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icegoddessrukia · 3 years

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So I know its shippers are annoying, but what s the issue with Zutara itself?

Personally I just don’t see it because it doesn’t make sense based on all that we’ve seen in ATLA and I didn’t feel any romantic chemistry. It doesn’t fit with the themes of ATLA or what we know about Katara and Zuko as characters.

Katara and Zuko are all yang energy. Their personalities don’t work together and that’s why they argue so much. They trigger each other because they’re both so emotional and intense. Which is entertaining but not all that beneficial for either of them.

I could go really in depth about this but I’ll just say Katara needs someone she can communicate with openly a lot and who will cheer her up - that person is not Zuko. Zuko needs someone who can calm him down when he’s worrying too much or acting immature and who understands his cynical and sometimes immoral views - that person is not Katara. Zuko would be a difficult person for most people to get close to, especially in a romantic sense and I don’t see Katara being capable of or wanting that.

It would just be a superficial teenaged fling that fizzled out fast if it ever happened and I bet you that they would have a lot of toxic arguments that rivalled M*korra. ATLA is not the series for a dramatic kind of soap opera couple like that.

Aside from that, Zuko was her enemy for most of the story which a lot of people forget, it wasn’t until a few episodes before the finale that they even became friends. That means for 90% of the story he and Katara were essentially enemies. I could list all of the awful things they both did and said to each other, especially Zuko toward Katara. A strained friendship between two former enemies is a wonderful story of forgiveness but it wasn’t grounds for a romance.

Additionally, the idea of Katara who is perhaps the character in the Gaang who internalized the most personal trauma from the Fire Nation imperialism aside from Aang ending up with the direct descendant of the family that were responsible for that, during or after the war doesn’t work for me. I find the concept of it uncomfortable in the context of the show.

I also find it a very cliche pairing that has been done a million times before - the whole argumentative bickering boy and girl couple who are enemies trope. It’s fanfiction-y and would really cheapen the story.

That’s just my perspective on them. However I do have friends who like Z*tara and I respect their right to think differently there’s nothing wrong with liking them if you do.

#anti-Zutara #antizutara

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thethiefandtheairbender · 4 years

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loved ur zukaang post. Was wondering tho a lotta people cite Katara’s trauma w the fire nation as a reason zutara wouldn’t work and I don’t know if that’d apply to aang seeing as he’s the most powerful person in that world and the dynamics are different but also I’d love to watch ur version of the show would you

Katara’s trauma has nothing to do with her own skill level, necessarily — although wanting power to compensate with trauma does feed into it, hence “I’m not the helpless little girl I was when they came,” and her voluntarily choosing to bloodbend.

And while Aang is traumatized by the Fire Nation, that’s more from the events we see happening in s1-s3, not by events that happened previously. Aang and Katara are both survivors of genocide at the Fire Nation’s hands and that binds them in a very particular way, but they also experienced those genocides in very different ways.

For Aang, the world seemed entirely peaceful before he went under, and he was completely unafraid of anything Fire Nation for a good chunk of season one (although that starts to change by “Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku” arguably, because he wants to go to the Fire Nation alone, knowing that it’s dangerous). Aang only knows the aftermath, which is ancient history to everyone else — including the skeletons that are all that remains of his people.

Katara experienced the happening, and so did her entire tribe, over a period of 60ish years if we go by Hama’s apparent age. It was a slow decline, taking the tribe from being larger and able to defend themselves to what we see in the pilot episodes.

She grew up with the fear that raiders would come—fear likely that people would kill / “take away” her father, until her father left on his own. She and Sokka remember the black snow that signalled invasions. Katara grew up knowing she would never have another bender to teach her — or be able to meet another bender ever, until Aang. Katara knows the face of the man who killed her mother, and yet still pictured Zuko as “the face of the enemy.”

Aang didn’t grow up with that. Season one is the season where Aang takes being the Avatar the least serious and is also the only season Zuko’s the primary antagonist. He always sees Zuko as a person and even potential friend in that season (hence saving him in the s1 finale and “Do you think we could’ve been friends too?”).

