zvtara-was-never-canon

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

To everyone sending me asks and messages about it: I'm aware that insufferable atla-fandom-confessions blog is back, you can stop telling me.

Unless she starts with that nonsense of "Nichya is an abuser/being groomed/has some vague trauma I made up/was raped and that's why she likes Zucest" or starts shit in the zucest tag again, I'm NOT responding to anything she says, even if it's the worst take I've ever seen in my life. Her insanity is just exhausting.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Was reading an article about how to write a realistic romance and avoid common poorly-done tropes. Seemed like a pretty decent post. Then immediately noped out and closed the tab when they listed Zuko and Katara as an example of a well-written romance 🤡

"Here's how you write a good romance" *points to a dynamic that was not romantic and didn't have much screentime or any real development until the very end of the story*

Seems like the level of quality one can expect from the typical internet think-piece - just bullshit and a pretencious way of saying "my headcanon is better."

Also, fuck being "realistic", stories have to be GOOD and ENTERTAINING. Game Of Thrones would have been a worse show if Ned Stark had been saved at the last second, but the movie Snow White would have been completely ruined if prince charming had not saved her with true love's kiss. Jack dying at the end of Titanic fits the tone of "this was a tragedy in which lots of good, innocent people were killed and those who loved them will always grieve them", but Cinderella never being freed from her abusive family would have been a fundamental betrayal to the message it's trying to send to the audience.

You should ALWAYS focus on what makes sense for the specific story you're trying to tell. Would "love at first sight" fit the magical, wholesome vibe, or would it look corny and forced compared to the more down to earth plot? If you're not gonna have the characters live happilly ever after, did you properly set up the reasons for it, or are you just doing so because "happy endings are cliche"? If the romance between the two characters is toxic, you need to be writing either cautionary tale or a story in which the protagonist being "moral" isn't that important, you can NOT be trying to use them as an exemple of what love is supposed to be.

It all depends on the context. Realism is not inherently better than wish-fulfilment.

#anti zutara

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I agree that kataang should have been a thing after the invadion.

But i also dont understand why zutarians ignore that the first thing katara did after the invasion failed was to hug him and stay very proudly next to him when he thanked everyone for being brave and participating in the invasion. In the western air temple they also were very relaxed and sit next to each other.

If katara was grossed out by aang and his kiss she would keep her distance and not sit next to him.

Even after their ember island fight katara reassures him he doesn't have to fight the fire lord alone, they stay next to each other in the group hug and when zuko teaches aang how to redirect lightning he leaved them alone and they don't feel akward at all.

It is ridicolous how some people ignore the canon plot

There's nothing zutarians like more than ignoring/twisting Katara's consistent behavior around Aang to pretend she secretly hated, feared, and was grossed out and annoyed by him.

Meanwhile they go "She totally didn't mean it when she said she'd end Zuko if he stepped out of line again, it was just 'sexual tension', you sillies"

#anti zutara #pro kataang #pro aang

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Hey! Zuko was serving CUNT with that pinytail! 😤😤😤

He was - just like Azula was after she destroyed her own hair in the finale. We can love that boy and all his fashion choices and still admit the truth to ourselves: some of said choices, while iconic, were fucking terrible.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

who is, in your opinion, the most well-written female atla character? and whose character was least affected by 2000s misogyny?

I think they were all written pretty well. If you ask me which one had the most/best character development, then the answer would have to be Katara simply because she got the most screentime (she's literally THE first character we're introduced to after all).

When it comes to female characters, Avatar is one of those kids shows from two whole decades ago that aged REALLY well. You have a few moments that would not happen today (the jokes about Sokka being all embarrassed for wearing a dress, Iroh taking advantage of June being paralyzed to hold her on top of him) but overall the girls were given equal treatment to the boys.

