#balognaasks

[broadwaybalogna]

Why do you ship Zutara

Actually, I don’t. I’m being brainwashed and forced to create fan works by the devil. He has strings attached to my hands and nimble fingers as he throws me around to his bidding. I am a mere outlet for satan’s OTP and he will not rest until god smites me through the ao3 curse.

[broadwaybalogna]

"Atla fandom is soooo feminist" y'all cant even acknowledge katara's gendered labor (these tags you screenshoted... *sigh*)

This post turned out to be a lot longer than intended so for anyone who wants context, here’s the original post anon is referring to.

Yeah the problem is a lot of the atla fandom isn’t feminist and many actively and proudly deny being feminist. One of the ways anti Zutarians will make fun of Zutarians is by calling it a “feminist ship” derogatorily.

They’ll be all like “oh you think your ship is so much better just because it’s feminist”. Which like.. if that’s how you’re phrasing it, then yeah, it is better. I’ve never said one ship is better than the other but if you’re actively saying/implying that what you ship doesn’t support women’s autonomy then I’m going to believe point blank that your ship isn’t good lol.

And I hate to say it but so many kat@angers clearly don’t support women’s autonomy because they repeatedly excuse Aang’s actions towards Katara during EIP. That’s not very hashtag-feminist. In fact, some might even say it’s very hashtag-misogynist.

Because how can you see a woman- sorry, girl very clearly state that she is confused, not ready to be in a relationship, get kissed by a boy and instead of aknowledge that what the boy did was wrong, immediately jump to defend him, completely disregarding the girls feelings in the process- much like what the boy did.

-

And as feminist as atla the show is at its surface, it does a lot of telling not showing feminism. And a lot more showing not telling misogyny.

What am I talking about, you ask? Well the most obvious example of this is clearly Katara. Because yes, they tell us that Katara wants to fight- that she wants to go against her gendered norms of being a woman and work on the battlefield. But atla shows us her following the maternal role in her friendgroup. She spends more time being a maternal figure than fighting. She spends more time cooking and cleaning and mending clothes and babysitting than actually fighting. Which like, fine, yeah, they spend more time on the road than fighting, of course she’s probably going to spend more time doing this, but none of the boys help.

They tell us that the boys might sometimes help, but they only ever show us Katara doing the work.

The narrative literally shows us that women are incomplete without a love interest, especially in LoK. It’s actually stupid how much of LoK is about the girls getting a boyfriend because god forbid both of them are happily single.

And if you take a closer look at atla and lok, there isn’t a single happy widow in the stories. Every time a widow is brought up, they’re always depressed and sad and honestly look like they want to die. But oh, a widower will do just fine! He’s actually better than ever because he doesn’t have a woman nagging him all the time and demanding things of him and always talking and being a pain in the ass. Woah who said that?

But you know what, at the end of the day, atla was created by two men. Why should I be surprised?

The feminism displayed in atla is warped, and it’s what makes the fandom so tiring to deal with. Because you’ll have these “feminist men” who only know the feminism that atla and lok shows them. And the main message of those is just “y’know, sometimes, and hear me out on this, I know it’s crazy, girls can fight *cue applause* I know, I know, groundbreaking stuff here. And another thing, actually. Girls… can sometimes, if properly justified, get mad *cue louder applause*. And last thing- last thing- girls… can do all that while still being a proper lady and doing your laundry, making you food, sewing your clothes etc wait what? *cue loudest applause*.

And I know some people might find this post and be all like “oh but Toph yadda yadda yadda” Toph literally becomes a wife in LoK, bears children, and dips. They literally make her “fulfill her role as a woman” before throwing her in a swamp where no one can see the mess of a woman she is.

And in atla, they turn her romantic interest in Sokka into a joke. Because a girl having a crush on a guy who’s taken is just so funny and embarrassing for her. And her trying to bond with Zuko is also turned into a joke. She isn’t a “proper lady” so they don’t give her the time of day to get relationships with the male characters that “proper lady’s” get. And this is especially seen in LoK because we don’t even know who the father of her children is. She doesn’t get to have a substantial relationship because she can’t provide for a man.

Anyways that’s my rant. Thanks for coming to my ted talk or whatever.

[broadwaybalogna]

Who is the biggest Zutara supporter within canon?

I think the fandom has come mostly to a consensus that’s it’s Iroh but I would like to add two more:

Toph

And June

Toph can feel their heartbeats and makes so much fun of them when they still beat fast around one another even after they’ve been together for a year.

