amirazat

[amirazat]

Saw your post about the Avatar state vs Katara’s anger at Yon-Rha, it was so civilly handled and well written! I’m scrolling through your blog now, and see you mentioning that you got ideas for how KA could have been written differently. Care to share? I am starved for fan content where Aang gets actual character development instead of being either perfect or the devil.

Thanks so much for your ask!

I actually have a lot of ideas for re-writes and additional scenes to help bolster Aang’s character development and, relatedly, the development of Kataang. I’m happy to share more of them if people are interested, but I figure I should probably start with something (relatively) short easy to digest. I hope I deliver on your expectations!

Since I was on the topic of “The Southern Raiders”, let’s start there. I think there’s a lot of nuance in the way that Aang approaches his discussion with Katara that’s easy to miss (which I expand upon at length in I this post) and I would have loved to have seen a scene at the end of TSR where Aang actually talks to Katara about what happened, and they become closer as a result. In my opinion, this would have made their romance arc a lot better, since I think one of the biggest problems with the way Kataang works out in canon is that even though they get on well for most of the show, they seem to spend the last few episodes having unresolved fights… then they kiss.

I had three main goals when writing this scene

1. Allow Aang and Katara to reconcile after their fight, showing a healthier friendship and making it seem more natural when that friendship transitions to romance.

2. Flesh out Aang’s motivations in this episode, and allow him to reflect on his mistakes

3. Write Katara showing an interest in Aang in a context where the text indicates to us (part of) why she’s interested in him romantically. We hear a lot about why Katara loves Aang, and we see that she’s interested in him romantically, but these scenes don’t tend to coincide so it ends up being difficult to relate to Katara in the romance.

Here’s what I’ve got:

(Some lines are taken directly from the show because I wanted to keep things as consistent with canon as I could while keeping to my goals.)

Instead of having Katara talk to Aang and Zuko on the dock after they get back, we instead have Katara and Zuko reconcile with a “thank you” and their hug while they’re still alone. Later, when Zuko brings the others to Ember Island, Aang approaches Katara by herself on the dock, giving the two of them space to have their own reconciliation.

Aang approaches Katara on the dock, sitting down next to her.

Aang: Katara, Zuko told me what you did. Or what you didn’t do, I guess. Are you alright?

Katara: I’m getting there.

Aang: I want to be here if you need me. I know that forgiveness isn’t easy.

Katara, sharply: I didn’t forgive him. I will never forgive him.

Aang looks at Katara in surprise.

Aang, tentative: But you let him go? I thought you needed closure.

Katara, staring out over the water: I did. And when I saw him, I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all my anger on him, but I couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s because I’m too weak to or because I’m strong enough not to.

Aang sort of wilts in on himself.

Aang: When I saw you that angry, all I could think about was how I acted after I lost Appa. I yelled at you all. I went after the sandbenders. I wanted to…

Aang takes a deep breath and refocuses.

Aang: I wasn’t strong enough to not take my anger out on those around me. I needed to forgive in order to move on. Like the monks taught me. If either of us is weak, it’s me.

Katara, turning towards Aang and placing a hand on his shoulder: Aang, no. You’re one of the strongest people I know. You lost your entire culture to the Fire Nation, but you’re still here, still loving life, and you’re doing everything you can to save the whole world. That’s amazing.

Aang blushes and looks at Katara shyly.

Aang: I think you’re pretty amazing, too.

Katara also blushes, and leans her shoulder slightly against Aang. We fade out as the two watch the sunset together.

#kataang critical #extended scene

[amirazat]

I want to talk about why Aang says what he does to Katara in “The Southern Raiders”, because I think that it goes deeper than just repeating lessons he learned from the monks.

When he’s trying to relate to Katara, Aang says “how do you think I felt when the sandbenders took Appa?” And that’s an odd choice for him to make. Thinking about Katara’s situation, the more logical comparison to make would be to when Aang found Monk Gyatso’s body. Gyatso was Aang’s parental figure, and like Kya, he was lost to the fire nation, so this is actually a reasonable reference point. So why choose to talk about Appa instead? I think it’s because Aang’s feelings about his own behaviour when he lost Appa are driving what he’s saying to Katara.