Like I said, the show literally starts with Katara's backstory, yet we don't know Aang's until chapter 12. "The Beach" could have easily been another "Zuko Alone", but instead the writers took the chance to give Azula, Mai and Ty Lee their time in the spotlight next to him. And don't let me get started on the awesomeness that is Toph Beifong and how she's one of, if not the absolute, best representations of people with disabilities we've ever seen in media in general, let alone just kids show, or I will literally never stop rambling about how great it is to see a disabled character that isn't an ableist stereotype.

More importantly, while they get to be badass and call people out on their bullshit, they are still allowed to be vulnerable, flawed, and they make mistakes, without being demonized for it (until we get to the comcis at least, when the writers decided to throw away all the praise I'd give them for Toph and went "Azula is always a threat and evil even when she's not doing anything because mental illness be like that").

Avatar's writting wasn't perfect and some arcs were sped up, or practically skipped like Ty Lee's, but I don't really think it was the result of the writers not caring about female characters in particular. Bryke wanted 3 seasons, one of each of the elements Aang would have to learn, and while that's a neat little idea, I think the show would have been even better than it already was if it had gotten a fourth season, like the lead writter Aaron Ehasz had pushed for.

If you want to see some misogyny that immediately dates the show as being from 2005, you can see the 2024 Netflix version and how it was both "bold" enough to cut a "problematic" arc about Sokka learning to respect women AND too cowardly to just let him wear a dress, without being made fun of this time, and also didn't trust the audience to understand that Katara being hot-headed doesn't make her a bad person, and thinks that the only way to show Azula is also a victim of abuse is to remove her claws and teeth.

This is your casual reminder that I wake up everyday telling Netflix to go fuck itself.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

So what are your thoughts on Maiko as a ship?

Maiko is a great ship and no one can change my mind on that. They're cute, a surprisingly realistic teen romance, were quite important for the plot without derrailing it, and I can't resist a good "Sad Boy X Sad Girl" ship.

Also, Mai is the reason Zuko said the iconic line "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" without a shred of irony. I would kill her, I would die for her, thank you so much for everything you've done for the culture, Mai.

#pro maiko #maiko

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

might not be the right place to ask but i have to make sure i didn't just dream it up. s*kkastyl*s said smth before abt azula and zuko not getting along bc she "wasn't submissive to him" right? or what bullshit has she said abt azula

I'm sorry, WHAT? I mean, I'm a kinky freak, but I'm pretty sure if they really said that it wasn't in the fun way. Can anyone give me a link to this if they can find it?

#anti zutara #zucest

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I don’t understand Zut’s obsession with bloodbending. This technique, as we can see, is used for taking control over other body for the purposes of fighting the enemy, torture, abuse. We see Katara’s horror at having to learn and use it in the Puppetmaster and her disgust of the idea that someone should invade the body and control other being against their will. We see her using it in Southern Raiders and realizing that she went too far from the line she drew for herself – and it works to show her pain there. But to take it and say she should have used it more, for healing and power? I don’t get it.

Their logic is "This looks cool, therefore it is empowering, and she only ever used willingly one time, when Zuko was around, so OBVIOUSLY that means Zuko empowers her."

Nevermind that, like you pointed out, Katara did NOT feel empowered during these moments: on the first one she felt coerced, abused, terrified, and manipulated, and on the second she felt like she had betrayed her core vallues in a moment of blinding rage.

And it's just crazy to me to notice how zutarians are constantly trying to force parallels between Zuko and Katara - yet they are ignoring the one that is right in front of their faces.

Zuko was disfigured by his own father, who justified his abusive behavior as being for his son's own good and "teaching him a lesson. Hama masks her intentions of forcing Katara to learn bloodbending by claiming she just wants to bond with her as her teacher.

On the day of the eclipse, to keep Zuko around until he's able to try and kill him, Ozai manipulates his son by using his love for Ursa against him, offering to tell him what actually happened to her. To force Katara to bloodbend, Hama uses her love for Sokka and Aang against her, controlling them so they'll kill each other unless Katara steps in.

