#im never shutting up about zutara

[8thmuse]

i think a lot of people miss the part where zutara is not enemies to lovers

its an enemies to friends to lovers, which is just such a better trope, and it highlights their friendship while not denying the fact that they definitely had some romantic feelings for eachother

[mal3vol3nt]

Hi. You’re probably tired of seeing me dump stuff like this. (I’ll try to make this the last time). But I have to vent to someone. Because I see this one guy, claim to not hate Aang, only to villainize him to a ridiculous extent, acting like he’s unempathetic, forcing Katara to tend to his emotional needs and this user completely downplays Aang’s genocidal trauma. Not to be rude, but how much of a heartless prick do you have to be to invalidate genocide and the trauma it can cause. These fake fans should honestly keep their mouths shut about this show, they clearly don’t understand it.

the southern raiders episode needs to be freed from the zutara fandom i swear. i’m fully convinced they never actually watched that episode cause it literally ends with katara saying she still didn’t forgive yon rha and aang accepting that. he literally says “im proud of you”. it was never her anger at the man that aang disagreed with, it was the action she planned on doing—murder—that he wanted to talk her down from. not for yon rha’s sake, but for her’s. so even though she didn’t forgive him, aang respected that and was able to recognize the strength and validity in her decision. i’m so tired of repeating this rebuttal to this stupid as fuck argument

aang doesn’t force her to do anything in the entire series. katara has her own agency and free will to do as she pleases and not a single character has ever taken that away from her, and the one time where her freedom was threatened (by pakku), she fought for it and ensured she got her way. when yall say aang takes her agency away from her, you’re also ignoring the core traits of katara: her fierceness, her determination, her ability to recognize what’s right for herself, and her sense of justice

she never blindly follows or takes direction from anyone. when aang tried telling her and sokka to stay put while he made the trip to see roku in the fire nation, katara (and sokka) put her foot down and refused to listen. she demanded that they go with him, and he accepted them making that choice for themselves. when sokka tried convincing her to leave after she met up with haru and they had the chance to escape from the fire nation ship, she refused and said she wasn’t abandoning the rest of the earthbenders. her decision was respected by both aang and sokka. in fact, there are so many instances of her making her own decisions regardless of what anyone else says that it would be impossible for me to list them all. she never succumbs to what aang or anyone else wants, and she always makes her genuine thoughts on an important decision known. katara does not need anyone to tell her what to do nor does she allow anyone to tell her what to do. this is the same girl who single handedly changed the “no girls allowed” rule in the northern water tribe after having been told “you can’t do that”. yall think she would let aang walk all over her??? please put some respect on her name

now this may be a controversial take but i don’t care it’s the truth: comparing sokka and katara losing their mom to aang losing his entire culture and people is actually insane and insensitive but not for the reason zutaras think. its because absolutely nothing any other character went through can compare to what aang did, and to diminish his tragedy by saying katara’s trauma surrounding her mom’s death is somehow worse is actual insanity and i need yall to go to prison LMAO

katara did not witness her mom get murdered. that only happened in natla and i refuse to acknowledge that. she ran out of the tent to go tell her dad that a fire nation soldier was with their mom and when she came back, the man was gone and kya was dead. still insanely traumatic, but she was not literally standing there watching as kya burned to death

that’s literally what happened with aang. from his perspective, he had just seen gyatso only a few hours ago. gyatso was alive literally moments ago in his mind and then he was greeted with his decayed skeleton among the bodies of unwelcome fire nation soldiers. just like katara experienced insane whiplash from that heartbreaking change, to see someone alive only to come back to them gone, aang went through roughly the same thing

the only difference is aang didn’t just lose gyatso, he lost all his friends and mentors as well. and he didn’t just lose all his friends and mentors, he lost every single person who looked like him. and he didn’t just lose every single person who looked like him, he lost everyone he had grown close to and seen from the other nations. and he didn’t just lose everyone he had grown close to and seen from the other nations, he lost the animals native to the airbending temples. and he didn’t just lose the animals native to the airbending temples, he lost the native plants as well. and he didn’t just lose the native plants, he lost the structural beauty and integrity of the air temples. and he didn’t just lose the structural beauty and integrity of the air temples, he lost the ability to practice his cultural customs with others. and he didn’t just lose the ability to practice his cultural customs with others, he lost the ability to bend his native element with others. and he didn’t just lose the ability to bend his native element with others, he lost the time to mourn for all that he lost

i’m sorry to those of you who wanna believe your favs have suffered more than anyone else in the series, but none of their tragedies compare to aang’s. and i don’t believe in downplaying what the others went through to support a fandom narrative, but this is literally just me acknowledging the severity of aang’s story. to suggest any one else has gone through more is to be ignorant and nothing anyone can say will ever convince me otherwise

only reason yall think zuko or katara or sokka or toph or azula or whoever the fuck else is more tragic than aang is because all of their traumas are more relatable to the everyday person whereas aang’s is something that most people can’t even comprehend

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

[jinpanman]

fandom ship tag game

@cutechim wants me to die apparently.

i like really tragic ships apparently. lmaaoooo

** WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW “THE MAGICIANS” you have been warned. also a lot of Feelings coming from yours truly.

tagging: @hueseok​ @triviafics​ @bonvoyagenoona​ @playmetheclassics​​ @breadoffoxy​ @yoonia​ and anyone else who wants to suffer picking only 9 ships out of 89247!!! (as always, clean copy at the bottom of this post for anyone who wants to do this!)

