#in this house we Stan Katara

[muguathepapaya]

It’s Master Katara

After one too many officials dismiss Katara, she gives a friendly reminder :]

#This was a lot of fun to draw #never tried to do water that wasn’t in a painting before so this was cool #Katara #aang #zuko #sokka #master katara #avatar the last airbender #papayadraws #firelord zuko #atla fanart #Katara fanart #Katara water bending #water bender #water bending #Katara has every reason to be angry #in this house we Stan Katara

[forevermore05]

So I've come to a re- realization, that I'm uncomfortable if Zuko and Katara end up together in live-action due to the age gap between the actors. But don't be sad I still like the dynamic. I'm just going to refer to the cartoon only to talk about my analysis and any content I make. I will also make sure I will specifically tag that I'm only talking about the cartoon. I've already changed my previous posts to specify only the OG show even though I was using the cartoon as a reference point anyway. I may be an 18-year-old clown, but let me tell you I'm not giving up my morals.

(even though I did like the scarf scene ( I am an Indian girl who watches Bollywood movies, and this scene means more than you can know) I will not lie to you but I am back in my senses so don't worry)

#zutara #zuko x katara #avatar the last airbender #The animated show only. #In this house we stan Katara #katara #zuko

[emkini]

I find it fascinating that there are people out there who hate Katara. Like what is the reason??? Is it because she was mean to Zuko for 4 episodes?? When she was under literally no obligation to be nice to him and was wholly justified in her suspicion?? Is it because she has a lot of emotions and anger is one of them??? Leave my girl alone she does not deserve this slander

#atla #We stan Katara in this house #like I'm gonna be honest I have never in all my years of being a fan of this show #seen a reason someone hates Katara that isn't just straight up misogyny #people who hate her because she's mean to zuko ESPECIALLY drive me insane #like just. riddle me this #if zuko was a female character #how would you feel about her screaming and yelling and generally being a petulant threenager #be honest now

[burst-of-iridescent]

katara for the character ask my beloved bestie 💕

but of course, bestie <3

Sexuality Headcanon: straight or bi! i can also see her going unlabeled and just loving whoever she loves. regardless of how she identifies though, katara would be the absolute best ally ever. the homophobic katara hc can die by my blade

Gender Headcanon: cis and ready to fight any transphobe with her bare hands

A ship I have with said character: obviously i'm ride or die for zutara, but i also love me some yuetara and azutara. what can i say, i'm a sucker for good symbolism.

A BROTP I have with said character: toph and katara 100%. we were so fucking robbed of their friendship. we deserved more episodes of tophara shenanigans.

A NOTP I have with said character: post Cave of Two Lovers kat/aang, especially in book 3. hardcore nope.

A random headcanon: i've said it before but i think katara would be an amazing dancer! especially in a modern au, she would definitely be great at ballet or any super graceful/flexible dance form.

General Opinion over said character: every single character in the gaang would be lost without her, she gives so much and gets so little back, and her life should never have turned out the way it did (fuck you, comics and lok). katara gets the most undeserved hate both in canon and in fandom, and she deserves SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER.

#asks #ask game #katara #katara supremacy #in this house we love and stan katara #zutara #azutara #yuetara #anti kataang

[burglar-bird]

Life once again Uno-reverses Zuko's quest. How many times is he going to have to save Aang from being kidnapped before it's his turn to capture the Avatar, anyway?

Did I forget to post the update for chapter 19? yes, yes I did. 

#kinda proud ngl #I love June so much #SHe is my spirit animal #I too would capture a small child for easy money #....okay not really #but the point stands #We stan June in this house #atla au #healing balm #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla fanfic #atla zuko #atla aang #the gaang #atla bato #atla #atla katara #sorry I know he is the most loved character here #AO3 fic #ao3 link #ao3 author #wip

[the-badger-mole]

In this house we stan Queen Katara

I will judge you based on your opinion of her. I might not automatically write you off for not liking her, but you will be put on a watch list

#atla #katara #master katara #queen katara #if you don't like katara we probably can't hang out #bombastic side-eye #criminal offensive side-eye #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[sokkastyles]

So, I've been following your blog for a while, which means I've had a front-row seat to your progression from courteous but stern, to just completely losing patience with Azula stans and their bad takes, lol. On the one hand, I would recommend being less combative as that might lead to seeing bad faith where only ignorance is present. On the other hand, I completely understand the frustration with these people who insist on:

looking for anyone but Ozai to blame for the way she turned out;

trying to retcon all the bad things Azula did as having been done with secretly benign motives (no, she was not trying to warn her brother about their dad killing him, she was using it to scare him *facepalm*);

acting like an abuser having a few moments where they're nice to their victim somehow means they're not abusive;

acting like children cannot be abusive (which is why bullying famously never happens in schools /s);

acting like Ursa and Iroh could have just whisked Azula away from Ozai and his abuse- as if he wasn't the most powerful man in the world at the time (they couldn't even save Zuko, who had to be banished in order for Iroh to help him);

acknowledging that Ozai was an abusive narcissist, yet continuing to try to validate his worldview (such as the myth of Azula's inherent superiority);

Etc, etc, etc.

It's also how I feel about some of the anti-Zutara takes I've seen where it really seems like the person hasn't even watched the show (such as insisting that Katara would never date Zuko because she still hates him somehow?)(There is no Southern Raiders hug in Ba Sing Se). They both use the same kind of selective perception and misleading wording in order to obfuscate what they're actually talking about and what actually happened in the show, e.g. referring to Zutara as a "colonizer/colonized" ship à la Pocahontas even when Zuko explicitly denounced his nation's imperialism and fought to dismantle it. Or describing the Last Agni Kai as Zuko "showing up to his little sister's house and exploiting her mental state in order to beat her up" when it was actually him and Katara trying to stop Azula's coronation because she was hellbent on continuing the Fire Nation's genocidal regime. They really love pulling a Ship of Theseus with their wording, lol.

One thing I wish everyone could do in the discourse, though, is to draw a fine line between the series and the comics and make it clear when we're talking about which because the comics have... different interpretations of the characters (*cough* Aang agreeing to kill Zuko *cough*). Looking at the discourse, I often feel like people are having two different conversations because one is basing their analysis on the information the show gave us, while the other is basing their analysis on what the comics gave us- which often contradicts what we saw in the show. So they both end up talking past each other because they can't reconcile the inconsistent characterizations that canon left us with.

Even the places where the comics don't outright contradict what we see in the show still sometimes feel incongruent and lead to bad takes. Like, I personally saw Azula's hallucination of Ursa in the finale as a temporary thing that was caused by the stress of her mental breakdown and her mind searching for reasons for why everything fell apart ("All your life you used fear to control people"), not a biochemical thing; however, the comics decided to go in the direction of giving her a full-on psychotic disorder. While this wasn't wrong per se, I feel like it was poorly handled and not only weakened her character, but also gave her stans yet another way to deflect from criticism via accusations of ableism (as if the misleading accusations of misogyny weren't enough).