When Zuko has his Agni Kai with Zhao, he almost gives him a scar as well, but decides to spare him at the last moment because, even though he's still in denial about being abused, deep down he already knows he doesn't want to be a monster like Ozai. When Katara uses bloodbending on who she thinks is her mother's killer, then realizes her mistake, she gets quite a brutal awakening that makes her realize she's not simply going after justice or even revenge, but rather allowing herself to fall victim to cycle of violence and abuse like Hama did.

This is a genuine, not at all forced parallel between Zuko and Katara, and that the writers basically handed to the shippers in a neat little bow - and they threw it in the garbage because it did not allow them to glorify violence, romanticize Zuko's past as a villain who was prone to violence, pretend Zuko and Katara only have positive traits in common and could only ever bring out the best in each other, and demonize Aang as this abusive person that wants to control what Katara can or cannot do.

And ironically enough, in doing so, they not only disregard the meaningful theme of an abused child refusing to repeat the same mistakes of their abuser, but they also make excuses for the ONE person in the entire show who was everything they claimed Aang is.

Hama felt entitled to Katara's loyalty, obedience, admiration and respect. She felt she had the right to dictate how Katara should or should not fight, what was or wasn't against her moral code. She was deliberately manipulative to get Katara trust her, then waited until there was no one else around to help her to make her true intentions clear - and then proved she was VERY willing to react with violence if she didn't get what she wanted.

Zutarians go on and on about how their ship is the "feminist, pro-Katara ship" and how Aang is totally abusive, then turn around and glorify the actions of the ONE person in the entire show that fits the definition of "Katara's abuser."

#anti zutara #pro kataang

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

i fear you will never run out of material to post on this blog 😭

as long as zooties keep acting like buffoons in this fandom, people will send you something to post. and we all know they're not gonna stop being buffoons anytime soon 💀

Ain't this the fucking truth.

#anti zutara

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Who does Zuko care about the most in the series (other than himself)?

Quite a lot of people: Iroh, Ursa, and Mai, plus the Gaang after his redemption. We don't know if he was ever close with his cousin Lu Ten, but it's clear he can at the very least understand the tragedy of his death. I don't take the comics as canon, but I do like how nice he is Kiyi, his youngest sister, in them.

Plus, the whole tragedy of the Last Agni Kai only works so well because of the more gentle moments between him and Azula, like her saying she restored his own honor in Ba Sing Se, or warning him to be careful when visiting Iroh without any ulterior motive, or him looking conflicted when seeing her falling "to her death", or ya, know, this blink and you'll miss it moment that lives rent free in my head:

There's also the fact that he loved the Fire Nation itself - the people very much included. It's why he was banished and why he eventually became Fire Lord. There was some of that "entitled royal" factor in it, but he did genuinely care and want what was best for his nation - which is why even when he chooses to leave, he still says he's doing it to save his country. He loves his nation, his people and his culture.

Zuko could be a self-centered jerk sometimes, but he loved A LOT of people - the main tragedy of his character is that he spent his entire life caring for and trying to get the approval of his abusive father, whom he loved deeply.

#zuko meta

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

katara would be much happier with zuko than with baldie, cope.

worry about baldie being a misogynist, treating katara like a baby-making factory and abusing his children. not to mention being bryke's self-insert. lol.

Ah yes, I can see how even someone that is as incompatible with Katara on a such fundamental level as Zuko is would make a much better husband than the abusive piece of shit of a person you're describing - good thing that character doesn't exist.

And thank God she doesn't have to settle for Zuko either, since she has Aang, a wonderful guy who has been her number one supporter right from the start, and that she has actual chemistry and romantic development with.

Also gotta love how you guys try to pretend Aang is Bryke's self-insert because one of them said "Oh, I'm goofy like Aang, and he's moody like Zuko." By your own bizarre logic, Zuko is ALSO a self-insert.

And let me say this, as someone who loves Zuko to pieces and still think he was attractive even in book 1, and has never found Aang attractive: Aang's shaved head looks a billion times better than THAT GODAWFUL PONYTAIL! ZUKO, MY BOY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHY YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?