 

first ship

how am i supposed to remember my first ever ship?????? my age and inner furry is about to show....hahahaha

shut up. stop laughing at me. balto and jenna. wow. just- the way they support each other. care for each other without shame or embarrassment. yeah. ok. i will. shut my mouth right now before i incriminate myself even more than i already have.

 

first OTP

my god.....do i even need to explain myself????? these two are garrett and kayley from quest for camelot in case you don’t know who they are. my god. my god it’s been over 20 years and i still ship them so freaking hard. wow. whew. gotta pause to fan myself from all this Chemistry and mutual respect and admiration and love...whew....

 

your ship since the first minute

ur fuckin’ lying if you say you don’t ship them. literally usui is Best Man to Ever Exist Ever and aiyuzawa is the most selfless genius hard working understanding kind human bean ever. i will love usui to the end of my days.

runner up: rapunzel and eugene from tangled. who doesn’t love them?!??!?!?!????!?

 

ship(s) you wish had become endgame

literally fuck the show. for this. fuck you for giving us the most beautiful fucking short lived (but also not--if you know then you know) romance ever. fuck them. fuck fukcukfukcufkc FUCK!!!!! literally fuck them.

i cant fucking believe they made q die BEFORE HE EVER GOT TO REUNITE WITH ELIOT EVER AGAIN WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!!!!!!!!1 THEY SPENT A WHOLE LIFETIME TOGETHER. A WHOLE LIFETIME THAT THEY NEVER GOT TO TALK ABOUT. Q SPENT BASICALLY A WHOLE SEASON TRYING TO SAVE ELIOT. ONLY TO FUCKING DIE. ELIOT HAD TO MOURN THE LOSS OF SOMETHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SO WONDERFUL SO GREAT SO FUCKING FANTASTIC. HE DESERVED TO HAVE IT. THEY DESERVED EACH OTHER. WHAT THE FUCK.

i can’t even. i’m like crying again. so i must stop now. as you can see. i am. very. passionate about them. oh yeah. them being quentin and eliot from the magicians.

 

ship you wish was canon

......you will always be my original baby girl

......you are my god given solace

(god what the fuck im crying again hahahaha)

we were robbed. we were fucking robbed. and i will never forgive criminal minds for this. never. morcia ftw. morcia forever. my forever otp.

 

ship that most of the fandom hates but you love

ahahahaha...... listen.... i dont think most of the fandom necessarily hates this ship but uuhhh.... i do know that you either love em or hate em and there is no in-between hahaha

literally fight me if you’re against zutara. hahahahaha. i will die on this hill.

runner up: yosano and shishio from daytime shooting star (lmfao ok go ahead and judge me for this idc hahahaha i also love yosano with mamura and i am glad it ended the way it did. zutara tho............zutara was done dirty.....i will never forgive......)

 

you don't even watch the show, but you ship it

ok this is kind of a cheat since i did watch the first season of the 100. also maybe the 2nd season??? i dont remember. i just remember i dropped it and my brother kept on watching it. but still. bellamy and clarke. i ship it. even tho i couldn’t stand clarke A Lot when i watched the show lol

 

ship you wish had a different storyline

i literally never cared for the main pairing in goblin 💀 i only stayed for grim reaper and sunny im not even kidding. tragic. forever tragic.... i just want them to be happy wtf ;;;;_____;;;; yes i made myself cry watching sad videos of them on youtube

runner up: moon lovers’ hae soo and wang so (sob sob sobsob eternally)

 

favorite ship that is endgame

i literally love them so much forever and ever and ever. they are so good for and to each other. if you haven’t seen this kdrama yet then i implore that you do!!!!!! It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

 

clean copy:

fandom ship tag game

first ship first OTP your ship since the first minute ship(s) you wish had become endgame ship you wish was canon ship that most of the fandom hates but you love you don't even watch the show, but you ship it ship you wish had a different storyline favorite ship that is endgame

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

Do you hc Zuko as autistic? Just because of the stimming.

If so what other things does he do? How does it affect his life?

Something serious and/or fluffy?

Also add in a bit of zutara if you want 😊

hi anon! thank you for the ask! im sorry it took me so long to get this but i hope you enjoy!! (i do hc zuko as autistic, i think it makes sense with his character)

Zuko always felt that there was something... different about him. He didn’t understand the rules and always felt like he was drowning under the pressure of his father. It frustrated him when he saw Azula doing so well when he could never understand or follow his father’s commands. 

Ursa was his best caretaker. While she never knew exactly what to do, being around her always helped calm him down. Since he started reading, he was obsessed with old plays that his mother used to perform. When he was small, Ursa would read him and Azula the old plays written with old grammar. Though it was hard to understand what the words meant, Zuko started using more of those words in his own vocabulary. He also started doing his own research in the library, he found old spirit myths and had every story memorized. Azula used to like that about her big brother, she looked up to him and wanted to be like him. But Ozai would get mad whenever he saw Zuko do something ‘weird.’ She grew to resent Zuko for being like that. Not only did Father hate him, but his little book club kept Mother away from her. 

Iroh was never really around for Zuko’s childhood. He cared for Zuko has a baby, sure, but once he became a toddler, Iroh was forced to start taking his military career seriously. He didn’t really see Zuko again until he was 12. 

Zuko was very different then. Since Ursa left, his anxiety was over whelming for him. He covered his ears at any and all loud noises, he was unlocking his jaw when he was bored, and he never looked anyone in the eyes while talking to them. When Zuko was banished, Iroh went with him to try to help him. 