Katara is as good a waterbender as Aang, without being the Avatar, but it’s not about that. Katara and Sokka both experienced things differently than Aang, which is one of the reasons why I don’t love either of them for Zuko and why I prefer Zukaang. But — mostly — I don’t think Katara’s personality (motherly, quick to anger, passive aggressive) meshes well with Zuko’s (finds persistent “coddling” annoying, quick to anger, takes things personally) just as a few examples. That’s 90% of why I don’t ship them and that’s a subjective opinion.

Shipping is inherently about dynamic, with context and narrative falling second, and while all three inform what people ship — or at least, should, to a degree — it’s different for everyone.

And while I don’t like z*kka that much, I like it way more than z*tara, and it’s interesting to see the differences between the ships in how they’re treated in fandom. Z*kka has less romanticization of enemies (no “I’ll save you from the pirates” or quotes taken wildly out of the terrifying context they’re in, like “You rise with the moon I rise with the sun” taking place when Zuko hits Katara hard enough with a blow and it knocks her out). Z*kka also tends to at least acknowledge and like Sukka and Suki, from what I’ve seen, leading to a rise in Zuko/Sokka/Suki as an OT3. The worst seems to be having Suki die young but they’re not saying she’s an abusive bitch or anything, from what I’ve seen. Meanwhile Z*taras have spent most of the last 15 years demonizing Aang and shitting on Katara/Aang for anything they can get their hands on remotely. And last but not least, Z*kka tends to operate on having Sokka being Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and Zuko being Firelord, with each of them sharing those responsibilities. So there’s more political independence and agency given to Sokka rather than him just being “Fire Consort” than is given to Katara, who often just gets labelled “Fire Lady” and nothing else (often not even keeping her traditional garments, clothes, and colours).

Sokka has a good blend of Aang’s goofiness, Mai’s dry humour, and his own dedication and shared interests with Zuko. I can understand personality wise why he’d be a good fit, and why Zuko would be a good fit for him as well, even if it’s not my preference.

But yeah there’s a lot of reasons why Z*tara is my one atla notp and why it’s the bottom of the barrel for me, lmao.

#anti zutara #thanks for asking #anonymous #atla meta #analysis series #zukaang #sort of #shipping #zukka #if anyone takes offense to anything i've said? great i don't care block me and move on #Anonymous

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teehjayy · 6 years

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Question Tag

Tagged by @stillheregayandweird and @wakanda-4evr. LOVE YALLL

Name: lol my government name?? Thokozile. Call me TJ or Z tho.

Gender: Female

Star sign: Gemini

Height: 5′8

Age: 19

Sexuality: shoot your shot coz I love everyone lmao

House: I literally had to Google this coz i’ve never picked up a single Harry Potter book in my life. Slytherin.

Wallpaper on my phone: Zutara fanart. Don’t look at me.

Ever crush on a teacher: Nah, just found some attractive and moved on really.

Coolest halloween costume: idk halloween doesn’t really appeal to me but if I had to, i’d definitely dress up as Katara from ATLA.

Favorite 90s tv show: Family Matters

Last kiss: it’s been 84 years

Have you ever been stood up: i’m the guilty one here tbh lmao

Have you ever been to las vegas: My mom won’t even let me go out to the mailbox when I got my headwrap on foh

Favorite pair of shoes: These old ass combat boots i’ve had since the war that make my feet look slightly normal coz your girl is secretly LaCienega Boulevardez

Favorite fruit: There’s just something about strawberries idk

Favorite book: does not compute. I love all my babies equally.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done: is it bad that I genuinely can’t think of anything rn?

All time favorite shows: Hey Arnold! Danny Phantom (my fucking heart), That’s so Raven, Teen Titans, Series of Unfortunate Events, Total Drama series

Last movie you saw in theaters: ...I think we all know this one. BLACK PANTHER lmao

Tagging: @melaninmarvel, @90sinspiredgirl, @sugargoon, @mosaicpieces (sis i can never tag you in shit), and everyone else who follows me coz I wanna get to know y’all

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