When Aang lost Appa, we saw him at one of his lowest points in the entire series. He yells at his friends and makes unfair accusations.

He seems to genuinely wish harm to the sandbenders in a way that’s very uncharacteristic for him. He even (probably) kills a buzzard wasp, which is I think the only occasion when we see Aang deliberately kill anything.

If Katara hadn’t pulled Aang out of the Avatar State, he may well have killed some sandbenders too.

If Aang regrets the way he reacted to Appa’s loss, and that regret is informing his words, it makes sense that he would see Katara’s anger and become focussed on trying to keep her from making the mistakes that he himself made (and almost made).

This focus on his own regrets would also explain why he managed to miss the mark when it came time to actually helping Katara process her rage. Aang wasn’t really focussed on Katara’s situation, and as a result his attempts to help just made Katara angrier. Sometimes you’re too close to a problem to see the solution.

#aang #avatar the last airbender #the southern raiders #the desert

[amirazat]

Since I’ve posted more than I ever thought I would, I guess I’d better introduce myself and what you’re likely to find here.

Who Am I?

My name is Amirazat, and for now I’m going to be posting about ATLA. I watched the show as it released while growing up and it’s something I always come back to when I need a comfort watch. This is my first time being active in the fandom, though, so I don’t know all of the past fandom politics.

What are you likely to find here?

- Analysis of the show and its writing, including criticism

- Positivity about all the Gaang members

- Positivity about Zutara (my favourite ATLA ship)

- Positivity about ATLA’s platonic relationships

- Positivity about most other ships (canon and fan, including Kataang)

- Criticism of the way Kataang was executed in canon

- Criticism of Aang’s character writing in season 3

How can I be positive about Kataang and also critical of its writing?

I have no problem with Kataang in theory. I think there’s a lot of good potential there with their mutual experience as genocide survivors, and I like the idea of Aang helping Katara to reclaim her childhood, even if I don’t think this worked in canon.

I also think that the way their romance was executed in canon was an absolute train wreck and actively lowered the quality of the show, but I’m interested in other ways their story could have been told.

About Asks:

My asks are open (if anyone is actually interested), and I’ll try to get to answering anything (civil) as soon as I can, but I don’t plan to post every day.

About Tags:

I’m going to do my best to tag appropriately, but in some cases I don’t know exactly which tags are right. (E.g. if I write something about how I think an aspect of Kataang’s canon romance was bad, and propose an alternate scene that I think would have made their arc better, do I tag that as Kataang or anti-Kataang? Or both?

[amirazat]

This, and platonic Kataang would actually have been an incredible rebuke to amatonormativity. The hero of the show pines for his female friend from day 1, but realises when she doesn’t reciprocate that their platonic relationship is just as significant? That would have been such a good message to send to young viewers.

To really drive that message home, Katara could have ended up with someone else, but the show could still have ended with a scene of Aang and Katara because their relationship not being the romantic relationship in their lives doesn’t change the fact that it was one of the most important relationships to the story, and to them.

No, Shipping Zutara Is Not Supporting Amatonormativity (Please Use Some Fucking Braincells For Once)

- a treatise by a severely pissed off aroace zutara shipper

since words don’t mean anything anymore (if they ever did on the esteemed piss-on-the-poor website), let’s start with a definition.

amatonormativity: the set of social assumptions that everyone prospers with a romantic relationship, thereby positioning marriage as a universal goal of adult life. amatonormativity forms the basis of several institutional structures that are built to cater to romantic bonds over all others, also manifesting in social pressure on individuals to find a romantic partner by pushing the false narrative that those who do not experience romance are automatically lonely, unhappy and unfulfilled. it is usually characterized by the prioritization of romantic love over other forms of love, particularly platonic.

the anti-zutara argument based on this is as follows: wanting zutara to happen is amatonormative because it a) devalues zuko and katara’s platonic bond b) pushes the idea that men and women can’t be friends and c) doesn’t align with the themes of the show, as romantic love was never the point of atla.