I don’t think June is necessarily a supporter as much as she likes to make fun of them and say shit like “yeah they’re only together because of me” when people talk about the Fire Lord and Lady

[broadwaybalogna]

What irks me is why do so many zutara shippers also love dramione or reylo. Azutara is right there if the canon redemption arc is not that relevant to you guys. I personally do not get it, but it is probably because I do not care as much for enemies to lovers as I do for friends to lovers. Or maybe because I do not care for ‘I can fix him’ love stories all that much. I do think that Katara played a role in Zuko’s redemption arc, but to me it’s so important that he changed on his own and for his own reasons. I feel like you get what I mean 😊

I’m gonna be honest I’m so tired I should not be answering this until I completely understand what you’re saying but-

Okay so I havnt watched Star Wars in years. And I never watched Harry Potter, BUT, one thing I believed that happened often was that we got to see enough interactions with these characters for people to say “oh, there’s tension here.” Or “yeah I could ship that”. Correct me if I’m wrong, I could be! But I’m pretty sure all those characters had a lot of time to get to know, understand, and grow together in some respect.

Now, I’ve never been opposed to the “two characters that barely interact should get shipped!” Train. I’ve done it before, it’s fun. You get to create character dynamics based on what you only know of the characters outside of their interactions. It makes for great character studies if anything.

My main problem is that Azula never demonstrates any emotion other than hate for the Gaang. For her brother? Idk, it’s a stretch, but I believe in familial love, it could’ve been there ever so slightly. But she quite literally never sees them as anything other than the enemy.

I can totally understand the parallel aspect to their relationship, though. The parallels are define tot there, and I can see how that can influence a persons shipping preference. I first started shipping Zutara because of all the parallels i saw between them! So yeah, I get it.

I also totally understand not shipping Zutara, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and sometimes enemies to lovers isn’t for you. I’m not asking you to like Zutara or dislike Azutara. Katara “playing a role in Zuko’s redemption arc” also isn’t a large reason as to why people ship the two together. I mean, their talk in the catacombs was definitely filled with romantic tension if you ask me, but that’s aside the point. Almost all of Zuko’s redemption, he fulfilled on his own with Iroh’s help.

Katara’s perspective simply helped him see the war from the completely opposing point of view without outright hate. And I think that’s beautiful.

Anyways, I went really off topic. Uh, TL;DR: I really don’t know anything about Reylo or Dramione. Azutara is still meh and I these mountains are getting really hard to climb in order to find that fuck I need to give. /lh (I’m sure asker didn’t mean any harm I just think it’s funny)

[broadwaybalogna]

Zutara prompt: While fishing, Zuko accidentally admits to Sokka that he like Katara.

STOP IT THIS IS SO CUTE OMG

-

Sokka didn’t exactly know how to bond with Zuko when they weren’t committing crimes or saving the world, so they went on an abundance of “bro trips” to find new hobbies for the two of them. There was golfing, swimming, and cooking, but they ultimately landed on fishing. The activity was a nice change of pace for their busy days, and it allowed them to catch up with each other without having to worry about anything else.

The sun was just beginning to set when Zuko and Sokka finally got their stuff outside and ready to set up. It had been a long day for both of them, but they tried to maintain their weekly bro hangouts as much as possible.

“So, how was your week?” Sokka asked once they had fully set up.

“Ugh, the usual. Making laws, opening borders, selling my soul. How about you? How’s Suki?”

“Suki’s doing great. I soar her every now and again-“

“And lose.”

“And allow her to take advantage of weak spots I didn’t know I had.” Sokka huffed. Zuko laughed. “And you? Any new girls in your life?” Sokka asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ah, no. Just the usual, haha.” He sputtered.

Sokka liked to think he and Zuko shared everything with one another, so when he sensed that Zuko was hiding something, he immediately pounced.

“Reaaaally….” He imposed, making the word long as he got up in Zuko’s face. “C’mon, you can trust me bro. Bro to bro, what’s my bro been up to?”

“That’s too many bros.”

“My bad bro.”

“And I’m not seeing anyone.”

“You so are.”

“Am not.”

“Are to.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re beat red! You very clearly are!”

“It’s not because of- Agni help me.” Zuko sighed, exasperated.

“Just tell me who she is!”

“I’m not seeing any girls. I wouldn’t be allowed to see her anyway.”

“So you DO have your eyes on someone! And why wouldn’t you be able to see her?”