I just wish that people would stop with the vague gesturing and word games and be more precise in explaining what they're actually talking about and where they got that information from (such as the idea that Ursa never hugged Azula????), so I understand your desire to just bulldoze through the BS, even if it's worded more harshly than how I would put it lol.

Keep up the good metas!

(Sorry this got way longer than I expected)

I agree with a lot of what you say here, including Azula's hallucinations in the comics. But the problem with this particular argument is not that they are pulling information from multiple sources. The idea that Ursa never hugged Azula doesn't come from anywhere. It cannot be backed up by anything. And people who insist that their bizarro misogynistic abuse apologist headcanons be considered as facts are not making good faith arguments, and nobody owes them politeness. These arguments should be shut down with as much prejudice as possible. They should be laughed out of the fandom.

I do get the impression that some of these stans are just repeating what big name fans have already said, and a lot of these arguments are circle jerks. But they are spreading around information that is actually really harmful, like the idea that people can always prevent abuse if they try hard enough and therefore we should put blame on anyone other than the abuser. Nobody who says that with their whole chest is owed politeness, and it is not my job to educate them. The best respons is to laugh and move on, but these arguments are so prevalent in the fandom that it is incredibly frustrating. I block pretty liberally and still see these arguments come up, hence me losing patience with it.

You're also right that the point of their arguments is to obfuscate the perception of what actually happened on the show, and that's why I keep saying this is abuser logic. It has a lot in common with cult rhetoric, too, the attempt to manipulate events so that what actually happened didn't happen. People who use this kind of rhetoric want you to give them an opening, such as engaging in a "discussion" where there actually is no discussion. We cannot discuss whether Ursa or Iroh are to blame for how Azula turned out because there is no discussion to be had. They just aren't to blame. But people who use manipulative rhetoric tactics will try and engage in that discussion. That's why these people always fly into a rage when I block them and end the discussion, because they have no foothold if you don't engage with them.

You do not need to be polite to manipulative people. You don't owe them an argument or your time.

#azula #the discourse

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

"A lot of the voice actors and a few of the writers ship Zvtara!!!!"

.............And? This is another reason for me to roll my eyes. With Zvtara shippers thinking Bryke are creeps for shipping Kataang and yet there are plenty of grown ass adults who still bellyache over Zuko and Katara not fricking each other!

I even heard one of the people who worked on The Owl House is an Aang Anti and a Zvtara stan and I was initially pissed but then I just laughed because they worked on the gayest Disney Channel cartoon ever and yet they also simp over Zoootara. Probably another person who thinks ZK is the "Straight ship for the gays!" when Zvtara fanfiction is riddled with hetero-normalic tropes.

Yeah, they have no self-awareness. Adults shipping Kataang is bad and creepy, but adults shipping Zutara is good. Writers/actors liking Zutara is a "victory", but these same writers/actors saying they also like the canon pairings is irrelevant or makes them problematic. One rule for them, another rule for everybody else.

"Straight ship for the gays despite hetero-normative tropes" Alright, can we just not do this? The problem with calling Zutara "the straight ship for the gays" is not that they're "too hetero" to fit the role - the problem is that said role is stupid in the first place.

You don't automatically become the perfect ally/proudest gay person ever if you like every gay ship ever, and you don't "lose gay points" if you like a straight ship, even one between a very feminine girl and a typically masculine guy and with fanfics all about them getting married and having babies - much like Zutara is not the "feminist ship" or "the female gaze" like they claim to be just because plenty of the shippers are women. Being part of the same demographic doesn't mean you're guaranteed to have the same taste in fiction.

Zutara could have been super gay, and have both characters be completely uninterested in marriage and having kids, and it'd still suck as a ship because the characters are clearly wrong for each other.

Are plenty of zutarians sexist, racist and even homophobic? Yes. But the ship by itself isn't, because Zuko and Katara as just toys for people to play with, so a woman, people of color, or gay people liking Zutara is not a contradiction, and straight white guys liking it is not proof that they're awful people.

Bad taste in fictional/fanon romances and bad media literacy is not the same as bigotry.

#anti zutara

[valeriianz]

10 fandoms / 10 characters / 10 tags

tagged by @virgo-dream and @seiya-starsniper, thank you! this took me a while... the way my hyperfixations work is, i'll completely devote myself to a piece of media for a time... then once i find something else i move on almost entirely lol. i of course still have a very soft spot for the shows/video games listed here (as well as my blorbos, such as they are) but the only fandom im currently active in is, of course, Sandman.

1: Levi Ackerman - Attack on Titan

I am in a love/hate relationship with AoT lmao (and some day i WILL finish the final season) but nothing, not even fandom war, will ever change my love for Levi. I'm obsessed with his backstory, how he came into the Survey Corps, and how it all sheds light on the decisions he makes and the tragedies he suffered through. I was fascinated by him since S1 and after the No Regrets manga came out, I was done for. He has been through so much and despite how cruel and unforgiving he seems, he actually has the biggest heart and-- guh I just love him. He deserves the world ;^;

2: Zuko - Avatar the Last Airbender

Truly was torn between Zuko or Katara... but I have always had mad respect for Zuko's redemption arc and how brilliantly it was written. I love how it takes a full season and a half for him to have this war within himself, that he makes the right decision but then regresses... before literally becoming sick with indecision and change. And then he finally proves his worth and becomes the most loyal friend and a perfect leader to rebuild a broken society. I'm a sucker for good character stories, and Zuko's arc in ATLA is my hands down favorite ever.

3: Roxas - Kingdom Hearts

God I just love tragic male characters, huh? lmao. This one is a no brainer to me. Roxas is the OG blorbo. I fell in love with him at the tender age of 17 and have never looked back. He is kind and loyal but also a feral gremlin. He is so goofy but sad and god dammit, I love his voice and his baby blue eyes. Also this line, "This could have been the other way around." *shakes fist* MY BOY!

4: Faye Valentine - Cowboy Bebop

We love complex characters in this house! Faye has all the traits of a character I usually wouldn't vibe with: she's arrogant (without much to back it up lol), lazy, and is susceptible to addictions. But oooh do I love a character who uses negative traits to hide how emotionally vulnerable they are. Faye appears strong, mean, and confident to a fault, but inside she craves companionship and is incredibly lonely (despite her lone wolf tendencies). Rewatching the show as an adult, I found Faye and I have a lot in common lol. She needs a hug.