i would like to take the time today to tell you that this is some fucking bullshit, for the following reasons:

one, this may come as a shock to some of you, but zutara shippers did not invent the concept of romantic love in avatar: the last airbender. you are more than welcome to criticize the pairings of suki/sokka, katara/aang, mai/zuko, yue/sokka, jin/zuko, jet/katara, and even kanna/pakku for perpetuating amatonormativity through their unnecessary romantic subplots. and if you don’t have anything to say about any of those pairings, then here’s a word for you: hypocrite.

zk shippers are not introducing the taint of romantic love into some kind of wholesome platonic utopia where it never existed. when we say zutara should have been canon, it is a statement that ends with the implicit instead of kat.aang and mai.ko tacked on at the back because if we were going to get a romantic relationship anyway, it might as well have been one that was well-developed, narratively impactful, and thematically relevant.

two, saying zutara is amatonormative is fucking rich when the main “romance” of atla is a three season long struggle to get out of the friendzone. aang’s desire to be in a romantic relationship with katara is one of his primary motivations throughout the show, and not once does either he or the narrative ever entertain the thought that just being katara’s friend might be enough. to the contrary, aang’s crush and the potential of its reciprocation is a fundamental part of how the story gets its audience to invest in both his character and the kat.aang relationship. they want you to want him to get the girl, and that’s the driving force of the ship’s development from start to finish.

you can see the influence of this in the way people defend why kat.aang had to happen: “aang would be crushed!” “it would break aang’s heart!” “aang deserves to be happy!” and that in and of itself is more amatonormative than any version of romantic zutara, as if this idea that aang is somehow doomed to a life of misery and loneliness just because he can’t be with the girl he likes isn’t inherently based on the assumption that platonic love can’t be as meaningful and satisfying as romantic love.

three, let’s be so fucking fr: a show written by cishet men in the early 2000s was not “subverting amatonormativity” by not making zutara happen, especially not when they went for the fucking olympic gold of romantic cliches — the hero gets the girl trope — instead. otherwise, why did the entire show end with an uncomfortably long liplock? if romance would’ve devalued zuko and katara’s platonic bond, then what the everloving fuck happened to their friendship in the comics and the legend of korra?

it is blatantly false to say that zutara shippers are the ones devaluing their platonic bond when the creators did it first. they evidently don’t view zutara’s platonic bond as equal to kat.aang’s romantic one, judging by their treatment of both relationships in the comics and LOK and the fact that they talked about kat.aang “winning” the ship war in the first place. because if the two relationships were of equivalent standing, why would there be a winner and a loser at all?

amatonormativity is baked into the DNA of atla, and while some people choose to reject this framework entirely (zk friendship >>> ka romance anyday), it is also not wrong for zk shippers to be annoyed at the treatment zutara received within the context of said framework. since the creators clearly thought a romantic relationship was better than a platonic one, they could at least have picked the couple that actually made sense instead of adding insult to injury by making that romance kat.aang. it is not amatonormative to acknowledge that zutara was not afforded the distinction it should have been in the eyes of those who wrote it, because it’s obvious that the decision to keep zuko and katara’s relationship platonic wasn’t to respect their friendship, but to position them as inferior to kat.aang.

four, detractors of romantic zutara often argue that their platonic relationship is inherently better & i’ve discussed before why that isn’t the case, but i also hate this argument because it’s perpetuating the very thing that aromantic people are trying to get rid of in the first place: the hierarchization of love. it is not the “gotcha!” you think it is to genuinely state that platonic love is better than romantic love, because it’s still buying into the idea that there’s some kind of order to categorizing human relationships. the solution to amatonormativity isn’t changing what form of love gets to be at the top of the list — it’s doing away with the hierarchy entirely.

i ship zuko and katara because canon already gave me their friendship. i already know what their platonic relationship looks like and that gives me more room for imagination in developing their romantic one because it’s a place canon didn’t go.

at the end of the day, friendship and romance are just different avenues of exploring intimacy. neither is inherently more valuable than the other, and neither is inherently more problematic. and if you truly believe in dismantling amatonormative beliefs, you would recognize that making a distinction between the two is only perpetuating the problem, not challenging it.

