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#because for the very same reasons zuko would know how to paint
the-badger-mole · 6 months
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A Kya lived (but with some serious burns) AU.
Katara's relationship with the other characters?
In what way would this also affect Sokka?
Aang accidentally burning Katara?
Yon-Rha being alive or not,and Zuko and Katara hunting him down.
Depending on what ripple effect Kya being alive has on the series, what other changes do you think would impact things going forward?
Do you think kat*anng would still happen or zutara?
To answer your last question first, Kataang shouldn't have happened in general, so, no they absolutely don't happen here.
This would've been an extremely traumatic event for Kya, and I think she would become very protective of Katara. Sokka would have a complicated relationship with it because on the one hand, he'd get it, and he'd be very protective of Katara too (even more than he was in the show). On the other hand, I think it would very much read as favoritism to him, and he'd probably pull some very dangerous and stupid stunts in order to get his mother to fear for his life like she does for Katara's. I think instead of being sent off with well wishes, Katara would have to sneak away, and Sokka would come with her to protect her.
I think Zuko seeing the burns that Kya suffered would give him pause. He would still try to go in with all his bluster and bravado, but it would be a sight that would startle him. I think it would change the dynamic when he confronted Katara (does Katara get Kya's necklace here? I don't know. I could see it go either way). He might appeal to her desire to end the war instead, promising that once he got home and took back his rightful place, he'd make ending the war his priority so no one would have to suffer like Kya. His arc would then be centered on trying to reconcile what he knows of his father with his own hopes for how the war would end. I don't know if they still go after Yon Rah. I don't think it would have the same impact, to be honest. I think Katara's mother would be what bridges the gap between them still, but I think instead of focusing on their mutual loss, Katara would find out explicitly how Zuko got his scar and why. They would still connect over maternal sacrifices, but also the scars.
Katara, I think, would be the biggest change. I think she'd be a less maternal figure and less inclined to play caregiver to the people around her (which is part of the reason I don't think Kataang would happen). Her anger would be a lot more apparent because not only did her mother sacrifice herself for Katara, she treated her like she was too vulnerable to be let out into the world on her own (this version of Katara would probably have an easier time connecting with Toph, tbh). I think any attempts of people trying to protect her or tell her she can't do something would be met with much more force. Her fight with Pakku would've been much more feral and unhinged because I think she'd actually be out for blood. Like for real, for real. And her stint as the Painted Lady would probably end with a few dead soldiers. I see Zutara not only happening in this version of the story, but happening way sooner because Katara's anger would be easier for Zuko to see and understand, and then connect with. I think her pain and anger would hurt him for her sake, too. Getting to know her would make him finally understand everything Iroh was trying to do for him, and he would in turn try to be that for Katara. In the end, they'd both wind up helping each other find peace.
Also, as for what happened when Aang burned Katara? He'd have gotten a double barrel of anger from the siblings. Sokka would possibly lay hands on him, and Katara would resent him for not taking any of his learning opportunities seriously. I think Katara in this version would be much more militant (a reason why I don't think Aang would have a crush on her in this scenario to begin with). This episode would see him getting thee crap scared out of him, and possibly set him down the path of understanding just how badly the war needs to be ended.
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mdhwrites · 11 months
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Now that owl house is over ive noticed an uptick of people kind of retconning the show? like pretending Boscha was the one who ruined Willows life and that Amity NEVER bullied her (they have fully just deleted her entire first appearance of spending 3 minutes harrassing Willow for fun),
or generally just ignoring writing flaws like luzs selfish behaviour, alador being made to one eighty, or smaller things like Skara being including in 'misunderstood' by Willow and rewriting them.
I dont really get it, why not just admit Amity could have been written better, or note how when put in context luz seems very selfish and this should have been better thought out or at least considered in her arc? you can point out these issues and still enjoy the show.
I mean... That's happening for the same reason why I can still write Lumity/Lumischa in a loving, sweet relationship instead of having to acknowledge that Luz gives such little of a shit about Amity as to let her go die alone without warning. Fan content doesn't need to even reflect the analytical beliefs or truths of the show. In fact, it doesn't really need to reflect the show AT ALL sometimes. But this is only true for fan CONTENT. If people are talking about analysis with the show, that gets a lot murkier. I'm not going to be an ass and be like "Oh, they're trying to change the facts!" Not at all. Here's the thing: My blogs tend to be as long as they are when it comes to analysis because of the aggregate actions of the show and characters and what that says about them. For most the words matter WAY more. And The Owl House likes to state what it wants the truth to be rather than backing it up with actions. This is why it goes SO HARD on backstory elements that aren't meant to inform us of character motivations but are supposed to imply that the person they are now is who they've always been so you just forget about they used to be. You forget that Eda was honestly not good to King for like half of S1 if not just the majority of S1. You forget that King acts, talks and others act and talk to him like he's a young adult who's just lazy as shit rather than an eight year old who was adopted by Eda. You forget that Amity was a CUNT for much of her life because look at how much she cares about her teammates or how awful her parents were! It's not good storytelling and it rarely recontextualizes motivations as much as it tries to scapegoat them. We were never going to get a character like Zuko with this writing style because part of Zuko is how much he has INTERNALIZED those trauma we see in S1 and so those never go away entirely. They are still a part of his character. There is no version of Zuko that is pure smiles and laughter like there is for Amity or Hunter. BUT it is to some extent effective, especially since a lot more focus is put on big moments rather than the small ones. I hate Reaching Out for all the small things in it. For all the moments where a small change in dialogue or action would have Luz not seem so entirely callous about Amity's safety while death looms on her mind. What do most remember from that episode? Luz spinning Amity around, Amity not being able to handle Luz's dramatic entrance into the ring and the final conversation where Luz spills out her heart and Amity proves just how amazing a girlfriend she is. Any of the small details that paint Luz poorly, they dismiss entirely because "Look how much pain Luz is in! I'm going to focus on her pain rather than how she is acting because of that pain." Without like, you know... The fact that those going through hard times are STILL responsible for their actions.
I'm not even asking for Luz to have been perfect in that episode but a lot of the time, people will say that hard times prove who you are. I don't like the fact that I can tell I still have a lot of anger in me because I can get more aggressive when I'm tired or just sad than I like to be to others. I apologize and try to keep myself in check though. If this is Luz on a bad day... Then Luz at her core doesn't give a fuck about other people. If her core was that she cared too much, her trauma response should be to focus on those she cares about the most but she doesn't give a SINGLE fuck about Amity that ENTIRE EPISODE. Even down to her saying to join the brawl. She admits it's not because she thinks it's the right choice for Amity or for the situation but that she will always choose chaos. That's not taking into account the person. But that takes ignoring the fact that the text of the episode is trying its hardest to make sure that you are on Luz's side entirely. That by the time Lumity get to the Grom tree, you're not looking for Luz to apologize for breaking her promise at the end Falls and Follies or for ANY of her actions, but instead you're wanting Amity to make Luz feel better.
Luz's choice to stay in the human realm is the same way. The text of the show, the words as stated by characters, is that this is a sacrifice. That it is a noble martyrdom of any happiness Luz could ever have but that she's doing it because she is certain that if she goes, she could only fuck things up. As such, Camila going to the Isles isn't her making Luz do the right thing and actually fix her fuck up but instead Camila being the best mom ever because even though this world scares her, she will do everything in her power to make her daughter happy and give her chances at happiness. This is why I don't blame anyone for liking the show. The show understands good concepts. It thinks that it is doing everything right. And so I have to pull in so much else about the show, all it builds up, contradicts, etc. like that in order to point out why I feel the way I do. The way people might who can't figure out the words because something in the back of your mind is going "Wait, Luz hasn't told any of them the truth and Amity is talking about the future but Luz isn't saying anything but the show says that this makes Luz a good person, not a bad one and that feels wrong for some reason but I can't figure out why." And that is a rough place for most fan analysts. Like they don't do this super often. They aren't ready to pull up an episode list and truly interrogate the thesis in their mind. It's going to be motivated as much by emotion as it is logic. And that's not even a bad thing as most of them are going to do it based on an aspect they love or hate but they're not going to let go of other beliefs they have for the show.
This is part of why I do read every comment that comes across my blogs or my asks. To listen to the other side. Someone yesterday in fact tried to defend Luz becoming a witch at the end because the theme of the show isn't reality vs. fantasy, it's purely about finding a place where you belong. And for a second I was like "You know, that is actually a compelling argument. There is something there." Then I remembered that Yesterday's Lie explicitly pointed out that Luz could have been happy in the Human Realm, that her life was good, and that maybe she needed to question what she was doing. Almost like, I don't know, the question of fantasy vs. reality, of the grand adventure you want versus the fact that life is complicated and messy wherever you go, is a major theme of the show and Luz specifically, right down to King's crown turning out to be nothing but a toy.
But I did my due diligence and did interrogate the question properly and won't say that it has zero merit. Amity finds happiness with Luz. Willow finds happiness with plant magic instead of abominations. Hunter finds happiness out of the EC. There is definitely an aspect of it to the show but it doesn't feel like a main thrust of it. Honestly, I think even if it were, it's made weaker by how much these characters have to change themselves for their happiness. Willow and Luz are the only two who survive contact with a space that will make them happier as Lilith, Eda, Amity and Hunter all effectively have their characters replaced at some point away from their core to a new narrative function that usually either turns them into a joke or something incredibly bland and generic rather than unique and personal.
Analysis is COMPLICATED. Good analysis is HARD. I mean, someone tried to refute me on Titan Luz being a deux ex machina probably in part because they like the spectacle it brought them and while I still debated that my original points stood and that their arguments actually made it clearer how it was a deux ex machina... That doesn't make it a bad thing. But to most fandom analysts, the very term means the story is beyond redemption if it uses that. Meanwhile, I'd argue the deux ex machina appears to be the best part of that episode because it allows such a joyous spectacle for the fans to enjoy, including the angst spectacle of Luz dying. ALL of this is also what led to me final statement for my tierlist: TOH is worse than the sum of its parts. In order to articulate why though, you have to be able to examine all of those parts and TOH is such an ambitious show that there are a LOT of parts with a lot of movement to them to examine. That's a lot harder than questioning if one part is worse than you'd like but keeping a firm belief that the rest is just as good as you always believed, or vice versa. I mean, when I did the Found Family blog, I literally had a moment where I went "I genuinely expected Eda and Luz to have spent time enough to justify the finale because I do believe in their relationship as mentor and student but the two spend almost no time together in the second half and WHAT THE HELL!?" I was caught off guard by finding out that a part of S1 I was firm was good and functional was a lot shakier than I'd expected. But I did my diligence in double checking and then exploring the answer I got.
And I could get into the excuses people give for the show like the shortening but... I mean, I still agree with someone on my Discord that if an analyst excuses something as due to the shortening, they better have a DAMN good reason for it. I will actually listen to an argument for Hunter's character arc being worse because of the shortening due to S2A likely still being mostly produced without that knowledge. I won't forgive that it already had signs of being bad and as bad as most arcs in the show though because even with Eclipse Lake he's being treated as a joke and only truly as an enemy by Amity for a little bit and his OWN COVEN. Eda and King treat him as a joke and so does the episode so while his arc could have been better with more time, it's hard to say it would have been good. Because an excuse actually has to correlate with what is presented. And The Collector exists so... Really, there's no way of using the shortening as an excuse. Not when I've literally made a compelling argument for why a full S3 would have at best been good because the show clearly wanted more time than was EVER reasonable without a firm guarantee from Disney and Disney hasn't given a show more than 3 seasons in a WHILE. (I would link the blog but I couldn't find it quickly)
But again: A lot of these people are just wanting to talk about a show they love and you know what: More power to them. I talk about this show so much because I want to talk about a show I used to live and my brain is rigged to overthink EVERYTHING. A decade ago and I would have been way worse at these blogs than I am now, especially since back then my point was to prove I was right and smart while nowadays it's much more about wanting to teach about writing and discuss aspects of it. And there's a lot I can teach with The Owl House but if I half ass my analysis, you're not going to learn and so I try to be a bit more thorough than maybe I even have to be. If this blog doesn't prove that in spades. Edit: Part of me wonders if part of this is a misinterpretation/abuse of Dana saying that whatever she's stated is as valid as anyone else's headcanons and that only what explicitly happened is canon for the show. Which, as always, for many, meant rip Aro/Ace Lilith and Lesbian Amity. -_- ===========
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I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.
