object lesson that sometimes crushes don't work out, but friendship can be stronger than temporarily disappointed feelings. However, that's not what we get. Aang doesn't care about Katara's friendship. He doesn't want Katara in his life unless it's in a romantic capacity. We see it in how he reacts when he feels romantically rejected (lava fissure, EIP). The narrative doesn't give Katara any space to say no to Aang without it permanently damaging their relationship, because they never had the relationship Katara thought they did. Katara thought she was Aang's friend, but for Aang, their 'friendship' was just a precursor to romance. In this, the year 2023, I know we all understand why this is a problem.

Aang can't even conceive of a world where Katara does turn him down. He dreams about her enthusiastic response to his declaration of love; he assumes that since they kissed he kissed her and staked his claim, they should be together, despite there never being any sort of conversation, and the fact that the one time he did try to talk about it, she changed the subject very quickly. Katara's feelings are an afterthought for Aang, which is terrible for any relationship, but particularly in a romantic one. There is never a moment where Aang puts Katara's emotional needs ahead of his own. He never puts a value on her platonic friendship. There's never a moment where he decides that despite his feelings for her, having Katara in his life as a friend is better than not having her at all. That moment should have happened regardless of whether they ended up together or not, because friendship is the most important component of the Friends to Lovers trope.

By comparison, the friendship Katara eventually forms with Zuko is much deeper, and based on a mutual respect, understanding and emotional support for each other. This is a fantastic foundation for a romance, although bafflingly, people who laud Katara and Zuko's deep friendship don't seem to agree. Them potentially falling in love doesn't cheapen their friendship because they actually were friends first. On top of that, their Enemies to Friends journey ending romantically would not only not cheapen their friendship, it would tie into the themes of the show beautifully (the illusion of separation; love being stronger than hate; learning to respect other people's differences etc).

Let's be real, what Kataang actually represents is The Hero Gets the Girl, and I think deep down we all know that, even the ones calling it Friends to Lovers. In the Hero Gets the Girl trope, the Girl in question doesn't really matter. She's less of a romantic partner and more a prize for the Hero saving the day. Her emotional journey to falling for the Hero mostly plays out off screen, even though she may not have even liked the Hero like that initially, and the hero doesn't ever show that he respects her as a person. For the most part it works (arguably) because the Girl isn't a character in her own right, she's just part of the Hero's story. The reason it doesn't work with Kataang is that Katara is a character. She does have her own journey, and as passionate and outspoken as she is in pretty much every other aspect of her life, it doesn't make sense for her journey to falling for Aang takes place largely off screen. Not unless you understand how little Katara's feelings matter to their relationship. Had Katara actually rejected Aang, their friendship would have ended because Aang was never interested in her friendship.

It's interesting to me to see people who claim to value friendship over romance spend more time complaining about a romance that isn't canon over the actual canon ship that really does cheapen the friendship. But then again, I guess that was never the problem in the first place.

[dreamchasernina]

What was the moment u started liking kataang and why

Thank you for the question!

I’ve shipped them ever since I can remember honestly, ever since I was 16 and decided to watch the show from beginning to end. There was a phase when I was like 12 that I kinda shipped Zutara but that was before the show even ended and I think it was mostly based on the first season. You could say I started shipping Kataang when I saw their last kiss at the end of the series, I found it so sweet and such an amazing closure to the show. The show starts with Katara and Aang and it ends with Katara and Aang, I always found it beautiful and that moment always brings tears to my eyes. So that was when I was 16.

So fast forward to me 28, I went through a really hard time in my life and I did what I always do to make myself feel better, I watched ATLA again. So when I finished it I was thinking - hey let’s see some cute Kataang fan art on tumblr. So I went into the Kataang tag and I was surprised to see so much hate for 2 of my favorite characters of the show. Rants after rants about how Kataang is toxic and forced and I was shocked…did we watch the same show?

Well you know what I did after that? I decided to rewatch the show yet again and this time to really focus on Kataang to see maybe it wasn’t as natural as thought it was. And you know what I found? That I shipped them even harder than I ever did before!

This time I kinda noticed the little things I didn’t before. Like the way Katara talked to Aang in the avatar state episode, how she practically told him she loved him. And then how she calmed him down in the desert episode (I’m also a sucker for the trope “the man loses his shit and she’s the only one who can calm him down”).

Then I guess on this rewatch what solidified it for me was her reaction to Aang getting shot. I watched that show so many times I lost count, but somehow this time watching it as 28 year old I felt Katara’s heartbreak so deeply, like the expression on her face said it all, how deeply she feels for Aang. And then in the Awekening, like my second favorite Kataang episode of all times, is when I was all like….that girl is so obviously in love with that boy, what is everyone else on? I guess they see what they want to see?

Like, it’s so obvious they’re each other’s person! They’re the ultimate friends to lovers and they just warm my heart so much. And so I finished the show and found myself starved for more Kataang content so I read the comics again, and I was being FED!

So that’s how I went from loving them as a couple to completely obsessed and I will defend them until the day I die!!

Mother/son relationship my ass, watch the damn show again and with your eyes open this time please! And Katara wouldn’t appreciate you adultifying her, she’s fucking 14! Sorry I just saw another anti kataang post and I’m fuming.