[amirazat]

I’ve seen a few K@taang fans say that Aang telling Katara to forgive Yon Rha in The Southern Raiders is a parallel to Katara helping Aang leave the Avatar State. I really don’t like this take, for a simple reason:

The Avatar State is a supernatural uncontrollable rage. Katara’s anger is not.

On multiple occasions, Aang states that he regrets his actions while in the Avatar state, and he doesn’t like feeling out of control in that way. We even see his rational spirit’s reaction to the Avatar State when it detaches from Aang’s body to speak to Roku in “The Avatar State”.

Aang wants to be stopped when he is in this state. When Katara reaches out to him, she is not trying to change his mind, she is trying to allow his rational mind to regain control. She is giving him agency, not denying him agency.

By contrast, while Katara is angry in The Southern Raiders, we’re never told that her rational faculties aren’t still operational. She’s determined. Not possessed.

At no point does Katara say that she regrets acting in anger. Instead, we see her exercise judgement and mercy even when face to face with the man she saw kill her mother.

This is not someone who is out of control.

(Not that she necessarily would have been out of control if she did kill him.)

The fact that Katara wasn’t out of control and didn’t need to be stopped is further reinforced by the fact that, unlike Aang who agonises over his actions in the Avatar State after the fact, Katara doesn’t express regret at her actions or relief that she didn’t kill Yon Rha. Instead she re-states her initial position that she will not forgive him.

All of this makes Katara’s anger at Yon Rha very different from the Avatar State. She is in control of her actions and does not want or need to be stopped. Trying to stop her isn’t helping to reassert her own control over her actions, it’s questioning her active decisions. It’s denying her agency instead of enabling it.

An emotional woman is not the same thing as an irrational or out of control one.

#anti kataang #antikataang #anti k*taang #zutara #pro katara #tagging Zutara because I think it’s relevant to the community

[amirazat]

Yeah, but that was character assassination all round. You’re telling me that Aang, who was so dedicated to not taking a life that he was reluctant to kill Ozai when it seemed like the only way to prevent a second genocide, like the one he himself lost his entire people to; who indeed managed to end the war without killing Ozai - that Aang - would even contemplate killing a friend?

no bc where in between the tension did people get “katara is the little sister zuko never had” from?

[amirazat]

I’m sorry. I appreciate that you’re not trying to hate on Zutara shippers, and you are absolutely free to not ship them. But to say they’re only associative friends at the end of the show seems to be a pretty heavy divergence from canon.

Is this how you hug an associative friend?!

Zuko went with Katara on her journey to face the trauma that she’s been dealing with for the entire show. Of the entire Gaang, Zuko is the only one with whom we see Katara properly commiserate about her mother’s death, which is, again, a major trauma Katara deals with throughout the whole show. Yes, Zuko did this partially in order to gain Katara’s trust, but that doesn’t change the fact that it would absolutely have drawn them closer together. See again that hug.

Then, in the finale, when Zuko is nervous about seeing Iroh again, Katara is the one who steps in and helps him find the courage to go into that tent and face his mistakes.

By the end of the show, Zuko has been shown to do more bonding with Katara than with Sokka, and at least as much bonding with Katara as with Aang. Post show canon may have ripped Zuko and Katara apart, but based only on the original ATLA itself, Zuko and Katara were definitely friends by the end of the show. And it is a beautiful friendship.

no bc where in between the tension did people get “katara is the little sister zuko never had” from?

#zutara #zutara friendship

[amirazat]

I can’t speak to what the fandom was like 10 years ago, since I was an offline fan then, but I can speak to my experience when I started participating in online ATLA fandom this year.

I became active on Tumblr for the first time because it was the only place on the internet I could find where people wouldn’t be immediately shouted down for saying something negative about Kataang (specifically the non-consensual kiss in the Ember Island Players episode, which really bothered me and I was looking for solidarity). Everywhere I went I saw “you’re just a delusional Zutara shipper” and “get out of here with your Zutara nonsense” despite the fact that posters hadn’t even mentioned Zuko, or the possibility of another romance for Katara.

