zutarafuckedmeup - Tumblr blog

[zutarafuckedmeup]

i made this meme to send my dad and @thereisnocabbageinbasingse encouraged me to post it so if you’re going to blame anyone. still blame me but like just know i was enabled.

[zutarafuckedmeup]

dude what do u mean katara didn’t marry zuko and become fire lady. it’s literally canon idk what ur talking abt. it’s right there bro can’t u see it? look they’re kissing right now. hang on what are u saying? korra? sorry man idk who that is i’m too pretty

[zutarafuckedmeup]

hey!! first off i love your zutara art so much it is the Most Beautiful. and second this is so random but i’ve been seeing your posts about zutara fic, and i was wondering if you’ve read once around the sun?? it is SO GOOD and idk i just thought if you hadn’t read it yet you would definitely like it!! :)

JUST STARTED ITS SO GOOD OMG THANK U FOR THE REC OP

[zutarafuckedmeup]

haha what if.. what if we went on a soul searching journey to avenge the death of your mother.... but in the process you set aside the grudge you had on me and we get closer. Bro wouldn’t it be crazy if you remember why you had trusted me so readily in the first place....... but this time i’m not gonna betray you...... and we learn to mutually rely on one another and find beauty in our differences and comfort in our similarities...... because we have a sun and moon dynamic........ and are tied to each other yin and yang...... hahaa jkjk..... unless???

[zutarafuckedmeup]

warm up doodle of a funky dragon zuko from @grapefruittwostep ‘s lovely fic moonlight and sunshadow which has entirely consumed me and i love it very much. i am a slut for dragon zuko. an absolute Whore.

[zutarafuckedmeup]

😳I'm always a sucker for zuko in lighting that isn't direct sun or red😳

[zutarafuckedmeup]

from chapter 16 of stay frosty, royal milk tea!

@thereisnocabbageinbasingse broke my heart and put it back together only to break it once again and only finally could i find peace in some soft zutara cuddles..... i could not recommend her work enough i would wax poetic abt it for hours but unfortunately i’m illiterate so ill leave all the big words and vivid imagery to the master :-)

[zutarafuckedmeup]

katara please beat me up i’m literally begging u

finished the Katara pic from stream! 💙

[zutarafuckedmeup]

so im sitting there, the crushing weight of knowing what narrative genius it would have been for katara to become an ambassador of the southern water tribe and eventually marry her literal celestial parallel zuko and ascend to the throne as fire lady on my titties,

[zutarafuckedmeup]

“Why I ship Zutara - since so many are inclined to believe it’s a Zuko fetish”

Is Zuko my favorite animated character of all time? Why yes, yes he is. Do I identify with Katara as a barrier-breaking feminist and woman of color? Yes, yes I do. Is that why I ship them together? No.

Look, when I first watched ATLA, I was 7 years old. I don’t remember shipping anyone, but I didn’t hate that Aang and Katara ended up together. They were cute! It’s whatever.

When I rewatched the show at 13, I still thought Kataang was cute, but I ended the series shipping Zutara, and as the years went by, they rose higher and higher on my list. Now they’re my #1 OTP.

So why do I ship them?

1) They’re two sides of the same coin. Both of them grew up too fast with the loss of their mothers. Both grew up under an elder’s influence. Both of them constantly fought to prove their worth to their peers, and both held resentment toward their fathers. Both spent the entire series improving their bending and incorporating each other’s bending styles into their own.

They have so much in common, and so many shared experiences and important bonding moments (defeating Azula together, Zuko saving her life, confronting Yon Rha together, the cave scene / turning point, their battle at the North Pole...)

2) They’re yin and yang. Fire and Ice. Sun and Moon. Passionate male energy and the soothing, healing touch of a woman (and her chilling bite). Realism and hopeful idealism. The Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady.

Zuko grew up without a healthy sibling or father relationship. Katara eventually obtained both of these. Zuko lived in an elite world surrounded by people and bending teachers, yet he felt alone. Katara grew up on an ice cube with no bending masters, but she loved her home and family.

The parallels go on and on.

3) Symbolism. They could have embodied the Cave of Two Lovers perfectly: benders separated by cultural divide, a cave to meet in secrecy where outside conflicts are put on hold, allowing them to grow closer, to love one another.

Plus, what better way to bridge two nations with seemingly irreparable tensions than a marriage between lovers? These two went from enemies to partners in crime to friends. Imagine if they’d fallen in love. Imagine a water bender as Fire Lady, and what influence she could have on the Fire Nation’s perceptions of the Water Tribe. Imagine the prejudices she could shed herself, living in this new culture, serving its people.