But... Zuko didn’t like the sea. He loved water and swimming, but being on a boat was terrible. Ozai knew that his son didn’t respond well to loud noises and assigned him the loudest ship available. It was difficult for Zuko to get through his banishment because he could never get over the sounds of sea life. Metal would clang, engines would roar, and his crew chatted among themselves. Iroh thought music night would help and it kinda did, but not in the way he thought. All Zuko did was bury himself under his covers as he treasured the few moments he got to be by himself. 

When he joined the gaang, Zuko finally felt understood. At first, he couldn’t stand to be around Toph, she was always so loud and Zuko didn’t want to get mad at her. They had a conversation one day where Toph agreed to keep the volume down if he made an effort to hang out with her more. She was the person who understood this part of him most, she was blind and understood not liking loud noises. They were distressing for her so she decided as a child that she would be the loudest in the room so it could never scare her. 

Aang was also easy to get along with. The avatar was a boy out of his time and was very happy that there was someone else who used old fashion words (though Zuko still hated ‘Sifu Hotman.’) Suki was also able to connect with Zuko as one of his obsessions on the sea was the avatar’s past lives. One of his favorites was Kyoshi and was dying to try Suki’s fans. 

He and Sokka were quick friends. They balanced each other well. Zuko was impulsive and impersonal and Sokka was the plan guy and bubbly. Zuko didn’t show much emotion on his face and Sokka made it his personal mission to try to get Zuko to smile.

Once he and Katara became friends, she became his favorite person. She loved to hear about the old myths and plays he read, she thought his vocabulary was sweet, and she wasn’t draining to be around. The first time Zuko stimmed, he freaked out. Father always punished him when he did at the palace. He moved his jaw up and down, squeezed his eyes shut and wiped his hand in his scar like it would be gone if he used enough pressure. She didn’t understand why he was freaking out about her seeing him stim. 

She never pressured him to talk to her, but he opened up to her about his life. Because he had trouble sleeping, he would often be awake with her during the night and they talked until the morning. Touch was still weird to him, but he found he liked it when he held her. He also liked to take care of a lot of simple house chores, which Katara was extremely thankful for. 

Katara never babied him, nor did Zuko ever want her to. They were both grown, mature people and understood that Zuko was very much a functioning adult. Katara loved him because he was fun and thoughtful and good. Zuko loved Katara because she was kind, smart, and strong. They were as perfect for each other as two people can be. While the crying of their children could be overwhelming for him at times, he never gave up on himself and became the loving father Ozai never was. 

[firelxdykatara]

on the topic of nsfw content in the atla fandom. tumblr actually mentions that if a blog is flagged as nsfw than the user must over 18 if they want to look at it. so the entire discourse is forgetting to mention that if things are tagged properly than it is literally fine to post whatever u want.

it’s so weird because like, there’s very little nsfw content that isn’t text-based on tumblr right now--there hasn’t been since the porn purge, except the porn bots who still abound because tumblr can’t actually do anything right, but that’s neither here nor there--and even if there were, i’m a whole adult, and i almost never just ‘stumble’ onto NSFW/M/E material, either in fics or art, in this fandom unless i specifically go looking for it.

I don’t have safesearch enabled, and I googled every major shipname from atla--zutara, kataang, taang, sukka (this one i had to search ‘sukka avatar’ because apparently sukka is a food dish), mailee, tyzula, zukka--and didn’t find a single piece of nsfw art. not a single one. i probably could have if i spent hours digging through the images, or if i specifically added something nsfw to the search terms, but im sorry, little kids just googling ships and characters from atla aren’t gonna accidentally stumble on porn. Especially since one would hope that if adults live in a house with little kids who they allow to use the internet unsupervised, they’d have safesearch turned on. That’s what it’s there for!

(”But kids could figure out how to turn it off-” yeah, and when I was 13 I lied about my age and wrote a ton of harry potter smut with people who thought i was 17/18. That was on me, not them, and if you had to stretch it then it’d be on my parents for not monitoring what I did online. But I was a hell of a lot more scarred by A Child Called It than writing about teenagers at magic school who snuck off to the Forbidden Forest to have sex. [Don’t ask me why, I have no idea, but the Forbidden Forest was THE PLACE for characters to be having sex on all the sites I was on back then.])

So what’s really going on is a handful of 16 and 17-year-olds (who are more than old enough to moderate their online experiences) and young twenty-somethings who are enabling them (because they’re Literal Babies and Must Be Protected i guess, despite them being nearly adults and capable of using the tools given to them to moderate the content they consume and are exposed to), who are enraged that this content even exists. They are hiding behind ‘what if little kids see it’ like it’s some kind of shield, but the fact is, little kids are not going to just ‘stumble’ onto this content.

Little kids are not going to google ‘atla’ and find porn, even if their parents are irresponsible and don’t have safesearch enabled and aren’t monitoring their young child’s internet usage. (And if these children are so young that they couldn’t handle exposure to explicit material, and also couldn’t be expected to understand how to avoid it, they should not be online unsupervised. Period. It isn’t the job of anyone online to protect them--that job is up to their parents. Take it up with the people who are actually supposed to be raising and protecting these kids. Don’t expect strangers online to do the protecting for you.) Little kids are not going to accidentally find explicit material and be irreparably scarred for life. It just isn’t going to happen.