As a result, I became afraid, as someone who has problems with the show’s canon romances, and who likes Zutara, to step out of my corner of the fandom, for fear of being attacked, or seeing attacks on people like me. I wanted to engage in other ship spaces because I like to see ships through their eyes of their shippers, and try to understand the appeal, but I’ve had to retreat to protect myself because of how often I’ve seen an unnecessary “and this is what Zutarians and delulu” or “I don’t even care if my ship wins as long as Zutara loses” (this on a Zukka post).

I have ideas for pro-KA rewrites drawing out what I see as the best in their romantic potential, and minimising the things that make me uncomfortable about their canon romance, but I keep these ideas to myself because I’m afraid that the people who might be interested because they like KA would respond so toxically to any criticism of how their ship is shown in canon that it’s just not worth me putting that out there.

On the flip side, hanging around Zutara spaces, I’ve seen negativity aimed at other shippers for their behaviour, but I’ve never seen negativity aimed towards shippers because of what they ship. I’ve seen positivity for rival ships (harutara, jetara, sukitara, Zukka, etc) and when someone wants someone who disagrees with them to stop engaging with their content it’s “please get off my blog” not “get off this site” or “go kill yourself you whale” (<- something I’ve actually seen said to a Zutara shipper by a KA shipper because of what of the Zutara shipper said about shipping).

So, I don’t know whether this started because of some overzealous Zutara shippers who were making things inhospitable for other fans a full decade ago, but if so the rest of the ATLA fandom has become the monster it sought to destroy.

Sorry, but I feel like you ship Zukka just because Zutara is much better than canon and it threatens your ship.

Beside, even if Zutaran ship Zutara just for fun, canon shipper would still call us delulu, because it's Zuko and Katara. 'How about Aang if they're together', right?

We are ruining shipping experience for everyone? Really? There are a lot of artists mind their own business, upload Zutara fanarts for fun on their own social media, then the comment full of hate from canon shipper. Why?

Forget about headcanons. I think, every ships have headcanons, even Zukka. But what's wrong with metas and analysis?

Well, okay, Zutara shipper very much delulu! They do a lot of metas and analysis. Even worse, they use materials from the show, not just making up from their heads. Bad! Very bad!

I mean, what's wrong with Zutara shipper? Zuko and Katara have no chemistry at all in the show.

I don't need to show all the proofs, there's too many.

But still, Zutara shipper so pathetic! Because, you see, Dante Basco as Zuko VA and Mae Whitman as Katara VA ship Zutara as well.

(Reminding again about Zutara shipper ruined shipping experience for everyone, Dante Basco didn't do anything wrong with any fandom but he got a lot of hate because he vocally ship Zutara. Why?)

And Greg Baldwin as Uncle Iroh VA personally ship Zutara!!!

Jack de Sena as Sokka VA does support Zutara too in a lot of ways, you know? 😭😭

Zutara shipper are so delusional, because even John O'Brian as ATLA writer ship Zutara. He also said that the writers talked a lot about Zutara in writer room, but they were lost the fight.

Yeah, Zutara shipper shouldn't think Zuko and Katara were almost canon! That would ruin the canon shipper mood.

Unfortunately, I as Zutara shipper being delusional that even Netflix ship Zutara!! 😭😭

Why gave us crumbs if Zutara just delusion??!!! 😭😭

#anti anti zutara #pro Zutara fandom

[amirazat]

This is a great observation. Especially the point about the conflict in musical priorities with the closing theme, and choosing between including Katara and properly closing out the show. I think it perfectly reflected what happened with Kataang. We needed to hear from Katara her feelings on this romance (after the last thing we did hear from her was uncertainty), but we couldn’t do it before the final scene because that would spoil the surprise, and we couldn’t do it in the final scene because that would throw off the pacing and divert from wrapping up the more core parts of the show. As a result, Katara was silenced.

The musical motifs, or lack thereof, of Kataang

@sokkastyles answered an ask about an anti-Zutara claiming that the Omashu story is about Kataang, which like, obviously anyone in the Zutara circles would realize is ridiculous, and they do a great job at articulating why, so go check that out! But the thing about the original claim that got me, though, was the mention of the Kataang theme. They mention having to look it up and finding it unremarkable, and this is where our experiences differ, I suppose- because for... whatever reason, I know EXACTLY what song that is, and as a song on its own? I like it a lot! It's very memorable for me, and I think it might be the only song on the OST I actually know the name of off the top of my head- The Avatar's Love. That said, it is... A complete failure at being a Kataang song- it's an Aang one.