5: Hob Gadling - The Sandman

Do I really need to say anything? lol I love that Hob is the fandom's plaything; molding and shaping him and writing him in all sorts of different ways... but I do adore his canon character. He is brash, stubborn, at times cruel and violent... but then immeasurably kind, loyal, and forgiving. He takes on immortality in unexpected ways. he thrives, he suffers, he works, he regresses, he makes mistakes, he learns from them, he changes... he is THE human experience.

6: Daenerys Targaryen - Game of Thrones

Robbed. Robbed. Absolutely robbed. The writers did Daenerys so dirty, I refuse to accept the final 3 seasons of GOT as canon lmao. (and here's another thing: I would totally accept her spiral into "madness" if it had been handled seriously. If the writers didn't just pull this out of their ass and instead thoughtfully worked in justifiable reasoning for her to go crazy). I'm 100% a stan and there's actually nothing you can say that will change my mind :)

7: Cal Kestis - Star Wars, Jedi: Fallen Order

My SON. My BOY! I have the adoption papers ready.

8: Tifa Lockhart - Final Fantasy VII

Another OG blorbo lmao. She's been with me since I was a teenager (also I always shipped her with Cloud, not Aerith. I do however ship Aerith and Zack... the latter whom almost made this list. Anyway-). Tifa is the badass motherfucker with a heart of gold. She is insanely loyal and truly the wisest of the bunch.

9: Mickey Milkovich - Shameless

ANOTHER BROKEN CHARACTER WHO GOES THROUGH EXTREME DEVELOPMENT? Can anyone sense a pattern?? This motherfuckerrrr *shakes Mikey and slaps him in the face and sobs* God I love it when a seemingly irredeemable character goes THROUGH IT and comes out shining a new, yet somehow the same old, sarcastic bitch.

(Also please note that Lip Gallagher almost made this list. Another shining example of the writers doing his character the WORST injustice just to keep him on the show. He should have stayed in college. He almost GOT OUT. He almost broke the chain. What he did was not in line with his character and I will stay mad about it).

10: Cesare Borgia - The Borgias

THIS. GUY! AURGH!! Arrogant, violent, sexy bastard. You piece of shit. Cesare actually did everything wrong, he doesn't want to be redeemed. But he is so fucking charismatic and I love that he uses it to his advantage. He's so fucking smart and quick on his feet. He's SUCH an asset on the battlefield. And he LOVES his family! He will kill a bitch with his bare hands if they dare insult his mother or sister. I love that he grumbles when given advice from literally anyone that isn't his most trusted friend, bodyguard, and assassin, Micheletto. Doesn't even flinch when he discovers Micheletto is gay, actually teases him for being a momma's boy, and genuinely grieves for his loss when he flees. He says out loud how he misses him and actually begins to doubt himself without Micheletto there to counsel him. Cesare is everything to me, actually.

tagging, no pressure!: @rainy-days-and-nights @the-cloudy-dreamer @kemurai6-dominion-of-dust @ferelden-loser @teejaystumbles @tj-dragonblade @hardly-an-escape @sutoribenda @quillingwords @mathomhouse-e

#woo okay #this was kind of difficult because i usually always have multiple blorbos per show lol #choosing only one from each was a struggle haha #thank you guys! #tag game

[comradekatara]

responding to @levitatingbiscuits reply here because this post is already way too fucking long and I am not subjecting your dashboards to all that, but I do think this conversation is interesting enough to continue it (albeit under the cut):

I agree that roach work’s comment was annoying, and if you were responding to that, I get why you said what you said. this person regularly adds replies to my posts that are completely unrelated to the original point I was making, effectively derailing my argument and getting a bunch of reblogs from their followers who don’t have the common sense to ignore their pointless (and in this case, editorializing) additions. but everyone reblogging my post with your addition attacked me in the notes, as if I had said/implied all that you were arguing against, when I quite literally did not. and they said some quite nasty things, as if I couldn’t see their comments! I don’t go seeking out ppl saying shit about me ever, but if you do it in my house, we’re gonna have a problem.

as for your points...

I 100% agree that defending katara against people who unfairly vilified her, especially during the [vomits] atla renaissance (netflix you will rue the day...) is justified! I quite literally said aloud just last night, “anyone who hates katara can die,” and I fully fucking meant it. I don’t know why you seem to think we don’t agree here. maybe because I don’t think the solution to combatting idiotic, racist & misogynistic fans is by extolling katara to the point where you can’t appreciate her for her flaws. her flaws make her who she is as much as her virtues, and I would never negate the depth of her character just because I love her. I don’t “stan” katara, I appreciate her as a character who inspired me as a child for her strength and growth and brilliance, who is stunningly well-written and compelling.

meanwhile, the older I get, the more I’ve come to appreciate sokka. yes, I too was obsessed with katara the moment she came onscreen, especially when she showed the full depth of her anger over sokka’s misogynistic comment. I’d literally never even seen misogyny addressed before, let alone been given permission to be angry with it. katara knows her worth, and that makes her so fucking important!!! and yes, I know what it’s like to raise misogynistic brothers; it’s a thankless job!

katara was immediately inspiring to me, but appreciating sokka and the full depth of his character has been something earned with time. i think it's incredibly easy to misread him, dismiss his underlying motivations, and just generally discard him for the sake of the more exciting and shiny characters (in my case katara, azula, toph, iroh. truly appreciating aang has also been something i needed to grow older to do, but i think the more my maternal instincts develop, the more i want to pinch his baby cheeks and wrap him up in a big hug and kiss his forehead and put him in my pocket... i digress). i have come to forgive sokka for his sexism, and even excuse it. does that mean i think katara isn't in the right to challenge patriarchal ideas? of course she fucking is! just because sokka was deeply misguided in his gender essentialist views for logical reasons (before meeting suki, that is) it's not like katara should excuse him for it. katara has every right to get mad, every time she gets mad, and i love that her anger is treated as a virtue, because it is! her anger is righteous and sympathetic and revolutionary. she is so fucking important.

by "delicate touch" i didn't mean "sokka isn't acting like an airport dad" because i would never deny his grumpiness. sokka can be a massive cunt most of the time, and i love that about him. he is a miserable, neurotic, curmudgeonly little freak, and frankly, that rules. i think we need more teenage jewish grandpa representation always.