[bisexuallsokka]

would you be willing to summarize the poll drama for us that doesn't use twitter? :>

GLADLY

okay okay so someone started a best atla ship tournament poll on twitter and in the first round zukka was losing to ty.zula but members of zukka nation started hearing about it and posting the link to vote so it started spreading pretty fast and zukka slowly started to bridge the gap and then the final result was that zukka won and because they got so many votes people were implying that zukka stans were paying bots for more votes when really. i was keeping a close eye on it all day and i never noticed it have a big enough jump for bots to make sense. we simply just awoke zukka nation for more reinforcements. but i digress.

anyway, the rounds continued and zukka kept winning (and not by like a HUGE margin but always by enough to come out on top) and each round kept putting them against a wlw ship (rip i’m sorry mailee) but anyway all the zukka antis were FURIOUS and saying that if you voted for zukka you are misogynistic and lesbophobic which was just so funny to me considering the insane number of sapphics in zukka nation but whatever.

anyway these antis were begging people to vote against zukka but it simply did not work (especially when the poll had them go against two wlw ships and so they split the vote) and they were also saying how people who vote for zukka are just fetishizing mlm ships and all this insane stuff

so so so many of them are zootaras so two days ago one of the rounds was z.tara against kataang and it was insane because all the other polls were getting like 2,000 votes and the final number of votes for this one was over 8,000 so CLEARLY both sides were using votes to get more votes for their side and eventually kataang won and then a lot of people were acting like kataang nation was the only one using bots

and then kataang went against sukka yesterday and and all the people who are anti zukka and pro ztara were all rooting for sukka because they thought they could defeat zukka but kataang ended up winning

anyway now it’s between kataang and zukka and everyone who doesn’t like those ships are acting like zukka/kataang nation spent hundreds of dollars on votes, hate women, and are actively committing hate crimes against lesbians

and ITS SOOO FUNNY. i’ve been having the time of my life it’s so entertaining they’re getting so invested in a fucking. twitter poll. and they’re just making it toooo fucking easy to mess with them. low hanging fruit and all that.

[bru1sed-apple]

this isn’t to dig on ur anti zutara post but rather start a discussion.

in my experience, the reason we zutarians don’t like zukka is because of the animosity we get from the fandom. we analyze the subtle details we are given because practically every zuko and Katara interaction in the show is because all of them save the first have some degree of zutara in it. their chemistry- be it platonic or romantic- is undeniable.

and yet, we are told by zukkas and kataangers that we are wrong for shipping the ship. a lot of zukkas sideline the women in atla- sokka is given a lot of Katara’s qualities that are stated in the show (ie: people claiming that sokka is the team dad when he literally confessed that he saw Katara more as his mother than his actual mother), mailee is just there (majority of the mailee fics on ao3 are just them being a side couple in zukka fics), and not to mention comradekatara’s posts from back when they were lesbians4sokka about Katara being homophobic. even if it was a joke, it was something that people took seriously. a lot of the same zukkas are the ones making fun of katara for talking about her mother’s death when that literally happened three times outside of the southern raiders episode.

dont get me wrong, I know that the zutara fandom was absolutely rabid in the early 2000s and that’s where we get our bad reputation, but the only time that we’ve had issues with other people in the atla fandom was when they interacted with our content and it blew up.

Honestly you make some points I agree and disagree with so I'll go one paragraph at a time

1.

I do agree that some zutirans get hate that isn't deserved. I definitely think that a lot of the fandom doesn't like zutartians, I'm part of that group as well (for the most part). I also do think they have chemistry, but more in a way that's more like family rather than lovers.

I think the over-analyzing is a bit too much, I'm overwhelmed every time I see a zutara post. Obviously, some analyzing is okay, I sometimes analyze ships, but I feel like zutartians do it sm that it feels kind of annoying?? Maybe that's just me, but I feel like you don't have to analyze things just to justify your ship. Just ship what you like

2.

I agree with the fact that zukka shippers tend to sideline women in fics. I've def read fics where katara is sort of villanized, and I definitely don't agree with that. A lot of the time, ppl prefer MLM ships to than WLW ship, (which if you ask me, is because ppl prefer male characters to female ones (*cough* misogyny *cough*)(though i dont think most of the misogyny is purposeful))

Idk if it's bc we're in different parts of the fandom, but I've never really seen ppl say that shipping zutara is wrong?? I've seen ppl say they don't like it, and why, but they always state that they don't care if people ship zutara and that they're only stating reasons they personally don't like it.

Perhaps it's because I tend to stay away from the more toxic part of the community because if I see smth I don't like I more often than not just scroll past. But I def believe that their are zukkas who are toxic, but I think some of that is just because ppl are toxic, no matter what fandom you're in.

I can't really speak on kataangers because while I do like the ship, I'm not really in that part of the fandom, so I'm not sure if ppl are unnecessarily mean to zutarians.

(Edit: nvm kataangers can be real assholes, I def believe that they're unnecessarily mean to ppl who dont ship kataang 😒😒)

3.

As for the zutara Fandom in the early 2000s I can't really speak on that bc I didnt watch atla until I wanna say 2017 or 2018. So I don't really know what the fandom was like.

So yeah, that's kinda my take?? Idk I spent like a good while trying to figure out what to say 🤧🤧

[sokkastyles]

EIP have some nice zutara moments but I feel really bad for Katara in that one. Also I really don't understand what that person was saying about your post, is it because you were simply discussing the episode? I was the one who sent the ask and I'm not from a "first world country", my country has been a colony. I don't think there was anything wrong with your post or my ask?

It was hard for me to understand what their argument even was because they cherry-picked the post to death so much, but it seemed like they were saying I was trying to claim that "fire nation propaganda" is a meta commentary and feminist critique of kataang or something. When what I actually said was that the things depicted in the play can't all be chalked up to Fire Nation propaganda because the episode is also meant to be a meta commentary on the series itself. Ember Island Players, as an episode, is largely the writers parodying themselves, and it's debatable how much of it is actually supposed to be an intentional critique of Fire Nation propaganda since the episode itself does not question the worst statements they make about Katara in particular, but rather uses them at her expense to get the audience to worry that she won't reciprocate Aang's feelings.

