#minor kataang

[goldenavenger02]

all lights turned off can be turned on

for @badthingshappenbingo. Prompt: headache/migraine

But when Aang stepped outside and Iroh started to remove the dusty, sweat-stained armor, he couldn’t stop himself from pleading with Zuko’s unconscious body.

“What have you gotten yourself into this time, my dear boy?”

Takes place during The Promise.

“Zuko?” Aang asked, watching as he pulled himself to his feet with his hands on his knees.

“So…I was right then…? All along…my decision was right?...”

The panting breaths were cut off as he fell forward with a sickening ‘thud’ that had Aang racing forward with a shout of Zuko’s name before he collapsed to his knees and turned him on his back.

‘You can’t die now,’ Aang couldn’t stop himself from thinking as he pushed past layers of armor and clothes to press his fingers against his neck, holding his own breath to feel for any sign of life, ‘not now.’

“Is he hurt?” Katara’s voice cut in as she fell to her knees beside him, but Aang pressed his teeth against the edge of his bottom lip until he finally felt the sluggish pulse under his index and middle fingers. 

“He-he’s alive,” Aang stuttered as he pulled away before looking over to see the faces of Fire Nation soldiers, protestors, and the Earth King himself with a mixture of concern and confusion, “Katara, we have to get him out of here.”

“Give me a few seconds to see if it’s safe to move him.” Katara insisted as she bent the water out of her water-skin, forcing Aang to bring himself to his feet before digging into his pocket and blowing air into the small bison whistle.

He turned to hear Sokka, who had finally managed to push past the crowd only to skid to a stop when he saw what was unfolding.

“Is he-?”

“He’s alive, but we need to get him out of here,” Aang cut him off as Appa flew overhead to find a place to land, “can you, Suki and Toph get things settled down here? Katara and I will be back as soon as we can but we need to-”

“Yeah, we’ve got it covered,” Sokka insisted as Katara gave the two of them a sharp nod, “you two get him to safety.”

“Thanks,” Aang breathed before turning to lift Zuko under the arms while Katara grabbed his legs; once the two of them were on the saddle, Aang shimmied over to the reins and flicked them with a “yip-yip”.

“Where are we taking him?” Katara asked, presumably still examining Zuko’s unconscious body, but Aang kept his vision fixated on the horizon as he spoke, trying to calm his racing heart.

“The Jasmine Dragon.”

…

Iroh had planned to make himself some dinner and a pot of tea after closing the shop before locking the doors for the night; his newest venture in owning a tea shop had rejuvenated something in him that he thought he had lost many years ago.

 Even if there was that tiny tug in his heart that constantly insisted on checking in on Zuko.

He hadn’t seen him much since he took the throne in stride a year prior, but he still received and sent two letters a month.

Zuko would update about policies in a way that felt too formal to convey any of his personal feelings and Iroh would update him on the Jasmine Dragon, but found himself adding a sentence or two at the end about letting him know that his doors were always open regardless of what his nephew asked of him.

And as the Fire Nation hawk flew away with his latest letter, Iroh pleaded with the spirits to work their way past Zuko’s stubborn and self-sacrificial tendencies.

That night, after eating yet another dinner in the solace of his own company, he got up to lock the doors, only to be broken out of the quiet by the all too familiar roar of the Avatar’s sky bison.

He hadn’t heard that sound since their entire group had arrived after the war ended a year ago; before Iroh could think it through fully, he found himself making his way outside and hoping that it was good news that couldn’t wait until the morning.

The small hope was crushed by the sight of Aang and Katara hefting a limp Zuko out of the saddle; he couldn’t stop himself from approaching and resting his fingers on his nephew’s wrist for one, two, until he could breathe at the feeling of a weak but steady pulse under his fingertips.

Now that he could breathe clearly, he met the eyes of the two teenagers and said, “let’s get him inside” before holding the door open for them; he had so many questions in his mind, for all three of them, but his nephew’s current state was the most pressing situation at hand.

Iroh pushed back his curiosity and let the Avatar lay his nephew down on the bed in the guest room, but when he stepped outside and he started to remove the dusty, sweat-stained armor, he couldn’t stop himself from pleading with Zuko’s unconscious body.

“What have you gotten yourself into this time, my dear boy?”

He wasn’t surprised by the sight of hollow cheeks and dark circles, signs of stress that had prevented basic self care for what was looking like months; he wasn’t as gaunt as he had been in Ba Sing Se, but that was only a minor relief.

Iroh knew that his nephew would sleep for a long while still, so he pulled the green blanket over his boney shoulders and extinguished the candle before walking out and starting a pot of ginseng; as it steeped, he could hear the quiet whispers between Katara and Aang, but his ears were too old to decipher the words.

When he brought over the three cups and the pot to the table they were sitting at, however, he couldn’t stop himself from speaking as he poured the tea.

“I think it would be best if you two explain what happened today.”

The tea shop went silent for a few minutes as he watched blue and dark gray eyes connect, quietly trying to work out where to start.

He had witnessed that same look years ago between Lu Ten and Zuko, and again with Zuko and Azula, but unlike disagreements between family and trying to decide who would take the fall, this was tinged with a great deal of sadness and guilt.

“I owe you and Zuko an apology, Iroh,” Katara finally spoke while turning her eyes towards his, her finger tracing the rim of her cup, “he…he asked Aang to make him a promise last year and I knew that Zuko had changed, but I still pressured Aang into agreeing to it. I viewed it as a safety net, a worst case scenario that would never come true,” she paused and looked back at the gray eyes for a split second, resting her hand over one of Aang’s before she added, “I should have never done that, and I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Aang added, squeezing Katara’s hand gently as he spoke, “Zuko and I were so busy disagreeing that I didn’t even stop to think how everything was affecting him. I should have told him no but I…” he sighed, resting his head in his hands, “I didn’t want to fail everyone again.”

“I only have one question for you two, then. What did my nephew ask of you?”

“I think it would be best if he told you,” Katara responded with her hand drifting to the Avatar’s back, “he wasn’t in a great headspace, and I think it’s only gotten worse.”

Iroh nodded and took another sip of his tea; in front of him weren’t world leaders or fearless warriors, they were teenagers with the responsibility that had fallen on them from the war still weighing heavy on their shoulders, just like his nephew.

“Zuko will be alright once he gets some rest; while I am sure he will not blame the two of you, you can ask for his forgiveness when he wakes,” Iroh assured them, successfully coaxing the Avatar’s face out of his hands, “as for now, I forgive you and I offer you two a place to sleep if you would like.”

“We would love to, but we have to decline,” Katara insisted as she stood, “Yu Dao is still in really bad shape.”

“Yeah, she’s right,” Aang agreed and stood as well, “but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Thank you, for the tea.”

“Of course. Would you like some to-go?”

A pause as they made the silent but conversational eye contact again before Katara looked back at him with a nod, "That'd be great, thank you.”

Iroh silently prepared a bag of leaves with a small note attached on how it was best prepared before handing it to the waterbender, but as Aang reached into his pocket to pull out money, he held out his hand in refusal.

“No need for that. A friend of my nephew’s is a friend of mine.”

Aang’s face going from a soft smile to a guilty frown as he removed his hand from his pocket made Iroh wince; it wasn’t helped by the whisper of “I hope he still is my friend when he wakes up” before Katara ushered him outside, once again leaving Iroh in silence.