It's important to note that I don't have an understanding/interest in music in the same way I do with writing, so I fully might be talking out of my ass or missing something, but... If I as a layperson can notice that something's off here, that still seems like something, and honestly I'd really love it for people who know more about music theory and whatnot to chime in here and give their takes on it!

So. The Avatar's Love. Pretty straightforward name! Aspects of it are present throughout the show in different variations, and I believe this version, which is the one usually referred to, was taken from the end of the final episode. Aang is the Avatar, and he loves Katara, therefore one would think the song would be about Katara, or the two of them, right? Especially since it's playing when they get together! Well, actually, it's... Not. The song itself is beautiful, it's tender and gentle and has a sense of something growing throughout, and it's very believable as a song for Aang's growing feelings... For the first half of it. Honestly, because there's no official recording of this song yet, I'm not sure the second half of it is even the same song, but I've seen it included and excluded equally so for now I'll just treat it as if it is... Because weirdly enough, the first half, the one that most feels like its about romance and growing feelings- that plays over the expanded gaang's hijinks, and the second half is the part that actually plays when Aang and Katara get together.

Why is the second half a weird thing to play during the scene of Kataang getting together, then? Well, the second half kind of swerves and changes course a couple of times, introducing something different each time: once at 0:58, into something that istg was often used to close out an episode with the gaang flying away on Appa- arguably has to do with Katara because she's a part of the gaang, but it's definitely not about her specficially. Another is at 1:26, which briefly gives off an Iroh feel for whatever reason (as evidenced by all the comments about him in what is meant to be the Kataang song- this is a version that doesn't even have the tsungi horn which he plays over the song in the final episode!) before quickly ramping up to a very hopeful, almost ethereal sound that becomes what I think is a variation of the main theme... Because this is literally the thing that's closing out the show, and they had to get that in there ig.

So... Yeah, there's very little that evokes Katara in there, actually, if there's anything at all. There are two very distinct parts to it, neither of which is about Katara- one of them at least absolutely feels like it could be about Aang's feelings, though! But the other is a mix of several different other high impact songs, and is very obviously only there to close out the show and evoke positive emotions to supplement these two getting together completely out of nowhere- like, to the point where if you're just listening to it, it feels completely disconnected from the other half and leaves you confused at the change, because it needed to correspond with what's happening on screen when it's playing because there's no dialogue there, but you're not getting that context so thematically it's just kind of a confusing transitional mess, even if it sounds really good. I like the first half a lot, and even if it's only about Aang's feelings it at least feels relevant, but the second half is... Not great at being a theme for these two. This is a song about Aang's feelings for Katara, about winning and getting the girl, and there are virtually no traces of her presence here.

What does a song about Katara sound like, then? Well, I'm super glad you asked!

Literally nothing like the song that's meant to be a representation of her and Aang's relationship! Until 1:24 where the iconic Avatar theme briefly comes into play, that's... Something? After all it also appears in The Avatar's Love! But it's not in there because of her, it's in both because it's just... One of the sounds that feature frequently in the soundtrack, because it's the main fucking theme of the show.

What about Aang? What does his song sound like? Is his sound actually more present in The Avatar's Love?

Of course it is, because you see, Aang's theme fully IS just the main theme. He is well and fully represented in The Avatar's Love, while no trace of Katara's theme makes an appearance there, aside from the main theme, which is actually just Aang's theme.

Btw, remember those ethereal sounds that I mentioned appear towards the end of The Avatar's Love? You know where else they appear?

That's right. The main title theme. To be fair, it IS narrated by Katara, which is... Something, I guess? Except... You listen to this song and hear Katara, but the words are all about Aang- Aang's gonna save the world, everybody, he's the Avatar! And... Katara is here to tell his story, I guess? This is the theme that closes out their "love story"- a story which is wholly centered around Aang.