“Why do you ask so many questions.”

“I’m a top tier wingman, I don’t know what else to say.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Look, her family is- er.. strict?”

“Is that a statement or a question?”

Zuko gave Sokka a look that very clearly said that he wasn’t playing any games. Sokka raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Damn, you have some serious feeling for this girl, huh?”

“I suppose.” Zuko looked down at his lap, then out into the distance. There was this look in his eyes that Sokka saw and he knew Zuko saw her in the sunset before them.

“I’m sure that if her family see how much you care, they’ll come around.”

“I’m also afraid it’ll strain a relationship I have with one of my best friends.” Zuko finally said after a few moments.

Sokka thought for a moment. “Well, I’ll always be here to pick up the slack from whatever friend you’re talking about! Bros gotta stick out for each other all the time!”

Then Zuko looked over at him. And there was this look in his eyes that confused Sokka for a moment before the realization finally settled in.

“Do you?- my- Kat—? HER!?”

Zuko looked over to his fishing rod, nothing had been caught yet.

“How long, Zuko?”

“How long what?”

“Have you liked her!?”

Zuko flinched at the sudden loudness of Sokka. He couldn’t tell if his friend was angry, upset, confused, surprised, or a horrifying mix of it all.

“I don’t know. Maybe a couple years?”

“Years!?”

Zuko sighed, “Yeah.”

“Fucking FINALLY.”

“What?”

“I said ‘finally’, dipshit.”

“Yeah, I heard that. Why?”

“Because I’ve been so sick and tired of hearing her ramble on about you and how hot you are and blah blah blah!”

Zuko was in pure awe, “Seriously?”

“‘SeRiOuSlY’ my ass! You’re saying I could’ve avoided this for YEARS!?”

“Sokka, are you being serious?” Zuko had gotten closer to Sokka and grabbed him by his shirt.

“Of course I am! I wouldn’t be this annoying if I wasn’t.” Zuko softly let go of the taller man and sat down in his chair beside his fishing rod.

“Holy shit.”

“You better tell her as soon as possible because I don’t know how much longer I can listen to her ramble on and on-“

“I thought you would hate me.”

“What?” Sokka was finally taken out of his annoying persona and thrown back into reality. “Why would I hate you?”

“C’mon Sokka, I like your sister. Most people would be at my throat if I said I liked their family member.”

“Yeah, sure, but— you’re my best friend. If anyone should date my sis, it should be you. There have been plenty of guys who have had a crush on Katara and believe me, not many of them have been all that good. So to know she has someone who I know is amazing for her. That makes everything a lot easier. Of course I’m glad you like her. I’m just upset you would think anything would make me hate you!”

Zuko laughed and Sokka continues to babble on. Zuko finally caught a fish and Sokka begged him to cook it for the two of them.

“Promise me you won’t hate me if I tell your sister my feelings and we start going out.” Zuko finally said after they finished eating.

Sokka thought for a short moment before responding. “Promise. Pinky swear.” He held out his pinky finger and wiggled it, urging Zuko to lock in own pinky with his. Zuko grumbled but ultimately folded.

“Thanks.”

“Of course, bud.”

[broadwaybalogna]

Zutara prompt

Sokka suspects that Zuko and Katara are dating but doesn't know how to feel about it. Suki assures him that they're perfect for each other.

EEEEE SO CUTE

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#1

Sokka saw Zuko look at Katara more during their dinners. His good eye would stare as he mindlessly ate his food. Katara didn’t notice, but every so often she’d lift her head and Zuko would look back down at his plate just in time for her to not suspect anything. Sokka thought it was weird.

He raised an eyebrow when he made eye contact with Zuko, and the ladder refused to admit he had done anything. Sokka rolled his eyes and continued his dinner before heading to bed with Suki.

#2

Katara would ask Zuko to help around camp a lot. More than she would ever ask Sokka, Suki or Aang. Each time, however, without hesitation, Zuko would drop whatever he was doing and go to her.

Sokka looked over at Aang who didn’t seem to notice anything. The younger boy had been busy Airbending a small ball in his hands and spinning it around. He then looked over at Suki, who was also in her own world as she placed more wood on the small fire the two of them had made.

Sokka huffed to himself and swallowed down the weird feeling he felt in his gut.

#3

Sokka found Katara and Suki giggling with each other inside of his shared tent with his girlfriend. Katara swore that they weren’t talking about anything important, but the glance the two of them shared right after confirmed otherwise.