But unlike the comforting quiet of a few hours ago, it was now filled with an agonizing dread as he simultaneously hoped for Zuko to stay asleep and awake at the same time.

…

As the days passed with The Jasmine Dragon staying closed so he could be at his nephew’s bedside, Iroh’s concern about just what Zuko asked from the Avatar only grew as he made good on his word to be back as soon as he could.

It was only at nights, for two to three hour intervals with one of those hours being spent at Zuko’s bedside, but he still stayed true to his word.

He had a feeling of what Zuko had asked of Aang, but even if he was wrong, which he could only hope for despite how much his hopes had been crushed in the last few days, he knew that it had to be too much for the Avatar to go through with it.

And he had a strong feeling that it didn’t involve Aang going against his vegetarian diet.

He had learned about that during a game of Pai Sho on the third night; despite only being fourteen, Iroh could admit when he was finally playing against someone with a similar skill set and it was actually a challenge.

So before Appa landed in the grassy area behind The Jasmine Dragon, Iroh made sure to make extra food and set up the pieces for another game of Pai Sho; it hadn’t been lost on him that the focus on the pieces had allowed the Avatar to relax for the first time since he showed up with his nephew limp in his arms.

By the time Aang had landed, Iroh was waiting by the door; in the time off from working, after he had gotten Zuko to awaken enough that he could get him to drink something, whether it was water or possum chicken broth, he had been busying himself by coming up with new ideas for the menu.

One of those ideas, involving tapioca balls steeped in tea and milk, was finally ready to be tested and he was hopeful that Aang would be willing since there was no meat involved and he had seen the young Avatar practically inhale food once assured that it would not result in him breaking his diet.

“I have the Pai Sho board ready.”

“Thanks, Iroh, but…” his voice trailed off as his fingers wrapped around the medallion that he usually wore around his neck, “I need to talk to Roku first. He and I have unfinished business now that things are settled in Yu Dao for now.”

“For now?”

“King Kuei has agreed to negotiate, and Sokka and Suki calmed down the protesters, but we’re waiting on the Fire Lord before we move forward.”

“I see,” Iroh nodded, unable to stop himself from glancing at the closed door that his nephew laid behind before returning his gaze back to Aang, “well, I wish you luck with Roku. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Iroh.” Aang nodded before pulling out his glider and going upwards toward the roof, giving him the go ahead to return inside and start preparing his latest beverage.

The last thing he expected as he worked was the soft ‘creak’ of the guest room door followed by Zuko stumbling out with one hand on the door frame and the other against his forehead while he squinted in the light.

“Uncle?”

Iroh moved around the counter and gently wrapped a hand around Zuko’s arm, feeling just how shaky he was under his soft grip, “let’s get you something to eat.”

“But Yu Dao, my people, they all-”

“Your friends got the situation calmed down for now,” Iroh cut him off, knowing that the hand still pressed against his nephew’s face was indicative of a headache, “you need to sit. You need to eat.”

He knew that the exhaustion that he had been subjected to was still weighing on him when he stilled again with a whisper, “okay”, but it gave him the opportunity to lead him over to one of the booths.

Iroh returned to the kitchen to quickly warm up some of the steamed buns that had been brought earlier in the day by a frequent customer, an elderly man named Jianhong, who had informed Iroh that his granddaughter had been one of the protesters in the city and had been witness to the events unfolding.

“I am a believer in letting the younger generations handle these things,” he explained as he handed him the full wooden steamer, “but with your shop’s temporary closure, my daughter suggested I bring you and your nephew some of her steamed buns.”

He returned with a plate, a pair of chopsticks and the steamer, going back for the teapot, teacup and one of the green blankets which he draped around Zuko’s shoulders silently.

Iroh expected the blanket to be shrugged off in some form of defiance, but his heart only sank when Zuko pulled it tighter around his shoulders before opening the steamer, making him look younger than he had in years.

“Did you eat already?”

“Eat as much as you need to, nephew.”

Zuko nodded and pulled two buns onto his plate with the chopsticks before starting to take small, calculated bites out of one; Iroh busied himself with filling Zuko’s cup, the smell of peppermint and ginger starting to fill the air around the booth until his nephew found his voice.

“How did I get here?”

“Aang and Katara brought you to me after you collapsed,” Iroh supplied, filling his own cup, “you have very good friends. Friends who care about you very much.”

Zuko nodded silently and took another bite; it was all too reminiscent of their time on The Wanyi, where they spent their dinners in near if not total silence which left Iroh patiently waiting for another outburst of teenage emotion to break up the quiet.

“I know,” he finally spoke after taking a few sips of his tea, “I…I wish I had been a better friend.”

“That is very similar to what Katara said when she told me what happened.” He watched his nephew’s back stiffen in response and he knew then that he was uncovering the roots of what had propelled him down the path of isolation.

“How much did she and Aang tell you?”

“They told me what they knew and they asked for my forgiveness. But they also told me that the rest of it would be better if it came from you.”

When the look in Zuko’s eyes shifted to a face pleading for forgiveness, it brought Iroh back to the White Lotus camp, to seeing him for the first time in months with tears on his face as he apologized, insisting that he would do whatever he had to in order to make it up to him.

Iroh reached forward and rested a hand on Zuko’s shoulder, hoping that the gesture was enough assurance to tell Zuko that in his eyes, he was already forgiven.

“I just wanted to find out what happened to my mother. My father…he brought it up during the eclipse, to bait me into staying until after the sun came out. It worked, the sun came out and…” his hand went up toward his chest, towards where his sister had tried to end his life with lightning.

‘Ozai shot lightning at him. Ozai tried to kill him.’ Iroh dropped his hand.

“After my coronation, I confronted him in prison. I demanded to know where she was,” Zuko stopped to move onto the second steamed bun, his bites growing smaller as his emotions grew larger, “he dangled it in front of me like a treat for a deer dog, occasionally giving me slivers of information.”

Zuko set his chopsticks down on the table and rested his head against his hands once again, the squint in his eyes making it obvious that the headache he had woken up with was still lingering.

“After that first conversation, I…I decided to use Aang as a safety net, I made him promise that if he ever saw me start to turn into my father, to…” he cut himself off with a wet sniffle, the sound of him processing everything that had happened, “to stop me, permanently.”

Despite having his suspicions, the words still made Iroh’s heart skip a beat with shock.

“That’s when I stopped sleeping, I guess. If it wasn’t nightmares, it was assassination attempts. Ozai, he told me that being Fire Lord changes you, that he was the only one that could help me navigate it and I was foolish enough to believe him, to do what he said, that being the Fire Lord meant that what I chose was right.”

Zuko pulled his head out of his hands, his golden eyes filled with tears as they met Iroh’s.

“But in Yu Dao, when Aang went into the Avatar State to fulfill his promise, I realized that I was still doing exactly what Ozai would have done; attacking the innocent and breaking foreign ties instead of going back to planning things out, revising things.”

“These things are never a straight line,” Iroh finally said when Zuko all but slumped onto the table, any sign of the royal presence he had adopted in the last year siphoning away with the reserves of his energy, “but if you have patience, you’ll find the right path. Of course, it helps that the Earth King has agreed to negotiations.”

“How do you know that?”

“Like I said, Zuko, you have very good friends,” Iroh couldn’t help but smile as he stood to wash his teacup, “Aang has been here every day since he brought you to me. Of course, my ears aren’t what they used to be, but I believe he is on the roof right now.”