4) They’re good for each other. Zuko needs someone who can help him shift his nation’s perceptions of the world. He needs someone who can take on responsibilities of her own, rally a crowd, bring hope to his world, and not only become a mother to his children, but his people. He needs a woman who, like his mother, can encourage him to be the best version of himself.

Katara needs to feel useful. She needs to feel like she’s helping people and making a difference. She needs to be more than a wife or a mother. More than a traveling companion. She‘s a cartaker, but she’s also a leader, and she needs a mature man in her life who she can leave alone, unattended for a while. Someone she can speak to about harsh realities. Someone who will not judge her for feeling negative. Someone who will understand her sarcasm, and who will vent with her when she needs it.

5) I have always shipped them for their potential, not necessarily what we were fed in the show. So I understand how others don’t see it. But as a writer, I recognize that this pairing could have been an extremely valuable storytelling tool. Aaron saw that, the actors saw that, but Bryke wanted Kataang, so we got the typical “hero gets the girl” scenario. I get it. I just wish they would have gone the extra mile.

6) I don’t ship Kataang anymore

Aang is 12 years old. He’s a child (and a monk). That’s what makes the series work, why his victory is so powerful. His youthful innocence is a reoccurring theme throughout the series. And yes, he learns to accept many hard truths of the world, but in the end, he chooses mercy and idealism. As an adult, I can’t see him as anything but a child. And I don’t ship children. I definitely don’t want to see them make out with anyone 😷

Katara acts like his mother for most of the series. She’s his caretaker first and foremost. And it’s clear she loves him, but she’s not even sure how she feels about him several episodes from the finale of the series. I’m not about to act like their relationship wasn’t romantically coded, but it felt forced at the end. It felt like they set Katara up to be his mother more than his partner. It’s regressive to her feminist arc (and don’t get me started on Korra’s depiction of her!)

And yeah. I did not find 12 year olds attractive when I was looking forward to my first year of high school. If I had the choice between Aang and Zuko at her age, you bet your ass I’m swooning over the prince of the Fire Nation. 🤷🏻‍♀️

7) I really don’t ship Maiko. I love Mai as a character (gray characters are always fun). But her relationship with Zuko formed off-screen (never a good choice for a romance arc) and she was only ever regressive to Zuko’s character. She was never going to help him grow, to be a selfless leader, to consider the importance of other nations or the lower class (she jokes about ordering servants around for fun, big yikes). She couldn’t be a positive influence on Zuko until she had an enlightened journey of her own, which she didn’t get - her only arc revolved around Azula and her love for her boyfriend. She was a source of constant negativity and pessimim. That’s the last thing a leader of a war-torn nation needs.

So yeah. I’m not trying to convince anyone to ship my ship. I’m simply explaining why I love these two so much (since so many of you think it’s a bad boy fetish), and why I reject the pairings the show left us with.

I think Zutara would have created a stronger narrative for a near-perfect show, a better romance, and a more relatable protagonist, and no one will ever change my mind about that.

[zutarafuckedmeup]

I REMEMBERWD MORE

Face in the crowd: MODERN AU!!!!!!!!!! DETECTIVE AU!!!!!!!!!!!! A SERIAL KILLER!!!!! THRILLING STORY!!!!!!!!!!

Out of yesterday’s ashes: a series of short stories with an underlying plot!!! includes the painted lady and blue spirit and one of my favorite zutara story tropes, aang getting over his puppy crush on his hot babysitter aka katara in a healthy way that doesn’t negatively impact their friendship

there was another detective fic that i can’t remember the title of i’ll rb agai.n when i find it

any more zutara fic recs? i just finished modern love and i am hangry for more

YES SO MANY OK OK HERE

I’m still here: canon compliant up until it isn’t, incredibly well written and references filipino food that is near and dear to my heart. Handles the ember island plot line in a way that i could envision happening in the actual show if it had been written in a way that didn’t try to push kataang and rather felt natural and made sense.