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amnesiasauce · 1 year
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i made myself so fucking sad and angry about the fire nation royal family in atla Kyoshi shouldve taken the wheel and murked Ozai right then and there no energy bending lionturtle bullshit.
Buckle up and sit the fuck down motherfuckers it's analysis time.
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Because right. I just did a painting of Zuko that involved some research and referencing. And his scar morphology is. Different that what I expected.
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Look at how localised that is. Real facial burn wounds often result in scar tissue formation around most if not all of the face right? Especially if the heat source is uncontained.
And judging by the darkened colour around the eye area it seems the fire was most intense there. And if it impedes his ability to hear and see on his left side (which we see evidence of, i.e his sleeping habits) to a permanent effect, it's probably a very severe burn to begin with, meaning that the heat source was probably there for a longer duration.
What this means is that during the Agni Kai, the fire that burned Zuko's eye was contained. That is, Ozai did not use a fireball. That would've left a much bigger scar. No, instead, as if we needed another reason to wish Kyoshi took the wheels and just wrung his neck like a turkey,
Ozai did not fireball Zuko.
He put his hand on his face.
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AND. HERE'S THE THING. HERE'S WHERE I GET TO TALK ABOUT WRITING.
Aang's fight with Ozai directly parallels the Agni Kai.
Think about it. For starters, Aang and Zuko are obvious foils to each other, so their major arcs are by definition parallel and opposing. Zuko's started with a fight. Aang's ended with one. Zuko learned to be more compassionate. Aang learned to be more assertive. We see both of them relapse. Aang with Guru Pathik. Zuko in Ba Sing Se.
We even see them influencing each other. In the Southern Raiders Zuko admits that Aang was right in that violence was not the answer and never is. In Sozin's Comet pt. 1 we see Zuko tell Aang he needs to be prepared for the worst and even teaches him to redirect lightning. So, therefore, would it be unreasonable to assume Zuko would teach Aang other defensive firebending moves, some that he learned through experience himself? I think not.
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In both the Agni Kai and the battle of Sozin's Comet, Ozai calls both of them weak because both Zuko and Aang did not want to fight. Zuko is more than aware that Aang does, invariably, hate any scenario involving the loss of life, and will offer Ozai a peaceful end to the war, but he knows his dad well enough to know how he views that sort of thing. To Ozai, peace isn't mercy. It's disrespect, it's pity. It's dishonour.
Ozai even treats the battle with Aang like an Agni Kai, throwing off his robe and declaring his intentions in the give or take four seconds of dialogue before he tries to kill a 12 year old. He goes through the same motions he did with Zuko. He called him a child, he called him weak, he points out how he has dishonoured his people. He wants to teach him a lesson.
Ergo Zuko would've known what he would try to do to Aang. Ozai loves teaching children to fear him, and what better way to do that than with a burn? It wouldnt be out of character for him at all. Hell, id bet an arm and a leg Ozai would even burn Azula, his prodigy, if she stepped out of line.
And then here comes this kid. This 12 year old skinny air nomad, the last of his race, and the singular threat to his plan. There is no way in hell Ozai would've spared him. But hes the sort of vindictive motherfucker that wants his victims to sit and stew on how they wronged him.
Er-fucking-go
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THAT. THAT MOVE. THAT HAND SWIPE WITH THE FLAME.
ZUKO HAS SEEN THAT MOVE.
OZAI WAS GOING FOR THE FUCKING EYE AGAIN. LOOK AT HOW IT ALLIGNS EXACTLY WHERE ZUKO'S SCAR IS. HELL HIS FINGERS EVEN CURVE TOWARDS AANG'S FACE LIKE THEYRE ABOUT TO MAKE CONTACT.
And now look at how Aang deflects it.
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Im ready to bet my entire ass life that Zuko taught him that.
I mean of course we can see that once he deflects it the fire becomes uncontained and delocalised, but we can blame that on the Comet. We saw how it magnifies firebending. We saw what normal firebenders can do let alone Ozai. It's also arguable that Ozai was using lethal force here rather than just planning to scar Aang, hence the delocalised nuclear-level fire blast.
I can say for absolute certainty though that the Sozin's Comet tetralogy is one of the best fight scenes slash show finales ive ever seen in my life. The semantics, the music, the symbolism, the parallels, the animation, the suspense, the pacing, the choreography, and all of that lovely meaty plot interspliced with more lovely meaty plot?? and Iroh content??? and the Last Agni Kai????????? Sign me the fuck up
All in all I am slightly upset though. Zuko shouldve been part of the fight with Ozai. He deserved that much, or at least another confrontation in which he's able to properly get closure, but at rhe same time I understand why they chose not to. Aang's fight is about the genocide of his people, of which Ozai's forefathers begun and he perpetuated. Zuko's fight is about overcoming his being relentlessly manipulated by his abusive family, of which, Azula is a victim of as much as she represents. But that's another media analysis for later.
But goddamn the Last Agni Kai is so fucking good and makes me cry like a baby every time that i just cant stay mad about it. What can I say, violin just hits me where it hurts.
Case and point, though, Ozai shouldve been killed. I know it's technically a kid's show but come on. if this was Kyoshi's show he wouldnt have lasted five seconds. A murderer, a genodical monarch, and a child abuser? Blood. Blood everywhere.
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sokkastyles · 2 years
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Reading ATLA: The Promise - pp66-93
Note: I'm reading the Promise Omnibus digital scans which has parts 1-3, and I'm assuming I'm done with part 1 since I'm about halfway through the story, but there's been no indication of that so far so I'm not sure which part I'm on anymore or if the Omnibus just combined them all into one consecutive story and did away with the parts alltogether. Anyway, let's move on!
Katara and Aang deciding to set up a meeting with the Earth King is good, but it kind of begs the question of why this couldn’t have been settled when they all met together at the beginning of this comic.
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Aside from how dangerous it is that Aang relying on Katara to calm him down is romanticized, there’s something else that bothers me about this conversation. Katara tells Aang that if he is going to have to kill Zuko, he has to be calm enough to know he’s making the right decision. But wasn’t Aang’s whole stance in ATLA that there is never a justification for killing? Specifically in “The Southern Raiders,” Katara was painted as out of control because of the implication that she might kill Yon Rha, yet she does make a rational decision in the end despite not following Aang’s advice and not letting go of her anger. And here, yet again, she is tasked with being the voice of reason despite how negatively that episode painted her when she faced the same exact dilemma that Aang is facing now, except that Aang is treated with much more compassion for flying off the handle for a much less justified reason. And here, the conflict isn’t centered around the morality of killing at all or the fact that Zuko is their friend, but because Katara “hates seeing Aang get like that.” Okay.
Also, now that they’ve agreed that Zuko actually has a point, I’m not sure why killing him is even still on the table, other than some weird “blood determines your destiny” BS.
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Hold up. I know that lack of communication is a chronic problem throughout this comic, and Mai says Zuko left without telling her where he was going, but it also seems like Mai doesn’t communicate very well with Zuko either, since she seems to just pop into the throne room unannounced, which he is totally surprised by. And “you’re doing it again?” Again as in, that time he broke up with you to save the world because it wouldn’t be safe to break up in person, and you also showed no interest in communicating with him when he tried to express to you his concerns about the Fire Nation? So Mai has to know where Zuko is at all times because “I’m your girlfriend” - even though she wouldn’t accept it when he broke up with her - but she gets to come and go as she pleases and decide when she’s interested in hearing about his life and when she isn’t?
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How is this the fault of Zuko’s bodyguards, who we saw earlier being unfairly yelled at? This does explain how the Kyoshi Warriors got to the palace, though.
Also, the fact that Mai didn’t know that Zuko wasn’t sleeping well and Zuko was surprised that she could tell tells me that they’ve been having some deeper relationship problems that it’s unfair to blame on Zuko, especially given the history of their relationship in ATLA and Mai's chronic inability to care about literally anything.
And I know it’s Nickelodeon, but if Zuko is old enough to lead a country he’s probably old enough to have his girlfriend sleep with him, especially since she herself is a trained fighter. It also seems like it would be more Mai’s style to decide she needs to protect Zuko herself instead of getting five other women to do it for her, but I guess that would put a dent in her carefully affected apathy.
Zuko can’t sleep again so he tells Suki and Ty Lee, who are now guarding his bedroom, that he’s going for a walk. He goes straight to the prison, of course, because what better way to find a good night’s sleep than to visit your estranged father who obviously has malicious intentions towards you? Also, despite how heavily guarded Zuko’s chambers are, no one is guarding the prison where a deposed dictator is being kept? Maybe Zuko’s guards ARE idiots.
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Or...you know, you could have gone with Aang and Katara to meet with the Earth King. Just a thought.
Toph and Sokka go back to her metalbending school because Sokka wants to get away from Katara and Aang being all lovey dovey  - me too, Sokka - and they find that it’s been taken over by a firebending master and his students, who say that it’s HIS school now because Fire Lord Zuko has withdrawn support for the Harmony Restoration Act. They agree to have a match between their students for ownership of the school. I actually like this scene. It shows the entitlement of the Fire Nation colonists towards Earth Kingdom land. I don’t particularly care about the conflict, though, which just seems to distract from the main focus of the story.
Katara and Aang head to Ba Sing Se to meet with the Earth King. They land and intend to stay at Iroh’s for the night, but then Aang runs into his fan club and of course they end up staying there instead. Katara gets jealous, and I won’t rehash what other people have already said about how gross it is that Katara is punished for her jealousy, but this entire subplot is full of misogyny and Bryke getting another potshot in at fangirls. Not only do the other girls act like catty bitches to Katara, but their dialogue is full of valley girl stereotypes.
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I also feel the need to point out how of course the shorter, larger girl is the one who threatens to steal Aang from Katara and is portrayed as grotesque for aggressively pursuing Aang.
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The theme park-ization of the Air Nomads is also weird and uncomfy. Remember how mad Aang got in the series at the Earth Kingdom refugees for co-opting Air Nomad culture? What, is it better when it’s a bunch of girls who are showering him with attention instead of disabled refugees trying to survive?
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Zuko: but what does this have to do with the pressures of rulership...?
Ozai: Nothing, I just like thinking about that time you almost drowned.
I kid, but shout out to that time that someone tried to use these panels to prove to me that Ozai was a good leader. The social Darwinism argument isn’t actually a good argument for rulership, though. Ozai is able to sleep at night because he doesn’t care whether the decisions he makes are morally right. That doesn’t make Ozai a good leader. Zuko is a better leader because he agonizes over whether the decisions he makes are the right ones. It shows that he’s a leader that actually cares about people. I guess the lesson should be about the dangers of inaction or trying to both sides things, but Ozai's point seems to be to "let nature take its course," which is a decidedly amoral stance when you're talking about people.
Also, Ozai apparently loves tea now.