“The ro-,” he found his back finally untensing when he heard a chuckle escape Zuko’s lips with his nose pinched in between his thumb and middle finger with a mutter of “typical airbender” interspersed in the small laugh.

“If you are feeling up to it, I should let him know that you’re awake.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Zuko muttered, using his hand to massage against his surely aching temples.

Iroh started to make his way to the door, but found himself stopping with his hand wrapped around the knob, “nephew?”

He turned to see his nephew peering up at him with one golden eye and a raised eyebrow, the other one staying closed under the lights; unsurprising, his left side had been sensitive to light for years now.

“Drink some more of that tea. It’ll ease that headache,” he watched as his nephew sputtered on nothing, trying to get his confusion out, but Iroh shrugged before he had the chance, “there is no need to continue to suffer when the pain is manageable.”

And with that, he made his way outside to be greeted with the sight of smoke coming from the roof and what looked like tears running down the Avatar’s face in the moonlight.

“Aang! Guess who just woke up?”

“About time!” Despite what had looked like tears, his enthusiasm was real enough that Iroh chose not to press further, “how’s he doing, Iroh?”

“Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” He offered, making his way back around the counter to prepare the new menu item he was testing, watching as Aang’s face lit up when he looked over and saw Zuko sitting at the table with the green blanket around his shoulders and the teacup pressed against his lips, “thank you for bringing him to me, Avatar. He really should have come earlier, on his own. Sometimes he forgets he has a place here.”

Iroh knew he wouldn’t get any form of protest or embarrassment from his nephew who was consumed in both guilt as well as a raging headache, but he couldn’t stop himself from adding, “He may be the Fire Lord now, but he is still a stubborn boy.”

[longing-for-rain]

Sorry, I just saw that ask from sunandmoonseisai saying “There's a lot of support for zutara on site like 4chan of all places." and the fuck? That site was (AND STILL IS) Zutara Hater Central. You can’t even mention them without getting called several different slurs.

Yeah I didn’t get that at all. I’m guessing she probably saw one Zuko x harem type post and ran with it, but you’re absolutely right, it is by no means popular. Honestly, at this point, I’d say the % of men on a social media site is directly proportional to the amount of Zutara hate, 4chan being no exception. Plus you have to recognize that most fandom content there is just…porn. I guarantee you will find no actual love for Zutara beyond the scenario I mentioned.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Avatar:The Last Airbender,show of extremely bad and liberal messages such as 'Genocide and imperialism is the ultimate evil','being gendernonforming is good and empowering and dosen't make you unattractive or lame','women are just as good as men and don't have to conform to be a specific type of femininity or behavior to be considered female','all cultures of color are valid and deserve to be preserved after being oppressed' and 'kids are people'

[omegansamurai]

Avatar: The Last Airbender/It Crossover Story.

---

Chapter 5: A Storm Brewing

Rated: M

Summary: Zuko stays in Avatar Aang's home for the night. Later on, though, Aang has a frightening dream...

Ships: Zutara, Taang, Sukka.

---

Forgot to post this on the first day of August! Will post my second update of August of another story soon! Sorry for being slow! D: But do tell me how I did with this! I love comments and all that jazz! :)

[wilcze-kudly]

Hey so can we like stop with the "Zutara is for the girls and Kataang is for the boys" thing. It's silly and it's breakdancing just on the edge of gender essentialism.

The assumption that there is something inherent to Zutara that appeals predominantly to women and Kataang that appeals predominantly to men is dishonest because every ship can have appeal to all genders.

The discussion of the "female gaze" in Zutara and the "male gaze" in Kataang is also redundant. I enjoy dissecting the concept of "the gaze", however it is important to note that the "female gaze" doesn't have a set definition or grouping of conventions it adheres to. Lisa French,  Dean of RMIT University’s School of Media and Communication says:

“The female gaze is not homogeneous, singular or monolithic, and it will necessarily take many forms... The aesthetic approaches, experiences and films of women directors are as diverse as their individual life situations and the cultures in which they live. The "female' gaze” is not intended here'to denote a singular concept. There' are many gazes."

Now excuse me as I put on my pretentious humanistics student hat.

Kataang's appeal to women and the female gaze

Before I start, I want to note that the female gaze is still a developing concept

There are very few female film directors and writers, and most of them are white. The wants and desires of women of colour, the demographic Katara falls into, are still wildly underepresented. Additionally, the concept of the female gaze had many facets, due to it being more focused on emotional connections rather than physical appearance as the male gaze usually is. Which means that multiple male archetypes fall into the category of "for the female gaze".

The "female gaze" can be best described as a response to the "male gaze", which was first introduced by Laura Mulvey in her paper: "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" , however the term "male gaze" itself was not used in the paper.

Mulvey brought up the concept of the female character and form as the passive, objectified subject to the active voyeuristic male gaze, which the audience is encouraged to identify, usually through the male character.

To quote her:

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance', pleasure' in looking has been split between active'/male' and passive/female'. The determining male gaze' projects its fantasy onto the female' figure', which is styled accordingly."

Mulvey also brings up the concept of scopopfillia (the term being introduced by Freud), the concept of deriving sexual gratification from both looking and being looked at. This concept has strong overtones of voyeurism, exhibitionism and narcissism, placing forth the idea that these overtones are what keeps the male viewer invested. That he is able to project onto the male character, therefore being also able to possess the passive female love interest.

However, it's important to note that Mulvey's essay is very much a product of its times, focused on the white, heterosexual and cisgender cinema of her time. She also drew a lot of inspiration from Freud's questionable work, including ye ole penis envy. Mulvey's paper was groundbreaking at the time, but we can't ignore how it reinforces the gender binary and of course doesn't touch on the way POC, particularly women of colour are represented in film.

In her paper, Mulvey fails to consider anyone who isn't a white, cis, heterosexual man or woman. With how underrepresented voices of minorities already are both in media and everyday life, this is something that we need to remember and strive to correct.

Additionally Mulvey often falls into gender essentialism, which I previously mentioned at the beginning of this post. Funny how that keeps coming up

"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" started a very interesting and important conversation, and I will still be drawing from certain parts of it, however huge swathes of this text have already become near archaic, as our culture and relationship with media evolves at an incredible pace.

And as filmaking evolves, so does our definition of the male and female gaze. So let's see what contemporary filmakers say of it.

In 2016, in her speech during the Toronto International Film Festival , producer of the TV series Transparent, Jill Soloway says:

“Numero uno, I think the Female Gaze is a way of “feeling seeing”. It could be thought of as a subjective camera that attempts to get inside the protagonist, especially when the protagonist is not a Chismale. It uses the frame to share and evoke a feeling of being in feeling, rather than seeing – the characters. I take the camera and I say, hey, audience, I’m not just showing you this thing, I want you to really feel with me.

[Chismale is Soloway's nickname for cis males btw]

So the term "female gaze" is a bit of a misnomer, since it aims to focus on capturing the feelings of characters of all genders. It's becoming more of a new way of telling stories in film, rather than a way to cater to what white, cisgender, heterosexual women might find attractive in a man.

Now, Aang is the decided protagonist of the show, however, Atla having somewhat of an ensemble cast leads to the perspective shifting between different characters.