That's also why reading the episode making fun of zutara as the writers making an antiracist or anti-imperialist statement is ridiculous. A lot of the zutara parts are directly addressing both the fandom and the way the writers themselves have teased zutara. If showing Katara getting close to Zuko in the caves is racist propaganda, then the writers wouldn't have written that part of the show with the heavy dose of ship-teasing that is already there. If the episode slut-shaming Katara was meant to be only fire nation propaganda, then why is Katara shown to flirt with every guy EXCEPT Aang, even guys who the FN would see as unworthy, like Jet, and why does the episode as a whole punish her for it? An actual critique of racist propaganda about savage slutty brown women would be to acknowledge that actually, Katara can say yes or no to whoever she wants, and having Aang learn a lesson about that and Katara getting to voice why the depiction makes her upset without Aang telling her that she actually is like that. You can't just say that something is only there to critique racism but then not have the actual critique part present.

I also said in that post that the writers' attempts to criticize zutars in this episode don't actually make zutara bad, because the real Zuko and Katara actually grow closer in the episode over not liking their depictions in the play.

Even the claim that the play is depicting zutara as a "colonizer/colonized" relationship doesn't stick as an actual critique of zutara, because Zuko and Katara are completely unfazed by this except to have a moment of being grossed out by the idea of them as a couple in general. But if, as some antis have suggested, zutara is somehow inherently oppressive, you would think Katara would have more of an uncomfortable reaction to seeing herself act as the "colonized" woman, the way her reaction to being portrayed as a whiny, flighty crybaby is something that makes her viscerally upset and bleeds into her relationship with Aang.

This also lays false the common claim that Katara would always be uncomfortable with Zuko and associate him with her oppressors, because even when shown that onscreen, she shows no signs of actually seeing Zuko that way. And Zuko shows no signs of wanting to see himself being portrayed as some kind of macho colonizer who can win Katara's love, so there is no reason to think he would actually act like that if he did ever want to pursue Katara. In contrast, Aang does nod along when the play has Zuko say that he is "the Avatar's girl" and this does make Katara uncomfortable when he acts on those feelings of ownership over her. This would be an interesting critique of how racism can destroy relationships IF the show ever readdressed this instead of making it about how Katara just "wasn't ready."

So like, even if you read EIP as a critique of racist propaganda, which I'm not entirely sure we can give the writers that much credit for to begin with, KA as a relationship is portrayed as more damaged by racism than zutara is, because the depictions of zutara in the play are so silly and so easily dismissed, and Zuko and Katara only grow closer with each other as a result of them.

So no, it's not bad to enjoy the zutara moments in this episode. The way Katara is portrayed with Zuko is actually more akin to a bodice ripper fanfic than anything, and the show writers have said that they were making fun of zutara fandom. This is very different from a critique of actual imperialism, because one is aiming at institutions and the other is aiming at teenage girls. Not that teenage girls can't be racist, but that isn't where you start if you are making a real, honest critique, especially since those teenage girls writing capture fic were riffing off how the show itself used those tropes and fed off them in promotional materials.

[kataraslove]

I remember i think it was 2020 when I was browsing the atla /katara tags and all i found was anti aang it was everywhere when browsing katara i aint interested in anti aang posts but it was just always there so my sympathy for anti zutara in the zutara posts dont bother me much and the tag system is broken anyway. anti zutara takes pop up in the zutara tag heck most of the time antizutara is anti zutara fandom bad tales and not the ship kataangs have never called zuko a rapist while poor aang is treated like hitler.

exactly! the kataang tag is littered to the brim with anti kataang takes. I use “#kataang” when I want to see content, and sometimes I’m not even safe then (like now). zutara shippers seem much more focused on making anti kataang content then they are about making pro zutara content. coupled with the fact that kataang doesn’t really get that much fanon content, it’s a recipe for the worst possible content in the general tag.

[astriddestelle]

Lmao so I made an anti zutara post cause that’s what I was feeling that day anyways the zutarians got salty and went off 🤣🤣 (mind you I posted some anti shipping shit about TDI and TT and criticism of MHA and got nothing, cause those fandoms have calmed down or no one cares what I think (as it should be)

Anyways now my timeline is flooded with zutara posts cause of like the tumbler algorithm, God said nah you wanna start shit here you go.

The thing is I don’t even hate Zutara 😭😭 (like I used to be obsessed) and seeing all of this is making me think back to my zutara days haha.

I have no stake in this battle considering the show is ten years old, and I truly don’t care what people ship or don’t ship (if you decide to argue, you’re arguing with the wall, till I get bored enough to respond) will never catch me caring that much about fictional characters 🤣

But the fanart and post of Zutaras is always so amazing and cute and makes me wanna ship again but then I get to the fanfic and remember why I can’t get into it.

So much of the zutarian fanfics are just bad like just write your ship without bashing aang. The Kataang fics at least don’t bash Zuko so I can tolerate it more. That being said there’s some just as bad.

There’s like a few good ones but they’re so hard to find 😭 or they’re just so out of character. Damsel in distress Katara, or like super soft and coddling Zuko. But I guess any fic where non canon couples get together is OOC (unless it’s like after canon and the other person dies/divorce?)

I’ll just fuel my zutara moods by consuming fanart I guess. Once the live action one comes out we’ll see how I feel. I’ll prob pivot back if I decide to watch it since they’re going a zutara route.

That being said, I’m very much a rare pair ship, spend most my time reading Zuko/Suki, Mai/Aang, Zuko/Jet, Zuko/Ty Lee, Aang/Azula, Zuko/Yue etc well trying to at least they don’t have a lot of great fics outside of Jetko

Oh of y’all have any recs for these rare pairs that’s be great.

[podlaskazazula]

🖤If you dislike Sylvanas, please don't follow🖤

Hello, feel free to interact with me if you feel that we share thoughts, I answer dms slowly but always do!

Now, some facts about me

I'm 20 years old

I use she/her

I'm slavic, currently studying Bulgarian language and culture in university

I play WoW but don't raid or do dungeons

My name is Aleksandra, but I preffer to be called Zazula

🍉

🖤🖤🖤

I'm #anti_netwitcher and #anti_lauren so if you like netflix Witcher series, better ignore my blog 🖤

I don't like arguing about ships, I believe that we are allowed to ship whatever we can, no matter if it's canon or non canon. I won't harras you for liking your otp and I expect the same. If no, just block me please.

I'm pro zutara and anti kataang or maiko.

From WoW I ship Sylduin and Blightrunner

🖤🖤🖤

I will post drawings, personal and non personal rants. My fandoms:

World of Warcraft

Witcher (books, games)

Bloodborne

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Bleach

Overlord

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

METRO

Avatar (ATLA)

I'm getting into Dungeon Meshi and Frieren recently too 🖤

🖤🖤🖤

And when it comes to Sylvanas,

I'm completly aware how poorly written she was, but I believe that sometimes fanon version of characters can be as good or better than canon. So, mine Sylvanas isn't as weirdly written as in og WoW. In my opinion, she deserved to be what she was going to be from very start – Good leader of Forsaken, antihero, character who does evil for greater good, who uses controversial option to keep herself and Forsaken powerful. I believe that she should be something more that sexualised war criminal, she deserved to be deep character who could redeem herself. I hate her betrayal of Horde and Forsaken, I hate burning of Teldrassil and I refuse to accept anything post Legion as canon. I just want to give her proper story and fix things that I don't agree with.

That's all 🖤

[amirazat]

Since I’ve posted more than I ever thought I would, I guess I’d better introduce myself and what you’re likely to find here.

Who Am I?

My name is Amirazat, and for now I’m going to be posting about ATLA. I watched the show as it released while growing up and it’s something I always come back to when I need a comfort watch. This is my first time being active in the fandom, though, so I don’t know all of the past fandom politics.

What are you likely to find here?

- Analysis of the show and its writing, including criticism

- Positivity about all the Gaang members

- Positivity about Zutara (my favourite ATLA ship)

- Positivity about ATLA’s platonic relationships

- Positivity about most other ships (canon and fan, including Kataang)

- Criticism of the way Kataang was executed in canon

- Criticism of Aang’s character writing in season 3

How can I be positive about Kataang and also critical of its writing?

I have no problem with Kataang in theory. I think there’s a lot of good potential there with their mutual experience as genocide survivors, and I like the idea of Aang helping Katara to reclaim her childhood, even if I don’t think this worked in canon.

I also think that the way their romance was executed in canon was an absolute train wreck and actively lowered the quality of the show, but I’m interested in other ways their story could have been told.

About Asks:

My asks are open (if anyone is actually interested), and I’ll try to get to answering anything (civil) as soon as I can, but I don’t plan to post every day.

About Tags:

I’m going to do my best to tag appropriately, but in some cases I don’t know exactly which tags are right. (E.g. if I write something about how I think an aspect of Kataang’s canon romance was bad, and propose an alternate scene that I think would have made their arc better, do I tag that as Kataang or anti-Kataang? Or both?

[chriscdcase95]

I have finished ATLA: some thoughts

I have finally finished Avatar the Last Airbender after months of procrastination. After hearing from it from the memes, the essays and what my friends say, I largely knew the show by reputation. Most of my exposure to the Avatar universe was though Legend of Korra.

But after watching the show, I figured I give my thoughts even though I don’t really know where to begin. Especially since there is little I can say without regurgitating what others said better than I can. 

First some generic takes. Mostly season three, as I felt that was the height of the show and the Ba Sing Sei arc in season two gave me Arc Fatigue.

1. The Beach absolutely, fucking slaps. Like I knew the episode by rep and memes, but actually watching the episode, Grey, Dante, Olivia and Cricket knocked it out of the park, especially with that campfire scene.

2. What I will say is that Ember Island Players manages to be both a great recap and the right amount “Take That Fans!”. And this is coming from a guy who likes to write that kind of “Take That!” commentary in some of my own fics.

3. I freaking loved Mark Hammill as Ozai. Like fuck Ozai, but I loved how his voice was nigh indistinguishable from the Joker in the final episodes. I guess you can say Hamill really hammed it up ?

...screw you that’s funny.

4. Nightmares and Daydreams...what where they smoking, and where can I but it ?

Now for my bigger takes.

5. Zuko is both a blessing and a curse. I say this in the best possible way.

I keep seeing essays and posts about how “X is the Zuko of this work” or “Why Y and Zuko are totally different”. And I get it, Zuko is one of the - if not the - best written character arcs in the show, and possibly animation in general. He earned his place as the shows secondary protagonist. Midway through the first season, he instantly became one of my favorite characters.

