#this is the only thing she and sokka disagree on probably

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpetation of The Southern Raiders: Part 2 – Zuko

Warning: The views expressed in this analysis will be somewhat uncritical of Zuko. If you aren't likely to agree, you aren't going to enjoy this post. This is your chance to leave. I probably won't have a debate for personal reasons.

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This is the second part out of a three part series trying to answer every question posed by the discourse on The Southern Raiders. If I take some things for granted, it's because I discussed them in part 1, in which I delve into A\ang's role in the episode. Today, I'll set my sights on Zuko.

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1. Was Zuko a negative influence on Katara?

No, he did not. When Zuko merely presents the possibility of tracking her mother’s killer, it cuts through her reply right to her already leaving. In literature, what isn’t in the text holds no relevance and is to be disregarded as mere speculation. We don’t see Zuko convincing her, therefore he had no influence on her, and that she made the choices she did because she wanted to.

All Zuko did later on was defend a decision Katara already made on her own. And in both the first and second disagreements with Aang she had the last word. Ergo she was making her own choice.

Additionally, before they enter the room of who they think was her mother’s killer, Zuko asks her if she’s ready. And when she finally spares Yon Rha, he supports her decision. If he were to influence her, he wouldn’t have done either of these things. He only wanted to help Katara heal and never brought up anything that wasn’t already there.

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2. Was Zuko being too harsh on Aang?

(1) That's cute, but this isn't air temple preschool. It's the real world.

(2) [Forgiveness]'s the same as doing nothing!

(3) Okay, we'll be sure to do that, guru goody-goody.

He was definitely disrespectful towards Aang's culture, although his disrespectful remarks are a response to Aang’s own disrespect, imposing his beliefs onto Katara. And he didn’t say that until after Aang compared Katara to Jet. It was still wrong to come after the Air Nomad teachings, but they’re not as insulting as people paint them to be.

And it’s not like he didn’t take them back by the end of the episode. Zuko had good intentions, made a mistake and learned from it. That’s how characters grow, through mistakes. (More on that later).

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3. What motivated Zuko to find Yon Rah?

He wanted to earn Katara’s trust. The show makes it explicitly clear.

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

And so later:

Zuko: Katara mentioned it before when we were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se, and again just now when she was yelling at me. I think somehow she's connected her anger at that to her anger at me.

I’ve seen many describe this motive as selfish or manipulative, but I have to disagree. He has no reason to do anything to earn Katara’s trust. He saved her life on that very day, is fully accepted into the GAang, and in this episode he found out that some of her anger at him is rooted in projection. But he still goes out of his way to do the impossible, to give Katara the closure she needs in order to put faith in him.

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4. Why did Zuko think revenge\murder would help Katara?

Katara is a kind soul and murder wouldn’t have helped her heal, but Zuko had good reasons to think it would have. He didn’t know Katara’s soul, she didn’t even consider him a colleague, at that point she hated him. However, he did see Sokka killing Combustion Man in The Western Air Temple. So he has no way of knowing whether revenge would help, but he’s under the impression that murder isn’t a big taboo at least for some of the GAang. (Edit: Katara threatened to take his life 3 episodes ago. He had every reason to believe murder could help her).

Moreover, he knows that the person who took his mother away from him will receive justice, and that it helps him sleep at night. Katara doesn’t have that, Yon Rha retired in peace. So he offers her the justice he knows helps him.

But the main reason why he thinks revenge would help Katara, is that she told him it will. Zuko plays a largely passive role in the episode, simply assisting Katara in whatever way he can.He’s only fulfilling Katara’s wishes, and she told him that her wish is to seek justice on “the monster”.

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5. Did the trip have an effect on Zuko?

It did. By the end of the episode, Zuko delivers the following line:

This is an important part of his arc of unlearning the Fire Nation’s black and white philosophy that values aggression above all else. He comes around to Air Nomad pacifism and non violent solutions from seeing them work first hand. And as the good (redeemed) person that he is, he admits he was wrong and changes his views. He grew as a character to become a better version of himself.

Edit: As I stated previously, Zuko didn't really know Katara until they went on the trip, which is part of why he thought murder could be of help. Now that he'd seen her journey in the episode, he knows her quite well (and won't make such offers again).

——————

In conclusion, despite the somewhat questionable nature of Zuko's actions in "The Southern Raiders", his underlying good intentions shine through. His role was not a devil on Katara’s shoulder, but a natural force backing up whatever decision she makes. And this allows him to emerge with a valuable lesson learned.

Continued

[wonderlandgoblin]

Okay, so I don’t watch Hazbin Hotel (if I wrote it wrong, sorry) but for like weeks, the only thing I see in the asexual tag is people complaining about allos shipping ace characters in a very allo way, and it’s been annoying me to no end, because while we do have to be upset about that, the ace tag should also function in a way for us to share jokes, have fun and enjoy our identity without having to fight for our right to exist.

So I propose we do something different. Let’s annoy the aphobes. I propose that from now on, every character becomes ace/aro/aroace. No more shipping fanfics, just platonic relationships and friendships. Every fanart is now SFW and has the ace/aro/aroace flags colors.

I DEMAND A REVOLUTION!!!!

Tell me the characters you’re claiming!

My ace claimings are:

1-Luffy (any pairing with him just gives me nausea)

2-Zoro (fuck zosan, he prefers swords over anything except maybe luffy, who he has a squish on)

3-Bakugou Katsuki (I love that kid, I’m making him one of my own)

4-Sasuke (I hate that guy, but he rejected both Sakura and Naruto, that kid’s definitely aroace)

5-Yor (my queen mama prefers killing over kissing, that should be an obvious sign)

6-Yona (no one’s touching my queen, she never liked Soo-won nor Hak, it was all social pressure to not end up alone, fight me)

7-Xie Lian (I don’t like the idea of anyone touching the god I worship, so that means he’s ace now)

8-Kageyama (idk why, he just has a vibe)

9-Handa from Barakamon (I don’t think this needs explanation)

10-Fushiguro Megumi (I like him, he’s one of my own now)

11-Maomao (she prefers venoms over sex)

12-Mash from Mashle (like, look at him, that guy just wants to exercise, eat and be with his family)

13-Violet Evergarden (I don’t think I need to explain this, this girl dedicated her entire life to understanding romance as it made no sense to her, aroace queen)

14-Sokka (he’s too smart to like sex)

15-Zuko (he’s an angel, angels don’t have sex)

16-Magnus Chase AND Alex Fierro (they’re my babies, I identify too much with them, the idea of them having sex gives me the ickies)

17-Jude from the Cruel Prince (I liked her better before she fell for that stupid fairy)

18-Edmund from Narnia (he was my childhood crush, I’m making him ace)

19-Annabeth Chase (she’s too perfect to have sex)

20-Alec Lightwood (I just like imagining Magnus loosing his shit every once in a while because of it)

21-Leo Valdez (bc why not?)

22-Blue Sargent and half the women she lives with (no explanation needed)

23-Dick Gansey the Third (he prefers dead kings over sex)

24-Katniss Everdeen (if you disagree, what is wrong with you?)

25-Castiel (fuck destiel shippers, angels don’t have sex)

26-Felicity from Arrow (haven’t finished the series but as far as I know, she’s too cool for sex)

27-Barbie (she’s a doll, she has no reproductive organs, she can’t feel desire)

I could probably pick more characters but I think this is enough for now, have fun annoying the aphobes!