I do like the last panel, where it looks like Zuko is the one behind bars instead of Ozai. It shows how Zuko’s father still has a hold over him psychologically, even when he lacks physical power and freedom. No wonder Zuko can't sleep, with Ozai so close by. I think it would be a long time before Zuko feels totally secure and free of his father.
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ash-and-starlight · 3 years
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Well if you have a whole ted talk "pulls up chair and popcorn" I wanna hear all about Artist Sokka!
HHRGSGDH so you’ve chosen violence thank you so much LETS GO
DEEP BREATH
So first thing first I believe he’d be an amazing artist simply because like have u seen him? he has the range. I don’t remember who said that sokka was the davinci of the avatar universe but it’s TRUE.

Second his bad doodles were played for laughs and i get it but LIKE. He was 15!! And he grew up in a war zone where I doubt he had much time to practice drawing!! But he’s stubborn and dedicated and creative as hell, and he canonically enjoys drawing a lot (the Appa pictures, the submarine, and the portrait of the gaang in the last episode are just a few I remember), give it a few years and with that kind of practice he’s going to develop some serious skill. 

And lastly my favorite argument in favor of the Sokka artist rights thesis is the entirety of the episode with Piandao. The parallels between art, calligraphy and swordsmanship are made very clear; among common samurai practices (influenced by Zen) there was calligraphy and ink painting, because a stroke of the brush was just as decisive and irreversible as the stroke of a sword. (Oh and also haikus… so yeah while we’re at it poet sokka rights too) SO BASICALLY what I’m trying to say is that since Sokka is a warrior and Piandao initiated him to that philosophy, not only his art would become excellent, but also his calligraphy would be immaculate too. (I still love the idea of Sokka’s writing getting messy when he’s brainstorming or excited because his brain just functions too fast for his hand to keep up lmao.)
Aaaand that’s about it thank you for coming to my ted talk I hope it made sense artist 👏 sokka 👏fucking👏 rights 👏5ever👏
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mightyoctopus · 3 years
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How to censor words without messing it up for screen readers
People on Tumblr like to censor posts, so they don’t show up in searches and stuff. For example when you make a negative post about a ship, but you don’t want any shippers to see it and feel bad. I think that’s really nice! It’s very thoughtful and I like it.
However, this can cause trouble for screen readers.
A screen reader is a software used mainly by blind and visually impaired people. It reads the text on a screen aloud, so you don’t have to see it.
When you substitute a letter in a word for special character or a different letter, this can cause trouble, because the screen reader might not be able to read or pronounce it properly.
So, what can you do about it?
My advice is to
Censor with characters or symbols which sound similar.
Avoid special characters, when possible.
Think about how you would pronounce the censored word.
1. If you use a character that sounds similar, it’s the least disruptive for screen readers. You can also leave out a silent letter, if the word has one.
I know people in the atla fandom like to use “v” to censor the “u” in various Zuko ships, because the letters look similar. On it’s own, “v” and “u” doesn’t sound very similar, but “zuk” and “zvk” do. This is a happy coincidence.
Example: Write Zvko instead of Zuko.
As a general rule of thumb, please censor vowels with other vowels or letters that sound similar.
2. I’d advice to avoid special characters and symbols. When you put a special character in the middle of the word, it’s likely to get “split up.” First, the screen reader will read the part of the word before the special character, then the special character, then the part after the special character.
For example, when you censor an S with $ or an O with an 0, it will look nearly identical for people reading by sight, but will not be read properly by a screen reader.
Example: Instead of saying “censor” it will read “cen dollar sign or” (cen$or).
Example 2: Instead of saying “photograph” it will read “ph zero tograph” ( Ph0tograph).  
An @ symbol is less disruptive. For example, Katara with an @ symbol (K@tara) is read as K-at-tara.
3. Think about what your new creation would sound like. Could you reasonably pronounce it? If yes, a screen reader can probably, too.
For example, when you censor “photograph” as “photugriph,” (replacing one “o” with “u” and the “a” with “i”) that would still be understandable, since it just sounds like a mispronounced version of the word. “Potograph” and “Fotograph” also work well.
However, when you replace the “a” with a “z” it would be very difficult. (photogrzph) It just sounds garbled to me.
That said, not all screen readers are the same! They are a type of software, and just like there are a lot of different text editors and painting programs, there are different screen readers out there.
I don’t think there is a universal way of censoring something without making it inaccessible, but these three tips should help.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
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linnoya-writes · 3 years
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Things I always hear Kat*angers argue (with counter-arguments):
1) Zuko and Katara’s elements might showcase an “opposites attract” idea, but they’re the same people: both are hot-headed and stubborn and would be at each other’s throats.  Katara and Aang carry the “soft boy/head strong girl” dynamic that is more healthy.
Let’s dive into this idea that Katara and Aang compliment each other better based on their natural responses to danger/conflict:
Aang is playful and cheerful where Katara is serious and focused.
Aang is a patient and peaceful soul where Katara is quick to anger.
Aang encourages Katara to reach for the sky, and Katara keeps him grounded.
Okay-- so it’s safe to say that whenever one partner is angry/frustrated, the other approaches them in a calm, collected supportive manner... right?
Actually, look closer.  These fun-loving, playful and peaceful kid-like traits embedded in Aang’s personality are traits that Katara always had in her-- she just needed someone like Aang to remind her that she had them.  The focused, serious and disciplined traits of Katara are all traits that Aang should be adopting into his own sense of maturity as he gradually becomes more confident and determined to be The Avatar.  
It’s not so much that Katara and Aang compliment each other enough to manage a relationship together, but more that they inspire each other to become more complex, beautiful, individual human beings.  Romantic potential between them has nothing to do with that.  
This “soft boy/head strong girl” idea of Kataang doesn’t even address the way Katara always hides her dark side/emotional issues from Aang in order to be a capable “voice of reason” for him on any given moment, or the fact that Katara is always defending Aang like a mother to a son, chasing him every time he literally or figuratively runs away from problems.  The dynamic between them is an imbalance of maturity rather than a balance of character traits.
Which leads me to Zutara’s dynamic; yes, Zuko and Katara are quite hot-headed, stubborn individuals who easily get frustrated when people don’t see things their way.  They have been at each other’s throats in the past... but here’s what people forget -- they stopped fighting the moment Zuko learned the error of his ways, stood by Katara’s side without judgment when she faced YonRha, and they became an unstoppable well-oiled machine of a duo who understood, respected and trusted each other enough to lay down their lives for the other.
It isn’t to say that Zuko and Katara would never argue or fight again, but the difference here is that their shared maturity, their understanding and mutual respect for one another would keep them at bay to hear each other’s point of view.  They have seen the darkest sides to each other and would know how to approach it calmly and collectively.  Neither of them would downplay or ignore the other’s anger; they would face each other until the conflict is resolved.
And that’s why Zutara’s dynamic, despite sharing similar character traits, holds a lot more weight and power that Kataang.
2) “Their bond is so epic that not wanting them together is like not wanting Han Solo/Princess Leia to be together.”
Okay, so, I’m not completely disagreeing here.  
I do understand that Katara and Aang had a spiritual connection since the beginning (very much like how Hayao Miyazaki sets up two protagonists to have a special, unspoken bond) and the adventures/obstacles they face together make their relationship all the much stronger.  I see Katara seeing Aang as the culmination of all of her dreams come true with the revelation that he is the Avatar, and that she brought him back, and I see Aang seeing Katara as the person who not only welcomed him into this second chance to fulfill his destiny, but to also guide him as a voice of reason into this darker war-torn world that he isn’t prepared for.  As Bryke once commented, Katara and Aang are the “DNA of the show” and I interpret this as the two of them moving the story forward... taking the initiative to go from plot-point to plot-point to fulfill all the needed tasks (ie. finding Aang bending masters) in order to have Aang become a fully realized Avatar.
My argument here is, why does it have to turn romantic?  Why can’t the bond remain as a spiritual, wholesome connection between friends?  Even Roku and Toph brought up the idea of friendship being such a powerful bond that it can transcend lifetimes in “The Avatar and the FireLord”... and I think the beauty of Aang and Katara is that it was a powerful friendship that occurred serendipitously and yet perfectly, setting up the entire arc of the ATLA story.  To me there is more emotional weight in keeping Katara and Aang as life-long friends rather than making things romantic.
The problem with turning their bond into a romance is that it brings up a lot more issues.  Katara is not a nomad like Aang; she would give up her own personal wants/needs to not just be at Aang’s side but travel everywhere with him as the Avatar’s SO, when we know that she is a girl who prefers setting roots, building connections and helping people for as long as its needed (”Imprisoned” and “The Painted Lady”).  She has a strong connection to her family in the SWT and would want to rebuild her home after the war and especially train new water benders.  Her SWT culture that greatly values quality family time, a meat-based diet, clothing made by animal skins would also clash with Aang’s personal tastes-- he’s not even discreet about how much he doesn’t like SWT food.  Furthermore, Aang as the Avatar would have so much responsibility fulfilling his work to the world that he would have a lot of trouble understanding the emotional needs/wants to Katara as a partner-- especially since in the show, he’s so accustomed to seeing her be mature enough to handle tough situations calmly and collectively.  Aang has even repeatedly avoided, ignored or downright down-played Katara’s angry and aggressive outbursts, so it goes to show that he wouldn’t know how to properly “be there” for her dark moments.  Katara has gotten accustomed to setting aside her own emotional headspace to instead nurture/coddle/support Aang.  It becomes a very lonely, very unsung existence, carrying that responsibility to be “collected” one in the relationship.  It’s easy to determine that this would continue as they’d get older, and Katara would continue to carry that heavy burden of always “being there” for Aang, but not vice versa.  
The emotional imbalance in a romance between Katara and Aang would be palpable (and it’s implied in LoK and the comics that they did have problems) especially since healthy relationships are meant to express equality and partnership-- where the two people interchangeably give love and support as needed.   
So yes, Kataang is indeed an “epic” relationship in the sense of friendship, but turning it into a romance would come at the cost of the individual characters’ wants/needs and development, and the healthy dynamic that they had as friends would suffer.
3) “But... what about Aang??  He’s loved her since the beginning and would be so devastated from Katara’s rejection, he wouldn’t be able to fulfill his duty as the Avat--”
Stop.  Just-- I’m gonna stop you right there.
It is not Katara’s responsibility to be there for Aang, especially as PR/damage control for the Avatar.  She does not owe Aang a relationship just because he harbored strong feelings for her, or because he’s grown to depend on her over time, or because he has this unbelievable power of the Avatar State that he hasn’t learned to control without her influence. 
Aang is the one who must grow up, who needs to be the Avatar and understand how to manage this power and sense of duty to the world.  On his own.
Aang needs to learn to be enough on his own.
... And while we’re on this topic, it is never healthy for someone to be figuratively “stuck” or “trapped” in a relationship just because their partner would be a lost, broken wreck without them.  
That is called “codependency,” and that is not okay.
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narutakijune · 3 years
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About ATLA Relationship Arcs
So, this is me, finally trying to write some meta after lurking in my little tumblr corner for months! Hi!
Although I’ve tried to tag properly, if you are a Kat*anger and just want to enjoy your favourite couple in peace, this might not be the post for you. I am not trying to bash characters but I do have a lot of critical stuff to say about the writing.
Anyway, you have been warned and here is my story about my personal first Atla experience: I watched the show this year for the first time, and after the end of Book 1 I decided to look up spoilers, because after what happened to Yue, I wanted to make sure that Zuko and Iroh would be ok. So I knew what was going to happen: Kat*ang endgame and absolutely no Zutara at all. Still, by the end of Book 3, I was convinced that I had read wrong - that there would be an epilogue with a different ending or at least that Aang would only get together with Katara post-show- in that Korra series or something - because anything else wouldn’t make sense- right?
….
After I got over my shock and surprise, I went online and found out about that decade-long aggressive passionate ship war and how even the showrunners got involved.
And then I really worried that I might have missed a few points. Apparently ”Aang and Katara were the DNA of the show”, according to the creators themselves, and “Zutara could never have happened”.
Another popular anti-ZK argument I found was: Why do you always go on about Katara and Zuko? Just look at Zuko and Aang! They are the hero/ anti-hero and each other’s foils, their relationship is much more meaningful!”
So I tried to find out what it was that I apparently couldn’t see.
(Another disclaimer: I love analysing stories (like many Zutarians apparently) and this will get long and rambly. If you get bored to tears when people start talking about “narrative structure” you will probably not like this.)
Talking about narrative structure, I do believe that, in order to let your story, your characters and their relationships really shine, a good basic structure is important. There should be a recognizable development and individual parts of the story that build upon each other and lead to consequences and change, until there is a completed arc - because it is all about the journey that takes you to a satisfying ending, right? So that’s what I tried to do, with my personal Kat*ang vs. Zutara take, I tried to look at the structure and development of their relationship arcs.
The argument that threw me off track for a while is that compared to Aang and Zuko, Zuko and Katara’s relationship is not supposed to be that relevant for the plot. After all, Zuko is the foil, the anti-hero, the deuteragonist to Aang, who is the hero protagonist.
This is all true of course. But then why is it that in every finale, Zuko’s main opponent (and later ally) is not Aang but Katara? Why is it that their sun/moon, red/blue, fire/water dichotomy is so obviously highlighted?
I think one reason why Zuko and Katara are paired off so frequently in the story - as opposite elements, as opponents and as allies - is that they BOTH are Aang’s deuteragonists. While Zuko also acts as antagonist and Aang’s foil/mirror, Katara takes over the more traditional deuteragonist role of confidant / best friend/ narrator.
Protagonist Aang is what connects them, although they are on opposite sides: Both need Aang because he represents their hope to save their world. Very simply put, Katara protects him, so he can make the world a safer place again, and Zuko wants to capture him, so he can go home and be safe again. That rivalry between them is already established in the first episode, even before they meet each other: Katara, who hopes that the Avatar will return (as she tells everyone in the intro), and Zuko, who seems to be obsessed with finding him for more sinister reasons.
And just to make sure, I am not talking here about the characters’ feelings and emotions! This is just about the abstract roles they have been assigned within the narrative.
When regarding Zutara’s special connection to Aang and their rivalry with each other, it makes absolute sense to stress their “same but different”ness as well, visually and metaphorically: Red and blue, fire and water, sun and moon, arguably Painted Lady/Blue Spirit, and, when you put into account their story arc, also Oma and Shu.
With this basis, which puts them together and sets them apart simultaneously, their relationship already becomes very dynamic and interesting, even before you consider any romantic potential.
And here’s another thing, Zuko and Katara also have their own story arc within the main plot. Although they don’t have many scenes together before Zuko joins the Gaang, when they do meet there is always a new shift in their relationship and in quite a few cases their interactions are important for the main plot as well. If you just look at their “end fights” at each book’s finale, there is an obvious and consequential build-up, like any decent story arc should have:
Book 1 starts with Zuko as the powered-up enemy and Katara as the weak newbie waterbender. Both are battling over Aang. At the end of Book 1, they are finally established as equally powerful fighters but still fundamentally different (You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun!)
In CoD at the end of Book 2 happens the next step: they realize that they are not different at all! But Aang still doesn’t represent the same for them and they end up on opposing sides of the war again.
In the Book 3 finale, when Zuko has completed his own (anti-) hero's journey and Aang represents the same “hope” for both of them, they do not only join forces: Their “same but different”- traits make them such a uniquely suited match that they are even able to save each other’s lives during their fight with Azula (who in turn happens to be Katara and Zuko’s antagonist/mirror/foil).
And in addition to their own story arc they even get an individual recurring theme, which also appears in every book whenever their relationship status changes: The lost mothers, especially Katara’s mother.
In Book 1, Katara’s necklace (the symbol of Kiya) plays not only a major part in two of Zuko’s capture attempts, it is the reason for their very first one-one one encounter in the story.
Their first friendly connection in COD in Book 2 happens because they start talking about their mothers. And in Book 3, their final reconciliation (sealed with a very cathartic hug) happens after their life-changing trip which is, of course, all about Katara’s mother.
Again, I am not even trying to analyse their characters and motivations within the story - there are many metas that have already done that much better, more detailed and with screenshots. This is just dry structure and tropes and themes. But I think people recognize and connect with a well-structured arc, even subconsciously, which is one of the reasons that makes Zutara such a compelling couple. They complete and contrast each other, their relationship dynamic constantly changes, builds up, falls apart, reconnects. Such a setup is the perfect playground for a lot of creative takes on what-ifs and alternative scenarios and of course, shipping them romantically is extremely tempting - think of all the possibilities! It’s no wonder that the Zutara fandom is still so active decades after the end of the show. And it’s also no wonder that the Zutarians are known for “over-analysing everything”. You can only over-analyse if there is anything that gives you enough food to analyse to begin with. Which brings me to
KAT*ANG
I just go right to the top and take the quote from Br*yke themselves:
Kata*ng was in the DNA of the thing from the start…. [Zutara] was just dark and intriguing.
If you read this quote and then start watching the show, I would (grudgingly) agree that:
Aang and Katara understand and complement each other really well. Aang gives her the chance to have fun and go on adventures and in turn, Katara is his fiercest supporter from the very beginning, something that he really needs after he lost all his people AND has to find out that the world thinks the war is sort of his fault. In turn, the journey to the North Pole is as important to Katara as it is to Aang, because it is her dream to learn waterbending properly. That’s what she literally says when Sokka & Co try to banish Aang: (Sokka: Where do you think you’re going? Katara: To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole.) In that way, they are friends who give and take equally and are equally taken care of. They even have the last Airbender/ last Southern Waterbender status that connects them. The few times they have a fight, Aang does something in the end to redeem himself (perform some heroic feat) and Katara sees that she is right to believe in him.
Aang has this very sweet crush on her and it will be very sweet and wholesome when Katara will return his feelings at the end of their adventure after he has hit puberty. On the other side, there is also some heavy shipbaiting with Zuko: I save you from the pirates. The betrothal necklace. June and her excellent shipping taste. But in the end they are enemies, they barely know each other and, come on, it would be too dark and intriguing! There is no real threat against friends to lovers Kat*ang, the soft heart of the story. It’s very straightforward and there are a lot of simple “the hero saves the day” scenes for Aang but that’s fine! It’s not really my kind of ship but that’s not the point, it works for the story they want to tell.
End of Book 1.
In my - probably harsh- opinion, everything you really need to know about the Kat*ang relationship has been told by this point. If you want to be really mean, already by Book 1, episode 3.
That explains maybe why many (not all! but many) pro-KA arguments sound as if their shippers have not watched Book 2 and 3 at all. The Book 1 synopsis also perfectly sums up Bry*ke’s quote above. But then Book 2 and 3 are still there and I don’t know what happened but it seems as if they somehow decided that the Kat*ang story does not need any new and lasting input. Maybe because they were afraid that too much new development and change would stray too far away from their original Kat*ang vision. But there are still 2 more books and more adventures and Kat*ang somehow has to be kept apart until the finale.
So the tension in their potential romance is based largely on the question whether or not Katara will return Aang’s feelings. In general I don’t have a problem with that will-she-won’t she-technique. It works well in books where the love interest is not a POV or in shows/ movies where the love interest is not one of the main characters. But Katara is not only the female lead but also arguably the narrative voice of the whole story! As a result, this kind of writing makes Katara look as if she doesn’t have any agency in their relationship, which is not surprisingly a very popular anti-KA criticism.
Additionally, since her dream - learning waterbending - has been fulfilled by the end of Book 1, the relationship work becomes a bit one-sided. Of course Aang is the hero and his journey is the heart of the story. But in order to highlight their special connection it would have helped to give Katara another personal agenda, which Aang could have supported in some way. She is still the last Southern Waterbender and he the Last Airbender but this is not really explored in the Kat*ang relationship. And her other personal agenda, her mother, is already reserved for the Zutara arc.
Instead, in Book 2 and 3 the Kat*ang story is somehow all over the place. Of course there is new conflict and a few romantic scenes as well. But obstacles are either introduced too late or just dropped when not needed anymore, conflict is not resolved and their flirty, romantic moments never lead anywhere- and if they do, they lead to more conflict that is not resolved (yes, I am looking at you, EIP Kiss!).
Take for example Katara’s very sudden argument that they cannot be together now because there is a war going on. We hear her saying that for the first time in the very last episode (EIP) before the 4-part finale. That is too late to have any impact! That she has these kinds of thoughts was never even alluded to before. Not once.
Or the pattern Aang runs away/ is flaky - Katara is upset - Aang comes back and does his hero thing - Katara is relieved. In regards to their relationship arc, nothing changes here between Book 1 and the finale, only the stakes for Aang’s heroic performances get higher.
Or Katara being the one who is able to calm Aang down when he cannot control the Avatar state (which, in my personal opinion, is neither romantic nor healthy). This is also connected to the problem with the seventh Chakra, that Aang needs to let go of his attachment for her. I will be angry forever with how they wasted this for a possible relationship development! That Aang has to decide to either do his duty or save his forever girl (because let’s be fair, he did try to let go and only ran when he had the vision of Katara in danger) - that’s a fantastic setup!
But no, it doesn’t have any real consequences for Kat*ang at all. Instead there were only half-baked attempts – Aang does lie about his failed practice with Guru Pathik but the ultimate reason why his chakra is blocked is Azula, not his decision to run. Aang does try to let go of Katara for a little bit but then Azula shoots him. Nothing in Book 3 shows any change in his feelings that could have been a result of his instant let-it-go. If anything, he gets weirdly obsessive - which could have been used as a side effect of his blocked chakra but – again, no, nothing happens.
I suspect the whole thing was just introduced to create temporary drama for poor Aang, but it is never explained why Katara holds him back, what aspect of the attachment is blocking him or what would happen if he did let her go. Maybe they tried to make a statement about how love is more important than Avatar rules – which would have been fine but it’s also never properly explored. Instead, as soon as that plot point becomes inconvenient it’s simply dropped like a random rock™.
Compare all that to the Zutara arc, where both characters’ feelings about each other are always very much in the open, and where every interaction causes lasting effects in their relationship. Yes, it is unfair to compare that to Kat*ang, because up to the end of Book 3, Zuko and Katara almost never meet, while Aang and Katara spend almost every episode together – of course they cannot do meaningful things all the time. But on the other side, with Kat*ang, there would have been a great chance to show a subtle, gradual build-up instead.
It also doesn’t help that the Zutara arc seems hellbent on sabotaging every romantic moment Aang is allowed to enjoy:
There is Kat*angs first maybe-kiss in the dark before the background of the Oma and Shu legend. But it does not lead anywhere. Instead, Zuko and Katara almost reenact the legend itself in the Book 2 finale as two real enemies to almost-friends, including a glowy rocks-backdrop and the right costume colours, just so nobody misses the message.
In Footloose The Headband, Aang and Katara have a really sweet dance together, and everybody can see how they almost intuitively know each other's moves. This could be a great hint on how well they will fight together in the finale. But is it plot-relevant? No, because the final tag team is Katara and Zuko! While Aang gets paired off with random rock™.
Then there is Aang’s riding off to battle- kiss in DotBS, which Katara is not even allowed to enjoy, because keeping her feelings vague is apparently more important than character development at this point. It is the only romantic moment that gets mentioned again, but in a way that sinks the former cute and wholesome ship into the deep ocean, and the reason is - Aang is jealous of Zuko!
If all of this was only done for the sake of shipbaiting, then it really went out of control at some point.
In the end, the showrunners still had their reasons to choose Kat*ang, maybe because that corresponded more to their own vision, and there are still enough people out there who agree with them. Which is absolutely fine! In the end, what matters most is how you personally connect to the characters and nobody needs to defend their personal taste. But the typical anti-ZK claim, that all the Zutarians with their crazy analysis and rambling meta essays are reaching and delusional and that they desperately try to construct something that isn’t there, is not only a very lazy argument but simply not true.
And I’d claim that in spite of the canon choice, Zutara is technically the better written relationship. By far.
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firelxdykatara · 3 years
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ppl love to forget that katara: 1. has her own taste, 2. developed around aang, he needed her for his development and vice versa, 3. ZUTARA IS SHIP BETWEEN AN OPPRESOR X OPPRESSED!!! Ignoring all of the development they had with their respective partners and the trauma Zuko caused Katara!!
In the infamous words of one Luke Skywalker: amazing. every word of what you just said was wrong.
It’s actually kind of ironic that you bring up Katara’s taste, since, throughout the show, we have examples of the guys she likes, to greater or lesser extents in canon--Jet (explicit romantic feelings on her part, word of god that jet was her first kiss--a kiss that would have been consensual, incidentally, something you should keep in mind for later) and Haru (she denies the crush, but that could just as easily have been because of the abomination he’d been growing on his lip rather than denying those feelings ever existed), both of whom have much more in common (in terms of both emotional and physical maturity, and physical appearance) with Zuko than either of them has with Aang.
Zuko’s book 3 hairstyle is almost exactly reminiscent of Jet’s, even, if not quite as floofy.
(This is probably in part because of Jet’s function as a foil of Zuko within the narrative, particularly given their book 2 encounters, which I think just further solidifies my point that, were it not for extenuating circumstances [like the fact that Zuko was introduced as an enemy and they had significant obstacles to hurdle before they could be friends], Zuko would have been exactly Katara’s type. Had they met under different circumstances, she could have been the girl he went on a date with in Ba Sing Se. Just something to think about.)
So, yes, we’ve established that Katara has her own taste. Her tastes seem to be boys with great hair who are taller than her, the same age or older, and of a similar maturity level.
Aang falls short (heh, short) on all counts. So it isn’t Katara’s taste in boys that led her to be interested in him. Hm!
Next, you claim that Katara ‘developed around Aang’--that she was necessary for his development, and that he was necessary for hers.
Let’s take a moment to examine that, shall we?
I will absolutely grant you that Katara was necessary for Aang’s development--only to a point, of course, but we’ll get to that later--but was he really necessary for Katara‘s growth? I suppose I could grant you this on a generous technicality--he did, after all, provide her with the means to finally leave the South Pole and find a waterbending master to teach her (although she wound up largely self-taught anyway). But that had nothing to do with his relationship to Katara and everything to do with the structure of the plot--Katara and Sokka find Aang (and he never would have gotten out of that iceberg without Katara’s own righteous anger, so even that leads back to her own power), and then they go on a quest to find teachers for the Chosen One and save the world.
The story could not have begun without first finding Aang and then providing means for the other main characters to travel with him (or, in Zuko’s case, chase him), but this has nothing at all to do with Aang’s relationship to Katara. Aang was not a mover in Katara’s developmental arc--if anything, he acted as an obstacle more often than not, his actions ranging from innocent but obnoxious (playing and flirting with girls rather than helping with chores like picking up vital supplies, leaving Katara to do all of the quite literal heavy lifting and keeping her stuck in the role of caretaker that she’d been thrust into following the death of her mother), to deliberate and harmful (hiding the map to Katara and Sokka’s father, a truly selfish action, regardless of his lack of malicious intent, and one for which he never actually apologized), to somewhere in between (”she didn’t really mean that” he says to the man refusing to train Katara because she’s a girl, when yes, she very much did mean that, and Aang was no help in finally getting the old codger to eat his words--Katara had to shove them down his throat her own damn self).
While Katara’s overall arc wasn’t exactly big and dynamic (like Zuko’s redemption arc), or in-your-face (like Sokka getting force-fed Respect Women Juice and his eventual growth into a tactician and leader), it was very much present and woven into her character--and Aang had almost no part in it. He provided her with the means to get to the North Pole, but left Katara alone to fight the patriarchy herself. He messed around while Katara took it on herself to do the chores and keep the Gaang alive, but he did almost nothing to decrease that burden so she could grow out of the caretaker role. (Contrary to popular shipper claims, Aang didn’t actually teach Katara to have fun. She already knew how to have fun. But she couldn’t indulge, because she had a responsibility to her family and her tribe, and later to her brother and Aang and Toph, and Aang goofing off and trying to get her to do the same only added to her burdens rather than subtracting from them.) He provided Katara with the necessary motive to learn to heal herself, but he certainly didn’t seem to learn from the experience of accidentally burning her, preferring instead to claim he was never going to firebend again, despite already knowing, at that point, that he was going to need to master fire along with the other elements to become a fully realized Avatar and defeat the Firelord.
He didn’t help Katara keep them alive during The Desert. (In fact, he ran off, leaving her to desperately try to keep Sokka and Toph from succumbing to the heat while worrying for his safety.) In The Painted Lady, Katara makes the decision to stall the Gaang and do what she can to help the Fire Nation villagers on her own--Aang agrees to help her when he finds out, but he wasn’t actually instrumental in her making that choice. The Puppetmaster was, again, Katara finding a master of her own, and having to deal with the fallout from that. And in The Southern Raiders, Aang was--perhaps unknowingly, if I’m being generous, because he is a child and could not reasonably be expected to fully understand the implications of what he was asking her to do or why it was impossible--actively impeding Katara’s development! She desperately needed closure, something he could not understand and actively belittled and dismissed. The only reason he relented in the end (but not without a condescending ‘I forgive you! Does that give you any ideas???’ parting shot lmao) was because Katara was planning to take Appa anyway, and letting her go (and hoping she’d just magically wind up doing things his way) was easier than trying to fight her on it.
While Aang’s existence was necessary for Katara to start down her own path, she needed neither his guidance nor his approval to follow it--and absolutely nothing would change about Katara’s arc if you removed their romantic relationship entirely.
Possibly because the only changes needed to do so would be to remove the two times Aang kissed Katara without her consent (which, hopefully, no one would actually miss), and the epilogue kiss (which was awkward and unnecessary to begin with, since ending the entire show on a romantic kiss as the final shot kind of missed the point of the story to begin with, but that’s another discussion). None of these kisses (which are the only moments in which Katara’s feelings for Aang are so much as addressed; do note that addressing them, or hinting that they needed to be, is not the same as saying she exhibited any sign of reciprocating them) altered anything about Katara’s behavior, her personal arc, or (and perhaps most critically) her relationship with Aang.
It’s that last point that is really damning, as far as ‘Katara obviously had feelings for Aang, she kissed him in the finale!’ goes. Because she didn’t ‘obviously’ have feelings for him. And the fact that he kissed her before the invasion and then she forgot about it (she literally had no idea what he was talking about during the play’s intermission until he reminded her that he’d kissed her) is pretty clear evidence that she didn’t actually have feelings for him. Not the kind he had for her.
I’ve been a teenage girl. I know what it’s like to be surprise!kissed by your crush. And I absolutely for a full fact know that I had not completely forgotten about that kiss three months later and had, in fact, spent most of my waking hours thinking about it and remembering it and trying to talk to him about it. Now, granted, I was not in the middle of a war, but even if I had been, I doubt I would have needed reminding about the fact that the boy I’ve supposedly been developing feelings for had kissed me and showed clearly that he had those feelings for me too.
At the very least, if Katara was harboring feelings that she was worried about approaching until after the war, her relationship dynamic with Aang should have shifted. But it didn’t. She acted the exact same way with him after the Day of Black Sun as she did before it--that is, as a mother figure and a caretaker, responsible for his wellbeing. (And it’s clear she never took him down off the pedestal she needed him to occupy, either--let it not be said that the unhealthy aspects of their relationship only went one way.)
And book 3 is, incidentally, where Katara went from being vital to Aang’s development to being detrimental to it--or, rather, Aang’s refusal to let go of his attachment to her (despite ostensibly having done as much at the end of book 2) was. Because despite having been told by, perhaps, the greatest authority left in the world on Air Nomad culture (even more than Aang, who had left his temple with a child’s understanding of his culture that was never able to mature because he got stuck in the ice berg while his people were wiped out) that he had to let go of his possessive attachment to this girl who never even expressed the possibility that she might harbor romantic feelings for him to begin with, after Azula killed him and Katara brought him back, he went right back into the mindset of Katara is mine, it’s just a matter of time.
And the narrative validated him for it.
Notice how, during Ember Island Players, Aang says the following (emphasis mine):
“We kissed at the invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.”
First of all, if you go back and watch the scene, it’s clear it wasn’t a mutual kiss. Aang sprang a surprise kiss on Katara, which left her shocked and unhappy after he flew off. (The decision to have her looking away and frowning was a deliberate one on the part of Bryke, who wanted Katara’s feelings kept ambiguous. Heaven forbid you allow the animators to make it clear that this fourteen-year-old girl who was just kissed without her consent by someone she’d never once demonstrated romantic feelings toward might actually have some. Heaven forbid she have a little agency in her own romantic narrative. But whatever.)
Second, he says he thought they were gonna be together.
He thought.
He never once even asked Katara what she thought--or even how she felt. He just assumes. He assumes that if he kisses her, she’ll kiss him back and they’ll get together. He assumes that she must have feelings for him, even though her body language is closed off and she told him with her words that she did not want to talk or think about this right now, and kisses her regardless of those signals, upsetting her and leading her to storm off.
And the narrative rewards him, because despite the fact that they don’t have a single significant scene together after that second disastrous kiss, Katara just decides off-screen that she Does Love Him Really and walks onto the balcony to make out with him.
The upshot of all this being that, while Katara was indeed instrumental to a lot of Aang’s early growth and development, Aang was not necessary for her own arc, and their romantic relationship (such as it was) actively hampered Aang’s development in book 3, while removing it would change absolutely nothing for Katara (except saving her from some painfully embarrassing memories).
As far as your third point, I’m simply not going to get baited into explaining how reducing Zutara to an ‘oppressor/oppressed’ relationship is not only insulting to interracial couples irl (not to mention any other couple with a potentially unbalanced dynamic of societal power, since there are many more axis of oppression than just racial), but demeaning to Zuko and Katara, their personal arcs as well as their relationship development together.
However, I will point out that Zuko was not responsible for any of Katara’s trauma. She did not find violence and fighting in bending battles to be traumatic--in fact, she reveled in it. She enjoyed fighting against Zuko at multiple points (especially noticeable in their battle at the end of book 1), because she wanted to fight--she always had--and once she had the ability, she was ready to throw down with anyone who gave her the slightest reason. (Including, by the way, her own potential waterbending master.) Aang’s death at the end of book 2 was Azula’s doing, and while I think that contributed to Katara’s extreme reaction to Zuko joining the gaang, it was not something for which she actively blamed him, and it wasn’t something she believed would be repeated--she let him go off alone on a journey to find the original firebending masters with Aang well before she chose to forgive him. So she already trusted Zuko’s intentions and that Aang would be safe with him.
Finally, because this has gotten long enough already, I hope you now understand that Zuko and Katara getting together would not require ignoring any of their development with their canonical romantic partners. We’ve already established that Katara’s arc wouldn’t change in the slightest if all of Aang’s romantic advances were removed, and I haven’t even gotten into how Mai meant nothing in the grand scheme of Zuko’s development because I’m pretty sure that’s just self-evident. I mean, the video compilation put together by Nick showcasing Zuko’s journey throughout the series doesn’t include a single scene with Mai, though it does include several with Katara, and even Jin makes an appearance--because Katara, and even Jin, played key roles in Zuko’s personal journey, while his relationship with Mai happened entirely off-screen and her only real function was to showcase just how unhealthy trying to force himself back into the role of the Crown Prince was for him.
What development, exactly, is there between them to even ignore?
At any rate, I’ve gone on long enough--I hope you enjoy the fact that you activated my wordvomit trap card right when i was about to go to bed, anon, because I just spent two hours writing this instead. In case you’re interested in the TL;DR: at the end of the day, there was no meaningful, mutual development in Kataang’s romantic relationship, and those romantic feelings that did exist were largely one-sided and ultimately detrimental to Aang’s development in the final third of his overall arc. Meanwhile, Mai meant nothing to Zuko’s journey--rather like Aang’s romantic overtures, she could be removed from the show completely and nothing about his story would change--while Zuko and Katara were both vital to each other’s overall storylines, arcs and development. This, coupled with the fact that Zuko never actually traumatized Katara and, in fact, helped her achieve closure from the biggest source of her own trauma, means that Zuko and Katara have better and more believable build up that could potentially lead to a romantic relationship than either of them have with their canon romantic partners.
So no, anon, I didn’t forget anything--I think you may have, though. Perhaps a rewatch is in order? Make sure not to close your eyes for the back half of book 3 this time.
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fire-lady-ilah · 3 years
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Random Lu Ten Centric Headcanons
Because I love looking at the Fire Nation Royal Family in general, but Lu Ten holds a specific soft spot in my heart.
He’s ten years older than Zuko and was the fourth person to hold his new cousin, after Zuko’s parents and the Fire Lord but before his own father (who had fallen asleep before the baby was born). He does not feel an immediate love for him, but he does feel immediate curiosity at the way Zuko’s little face scrunches up.
He adores Zuko as he grows. To Lu Ten, Zuko is like the younger sibling he never got without the jealousy that stems from a little sibling getting more attention. After all, Iroh still has plenty of time for his actual son, and Zuko has his own parents. He tries to teach the baby firebending before realizing that won’t work (he’s just a baby after all) and resorting to simple games.
When Azula is born, Lu Ten already has experience as a doting older cousin and adores her just as much as he adores Zuko. He tries to help Zuko deal with the lack of attention from his parents by giving him attention— it only partially works.
Lu Ten has a complicated relationship with Ozai. The easiest way to picture it is to think of Simba and Scar before Mufasa’s death. Ozai resents Lu Ten for taking his place in the line of succession, though he tolerates the little prince. Lu Ten, for his part, can’t imagine someone hating him as a child and views Ozai as just a grumpy person in general. It is only when he gets older that he starts to realize that Ozai might hate him, but by that point he can’t avoid him because it would mean avoiding his cousins.
Lu Ten is also quite close to his grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon. While it may seem a surprise, Lu Ten is expected to inherit the throne one day. Azulon’s love of tea passes down to Iroh, which then passes down to Lu Ten. Grandfather and grandson spend long hours talking on night the full moon every month, starting when Lu Ten is only seven. When he’s young, it’s about topics like what he’s learned in school and how his hobbies are going. As he gets older, the topics become more serious and nuanced. This is another source of envy from Ozai— Lu Ten has a closer relationship to his father than he ever did.
All in all, he has a happy childhood and is viewed as the perfect prince. A prodigy firebender (Azula breaks all his records, but that’s okay. It makes him proud and he teaches her the next move in the set before her tutors will), knowledgeable in Fire Nation culture and history, an expert tactician. Everyone looks at him and knows he’ll be the greatest Fire Lord the Nation has ever seen.
When he is seventeen, he takes a season long break from his typical studies and duties to study under Master Piandao. He takes Zuko with him. He mentions the name to his grandfather, who sneers but does not forbid him from going. Under Piandao he discovers a love of painting. He also discovers the first thing he doesn’t immediately excel at. While Zuko’s dual swords flow as if they are an extension of his body, Lu Ten works from sundown to sunset to accomplish only half of what Zuko does while barely trying. He’s happy that Zuko has something he’s good at. It’s the only thing that keeps him from quitting swordsmanship. He knows that he’s the only reason Zuko is able to learn under Master Piandao. So Lu Ten persists so Zuko can flourish.
Lu Ten is a flirt, and in this he takes after his father. He’s also bisexual, although he keeps that fact carefully hidden from his family. He’s well aware of his Nation’s laws after all. Despite all his flirting, there’s very few people that he actually develops relationships with.
Lu Ten enlists at eighteen and insists on being trained with the other soldiers and treated the same. He regrets this soon after under two tutelage of Master Jeong Jeong, who he swears treats him worse because he’s a prince. It gets worse when he heards that Jeong Jeong is an old friend of his father’s and an old “friend” of Master Piandao— so he has no qualms about pushing him to his limits and forcing him to incorporate weaponry into his firebending. Yet despite it all, he’s still not Jeong Jeong’s star student.
The first time he kills someone, he throws up. He wants to quit. He wants to run away. He wants to go back to the palace and pull his little cousins into his arms and tell them to never, ever go to battle. He keeps fighting and kills again a moment later because it’s an active fight and the sky is grey and he doesn’t have anything left in his stomach but he’s still dry heaving again when his friends find him and the battle is done. He never quite gains the stomach for killing, preferring to make a killing strike and move away without ensuring they die. That way there is doubt in his mind.
Lu Ten takes his issued leave a few months before he dies, travelling to the Fire Nation and spending some time with his cousins. They are a balm to his soul and he finds years of battle induced ache begin to ease. He spoils them both, sparring with Zuko with swords (the boy beats him soundly) and Azula with firebending (she doesn’t quite beat him, but he knows he’s one of the few people she’s okay with being stronger than her... for now). He gives them their favourite treats until their stomachs ache. He gives them both paintings he’s done of the three of them together, even though Azula complains about Zuko being in the painting and Zuko complains about Azula. He meets with his grandfather on the full moon and talks through the whole night. He returns to the front happy and relaxed.
The next time he sees battle, he falls. He knows he will be mourned. He will be mourned by a Nation, by a father, a grandfather, and two little cousins. One will yell and cry. The other will hide behind her cold masks and clutch a painting so tightly it creases the paper.
Lu Ten sees his father from a distance in the spirit world. It might be a close distance, it might be a far one, the spirit world is tricky. He sees the way he hurts, but he also knows that his father is learning things he wished he learned before he died. He turns and walks away, hoping his father will forgive him when they eventually do meet again.
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kaligraphy · 3 years
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these are the three steambabies that were in my fic from zutara week! I'm still fleshing them out a bit but I already love them to bits!
all of these are made with this picrew!
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Izumi
Kya's twin
Even though they are both share the title of Crown Princess, Izumi will be the one who takes the throne when she is older
Firebender
She always loved watching her parents bend. She was always drawn to the colorful flames and wanted nothing more than to do the same
Is one of the many reasons why Zuko's hair is greying when he's still only in his thirties because she inherited his knack for running across roofs (now you know how Uncle feels, Zuko lol)
A bit serious at times and mellow, but she most definitely inherited Katara's temper and desire to help others and fight for justice. and she most definitely knows how to have fun! just ask Druk, when he used to be small enough to be draped over her head! See? Fun!
Absolutely loves sea prunes, much to the chagrin of future ambassadors and nobles who visit the palace when she is on the throne and very much do NOT share the same taste
She loves to watch the Ember Island Players and would watch them all day if she could
Because she was the heir to the throne, Zuko was extra mindful to teach Izumi to be a kind ruler who will never even consider hurting her own people. It was one of the hints that she picked up on that pointed to how her father got his scar
Azula was very distant while they were growing up, but Izumi was able to connect with her aunt when she was older and aspired to know her remaining family. They take walks together at least once a week
She rides the mail chutes of Omashu whenever her family visits and nothing and no one can stop her
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Kya
Izumi's twin
The very definition of "I'm funny to hide my insecurities"
Shares the exact same sense of humor as her Uncle Sokka. They get along swimmingly
Waterbender
Was afraid of thunderstorms growing up and thought that made her a weak waterbender, unlike her mother who was always strong and brave
Very much NOT a weak waterbender. In fact, one of the strongest once she was able to overcome the deep-seated insecurity of not being good enough
She has a love for bloodbending. Since she never had the fear of it, Kya developed the art to the point that she noticed something... interesting, like how her father's blood was not the same as her mother's and not even Izumi and Kya's blood were the same! (she provided the stepping stones to the medical breakthrough that there were blood types and how different antigens and the dominance and recessiveness of these genes would determine the blood you could receive and what would be passed down to future generations. thank you, Kya!)
Once she comes of age, Kya almost immediately abdicated her place in line for the throne. She much prefers to be the Fire Nation ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe. it also means she gets to visit her family and play with the otterpenguins! And she doesn't have to wear the stuffy, stiff clothes she's supposed to wear at banquets and parties as the Crown Princess. Furs are far more comfortable
Kya came out to her parents. This caused a chain reaction that ended up creating a section in history books titled "Firelord? More Like Fatherlord" in which Zuko's dad joke is recorded as "Hi lesbian, I'm Dad"
(Katara absolutely hated when he said that. Kya was cackling though because she didn't want them to take it so seriously and it really eased her nerves)
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Lu Ten
The baby of the family (so far... if I decide to create more lol)
Nonbender and is incredibly proud of that fact
Begged to be trained under Master Piandao. He quickly discovered to be very gifted in the art of swordsmanship (and painting! it became a hobby of his after he completed his training)
His favorite genre of theatre is romance. The cheesier, the better (but unlike Izumi, he HATES the Ember Island Players with a passion only a child of a theatre-loving nerd of a firelord could have)
His sisters poke fun at him whenever possible. they have done this during Very Important Meetings With Boring People
He's a mama's boy and he will never deny it. even though he can't bend, he still loves to move through the same waterbending katas his mother goes through and used to follow her around wherever she went
Likes to work at the Jasmine Dragon with Grandpa Iroh
Very confident and has a very thick skin (probably because he's gotten so used to a random customer yelling at him to try and make him feel bad that almost nothing bothers him)
When he first learned about his namesake, he had spent a lot of time thinking. Ultimately, he decided to bring honor to a family member who deserved to see a better world. And he gave Grandpa an even tighter hug than usual
Usually very levelheaded and at times a little cocky. but that is instantly overrided by his protective streak for his family and friends
And that's the main steambabies! I hope you like them! 🥺
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Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic
This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.
Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.
I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.
Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic
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A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.
One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.
Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.
Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.
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Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.
Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.
It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.
There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.
Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.
Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara
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Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:
Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!
Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!
Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.
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Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?
And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.
Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!
The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.
This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.
This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.
Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.
Their natural teamwork is amazing
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I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.
You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.
They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.
They trust each other's judgment
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Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.
Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.
Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.
and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions
Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.
As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.
Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)
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The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.
Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.
Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.
He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.
Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.
Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.
Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)
I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.
Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.
And she admits it!
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So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.
I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.
To me, at least.
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lovebecomeshim · 3 years
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hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?
Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.
*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!
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This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.
I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)
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The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.
And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.
(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)
The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.
First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.
The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.
(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)
They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.
(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)
Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)
Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.
Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.
Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—
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And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.
Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.
There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:
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There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.
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Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).
Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.
Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.
The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.
And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.
tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.
So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.
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sokkagatekeeper · 3 years
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what do you mean when you say that zuko is a pessimistic idealist and sokka is a pessimistic realist? i love your analyses and i’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that!!! (also love how you say sokka and zuko are perfect for each other because they’re both grumps lol)
i do not remember saying that however it does sound like something i would say lmao. i think what i (would) mean with the statement “zuko is a pessimistic idealist” is that he grew up... idk if unappreciated is the exact word, but in the militaristic hypermasculine society that valued traits that he did not have in comparison to azula, zuko was always at a disadvantage and he had to run for it, sometimes make rash decisions as they were the better/only decisions he could make at all in order to be appreciated and most times it did not pay off which resulted in the entire mess that is zuko’s personality. for all of this, zuko has a tendency to see the worst part of the situation he’s in (coming to mind atm ‘it blew up in my face — like everything always does!’ ‘this city is a prison’ more or less?), so in other words he’s grumpy and kinda sour as hell, all the time.
but at the same time, zuko has a certain... idea of the world, a kind and caring heart, a strong sense of justice, an overall vision for a world that’s good. when zuko comes to understand the fire nation is actually actively pushing back this vision, and he practically immediately turns away from its ideals and pursues a philosophy and a group that actually fit his ideas of what’s better for the world. zuko spent three years at sea looking for a myth, in hopes that finding it would finally put an end to his suffering, making him and katara the only people in the world who truly believed the avatar was still out there. zuko is always expecting everything to blow up in his face like it often did throughout his childhood, and he sees the worst part of the situation before anything else but he always pushes back to make it better, or to what he believes would be making it better.
my favorite example of this is during the blue spirit after zuko finds out zhao got the avatar before him, and he gives iroh a speech about how all hope is lost for him and he will never ever have love honor or happiness ever again, and about five hours later he’s behind a theatre mask with two swords against the world rescuing the avatar just so he can capture this avatar himself in the future, while also letting him go afterwards because it’s not honorable to take him in the easy manner he could take him at that precise moment(???) and that was just nuts. therefore pessimistic idealist.
on the other hand there’s sokka.
sokka is a pessimist through and through, a serial complainer, a paranoid neurotic strategist. sokka grew up in disadvantage to the rest of the world and overshadowed by a his little sister — not because katara was a bender and sokka was not, but because katara was the last bender they had left. i’ve talked about this before but basically it’s no wonder katara is a solid optimistic idealist with all the hope and faith and determination in the world while sokka is a pessimistic realist and pragmatic depressed cynical bastard. presumably his village but also sokka put himself at disadvantage. it is safe to assume sokka sacrificed his own uhh. hope? naivetè? innocence? for katara to keep hers and in order to protect her better — after all katara is the last southern waterbender, their collective hero, and you can’t have a hero with no hope, you can’t have a dead hero. and also sokka is an eldest sibling, it’s instinctual.
now don’t get me wrong, sokka has a huge heart full of love and devotion and wonder. he is an inventor, an artist, a scientist. sokka is filled with ideas, but he is always waiting for the lowest blow, he is always waiting for a disaster to happen (and with a good reason!). sokka believes optimists are liars, he thinks destiny and fate is more or less bullshit, he has a pragmatic and careful approach to almost every situation he’s presented with and even though he has a clear sense of morality, he is willing to make certain sacrifices as are the demands of war – where zuko is willing to save zhao without hesitation, who tried to kill him multiple times and whom he had been fighting not one minute ago, for example.
sokka wants the world to be a better place, and at the same time he has little trouble turning away from people who aren’t in any immediate danger even if they are suffering because he has more pressing matters at hand (the painted lady), he obviously would want the avatar to come back and save them, but aang being a complete stranger signaling to a fire nation ship is most definitely a valid justification for sokka to banish him (the boy in the iceberg/the avatar returns i don't remember lol). among many many many other situations in which sokka is technically right, even if it doesn’t fit other characters’ idealistic views or it doesn’t make for a good story, sokka is the realist they all need in order to survive.
also i admit ‘perfect for each other’ can be kind of a stretch and i believe that it being because they’re both grumpy is kinda reductive since that can also be the basis of mai and zuko’s relationship and we all know what i think of those two aksjaks (this is NOT mai slander. # mai deserves better 2k21). however i do think sokka and zuko fit together because they have different types of emotional constipation and they actively push each other to be more balanced in order to reach to the other. sokka wants to believe deep down, and the fact that he is in a story even if he doesn’t really believe it plays its cards sometimes which translates into the universe’s obsession with sokka, and zuko is destiny fan #1 so he can give sokka an overemotional speech once in a while that sokka will ruthlessly dismiss and dismantle verbally but that at the same time will warm his heart and help him loosen up on his scheduled cerebral to a default existence on the long-run; zuko needs grounding once in a while which he usually got from iroh or at the very least iroh made an attempt to get through him, and sokka is intellectually crude enough to give zuko a reality check while making himself understood and because of their shared wavelength he can do this without crushing all of zuko’s hopes and dreams in the process.
they are also two eldest siblings one with depression the other filled with rage and they are the only real ‘pessimists’ in the gaang, so while yes, zuko will take action to solve problems he will also complain about it forever more and he can do that with sokka. together they can yell at god, complain about jocks, complain about prescriptivists, bond over their very niche taste in art that nobody ever understands, and absolutely tear apart everything that doesn’t fit their competence standard (it’s a very high fucking standard, those are two grumpy neurodivergent people) among many other grump-activities that seem to make them miserable but that actually serve both of them to validate their annoyed kind of love for the world and it makes both of them really happy :)
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hi! random question that you’re not obligated to answer (i just love your ka metas): do you think that aang acted like he was entitled to katara’s affection? sorry for the bother if this is a question you’ve gotten before, i’m just curious about your thoughts
Hi anon! It’s always lovely to hear people like my metas 💛 And you’re in luck - I have not gotten this specific question before, though I have answered similar questions, and as such I will probably link those posts throughout.
Forewarning: I use the general you very liberally in this post, so like. It’s not directed at you, anon djhskdjsajs I don’t want you think my sarcasm is in response to your ask (your ask was very lovely!! 💕)
Okay. Let’s get started! The funniest thing about the (nonsensical) claim that Aang acted “entitled” to Katara’s affection is that there is no canon evidence to support it. Opponents more often than not can only bring up one (1) episode as an example of supposed “entitlement” because no other Kataang interactions in the series demonstrate entitlement from either end! Like, wow. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. And I’m sure we all know what episode opponents love to propagate, don’t we?
Yep, you guessed it: “The Ember Island Players.”
From the get-go, the fact that people who vigorously oppose Kataang essentially only appeal to the contents of one episode for Aang’s supposed “entitlement” is a major indicator that, in fact, the entitlement is not truly there, and that those opponents are actually misconstruing the entire episode. I mean, if you are trying to make an argument about something but you only have one piece of “evidence” to support your claim, then a) any half-decent teacher/professor would fail you, rip and b) that’s a sign that maybe your claim doesn’t hold water. If you can’t find evidence to support it, then you’re probably looking at your case from the wrong angle. Analysis 101.
As such, I find the “entitlement” claim particularly ridiculous because opponents repeat the same faulty rhetoric over and over! The only people that might be convinced are those with confirmation bias. I’m sure that’s their audience, of course, but it’s still hilarious dfjaksdasks.
Anyways. Here’s the excerpt from the EIP transcript that opponents l o v e to spotlight with their “entitlement” claims:
Aang: Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?
Katara: In where? What are you talking about?
Aang: On stage, when you said I was just like a… brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.
Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.
Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.
Katara: Aang, I don’t know.
Aang: Why don’t you know?
Katara: Because, we’re in the middle of a war, and we have other things to worry about. This isn’t the right time.
Aang: Well, when is the right time?
Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.
Aang tries to kiss Katara.
Katara: I just said I was confused! I’m going inside. [Exits the balcony.]
Aang: Ugh, I’m such an idiot! [Puts down his head on the balcony railing.]
Opponents claim Aang’s behavior is “entitled” here for two reasons:
1) He asks Katara several questions about their relationship status.
2) He kisses her.
Before I get too far into this, we have to consider the context of the episode. Katara and Aang have this conversation after just watching 95% of “The Boy in the Iceberg,” aka Fire Nation propaganda. I have talked about the specifics of the play being imperialist propaganda here, but the gist of it is that this play is meant to demean the Gaang, to portray them as lesser and weaker than the Fire Nation. The fact that the play ends with Ozai’s victory is a stark reminder of this mentality. So: Katara and Aang have just watched this play that preys upon their insecurities and paints them as awful caricatures of their true selves. It is only natural that they would be more tense than usual. The reason I bring this up is solely to inform their conversation on the balcony, however; I don’t think their frustration solely defines what they say/do, but it’s worth keeping in mind, “Hey, they’re stressed and upset, of course this conversation might not go perfectly.”
Now, I have talked about the infamous EIP kiss before and approached all the rhetoric surrounding it like Snopes Fact Checker in this post, lmao. I did discuss in there why the kiss is wrong, which no one has ever argued against, but also why the kiss is simply a mistake: not sexual assault, not entitlement, not an unforgivable decision. I’ve copied and pasted specifically my notes on the “entitlement” claim below regarding the kiss, but if you have time, I definitely recommend the whole post jksdhjasdka (I’m quite proud of it). Anyways! Here’s the excerpt:
Claim: Aang acted entitled to Katara and her affection.
Status: False.
I’ve briefly addressed this already, but Aang backing off when Katara pushed him away is the exact opposite of entitlement. An impromptu kiss is not always indicative of entitlement. It can be, especially if the person being kissed has never expressed any interest in the person kissing them, but Katara and Aang were mutually interested in each other. They’d mutually kissed twice already by that point: in CoTL and during DoBS. The EIP kiss was inappropriate. NO ONE HAS EVER SUGGESTED OTHERWISE. But when you’re 12 and you’re already kind of in this semi-relationship with a girl you’ve been through hell and high water with (who has kissed you twice on the lips and on the cheek multiple times, not to mention it is only you she ever expresses such affection towards), it is not fucking “entitlement” to make a move on her, even when the timing is off. IT’S JUST A MISTAKE. A POOR DECISION. NOT ENTITLEMENT. NOT MANIPULATION. NOT SEXUAL ASSAULT. Full stop.
Also, these EIP people love to call Aang entitled for this kiss, but there isn’t a single peep heard from them about Zuko’s line in TSR where he demands to know what’s “wrong” with Katara, since she hasn’t forgiven him yet when everyone else has. And look. I think Zuko was just frustrated here, and that he, too, made a mistake and is obviously not irredeemable for it, but. If you’re going to argue that Aang was entitled in EIP, you’d better be ready to acknowledge the argument that Zuko was acting entitled in TSR, too. And hell, let’s take it a step further! Call Aang entitled for EIP. Call Zuko entitled for TSR. Call Sokka entitled for choosing to stay at Boiling Rock on the off chance his father would arrive, thus making Suki and Zuko feel obligated to stay behind with him, effectively putting all of them in danger. What an entitled decision, risking his friends’ lives on the 0.01% chance Hakoda would be one of the many, many possible war prisoners arriving at Boiling Rock!
Damn. That sounds ridiculous as fuck, doesn’t it?
And guess what. That’s exactly how the “Aang was entitled” arguments come across. Hate to break it to you. Trust me when I say to do yourself a favor and stop perpetuating that faulty rhetoric!
So that is what I have already assessed, lol.
To be frank, the most frustrating thing I see perpetuated is that the EIP kiss somehow ruined Aang and Katara’s relationship. But when it comes to assessing weighty issues like the notion of “entitlement” in a relationship, the fact of the matter is that you have to look at both the relationship as a whole and the context in which it is situated. Opponents never want to do that, because doing so debunks their entire (baseless) argument, lmao. Katara and Aang are best friends. And by EIP, they have both expressed romantic interest in each other multiple times. (Here is a post explaining the development of Katara’s feelings for Aang, just to put out that fire before anyone sets it lmao.)
So why, why do opponents think Katara would never find it in herself to forgive Aang for a mistaken kiss? Katara is shown over and over again throughout the series to have one of the biggest hearts. She wants to see the good in people. That’s why she gives Jet a second chance (even though a person could argue he did not “deserve” one); that’s why she helps the Fire Nation village in “The Painted Lady”; that’s why she forgives Pakku (once she sees he’s willing to change); that’s why she is the second person in the entire show (excluding Iroh) to offer Zuko a hand of kindness (in CoD)! That’s why she eventually forgives Zuko, even after all he has done to the Gaang (e.g. sending an assassin after them, being complicit in Aang’s death, attacking her and kidnapping Aang at the NWT, manipulating her with her mother’s necklace, to name a few, lmao. bless his heart, but like Jet, someone could easily argue Zuko doesn’t “deserve” another chance - and yet Katara still gave him [and Jet] one. in fact, she gave Zuko multiple).
In other words, Katara is almost always willing to extend friendship and compassion and forgiveness to others - why would she revoke that privilege from Aang after a single error that is comparatively lesser to all the other horrible things she’s experienced in the war? Again, I’m not downplaying how terrible of a decision Aang made. It’s inexcusable. But it’s not the end of the world, and considering the context of the show (e.g. Aang and Katara liked each other and they both knew it), it’s… not some heinous crime. Compared to, oh, how about attempted murder? lmaoo
Even beyond Katara’s innate kindness, Aang is Katara’s best friend. She loves him. The show portrays it as romantic through the seasons, but even if someone isn’t into shipping (which is super valid), Katara and Aang’s connection is one of the primary lynchpins of the show! (The other being Aang and Zuko, the greatest foils of all time.) Katara and Aang epitomize several of A:TLA’s thematics (and aesthetics) because they are complementary: yin and yang, push and pull, Tui and La, moon and ocean, blue and orange, water and air. This gifset and related commentary beautifully demonstrate how even when Katara and Aang disagree, they respect the other’s the decision. So after 60~ episodes depicting Aang and Katara as having mutual respect and love for each other in every form as well as emphasizing Katara’s natural inclination towards kindness/giving people the benefit of the doubt, opponents still think Katara wouldn’t forgive Aang because of one mistimed, inappropriate kiss? What?? Make it make sense, lmao.
In sum, the kiss was a mistake, not an act of entitlement, and it’s absurd to think Katara would hold that against Aang for the rest of his life.
To backtrack a bit, opponents also love to use the fact that Aang asked Katara several questions about their relationship status as examples of his “entitlement.” Just typing that out highlights the ridiculous nature of this assertion, lmao! Let me rephrase it for maximum hilarity:
“Aang was unsure about where their relationship stood? Well, how dare he ask numerous questions to resolve his confusion!”
Like, what was the alternative jskfajksdas if you are in relationship limbo with someone, it is far better to ask them ‘too many’ questions for clarification than to simply assume one way or the other! Kissing Katara was wrong, flat-out, but asking her questions to better understand where they were in their relationship was like. exactly the right decision, lmao. I genuinely don’t see how that could be indicative of entitlement? Especially because, once again, Aang and Katara both like each other and they both know that by this point in the show. That’s why Aang doesn’t ask if Katara likes him - he knows she does. That’s why Katara doesn’t negate her feelings - she knows she’s interested in him, and the blockade between them is not a lack of reciprocation, but the fact that they’re “in the middle of a war” and consequently it’s not “the right time” for them to begin a relationship. Katara has seen Aang die before! She knows he’s facing a near-impossible victory! I can’t blame her for not wanting to start a relationship with him at that point. It would hurt twice as much to lose him again if they were together in a romantic fashion (amatonormativity, am I right?). Again, Aang’s kiss was entirely inappropriate, but him asking her questions about their relationship is a) an example of fostering healthy communication and b) what any therapist would encourage, lol.
Oh, but I’m “forgetting” something, aren’t I? Right. This line:
Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.
If we want to talk about parallels, which I know the A:TLA fandom adores, this line sounds suspiciously like:
Yue: … but I like you [Sokka] too much and it’s too confusing to be around you.
Yue and Katara are actually in similar situations here. Outside forces are interfering with their relationships; for Yue, there is her arranged marriage, and for Katara, it’s the life-or-death nature of the war itself. They aren’t confused about their feelings, as Yue knows she likes Sokka and Katara knows she likes Aang, but they are confused about how to reconcile those feelings with their external circumstances. And can you blame them for that? They are facing impossible decisions (the fate of their nation and the fate of the world respectively). I would be confused, too! So Katara’s response isn’t a reaction to any so-called “entitlement” from Aang; she is experiencing genuine confusion about how to approach her own feelings for him in the midst of a war.
In sum, Aang asking questions about their relationship was a logical step to take resolving his confusion and is in no way related to “entitlement.” Katara’s confusion was not “letting Aang down easy” and interpreting it as such requires disregarding every preceding line of the conversation and its context.
As you can see, Aang’s actions in EIP are not at all “entitled.” His questions were understandable. While his kiss was inappropriate and inexcusable, it was also a mistake, and there is no canon evidence to support the conclusion Katara would never be able to forgive him (her literal best friend!) for it.
Before I end, I’ll touch briefly upon the DotBS kiss, because it is also occasionally used as an example of Aang’s “entitlement” towards Katara’s feelings. Whether you like the trope or not, this moment falls under what is called the “Now or Never Kiss.” TV Tropes actually lists Kataang/DotBS as an example under the Western Animation tab:
“Avatar: The Last Airbender: The fact that he’s finally going to face the dreaded Firelord, and possibility that he might not come back alive from that battle, gives Aang enough motivation to kiss Katara.”
Again, whether you like the trope or not, it involves reciprocation from both parties:
“The Not-A-Couple [i.e. both parties] don’t want to go out without revealing how they [i.e. both parties] really feel. It’s now or never. They kiss.”
Katara and Aang both like each other. When Aang initiates the DotBS kiss, Katara kisses him back. Her lips are still puckered when he pulls away. Furthermore, Katara had initiated a kiss with Aang prior to this incident, in CoTL. Katara was also the one to initiate every cheek kiss with Aang (who is the only character she ever demonstrated such affection towards). So Aang kissing Katara during DotBS follows an established precedent of Katara initiating different kisses, romantically inclined, with Aang. It’s not entitlement; it’s him knowing they mutually like each other and him realizing this might be the last time he ever sees her. Again, you can hate the trope, but don’t blatantly misconstrue its meaning. You’ll sound like Fire Nation propaganda, lmao. (For clarification, jic: the general you. not anon!)
Here is a fantastic post by @imreallyhereforkataang explaining the DotBS kiss in more detail as well as discussing why Kataang’s progression in the second half of Book 3 was, in fact, well-developed, and how Katara and Aang are best friends above all else and know that (which was the core of their relationship from the start).
And a bonus fun fact: in the original storyboard (link takes you to storyboarder Giancarlo Volpe’s DeviantArt with said storyboard), it is noted that Katara smiles after Aang kisses her. Why? Because she likes him as much as he likes her! It was changed by a “higher authority,” according to Volpe, probably to add more realism to the romance (i.e. Katara likes Aang, yes, but as she herself points out in EIP - there’s a war going on, and love is always terrifying to reconcile with war).
(Seriously, though, do read Volpe’s description on the storyboard. Takes you a second to scroll down and maybe a minute to read. Short yet informative, discussing how you can see on the storyboard itself that someone revised the image so Katara isn’t smiling after the kiss.)
Anyways! Opponents’ argument that Katara wasn’t interested in Aang therefore is and has always been entirely inapplicable.
To conclude: the entitlement assertion is laughable. There is no canon evidence to support it. As such, I encourage you to laugh whenever you see it! Pull an Azula, for that matter:
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[ID: Gif from “The Beach” episode of A:TLA. Ty Lee, mimicking a guy, asks Azula, “Hey there sweet sugar cakes. How ya likin’ this party?” Azula proceeds to burst into exaggerated laughter, earning stares from everyone else at the party. End ID.]
Thank you for the great ask, anon! Hopefully my response was satisfactory 💛
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maipreciation · 3 years
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Lately I can’t stop thinking about the post-series dynamic between Sokka and Mai.  We can pretty much say that the gaang as a whole is cool with her by the end of the show, but the potential for Sokka and Mai’s friendship in particular has always held a special place in my heart, for reasons including but not limited to: 
A shared passion for weaponry.  I love the thought of Sokka learning how to throw knives, or Mai figuring out the technicalities of a boomerang or picking up sword fighting.  I can see a gradual building of trust and familiarity between them as they train together, numerous teaching moments through which they come to respect and appreciate each other’s talents, the sheer awesomeness of two insanely skilled non-benders adding even more weapons to their personal arsenals...  Zuko hears a commotion one day and runs out to the palace gardens, only to find every tree bristling with arrows and knives and Sokka and Mai in the middle of it all, circling each other with swords drawn.  (He almost immediately gets whacked in the head by a stray boomerang and falls into the fountain in his haste to get out of the way; the palace staff look on in bemusement as a soaking wet Zuko in full Fire Lord regalia stomps down the hallway leaving puddles in his wake.  Neither Mai nor Sokka ever let him forget the incident)
Dry wit & sarcastic senses of humor.  It’s inevitable that throughout their time spent together Sokka would try to get Mai to laugh.  Her responses to his attempts consist primarily of sighs or unamused looks until one day she quips back something equally if not more sarcastic than what Sokka himself had just said.  The comment is so unexpected that Sokka bursts into laugher out of sheer surprise, and Mai can’t help but smile in response- his amusement is just that contagious.  If asked about it later, neither could really pinpoint just what was so funny about their exchange.  But from then on there’s a certain ease between them that wasn’t there before.  Sokka learns to sense when Mai is joking vs when she’s serious, Mai finds herself genuinely enjoying Sokka’s banter and feels she can express herself in a way that few others get to see.
Interest in art.  I’ve always imagined Mai to be good at drawing in a very precise, minimalistic way where she can capture a scene with just a few brush strokes.  By contrast, Sokka loves using color and exaggerating the aspects of his drawings in a way that’s entirely unrealistic yet incredibly expressive.  While their styles are totally different they can certainly appreciate each other’s work, and they often sit and paint in the palace gardens when Sokka comes to visit or on the back patio of Iroh’s tea shop in Ba Sing Se.  Sometimes Sokka chatters away about his latest inventions or Mai fills him in on the most recent argument Zuko had with his advisors, but mostly they just work in comfortable silence.  Oftentimes they get interrupted by other members of the gaang and never end up finishing their paintings, but the few times they do their end results differ so much no one would ever be able to guess that they’re working off the same subject.
Love of pai sho.  Mai is a seasoned pai sho player who learned at a very young age; Sokka, though much newer to the game, takes to it almost effortlessly.  The two of them keep a running tally of who’s won more- and they’re far more evenly matched than either would like to admit.  Sokka loves the game because of the strategy involved, he plays every round to win and gets annoyed when Mai thwarts his moves with seemingly no effort at all.  (Sometimes he asks her how she does it, Mai just gives him a sly little smile and refuses to respond.  The truth is she gave up on her strategy a long time ago and is now just moving pieces at random- and the absolute best part is that against all logic, it works.)  Mai also uses the tactic of pretending to think for as long as possible between her moves because she knows Sokka gets antsy when his opponents takes longer than a minute; their games famously stretch on for hours after everyone else has given up and turned in for the night.  
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