Brightest in the dark: what if the crossroads of destiny turned out different???? this story is short but cute and i love it very much

souvenirs we never lose: this one is unfinished but what there is so far is fucking phenomenal. Tali is an incredibly talented author and i love her

I don’t speak meow language: an odd premise with adorable execution and zuko shows his soft side for kitty cats :)

the labyrinth of illusions: the same author as the previous story, another funky premise but super well written and with a good twist at the end! it made me laugh a whole lot

paper clouds: AU where everything is the same but katara sees ghosts and there was no war!!!!! so basically nothing is the same and i lied

stay frosty, royal milk tea: Modern au!!!!!! GOD !!!!!!! i love modern au zutara...... so much.....!!!!!!!! zuko works at a boba shop and is an angry stinky boy but gets less angry and stinky because katara :) also at the very least one of author is super sweet and if i were to take a guess i would say the other is as well

[zutarafuckedmeup]

any more zutara fic recs? i just finished modern love and i am hangry for more

YES SO MANY OK OK HERE

I’m still here: canon compliant up until it isn’t, incredibly well written and references filipino food that is near and dear to my heart. Handles the ember island plot line in a way that i could envision happening in the actual show if it had been written in a way that didn’t try to push kataang and rather felt natural and made sense.

Brightest in the dark: what if the crossroads of destiny turned out different???? this story is short but cute and i love it very much

souvenirs we never lose: this one is unfinished but what there is so far is fucking phenomenal. Tali is an incredibly talented author and i love her

I don’t speak meow language: an odd premise with adorable execution and zuko shows his soft side for kitty cats :)

the labyrinth of illusions: the same author as the previous story, another funky premise but super well written and with a good twist at the end! it made me laugh a whole lot

paper clouds: AU where everything is the same but katara sees ghosts and there was no war!!!!! so basically nothing is the same and i lied

stay frosty, royal milk tea: Modern au!!!!!! GOD !!!!!!! i love modern au zutara...... so much.....!!!!!!!! zuko works at a boba shop and is an angry stinky boy but gets less angry and stinky because katara :) also at the very least one of author is super sweet and if i were to take a guess i would say the other is as well

[zutarafuckedmeup]

Hi! Just wanted to say I LOVE how fluffy you make Zuko's hair. It's a thing of beauty. You are doing god's work

thank u!!! katara loves his fluffy hair too

[zutarafuckedmeup]

i don’t use snapchat but i still like to pretend the gaang does

[zutarafuckedmeup]

Just discovered this blog omg 😆 Love it. You’re great. Welcome to this fandom. How did you you start your journey to being a Zutara stan? I watched the show as a kid and didn’t care at all for shipping 😂 Now I’m trash for Zutara.

THANK U i’ve been a distant fan since i was in like 3rd grade when my family would all watch an episode of atla every night before bed when it was out in netflix originally!!!! it was my favorite show as a kid and zuko was my first crush before i knew what crushes were. i was a zutara stan from the ripe young age of like 9 or something idk how old kids are when they’re in 3rd grade??? i grew up also being a sasusaku stan and literally learned to draw ppl so i could make fanart of them and now i’m realizing the pattern of my obsessions. wild. anyways it’s all come full circle and i haven’t matured at all since i began shipping zutara and i sure as hell won’t be starting now

[zutarafuckedmeup]

i spent 3 and a half hours on this shitpost because i physically could not do anything until i painstakingly recreated one of the most unoriginal meme formats on earth

[zutarafuckedmeup]

Conferreth unto me all thine Steambaby headcanons if you doth possess them!

ok i actually think about this constantly and yet only had the energy to draw one (1) of the babies

i still think the firstborn would be named izumi but she would look a lot like her mom, except her hair is darker and her skin is a bit lighter (but the kid can TAN holy fuck she will get as dark as katara in the summer if she’s outside enough)

she has sectoral heterochromia and claims it’s because she had a twin who she absorbed in the womb (she didn’t) and that it makes her stronger (it doesn’t)

because of her parents both being very politically involved and having no other siblings until she turned 5, she would be taken to most meetings and sokka would play with her a lot and was generally a very bad influence because the two went bonkers when they were together. she also got to play with her older cousin, yue (sokka and suki had a daughter) and the two grow up as basically siblings for a while and remain super close even through months of separation

when she turned 12 katara gave izumi her mother’s old necklace for safekeeping :)

she showed her bending when she was 2 and freaked zuko the fuck out when he saw it because she bends blue fire like azula (he bursts into irons room in a panic like UNCLE HOLY FUCK-)

showing the same early signs of a prodigy as her aforementioned aunt, zuko and katara made sure to keep an eye on her and though they encouraged her to succeed, they never subjected her to any pressure or scrutiny. they always tell her that they’re proud of her, and despite her bending prowess her dad made sure to train her in the art of swordsmanship

her little sister is a water bender and their little brother is a fire bender as well, and the girls completely baby their little brother. he has 2 crazy strong older sisters and will never be messed with lmao