In the first episode of atla, we very much see Katara's perspective of Aang. She sees him trapped in the iceberg, and we immediately see her altruism and headstrong nature. After she frees Aang, we are very much first subjected to Katara's first impressions of him, as we are introduced to his character. We only see a sliver of Aang's perspective of her, Katara being the first thing he sees upon waking up.

We see that she is intrigued and curious of him, and very excited about his presence. She is endeared and amused by his antics. She is rediscovering her childish side with his help. She is confiding in him about her own trauma surrounding the Fire Nation's genocide of the Southern Waterbenders. She is willing to go against her family and tribe ans leave them behind to go to the Northern Water Tribe with Aang. We also see her determination to save him when he is captured.

As the show moves on and the plot kicks into gear, we do shift more into Aang's perspective. We see his physical attraction to her, and while we don't see Katara's attraction quite as blatantly, there are hints of her interest in his appearance.

This is where we get deeper into the concept of Aang and Katara's mutual interest and attraction for one another. While her perspective is more subtle than most would like, Katara is not purely an object of Aang's desire, no more than he is purely an object of her desire.

When analysing this aspect of Katara and Aang's relationship, I couldn't help but be reminded of how Célene Sciamma's Portrait of a lady on fire (in my personal opinion, one of the best studies of the female gaze ever created) builds up its romance, and how it places a strong emphasis on the mutuality of the female gaze.

Portrait of a lady on fire's cinematography is very important to the film. We see the world through the perspective of our protagonist, a painter named Marianne. We also see her love interest, Héloïse, the woman whom she is hired to paint a portrait of, through Marianne's lense.

We see Marianne analyse Héloïse's appearance, her beauty. We look purely through Marianne's eyes at Héloïse for a good part of the movie, but then, something unexpected happens. Héloïse looks back. At Marianne, therefore, in some way, also at the audience. While Marianne was studying Héloïse, Héloïse was studying Marianne.

We never shift into Héloïse's perspective, but we see and understand that she is looking back at us. Not only through her words, when she for example comments on Marianne's mannerisms or behaviours, but also hugely through cinematography and acting of the two amazing leads. (Noémie Merlant as Marianne and Adèle Haenel as Héloïse. They truly went above and beyond with their performances.)

This is a huge aspect of the female gaze's implementation in the film. The camera focuses on facial expressions, eyes and body language, seeking to convey the characters' emotions and feelings. There's a focus on intense, longing and reciprocated eye contact (I have dubbed this the Female Gays Gaze.). The characters stand, sit or lay facing each other, and the camera rarely frames one of them as taller than the other, which would cause a sense of power imbalance.

The best way to describe this method of flimaking is wanting the audience to see the characters, rather than to simply look at them. Sciamma wants us to empathise, wants us to feel what they are feeling, rather than view them from a distance. They are to be people, characters, rather than objects.

Avatar, of course, doesn't display the stunning and thoughtful cinematography of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Katara and Aang's relationship, while incredibly important, is only a part of the story rather than the focus of it.

However, the 'Kataang moments' we are privy to often follow a similar convention to the ones between Marianne and Héloïse that I mentioned prior.

Theres a lot of shots of Katara and Aang facing each other, close ups on their faces, particularly eyes, as they gaze at one another.

Katara and Aang are often posited as on equal grounds, the camera not framing either of them as much taller and therefore more powerful or important than the other. Aang is actually physically shorter than Katara, which flies in the face in usual conventions of the male fantasy. (I will get to Aang under the male gaze later in this essay)

And even in scenes when Aang is physically shown as above Katara, particularly when he's in the Avatar state, Katara is the one to pull him down, maintaining their relationships as equals.

Despite most of the show being portrayed through Aang's eyes, Katara is not a passive object for his gaze, and therefore our gaze, to rest upon. Katara is expressive, and animated. As an audience, we are made aware that Katara has her own perspective. We are invited to take part in it and try to understand it.

Not unlike to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, there is a lot of focus placed on mannerisms and body language, an obvious example being Katara often playing with her hair around Aang, telegraphing a shy or flustered state. We also see her express jealousy over Aang, her face becoming sour, brows furrowed. On one occasion she even blew a raspberry, very clearly showing us, the audience, her displeasure with the idea of Aang getting attention from other girls.

Once again, this proves that Katara is not a passive participant in her own relationship, we are very clealry shown her perspective of Aang. Most of the scenes that hint at her and Aang's focus on their shared emotions, rather than, for example, Katara's beauty.

Even when a scene does highlight her physical appearance, it is not devoid of her own thoughts and emotions. The best example of this being the scene before the party in Ba Sing Se where we see Katara's looking snazzy in her outfit. Aang compliments her and Katara doesn't react passively, we see the unabashed joy light up her face, we can tell what she thinks of Aang's comment.

In fact, the first moment between Katara and Aang sets this tone of mutual gaze almost perfectly. Aang opens his eyes, and looks at Katara. Katara looks back.

There is, once again, huge focus on their eyes in this scene, the movement of Aang's eyelids right before they open draws out attention to that part of his face. When the camera shows us Katara, is zooms in onto her expression as it changes, her blinking also drawing attention to her wide and expressive eyes.

This will not be the first time emphasis is placed on Katara and Aang's mutual gaze during a pivotal moment in the show. Two examples off the top of my head would be the Ends of B2 and B3 respevtively. When Katara brings Aang back to life, paralleling the first time they laid eyes on one another. And at the end of the show, where their gaze has a different meaning behind it.

We see Katara's emotions and her intent telegraphed clearly in these instances.

In Book 1, we see her worry for this strange bald boy who fell out of an iceberg, which melts away to relief and a hint of curiosity once she ascertains that he isn't dead.

In B2 we once again see worry, but this time it's more frantic. Her relationship with Aang is much dearer to her heart now, and he is in much worse shape. When we see the relief on her face this time, it manifests in a broad smile, rather than a small grin. We can clearly grasp that her feelings for Aang have evolved.

In B3, we step away from the rule because Aang isn't on the verge of death or unconsciousness for the first time. It is also the first time in a situation like this that Aang isn't seeing Katara from below, but they are on equal footing. I attribute this to symbolising change of pace for their relationship.

The biggest obstacle in the development of Katara and Aang's romance was the war, which endangered both their lives. Due to this, there was a hesitance to start their relationship. In previous scenes that focused this much on Aang and Katara's mutual gaze, Aang was always in a near dead, or at least 'dead adjacent' position. This is is a very harsh reminder that he may very well die in the war, and the reason Katara, who has already endured great loss, is hesitant to allow her love for him to be made... corporeal.

However, now Aang is standing, portraying that the possibily of Katara losing him has been reduced greatly with the coming of peace, the greatest obstacle has been removed, and Katara is the one to initiate this kiss.

Concurrently, Katara's expression here does not portray worry or relief at all, because she has no need to be worried or relieved. No, Katara is blushing, looking directly at Aang with an expression that can be described as a knowing smile. I'd argue that this description is accurate, because Katara knows that she is about to finally kiss the boy she loves.

Ultimately, Katara is the one who initiates the kiss that actually begins her and Aang's romantic relationship.

Kataang's appeal to women is reflected in how Katara is almost always the one to initiate physical affection with Aang. With only 3 exceptions, one of which, the Ember Island kiss being immediately shown by the narrative as wrong, and another being a daydream due to Aang's sleep deptivation. The first moment of outwardly romantic affection between Aang and Katara is her kissing his cheek. And their last kiss in the show is also initiated by Katara.