^ literally sokka

i think by delicate touch (again, i wrote this post like 3 years ago, i don't even remember writing it) i just meant that as much as he does kvetch, he also knows how to engage them in a way that gets them to do what he wants. when he makes them go to the library, he frames it in their terms, as if he's taking a vacation (frankly, taking a vacation to a library is something i've actually done, and it was awesome, but we all know how their library excursion turned out, so, yknow). or just how the only time he ever actually even reveals like a fraction of his insecurities is in "sokka's master," because as much as he complains, he never actually wants to burden them with his internal problems (which is not why aang bottles up his shit, and i think we all know that). as much as he complains, he also tries as hard as possible to preserve their innocence whenever he can, especially when it comes to aang. he could've been way less indulgent of aang's antics, but he isn't, because he knows how important it is for aang to be a kid despite the enormous loss he's suffered. anyway, since i know how hard it is to wrangle twelve year olds and try to convince them to do something when they'd rather do something else, sokka is fucking jesus on the cross for that, and you can't change my mind.

and by "de facto chief" i don't mean that sokka was the one taking care of the whole tribe. obviously kanna and the other adults were the ones in charge of making sure the community functioned smoothly, because again, sokka was like thirteen, and thirteen years olds are fucking useless. what i meant was that sokka took what hakoda said to heart, and thus considered himself the first and last line of defense should the fire nation ever return. it's not remotely a reach to think sokka was prepared to die for katara, because a) his mother literally did and b) his father all but told him to? maybe he was just trying to placate his kid, because i really doubt hakoda would actually be in favor of letting his son get himself killed, but it's clear that sokka took that to heart in the way in which he prioritizes katara over everything else. also, it's clear that hakoda does respect sokka a lot. he calls him a "great warrior" and a "genius," and it's not in vain, sokka is those things! hakoda sees his son better than he sees himself.

and i would never claim that katara talks about her issues for attention or sympathy from others. that's absurd. anyone who does so is plain wrong. but empathizing with others isn't emotional labor, it's healing for her, it's cathartic. when she talks to haru, jet, zuko, hama, aang, etc. about her trauma, she's doing so from a place of healthy emotion and vulnerability wherein she is exchanging empathy between them, receiving comfort and comforting in return. sokka doesn't know how to do that, which is a shortcoming to be sure, but the fact that katara is so open about her trauma does signify that she never felt a need to bottle it up the way sokka clearly does. (i would argue sokka's arc in the entire "swamp" episode is about the spirits all but taunting him for being so repressed about his trauma, but that's for another post.)

sokka wanted a bag to carry supplies in, not because it was fashionable. he enjoys that the bag matches the belt he got from the earth rumble tournament (he had no intention of purchasing such a belt), but katara is the one who shows an interest in fashion. and to be clear, i'm not saying that sokka would immediately know how and what to forage in unfamiliar terrain; foraging is fucking hard, and that's when you already have any kind of guide. katara is definitely the one buying the groceries, i won't argue that. whenever sokka is in the vicinity of a grocer while wearing blue, they tend to dismiss him with outright hostility, while being much more sympathetic to katara. it's a running joke that throughout the earth kingdom adults are far kinder to katara than to sokka. but this isn't actually an issue when they're hiding out in the fire nation and both disguised in red, curious! i wonder why adults fed imperialist rhetoric their whole life might internalize the idea that a young water tribe girl is harmless whereas a water tribe boy is a threat to be treated with hostility... but yknow, it could also just be vibes. katara does generally have a more pleasant attitude. it could just be that. who can say!

as for "jet," as i've already stated, i don't think the gaang has a leader. but katara does grow to trust sokka's instincts more and more over the course of the show. and sokka only tells katara not to trust jet once he has evidence! he tells her that he beat up a harmless old man, and katara still takes jet's side, even though he's obviously lying. as for aang, i really don't think sokka's instincts not to trust a person who for all intents and purposes should not currently exist and suddenly waltzes into their life while ignoring their current reality are that contrived. katara thinks she's in a story that she is the narrator and hero of (which, metatextually speaking, is true), but sokka thinks he's in a war and is thus suspicious of magical little manic pixie dream boys. and not for nothing, aang does set off the fire nation flare that alerts zuko to the location of their village, so sokka's instincts were actually correct here, even if aang is of course an angel.

and katara calms aang down from the avatar state, what, twice? and once she's literally just talking to him from behind a rock. her act in "the desert" is 100% a testament to her bravery and the unique bond she shares with aang, i'm not denying that whatsoever. sokka simultaneously shields toph in this moment, which granted is far less dangerous than what katara does with aang, but is also a subtle moment that demonstrates the nature of his bond with her (i don't really have a point here, i just love aang & katara and sokka & toph's relationships). i don't remember katara comforting aang for burning her, i just remember her reasonably telling him that he can't let his guilt get in the way of learning firebending, and showing him that she's healed to calm him down. and the comics are stupid, so i'm not even gonna address this point. anyway. sokka does come to trust her to fight her own battles as the show goes on and she gets demonstrably stronger, but he still worries about her whenever she's in trouble, and would do anything to protect her. he's still her big brother.

katara's idealism is inspiring & beautiful & heroic. but yes, it is also naive. that's not even a bad thing! katara fighting to preserve her childhood wonder and innocence in the face of incalculable loss is deeply moving to me. aang and katara show sokka and toph how to become more awe-inspired and vulnerable over the course of the show. sokka never would've suggested a beach party in "sozin's comet" if not for aang and katara's influence. that's growth. but that doesn't mean that katara was right to trust zuko in the crystal catacombs, or that she was right to trust jet, or aunt wu, or hama. i understand why she trusts these people (especially jet and especially hama), and it's hardly a bad thing to see the potential good in everyone, but zuko's betrayal hits her so hard because she had mistakenly put so much faith in him right before he turned around and helped azula kill aang. of course she sees potential in both aang and zuko, though. she's the heart of the show, and they're both mirrors to her character in significant ways. sokka is not a part of this central thematic triad, and he doesn't care that he's in a story, he just wants to make sure that his friends and family don't get murdered. they have different narrative priorities, but katara's are admittedly much prettier.

also, of course sokka wouldn't say he sees himself as a sacrificial lamb. even if he realized this about himself (which i also don't think he does), he wouldn't say it. saying it would negate the entire point. but i do think it's justified by the text. katara clearly carries the guilt of knowing kya died for her, and it's what inspires her to try and be her own mother for herself and her family, and to be the best waterbender in the world. sokka doesn't have that guilt. while katara feels it her duty to remember, to carry on her mother's legacy so that her sacrifice was not in vain, sokka feels it his duty to repress, to tamp down any shred of humanity that is not relevant to the war and to making sure his sister isn't killed for who she is. i don't think it's a reach for him to want to emulate his parents in this regard, since he clearly idealizes them and their bravery in defending their home, their culture, and their family.

no, i don't think sokka acts like a mom or a dad or even a wacky uncle (a grandpa, maybe). my point was to illustrate how neither of them are parents. they may try to emulate their parents in many regards, but they are still both very much kids, who happen have both seen far too much for their years. and katara mourns kya differently (more, as she claims, which i believe to be true) because her death was deeply personal to katara, in a way that it just wasn't for sokka. like i said, sokka represses his trauma. he claims that he thinks about yue all the time, and yet he barely ever talks about her. a defining moment in his life, which is hakoda leaving him behind, is only revealed to us in a flashback that occurs while he's sitting quietly by the fire watching over katara and aang as they sleep. katara's way of mourning kya was to try to become her in her guilt over her sacrifice. do you really think sokka doesn't understand the implications of this?

sure, he dismisses the domestic labor she does, which sucks of him for sure, though i'd argue it's just as much his cerebral stem bro attitude that prioritizes ideas and theory over those little manual tasks as it is straight up sexism. but yeah, it sucks. i know very few men who appreciate the work that goes into those "feminine chores," and it's absolutely because what is categorized as feminine is devalued by society. but yes, i think if the binary established is between "mom" and "servant", sokka sees katara as someone who is simply better at feminine labor, and that's not great of him, but katara does enjoy being feminine, so i understand why he'd make that assumption, seeing as the only thing she doesn't seem to enjoy is doing his laundry for him, which, yknow, checks out. do your own laundry, sokka.

again, katara has a more personal connection to the events surrounding kya's death. it's why her saying "you didn't love her the way i did" is both deeply hurtful, and something she clearly believes to be true. what she really means is, "you didn't grieve her the way i did," and it's because sokka doesn't feel like his very existence was responsible for her death. "the southern raiders" is a deeply personal episode for katara, and zuko is the one who understands her trauma, more intimately than sokka can, because kya did not sacrifice herself for him, but ursa did with zuko.

and yes, katara's seemingly throwaway line about how she's lost her childhood innocence hits really hard. it's why she's so immediately drawn to aang. because she wants to have fun again, but no one is there to encourage her, certainly not her depressed as fuck brother who only cares about being a better warrior. aang and katara inspire each other to preserve their innocence and they get to be kids together, which is what makes their friendship such a beautiful thing.

katara has a lot of skills and roles sokka doesn't. he can't midwife, he can't heal (obviously), he can't shop for groceries in the earth kingdom without being abused by vendors. he could probably cook and sew if he set his mind to it (we never actually see katara clean, but we do see sokka clean appa) but katara seems pretty confident in those areas, so why step on her toes. but sokka also has a lot of skills and roles katara does not. he reads maps, makes schedules, strategizes in battles, helps invent new technology, is able to fight without bending, is able to sense red flags that katara refuses to see, etc etc. they balance each other out, both emotionally and practically. considering that they basically raised each other, and didn't have parents to do things for them, it makes sense that they each have their own skillset, and function as a codependent team.

"the desert" puts her in a new situation to show that she's the group's heart. not just the group's heart, but the show's heart. she is the narrative center. that's what i mean by "the desert" being a trial for katara. it's not that no one else will step up, it's that they can't. aang is in the first stages of experiencing an immense grief, toph is feeling guilty and scared and lost, and sokka's attempt to quench their thirst put him out of commission for the rest of the day (though granted, he was trying to be helpful). katara is always there. she will never give up on people who need her. that's a core tenet of her character, and it is what makes her not only so kind and giving, but also a revolutionary leader. it's why i think she should go on to be chief, because while sokka wants to be like hakoda, he's not actually a warrior at heart, but katara is an inspiration to many, and her connection with people and the way she sees the best in them is what makes her the pride and joy of her people, just as much as her waterbending skill.

toph and katara are both in the wrong in the chase. katara comes from a communal society where everyone pitches in, so she sees toph as a spoiled brat for not helping her. toph came from a family that acted as if she was useless and helpless, so she thinks by letting every member of the group carry their own weight, she is affording them the basic respect her parents did not afford to her. it's a classic miscommunication, which escalates because katara and toph are both very loud, assertive middle schoolers who don't enjoy compromising their beliefs. they eventually do, which we see illustrated in the spa episode. but katara clearly wants to go to the spa and enjoys every second of it, she's just taking toph with her because she thinks toph needs a shower. for the most part, they both have a good time, katara because she enjoys feminine activities and relaxing, toph because she likes mud and spending time with her friends, and both of them because they got to do violence to some mean girls.

aang also gets mad at toph because he's prone to take katara's side in arguments, and also she insults appa, which is the final straw for him, even though toph is fully right about appa's shedding being how azula tracks them. toph leaves because she thought she was joining people who would make her feel respected, but they don't. katara literally mocks toph for being blind. i also got bullied for being disabled when i was their age, and i don't blame toph for not taking that shit. it's downright cruel. iroh helps her adjust her perspective, but ultimately sokka is the one who makes her feel most welcomed and seen, and while she loves katara and aang, it's clear that sokka is her best friend. he's also the only one who doesn't interfere in their fight in "the chase" (because he knows there's no winning against two extremely stubborn, sleep-deprived powerhouses).

katara didn't sacrifice her childhood for the sake of her family, her childhood was robbed from her. there's a crucial difference. she doesn't sacrifice her own emotional needs to comfort others, she engages in fruitful dialogues. the only person she actually sacrifices anything for is aang, you're right, and i do think that's extremely important as an aspect of her character. she believes in the power of the avatar, and she loves aang deeply. it's why if aang is the soul of the show, she is the heart.

zuko isn't a dad to aang, that's just a ridiculous thing to say, sorry. i don't think sokka is a dad to aang either, if anything they're brothers. zuko acts as a brother to aang and katara too. he's their older, grumpy, kind of an airhead, kind of a jerk brother. sort of like sokka 2: electric boogaloo, except unlike sokka, he's a wide-eyed idealist just like they are! idk where i was going with this. my point is i love this trio. lol

you're right to criticize what roach works said, but you were wrong not to specify the target of your criticism. just because someone adds a dumbass comment on my post doesn't mean i endorse it. and just because i make a post appreciating sokka doesn't mean i don't love katara. i mean, i think it should be pretty obvious that i love her a lot. it seems like we grew up in fairly similar circumstances, and while i know what it's like to grow up with a cerebral math bro misogynist brother who gets far more credit for doing far less work and is utterly fucking useless at taking care of himself, that doesn't mean i resent sokka, a fictional character, for whatever commonalities they may share.

katara and sokka are both flawed, multi-dimensional, well-written fictional characters, and i've given a lot of thought to their motivations, nuances, and the unspoken symbolic undertones of their dynamic and its relation to the themes of the narrative. we don't have to agree on what every unspoken detail signifies, but i don't appreciate being misinterpreted, and i especially don't appreciate the implication that i don't love katara, because i absolutely fucking do, with my whole heart, and anyone can see that. she means a lot to me!!! her virtues, her strengths, her flaws, and her failures. she doesn't have to be perfect to be amazing. in fact, if she were perfect, i doubt she'd be amazing at all.