Little kids are also extremely unlike to be visiting ao3, and if they are, then they are in violation of the tos since ao3 is age-restricted to 13-year-olds and above. Anyone who is 13 and allowed online with no or minimal supervision can handle accidentally seeing or reading about sex, and they are certainly old enough to read and understand what the ratings on fics mean. If they click on an M or E fic and then click through the ‘this material is intended for adults’ warning, and then, shocker of shockers, find adult material behind the warning, then they should either deal with it or blame themselves or clicking on something they knew would contain material they weren’t prepared to handle.

The same goes for anything on twitter that is flagged as sensitive and hidden accordingly. If kids on twitter click past that sensitivity warning and then see a penis, that’s on them! They chose to ignore the warning and click to view the content anyway! They are at that point responsible for what they have just been exposed to, and it isn’t going to do lasting harm unless something is very wrong in their lives, and at that point the fault is with the adults who were supposed to raise and protect them, not the content they saw online.

Anyway, this weird purity crusade in the atla fandom is just... well, weird, lmfao. Like, yeah, it’s a show that’s aimed at children, and most of the children who were old enough to watch and love it when it began (I turned 14 like a month after the show premiered, though I didn’t actually watch it until I was an adult but I knew of it) are adults now! Many of them still love it, and want to engage with the material as adults, or imagine the characters as adults (and I’ve seen someone literally say that if you write nsfw material with the characters aged up you’re ‘picturing actual children’ and like???? no that’s not how it works shut the fuck up) doing adult things. There are many people just barely getting into the show/fandom as adults who feel similarly! There are people who want to explore their own feelings re: teenage sexuality with these characters at their canon ages, too, and that’s just fine! The vast majority of the YA genre wouldn’t exist if not for adults exploring teenage sexuality via teenage characters.

But the point is, the vast majority of this content is clearly marked. Children who are old enough to be on tumblr or ao3 or twitter (all of which have 13 as the bare minimum age allowed for registered users) are also old enough to use the tools at their disposal on all of these sites to avoid content which makes them uncomfortable. If they aren’t old enough for that, then their parents need to be keeping a closer eye on what they do online. But it isn’t up to adults to sanitize their own content just to help minors (the loudest of whom in this discourse right now are very close to being adults themselves, if you’re 17 i really don’t wanna fucking hear how ‘uncomfortable’ nsfw content existing makes you feel, you’re almost an adult, either avoid that content or get the fuck over it) feel ‘safe’ in fandom.

Our responsibility, as adults, begins and ends with tagging content appropriately so that anyone who doesn’t wanna engage (which, by the way, can include other adults; some grown ups don’t like nsfw content either!) can avoid it. And if you find someone on tumblr who isn’t tagging their content? Block them! It’s literally that simple.

[levitatingbiscuits]

catch up meme

Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know/catch up with. Tagged by @glimmerglanger thank you <33

3 ships: im doing an f/f m/m m/f trifecta. kenfetti/jangobi bc im obsessed, azutara or yuetara bc i cant just pick ONE, zutara because this ship practically invented modern fandom

Last song: hold on need to check my ipod. okay it’s feel flow by the beach boys

Last movie: my friend and i tried to have a zoom watch party for fargo because he never shuts up about the coen brothers but then he got bored and we watched the office instead lol

Currently reading: the masked city by genevieve cogman. i read this in a hospital waiting room the other day and like 3 people asked me if i took it out for the bants but nope the universe just aligned

Currently watching: asobi asobase rewatch. it’s a gag anime and i love it to death

Currently consuming: just ate an apple. but not like a good apple the kind you find in cafeterias and delis

Currently craving: y’all ever had gyro pizza?? food of the gods. even better cold. it’s from this one restaurant that i just learned is NOT a chain so holy shit if they ever close i’m gonna riot

i’ll tag some people in my activity page @spaceguylewis @tsukillamas @jcopper @elenathehun @ahardno @yellowisharo @starringbaguette @roxygobyebye @thenegoteator

[mytholora]

do you hear my heart beating

Fandom: Mamamoo

Rated: T

Pairings: Moonsun

Characters: Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, Hwasa

Summary: Yongsun knows she’s an idiot but she’d thought herself to be an idiot with good ideas.

Yongsun knows she’s an idiot but she’d thought herself to be an idiot with good ideas.

They’re in a seedy club at some inhumane hour of the morning. Byulyi has somehow managed to convince her to go even though she’s got a paper due tomorrow and hasn’t washed her hair in 3 days.

“ISN’T THIS AMAZING?” Byulyi yells over the crowd of people wildly bumping their bodies into each other and the blaring music. It’s humid. Yongsun’s sure she’s stepped on something gross. At least 2 people have tried grinding on her, she doesn’t know. What she does know is that Byulyi’s holding her hand tight and she’s about to spontaneously combust.

“It’s really loud in here!”

“WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Byul makes a pained face at her, stretching back to hear her better.

“WHAT Oh—never mind.” Yongsun sighs, realising that no matter how loud she shouts, Byulyi can’t hear her over the loud music. How is she supposed to flirt with Byulyi if they can’t even hear each other? Another body falls on her and Yongsun is this close to biting someone’s ear off. She grunts under the weight of a clearly inebriated body and struggles to push him back on his feet. Of course this fucking caveman has to fall on me, of all the people in this hellcave.

Suddenly, Byulyi appears in front of her and pushes the man off her.

“Hey, watch where you’re falling, asshole!” Byulyi snarls, anger flaring in her eyes, arms holding Yongsun closely, tightly, and Yongsun feels her face heat up as she presses herself closer to Byulyi’s frame.