Sokka urged them to admit what they had been discussing, but they brushed off his request and played it off as gossip. What there was to gossip about in the middle of the Fire Nation was beyond Sokka, but girls were confusing, so he let it slide.

#4

When Katara and Zuko thought they were alone, they held hands.

#5

They fucking kissed.

—

Sokka ran into his and Suki’s tent panting and stammering out a bunch of unconnected words.

“Woah, Sokka, take a deep breath,” Suki said as she motioned for Sokka to sit down beside her.

Once he finally caught his breath, he spoke again.

“My sister- no, Zuko- I-“ he struggled to find the words to properly portray what he had seen. “Kiss,” he finally said after a long moment.

Suki’s mouth opened in an understanding surprise.

“So, you finally realized?” She chuckled.

Sokka threw a glare at her in anger and astonishment.

“For how long-?” He cut himself off, still not fully understanding what was happening.

“I think a week or two,” Suki replied, unfazed as ever, and throwing a blueberry up to catch it in her mouth.

“Suki, this is serious!” Sokka exclaimed, grabbing her by both her shoulders.

Suki took a second to fully register Sokka’s mental state. Then, without much thinking, began to walk out of their tent.

“Suki, where are you going!?” He whisper yelled, afraid of his sister and Zuko catching them (although there was nothing to be caught doing).

“Come with me. And be quiet,” she said, gesturing for Sokka to follow her.

He trailed behind her for a few minutes until they came across a small clearing in the woods. There, from across the land and behind a few trees, Zuko and Katara sat mindlessly talking to each other.

“Be quiet,” Suki whispered to him from behind a tree, being sure that the couple couldn’t see the two of them.

Sokka watched silently as they exchanged words and laughs. Katara’s eyes crinkled at the ends, emphasizing the tattoos that lay across her cheeks. She talked with her hands quite a bit, something she had never really done with him as she always tried to stay as composed as possible.

Zuko had a light smile on his face and he nodded every so often to be sure Katara knew he was listening to her.

After a few minutes, Suki took his hand and led him back to camp.

“So?” She said, once they settled back into their tent.

“So what?” Sokka replied, “They’re dating! She’s giving him all her girl cooties!”

“Number one, I’m pretty sure that’s not the reason you’re so upset. And number two, if that’s true, am I giving you my girl cooties too?”

“Yes but your girl cooties are very pretty.”

Suki laughed. “Okay, so who’s to say that Zuko doesn’t think Katara’s cooties aren’t pretty?”

Sokka was silent for a second then scowled. “I still don’t think they should be together,” he huffed.

“Really?” Suki questioned.

“I mean, we just barely got to know him! He could still be planning to betray us for all we know!”

“Yeah but,” Suki started as she struggled to find the words to make her point, “look at how he treasures what she says. And look at how alive she is with him. I never knew Katara could be that animated.” She smiled at the memory of seeing Katara in the clearing with Zuko.

Sokka sighed, “Yeah. Neither did I.” He could barely hear himself say the words, but they were said nonetheless, and he knew it was true.

Sokka let out another sigh.

If Katara truly liked Zuko, he couldn’t stop her. She was stubborn like that.

Suki smiled at knowing she had convinced Sokka to let his sister be. She gave him a small peck on the cheek.

“Is that what you two were giggling about the other day, then? Zuko?”

“Hmm, something like that,” she shrugged.

“You’re really not gonna tell me?” He groaned.

“Gossip. It’s for girls ears only,” she laughed.

And he smiled.

[broadwaybalogna]

Zutara prompt: During Zuko's recovery Katara asks him why he took Azula's lightning. For him, the reason couldn't be more clear.

Eeeeeek this is so cuteeeee

Me when Zutara fluff❤️❤️❤️

-

Zuko was in and out of consciousness the first five days after the Agni Kai. Nurses were rushing in and out of his room at all times during those days. The only thing that remained constant was Katara by his side.

When he first saw her, he hadn’t even remembered how they had gotten together in the first place, the memories of his Agni Kai with Azula still blurry. Then, when he finally had time to reassess himself, he let out a sigh of relief.

Katara was safe, and that meant they won.

Every so often, he would awake to Katara healing him, her hands placed right where the throbbing pain of a lightning strike lay. When her hands were over his chest, however, the pain would subside, and he could properly relax into her touch.

If Katara ever recognized him waking up, she never acknowledged it, her sole focus being on healing him.

He would relax his eyes and fall back asleep after that.