#analysis #katara #sokka #katara&sokka #aang&katara #katara&zuko #might turn a lot of these points into longer analyses eventually #since this is really scattered considering it's just a response to a response to a response of some annoying mf #who loves leaving annoying ass comments on my posts #pour one out...... #(to be clear im talking abt the roach guy. not the biscuit guy) #literally read this reply at 7 am and then spent the next 4.5 hours responding to it????? procrastination is a hell of a drug....... #also being-right-itis. which i do need to be cured of. but not today!!!!!! #anyway im putting this under the cut so hopefully no one sees this and takes it as incentive to harass this person???? which shouldnt need #to be said but i do have way too many followers on here statistically speaking some of u MUST be freaks #sigh. #anyway i hate how widespread the term headcanon is even when what ppl really mean in that context is 'interpretation' #headcanon =/= interpretation #and anyway it seems like we mostly agree #so i think this convo should end here on a cordial note in which we agree on most things and agree to disagree on notes of interpretation #because otherwise we're just going in circles #and there's really no point to that

[blackmagecat]

Made it to episode 3. Sliiiiightly better than episode 2 but the issues from the previous episodes are starting to repeat themselves

Spoilers below

Azula’s intro (and Ozai’s to a lesser extent) now suffers from the same thing Zuko’s does. I am not convinced she is a threat, merely a salty brat that is jealous of her brother.

It is a shame we didn’t get the recruitment scene of Mai and Tai-Lee because those encapsulated perfectly why Azula is a terrifying force to be reckoned with. Even her own best friends fear her

Honestly, she probably shouldn’t have been introduced this early in the show to begin with

They also blew the load too early on Ozai. He works best as a distant tyrant, a nightmarish concept formed in the viewer’s mind over time. We begin to sympathize with Zuko precisely because most audience members can probably imagine having someone like that as a father, to say nothing for desperately wanting to please him.

And of course, Ozai monologues his entire motivation within six seconds of his first appearance like everyone else. Daniel Dae Kim does what he can with this.

Props to our Azula for pulling off the character’s original cadence. Mai and Tai Lee try this to a degree of lesser success

Tai Lee’s wig. Ouch.

It was an interesting choice to combine the Jet, Omashu and Northern Air Temple storylines. Still feels like a bit of speed running but in this case it kinda works

Speaking of pacing, they really need to let the humor hang more. There’s a scene of Sokka’s that the editor just cuts away from too quickly and for seemingly no reason. Like… just let these actors show off their expressions and emotions for once

It’s really disappointing how Katara and Sokka get into a serious inter-sibling conflict and then it gets resolved like a scene or two later. I cannot keep stressing how this show really needs to let these characters breathe.

Admiral Zhao doesn’t feel particularly threatening to Zuko’s mission either? I know this is building up to the Northern Water Tribe but I also wonder if we’re ever getting their Agni Kai. His was always a great parallel to Ozai’s.

I’m not too convinced that Jet’s terrorism plot works well in Omashu, though I still respect the choice. Unfortunately the place becomes conveniently deserted of earth benders (and people in general) whenever it suits the plot.

Also Jet’s motivation, even for all his own monologuing, is kind of unclear? Fire benders bad but let’s kill Bumi because corruption or something?

Jet was never one for having sound logic but at least his plot in the original aimed to tangibly weaken the fire nation. Targeting one of, if not THE most powerful earth bender in the world just makes Jet seem like he might be secretly pro fire nation? Especially with all the intrigue surrounding the mechanist and his affiliations thrown in the mix. I dunno maybe I missed something there

There is also a distressing lack of Momo in this episode. In this house we stan His Royal Momoness

#atla thoughts #avatar the last airbender #netflix #atla spoilers

[yesterdaylovedme]

RPers Sought via Discord

I am seeking canon x canon ships for fandoms via discord. This will be a 1x1 situation. I am happy to double! For my ships, please reach out for information as many are crack/unusual. I do tend to stick to MxF romances but if we're doubling up and one pair is MxF, I'm open to adding a same-sex pair. When I double, I use a word counter to make sure posts are equal. I don't require this of my partners as long as they look similar in effort. Should favoritism begin to appear, I'll express concerns but if it happens often, I'm going to end the RP.

My posts tend to be several paragraphs (I guess the term might be novella or advanced literate) in third person, past tense. When on Discord, it's not unusual to take a few messages to complete my post but I do indicate with a (c or cont) if it's continued and end with an (end) to indicate that it's all complete. Due to post sizes being lengthy, I tend to give about 2-3 posts a week. Often more but I would say that's a pace I'm happy with getting from a partner. We all have lives. I'm not going to hound anyone to post unless it's been like, a month. People get busy or bored. It happens. That said, I love a lively OOC where we get to know one another and converse freely even if posts come at a slower pace. I'd rather hear about disinterest and work to fix it, than have resentment or complacency build behind the scenes.

NSFW stuff is bound to happen within moderation and with proper development. My RPs are very gradual, slow burn. I'm in this for the long haul and I expect my partner to be as well. Communication ensures longevity and interest.

My discord: MK Meringue }#0169

When messaging me, please tell me where you found my username and what you're interested in discussing, otherwise odds are I won't reply. Nothing more strange than just getting a 'hi' from a stranger online. Again, my ships are a little off-beat so if we chat and find we're not looking for the same thing, no harm. It never hurts to ask.

Looking for RPers for the following fandoms:

Alice in Borderland

I can write as An, Kuina, Arisu, Usagi. I'm looking for a Chishiya or Arisu. As a note, I am happy to drop other canons (like from Yu Yu Hakusho for example) into this universe if that is of interest.

The Queen's Gambit

I can write as Beth, Jolene, Harry, Townes. I'm looking for a Benny or Harry. A crossover with Godless could be fun.

Fire Emblem Three Houses

I can write as Hilda, Flayn, Yuri, Hapi, Dimitri, Annette, Hubert. I'm looking for a Seteth, Claude, Hubert, Linhardt, Lorenz or Edelgard. Adding Fates characters might be fun here.

Gravity Falls

I can write as Mabel, Stan, Candy, Tambry, Gideon. I'm looking for a Ford, Dipper, Wendy. I DO NOT WRITE DIPCIFICA! Crossover with SVTFOE or Amphibia possible.

Naruto

I can write as Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto. I'm looking for a Shikamaru, Ino or Temari.

Game of Thrones

I can write as Sansa, Arya, Cat, Theon, Tyrion. I'm looking for a Joffrey, Ned, Theon or Jon.

MHA

I can write as Momo, Todoroki, Ochako, Bakugo, Denki, Melissa. I'm looking for a Todoroki, Bakugo, All Might, Eraserhead, Tsuyu, Ochako.

Pokemon SV

I can write as Nemona, Arven, Iono, Larry. I'm looking for an Arven or Nemona.