“Thanks, bodyguard,” Yongsun breathes out.

“WHAT?”

“I said thanks!”

“WHAT?”

“Forget it!”

“...WHAT?”

“LET’S JUST GO!”

“I can’t hear you, let’s just go!” Byulyi pulls her arm to signal her to start moving and they start wading through the swamp of people once more. A light bulb flickers to life above Yongsun’s head instantly. They can barely hear themselves in the noise, much less each other. It’s an opportunity falling on her lap and Yongsun’s damned if she won’t take it.

She clears her throat. “Your hands really turn me on.”

Byulyi doesn’t even turn around to look at her, just keeps pushing forward through the crowd. Yongsun bites back laughter and squeezes Byulyi’s hand. She turns around at that, tilting her head in slight confusion, face sporting a grin. Yongsun shakes her head and they continue moving as glee at the prospect of what she can do in her current situation fills her up.

Walking deeper in still, the club gets louder and darker even though Yongsun didn’t think it was possible mere minutes ago.

“Hey, hot ass lady holding my hand,” Yongsun tries. “Could we go get some drinks before hitting the dance floor?” No reaction.

“You sexy beast. Hold me tight. Grab my tiddies and drag me into a kiss.”

Nothing. If Byulyi can hear her, she doesn’t show any indication that she does.

It’s even better than I thought, Yongsun thinks incredulously. She gives a tug to the hand that’s holding hers.

“Can we get a drink first?” She asks in her normal voice, not even trying to compete against the noise. Byulyi frowns and leans closer, lips forming a ‘what’. Yongsun smiles and gestures towards what distinctly looks like a bar and tilts her head back to mimic the act of drinking. Byulyi perks up, nods, and they head off to a new destination.

It’s a little quieter at the bar, the air still shaking with heavy bass, but Yongsun can actually hear her own thoughts now. A familiar beautiful woman with a smouldering gaze is already waiting for them at the bar, an eyebrow raised, and Yongsun fights back a blush when the woman glances between Byulyi and herself as they walk towards her.

“Surprise!” Byulyi yells and almost leaps across the counter to wrap the woman in a hug.

“How did you manage to find me? I barely started working, like, two days ago!” Hyejin laughs, arms going around to return the hug before pulling Yongsun into another smothering one.

“I have my sources!” Byulyi says and Hyejin rolls her eyes.

“Wheein! Of course.”

“Where is she anyway? She owes me 15 bucks!” Hyejin motions to somewhere behind her and not even a moment later, a young dimpled girl appears beside Hyejin and squeals, dragging all four of them into a group huddle.

“HELL YEAH! The gang’s back together for a night of booze and bad decisions!” She jumps around excitedly and Yongsun feels her heart melt at the sight. She glances at Hyejin and Byulyi and she’s sure she’s not the only one. They are all soft for Wheein and her bubbly energy.

“Making bad decisions won’t be a problem with how fucking LOUD this place is! Are the speakers busted or something?” Yongsun winces as the music somehow gets louder than before, a remix of some top 10 EDM song reverberating in her skull.

“We don’t really know why but the other bartenders tell us it’s the DJ! He always plays the music this loud just cuz it ‘sets him in the mood’!” Wheein explains and Byulyi rolls her eyes.

“What an asshole.”

“Right?! Most of the DJs we’ve met here are really nice but he’s the only one that’s a big meanie! Just earlier tonight he…” Wheein launches into a story and Byulyi listens attentively, straining her neck forward to pick up on Wheein’s excited chatter. Hyejin quickly fills up two mugs with some cheap beer for them and is off to respond to a customer calling for her. Byulyi sends a wink her way as thanks before focusing her attention back onto Wheein and her flailing arms.

Yongsun adores that part of Byulyi that is so attentive and pays attention to details. The one that tries her best to be inclusive. The one with so much kindness and care in her heart. It was a quality that attracted so many of her friends to her and helped her to easily make more.

“I love you so much,” Yongsun stares at Byulyi and the words slip out before she can stop it. A spike of anxiety stabs her before realising that it is too loud for anyone to pick up what she’s saying. “That jacket looks great around you but you know what would look better? Me.”

Byulyi doesn't react. She’s still listening attentively to Wheein’s enthusiastic storytelling. It’s a chance she can’t miss.

“You funky lesbian, why the fuck are you so perfect, huh? Wanna fight? Wanna sit on my face? I dare you. I’m so in love with you. I’m not even joking. I would lay my life down for you like a knight for her queen, except like, I don’t wanna die, so maybe not. I’d fight a man for you, though. I’d choke all the men in the world for you. Fuck, you look so good. Marry me.”

Yongsun is on a roll, spitting out cheesy compliments and flirty pick-up lines. She says it to no-one in particular, keeping her eyes on the hyper duo next to her as she nurses her drink in one hand.

That is, until she realises her phone has been incessantly buzzing in her pocket. It’s enough to get her to take it out and look through her notifications.

Hyegi: oi

Hyegi: im on the other side

Hyegi: bitch dont ignore me look here

Hyegi: are u talking to yourself or smth wat the fuck

Hyegi: who you talking to

Hyegi: oh my god

Hyegi: SKJSHDSJFH

Hyegi: omg u hopeless gay

Hyegi: sit on your face???

Hyegi: yong pls

Hyegi: pls do not start fighting here i dont wanna be fired

Hyegi: im begging you pls stop

Hyegi: o fuk that’s so NSFW im gagging

Hyegi: bicth

Hyegi: thicc byulssy???? UVE GONE TOO FAR

Hyegi: HELLO!! LOOK HERE ASSHOLE!!!