Zuko was finally able to have conversations a week after the Agni Kai, and was soon moved to the Fire Lord’s palace where he would be in the care of Katara and a few other nurses.

“Thank Tui and La you’re okay!” Katara exclaimed when she saw him awake in his own bed.

“Katara,” he rasped out, attempting to start a conversation but falling into a coughing fit.

“Don’t speak! Here, let me get you some water.” Katara left the room only to return two minutes later with a large class of water for Zuko.

Zuko took a few sips and let his body relax to the refreshing water.

“Now,” Katara said, placing a hand on Zuko’s bed beside him, “what were you thinking!? Jumping in front of lighting!? Why!?” She nearly screamed, making Zuko jump at her outburst.

Her eyebrows were knitted with confusion, and her eyes were watery. She quickly dragged her palm against her eyes to make sure no tears spilled. Zuko finally got a good look of her face. Her nose and waterline were a light shade of pink, meaning that she had probably been crying earlier.

Zuko swallowed hard, he didn’t know how to properly convey his emotions through words, there was little he actually knew how to do through words.

After a few long moments of the two of them looking at each other, Zuko finally spoke.

“It was the honorable thing to do,” he affirmed with a sharp nod of his head.

Katara’s mouth gaped open, then closed, then open again. Her eyebrows knitted closer together as she took in Zuko’s entire figure.

“You’re lying,” she said after ten seconds.

“What?”

“You have a tell. You’re lying.”

Zuko was not lying. Why Katara beloved such a conspiracy was beyond him. He scoffed at her and crossed his arms.

“Tell me the truth!” She pleaded, searching for answers on Zuko’s face.

Zuko watched her with his one good eye. She seemed so distraught, it was a horrible position to see Katara in.

But he wouldn’t back down.

Deep down, Zuko knew he wasn’t telling the entire truth. He knew he was giving excuse after excuse, but the lump in his throat wouldn’t allow him to say anything more.

“Zuko, please! You could have died. You don’t just sacrifice your life for someone because it was the honorable thing to do, that’s stupid! God, you’re so stupid,” she yelled, pacing around Zuko’s new room.

“Fine, then I’m stupid. I’m one big block of stupidity. Does that satisfy you?”

“No!” She nearly screamed, “why did you do it!? Why would you kill yourself for me?”

“Because I love you, Katara!”

Silence.

She looked at Zuko’s face and her eyebrows finally relaxed.

They kept their positions, staring at each other for what seemed like hours.

Then, under her breath, Katara mumbled something incomprehensible.

“What?” Zuko softly spoke.

“I said that you’re so horribly stupid,” she nearly cried as she ran up to him and pressed her lips against his.

Zuko’s eye widened in surprise at her gesture, then he closed them, leaning into her touch.

When she finally pulled away, she staggered back.

“Spirits, I’m so sorry— I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Zuko felt himself cut her off as he laughed at her outburst.

“What are you doing,” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I’m stupid,” he swallowed the lump in his throat as he continued, “I must be the dumbest person in the world.”

Katara smiled as she walked back towards him.

“Me too,” she chuckled as he lightly grabbed her head and pulled her into another kiss.

[broadwaybalogna]

I wouldn’t necessarily say that Azutara is ‘just toxic yuri’. I respect that opinion, but personally I ship them bc I find their parallels very interesting (‘my mother died to save me’ vs ‘my mother thinks i’m a monster’, two 14 year old prodigies with too much responsibility thrust upon them, their opposing relationships with their siblings, etc) and also I love Azula and Want Good Things For Her. Part of the appeal is definitely the fact that they are such bitter enemies, and imagining how they could find common ground and become… not that. Plus Azula redemption let’s goooo. Because really, they do have a lot of similarities imo. Azutara isn’t really a ship I would want to see in canon, but out of canon I find it fascinating to consider the possibilities. Zutara is epic too tho 👍

I understand that people ship things for different reasons, I was just saying that from my perspective, I’ll only ever really see it as toxic yuri; I don’t see a world where a relationship between them wouldn’t be toxic unless Azula was extremely OOC.

I haven’t read the comics, I don’t know if she has a redemption in canon, and I don’t care. IMO the comics just aren’t appealing and some plot lines are just bad (from what I’ve seen).

If you ship Azutara, that’s amazing! You can clearly see something in their relationship that I can’t and that’s fine, we’re just viewing things from different perspectives.

A bit off topic but I love answering these asks and sharing my silly little opinions with silly little people on the internet.