Death Note

I can write as Light, Misa, Naomi, Sayu. I'm looking for an L.

ATLA

I can write as Suki, Aang, Toph, Azula, Zuko. I am looking for a Zuko, Aang or Katara.

Harry Potter

I can write as Hermione, Ron, Luna. I am looking for a Harry or Cho.

Yu Yu Hakusho

I can write as Yusuke, Botan, Koenma, Koto, Kuwabara, Genkai. I am looking for a Kurama, Koenma, Keiko or Hiei.

Fruits Basket

I can write as Kagura, Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, Hana, Momiji, Kisa, Shigure. I am looking for a Hatori, Momiji, Haru, Kisa, Ayame, or Tohru.

Phineas and Ferb

I can write as Isabella or Candace. I am looking for a Ferb.

Honorable mentions: Dot Hack, Kaleido Star, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Yokai Watch, The Hunger Games, Final Space, The Orville, Star Trek or Doctor Who.

#alice in borderland #aib #the queen's gambit rp #the queen's gambit #aib roleplay #fire emblem roleplay #fire emblem three houses rp #fe three houses #gravity falls #gravity falls rp #got rp #game of thrones #pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #mha #boku no hero roleplay #my hero academia #my hero acdemia rp #phineas and ferb #death note #harry potter #harry potter rp #yyh #yyh rp #yu yu hakusho #furuba #fruits basket #fruits basket roleplay #yokai watch #the orville

[keywestlou]

GEORGE SANTOS DRAG QUEEN

GEORGE SANTOS DRAG QUEEN - https://keywestlou.com/george-santos-drag-queen/George Santos has been many things. Some true, some false. His most recent background item appears to have been his time as a drag queen. Bess Levin is an excellent investigative reporter. She comes up with some beauties. She reveals one which Santos has failed to list. Perhaps because this one is true. Levin spells it out in her 1/18 article in Vanity Fair titled "Report: George Santos, Supporter of Anti-LGBTQ + Laws, Participated In Drag Shows And Went By The Name 'Katara' In Brazil." Levin wrote, the "serial liar" has more. What she further shared adds to the veracity of her article. The article contains a photo of Santos in drag. Not bad looking! Levin adds: "Meanwhile, he's aligned himself with deeply bigoted members of the far right." She describes Santos' switch from drag queen to opposing gay rights as "flagrant hypocrisy." Debt ceiling problems begin kicking in today. Slowly at this point. Nothing but talk will occur. Impacts will slowly rise into June. The government knows how to borrow from Peter to pay Paul to pay debts till then. I spell out again some of the areas in danger: Social Security, Medicare, salaries of government employees, Veteran benefits, and a crashing stock market. Whacko statement of the day: "Not all students who menstruate are female." So sayeth Minnesota Democrat Rep. Sandra Feist. She wants napkins/tampons available in school male bathrooms as well as female ones. She introduced a bill to that effect: The Menstrual Equity Bill. Reaction to her bill was all one way. Buried Feist's position with fact and ridicule. The oldest person in the world died yesterday. A French nun. Sister Andre. She was 118. Records kept in the U.S. estimate that 1 in 5,000 people are above the age of 100. Eighty five percent are women - a phenomenon not well understood. The new "oldest person in the world" today is American Maria Branyas Morers who is 115. Two movies filmed in Key West in the late 1950's. One is the Rose Tattoo. Written by Key West's own Tennessee Williams. Filmed on Duncan Street in a house 2 doors from Williams' home. Lisa also lives on Duncan 1 1/2 blocks away. Filming began this day in 1956. Anna Mangani and Burt Lancaster starred. Mangani won the Academy Award for Best Female Performance for the film. Lancaster was a guest in Williams' home during much of the filming. Another movie filmed in Key West is Operation Petticoat. Filming began this day in 1959. The movie starred Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. A World War II submarine comedy. The movie continues to be run on TV on a frequent basis. It's that good! Another Steve Thompson story re Key West of another day. Steve had a taco shop in the 200 block of Duval across from Sloppy Joe's. Stan was an owner of Sloppy's at one time. Stan was the owner of Sloppy Joe's in 1973. When he took an option to sell to Walter Perry. I enjoyed visiting with Stan at the bar. We were both open late and he wasn't far. He said he only hired female bartenders. I guess they attracted more big spenders. I asked him what happened to the other pool table. He said he had a fight there last week was nearly fatal. He said we never have trouble but when we do you can be sure it's someone playing pool. Stan said Walter exercised the option on the very last day. He thought the deal was off, he thought they couldn't pay. So that was the end of Sloppy's for Stan, but every tourist still goes there if they can. Enjoy your day!

[burst-of-iridescent]

why does it feel like so much of this fandom really vibes with the k*taang dynamic, as long as its zuko with katara instead of aang. like i try finding good zutara fics and its :/// nobody respects katara in this house

what zutara fics have you been reading?

i'm asking this genuinely, because i've been in zutara fandom for over two years now and read probably hundreds, if not thousands, of zutara fics - and not once have i ever seen the kat.aang dynamic replicated in any of them.

but we don't need to take my word for it. let's hop on over to ao3, jump into the zutara tag, sort by kudos, and:

huh so the very first zutara fic ao3 gives you, the fic with the highest number of kudos, is one entirely centred around katara reclaiming her agency and power? a fic that isn't even really zutara so much as it is katara-with-background-zutara?

but ofc that's to be expected when actual fandom surveys have found the ratio of zutara stans to katara stans to be 1:1, meaning almost every zutara shipper is a katara stan first and foremost, and the majority of zutara fics reflect that in putting katara's feelings, choices, autonomy first, in having her be supported and loved by zuko just as much as she supports and loves him, and in giving her the power and legacy that canon denied her. i'm sure there are some (likely old) bad zk fics out there, but i - and any other zk shipper - can tell you that they are very much in the minority.

but then you'd probably know that yourself if you had spent even a couple minutes on ao3, which makes me think that you are either very very new to this fandom (and almost unbelievably unlucky) - in which case, you have absolutely no grounds to make statements like "nobody respects katara in this house" - or you're not in the zk fandom at all and are just trying to be an asshole.

zutara fanfiction is pretty good though, if you actually give it a chance. might i recommend starting with such selfish prayers? if, of course, you have free time in between making unsubstantiated claims in strangers’ inboxes on tumblr dot com.

have a good day, anon! ❤️

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #anti kataang

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

I posted 2,681 times in 2022

That's 2,102 more posts than 2021!

100 posts created (4%)

2,581 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@luzity

@mandaloriandragontrainer

@soni-dragon

@raayllum

@jellyjay

I tagged 2,607 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#the owl house - 1,032 posts

#the dragon prince - 546 posts

#the owl house spoilers - 472 posts

#toh spoilers - 470 posts

#luz noceda - 408 posts

#toh hunter - 309 posts

#amity blight - 303 posts

#tdp spoilers - 299 posts

#the dragon prince spoilers - 299 posts

#star wars rebels - 288 posts

Longest Tag: 110 characters

#well now i need to storm lucasfilm and demand an animated short of zeb teaching jacen to ride a space tricycle

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

534 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

#4

Okay so I was rewatching The Ember Island Players last night and I know we talk a lot about the play being how Zuko found out about Jet’s fate, but does anyone ever think about how it was also probably the only context he had for a lot of the gaang’s adventures? Like that play is also how he discovers that Aang, Katara, and Sokka knew Jet in the first place. He meets Bumi in the next episode and the only background information he has on this man is Bumi randomly rhyming in a cave while Sokka and Katara were slowly consumed by crystals. The only context he ever probably gets for “my girlfriend turned into the moon” is that one weird scene with Yue talking about pickled fish as she ascends into the sky

821 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#3

Okay I know we’re all freaking out about Hunter and Darius and Willow but the start of this episode also told us so much about Raine.

First of all, the fact that they were the only coven head to turn around when Hunter was calling. Taken together with Hunter’s palisman observations, this could signify a prior connection between the two of them- or just that Raine is a naturally empathetic person who doesn’t want to ignore this clearly lost young boy.

But then, look at their body language as Terra leads them away. Everything is slumped. It’s so clear that they wanted to stay and talk to Hunter. They’re definitely not as willing to go along with Terra as they were during the Coven Day parade- everything about their posture suggests how tired they are of being controlled by her. It’s hopeful to see.

(Also they still post dumb violin jokes on their penstagram and Eda’s still trying to get in touch with them, both of which seem like good signs)

1,077 notes - Posted April 4, 2022

#2

Just started a Gravity Falls rewatch in honor of the ten-year anniversary and one thing I need to talk about is how fantastic this show is at showing character instead of telling it.

One of my favorite scenes is the beginning of D&D&More D because when Ford is chasing the cycloptopus, each character gives one line that, if you hadn’t seen the show before, would instantly clue you in to who they are as characters. (Dipper: “What is it?” Mabel: “Can we keep it?” Stan: “Kill it! Kill it!”)

But lines like that go back to the first episode! Stan offers Dipper and Mabel an item each from the gift shop and Mabel asks, “really?” while Dipper asks, “what’s the catch?” Even if you hadn’t seen his whole journal-induced my-sister’s-boyfriend-is-a-zombie paranoia, you would know just from that dialogue that Mabel is the more optimistic of the two while Dipper is constantly on the hunt for what could go wrong. 

Anyway all the dialogue in this show perfectly serves to add to characterization and I love it so much

1,539 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For the record the knowledge of a two-year time skip is making me lose my mind the number of implications this has

New outfits

Late-teens Callum and Rayla

Darker tone

Twelve-year-old Aanya

Ezran has been king for two years

Zym is two years old

Soren and Claudia have been apart for two years

Amaya and Janai have had plenty of time to start dating

Runaan has been IN THAT FREAKING COIN FOR TWO YEARS

ETHARI STILL THINKS HE’S DEAD

4,439 notes - Posted July 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #I'm crying at my longest tag I have no memory of writing that #but you know what I stand by it

[perfectlypanda]

Katara and the “Trophy Wife” Trope as Depicted in Legend of Korra

I’ve seen a few posts where people express that they feel like when Katara is labeled a “trophy wife” or when Legend of Korra is criticized for having Katara be a wife and mother, that the critics are devaluing being a wife and mother or are just attacking how Katara is depicted because of not liking her endgame romantic pairing. These are incorrect understandings of the criticism about how LoK handled Katara’s character.

While there is a lot that could be said on this topic, I’ll be focusing on the points brought about by a specific comment (as this post is largely shaped by the comments I wrote in response to it):

the thing is, katara wasn’t treated as a trophy wife. we don’t know much about what anyone did between the comics and LOK. she helped in founding republic city, she helped take down amon, she trained waterbenders and healers (while also earning herself the title of the best healer in the world) and she raised a family. she also trained korra. z*tara shippers are just mad because they think she had kids with the wrong person.

There isn’t canon confirmation that Katara did the things the commenter listed. LoK says that Aang and Zuko set up Republic City with no mention of Katara, she is briefly cited as having helped ban bloodbending but she isn’t at Amon’s trial nor is Katara mentioned as being involved in helping bring down Amon, and there is no mention of her extensively training anyone except Korra and Kya. The only major confirmed things Katara did between the AtLA comics and LoK are get married and have kids, and then move to the South Pole when Aang died.

“But she is also a healer in LoK!” Katara’s healing skills are only used under the Worf Effect trope - to prove how serious an ailment is, they show Katara unable to heal it. The audience is told that Katara is a powerful healer, but she doesn’t actually heal any major problems during LoK. Katara’s role as a healer is not to add dimension to her character, but to serve as a plot device.

The “trophy wife” criticism is not about Katara being a wife and mother. There is nothing wrong with being either of those things. The criticism lies in how being a wife (now widow) and mother are the only things Katara did in her life that LoK decided were important enough to mention. Compare this to Toph, who is a mother too, but who also gets other accomplishments. She was the founder of the metal bending police, and the longstanding former Chief of Police. LoK decided that Toph did things in her life worth mentioning in addition to being a mom. But because LoK chose not to mention anything for Katara, the implication, whether intentional or not, becomes that she didn’t do anything else important enough to bring up. Katara is a side character in LoK, but how Toph is handled proves LoK could have done better by Katara, but it didn’t.

This is a common and problematic trope - when the female lead becomes romantically involved with the male lead, she is reduced from being an independent character with her own role in the story to only being relevant as the male lead’s wife and mother of his children.That is what is meant when people express frustration at LoK’s depiction of Katara by saying LoK made her into a “trophy wife".

Although it seems pedantic, the frequent “why didn’t Katara get a statue too?” complaint is really a reflection of this larger issue. Aang, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph all have statues featured prominently in Republic City. Cities don’t just put up statues dedicated to any random person, they’re reserved for people worthy of note. So by giving Aang, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph statues, LoK signals that these characters did important things with their lives that had a big, positive impact on people. By omitting a Katara statue, LoK implies, intentionally or unintentionally, that unlike her friends, Katara didn’t do anything important enough in her life to merit a statue commemorating her or her accomplishments.

#Katara #Avatar #AtLA meta #anti Bryke #Legend of Korra #Avatar analysis #I actually don't know what the tags would be for something like this #avatar meta #Katara deserved a statue #in this house we stan Katara #look I wrote a thing