Yongsun is absolutely mortified. Her eyes quickly dart to where Hyejin is leaning against the counter a few metres away, smoothly typing away on her phone, as if she didn’t just ruin Yongsun’s entire night in a few texts. Hyejin glances up to look at her and smirks. Yongsun's fight or flight response is fully activated and screaming at her to somehow knock Hyejin unconscious and make her lose all memory of tonight.

Yong: FUCK

Yong: dkjfhsljdfh

Yong: what the fuck

Hyegi: calm down

Yong: im gonna fukcking

Yong: what the FUCK

Hyegi: CHILL i wont tell

Yong: i will die on the spot if you do

Hyegi: please dont

Yong: DIE you hear me

Hyegi: I WONT I SWEAR

Yong: this whole time

Yong: how

Yong: did you bug me with a mic

Hyegi: what?? no i can lip read

Yong: how? since when??? what the fuck

Hyegi: took a course back in college

Yong: why

Hyegi: i wanted to be a spy

Yong: uh

Yong: ok

Yong: anyway pls dont spill

Hyegi: chillax i wont. I got u babe

Yong: thanks ily

Hyegi: ily too

Hyegi: also u are one giant horndog u know that?? fuckin intense!!

Yong: and what about it? she’s hot. im hot. we’re perfect for each other

Hyegi: LMAO right so why u seducing thin air

Yong: im just

Yong: building up my offense u know

Yong: training to fight fire with fire

Hyegi: by talking to the air

Yong: im TRAINING u fool

Yong: im like zuko and she’s azula because im gonna take her down

Yong: except we’re not siblings and i wanna date her

Hyegi: fuck u dont ruin that show for me

Yong: im not supporting incense im just saying they were both hot

Hyegi: incense im its incest u illiterate

Hyegi: ok look if i give u another drink on the house will u PLEASE shut the fuck up

Yong: a nicer one please

Yong: thanks

Yong: also zutara should have been endgame

Hyegi: dont test me because i will throw this drink in ur face

Yongsun laughs and looks up only to see Wheein gone and Byulyi staring at her and smiling. She feels her heart jump out her chest and tries to not let it show. She raises an eyebrow and Byulyi shakes her head and takes another swig of her now finished beer. Hyejin walks up to them with Yongsun’s drink on the house.

“Hey, how come she gets another one?!” Byulyi pouts, shifting closer to Yongsun and her new drink.

“What can I say? I’m a natural charmer!” Yongsun shrugs, a teasing lilt in her voice, which makes Byulyi pout even more. Hyejin rolls her eyes and walks away. Yongsun realises that it’s just her and Byulyi now. She clears her throat uncomfortably, unprepared to face Byulyi one-on-one, despite all the ‘training’ she’s undergone.

“Holy shit, I love this song! For a shitty DJ, he’s got pretty good taste in music!” Byulyi perks up. She gets off her chair and sways to the song now playing through the speakers. Yongsun watches awkwardly as Byulyi dances without a care in front of her.

She thinks she’s disassociating. In another dimension.

Byulyi? Sexy dancing in front of her as she sits and watches? Not even trying to escape? Absolutely unheard of.

She’d already be running for the hills on a normal day.

I’m too fucking gay for this shit. Is this happening? Is this really happening? What the fuck.

Yongsun doesn’t budge an inch on her seat, doesn’t even grab her drink. Her eyes watch Byulyi intensely, expression unchanging as the younger girl dances without a care in the world, unaware of the quickly deteriorating mess that is Yongsun’s sanity. Byulyi’s eyes lock with hers and she feels something important escape her body.

Her phone buzzes again and again and Yongsun forces herself to tear her eyes away from the spectacle that is Byulyi and respond to it.

Hyegi: u lesbian

Hyegi: SHUT UP ur sex eyes are so obvious

Hyegi: U look like u are one blink away from pushing her down!! Fuck

Hyegi: i cant deal with this

Hyegi: remember to use protection xoxo hwasa

Yongsun rolls her eyes. Her phone buzzes again. What now?

---

Wheenie: byul-unnie

Wheeinie: i got him to play the song u wanted

Wheeinie: r u sure dis will work

Wheeinie: make sure u do wat we discussed

Wheeinie: unnie u luk v intense

Wheeinie: ya work those sexy moves

Wheein: sway ur hips more!! bat ur eyes!!

Wheeinie: she looks turned on as fUK keep doing it

Wheeinie: lmao she’s looking here?? move closer

Wheeinie: get more in her face!! blast ur hormones! show her ur willing and ready!!!

Wheeinie: wait

Wheeinie: OH FUCK

from this shitpost of mine

after more than a year here i am...... my measly attempt at comedy..

comments r appreciated and criticism even more so because i get turned on by both

[araeph]

Hey, im a fan of Aaron ehasz and I love TDP. But when he confirmed that the possibility of season4 was brought out by nicklodeon, all the pro-brykes and anti-zutaras started rejoicing, thus stating their claims of how Aaron wrote mai and maiko moments is true, which I find, is absurd. But at the same time, I'm not sure. Did Aaron actually create mai and dealt with maiko?I hope not.