The problem is, Zuko sets the Golden Standard of Redemption arcs, and set the bar so high that everyone either expects to write “X Character” to follow the same pattern, or constantly compare “Y Character” to Zuko. And as someone who seen many a redemption arc and discourse, I find “Making X character Zuko” more often than not leads to negative discourses. The closest character I’ve seen to come to matching up to Zuko was Catra. 

Depending on how problematic X character is, you cannot expect a Zuko like redemption arc; if they are mass murderers or the like, you can at best expect a Darth Vader “Redemption by Death” moment, or at best Kratos with the “Exiled Atoner” arc. As such, depending on the character, I looked to other characters besides Zuko to compare redemption arcs too.

6. Now that I got that bit out of the way, I recently discovered the Anti Katara discourse, which for the life of me I cannot wrap my mind around it. 

This one goes out for all “Traumatized teenage girls who get their flaws exaggerated, and/or are demonized for getting angry at people” - but Katara sticks out especially considering she is a fourteen year old girl who along with other kids, is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

While Sokka and even Aang have their faults and failings throughout the show, but Katara is always signaled out. I think we all know why, but others said it in better ways than I can. Really, with what Katara has been through before and throughout the show, it’s a miracle that she manages to be an angel she is for most of the show.

7. When I first started watching the series, I mentioned my annoyance that the Zutara vs Kataang discourse is already dragging me down. And this is coming from a Multi Shipper.

Having finished the series, I can firmly say I am on the Kataang side of things, and I am generally ambivalent to who other people ship or don’t ship. Personally, I see Zutara as more like Kigo - not something I can see in canon, and largely is influenced by fanon. There’s a few ships I don’t get behind canonically, but can still enjoy in an AU or Canon Divergence (eg; Sarah x Nancy from The Craft is a favorite ship of mine, but it’s almost always in the context of a Canon Divergence).

Anyways, the more I look into the Zutara vs Kataang discourse, the more it feels to me like one side was watching a completely different show, and I couldn’t get where it was coming from. Maybe I had to have watched the show in it’s hayday, but I just couldn’t see it watching the series over. Even when Zuko and Katara bond, I didn’t see that much in chemistry or dynamic that went beyond platonic. Hell, Zuko and Sokka, had more chemistry and bromance dynamic in their bonding episodes, more so than any of Zuko or Katara’s interactions. Reading a romantic interpretation into their canon relationship just came off to me as too far reaching, and reading into stuff that’s not there. 

Probably not helping is that the the worst arcs in the later Nick series, Every Witch Way, seemingly happened because fans really wanted a canon version of Zutrara in Jax and Emma, but that’s too long and distracting for me to explain here (the short version is Jax was the shows attempt at Zuko, but Jax falls into some of the same pitfalls as Kylo Ren...and even then I feel the overwhelming need to apologize to Kylo for that comparison).

Anyways, I stan Kataang, and Maiko (even though I wish the latter had more time to grow on me, but I find a lot of their scenes cute).

8. Now anyone who knows me, probably thinks I would be brainstorming fic ideas - especially crossovers - and possibly sharing them on my blog. In fact I do have such crossover ideas -one a crossover with Godzilla of all things, and LOK era follow-up that is also a Star Was crossover. I don’t know if I’ll actually write these stories, let alone share the concept, but I talked to a friend about these ideas. Most of it is focused on worldbuilding and character interactions as opposed to any arcs I have in mind.

Anyways that’s about all I have to say. This show was certainly worth the hype, and I finally caught up to a show I procrastinated for more than a decade.

[zelzenik]

my take on the infamous kataang kisses

so i just saw this post that spoke highly of Kataang and on how ATLA deals w consent and what's allowed between partners, and i'm... i'm mad, lol.

this has been spoken on before, but since these bad takes are still floating around on the internet, i feel the need to at least vent/give some sort of rebuttal.

i'm not linking or screenshotting this post, but this is word-for-word what was said regarding Kataang (questionable grammar has been transposed as well):

"One of the many things I adore about atla is how the girls are allowed to and do tell their partners off when they cross a line.... Katara gets upset with Aang for kisses her without her consent, and it's never made out to be overly dramatic or unreasonable, it's framed so that the girls are in the right."

HOW does Kataang properly convey this message??

there's a lot to unpack here. like, a lot

just to start off, yes, i'm aware that not all Kataangers believe that the kisses were consensual and can recognize how problematic (and WRONG) they were. but there are some (many) who do not

for the sake of this rebuttal, we're all going to establish and agree on what happened with the Kataang kisses. personally, in the Cave of Two Lovers episode, i don't believe they kissed - if they had kissed, the creators would've made that known in the show; in the Day of the Black Sun episode, it was clear that Katara was NOT pleased w what went down, same with the Ember Island Players episode; the finale kiss was consensual, however, in my opinion, it made absolutely no sense and came out of nowhere.

this is an address to the following various shippers within the ATLA fandom.

to those who DEFEND Aang's actions toward Katara and JUSTIFY these non-consensual kisses:

don't DO this. these portrayals of murky non-con kisses on television are so harmful!! they perpetuate this whole "nice guy" complex where a guy (or anyone) thinks that he (or they) deserve(s) or can take physical affection from others without their consent/mutual feeling. we have such an awful problem in media concerning these sorts of "nice guys" who wind up taking advantage of women simply due to the fact that they know they're nice and feel that they deserve it.

yes, Aang was a child. yes, he was in an iceberg for like 100 years. i work with plenty of preteens from the ages 10-12, and they've all been taught to respect other people's boundaries, especially when it involves romantic (and depending on how old they are, sexual) encounters; it's worth noting that, at least from my experience, guys are significantly less interested in relationships around this age than girls are!