[burst-of-iridescent]

Oh, thank you, my day is good, but after your message it got even better! I really found solace on Tumblr, which I could not find either in these terrible comics or in LOTR. To be honest, I hardly mastered the latter at all, literally forcing myself to watch series after series, searching in vain for the former depth of characters and conflict. In my opinion, LOTR is a complete failure on all fronts, with the exception of high-quality drawing. If it's about comics, it's an illogical development of events, which, unfortunately, is laid down in the last series. I wanted to ask you -how do you feel about Ursa's line? I was offended by her decision to leave the children (of course, it happened against her will, but still -to change her face and personality, forget about her beloved son and lead a happy life with an old lover?! Don't get it wrong, a woman should suffer for the rest of her days because of a failed marriage, she should not give up happiness if fate sends. But in the context of this story, in your opinion, does it not look like a betrayal, first of all of herself (Ursa?), and of course her children. She couldn't help but understand what kind of hell they got into, first of all the son, after her disappearance. And if you also disagree with this "canon", what would you see the fate of Zuko and Azula's mother? (sorry for such a long letter!)

hi again! thank you, you're so sweet!

i 100% feel you on both LOK (i'm guessing LOTR is a typo?) and the comics. it's so disappointing because both the show and the comics have some great conceptual ideas, and in the hands of competent writers, could've been excellent continuations of ATLA and worthwhile successors... but instead we got a flaming pile of garbage that deserves to be at the bottom of the sea.

the search isn't the worst atla comic imo (that honour goes to the promise) but it's definitely doing its damn best to earn that spot. i hate so many things about that comic: the outdated, insulting depictions of mental illness and mental healthcare in azula's story, zuko getting a "replacement sister" in kiyi as a fix-it bandaid, the fact that it becomes a whole gaang adventure when the correct narrative choice would've been for zuko and katara (and maybe azula at most) to take this trip together as a full circle from the southern raiders, katara and sokka's only role in the story being to foil zuko and azula and nothing else, and of course... the complete annihilation of everything ursa's character was set up to be in atla.

i agree with you that it is very much a betrayal of ursa's character for her to willingly lose her memories. she knows she's leaving her children in the hands of a dangerous abuser, one who's already molding her daughter into a lethal weapon and was fully ready to murder her son, who has proven his willingness to sacrifice his children without hesitation if it benefits him. but despite this, despite the fact that she committed murder, accepted exile and even risked her life (for she had no way of knowing if ozai would simply let her leave peacefully) to protect her child... suddenly she's willing to throw all of that away and fuck off with her childhood lover at the first opportunity?

it baffles me why bryke didn't at least make ursa's memory loss an accident, which would've both explained her absence and why she never went to look for her children without committing character assassination in the process - but that's probably expecting too much logical writing from those two.

i'm actually planning a post-canon book 4 zutara fic that would include a rewrite of the search, where ursa didn't just fuck off to do nothing, but actually had a redemption arc very similar to zuko's after secretly fleeing to live in the earth kingdom and seeing the damage the war had done. she takes it upon herself to right the fire nation's wrongs, and grows particularly invested in air nomad culture, seeing it as her duty to try and bring back some of what the genocide had destroyed. shortly before zuko's banishment she sets out to find the remnants of a people long believed to be gone - and finds that maybe they're not entirely gone after all.

i won't spoil the rest, but i think it'll both explain why ursa never went back for zuko and azula while still giving her a meaningful story that didn't involve just swapping one family for another. if only we'd gotten something similar in the comics but alas... bryke gonna bryke.

thanks for the ask! no worries about it being long, i thoroughly enjoy reading your thoughts <3

[survivalove]

the thing with hama is that at this point, she doesn't seem to really "care" about the water tribe. obviously she does, that's her home, and who she is. but it's changed so much, and she's become so deep in her revenge that i can't see her ever assimilating fully back into her home. the people there are desperate for some sort of peace, and hama doesn't want nor care for peace, she wants revenge. I kind of wish somebody would explore this idea more because yes a lot of people would have sympathy for what she's suffered, but I can imagine a lot of people, like sokka, would not like her (especially if you consider the fact that from the southern water tribes point of view, she attacked katara and sokka, two children of the tribe and that the majority of these people have never met hama). idk I think this is a very fascinating concept to explore bc it shows a more realistic side of the war in that some people, even if they thought they wanted it to end, can't live without it because of the traumas they endured. and like you said, the swt is a majority nonbenders society and one that's inherently changed. hama comes from the southern water tribe before most of the raids, and back then the culture was more closely linked with the northern water tribe. as the raids went on, water benders were lost, the culture developed to fit these conditions. we see in north and south that a lot of people do not like northern intervention, and changing the south pole to fit its standards, and since hama was from a time where cultural wise the south mimicked the north a lot more, I can imagine that would also be a point of strife

same, I think it would be a great concept to explore in a fic since it would bring up a lot of contention among the tribe (because I do think there will be at least a few people like kanna and hakoda who will advocate for her rehabilitation) but also between sokka and katara. at the end of the day, katara is a waterbender and she has this power, she and sokka both know what it feels like to be bloodbended but she’ll never be in sokka’s place where he literally couldn’t fight back against it at all if he wanted. i think sokka would hate her and would to hate to have to live with her in his home where he’s supposed to feel safe and I don’t blame him.

also katara once again feeling like an other because she’s the only other bloodbender in the tribe and most people don’t know that she’s bloodbended after that either. and what if the tribe decides hama can’t come back? what does that say for someone like katara who’s done the same thing?

the water tribe post war is truly one of the most underexplored parts of canon (!!!) i just imagine aang being invited to the council meeting trying to reconcile all these conflicting ideas lol. knowing him he’d probably want to give hama a chance but it’s not up to him. and it’s be a great problem for hakoda to reckon with too because as you said, most of the tribe is not going to want her back, and the swt is a democracy at the end of the day.

the southern water tribe in hama’s time does seem to be very different, aesthetically and culturally, from the north tho so that’s probably where i disagree. i think it’s more that she will miss her friends and everyone she knew. the presence of northerners would probably upset her the most. that being said, I think hama would want to go to back. I mean she fought hard for her tribe (another way the swt and the nwt is so different) and it’s not their fault she got taken so i don’t think she will hold any malice in her heart upon arrival. but i do think it will be a rude awakening for her to realize everything is so much different than it once was, once she gets there.

if i were to write the story, i’d probably end it with hama living on the outskirts a few miles away from Wolf Cove, where she can’t be a threat to anyone but still be close to where she grew up.

ugh the potential character development for katara, sokka, hakoda, kanna, hama and even aang for a story like this is literally limitless. sigh

[homuraakemis]

I was really hoping to like Netflix ATLA, but there were just way too many things that I didn't like. I don't have any wish to debate any of this (so if you disagree please ignore or write your own post), I'm just writing this to gather my thoughts and get this off my chest (also this is very disorganized). So here's a list of some of the things that I didn't like about Netflix ATLA (there's probably more, but I won't remember them all right now):

-- Removing the sexism everywhere, then bringing it back when it's convenient: Sokka is not sexist, Yue can just break off her betrothal, but when the narrative needs Katara and Pakku to fight, the tribe is suddenly sexist again. There's no consistency. Sokka and Katara's conflict makes no sense without his sexism. They created a whole different conflict between Sokka thinking that Katara doesn't take him seriously and Katara thinking that Sokka treats her like a little girl, and it feels completely artificial. We aren't even shown scenes in which Sokka actually treats Katara as a little girl for this conflict between them to be believable. Sokka and Suki's relationship also doesn't work without his sexism and her humbling him. In NATLA, they seem to have some conflict for no reason over who's the better warrior, then Suki is super interested in Sokka for no reason and starts stalking him and looking at him with some really weird wide eyes all the time. We have nothing of the natural relationship they develop in the cartoon, in which Sokka slowly comes to respect her as a warrior and she warms up to him and he starts to act more humble (and they don't even have all that much development in the cartoon either, but the cartoon makes the relationship work much better). Also, I find it very annoying (and sexist) that they tried to absolve the sexist male characters of their character flaw of being sexist to make the audience like them more. Sokka is no longer sexist, and now June has a crush on Iroh, because how dare their precious Iroh be flawed and be a creep towards June, right? Better to just remove his flaw and make him blameless (/sarcasm).