Yeah, I’m not sure why they thought they were right sincethey had previously considered Book 4 a conspiracy theory and a myth. It turns out to have been suggested at the studio level–and even the oldest accounts of Book 4′s existence concur with Ehasz that it was never put into production. As forthe Ehaszs being responsible for Mαiko, they did indeed write the beginning of the relationship–but did they support it? Did they depict it as healthy and loving? Let’s explore the episodes featuring Mαiko that they wrote, and see how the relationship is portrayed.

“Return to Omashu”(Elizabeth Ehasz): @darkeststar310 accurately summarizes Mαiand Zuko’s interaction as:

Mαi was already raring to go themoment Azula showed up; she even agreed before she knew what their objectivewas. Upon discovering that her task is to assist in hunting down and imprisoning her supposed childhood crush,she voices no objections, nor does her face display any concern or othernegative emotions. She actually smiles. What on earth could have beengoing through her mind???

“Man, it’ll be really great to see my boyfriend again before Icapture him and transport him to prison, presumably never to see or hear fromhim again. I bet the look of horror and despair on his face at what must surelybe an act of betrayal on my part will be really cute. I bet it will be a memoryto cherish as he languishes in prison, while I live out the rest of my life incomfort and luxury. :)”

And as to your last comment,  “Friends tend to do things weach other, and since these girls aren’t normal, hunting the avatar seems aboutright” - sure. For a trio of badass, noble Fire Nation girls,hunting down their nation’s biggest enemy would a really great bondingexperience.

Except.

Themission wasn’t to capture the Avatar. The mission was to capturePRINCE ZUKO AND IROH.

“Zuko Alone”(Elizabeth Ehasz), a summary by Peacockarehot: 

Mαiblushes at Zuko, and he doesn’t even look her way. If the intention was toportray them as “childhood crushes” why not have Zuko also look at Mαi andblush? … Further, if Zuko liked Mαi, why did Azula have to beg Ursa to FORCEZuko to play with them? This implies that Zuko did not usually play with hissister or her friends. In fact, the only time Zuko notices Mαi in hisflashback, is when he is forced to because Azula puts her in danger. If theintent was to tell us that Zuko liked Mαi, then I can say this episode did notdo that. 

“Going Home Again” comic(Aaroh Ehasz): My own commentary: 

I’m going to do an entirescene with the genders reversed so we can see this for ourselves. Thisparticular scene is from the “Going Home Again” comic. 

Zuko has been recruited byAzula to capture Mαi and deliver her to the Firelord, where she will awaitimprisonment and/or execution. However, before this can happen, Azula makes adeal with Mαi whereby Mαi sides with Azula against her uncle and helps takedown the Avatar. However, Mαi starts having second thoughts, so Azula concoctsa scheme to bring her and Zuko together.Keep in mind that at this point, Zukoand Mαi are not dating. They have one dinner together which is not the resultof a date night, but of Azula and Ty Lee conveniently not showing up. Theydecide to ditch the dinner and take a tour of the city. While walking, theycome across a guy that Mαi has previously gone out on a date with and kissedunder a fake name. Let’s call him Lee, and Mαi’s fake name will be Jin. Zukorealizes this, and gets a mischievous look on his face.

Mαi: Oh … Hi, Lee … Um … Er … This isjust my friend, my friend from … the circus. Yeah … He’s the knife thrower.Lee: Really?Zuko:[Pushing Mαi.] Here. I’ll show you. Gostand over there, Jin.Lee: [Folds his hands.] Hah! I hope he’sbetter at throwing knife than you are at juggling!Zuko: Hmm … Still not quite right … [Putsa frozen fish on Mαi’s head.] Better. [Zuko picks one ice from the fish case,throwing it toward her.] You see, it’s all in the wrist, really.Lee: [The ice pierces through the fish.]Wow! That was amazing!Zuko: You wanna try, Lee?Lee: [Excited.] Oh! No, I couldn’tpossibly … Well, maybe just one. [Mαi doubts, as Lee throws the icicle.] Mαidodges, slips, and splashes into the water fountain.Zuko [leaning over Mαi]: Now we’re even.[Seconds later …]Zuko: [Running.] Ha ha!Mαi: Are you crazy!? You could havegotten me killed!Zuko: Whatever, Jin.

That scene makes youuncomfortable, doesn’t it? It feels wrong for Zuko to be so domineering. Butbecause Mαi is a girl, she is let off the hook when the comics scenehappens, and is even praised for keeping Zuko in line, handling him, putting upwith him, etc. And if this were illustrated, it would be even worse.

“The Awakening”(Aaron Ehasz): From a metaby @theadamantdaughter:

Mαi:  Aren’t you cold? Zuko: I’ve got a lot on my mind. It’s been so long… overthree years since I was home. I wonder what’s changed. I wonder how I’ve changed. Mαi:  [yawns] I just asked if you were cold. Ididn’t ask for your whole life story. 

So,after three years of distance due to Zuko’s banishment and a very tumultousdecision to help Azula, Zuko wants to express his concerns about returninghome. A home where he was abused, burned, and banished. A home where he has noreal allies. A home where his abuser is acts freely and cruelly. Obviously, heassumes his girlfriend would be interested in comforting him, but Mαi immediately shuts him down.

Inany functioning, healthy relationship, you would expect this flood of feelingsand thoughts to met with sympathy or input or at the very least… a hand on theshoulder and a comforting hug. Instead, Zuko is basically told to shut up, toput up, to push the feelings away because they aren’t important enough to bebothered with. She disregards him and ignores him. … 

I seea lot of Mαiko shippers claiming that this is cute, that it’s just Mαi ,or at the very least, Mαi was joking. Any way you choose to delude yourself -it goes to show how little they understand each other.Mαi, who later in theseries and the comics, hounds Zuko about not being emotionally available,doesn’t understand, in that moment, that Zuko was trying to be open with her.