portraying Aang in a light where he simply takes what he wants from Katara multiple times does a disservice both to him as a character and to all who watched the show without having a clear outside understanding of physical boundaries.

to those who claim that the non-con Kataang kisses are good lessons to others on consent

i might have been able to agree with you had the situations been ADDRESSED within the show! but they were NOT.

the non-con Kataang kisses are not a good example of when a girl has been made uncomfortable by a guy or has been touched nonconsensually by one and stands up for herself because we never have a scene where Katara actually stands up for herself!

between the two non-con Kataang kisses that occurred during the show, not even FRACTION of the show was dedicated toward addressing them!

okay, yes, if you rewatch the show as an older teen or an adult with accurate views on consent, then, yes, those non-con kisses can be an example of how pervasive lack of consent is within our past/current culture

but, for the most part, this show is watched by kids. it's a kids' show. ofc it's grown to be much more beyond a kids' show, and there are so many teens/adults who LOVE the ATLA fandom, and that's totally cool! i'm always anti-harassment and anti-bullying-people-for-enjoying-shows-they-love.

for a show that's primarily marketed to children, though, regardless of the time that it was made in (since the 2000's were far less up to date on consent than we are now in the 2020's), if non-con kisses are included, then they should be addressed.

they can only be good lessons if they're addressed, instead of left hanging and teaching children that such non-con kisses are rewarded.

canonizing Kataang, in a way, validated Aang's blatant ignorance of Katara's boundaries which annoys me to no end.

to those who who say that this behavior was FINE because Kataang canonically dated/married

it's not! it's really freakin not!

do you know how many women experience some form of sexual harassment or assault or rape within their lifetime?? 1 in 6!

and do you know how often these women are unable to do anything about it because the person who attacked them is someone that they love or are involved with?

just because one may be in a relationship with another person doesn't simply excuse this type of behavior.

"no" or "i don't think this is a good idea" or "i'm not feeling this" or "maybe later?" or "i don't feel so good" or "we're in the middle of a war right now" or SILENCE -> NOT CONSENT!!

regardless of your relationship with another person, if they do not respect these boundaries, then they have not respected your damn boundaries.

i don't care if they're your boyfriend or your girlfriend or your husband or your wife or your partner. whatever. if they ignore your boundaries, then they are not respecting you, point blank.

closing

it's no secret that i'm a huge anti Kataanger. i first watched the show as a teenager, and while i initially started the show off loving Kataang, as soon as i hit the non-con kisses, i was immediately turned off from the ship and became a huge Zutara shipper (not even knowing which ship was ultimately endgame but especially loving the dynamic between ZK post-Crystal Catacombs scene).

as someone who's survived a relationship with non-con elements present, i cannot in good conscience ship Kataang because of those non-con kisses.

i love both Aang and Katara too much as characters to see them portrayed in such a way. what hurts the most is that all of these issues COULD have been fixed in the show, if there'd been some sort of reconciliation between Aang and Katara, some sort of encounter where Aang recognized that what he did was wrong and Katara learned that it's okay to say no. but this did not happen. so here i am writing a meta/rant/vent about it.

i understand that this post may not be well received, but this is something i really needed to get off my chest (again) because i hate seeing people praising ATLA for its poor examples of consent within relationships. (it literally drives me crazy.)

[the-badger-mole]

I posted 838 times in 2022

That's 226 more posts than 2021!

692 posts created (83%)

146 posts reblogged (17%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@stardust948

@zutarawasrobbed

@the-badger-mole

@words4bloghere

@sokkastyles

I tagged 717 of my posts in 2022

Only 14% of my posts had no tags

#atla - 635 posts

#zutara - 450 posts

#anti aang - 210 posts

#anti kataang - 164 posts

#ask the badger mole - 157 posts

#down the road and back again - 117 posts

#down the road and back again comments - 96 posts

#ask game - 80 posts

#anti mai - 49 posts

#anti maiko - 44 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#how do you feel about the decision about miranda warnings and the courts protecting cops from financial liablity for violating your rights?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Zuko: He's Just Better Than Aang🤷🏾‍♀️

Frankly, I think Zuko in season 1 was more altruistic than Aang was during the entire series. Yes, it was the season where he was arguably at his worst, but it's also the season where he risked his life to try to save the man who had tried to murder him. He still had the injuries he sustained in the attempt, and still, Zuko tried to save him.

Meanwhile, Aang didn't go out of his way for anyone. The times he did "try to help", was more about his reputation as Avatar than actually wanting to help in those instances, and he gave up as soon as it got too hard. Remember The Great Divide? Zuko went with Sokka on a suicide mission to try and save Hakkoda. Aang wanted to run off and go play the day after Hakkoda risked his life to save him. Let that sink in. The father of the girl he allegedly "loves" has been captured trying to save Aang's life, his friends are distraught, and Aang can't muster up the empathy to sit with them to plan the next move. Not even to get in Katara's good graces. But I'm supposed to believe that Katara would realistically choose Aang over Zuko? Like...

323 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#4

Katara: Oh, that's such a pretty flower! Zuko: It's dragon lotus. It's one of my favorites. Katara: Did you get it for Mai? Zuko: er…No. Flowers aren't really her thing. Some guy was giving them out on the street to celebrate the end of the war, and well… Katara: I should see if I can get one then. Zuko: He's probably gone by now, but here, you can have this one. Katara: It's yours, though. I can't take it. Zuko: Please do! Uncle always says that the greatest aspiration of any flower is to adorn a pretty woman. Er…that is…I didn't mean to say that… Not that you aren't pretty, I'm just not…you know…it wasn't a come on Katara: trying not to laugh Don't hurt yourself, Zuko. I get it. I'll take the flower. Thank you! It smells wonderful! Zuko: In the Fire Nation, women wear these in their hair. Katara: Oh? Tucks flower behind her ear Like that? Zuko: Yes, but I think it'll be more secure in your bun. May I?….There. That's perfect. And Uncle was right

426 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

#3

I saw one of your post from a couple of weeks ago where you mentioned you are a Christian. How can you support abortion?