I won't falsely state that Kataang is the perfect representation of the female gaze. Not only because the storyline has its imperfections, as every piece of media has. But also because I simply belive that the concept of the female gaze is too varied and nebulous to be fully expressed. With this essay, I simply wanted to prove that Kataang is most certainly not the embodiment of catering to the male gaze either. In fact it is quite far from that.

The aspects of Kataang that fall more towards embodying the female gaze don't just appeal to women. There's a reason a lot of vocal Kataang shippers you find are queer. The mutual emotional connection between Katara and Aang is something we don't have to identify with, but something we are still able to emphasise with. It's a profound mutual connection that we watch unfold from both perspectives that sort of tracends more physical, gendered aspects of many onscreen romances. You just need to see instead of simply look.

✨️Bonus round✨️

Aang under the gaze

This started off as a simple part of the previous essay, however I decided I wanted to give it it's own focus, due to the whole discourse around Aang being a wish-fullfilling self insert for Bryke or for men in genral. I always found this baffling considering how utterly... unappealing Aang is to the male gaze.

It may surprise some of you that men are also subjected to the male gaze. Now sadly, this has nothing to do with the male gaze of the male gays. No, when male characters, usually the male protagonist, are created to cater to the male gaze, they aren't portrayed as sexually desirable passive objects, but they embody the active/masculine aide of the binary Laura Mulvey spoke of in the quote I shared at the beginning of this essay.

The protagonist under the male gaze is not the object of desire but rather a character men and boys would desire to be.

They're usually the pinnacle of traditional, stereotypical masculinity.

Appearance wise: muscular but too broad, chiseled facial features, smouldering eyes, depending on the genre wearing something classy or some manner of armour.

Personalitywise they may vary from the cool, suave James Bond type, or a more hotblooded forceful "Alpha male" type. However these are minor differences in the grand scheme of things. The basis is that this protagonist embodies some manner of idealised man. He's strong, decisive, domineering, in control, intimidating... you get the gist. Watch nearly any action movie. There's also a strong focus placed on having sway or power over others. Often men for the male gaze are presented as wealthy, having power and status. Studies (that were proved to be flawed in the way the data was gathered, I believe) say that womem value resources in potential male partners, so it's not surprising that the ideal man has something many believe would attract "mates". [Ew I hated saying that].

Alright, now let's see how Aang holds up to these standards.

Well... um...

Aang does have power, he is the Avatar. However, he is often actually ignored, blown off and otherwise dismissed, either due to his age or his personality and ideals being seen as unrealistic and foolish. Additionally, Aang, as a member of a culture lost a century ago, is also often posited as an outsider, singled out as weak, his beliefs touted as the reason his people died out and.

Physically, Aang doesn't look like the male protagonist archetype, either. He isn't your average late teens to brushing up against middle aged. Aang is very much a child and this is reflected in his soft round features, large eyes and short, less built body. This is not a build most men would aspire to. Now, he still has incredible physical prowess, due to his bending. But I'm not sure how many men are desperate to achieve the "pacifist 12 year old" build to attract women.

Hailing from a nation that had quite an egalitarian system, Aang wouldn't have conventional ideas surrounding leadership, even if he does step up into it later. He also has little in the way of possessions, by choice.

As for Aang's personality, well...

I mean I wouldn't exactly call him your average James Bond or superhero. Aang is mainly characterised through his kindness, empathy, cheerful nature and occasional childishness (which slowly is drained as the trauma intesifies. yay.)

Aang is very unwilling to initiate violence, which sets him aside from many other male protagonists of his era, who were champing at the bit to kick some ass. He values nature, art, dance and fun. He's in tune with his emotions. He tries to desecalate situations before he starts a fight.

Some would say many of Aang's qualities could be classified as feminine. While the other main male characters, Zuko and Sokka try to embody their respective concepts of the ideal man (tied to their fathers), Aang seems content with how he presents and acts. He feels no need to perform masculinity as many men do, choosing to be true to his emotions and feelings.

These "feminine" qualities often attract ridicule from other within the show. He is emasculated or infantiliased as a form of mockery multiple times, the most notable examples being the Ember Island play and Ozai tauntingly referring to him as a "little boy". Hell, even certain Aang haters have participated in this, for example saying that he looks like a bald lesbian.

I'd even argue that, in his relationships with other characters, Aang often represents the passive/feminine. Especially towards Zuko, Aang takes on an almost objectified role of a trophy that can be used to purchase Ozai's love. [Zuko's dehumanisation of others needs to be discussed later, but it isn't surprising with how he was raised and a huge part of his arc is steerring away from that way of thinking.]

Aang and Zuko almost embody certain streotypes about relationships, the forceful, more masculine being a literal pursuer, and the gentler, more feminine being pusued.

We often see Aang framed from Zuko's perspective, creating something akin to the mutual gaze of Katara and Aang, hinting at the potential of Zuko and Aang becoming friends, a concept that is then voiced explicitly in The Blue Spirit.

However, unlike Katara, Zuko is unable to empathise with Aang at first, still seeing Aang as more of an object than a person. We have here an interesting imbalance of Aang seeing Zuko but Zuko meerly looking at Aang.

There is a certain aspect of queer metaphor to Zuko's pursuit of Aang, but I fear I've gotten off topic.

Wrapping this long essay up, I want to reiterate that I'm not saying that Zutara isn't popular with women. Most Zutara shippers I've encountered are women. And most Kataang shippers I've encountered are... also women. Because fandom spaces are occupied predominantly by women.

I'm not exactly making a moral judgement on any shippers either, or to point at Kataang and go: "oh, look girls can like this too. Stop shipping Zutara and come ship this instead."

I want to point out that the juxtaposition of Zutara and Kataang as respectively appealing to the feminine and masculine, is a flawed endeavour because neither ship does this fully.

The concept of Kataang being a purely male fantasy is also flawed due to the points I've outlied in this post.

Are there going to be male Kataang shippers who self insert onto Aang and use it for wish fulfilment? Probably. Are there going to be male Zutara shippers who do the same? Also probably.

In the end, our interpretation of media, particularly visual mediums like film are heavily influenced by our own biases, interests, beliefs andmost importantly our... well, our gaze. The creators can try to steer us with meaningful shots and voiced thought, directing actors or animating a scene to be a certain way, but ultimately we all inevitably draw our own conclusions.

A fan of Zutara can argue that Kataang is the epitome of catering to the male gaze, while Zutara is the answer to women everywhere's wishes.

While I can just as easily argue the exact opposite.

It really is just a matter of interpretation. What is really interesting, is what our gaze says about us. What we can see of ourselves when the subject gazes back at us.

I may want to analyse how Zutara caters to the male gaze in some instances, if those of you who manage to slog through this essay enjoy the subject matter.

