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Another one of those pieces that took three years to make and almost never got finished. Done for the prompt “kigurumi”.

I’ve been trying to get back on the prompt train with my Zutara works, cause I’m like already 10 pieces deep into the list. And I wanna feel the accomplishment of having completed a challenge, dammit.

Time is a bit tight right now cause I am in the throes of working on commissions and trying to save up money to move out. So the personal stuff, like Zutara, is, unfortunately, gonna have to wait. I’ve got two rough sketches for pieces laid down already, though. :D

If you’d like to help free up more time for me to work on Zutara art, you can always donate to my Ko-fi. The link is on my Tumblr profile.

Anyway, hope you guys like this piece and aren’t too mad about my criminally long absence. Till next time.

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someone: what’s your OTP?

me:

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They know what's uppppp and I wish more people were as cultured smh

So a local chinese restaurant hung this up on their wall…

The whole place followed this ying-yang theme. Now, I don’t know whether or not the owner’s a zutara shipper, but either way, I always get the table facing this picture when I eat there. Nothing like fictional fandom angst to accompany my spring rollls.

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I'm crying omg

Zutara month day 22: Warmth

Reffie: [x]

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It makes sense 

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SOMEONE TAGGED ME IN THIS AND I-

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Cabbage Merchant, the avatar is coming. Oh my god he has airpods in. He cant hear us. Oh my god, oh FUCK

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The original post has 22k notes and I don’t care~ Many don’t realize this is Zutara.

Rub a dub dub, in da tub tub.

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THISSSSSSS !!!

“you rise with the moon. i rise with the sun” 

i can’t believe the writers repeatedly emphasized this symbolism in a show that is intensely focused on spiritual and natural balance and still had the GALL to not make them endgame………  

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Hi. I just wanted to say I'm in love with all of the Zutara gifset you've made. Where do you get your ideas from and what's your favorite Zutara gif?

This might sound weird but I think being autistic has a lot to do with my gif making ideas. As long as I can remember I’ve had an almost total recall memory for the shows that become my special interest. I didn’t realize that this was something that wasn’t normal until I got older. People would say “How do you remember all of  that?” or “I can’t remember the show like that” Whenever I’d talk in detail about a scene from one of my favorite shows. Sometimes in the middle of me describing a scene someone would say “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen that show” and it had been awhile since I’d see the show too but I’d pretended that I’d just watched because I didn’t want people thinking I was weird. Sorry I’m rambling (I tend to do that) I guess what I’m trying to say is I when I really like something it stays with me like a little video playing out in the back of my mind. All it takes is a song or phrase (anything really) to remind me of a Zutara moment and then I think of an idea for a gifset and I have to go create what I see in my head.

As for my favorite gif I couldn’t pinpoint one as my favorite, but this gif stands out to me because I think it neatly sums up all three ships (Zutara, Kataang, Maiko) in one convenient little gif. Being articulate isn’t my milieu so bear with me. 

In this scene the gaang is the most relaxed we’ve seen them in a long time. The war is over. There’s no deadlines to meet and they’re among friends. Everyone is in their most “natural state.” They’re being who they are without the threat of war or any other outside influences. 

We have Aang sitting on the floor acting very much like a twelve year old boy. He’s playing with Momo and his focus is pretty much on playing around and being a kid (as it should be) because that’s who Aang is a goofy kid, sure he’s shown great maturity, but Aang is still just a kid and it shows here when more than ever he’s allowed to be himself. 

Mai is playing pi sho with Suki and paying zero attention to Zuko, not that she has to pay attention to him every second of the day just because he’s her boyfriend, but Mai has a habit of not paying attention to Zuko and treating him like an accessory until she needs him to fetch something for her. If he were to have directly given her the cup of tea I doubt she’d even notice. She would have expected it because when she wants something it’s Zuko who is supposed to run and fetch it for her. This how relationships work in Mai brain. 

With Zuko and Katara their interactions have always been more give and take which is what we see here. Katara is the first person at that table Zuko brings tea to and Katara gives him a look that you give to your significant other when they’re doing something sweet and thoughtful for you without them even realizing it. 