Plus, it’s a bit ridiculous that Zuko can’t delveinto his feelings whenever and wherever he feels like it with his supposedgirlfriend.Mαi should’ve immediately prompted him to keep talking, to keepsharing, to tell her what he needed to feel better. …

Idon’t care if they knew each other since they were kids. Zuko is not thatlittle boy anymore. His entire world was destroyed by his father, and then byhimself, and Mαi seems incredibly uninterested in the man that Zuko is now.She’s not even interested in hearing about the man Zuko is now.

Ok, now onto the next …

Wait, what? That’s it? 

A smile at the thought of hauling Zuko back to the Fire Nation as a traitor, a glance and a blush from a ten-year-old girl that is ignored by her eleven-year-old crush, a rescue from a burning apple that Zuko would have done for Ty Lee as well, a date that was a setup by Azula and which culminates in Mαi literally committing assault on Zuko while encouraging Jin to do the same, and a boat ride during which Mαi yawns at Zuko when he tries to lean on her for emotional support. Did I miss something? (Seriously, if I missed something, I’ll be glad to add it in.)

I’ll finish off this summary with Peacockarehot:

I can’t help but get the feeling that Mαiwas intended to be a very different type of “love interest” for Zuko. I believe that she was originally going to be one of the many relationships Zuko had in the Fire Nation that were intended to be “toxic” like Ozai and Azula.Just judging by the way she was introduced to the story and her first in-show interaction with Zuko, I am going to argue that the decision to make her the endgame lover of Zuko was something that was decided very late. First impressions in stories are very important and Mai’s first impression is not flattering to a pairing the audience would feel supportive of.

  Nice work, team!

[breeeliss]

Your thoughts! On Zutara?

oooooo gurl don’t you get me started on this i won’t shut up

i mean im of the opinion that we were robbed. because, if you think about it, zuko’s redemption was pretty much highlighted through his ability to redeem himself of the eyes of three people: iroh (duh), aang (duh, he’s the avatar), and….katara. 

katara’s trust was the one zuko had to work the hardest for. even iroh – who, in my opinion, had the biggest reason to hate zuko after what he did – was quick to accept zuko back because he knew that zuko’s problem was that he had lost his way and that it was only a matter of waiting until he found his way back. katara is empathetic, but she holds violent grudges against people who betray her trust. she was one of the first people (aside from iroh) who found something human inside of zuko, and then he spits that back in her face by betraying her and almost killing aang. that’s not a coincidence man. 

think about the fact that not only did zuko gain her trust back, but he was the one she chose to go on what was probably one of the most emotional journeys she could’ve ever gone on – facing the man who killed her mother. she didn’t choose aang, she chose zuko. and it was significant that zuko would be there to see her forgive this killer and lift her grudge because that’s exactly what she had to do with zuko. forgive him. lift the grudge. 

and of course, i don’t have to tell you about the fact that zuko chose katara to go with him to fight his sister and that he literally took a lightning bolt to the gut to save her life. hi, yes, their relationship didn’t need to become that high key but it did. their relationship had so much care put into it. it was set up to go places. 

but even if you don’t agree with that, writers, storyboard artists, and interns all said that zutara had been on the table and that there were plenty of people on the team who wanted zutara to happen. but the co-creators slapped kataang on the table because it was more important for the hero to get the girl he felt he was entitled to at the end rather than wrap up the show with a relationship that came to fruition through forgiveness, acceptance, and trust in the most impossible circumstances. 

(and to even flip this around a different way, i don’t think katara was the right person for aang. aang didn’t need someone who coddled and enabled him. he needed someone who pushed and challenged him. if there was anyone that aang should’ve ended up with at the end of the show, if at all, it was toph. let’s be real). 

anyway. zutara is like number 2 on my list of top shipping betrayals in life and i’m not over it, will never be over it. 

[firelxrdazula]

idk who to msg this to but someone is going around trying to spread shit about you or wang-fire idk if yall are the same person just thought you should know. its not right for someone to get bs spewed about them for their opinions so im dropping this by~ have a good day

Ah, thanks for letting me know! Anyway, I don't really know who that person is but I do have quite a guess. I just don't think I should do anything to stop it or whatever, because it's not me wasting my energy, it's that anon.And also, even if you check my Tumblr, I don't crosstag anything, I don't slander anyone liking the comics. I never attack anybody for their opinion unless it's attacking someone else. I never actually attacked any Zutarian personally, I've never even really interacted with them about their ship. I've only interacted with some because some of them were on my post on Wang-fire. I've only said anything in order to defend Aang during both times I've actually interacted with a Zutara shipper.Regarding how I don't like Zuko or the comics... That's really just my opinion, and I'm not stopping anyone who likes them. I never attack people for them. Maybe we've argued about it, but I don't attack anyone, especially Ad Hominem. I never say y'all are stupid for not liking what I like or liking what I dislike. Regarding me hating Zutara, I don't hate the ship. It's some shippers that really irk me, the shippers that bash Mai or Aang, they annoy me. But whatever, I've gotten over it. For this whole discourse that actually started this shipwar again, I was not even a part of it in the first place. I really have no idea why I'm getting involved. My only post about it is that both sides needed to shut up. I've really remained impartial, so I have no idea why I'm getting involved.