-- Changing the Zuko, Azula and Ozai dynamic: It's very weird making Ozai praise Zuko so much. I know that by the end, they try to pass it off as Ozai "playing games" to motivate Azula, but it still comes off very weird, making it look like he favors Zuko over Azula. Azula is supposed to be the golden child. Zuko is supposed to be an utter failure in Ozai's eyes. If it was one scene of Ozai praising Zuko to manipulate Azula, it would be one thing, but they have several scenes of him praising Zuko, seemingly missing Zuko and being teary eyed as he burned Zuko, and it makes it seem like he thinks Zuko is strong and banished him only as a test to make him even stronger, instead of his actual reason in the cartoon (which is that he thinks Zuko is weak and a failure). And his constant criticisms of Azula are even weirder. Azula is the golden child! She's supposed to always have been praised for her talents (animation!Ozai AND comics!Ozai constantly praise Azula). I get that they're trying to show how Ozai was abusive and manipulative to both of his kids, but there are ways of showing this without completely changing Zuko and Azula's dynamic. You could have Azula being perfect most of the time with Ozai praising her, but then the one time she gets something wrong, you could have him say something threatening like "you don't want to end up like your weakling brother". This would have shown how Ozai manipulated Azula and why Azula feels like she constantly needs to please him (for fear of ever being treated like Zuko) without removing Azula's characterization as the perfect golden child that Ozai always saw as superior to Zuko.

-- Making Zuko fight his father (which is very thematically wrong) and making it canon in the live action the fanon headcanon that Zuko's scar is supposed to be a handprint with Ozai "tenderly" touching Zuko as he burns him (I hate this headcanon with a passion).

-- Making Ozai teary eyed as he burns Zuko (wtf).

-- Zuko doesn't lash out enough at his uncle and crew, they soften his flaws.

-- I didn't like the way they rewrote the war council scene or how Ozai gave Zuko permission to speak. I get that they were trying to show Ozai's disappointment in Zuko and how Zuko couldn't give a battle plan answer that Ozai approved, but it still felt off to me.

-- Also, why would Ozai just… decide to let the 41st division live just because Zuko argued for them? The whole point was that Zuko's opinion didn't matter to Ozai. It doesn't make sense to me that Ozai changed his plans to sacrifice the division just because Zuko spoke up. Not only it messes up with his original battle plans that he was so defensive about and was outraged that Zuko "disrespected", this also would make him look weak before his generals, because it's him giving his disrespectful son exactly what he wanted. It really makes no sense to me. I know they did it to make Zuko look more "heroic", and to make the crew finally respect him, but Zuko didn't need this to be more heroic, he was already heroic simply for speaking up for them. As for his crew coming to respect him, it should have come from his own actions, like in the animation, where Zuko actually realizes how badly he had been treating his crew and actually does right by them by thinking of their safety in the storm. The animation actually gives him character growth, in which Zuko reflects on his bad actions and changes. In NATLA, Iroh just tells the crew that they should respect Zuko because he saved them, and Zuko doesn't have to grow or self reflect on his treatment of his crew at all.

-- Badly choreographed fight scenes. The benders are constantly making unnecessary moves to bend (like they're charging up or something), which doesn't feel organic. In several moments they pose for long moments in the middle of the fight, and the opponents just stand there watching them pose. In fact, there are several moments where an opponent just waits there while our heroes do a bunch of random dance movements to summon their element instead of just attacking them in the middle of their dance.

-- I got more used to the costumes as I watched, but some of them still feel like cosplay.

-- A lot of dialogue is clunky and awkward. Gyatso telling Aang he is the Avatar is blunt, and Aang is given no time to react or emote about this heavy burden that was suddenly placed on him. Gran Gran starts an exposition about how the four nations used to live in harmony and how Aang is special and the Avatar out of nowhere, before she has any evidence to make her actually believe this. For all she knows he's just a random airbender.

-- The acting is also not the best. Not as bad as I was expecting from what we were shown in the trailer, but not really very good. People randomly scream to make points sometimes (especially the Avatars).

-- Aang no longer runs away from his responsibility, he just goes on a ride to clear his head and ends up trapped in a block of ice. Oops! Not his fault! We can't have our main character have any major flaws that he needs to overcome, right? We can't show a kid having a natural reaction to having such a responsibility thrust upon him, nooo, we need him to be a perfect hero from the start. Who needs character development? Better to just remove Aang's character arc.

-- Katara comes up with the name Team Avatar? Not Sokka? WHY?

-- So… Koh just… lets everybody go because he got back a toy with the face of his mother? Seriously? And why did Roku take that from him in the first place? What was the point? Taking the totem made him weaker or something? And what's Roku's connection to Koh? shouldn't this have been Kuruk? Also, how did Aang know that he shouldn't show emotion when facing Koh? I don't remember anyone telling him this, but maybe I'm just forgetting it.

-- Hakoda's characterization was just butchered. He was always a supportive father, why the fuck is he talking about Sokka like that? Also, animation!Hakoda would never let Sokka pass a test if he wasn't ready. He left Sokka behind because he wasn't old enough for war, and he explicitly tells this to Sokka. He doesn't soften the blow, he doesn't praise Sokka for something that Sokka didn't earn. Yet Netflix!Hakoda is ok with giving his son unearned rewards.

-- Yue's death scene was better and more emotional in the Shyamalan movie than in the Netflix show, LMAO.

-- Zuko AND the show making such a big deal out of that notebook was really weird.

-- Weirdly, the show was supposed to be "more adult" and yet it still uses the same children's cartoon logic. Zuko swings his sword at people? Not a drop of blood (or at least, I don't remember seeing it). Aang throws people off the wall when he and the Blue Spirit are escaping? Nobody dies.

-- So Katara just learns everything on her own? No training, no help from a master, she just goes from barely being able to move water (even less than her animated counterpart was able to do) to being some great master in less than a year with the help of one scroll and her experience running from firebenders? And Aang goes to the North to train in waterbending and yet we don't see him have a single lesson? He doesn't even TRY to waterbend the entire season?

-- Also, Aang REFUSES to support Katara against Pakku??? He was her strongest supporter in the animation, he says he won't train with Pakku if he doesn't teach Katara, and yet in the Netflix show they make him have his existential crisis at this point, completely butchering the Kataang dynamic?

-- They removed the scene of Iroh telling Zuko that he sees Zuko as his own!!! WHY?

-- I dislike the Z/utara ship bait. It literally serves no purpose to the plot, it only serves the purpose of throwing a bone to the shippers and inflaming the ship wars in the fandom.

-- Mai slipping up and defending Zuko to Azula, and then quickly correcting herself when Azula glares at her was good. But Mai physically stopping Azula from burning someone is way too much defiance for her at this point in the story.

-- Katara breaking Aang out of the ice because the's pulling a canoe instead of because she was angry not only is a bad adaptation of Katara's character, but it doesn't look realistic that her doing such gentle motions is going to break the iceberg.

-- Katara doesn't learn how to heal. She doesn't learn it on her own and she has only a 10 second lesson before she decides to move on and leave the class. Like... how is she going to heal her friends and bring Aang back to life next season?

-- Sozin's comet didn't seem like it was very powerful, we don't see the firebenders producing huge amounts of fire like in the cartoon.

All of that being said, it wasn't the worst adaptation ever. It was ok, and there were a few things here and there that I really liked. The sets were fantastic, it really brought all those locations to life. The animals looked amazing as well. I loved seeing a little bit of the Air Nomads, and they gave a good explanation of why Sozin was able to wipe most of them out in a single blow (because they were all in the Southern Air Temple for the comet festival). Lu Ten's funeral was really good. I was disappointed at Zuko's scar from the trailers, because I felt like there was no texture to it, but some shots show that there is some texture, so I ended up being ok with the scar in the end, even if still a bit disappointed that it was smaller than the original. I actually thought they made an ok job of mixing up the Omashu, Jet and Northern Air Temple storylines, even if sometimes it felt rushed (and I agree with the decision to mix them up, they couldn't have all these stories as disconnected short stories in the middle of 50 minute episodes). I was ok with Bumi's characterization (or change in characterization), but that's mostly because I don't really like Bumi in the original cartoon (his decision to let the Fire nation take Omashu because neutral jing always seemed nonsensical to me, so him being nonsensical and a bit crazy in NATLA is something I don't have much of a problem with), so it's really more of a personal opinion and I get that some people might not have liked the way they portrayed Bumi. Finally, I thought the first four episodes were acceptable, but the last four were bad.

So it's not like there was nothing that I liked, but it was a mixed bag. Overall, it didn't excite me all that much. Still, I hope people like it enough to get it renewed for another season, first because I do have hope that they learn from their mistakes and criticisms and make a better season 2, and second because I really want Netflix ATLA to bring hype to the Avatar universe so that Avatar Studios can be hyped and successful.

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well. Thank you for the response on my question regarding Azula.

I had a query. In the season 3 episode where Sokka and Toph have a conversation regarding Katara's mothering nature, after Sokka says that when he thinks of his mother's face, Katara's face is the one he remembers. I remember Katara's expression as sad. Is this because she realizes that Sokka seems to have moved on from their mother's death or he has compartmentalized it so well, whereas she still has that grief and is unable to get the required closure. I am asking because this conversation might have made her even more sad than earlier regarding her mother.

I would like your thoughts regarding this.

I think we're meant to interpret her sad expression as her feeling guilty about her antagonism towards Toph, and, in extension, Sokka and Aang, for the ways they take her as the "mother" of the group for granted, given that in the next scene it motivates her to apologize to Toph.

I don't necessarily disagree with the message, which is supposed to be that it's okay for Katara to be motherly and that their reliance on her is something they value about her and see as a strength, but the problem is that Katara is the only one who has to learn a lesson about it and Katara is the one who is forced to feel bad for trying to hold on to her lost childhood, and that chafes especially considering how that circles back around in The Southern Raiders. Katara's own feelings, and the fact that she is justified in feeling frustrated that the others don't see her as the child she is, that she never got to be, gets lost because she has to take up that mother role yet again.

It would be one thing if Sokka had told Katara himself about how much he relies on her, but he didn't, and he and Toph agree never to tell her. Of course, this last bit is framed as a joke, but the effect is still that Katara's perspective takes second fiddle, that Katara has to learn to accommodate others and feel guilty for the rare times she gets to be selfish, and she's supposed to understand how much the others rely on her without expecting any thanks from them unless she overhears it accidentally.

All of that %100 feeds into Katara's feelings in TSR, especially how she reacts to Sokka. I think she very well might subconsciously feel resentment at Sokka replacing their mother's face with hers in his mind, especially since, again, this is a secret that she's supposed to understand but never be told, a strength she's supposed to have but never get thanks for or complain about. Katara probably can't ever forget her mother's face, especially on that day, and may even wish she could. I think that's also subtly shown in her emphasis on making Yon Rha remember, something that Zuko also emphasizes because he picks up on it. Katara needs people to remember because she needs to remember, and Sokka needs to forget, to not think about it. Katara wants to talk about it whereas Sokka doesn't. And the fact that this is something Sokka has never shared with her except in an overheard conversation definitely leads to that resentment. What Katara says in TSR to Sokka is harsh, but I think Katara, while coming from a place of pain herself, can be forgiven for concluding that Sokka must not care as much when Sokka actively avoids talking about it with her except to scold her for feeling the way she does about it, and that goes back to those feelings of guilt she carries too, because she cares so much for others and because it's so hard for her to give herself permission to feel selfish, until she just can't hold those feelings back anymore.

[starfinss]

mmm see that's what i was also trying to figure out. So far I've thought that maybe the gang is getting annoyed how they throw shade and purposely do petty things to each other that it's now effecting the group dynamic/missons?

ex. reader was tasked to get food but ended up "accidentally" not get enough for Zuko Zuko heated up water for everyone and gave the extremely hot water to her OR he heats up her food til it's slightly more overcooked/burnt than the others constantly bickering over what to do during strategy meetings cause they always disagree with one another

then Sokka or Aang (cause I feel either or be the one to crack and really set the severity of the situation in place) finally snaps and tricks them into going on a "hunting trip" by taking Appa and bringing them FAR from camp and dump their asses there to "learn how to work with each other" and he will come back to get them in 2 days OR if they can work together well enough to come back by foot on their own.

Maybe during this time they start to slowly open up to each other about their differences/past.

mmmm waterbender reader be cool cause the water and fire thing but tbh I think non-bender be better since then you could add that the reader in some way feels "useless/not important" to the group since they don't carry much to the group and only there because of their relation to Sokka and Katara or maybe they're friends with Toph and find out about her escape plan and tracked her? (not sure what to add to that part)

IM JUST WRITING THIS ALL AS I THINK TBH

Hmmmmmmmmm.

I love the hunting trip idea, that’s perfect, I’ll use that. I think the story is beginning to really take a solid shape. I’ve sort of divided it into three distinct parts— the beginning, with the bickering and the hunting trip, the middle, with them being emotionally tone deaf idiots, and the end, where the Gaang gets extra fed up with them being clueless idiots in love with each other, Toph traps them in an earth tent to talk it out, and then they do the do. It’ll probably be about three chapters in length.

As for the bender thing, you raised some interesting points. The relation to Sokka and Katara makes me think her being a waterbender would be cool, because Katara is a powerhouse prodigy child, and it’s easy to feel inferior when you’re on the same team as her and the fucking Avatar, who has mastery of not only your element but two of the others, with a pretty good grasp on firebending to boot. She’s surrounded by powerful benders, and feels like she’s not really giving much to the team, so she’s not confident in her own bending, or something like that. Maybe that could also be one of the reasons she gets along so poorly with Zuko in the beginning: he’s yet another very powerful bender, and she feels like she’s not strong enough in comparison even more so than she did before.

If you hate that and want to shoot that down, feel free, lol, I’m just saying what I’m thinking. She can totally be a non-bender if you like, I just think what I mentioned would be an interesting angle to go at it from.

[hella1975]

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii bestie, i dunno if you like The Crane Wives, like the rock band, but as of late i simply cannot get them out of my goddamn head. And then, i had an epiphany: so many of these songs exude major zukka vibes. Like not in the way youd think, probably, because in my head they're about the very specific Zuko who is just like. So tired and done with life in a very specific flavor and just having very funky ideas about love and caring for another person. So idk if this will even make sense to you, but i figured that A) you have immaculate music taste so i think itd be cool to see what you think of this band B) your thoughts about zukka are always interesting as hell so like, even if you vehemently disagree with my claims i would wholeheartedly enjoy to see what you think of my ideas, seriously, you're so cool, id love to hear about you

Anyways the songs are:

Curses

Down the River (this is actually not zukka at all, it's just Zuko, whos incredibly adept at dealing with consequences)

Allies or Enemies

The Moon Will Sing (again, not really zukka, i think i just have Zuko on the brain, to me this has so much potential for his dynamic with his father) and also, Once and for All too

Easier oh my god easier is such a song

Tongs and Teeth

and Metaphors (not the vibes of the song tbh but like, just the lyrics)

And well yeah this was just a thought that hit me, idk if asks like this are really up your alley so totes dont feel pressured to cook up some elaborate response or even respond at all, i just wanted to talk about a great band and uh. Yeah, thank you so much for being just so incredibly cool and you and earnest, like, silly comment, but you genuinly make my days so much better, i hope you get better soon and bye bye

(ps. I am loving TAMS so much)

- A Master of Parasocial Relationships Anon

ANON <33333333 ily mwah mwah this relationship is parasocial from me to you not the other way around dont ever get it twisted i adore you this ask made me smile so big. 'thank you so much for being just so incredibly cool and you and earnest' quite honestly such a belter compliment. im shaking.

u are right my music taste is fantastic and as a result i LOVE THE CRANE WIVES YES PLS TALK TO ME ABOUT THEM!!!!!! I LOVE THE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM!!!!!!! one of my worst traits is that i have loved every single crane wives song ive listed to yet ive never properly deep dived into their music, so i only know like. five songs. yet those songs are some of my faves of all time. she's so logical. BUT! this means you've just given me a load of recs that have zuko/atla/zukka vibes so im ecstatic. esp bc 'the very specific Zuko who is just like. So tired and done with life in a very specific flavor' is soooo tams zuko coded.

i do know some of these recs ofc so here are my thoughts:

curses - the recurring fire related language!!!! every word i say is kindling but the smoke clears when you're around!!! zuko being a very rough-around-the-edges imperfect character but being loved regardless (by sokka). i love how this song is clearly about someone who's haunted by their past but it's still quite peppy, and her VOICE on the 'ashes ashes dust to dust, the devil's after both of us, lay my curses out to rest, make a mercy out of me' HELLO???? it's so desperate and raw im obsessed with it. that line gives me big tams zuko & azula vibes, like on the run from the fire nation/ozai as the 'devil's after both of us' yep yep yep. omg actually this whole song is very them

down the river - your take on this is gorgeous 'very adept at dealing with consequences' he BREAKS my HEART. sure you can forget about all the things you've done but WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US. i am so over-fixating on tams atm and it shows bc im about to tamsify this and probably all the other recs in some capacity icl. anyway this song as zuko @ ursa. down the river.......

allies or enemies - ZUKKA ANTHEM!!!!! REQUIRED LISTENING FOR ANY ENEMIES TO LOVERS SHIP!!!!! being horrible to each other and having a history of violence are we allies or enemies this will be the death of me ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR BUT I CANT FIGHT WITH YOU ANYMORE!! LITERALLY SINGING ABOUT WAR!!!! the crane wives wrote this about zukka genuinely

the moon will sing - one of the most beautiful songs of all time you can interpret this in so many ways the lyrics have me banging my fist against my wall. veryyyyyyyyyy zuko-coded about literally anyone he gets constantly mugged off

tongues and teeth - AGAIN ZUKO CODED!!! when ur a post-redemption asshole but part of your personality is always always going to be abrasive and cutting and you KNOW that. this is such a 'the catharsis of owning and even heightening the thing both you and others hate about yourself in a very angry declaration that barely conceals the insecurity underneath' song and i took it very personally. like yes girl push everyone away first bc you know you're a cunt and it's best to warn them off while they still have an idealised version of you in their head! me and zuko best friends fr we are insufferable

[sushigal007]

Just finished watching the LA Avatar, still enjoyed it quite a bit, will probably watch it again. Thoughts under a read more in case people are avoiding spoilers.

Some things landed better than others - I do genuinely like that it's not a scene-for-scene remake, and I'm not sad to lose things like the desecration of the Northern Air Temple, or Aunt Wu's 'you will marry a powerful bender' prediction, or The Great Divide (lying to everybody makes my problems go away!). I like that this Aang takes things a lot more seriously. Suki awkwardly flirting by putting Sokka in a headlock was something I didn't know I needed until I saw it, Teo was utterly adorable and Zuko getting smacked about the head by a furious bystander genuinely made me laugh. Zuko and Uncle Iroh were great, far and away my favourites.

Of course, it was not without its flaws. I'm disappointed we lost Jeong Jeong, it was important to see that people in the Fire Nation disagree with the war too, and while we did get with the rebels, it was something the Gaang needed to learn too. I have no idea what they're trying to do with the Fire Lord and Azula here, the thing about Azula is that she was perfect and she knew it, she had absolute confidence in that, and that's why she was so badly thrown when Ozai turned on her in the finale. Undermining her confidence and pitting her against Zuko right now feels strange. I still don't like how toned down Zuko's scar is. Could've at least lost the eyebrow. And WHY didn't they learn any waterbending!?!?

But my biggest problem, one that I've seen a lot of other people mention too, is that Katara has been completely watered down. Where's her righteous fury, where's her passion? Even when she was fighting with Pakku, she seemed more concerned than angry. The only times she really felt like Katara were when she was arguing with Sokka. And I'm really not a fan of how her bending only improved after she was given pep talks by boys. Bah. Hopefully that's something they'll listen to and take into consideration for S2, and maybe then we'll get the girl who deliberately got herself thrown into prison so she could bust them all out - we got the secret tunnel in this one, so it could happen.

Anyway, tl,dr, it was better than I was expecting, better than the movie, and better than the comics. Not perfect, but then, the original was not without its flaws too. I would like to see it get a season 2, because it is different, and I want to know where they're going with the changes. I know the original had 3 seasons, which is generally Netflix's limit, but who knows with Netflix.

[zutarawasrobbed]

I posted 123 times in 2022

49 posts created (40%)

74 posts reblogged (60%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-badger-mole

@zutaramonth

@stardust948

@sneezypeasy

@zutarawasrobbed

I tagged 102 of my posts in 2022

Only 17% of my posts had no tags

#zutara - 78 posts

#zuko - 37 posts

#katara - 36 posts

#atla - 27 posts

#avatar the last airbender - 12 posts

#anti kataang - 7 posts

#anti maiko - 6 posts

#atla original scripts - 6 posts

#anti k@taang - 5 posts

#incorrect quotes - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#what kind of grown ass man thinks “hmm i should murder this child for disagreeing with my idea?”

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Honestly, after the shit Aang pulled at the ember island players, I 100% would’ve supported the episode ending with Aang walking in on Zuko and Katara making out.

509 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#4

Sokka: Katara, how many times do I have to tell you-

Katara: Because you don’t know how he feels about me! What if he doesn’t like me? He’s gonna be the Fire lord in a few days.

Sokka: He literally jumped in front of lightning for you! I think it’s clear!

Katara: Pshhh, he would’ve done that for anyone and you know that.

Sokka: … *Deadpan* He used Suki as momentum to save you from falling rocks when his sister found us at the air temple. Suki was just lucky his shove happened to get her out of the way too. I don’t think he’d do that for just anyone.

Katara: No he didn’t-

Suki: Yes, he did. He flat out told me.

513 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

#3

Suki: Why don’t you just tell Katara how you feel?

Zuko: *Scoffs* Are you crazy?!?! That’s the stupidest thing I could ever do. We just started to be friends!!! No. I’ve made enough reckless decisions in my life.

Also Zuko: *Yeets himself directly into lighting*

682 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

#2

Guys..

The original script adds so much context for a lot of scenes, but this one?

Zuko didn’t just start sleeping next to Katara because he wanted to be close to her. He also wanted to be close enough to protect her from another ambush and bomb attack.

And Katara could sleep with a smile on her face because she knew Zuko would be there to protect her. Zuko gave her the opportunity to sleep without being alert 100% of the time for the first time in probably forever…

I’m not okay 😭

696 notes - Posted October 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Katara: So, let me get this straight. You were in a war meeting... thirteen years old… defended new recruits from being used as fodder… and in return, you were challenged to an Agni Kai- at thirteen- by the officer who proposed it… But on the day of the Agni Kai, you- at thirteen years old- were met by your father… who you refused to fight… and instead of calling it off… he burnt half your face off and banished you?

Zuko: Yes…

Katara: *Nods* Excuse me.

2 Hours Later…

Ozai: *Cell opens* What-

Katara: It’s a full moon tonight.

Ozai: … Why-

Katara: *Sighs and starts sand timer* You have 10 seconds.

Ozai: *Apprehensive* For what?