So we have both Aang and Mai not paying attention to either Zuko or Katara but Zuko and Katara paying attention to one another…

Perhaps I’m over analyzing this scene, but nothing was stopping the writers from making a cute little interaction between Zuko and Mai/Aang and Katara. It’s the little moments that make up the big moments in relationships and I feel like with Kataang and Maiko we only got big filler moments because there weren’t very many little building moments to go off of.

The writers (Bryke) of this show have this habit of writing Zuko and Katara’s interactions in a more positive light than they do Zuko and Mai or Katara and Aang, but yet they act all harassed and put out when people have the audacity to ship Zutara. 

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I still think the directors did them dirty 😭

I actually think Zuko in 'southern raiders' didn't expect Katara to actually seek out any blood. In the episode, she uses blood bending in front of him for the first time and Zuko gets sCARED lol. But then he furrows his brow and gets back to interrogating, which says to me he TRUSTS her. There's plenty of times she wows him with her power in the episode and he freaks out but then goes back to the flow, because he's leaving it in Katara's hands. And letting her feel what she needs to. --

–Zuko really is a ride-or-die friend which I love. I also love in ‘Southern Raiders’ when Katara protects the rain from them and he immediately takes his hood off because he’s not afraid of getting wet anymore. It’s little simple things that just show how easily Zuko adapts to Katara? They blend better than opposite elements have any right to! lol.

I think Zuko knew it was at least a possibility that Katara would shed blood on their mission. The way Katara said “Maybe that’s what he deserves” was serious and I think he made his peace with backing Katara up, no matter what her decision. (As stated above, he is a ride-or-die friend, the same way he risked his life in “The Boiling Rock” to stay in prison so Sokka could improve his chances of finding Hakoda.) As far as the bloodbending is concerned, Zuko didn’t even know that technique existed, let alone seen someone use it, so it stands to reason that it would shock him. And even then, it only fazed him for a few seconds.

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does riverdale know it will never be as good as mackenzie falls

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Can I just add that Demi had the audacity to include Sonny with a Chance to this list when CHANNY DIDN'T EVEN END UP TOGETHER?????

Um this ain't it chief!!!

I wouldn't even mind if they just did a special episode where they show, idk, maybe the future where we can see Channy together? I'd be happy even with just that 💔

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So today's non-canon-ship appreciation post is for Channy, aka Sonny and Chad from Disney Channel's very own Sonny with a Chance.

Okay so I have a lot to say about this particular ship, so please brace yourselves.

➡️ As a tween, I spent a lot of my time invested in DC (Disney Channel not DC Comics) and during those years, which I will never forget particularly because I went through a lot of heartbreak (not from my non existent relationships but from my ships that never sailed), I happened to be really into a little show called Sonny With A Chance. I'm sure you've heard of it.

◾️ Anyways, I watched every episode, lived the lives of the Randoms and loved Chad Dylan Cooper despite his narcissistic, egotistical personality and really early on in the show I noticed that Sonny and Chad were actually really cute together. And thus, SS CHANNY began her journey.

◾️ Thankfully, unlike some ships (*cough* Zutara *cough*) Channy had a chance and this time the writers let us have our (my) beloved ship. It was beautiful, it was entertaining, it was definitely adorable and it wasn't perfect. And that's what I loved about it. Our (my) heroes still had their flaws and imperfections which definitely showed in their relationship, and I liked how realistic it was, at least for a DC show. I thought it would last forever, even when the show would eventually end. But that's when everything starts crumbling apart.

◾️ Come Season 2, all's still well, Channy going strong, the Randoms are accepting their relationship, everything is So Far So Great (whaddup opening song reference!!) and I am content with life. UNTIL SEASON 2 EPISODE 25 TITLED "SONNY WITH A CHOICE" WHERE WE WERE ALL LEFT HEARTBROKEN WHEN SONNY DECIDED TO BREAK IT OFF BECAUSE OF CHAD BEING SELFISH AND NOT BEING HAPPY FOR SONNY WHEN SO RANDOM WINS AND AWARD AND NOT MACKENZIE FALLS.

Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper :(

◾️ It was all Chad's fault. And you can't make me say otherwise.

Season 2 ended with a bittersweet moment of Chad wishing Sonny good luck and there's a tinge of hope left as the season finale came to a close. I wasn't ruling their potential makeup out. I was hopeful, just like many others my age.