I wouldn't even be surprised if the reason Azula was so hostile to him at the start of the season was not because of their rivalry or Ozai's orders, but because she was embarrassed that everyone was seeing a relative of hers making such an obvious terrible hairstyle choice.

Also, next time you want to start shit with me, do it through your actual account.

#anti zutara #pro kataang #pro aang

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

So did season 3 Zuko genuinely believe Ozai loved Azula? Is that why he was okay with ratting her out to him with no fear of what he might do to her?

Zuko is a 16-year-old boy that was a victim of abuse pretty much his entire life. It took him THREE WHOLE YEARS to realize that their father disfiguring and banishing him for speaking out of turn/against a cruel plan, and refusing to fight him, was, in fact, a deeply horrible thing for Ozai to do and it was all Ozai's fault.

Is it fair or realistic to expect him to understand that, even though Azula managed to live up to Ozai's insane expectations for his children, it was still unfair of him to put so much pressure on her and that it was only a matter of time before she cracked under it? Can we really blame him for not realizing Azula is being psychologically abused when she's in denial about it herself and actively trying to convince everyone around her that everything she does is effortless? And when the adults he actually trusts, aka his mother and uncle, are ALSO not aware of what's going on right in front of their faces?

Can we blame a child who is desperate to get even the slightest bit of approval and affection from his parent, and never achieving it, for thinking their sibling has an easier, enviable life because they ocasionally get some conditional love?

Can we expect someone who just heard their parent say the words "Your sister was born lucky, you were lucky to be born" to just casually ignore that very clear "I wish you were dead, you don't deserve to exist" and focus only on the implications of "Wait, is he dismissing my sibling's life-long attempts, and success, of living up to his expectations as sheer dumb luck, not hard work and genuine talent?"

I've said once, I'll say it again: Zuko's attempts to survive all the trauma he endured are basically the same as someone who is panicking while drowning and trying to pull under the person that is trying to rescue them because they cannot think clearly in such a dire situation.

It's no coincidence that the two main moments in which we see him having compassion for Azula (in The Southern Raiders and then in the finale post Agni Kai) take place AFTER he has turned his back on Ozai and found a group of people who love and support him. He is now watching the situation from the outside, from a safe distance, not while in the middle of all the chaos, unsure if he's gonna make it.

And for the first time, Zuko can actually see his sister. A prodigy, but still someone that is trying to meet impossible standards. A brave, fierce, DANGEROUS warrior, but also a deeply traumatized child.

There's a reason Aaron Ehasz, the head-writter and executive producer of the show, has repeatedly said that, if Avatar had gotten a fourth season, he would have liked Zuko to essentially be Azula's Iroh and help her heal and redeem herself. He is literally the only other person in the world that knows what being Ozai's child is like, even if he was the scapegoat while she was the golden child.

#fire siblings #zuko meta #azula meta

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Your thoughts on this

"Zuko did not have a conversation with the person the was clearly there to kill him and his friends, thefore he did not care about his girlfriend" is certainly a take.

And I gotta love how they use Sokka and Suki as the exemple of "how an actual caring boring reacts" when Sokka ALSO never mentioned his girlfriend AFTER being told by Azula that Suki was in a miserable, sorry state, and the only reason he was at the boiling rock at all was because he wanted to save HAKODA. Suki was just lucky enough to be there and tag along.

Why is that not used as proof that Sokka doesn't care about Suki, but Zuko not asking questions to the person that is blasting fire balls at him means he never loved Mai? And if not talking about missing/being worried about someone every other scene means the character doesn't care, why do people not complain that Zuko asking about his mother in the finale came out of nowhere since she only ever came up in FOUR out of SIXTY ONE episodes?

Why is it that only Maiko needs to constantly be talked about to prove that the characters care about each other - and why are scenes like Zuko remembering Mai's childhood crush on him after not having seen her in years, or being visibly upset that he has to leave her, or bringing her up when talking to Sokka about THINGS HE'LL MISS ABOUT HIS OLD LIFE completely disregarded?