[luminousdryad]

i might be in the minority for this but. people saying that as a 14 year old they would have had a crush on zuko. i was 14 when i got really obsessed with the show and i crushed on aang. especially book 3 aang. aang in The Headband altered my brain chemistry. idk i like soft extroverted golden retriever boys who are fine w appearing more feminine and are gentle in nature, not angsty and volatile the way zuko is esp with his anger issues. and i think that's why i ship kataang not because "it's the canon ship ofc you do" but because katara herself is passionate and explosive and sometimes uptight, aang gets to balance that out with his bubbly, happy go lucky personality

[marylily-my-beloved]

INTRO POST!! ♡

»»-----------► I HAVE A MICROFIC BLOG: @marylilymicrofic IF YOU LIKE MARYLILY AND LIKE MARAUDERS YOU SHOULD GO FOLLOW AND WRITE FOR IT!! I MADE IT WITH @icarus-last-fall

»»-----------► I made an aesthetic blog where I’ll be making mood boards and stuff !! It’s called @aesthetic-crows ♡

»»-----------► MY #1 WIFE RIYANA I LOVE HER GUYS @im-on-crack-send-help

»»-----------► Hiii! I hope you guys are prepared for like 4 fandom related posts a day and random rambles + shitposts ♡

»»-----------► My name is Fatimah, I am a minor (so plz don't be creepy) make any nicknames for me that you want ♡ She/they, arab, muslim, pansexual, infp, im just a girl ♡

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➥ Lily and the Princesses of Power (ongoing). She-ra au, marylily fic, background ships as well. Lily escapes from the Death Eaters leaving Mary behind. 5/? Chapters ♡

➥ Back at that Party (finished). Canon AU, marylily fic, background dorlene. Mary & Lily have a disagreement at a party and forced to sort it out together. 1/1 Chapter ♡

➥ Good Luck Babe! (finished). Canon AU, Lily x Narcissa wedding fic, end game narcissa x lucuis. Lily gets invited to Narcissa's wedding, and warns her about what could happen to her, and then dies a couple of years later. Main Character Death, 1/1 Chapter (based on Good Luck Babe! by Chappell Roan) ♡ (tumblr link)

➥ Burning Stars (finished). Canon AU, Bellatrix x Alice fic talking about their relationship in Hogwarts and how it ended. very angsty, hurt no comfort. 1/1 chapter ♡ (tumblr link)

➥ Strawberry Mentos (finished). Modern AU, marylily fic based on 'strawberry mentos'. Short and pretty cute and sweet. Getting Together fic. 1/1 chapter ♡ (tumblr link)

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»»-----------► SOME LINKS TO MY FAVE POSTS I MADE

Black Sisters Dialouge

Mary Macdonald Deep Dive

Dorcas Meadowes Deep Dive

Black Sisters Deep Dive (sorta)

Peter Pettigrew Deep Dive

Blue by Billie Eilish = Andromeda & Bellatrix

Skinny by Billie Eilish = Lily Evans

Chihiro by Billie Eilish = Dorcas Meadowes

Lacy by Olivia Rodrigo = Dorlily (Dorcas x Lily)

Apple by Charli XCX = Evans Sisters (Lily & Petunia)

24/7 by The Neighbourhood = Jily modern AU

Bellatrix & Sirius Comparison

Microfics

»»-----------► I am obessed with Chappell Roan and women so much its not even funny anymore

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»»-----------► I love hearts, pearls, rings, aesthetic stuff, pink and purple, uquizzes, cats, my moots & lipgloss ♡

»»-----------► DNI IF

Rasict Transphobic and/or homphobic Islamaphobic Zionist / supports israel Sexist Discriminate against people for any stupid reason

»»-----------► Fandoms: ♡

・❥・ Harry Potter/Marauders fandom. Gryffindor. Lily, Mary & Remus kinnie. In love with James Potter & Pandora Lovegood ♡ (fuck jk rowling I do not support her) (jkr should go die)

・❥・She-ra (2018 reboot). Harcdore catradora and scorfuma shipper. Entrapta kinnie and I am in love with her ♡

・❥・ PJO (Percy Jackson). Percabeth and Valgrace <333 Cabin #8. Pretty sure I kin Annabeth. My favourite charcater is Bianca ♡

・❥・Hunger Games. Have not finished the series yet but working on it <3. In love with Johanna ♡. Need to read half of Mockingjay & TBOSAS ♡

・❥・Heartstopper. So excited for season 3, read all of the books on webtoon. Tori & Tara lover ♡. Darcy, Elle & Charlie kinnie. Harcore Tara x Darcy shippers ♡

・❥・ Young Royals. Harcore Sara x Felice shipper & Stedrika (stella x fredrika) & of coure Wilmon and Henry x Walter. Wilhelm and Felice kinnie. In love with Maddie ♡

・❥・ ATLA & LOK. I love them so much, I love Korra and Katara & Asami. Toph + Zuko kinnie ♡ Harcore kataang and toph x suki. getting into zutara but kataang will always be the otp. I have almost all the comics for ATLA ♡

・❥・TDP / The Dragon Prince. love love love love, I got sooo back into it after season 6. protect my boy terry!!! ♡ rayllum my loves. sorvus my heart. fuck viren. probably a soren kinnie... ♡

・❥・Probably more but I can't remember rn ♡

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➥ Pride Month headcanons: #fatimahs pride headcanons 🤍 ➥ Daily Headcanons: #dailyyapfromfatimah🎀 ➥ Random stuff: fatimah yaps 🎀 ➥ Headcanons (doesn't matter which fandom): #Fatimahs headcanons 🩷 ➥ Deep Dives & Random long rambles: #Fatimahs deep dives ➥ My Writing (either here or a link to ao3): #Fatimah's writing 🌸 ➥ Asks: #Fatimah gets an ask woah ➥ My irl life: Fatimah’s life!! »»-----------► Quotes ➥ marauders: Fatimahs marauders quotes 🩵 ➥She ra: Fatimahs she ra quotes 🩷 forgot the rest lol ♡

»»-----------► Music: Conan Gray, Sabrina Carpenter, The Weeknd, Olivia Rodrigo, Chase Atlantic, Suicidal Tendencies, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Beadadoobee, Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Ethel Cain, EMELINE, Lana Del Ray, The Neighbourhood, Arctic Monkeys, CAS, David Bowie, Queen, Mitski, Cavetown & girl in red ♡

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»»-----------► I usually yap only about the marauders and/or she-ra but will occasionally yap about anything and everything else <3 please send me asks for anything you want I love asks and your like personal comments on my stuff ♡

the dividers are by @cafekitsune & the images are from Pinterest ♡

random ass stuff bc i love that !!

[dreamchasernina]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[blackbullet99]

Why (as a Kataang shipper and in general) I don’t like Zutara shippers.

(I promise it’s NOT a Pro-Zutara post and it’s NOT an Anti-Kataang post).

LONG POST INCOMING, but if you have the time, please read. 😁

I’ve been thinking. I don’t hate Zutara.

No, I’m not being held hostage, and I know this kinda goes against my rather vitriolic and brutal response to Zutara shippers, but the ship itself is fine and I’m sure 95% of the shippers are decent people.

I really love Zuko and Katara’s friendship, it’s one of the most interesting unique dynamics of the show. It’s annoying when people say, they’re toxic, or they’re barely friends, or it’s a colonizer ship. Zuko and Katara weren’t toxic by the end of the show, they have a great relationship at the end, they were absolutely close friends, ready to lay down their lives for each other. Zuko WAS a colonizer, but he learned this line of thinking was wrong and actively sought to make the world a better place and save The Earth Kingdom.

That being said, Kataang is definitely indisputably the superior “ship”. We see the two start of a close friends from the get-go, they both have a lot of admiration and respect for one another, they grow to love each other dearly despite their flaws, they support each other constantly. And it’s abundantly clear that not only does Aang love Katara, but Katara loves Aang, some may it’s one-sided, but that’s objectively false, it’s painfully obvious they mean the world to each other, we see their bond get stronger, but they have a strong friendship and bond first and foremost and their romantic feelings comfortably exist within.