Well, first of all, pro-choice isn't pro-abortion. I just want to make sure that's clear. I don't think anyone is pro-abortion for abortion's sake. Second, I chose to be a Christian. I had to study and pray and get advice and really weigh my decision before I got baptized, and it was months before I finally made my choice (and I have a few friends who took years to make that decision). There's a lot that I do or don't do because I'm a Christian and I hold the bible as my standard, but I had a choice in the matter. Now, I am abstinent because I believe sex is for marriage, and I only date men who agree. But not everyone in this country is a Christian. Not everyone chooses abstinence or celibacy. Not everyone wants a child. Not everyone should have children. None of that is my business.

Who am I to force the standards I chose onto someone who didn't choose them? And who am I to force a life-altering decision on someone after I was given so much agency on my own life-altering decision? I truly believe that banning abortion will do more harm than good in the long run, especially if these nuance-free pro-life radicals actually succeed in criminalizing contraceptives and birth control, and in completely getting sex ed taken out of schools. Which is looking likelier by the hour.

426 notes - Posted June 29, 2022

#2

Here's the thing that gets me about the whole "Zutara is anti-feminist" take. Their relationship in canon is platonically supportive after they reconcile. Before that, they met as enemies in battle, yes, but there was nothing inherently sexist in how Zuko interacted with Katara, especially in comparison to how she was treated by her own friends and allies, and even her own brother.

Romantic Zutara is completely fan-created (canon chemistry notwithstanding), and a large portion (if not most) of the creators, as far as I can tell, identify as women. In those fan creations, Katara gets to be a world leader who is loved by a supportive man who adores her strength and is there for her in her weak moments. Zutara the ship is at its core very feminine. Also, except for making the romance overt instead of subtextual, that's pretty much how Zuko treated her in canon after they became friends. Compare that to what Katara is reduced to in the actual canon, and it's hard to understand why anyone would think that of the two ships Zutara is the one that is anti-feminist and bad for Katara.

502 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You know, I often lament the fact that Katara lost out on a supportive partner who respected and trusted her when Zutara didn't happen, but Zuko lost out, too. He lost out on marrying into a family that would have given him the love, encouragement and support that they gave each other. Hakoda, Sokka and Bato would have taken such joy in introducing Zuko to the SWT customs that were handed down from father to son for generations. Hakoda would have absolutely given him as much advice as he could as a leader in his own right balancing the duties of chiefdom and family. Kanna would have grown to love this uncertain boy king who didn't think it was a humiliation to help her around the home. He missed out on having a wife who would back him up and advise him as he figured out how to be the leader his country needed. No matter how bad things got in the Fire Nation, he would have had a tight-knit family support group to make sure he got through it.

When you take a step back and look at all the ways Katara and Zuko would have filled in for what the other was missing, I get annoyed all over again that all that parallel and convergent development was set aside for pairings that were somehow the blandest and most toxic that anyone on that writing team could have come up with. It is so clear that Zutara was supposed to be endgame and they got robbed for Bryke's pet ship.

853 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[godofevrerything]

How Zutara Should’ve Happened (my take anyways, if Zuko still joined the Gaang in Season Three)

Alright, so I’m a Zutara shipper. Anyways, here’s my rant of the day.

So, if Zutara were to be cannon, let’s say that we wouldn’t change the cannon, other than that. Also full disclaimer, I don’t really like Kataang. It’s cute, and sweet, buuuut I think that they would be better off single or with other people. I personally ship Taang so much-

When I first watched it, I really wanted Katara to end up single. I thought that would be a fitting ending for her story. But hey, she didn’t, and that’s fine.

This is not an anti Kataang post, seriously. If you ship it, cool, I don’t, but everyone had different opinions. Just please don’t come to my inbox and yell at me.

Aight, under the cut bc it got long.

So, if we weren’t gonna change the cannon, Zuko still joins in season three and all. Katara and him would still have a rocky relationship at first, and for good reason, I mean wtf Zuko what happened at the CoTL?

Rant for another day

Anyways-

What I would think is that Katara couldn’t help but notice how Zuko is trying to gain their, and her trust. I mean, she’s pissed but still, she notices. It doesn’t make her forgive him or anything, and it shouldn’t, but she does see it.

Now, I’m thinking little moments. Like when he shoved her out of the way of the falling rocks? Yeah, she still snaps at him, but maybe after she’s a little less fiery. Just a bit.

And then after TSR, things start to change. Of course, we get the iconic hug, but!! I want another scene, when they’re coming back from the trip.

One thing that always bothers me when I read Zutara stuff is that writers rarely address Zukos betrayal in TCoTL. Like,,, maybe I haven’t read the right fanfics but c’mon guys.

I really think, no, I know that Katara and Zuko should address that. I really want a scene, when they’re coming back, while Katara is sorting out whether to forgive him or not, I want them to talk about it. And sorry if it’s OOC- But Like so:

Katara: Why did you do it?

Zuko: ...do what?

Katara: Why did you fight with Azula? I thought you changed, I thought you would’ve fought with us.

Zuko: I-

[ a moment of quiet]

Zuko: I thought about it, and I almost did-

Katara: [turns around to face him] Then why didn’t you? Why did you choose that?

Zuko: I wanted my honor. I wanted to go home, and I thought- I though that if I fought with her, I could get my honor back.

[Katara doesn’t answer.]

Zuko: But Im sorry. I am.

Katara, quietly: I thought you changed...

Zuko: I have, now, I mean.

Katara: Why was your honor so important to you anyways? And what do you mean by ‘wanted to go home’?

Zuko: I- I was banished. Until I found the Avatar, I couldn’t go back.

[Katara turns, studying him, then turns back around]

Katara: ...You couldn’t go back, ever?

Zuko: No.

[She doesn’t speak after that, and neither does he.]

Okay, so maybe that was too OOC, but they did need to have a conversation something like that. A conversation where Zuko explained, at least a bit about why he fought with Azula.

And then, after that, the hug and forgiveness. But that was a turning point in their relationship, and I don’t like that so little fic writers address that.

And then!! I want little moments. Just small moments, maybe a bit more teasing, a bit more concern on Kataras part.

Also, let’s face it: Zuko would be simping. Katara wouldn’t be lovey dovey, no, she wouldn’t. Zuko would be the simp, Zuko would be the one stuttering slightly at teasing and stuff.

Just little moments, nothing big bc c’mon, they’re kids. They’re teenagers in the belp middle of a war.

Speaking of which! I really want one more scene between them. After Aangs noncon kiss in the Ember Island Players, I want there to be a scene where Zuko finds Katara and she vents to him.

Also I’ve been losing my damn mind trying to find a gif series for that bc someone on Tumblr made it and I can’t find it- fkdndd

Okay, but along with a huge chunk of the fandom, it really makes me mad that they didn’t show more of Kataras reaction, and that Aang didn’t apologize. Like wtf Aang.

I would’ve been fine with anyone coming to Katara, or telling Aang that was wrong but- Didn’t happen. They just glossed over that part smh.

But! Say Zuko were to come and talk with her about it. And then at the end, he might ask her why she was confused, Maybe something like this:

Zuko: If you don’t mind, why are you so confused?

Katara: I don’t know! But it’s in the middle of war. It isn’t over, and now isn’t the time for... for romance.

Zuko: But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be happy. I mean, look at Sokka.

Katara: I’m not Sokka.

[They both go quiet for a minute]

Katara: Sorry, Im just... It’s too much to deal with right now, and we have to focus on ending the war.

Zuko: No, I get that. It’s fine.

Katara: I’m just- I’m confused, and now isn’t the time and-

[She pauses, and the two look at each other for a moment. All is quiet.]

Zuko: I.. can go, if you want. If you need some space.

Katara: Yeah, that would probably help.

[Zuko walks away. As he does, Katara is staring at his back, a thoughtful expression on her face]

Yes, yes, I think that would make sense in the romance line. Mirroring when Zuko was staring at Kataras back.

Alright, so everything would be same, up to Katara healing Zuko after the Agni Kai. But there would be subtle differences. She takes his hand and holds it instead of putting her hand on his back. No big “I love you” or whatever. Just holds his hand, and maybe a line like “We- I could’ve lost you!” Maybe.

And then! One last thing, instead of that long Kataang kiss at the end, a scene between Katara and Zuko, talking about their futures.

I’m a really big fan of Water Tribe Ambassador Katara, and it shows.

Katara: So.. Fire Lord Zuko, huh? Finally regained your honor?

Zuko: [groans] Yes, now stop it.

Katara: [laughs] Nope, never gonna stop.

[Theres a minute of quiet]

Zuko: And what about you? Are you going back to the SWT?

Katara: I am. The Northern and Southern tribes... they need to connect again, not become one, but the connection was frayed with the war, and someone has to take a step to rebuild it.

Zuko: What about the Air Temples?

Katara: That’s up to Aang. I’ll help him of course, we all will, but he’s the last air bender. He’ll take care of them, like I’ll take care of the Water tribes.

Zuko: With Sokka too, I’m guessing.

Katara: I don’t know about that, actually. Sokka may want to travel a bit, scope out the world.

Zuko: And you don’t?

Katara: I do, and I will. Sokka and I, regardless of whatever travel, we’ll work together to take care of the tribes.

Zuko: [chuckles] And I’ll be here. I’m going to try to undo the damage the war did. Open up relations again in the Earth Kingdom, sort out the colonies.

Katara: Don’t overwork yourself.

Zuko: You shouldn’t either.

[She laughs, and stops in front of the pond, looking at the turtle ducks]

Katara: Zuko..

Zuko: What?

Katara: [turns to face him] We... went through a lot. And I have something that I need to tell you.

Zuko, sweating slightly: ..yes?

Katara: Relax, it’s nothing bad!

Katara: I..

[Katara takes his hand and smiles. Zukos eyes widen and he looks down at their hands]

Katara: Well?

[Zuko looks back up and smiles at her.]

Zuko: You’re going to visit sometime, right?

Katara: Course I will.

[He smiles again, and intertwines their fingers. It’s quiet once more, then off in the distance, Sokka yells something]

Katara: [laughs] Now c’mon, your Honor. Let’s go.

[She pulls Zuko down the path towards their friends, and all their laughter can be heard. The End comes up, and the credits roll]

So!!

No big ily confession, no long kiss. Why? Because they’re kids. They’re fourteen and sixteen, there shouldnt be an ily, there shouldn’t be an uncomfortably long kiss.

Later, of course. But now? Let’s them just hold hands and tease each other and relax a bit.

Anyways, that’s my Zutara rant of the day, thanks for listening.