So. Yeah. I think I've made it pretty clear by this point why I think The Avatar's Love does a bad job as the Kataang theme. I've never been and never will be a Kataang fan, but to bring it back to the post that inspired this one for a sec, for me what made the difference between not being a fan/preferring something else and actively disliking the ship is the lack of reciprocity that at its core stems from Bryke being idiots who wanted to have a will they/won't they without knowing how to make the eventual "they will" make sense.

This whole thing is absolutely not a slight against Jeremy Zuckerman, who I think did a fantastic job with scoring ATLA- the Kataang theme turning out like it did isn't his fault. Case in point, the Aang part of it is fantastic! But when the show had to bend over backwards to make Kataang happen very suddenly at the last second, in the closing shot of the show, my guess is that he had a choice to make- is this going to be a song about Aang and Katara coming together, or about ending the story with Aang fulfilling his destiny and getting his happy ending? And of course he chose the latter! Because the way Bryke wrote the story, there was no room for the former, there was no room for considering Katara outside of her attachment to Aang. That was never what Kataang was about, that's why she's barely a factor in their song- for Kataang to happen, Katara has to be taken out of the equation.

The Avatar's Love is not about the person the Avatar loves or even the love they share with each other, it's only about Aang and his feelings for Katara. It's not about a mutual relationship or even mutual feelings, it's about yearning and achieving your destiny... And then, and only then, getting The Girl.

[amirazat]

This poll could use a middle ground option. I love Aang in most of the show, up until the last few episodes. He’s a fun and flawed protagonist, and his flaws are used to drive his failures in the story (for the most part). He has a lot of positive traits that don’t often get seen in protagonists of shows aimed at boys. He’s a breath of fresh air (excuse the pun).

On the other hand, my oh my do I hate how he’s written in the last part of the show. Kissing the girl he supposedly likes without her consent TWICE (once where it was incredibly clear that she did not want to be kissed) and never clearly being shown to reflect on how he wronged her by doing that. Taking a completely inflexible moral stance on forgiveness in TSR to the point that he actively ignores Katara’s feelings and desires, and having the show act as if he was right to do this. Regressing in his character arc by having him end the show the way he started it: running away from his problems. And then having a solution handed to him on a platter in a spirit-ex-machina, instead of showing Aang actually sticking it out and actively coming up with a solution that allowed him to reconcile his own beliefs with his need to save the world, and then having the story act like he’d completed his arc.

So I love Aang, but I don’t see the hate as overblown, because I see where it’s coming from.

(Although I don’t actually see the hate that some people have claimed to have seen. I actively follow the Zutara tag and I’ve never seen anyone call Aang a rapist, for example.)

#aang critical

[amirazat]

K*taang and Unconditional Love

I came across this exchange in the notes of a pro-K*taang post, and it helped me really understand clearly one of the things that makes me most uncomfortable about the way K*taang is presented in canon:

R states that the kiss in the Ember Island Players is forgiven because Katara and Aang loved each other unconditionally… but romantic love shouldn’t be unconditional. While romantic love shouldn’t be conditional on things like “are you always in a happy mood” or “are you the real hero”, it should be conditional on things like “do you respect my boundaries”. Otherwise love becomes something that can trap you in a harmful situation.

The kiss in the Ember Island Players was always going to be uncomfortable, but it could have been a teaching moment if the show had gone on to show that it had been a massive and hurtful mistake, and that a romantic relationship could not move forward until Katara felt sure that Aang would respect her boundaries going forward. Instead, by showing no positive interaction between Aang and Katara between this kiss and their final kiss at the end of the show, the show tells us that Katara’s romantic love for Aang is not conditional on his respect for her boundaries, and tacitly endorses such love.

(Ironically, since pretty much the only positive moment we do see between Katara and Aang between these kisses is Katara looking lovingly at Aang while Zuko declares him to be “the real hero”, the show even kind of implies that Katara’s love is conditional, but on Aang’s heroic status, rather than on his treatment of her, which is even worse.)

This isn’t meant to be a condemnation of Aang. He’s twelve and in a very stressful situation. He makes an awful mistake but based on his character I believe he’s capable of learning from it (would have been nice to see it, though). However, the writers/decision makers who decided on how to wrap up the K*taang storyline were not twelve, and they should have known better.

#anti k*taang #anti kataang #katara deserved better