When I say Zutara shippers are annoying, entitled, toxic idiots, I’m specifically referring to the very vocal minority of people that seem to dominate ZK shipping discussions on Tumblr.

People like…

the-badger-mole who villainizes Aang and hates a fictional 12 year old to a ridiculous degree. Not to mention has so many objectively wrong takes.

longing-for-rain who villainizes Aang, downplaying his trauma, and is unempathetic to his emotions, but will excuses all of Zuko’s anger and outbursts cuz “muh enemies to lovers”.

eponastory who straight up downplays the very serious effects of genocide and the trauma it causes.

sokkastyles who actually thinks an imperialist play reflects the real Katara, (and yes they think the Zutara means “Zutara should’ve been canon, waah”).

zutarawasrobbed who straight up compared Aang to Ozai.

burst-of-iridescent who invalidates Katara trauma from bloodbending cuz she did it in front of Zuko once, but the evil Aang must’ve forced Katara to stop. 🙄

linnoya-writes who straight up infantizes Aang and adulifies Katara, and then that’s the audacity to put their garbage in the Kataang tag.

miss-sweetea-pie who makes mindless assumptions about people who like Aang, as though people ignore Aang’s faults and he never learns because he’s cute. Which is not only untrue, but completely ignores the fact people ignore and romanticize Zuko’s faults because to them he’s hot.

araeph who not only lies about interviewing Aaron Ehasz, but also says borderline racist stuff like this just to pathetically validate their non-canon ship (this is apparently what Sokka would gain from Zutara becoming a couple).

This idiot who acts like Aang forced Katara to comfort him and Katara apparently never treated Aang as an equal. Not to mention weirdly villainizing Zuko and Mai, because Mai didn’t coddle Zuko (like they claim Katara did to Aang) and Zuko became Fire Lord?

This hateful idiot, who is a straight up genocide denier.

And this racist weirdo who straight up writes slave fanfics about Katara being owned by Zuko. Ew.

It’s these types of people who suck. They’re the most delusional entitled moronic idiots who are fake A:TLA fans with no media-literacy who only care about a middle school ship, so they pathetically mischaracterize Aang, Katara, Zuko and Mai, and whine about Bryke not giving into their desires like the little bitches they are. Screw these guys.

That being said the ship itself isn’t bad, it’s just the vocal minority who ruin it for me. I love Zuko and Katara’s friendship, and I wish the great characters in this great series would stop being mischaracterized.

To anyone who reads this, have a nice day.

[onlypwincess]

Katang shippers have lost their minds. Imagine obsessing over your ship not happening in the live action series?? The guy playing Aang is a little boy and Kataang shippers want him to be all over Katara in the live action. Why are grown adults wanting to see two minors kiss and be all over each other in this live action instead of enjoying the series? I legit saw grown adults complaining about not seeing enough Kataang action? ex. Kissing.touching more. These people are creepy. I'm not even the biggest Zutara shippers but they aren't saying these creepy things. I don't even hate Kataang but it already happened in the comics and animated series so why are they complaining?

[dracosleftarsecheek]

Hello darlings

Hi everyone!! Welcome to my hole of chaos, I hope you stick along for the wild ride..

INTRO POST:

name: Flynn <3

pronouns: he/she/they

gender identity: genderqueer :)

sexuality: lesbiannn

i am a red fox therian!!

Witchy Shit For My Fellow Magicks

status: maiden, new to the practice

faith: celtic

spirits/deities: morrigan and arianrhod

zodiac: capricorn

signature tarot cards: the moon, page of swords

things i associate myself with: ravens, bats, citrine, ivy, the colour green

things i love: adventures, chaos, forests, converse, sketching, writing, reading, romance, folk tales, stars, sleepovers, goblincore grungey style

music: arctic monkeys, the smiths, chappell roan, billie eilish, conan gray, yaelokre, phoebe bridgers, kaiser chiefs, blondshell, girl in red, tv girl, gorillaz, lana del ray

fandoms: six of crows, lockwood and co, marauders, star wars, atla, julie and the phantoms

ships i ship: wolfstar, jegulus, drarry, linny, gauntlow, perciver, rosekiller, dorlene, marylily, wolfwren, thranto, kalluzeb, wesper, kanej, helnik, zoyalai, locklyle, zukka, kataang, juke, willex

fun facts:

i'm a slytherin and a james potter kinnie <3

my grisha order is etherealki, inferni

i have audhd and switch hyperfixations very quickly

current hyperfix: soc

i write fanfics (occasionally) on my ao3 account, dracosrightarsecheek

i am a minor so nothing innappropriate

my moots:

@uhmmmmaixllezhere - my gf

@i-eat-so-much-grass @justafrogghost @bleep-bloop-boo @homocidalpotat @onceinalifetimexperiencebuttwice @touslin

@anything-for-my-moony-1971 @lusxnei6 @fairyycoffin @bl0ssomized @yourlocalbadgerscales

@names-confuse-me @cheekyboybeth @here-am-i-sitting-in-a-tin-can @fairyycoffin

i love chatting and making new friends, as long as you aren't a creep or a dick, then i shall block you

dni if you are anti lgbt+, racist, pedophilic, sexist, a terf, nazi, Z00, anti therian/otherkin or anything disgusting like that

i do have several other blogs, all which belong to rp groups, check them out if you're interested

soc rp: @yestheglovesarepermanent, i play kaz

marauders rp: @sconewithjamesplease, i play james

victorian oc rp: @acertainmrcharlieclifton, i play my original character charlie, who works as a butler in a manor

go follow mine and my partner @uhmmmmaixllezhere 's oc universe blog, @oneextremelyspiritualtree !!

enjoy my blog, dears, if you have any questions just pop me an ask, within reason ofc

credit to @plum98 and @rosypotions for the text dividers

[punkeropercyjackson]

Yeah,no,Zutaras don't care about representation for anyone other than themselves.Because if they did,why do they

Call Aang white because they don't like him while knowing full well he's tibetan and come up with every insult in the book for him because he's a femme boy

Say Mai is a pick me and toxic because of her autistic-coding and trauma responses and dosen't 'deserve' Zuko even though he canonically finds the former attractive and has the latter too

Accuse Zukka shippers of being fujoshis who 'just hate women' for wanting Sokka to be bi and Zuko his boyfriend when most Zukka shippers are queer minors who only started the fandom because Atla got put on Netflix so that's how they found out it then instead of when it came out

And completely disregard Ty Lee as an even potentional love interest for Zuko by calling her 'too much of a bimbo' and 'stereotypically girly' for him when she was written with deconstructing that archetype in mind by giving her real emotions and what it puts girls through by misogynists who want to police how we present even if it's a healing/coping mechanism like in her case?

If moc queer or not love Kataang,they get called dudebros with no basis.If autistic women instead of just 'quirky nerds' love Maiko,they get strawmaned as 'creepy alt girls who're trying too hard'.If gay and trans people love Zukka,they get the classic 'these FILTHY GAYS are RUINING our HETEROSEXUAL SPACE' take.And if autistic queer girls who're femme in ways that aren't palpable to allistics and cishets love Ty Luko,we get told we aren't even worth considering romantic options because we're too 'stupid' and can't 'really have deep connections' that aren't being someone's annoying friend.You wanted Zutara to be canon because you're a woc like Katara and had a crush on Zuko?Cool,i feel the same way about Ty Luko and so do certain Maiko and Zukka shippers with their ships but none of run around cyberbullying school children and causing unnecessary infighting over it!So be quiet,not everything is about you and at this point we've proven we're too good to be near you so leave and don't forget to let door hit you on the way out♡

[dukeofdelirium]

don't get me wrong, I'm excited for the upcoming ATLA movies, but given a certain attitude about a certain ship...

I mean one person said Katara got "stuck making babies, talked down to by White Lotus masters, and did nothing" and I'm just, like. Bro.

One user even said they ignore Aang's screen time in the original show and they don't even watch the final scene of B3. And another said that the infamous tree scene is what made them see Zutara.

There really is no reasoning with these wackos.

Who gives a fuck what they say lmao

They literally aren’t fans of ATLA and have no comprehension of the actual show or characters. They have zero respect for the creators or writers, and were never the intended audience…

At some point you have to just ignore these morons. This is why I have every tag involving them filtered on here. They aren’t fans of ATLA and they don’t represent the majority of the fanbase of this amazing show. They are a loud, annoying and aggressive minority who haven’t been able to cope with the massive L they were served even tho it happened nearly 16 years ago. They’re pathetic little piss babies who act like toddlers but are well into adulthood and none of us should give a single fuck what they say or think about anything, especially not ATLA or Kataang. These are the same idiots who are making up false allegations about the creators and calling them pedophiles with absolutely ZERO proof or reason to do so—all because they are angry they didn’t get their fucking way.

Don’t let their bitterness ruin your fun and enjoyment

[longing-for-rain]

What immensely bothers me about the way Kataang was written is that it not only hurt Katara's character, but Aang's character as well.

The writers set up the subplot of Aang needing to let go of his idealistic vision of Katara and then... just completely ignored it throughout the entirety of S3?

While I'm not saying that every ATLA character needed to go through an extensive character development, Aang having little to no development as a person and a leader (I am not talking about his physical training as a bender here) is some extremely disappointing writing, considering he is THE protagonist.

It's actually baffling to me how much the show deliberately dodges most oppurtunities to develop Aang as a character and how much the poor handling of Kataang plays a role in it.

Instead of Aang slowly growing to appreciate Katara as a person with all her flaws and quirks and trying to understand her way of thinking and culture, which culminates in him EARNING his Avatar state, we get the inconsistent mess, full of unresolved arguments and overstepped boundaries, that is S3 Kataang, Aang getting the girl only because he's the Hero™ (even though their last interaction before the kiss was an unresolved argument) and Aang being saved by Deus Ex Machina. TWICE. All of which could have been easily fixed, if the writers actually capitalized on the development that was already set up to happen.

I would be more willing to accept the points "he's literally twelve" and "why are you getting so worked up over which fictional characters are dating", if the writing didn't waste the blatant oportunity to develop the character, and if the ship in question didn't nuke any development its characters recieved.

Like, you don't even have to be a Zutara shipper to see how Kataang basically shat on both Aang and Katara as characters.

Agree with all of this, but I want to focus on this bit right here:

I would be more willing to accept the points "he's literally twelve" and "why are you getting so worked up over which fictional characters are dating", if the writing didn't waste the blatant oportunity to develop the character, and if the ship in question didn't nuke any development its characters recieved.

Here’s the thing. Aang is the protagonist of the show. You know, the one character who absolutely should have a solid arc and experience meaningful growth. I’m not saying he had no growth. But it’s just like you said, there are some pretty glaring plot holes surrounding his story. Could be excusable for a side character, but for the protagonist? Really not great.

And people will also act like romance is no big deal, but I think it really shines a light on how Katara is viewed by the creators and fans in relation to romance. From Aang’s perspective, romance can be treated as a minor add-on at the end because it’s narratively framed as his reward for saving the day. Aang doesn’t have to fundamentally change as a character to enter into that romance. It is written in a way that centers him.

Katara, however, does change. That can be seen in any post-canon material. I know they’ll keep trying to retcon this, but Legend of Korra will always exist to show us how little regard for these people have for female characters they’ve relegated to love interests.

[the-badger-mole]

lmfaoooo kataang fans getting mad and then they prove us right with their disrespectful behavior because we point out that aang as a main character isn't in the top 3 for most fics. i've been in other fandoms where the main character has the most fics, so aang's fans not making fics for him is a skill issue

I haven't read any Kataang fic, so I can't say it's a skill thing. It looks more like an interest issue to me. I'm convinced the biggest and loudest Aang stans actually make up a small, but vocal minority. But they are super annoying. I mean, pebble in your shoe when you can't take it off yet levels of annoying.

[aurik-kal-durin]

How my obsession with shipping spoiled Avatar: The Last Airbender for me.

I'm an OG Avatar fan. I watched the show when it first aired in February of 2005. I was 15 years old.

Right away, I knew Aang and Katara were gonna be a thing. It was so obvious, and it only became more obvious as Season 1 went on. More so in Season 2 and Season 3. The show never let you forget about it, as even outside of overtly Kataang-centric episodes like The Fortuneteller and The Cave of Two Lovers, they kept bringing it up in some form or another.

Unfortunately, Zutara was a thing, and they never shut up about it. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they insisted up and down that Zuko and Katara were meant to be together. I was a Zutara shipper for a short time, and I admit that I thought it would be canon too in the weeks leading up to Crossroads of Destiny. After the Season 2 finale, I went with the flow, and sided with Kataang... and that's where the problems began to really start.

You see, the Zutara fandom got really toxic right after Season 2 ended. Kataang fans like myself didn't appreciate it, and before I knew it... watching Avatar: The Last Airbender was no longer about just enjoying the show. It was about winning. Just so we could gloat when Zutara inevitably lost.

I could no longer just watch the show and relax. I was on the edge of my seat during each episode, keeping a sharp eye out for the slightest hint of Kataang, and spent the weeks between each episode arguing with strangers online about shipping, trying to convince a brick wall that it was not made of steel... if you will indulge me the metaphor.

In short, shipping wars sucked all the joy of watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. By engaging in shipping wars with rabid Zutarians, I kind of ruined the show for myself. Not entirely my fault, because the Zutara fans back then were easily-triggered bullies who just would not stop, which made it hard to ignore them... but nonetheless, I feel like all of us should've ignored them. Their ship was never going to be canon, everyone knew it after Crossroads of Destiny. All except for this toxic vocal minority whose enjoyment of the show hinged on whether or not their ship became canon.

Unfortunately, some Kataangers (such as myself) got so upset about it (and so obsessed with it) that our enjoyment of the show also hinged on our ship being canon.

How bad was it? Bad enough that I can no longer call Avatar: The Last Airbender my favorite show of all time. Why? Because the experience of watching it the first time was STRESSFUL. So stressful, in fact, that I usually can't go back and watch it again.

Compare that to other shows I've watched... like Hilda, on Netflix. That was a very relaxing show to watch the first time around, and because of that I feel like I can go back and watch it whenever. But Avatar, sadly, only brings back memories of stress and anxiety... stemming from an unhealthy obsession with something stupid.

P.S. Why the hell did we ever call it "Kataang"? Who is the IDIOT that came up with that name? I always thought that was a stupid name for our ship. Why not "Aangtara" or "Kataraang"?