And why, why, WHY do zutarians act like, even if Zuko didn't care about Mai, that would somehow mean he HAS to care about Katara? During most of "The Southern Raiders" he's being super entitled and acting like he's OWED her forgiveness and friendship just because not having it is inconvenient. Zuko is not "pining" for her, he's basically saying this:

Also, it makes perfect sense that Azula would not bring up the Mai thing:

1 - Her feelings, and more importantly, her ego, are still VERY hurt by the fact that Mai chose Zuko over her. She literally tells the guards to put Mai and Ty Lee somewhere she'll never have to see their faces again. This could not be more different than the situation with Sokka and Suki - two people that meant literally nothing to her.

2 - She's already snapping a little bit. We see her using her entire hand to firebend instead of her signature two fingers-move that make her flames precise and basically cut through stuff like a blade. Zuko is even able to bend her flames away from him, and for the first time his strength is equal to hers, thanks not only to his new training with the dragons, but also Azula's imperfect fighting style. She's not gonna be thinking of how mess with Zuko's feelings to make him lower his guard, like she did on their first on-screen fight, because SHE is the one deep in the emotional turmoil this time and she isn't thinking clearly, even if she hasn't fully lost it yet.

3 - This fight is very clearly foreshadowing both for the Last Agni Kai AND Zuko's reaction to his victory coming at the cost of Azula's well-being. She's attacking him and his allies, and fully said she wants to kill him - yet when he sees her falling "to her death" he isn't happy like one would expect, even if he's kicking himself for giving a shit later when she inevitably saves herself. That scene was about Zuko's hostile, yet complex, relationship with AZULA. Bringing literally anyone else up would make no sense. It's THEIR moment, completely separate from his romance with Mai.

#anti zutara #pro maiko

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

"He doesn't go out of his way to help anyone unless it benefits him" How did letting Zuko capture him in exchange for leaving the Water Tribe alone beneift him? How did saving Zuko instead of abandoning him both in The Blue Spirit and in the season one finale help him? How did feeling enough compassion to want spare even OZAI benefit him, specially when we see in the finale that Aang DID consider killing him even after he had the key to taking away his bending?

This is some classic Zutara bullshit of trying to twist everything Aang does into being either secretly evil or self-serving so it doesn't "count" as a genuine kindness, just so they can go "And that's why Katara should have ended up with Zuko!"

And I find it HILARIOUS that this person used Marshall from How I Met Your Mother as an exemple of characters that are truly kind and empathetic. Where was Marshall's kindness and empathy during all the years in which he was friends with Ted Mosby, a guy that literally had a girl's neighbours spying on her for him so he'd make a move the very second she broke up with her boyfriend? Or when he tried to pursue married/engaged women FIVE different times? Or when he kept saying he was rooting for Ted to get with Robin, the woman that had rejected him over and over again for nine freaking years, just because that's what Ted wanted, so who cares about Robin's feelings?

"Being goofy is not the same as being kind" Damn right. Too bad this person clearly can't tell the difference, despite claiming they do.

Aang is exactly as kind and empathetic as the show says he is, and Zutarians can bitch about it not being true until they die, it won't change anything about the actual canon and make their delusions come true.

Can you give examples of Aang showing Empathy? Oh wait, you can't.

Actually, I can - because unlike you, I base my opinion of the characters on the actual stuff that happened in the story, not the bad faith takes dumb people on the internet come up with.

Zuko literally only survived past book 1 because Aang was the ONLY person amongst the heroes that gave a single fuck about his well-being. Aang offered to be FRIENDS with him as early as episode 13, even though this dude is trying to kidnap him.

In the first damn episode we see him realize and try to remedy Katara's struggle with no longer being able to act like a kid and have fun. He wants to travel with her so SHE gets to learn waterbending. He willingly lets Zuko take him into his ship because he understood that a conflict could lead to the people of the water tribe getting hurt or killed.

In Warriors of Kyoshi he apologizes to Katara for letting all the praise and admiration go to this head. He makes sure to put out the fires Zuko and his crew started in Suki's village.

He tries to help remedy the Hei-Bai situation, even though he is unsure of himself and even scared, because he knows he is the only one that has any chance of helping - and the thing that allows him to connect with Hei-Bai is the fact that he is ALSO upset about the destruction the Fire Nation has caused AND hopeful that the world would eventually heal.

He thinks Jet is awesome because he wants to help people that are being oppressed by the Fire Nation - and then is horrified when he finds out his intension is to "free" them by killing everyone

He wants to help the two rival groups not only safely cross the Great Divide, but also stop hating each other.

He confesses that he hid the map to Hakoda because Bato, Katara and Sokka are showing how much they appreciate and trust him and he feels unworthy of it after what he did because he knows it'd hurt him if the roles were reversed.

He is so devastated by the fact that he ACCIDENTALLY hurt Katara that he swears to never firebend again. He is also able to recognize the same principle behind his mistake in Zhao's fighting style, allowing him to win the battle against the bastard.

He accepts the fact that the Northern Air Temple is now occupied by people who not only don't belong to his culture but also don't understand it and unknowingly destroyed something sacred to him (and that one of them had been forced to make weapons for the Fire Nation) because these people have nowhere else to go and he doesn't want them to suffer.

He is furious at Pakku for refusing to teach Katara waterbending, because he knows how much it'd mean to her and how unfair it is that she can't learn it just because of her gender.

He is so devastated by the death of the Moon Spirit that the Ocean Spirit latches onto him to avenge it and save the day - and the leve of destruction it causes haunts Aang, even though the violence was against his enemies. And still, he tries to go into the Avatar state again because people are dying and he can't accept that.

After the fall of Omashu, he wants to rescue Bumi, not because he needs a teacher, but because they're friends.

He felt empathy for Toph when she was explaining to her parents how lonely and unappriacted their over-protection made her feel.

He and Katara both feel bad for snapping at Toph during "The Chase" and wanted to apologize for not understanding that being part of a group was a radical change to her, even though she had refused to even try. He also didn't have a problem with fighting alongside Zuko and Iroh against Azula, AND he looked concerned when Iroh was injured.

After Katara comments on the fact he called Toph Sifu but not her, he calls her Sifu while bowing, to show that he respects her both as his master and friend.

The hopelessness and downright depression he was feeling after Appa was stolen only starts healing because he saw a couple being happy with their newborn baby - the same couple he decided to help cross the Serpent's Pass, even though he and his friends had just been allowed to take a much safer route to Ba Sing Se.

His understanding and sympathy towards Jet, even after everything the guy did, was so strong that it freed him from literal brainwashing.

He doesn't want to push his love for Katara aside to gain power because he cares about her too much - and then does it anyway because, even though not making her his main focus 24/7 offers the risk of her being hurt, him neglecting his mission guarantees she'll get hurt.

He is devastated to learn that the world thinks he is dead because he knows he was everyone's last hope - and yet in the end he still accepts the burden of failure because he understood that, at that moment, everyone would be safer if no one else knew he was still alive.

He goes to a Fire Nation school and bonds with the kids, wanting to give them a taste of freedom and joy, as well as trying to understand what the war is like from their perspective. The same episode also has him pull Katara for a dance because he noticed she was feeling left out.

The boy felt empathy for, and understood the mistakes of, both Ruko and Sozin. SOZIN. Aang could see the humanity in the monster that is responsible for him losing his entire culture and everyone he loved.

When Zuko spoke about wanting to control his impulses so he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone, Aang explicitly connected with that struggle and saw them being teacher and student as fate, and Zuko agreed because that's how deep their connection was.

Aang is not happy about Katara wanting to murder a man, but he still lets her take Appa on her mission and is not disapproving when she ultimately spares the guy but does not forgive him and makes it clear she never will.

He feels empathy for freaking Ozai, to the point that refuses to kill the guy - even as he has the balls to say that Aang's family, his people, deserved to die. He spared that guy - but only after he had a way to do that without it meaning the death of more innocents. Aang, the pacifist, was going to turn his back on everything he believed in just to avoid more human suffering.

So yeah, miss me with your bullshit and don't come back until your brain is developed enough to understand a cartoon aimed at kindergarterners.

#anti zutara #pro kataang #pro aang

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

they managed to massacre Aang's character and all the struggle and importance of his choice in the finale in a SINGLE page, and yet there are people who think the comics are good

and of course Katara's would have nothing to say on the matter, toootally in-character

Not to mention: yes, Zuko is right that a lifetime of indoctrination won't magically stop affecting him just because he's aware of it now, but the way the comics really said "If you're not perfect, you deserve to die. Not rehabilitation, not even incarceration despite it being an option, just straight to violent, lethal punishment" is horrying.

And lets not forget the blatant abuse apologism of having Zuko, the kid who was told by his abusive parent that his disfigurement and banishment was "for his own good" after he made one "mistake", turning to his closest friends and asking them to be his "safety net" by MURDERING HIM IF EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE - and said friends then agree to it.

Are you fucking kidding me? The real Aang would have double-down on the "You're NOT your father" bit, and the entire friend group would have been super concerned about Zuko because a victim of abuse saying they're as bad as their abuser thus deserve to die is one hell of a red flag as to how their mental health is going.

Speaking of mental health: I talk a lot about how Azula was constantly being abused by the supposed heroes in the comics, and how the justification of it is rooted in ableism, but this nonsense with Zuko asking to be put down like a dog is also peak victim blaming, and one of the few moments in which one can actually feel bad for comics!Zuko.

And it ties into a disturbing pattern I noticed among Avatar fans - and mainly Zuko fans. They don't truly understand that what Ozai put his children through was wrong, they simply think he chose the wrong kid as the escapegoat. They think Azula should have been the one that is constantly punished just for existing, while Zuko is the golden child that can do no wrong - or else.

This moment right here? With the people that he trusts agreeing to inflict violence on him if he ever makes a mistake? This is that "or else". This is literally the same mentality that led to Azula's breakdown because NO ONE CAN SURVIVE UNDER THAT MUCH PRESSURE.

And that leads us to the main reason why the comcis suck: Yang was using Zuko as a self-insert.

"Zuko‘s relationship with Ozai is something we – Mike, Brian, Dark Horse, Nickelodeon, and I – talked about extensively when we first started working together. There’s this strange thing that happens to people in power. The pressures of power often blur the lines between enemies. That’s part of what happens to Zuko here. Ozai is the only one who knows what it’s like to be Fire Lord, the only one who has the wisdom of experience. I also looked at my own life. I used to clash with my dad quite a bit when I was a teenager. However, as I grew up and found myself in roles that he used to have, I began to understand more and more of his decisions. My father isn't thoroughly evil, of course, but I imagine Zuko feels a little of the same pull."

Yang. My guy. My dude. The words "Ozai" and "wisdom" should NEVER be in the same sentence. Every single action of Ozai's as Fire Lord was based on him being an abusive piece of shit that finally got access to absolute power. He is not a stern dad, he is abusive. He's not misunderstood, he needed to be stopped and locked away. He is a human being with feelings and motivations, yes, but he is WRONG ABOUT LITERALLY EVERYTHING EVER. He NEVER had a point. Zuko has nothing to learn from him except what NOT to do. That's why he looks like an older, unscarred Zuko. A version of Zuko that never changed.

This is the core issue of the comics, and why it had so many moments of unintentional abuse apologism: they say Ozai is a villain, but they're going out of their way to constantly make the characters come dangerously close to saying "Maybe he had a point." That's why they have Zuko turn to Ozai for advice despite claiming he wants to avoid becoming like him - because the guy writting them couldn't understand that the bad guy was, in fact, bad and in the wrong and has no wisdom to offer to anyone.

Avatar, the series, is about the world moving past from the sick mentality people like Ozai had, and about his son realizing that he did not deserve to be abused. The Avatar Comics are about telling Zuko (and others) "Ozai isn't wrong actually, you'll understand when you're older."

No, Yang, they won't. Because there's nothing to "understand" here other than THE GUY THAT ABUSED HIS CHILDREN AND COMMITED GENOCIDE WAS WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, YOU DUMBASS!

Saying "the villain had a point" does not make a story better unless it is true - and in Ozai's case, it simply isn't. Insisting otherwise doesn't make the story and characters more mature, it just means you couldn't understand a cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds despite being a grown-ass man.

And I won't even get into Bryke approving of this bullshit otherwise I'll start tearing my hair out in rage at how badly they seem to have lost touch with the message of their best work, so let me just use a simple statemet to make everyone understand just how much of a disaster this is:

Even M. Night Shyamalan didn't misunderstand ATLA to the point of thinking Ozai wasn't actually wrong, but Bryan, Mike and Yang did. The comics understand the show less than M. Night Shyamalan did.

I rest my fucking case.

#atla comics #the comics suck #zuko deserved better #azula deserved better

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/rifari2037/748081795944349696/sorry-but-i-feel-like-you-ship-zukka-just-because

thoughts?

"Even worse, they use materials from the show, not just making up from their heads"

*proceeds to immediately go for the bullshit 'Zutara was gonna be a thing, it just lost the fight' conspiracy theory that the showrunners and lead writer have repeatedly said is false*

*proceeds to act like the voice actors liking the ship means it MUST be good, like people don't get to respectfully disagree*

*proceeds to act like chemistry is in any way objective and not subjective, then gets surprised that just using pictures of the show doesn't convince people to ship zutara*

*proceeds to say they are only called delusional for liking a ship, even though just tried to use a conspiracy theory as fact*

For the millionth time, zutarians: let go of the need for canon validation. You guys are lucky enough that your ship is massively popular, even with people that made the show, despite being fanon. WHY do you need to misrepresent the fun "Oh yeah, we can totally show some love to non-canon ships even though we are proud of the material we made" as "There was a major power struggle and the evil showrunners defeated us at the last second"? YOU DON'T! THEN WHY DO YOU GUYS STILL DO IT? IT'S BEEN TWENTY FUCKING YEARS!

#anti zutara

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

They legit watch Zuko yeet a guy across the room for merely speaking to Mai and go "omg Mai is so toxic she brings out the worst out of poor Zuzie😭😭😭!!!!" Bruh that boy needs his ass humbled once in a while.

They are so naive for thinking that Katara would put up with his bs and be any more patient than Mai.

They're also very naive for thinking Zuko would WANT a girl that puts up with his bullshit. Yes, he is stubborn and proud, but that's exactly why he would HATE an ass-kisser. Not only does he need someone who will keep him in check, that is the only kind of person he can actually respect because strong-willed people tend to look down on those that don't stand up for themselves.

There's a reason he immediately started making a move on Mai when she yelled not just at him, but at Ty Lee and AZULA of all people, consequences be dammend. Zuko likes that, behind her apathy (that can be both fake and genuine, depending on the circumstance) Mai has as spine won't allow anyone to disrespect her.

Seriously, it's ridiculous how people overlook just how quickly Zuko went from fight mode to "I'm gonna try to get laid tonight" the very second Mai stood up for herself. She might be the gloomy girl that sighs a lot, but goddammit, she's HIS gloomy girl that sighs a lot, and he loves her and wants to fool around at every opportunity.

You know how hard (hehehe) it is to get ZUKO to stop throwing a fit and realize that he could be enjoying himself instead? Mai did it without even trying and while actively calling him out! Girl's a freaking legend.

#anti zutara #pro maiko #pro mai