◾️ BUT THEN DISASTER STRIKES AGAIN WHEN SONNY WITH A CHANCE GETS CANCELLED, COMPLETELY RUINING OUR (SONNY WITH A) CHANCE(S) OF SEEING CHANNY AS ENDGAME. It took me years to get over this, and up until 2016, I believed I had healed from this tragedy.

BUT THEN ABOUT A YEAR LATER, I LEARNED ABOUT THE WRITERS' PLANS FOR SEASON 3 AND HOW THE NEW GIRL IN S2 FINALE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A NEW PERMANENT CHARACTER, BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!! Oh no that's not the only thing.

◾️ I found out about how Channy was SUPPOSED TO BE ENDGAME BUT BECAUSE IT WAS CANCELLED WE NEVER SAW IT HAPPEN. (My heart is aching as I type this btw)

◾️ We could have seen Channy, we could have been happy, but yet again our (my) ship sank.

◾️ All that I'm left with now are unanswered questions, for example:

- how would they get back together?

- how long would it take Sonny to forgive Chad?

- would Chad still be a conceited assh*le like before?

- or would there be growth in his character?

And so on...

◾️ Yes I am aware that it was cancelled for specific reasons, particularly due to Demi's circumstances and i completely understand, but right now that's not important.

◾️ So, in conclusion, Sonny With A Chance? more like Sonny Without A Chad

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"tell me what to do,

ooh,

about -- you" - the final words of Sonny With A Chance

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THIS!!!!!

There are a lot of indicators of just how healthy/happy a relationship is, but in my opinion, one of the most telling is the body language between a couple. This form of nonverbal communication, that includes facial expressions, body movements, eye contact, hand gestures, touch and space, speaks volumes about the state of any given relationship- how content the couple is, how well they communicate, how well they handle conflict and resolution…

Can you guess where this is going? 

Let’s compare two separate relationships from Avatar: The Last Airbender - one that displays unhealthy body language by both parties and tells of an unhappy pairing and one that displays healthy body language by both parties and shows potential for happy relationship. 

First up, Zuko and Mai, sharing an emotional conversation… or rather, attempting to share. (I’ll be including verbal communication here just for some context and reference of the body movements).

After supposedly being shut out of his father’s war meeting, Zuko is upset and spends the evening with Mai, who tries to console him: 

Mai: Zuko, it’s just a dumb meeting. Who cares? Zuko: I don’t.

Disregarding her words for a moment, look at what his face is saying in the first image. He won’t look at her. He’s staring off into the distance with furrowed brow and a set jaw. He has literally built up a wall between himself and her. This shows that he has stopped listening entirely, he’s done emotionally and he’s already trying to plan an escape from the dialogue. 

But Mai doesn’t pick up on this cue, and she continues to throw out reasons why he shouldn’t be sad: 

Mai: Well, good. You shouldn’t. I mean, why would you even want to go? Just think about how things went he last meeting you went to. Zuko: [Sighs.] I know. Mai: You know what will make you feel better? Ordering some servants around. I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts. And maybe a little palanquin ride around town. Double time. 

Ugh. So much ugh. Using a painful experience from someone’s past does at all help coax the “sad” out of them. In fact, the comment only seems to make things worse. 

The sigh, first of all, displays resignation. He doesn’t want to talk anymore, at least not with her and certainly not about the scar on his face when the conversation centers on a war meeting. He still refuses to look up, wearing a glazed expression, and Mai literally has to pull his face up to hers. 

Then she offers him his escape- distractions. 

But he hardly even reacts to that. This is perhaps the most dangerous sign: no sign at all. He’s showing disinterest. He’s disengaged from her and whatever she’s saying - and the issue they are really fighting about (his regret/resentment for himself & the Fire Nation) will likely never be resolved.

Oooh shocker… when they are shown together the next morning, Zuko’s emotional disconnect seems to be even worse. Again, we see the glazed expression, the refusal to look at her, and now, his entire body is pulled away from her. He’s probably still reeling from that comment about his last war meeting, Mai. Good one. 

And you might be sitting there, screaming at your screen, ‘Well, Zuko and Katara fight too! Doesn’t that make them unhealthy?” 

Funny you should ask, because I’m actually prepared to show you how well the couple communicates with each other, how they handle a fight, and beyond an angry situation, how they handle their emotions.