Katara: To run, before I gut you like a fish 😁

1,918 notes - Posted January 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[rosafloera]

Bad Actor: ComradeKatara (aka Othelo aka Grendelsmilf Aka Noelleakopian)

Previously part of Lesbians4Sokka.

That should already ring some alarm bells, Lesbians4Sokka was a page notorious in the community for some of the most brutal cyberbullying. Think RAPE THREATS! Before I start showing supporting evidence, a disclaimer:

*Let's not add to the situation, do what we can to ignore her and move on. She is a troll that doesn't deserve our attention, nothing will change her mind. There are bigger world problems requiring our focus.

Fun fact: the L4S page IS now ComradeKatara, hovering over the old tag shows

TLDR: ComradeKatara headcanons Katara as a homophobe, constantly mocking/cyberbullying her and anyone who disagrees. In the same breath she is a devout Sokka x Zuko shipper, which is laughable and contradictory.

All ‘evidence’ they have ever provided consists of misinterpretations of canon so illogical it’s pointless to reply to.

Also I’m sure CK doesn’t publicise their Toph and Azula hate and homophobic headcanons that much because Toph and Azula stans are passionate and would rip them apart in a second. Get behind me, Katara. I love you 🥹❤️

CK's FAQ.

She hates Zutara because it's 'racist'. Which is hilarious when we see her ship Zukka. Even the explanation as to why she headcanons Katara as a homophobe, (which she so graciously replaced the entire word with 'straight') beating around the bush and actually explaining nothing at all.

Saying 2 contradictory things in 1 sentence is quite the talent and exposes that she is in constant agony over which side to pander to more. *She is nothing without pandering!* Poor CK doesn't love Katara at all.

In her own words....

'i think CK’s writing proves inconsistent with both the characters and the themes of the show, to an offensive degree. pretty much the only character treated with any sort of respect is momo, and that’s probably because he can’t talk.'

Leave poor Momo alone.

Don't be shy CK. Let it be known you were Lesbians4Sokka.

Lesbians who only hate on women, unsurprisingly have very queerphobic takes. Dear god, do they EVEN like women???

CK reblogged this btw.

At least they're aware?

If only they would leave these characters' names out their mouth, the whole of ATLA actually.

Oh, really. You had no idea when you mercilessly cyberbullied people with your cliques, I assume.

Nor of your lesbians4sokka past, huh?

Peace out.

More proof:

#l4s #lesbians4sokka

https://www.tumblr.com/comradekatara/search/homophobic

Wayback machine just in case lol:

[sokkagatekeeper]

atla characters + boogara / shaniac dichotomy

aang is a boogara

katara is a boogara

sokka is a SHANIAC

zuko is a boogara masquerading as a shaniac

toph is a shaniac. also shane himself. the most shaniac, if you will.

iroh toes the line between the two but masquerades as 100% a boogara

suki is a boogara. yes a boogara

azula is an overperformative shaniac

mai is a boogara curiously. she has the vision

ty lee is a shaniac masquerading as a boogara

appa & momo are both boogaras on like opposite sides of the spectrum

[thebakingqueen5]

queer atla headcanons

aka me, a bisexual nonbinary mass of flesh, testing my gaydar

Aang: pansexual, goes by he/they, assumes everyone is pan unless given an indication otherwise, audibly gasped when Tenzin came out as straight, constantly argues with Katara over which flag (bi or pan) is prettier

Katara: bisexual and demisexual, she/her, came out to Aang while they were engaged by saying "Aang... I like boys and girls" and to this day has not gotten over the fact that he responded, "yeah ofc, doesn't everyone?", only identifies as bi because she doesn't like the pan flag's yellow

Sokka: bisexual, Zuko was his bi awakening, deals with some internalized biphobia poor bby but works through it eventually, bonded a lot with Katara over their sexuality crises

Suki: they/she but still considers themself cis, aggressively bisexual and poly-questioning, takes offense to being called an ally, she and Sokka facepainted each other's cheeks with the bi flag for their first pride parade and it is still one of their most cherished memories <3

Toph: goes by she/they mainly, doesn't care a ton about labels but identifies as ace and pan, knows every gay bar in the United Republic and drags Sokka to them often (Suki highly encourages this), uses neopronouns when they feel like it

Zuko: bisexual, so so so much internalized homophobia from the Fire Nation but he also works through it, comes out to Mai first after a few months of internal and her response is just "cool," had a gender crisis for a while there but is 99% sure he is cis... probably

Mai: queer but doesn't want to put a specific label on it, Ty Lee sees auras but Mai sees Gay^TM and is as a result never surprised when ppl come out, holes herself up in the palace every pride month (bc Zuko did declare it to be a thing after the war) bc of all the colors

Azula: thought she was bi at first but realizes she was a lesbian in denial when she gets the healing arc she deserved, calls everyone into the royal meeting room to say, "I am a lesbian" and the resounding response is "Yes aren't you and Ty Lee dating???", also takes offense to be calling an ally after she accepts her sexuality, spirits help you if you make a bigoted comment in her presence bc she is the embodiment of queer wrath

Ty Lee: lesbian, goes by she/her but is fine with any pronouns, claims to have a gaydar through auras but everyone knows that Mai helps her out, helps Azula come to terms with her sexuality and they are the most adorable gfs after Azula's healing arc,talks to Bosco abt her girl problems (and he is always very understanding)

feel free to disagree or agree with me but these are just my personal opinions and takes on each of the characters!

[atla-suki]

nose animation in atla: a long ramble with no actual point.

before i go further, i KNOW that atla has anime-inspired animation/art style. i am aware that the characters are not white and the animation reflects this. i have no issues with the atla art style (i actually love it it’s so iconic), only some of the continuity. i’m just nitpicking because it’s fun and i’m never satisfied.

i’ve also done NO research at all on this topic. idk anything about the animation or character designs or inspiration, etc. and if i’m wrong on any points i apologise in advance.

ANYWAYS one thing about atla that has, for some reason, stood out to me is the way the characters’ side profiles are drawn. i’ll give you an example.

characters such as aang, toph, katara, and even ty lee are drawn like this:

their noses, mouths and chins jut out from the rest of their heads at a quite sudden point on the face. what i mean, is that their noses are very rounded and soft. this is usually used to depict innocence and youth, which makes absolute sense considering all of these characters are children. they’re little. they’re immature. they have faces that reflect this.

on the other hand, characters such as hakoda, iroh, zhao, and any other older character have much more defined noses - like this:

now see how zuko, mai, jet and azula also have this feature? the sharp, defined nose? this never sat right with me. i’ll explain why.

you could argue that it’s a fire nation trait. that they just happen to have sharper features. and i wouldn’t disagree - they DO typically have sharper features. however there’s people like ty lee who don’t fit into this. and with the continuity of soft features for the rest of the young characters, it seems strange to have these few YOUNG characters have such adult features.

one guess is that they’re designed to be more menacing. they are, after all, antagonists in the story (ik jet isn’t a proper antagonist ok but he’s an antagonist for the purpose of this post). this explains the sharp features, the maturity and higher level of knowledge that comes with characters who are trained to be lethal and who have less distinct morals.

visual storytelling is just as important as actual storytelling. we, as an audience, see sharp features and we connect this to danger, to someone who’s probably AGAINST the protagonists. similarly, soft features welcome a sense of security, a sense of trust. aang wouldn’t be nearly as loveable of a protagonist if he had sharp features and a permanently serious expression.

i just don’t think this is the case with atla, though. atla does a great job at reminding audiences that both the protagonists and antagonists are still YOUNG. they are CHILDREN. they aren’t painted to be adults or leaders (well… sorta. this doesn’t fully apply to azula but i’ll psychoanalyse that another day). and that’s what makes the idea of these characters fighting a war so tragic - they are children. they act like children, so naturally they should look like children too, no?

so my question stands thus: why, when all of our main characters (on both sides of the story) are children, are certain characters given soft features and others sharp?

like, sokka is the eldest of the gaang (excluding zuko), so why is he drawn to be so immature when he ISN’T? or, why is azula drawn to be so mature when SHE isn’t? are we meant to forget shes only 14? she’s the same age as katara and yet they’re drawn so differently.

simple answer: characterisation.

i’m gonna use sokka as an example because he’s the best his nose animation changes significantly more than any other character’s. sokka is notably portrayed as the goofy, comic relief, older brother. i personally don’t agree with this description of sokka but there’s no denying it’s true. anyways sokka is ALSO portrayed as the intelligent, paranoid, organised to a fault, mother of the group from time to time. with this description, you’d expect him to be drawn with more mature features. however, he is most often drawn with soft features, as such:

it’s only in scenes where he is being very serious, or acting as an adult, or in the middle of a dramatic fight, that he is drawn with sharper features, as such:

so, like i was saying about the visual storytelling, the way sokka is animated reflects the story that is being told and his place in it (actually i’ve noticed sokka looks way too goofy and lanky sometimes omg justice for sokka). aang has soft features to reflect his gentle nature, his morals, his kind heart. similarly (oppositely), azula’s features are always sharp and distinct, and so is her character and her place in the story as an antagonist. zuko as well. mai is always in a mood, and so her features and expression reflect this. the list goes on.

anyways i just. i know this is so long and so pointless. but i think if zuko can be given sharp, defined, adult features, so can sokka (and so can suki, now that i think about it. they are the eldest of the gaang, and yet…)

something doesn’t sit right with me in terms of the lack of continuity in the characters’ noses/side profiles and the way they are designed to express age, personality, etc.

BUT, as usual, i’m just being picky for the sake of it and i love this show to bits and everything i say is said out of love.

[child-of-the-danube]

I was scrolling through Reddit and saw someone say that the Gaang's kids in LoK still being hung up over some of their parents' faults was a bit tiresome and uninspiring to watch and of course I've got shit to theorize and comment on.

(following text is almost entirely copied from my Reddit comment)

I'd disagree on saying it's tiresome or uninspiring that they're still somewhat hung up on their parent issues. They are after all the children of the people who saved the world. That comes with its own set of expectations and limitations.

I don't believe that anyone from the Gaang was truly a bad parent but because of their status, their children did experience (or didn't experience) certain things. And the Gaang had its own set of parental issues - Katara and Sokka having lost their mom at a young age and having an absent father that they could have lost to the war at any moment, Toph's parents who in their overly strict ways didn't acknowledge Toph as a fully realised human being, Zuko who lost his mother at a young age, had an abusive father and a sister nobody would wish for, Aang lost everyone from his own nation and his youth and all of them carried the weight of the world on their shoulders at the tender ages of 12, 14 and 16. Of course they themselves were fucked up by all of that and certainly had PTSD from the war and of course it partially reflected on their children.

1. I don't believe Aang didn't love Kya and Bumi or that he didn't show them affection, but he was more focused on Tenzin due to Tenzin being the only other airbender beside him and it was Aang's dream to rebuild the air nation. Of course Kya and Bumi would have noticed that dad was more devoted to him than he was to them.

Tenzin carried the weight of being expected to be a master bender, continuing the rebuilding of a whole nation AND the weight of the fact that that was his own father's dream.

Bumi was the only non-bender in his family that was pretty much made up of the best benders you could find at that time. That on top of his dad devoting more time to his younger brother than to him as the eldest son must have hurt.

I can't write a lot on Kya since we didn't get to see her or her development much in LoK.

I'm sure Katara was a more than loving mother but we've seen how overly motherly she can be and that probably stayed the same when she actually became a mother.

Theoretically, I could see Katara overcompensating as a mother due to her having lost her own at a very young age and that having more than clearly affected her a lot.

2. I don't think Toph didn't show love or care to Lin and Suyin but take in account that Toph's trauma from her parents manifested on her own parenting style in the way that she gave her children too much freedom and was absent a lot. Lin had every right to be mad at both Toph and Suyin. I'm sure Toph was beyond proud of Lin but Lin didn't see that due to Toph's way of expressing emotion and thought that Toph didn't acknowledge her worth and hard work. At least, not in a way that would have been clear to young Lin. And then her sister, the rebel she practically had to raise and leave a part of her young years for, scars her face, a part of her that is always visible to both the outside world and herself, luckily missing her neck cause that could have killed her, and basically gets away with it.

Working in the police force that was established by her own mother must have carried a whole set of expectations as well. Then later, Aang, whom she was canonically close to, dies, Tenzin leaves her for a younger woman, her other childhood friends Bumi and Kya (don't know if she spent a lot of time with Izumi so I won't name her here) leave each on their own journey, Suyin is god knows where and Toph fucks off to the swap. Basically everyone either fucks her over and/or leaves her. She has every right to hold a grudge and preventively distance herself from people emotionally.

Suyin, on the other hand, despite all of us thinking she got off easy, is sent to her, as we know they are, very strict and snobbish grandparents, away from her mom and sister and away from her friends as punishment. That must have sucked too. And she suffered the same thing as Lin - having her mother be absent + being raised and occasionally scolded by her sister that wasn't much older than her.

Toph was the greatest earthbender alive, the inventor of metal bending, the one who established a metal bending academy and the police force of Republic city. That was a legacy on its own. I'm sure she wouldn't let anyone other than herself teach her daughters how to bend and knowing her teaching methods, despite being sure she would go easier on her own kids than other people, they couldn't have had it easy even in that regard.

+ Neither of them know who their father is. They basically grew up with no parental figure at all. Even at the age of 50-ish, Lin doesn't get a proper answer to who her father is and it's not her but Bolin, a random boy Toph just met, that gets the question somewhat answered. The question she and Su have probably asked a million times before...

3. The only child we see not having any parent related trauma is Izumi but that's cause they basically gave her only 10 seconds of air time during the whole of LoK.

For me, that wasn't tiresome or bad for the storyline because all above mentioned gave complexity to the characters and made them more relatable. Which I especially like since I got the feeling that beside Korra, none of the younger ones were psychologically presented to a proper extent.

And since most of them managed to overcome those things and grow from it, it ended up being inspiring in a way that shows that it's never too late to mend old wounds.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

warmth

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as Katara sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

When Aang falls, Katara is always there to catch him. But maybe that’s part of the problem.

(Written for Day 5 of Kataang Week 2021: Healing, hosted by @kataang-week. Read here on AO3 or continue reading below.)

Aang loved Katara. Plain and simple. Under only the watchful eye of the moon—hope all is well with you, Princess Yue, Sokka is doing just fine—Aang might even be willing to admit he was in love with her. It wasn’t a secret, per se, but to love was to be vulnerable and despite the infinite lives he contained as the Avatar, Aang was still only human.

All the same, Aang had no shame in acknowledging that he liked having Katara’s attention on him, and moreover that he liked reciprocating her attention with his own on her. He liked how they were touchy-feely with each other in a way they were with no one else, liked how they would stay up together to count the stars and talk about anything and nothing, liked how they could make each other smile at even their lowest points.

But ever since Ba Sing Se…

Something had changed.

For better or for worse, Aang wasn’t quite sure. Because now, now it seemed more of Katara’s attention was on him than before. And at first, Aang thought he’d understood why. He’d died, he’d been in a coma for weeks, he’d flirted with death while Katara had been the one keeping constant vigil at his bedside. Though his outward wounds had long since healed into scars, there were lingering aches and pains below the surface that still could make him stumble.

Katara was always there to catch him when he fell.

But that was the—that was the problem, for lack of a better word on Aang’s part. Katara was healing him all but constantly, never letting him out of her sight for more than a few minutes at a time. The only exceptions had been his time at the Fire Nation school and her secret trips to Jang Hui as the Painted Lady. She’d almost burst into tears when he’d gotten the smallest of scratches across his thumb the other day, and that? That was not normal.

Whatever was going on, Aang knew he couldn’t let her face it alone any longer.

One night during their usual stargazing, lying down with their backs against the grass on the flattest ledge in their camp, Aang seized the moment.

“Is there a reason you’ve been so… protective of me lately?” he asked, trying to keep his tone as even as possible. It was like trying to approach a baby deer-cat—he didn’t want to spook her by storming into the subject.

Katara stiffened, and though she didn’t flee, Aang idly wondered if he’d underestimated how painful this conversation might be. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Aang tried to reassure her, turning in the grass onto his side so he could face her properly. “You’ve just seemed a little on edge the past few weeks. Talking about whatever’s on your mind might—might help.”

“Doubt that,” Katara muttered bitterly, keeping her eyes averted from Aang’s own as she picked at a blade of grass. The moonlight breaking through the tree branches to their right cast dark shadows across her face, like rivers of ink winding down her cheeks. “I prefer not thinking about it, much less talking.”

Well, at least she’d admitted something was bothering her. Aang counted that as a small victory. But her aggressive resistance did mean he would have to prod a little more to get her to open up.

“I know you’re worried about me,” Aang said after a pause. He sat up, bracing himself with his hands behind him. “I don’t know why, but I know you are.”

Katara sat up and opened her mouth, probably to argue, but Aang pushed forward, not giving her the chance to disagree. To lie, really.

“I can tell because you’ve… you’ve been healing every little scratch I get. Which is kind, but”—he pursed his lips, shaking his head—“I can’t be your priority, Katara. Not all the time. Not over healing Sokka or Toph or yourself, when someone else’s injuries are worse. Okay?”

Katara’s jaw was tight, a clear sign Aang had struck a nerve. Hopefully not one that stung too sharply, bit too deeply, because hurting Katara was the last thing he wanted to do. What he feared more than anything.

Then her shoulders fell, the inky shadows deepening across her face as she sighed and pulled her knees into her chest. “I just—I have to know you’re okay, Aang. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

Aang blinked, her words sinking into his heart like a stone into quicksand. “Know I’m okay,” he repeated, “or know I’m alive?”

Aang had only the faintest memories of Ba Sing Se, of waking up for but a few seconds in Katara’s arms as the most radiant, most relieved smile he’d ever seen had graced her lips. The relief hadn’t matched the exhaustion—the terror—in her eyes, though. After that, he’d… disappeared, vanished somewhere into the depths of his own mind for more days than he could count.

Katara chuckled, the sound tinged with a deep-seated weariness. “Maybe a bit of both?”

“Katara—”

She silenced him with an icy look. “Don’t. Don’t use that pitying tone with me, Aang. I know it’s an irrational fear, I don’t need you to tell me that.” Katara huffed, throwing her hands up and shaking her head. “See? This is why. This is why I don’t like thinking about it.”

Aang bit his lip. Tempted as he was to swear up and down that no, he hadn’t meant to strike such a tone, he hadn’t meant to invalidate her concerns, there was a far more important direction their conversation needed to be taken in.

“It’s clearly not irrational if you can’t shake it off,” Aang said after a pause. He hesitated, then placed a careful hand on top of hers, which had returned to resting on the grass. When she made no move to pull away, he continued. “But if you’re really worried… why don’t you explain it to me?”

That offer caught Katara’s attention, and she stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion permeating her features. Furrowed brow, head tilted at a slight angle. “What?”

Aang shrugged. “Tell me what’s making you so anxious, and then I can confirm whether or not your fear is rational.” He suspected it would be somewhere on the perpetually sliding scale between rational and irrational, as most fears born of traumatic experiences were. He had a few of his own. No shame in admitting that.

Katara hesitated, her gaze flickering over his face from top to bottom, as if searching for any hint of doubt or suspicion or—spirits forbid—pity. But Aang knew she wouldn’t find any, and he was right.

“Okay,” she murmured, averting her eyes from his own to stare at the grass they still sat upon. “Maybe I do need to”—she shook her head—“maybe that would help. A little.”

Katara’s current discomfort was clear to Aang, and he hated seeing her like this. Shaken, weary, broken in more ways than one. But what he hated even more was to see Katara terrified, and terror was the only expression written in her eyes each time she watched him get hurt, no matter how minor the injury. So if she would talk, Aang would listen, and he would do whatever he could to reassure her.

“This war has been going on my entire life,” Katara said after a pause. “So I’m not—I’m not unfamiliar with death”—a low chuckle escaped her lips—“although not for a lack of trying on Sokka’s part.” She heaved a shuddering sigh, picking at a blade of grass with her hand that wasn’t beneath Aang’s. “But warriors died in battle. Babies didn’t always survive birth. I—I saw my own mother’s corpse when I was only eight years old, Aang, so burned up you could barely recognize her—”

Katara snapped her jaw shut as her voice neared a fatal crack, and she blinked back tears.

Before he could lose his nerve, Aang turned Katara’s hand over, the one still beneath his own, and carefully laced their fingers together. I’m here, he tried to say, not knowing how to say it. His touch seemed to do the trick, though, as Katara exhaled a shuddering breath and moved to rest against his side, their shoulders pressed firmly together.

“I was never… never close, though,” she murmured, her voice having regained stability. “Never touched the bodies. Not even my mom’s.”

The note of grief in Katara’s voice rang sharper than a wind chime, and Aang had to fight down the urge to pull her into his arms then and there. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was finished, not until she was ready. So though Aang’s heart ached with an identical loss—You turned your back on the world!—he said nothing, and he let her continue.

“But I… I caught you, Aang.” Katara’s grip tightened around his hand, but Aang didn’t pull away, not even when her nails began digging into the skin just below his knuckles. “When you fell, in Ba Sing Se. After Azula. I caught you, I held you when you were—”

“Gone?” Aang supplied when her voice vanished, and Katara nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her free hand.

“Yeah.” She took another slow breath, clearing her throat. “And, you know, people always say that death is—that death is cold. It’s life, energy, stolen from the body. But Aang, you were”—Katara shook her head, eyes brimming with tears that glowed like droplets of liquid silver in the moonlight—“you were so warm, I could almost believe you were sleeping and would wake up in my arms any minute.”

Aang swallowed a lump rising in his own throat. “And I did wake up,” he said gently, once a beat had passed. “Because you saved me, Katara. You brought me back.”

Katara gave him a sorrowful smile. “Don’t you get it, Aang? That’s the problem.” Her free hand clenched into a fist, and she slammed it a single time against her chest—right over her heart. “I had the water from the Spirit Oasis. I had control, that was why I was able to heal you then, that was how I was able to make everything okay. But now?”

Katara’s hand uncurled, falling weakly to her side as she shook her head. Another silver tear traced the edge of a shadow that still haunted her cheek, the drop trickling downward. “Now, I don’t have miracles to rely on for help anymore. The only control I have is me, my own abilities, and Tui and La, Aang, I can’t—I can’t lose you again!”

Her voice broke, and Aang threw all forethought to the wind, releasing Katara’s hand to pull her into a hug fiercer than any they’d ever shared before. He didn’t care how her tears wet his shoulder, he didn’t care how desperately her arms locked around his body, no, all he needed was for Katara to know that he was there.

“I’m so sorry,” Aang finally whispered, pathetic and useless as the three words were.

Katara shook her head, face still buried into his shoulder. “Not your fault.”

For the first time since they’d met in the South Pole, Aang had no idea how to comfort her. It won’t happen again, I’ll always be there for you, you’ll always be there for me, we’ll both make it through this—they were empty promises, cheap vows he had no way to guarantee.

“We’re here now,” Aang murmured, pressing the lightest of kisses to the top of her hair. A new three words, a different but still simple action—something about the combination of gestures must have soothed Katara, as Aang could feel her exhale and her body relax against his own. “We’re here now.”

The present was all they could count on.