Ah… the Crystal Catacombs… The first moment of real interaction between Zuko and Katara. We start with Katara raving at Zuko about his inherent “evil-ness” just because of his parentage and his element. She also goes so far as to tell him that he’s the face of the enemy, directly tying his scar to her hatred.

Yes… Zuko did have his back to her during this conversation, which one may argue is a sign of disengagement, but I would argue that it’s not. Or, at the very least, his resulting interest in and apology at the mention of her mother shows a re-engagement.  

Zuko turns around to face her - his shoulders are relaxed, his face is calm, his stance is trusting. All these signals are reflected by Katara and they end up having an open, honest conversation despite only knowing each other for five minutes. 

More telling, is the end result of the relented emotions. After Zuko and Katara are free to open up - Zuko, about his scar and his journey, and Katara, about her mother - they come together. They are quiet. They are listening. They are trusting each other. 

In fact, Zuko closes his eyes in the face of his sworn enemy, a girl he knows can sit his ass down faster than he can say honor, and lets her touch him. And Katara reaches out to him, within seconds of using her spirit water on him, a boy she knows would likely stop at nothing to hurt her and her friends just to redeem himself. It’s beautiful. It’s pure. It shows something that could easily be a redemptive, whole-hearted, wholly-open relationship. But Brkye doesn’t think functional is funzies.

Taking emotional situations a step further, let’s dig into how these pairings actually fight. For the first example, we have Mai and Zuko in the Boiling Rock. Mai is upset -some might she’s justified, but she’s mostly not- because Zuko left and informed her through a letter.

Well… the fact that he couldn’t face her only confirms my point that he is emotional closed off from her. If their relationship was a healthy, open one, Zuko would’ve had no issue informing Mai of his decision in person. Instead, he chooses a nonverbal form - a letter and a disappearance. 

Furthermore, Mai is literally looking down her nose at Zuko, her partner, her boyfriend, some she loves doesn’t hate, and sending the signal that he is inferior. She’s rolling her eyes, blowing off his answers, throwing things at him. Her signals actually say, “I’m not going to listen to what you have to say, because it’s worthless.”

He believes it too. He believes he is worthless in her eyes and nothing he says matters - just look at how he’s sitting. He’s hunched over, he’s silent, he’s completely shut down and disengaged again. 

And before you get in my inbox, blabbing about how any fighting could be seen as unhealthy and healthy couples don’t fight, (because Kataang never fought post-war and that ship was totally healthy right?) take a step back. 

Fighting has nothing to do with how healthy a relationship is. Fighting can actually be healthy and productive if it is handled, then resolved, correctly. 

A couple may, for instance, look enraged, but they also look emotionally engaged. (See first image) A couple may, for instance, be furious with each other, but their torsos are facing each other. (See second image) A couple may, for instance, see no resolution, but they are making eye contact. They are talking. They are trying. They are working through it. (See third image)

It shows a lot of respect to A) Face someone you know is livid and B) Turn around and give the person you are livid with the time of day. It takes an even greater amount of respect to trust that person on a life changing field trip, to trust that person with a side of you no one has really seen, and then offer that person forgiveness.

You know what shows a huge lack of respect? Finger pointing!!! which we see from Mai several times when arguing with Zuko. This gesture signifies the accusing partner’s conscious or subconscious attempt to threaten the other into submission. That, coupled with the clenched fists on both sides in the first image, and the look of contempt on Mai’s face in the second, only furthers my point that Maiko’s body language alone tells a story of a very unhealthy, unhappy relationship. 

But if you need more proof, what’s the end result of both scenarios? 

Well, following the first image, Zuko explodes on the beach in front of Mai and his other friends. While this outburst isn’t necessarily Mai’s fault, it goes to show that he doesn’t feel comfortable or safe being open with Mai. If he did, his internal debates would have arisen in a calmer setting between the two, long before Zuko was pushed to a breaking point by toxic drama that Bryke throws in for funzies.

After the second scene, Zuko is coronated, works to maintain peace while his nation is threatened, and Mai dumps him. And you might try to blame Zuko, to pin the fault on him and justify Mai’s behavior by saying “Oh well, Zuko was closed off and Zuko didn’t talk to her,” but why would he when his first attempt to be open and honest was met with “I just asked if you were cold. I didn’t ask for your whole life story.”

Right… becuase that’s conducive of a healthy, happy relationship…

And this isn’t: