[yours-eve]

Okay, Am I the only one thinking that the writers of Natla lean secretly towards Zutara?

Like...they make sure both Zuko and Katara share similar lines like:

Zuko was told by his father that he is weak and he is not strong. The same person who he fought against in his combat ( Agni Kai) and kneeled in front of him and was able to defeat him but he chose not to? Well, Katara was told by Pakku ( the same person that she also she fought against in a combat) and kneeled in front of him and was able to defeat him too but she did not, that she is weak and she is a woman. And women are not strong enough. So, they both are characterized by the people in their Nations as weak people.

Both Katara and Zuko are dealing with situations when others try to hold them back or stand in their way of completing their goals. Zuko screams at Katara in their first fight "No one is going to stand my way!" because he needs to capture the Avatar and she fights with him in order to stop him. And then you have Katara in the 7th episode who tells Sokka " My whole life I've held myself back, and I'm not going to let someone else do it to me now." after she decides to fight in a combat Pakku.

Then... We all know that when Aang sees the forest he feels sad ( even though that problem never was solved in the episode in contrast with the animation, but anyway) because there is not life anymore. So, Katara like in the animation, gives him hope by giving him a hazelnut and says that her grandmother says that " Life is a cycle. And out of death, comes new life." And then, coincidentally ( not ) we have Zuko in the previous episode, going to Iroh after his son died, and giving him a medal. And saying that Lu Ten told him that this medal " Should belong to someone destined to do great things." And that it gave him strength. So, we've got two parallels, the second one not being canon ( that means it was added for a reason there, maybe for a parallel to Katara's or to add a reason on Iroh's unquestioned support towards Zuko, which i love) that made me think, that they are connected, two parallels that make Zuko and Katara give something symbolic to the people they care about, after they are feeling sad because some one died ( in case of Aang is the forests and the meaning of life in general after his absence because of war and in case of Iroh, his son who died because of the war), quoting what other people told them to give them hope, in order for Katara and Zuko to give hope and strength now, to the ones who are sad.

They both have scenes that provoke older people of their Nations. Zuko says to the Firebender in the council that his plan was terrible while he walks away, and Katara yells at Paku " Is that all you've got?" to provoke him, while he also walks away. And also a scene of hers telling to the heal teacher that it is stupid and wrong to not let women fight.

Also, fire hurts them both. Zuko is burned by it literally and emotionally. Because now he has a wound and since he can never heal ( his heart) according to Iroh's words and narrative. Katara's mother in this version is burned alive in front of her, leaves behind a psychological trauma that can never heal and also hurts physically her mother because fire kills her. ( while im writing this im screaming bc i just figured this out, you just have to watch many fmvs on youtube to notice how many parallels they've got).

Zuko tells in the council " Are you going to sacrifice them?" about the soldiers ( his future crew) and his father replies: " Sacrifice is a part of war". And Katara tells Jet that " Innocent people are going to die Jet" when he sends a bomb to the King in Omashu ( i literally wrote that word wrong like 50 times in this post, sorry). And Jet replies: " That is the price of freedom."

The story of Oma and Su says that the two lovers were meeting on top of the mountain in their earth villages because the 2 villages were enemies and guess were Zuko and Katara met to have their first battle. On top of the mountain ( an added scene that did not exist in the original, so yeah). in Kyoshi island ( earth village that was divided in two, from another land, after Kyoshi killed that dude who feel from the cliff, in the animation and then became one island).

Oma and Shu ( yeah they are women and i loved it! Buuuuuut....) were wearing red and blue like fire and water. Also, the blue one was having her hair long, and the red one her hair caught up in a bun. So, now its going to sound a bit odd but Zuko in the animation had his hair like that in a bun in the end, and in general, men have them in buns in asian cultures. Hair means honor in general . Also, is it entirely an accident or a coincidence that Zuko wears also a scarf? ( And hides the wounded part of his face *cough*) Like....i dont know....like the two lovers? Both of them were wearing long scarfs. Is it a coincidence that ( yeah okay they were women again) buuuuut they were dressed in red and blue? The one who had the hair caught up in a bun, as i said above like men, the red ( Zuko's a firebender) and the other woman with the long blue scarf, similar to Katara's ( a waterbender) with the hair down?

And even if Zuko was wearing an earthbender's scarf in this version... well....it also reminds me of this version:

 Zuko's mum as we all know, disappeared when he was 13, by the time he got his scar and his whole world changed. In Natla, they changed the timeline where Katara's mum dies and they made her father leaving for war, 3 years before Katara meets Aang. And in case i am wrong and they change the whole thing with the time line in Zuko's case. Still, both Katara and Zuko in Natla lost their father. Zuko banished and rejected him and hurt him and Katara's went to war. So, yeah. A coincidence?

Do you remember that Jet in the animation, died the minute Zuko decided to become good and save Appa? Zutarians claim ( me too) that even though Kataang became canon, they were going for Zutara which you can tell by the narrative, we're not stupid, no matter the outcome it is clear that they were going for Zutara. So, Zutarians claim that Jet's death, the love interest of Katara, happened on purpose and was showed alongside Zuko's scene where he was freeing Appa, when the viewers were seeing how Zuko had changed, because it was symbolizing that Zuko was going to take Jet's place.

Now in Natla, just before the scarf scene, we have a scene of Katara and Jet ( or some scenes before i dont recall right now) sitting in front of the fire and having that amazing conversation that made fall in love with Jet too. ( Even though the actor having his hair caught up in the carriage and flirting with our girl was enough for me, but then I fell harder). So, Jet covers Katara with that scarf that she later wears as Zuko is touching it, as she passes next to him. I dont know about you, but for me that was similar to what i talked about above with Jet and Zuko parallels in the animation. Jet gave her something that later Zuko was trying to make " his". Like his "position" in the animation ( as the new member and a love interest to Katara) when Jet died, which eventually happened in s3 of the animated show.

I also like the fact that both Katara and Zuko in episode 4 have an adventure with a family member. Katara and Sokka try to save Aang and Zuko to save Iroh from the earthebnders.

So....in episode 4 Jet tells to Katara after she leaving him and tells him that she stopped him from killing innocent people:

" Innocent? Spies, traitors. Is that who you wanted to save? " he says and then he adds " Life may be simple in South Pole, but here you have to make hard decisions. That's what it means to fight a war."

Then Ozai tells Zuko in episode 6 in the council:

" Are you going to sacrifice them?" and Ozai replies, "Sacrifice is a part of war.

And then, after he defeated Zuko in the Agni Kai and goes to his room. " You must purge that weakness out of you. You must be willing to give up the weak to make yourself strong. That is why we sacrifice the 41th division. That is what you must do. "

Both Ozai and Jet in here explain Zuko and Katara that people must die in war and that they need to change their believes and in both situations Zuko and Katara, save the people that were going to die because of Ozai and Jet. Zuko saves the 41st division and they become his crew and Katara saves Bumi, the mechanist and his son ( and basically whoever was close to the bomb at that time).

Also, can I add that Jet told Katara that if she stands against their believes ( of freedom fighters) she is their enemy and then Ozai treated Zuko like he is the enemy just because he showed compassion?

Can i add that in those scenes, Jet told to Katara as i referred to above: " Life may be simple in South Pole, but here you have to make hard decisions. That's what it means to fight a war."

And then Ozai to Zuko : "Since, you seem unable to learn within the walls of this palace, perhaps the demands of the world outside will prove to be a better teacher."

Am i the only one who thinks both Ozai and Jet tell them that they need to learn how things work outside of where they grew up, they need to see how to decide to make sacrifices out in the world?

MY GOD WITH THE PARALLELS!!!!!!!!The more times i re-watch the show the more parallels i find. Like come on!!!!!

After Katara tries to leave Jet in episode 4 after the dialogue i mentioned above, he tries to grab her and she grabs him instead, makes him fall to the ground and then she freezes him with ice.

Jet yells " Look at the power you have, that is because of me." and Katara says : " That wasn't you, that was me."

And then in the finaly episode, we have Zuko and Katara fighting, Zuko yells: " You little peasant! You found a master, haven't you?" i dk, maybe because now she has more power than before...

And Katara freezes him just like Jet and says :

" Yeah, you're looking at her."

We have the same exact scene 2 times. If that is not a parallel, what is it ?

 i like the scene where they look each other though the glass mirror at their final battle in the North Pole . Like they are the same person, so i will leave that here because all these parallels, show how these 2 are so similar. And that could explain why the atmosphere was so weird in the interview of when Kiwaentiio ( Katara's actess) and Dallas ( Zuko's actor) were asked if Zuko likes Katara in Avatar.

Start the video on 7:08 where Katara's and Zuko's actors are asked for Zutara. Their body language says it all!!! Nobody replied to that at first. Dallas got awkward suddenly after Kiawentiio ( the goddess ) threw the card of the question away ( which all of them were doing after every question ) and he put his arms in front of his chest like he was defensive, tried to clap his hands and missed and then they asked them if that was a no, they both looked at the camera at the same time and tried to reply at the same time and Kiawentiio looked at Dallas and he immediately replied fast.

"It's not a no, but its not a yes" and then he raised his shoulders and Kiawentiio did the same move, the same exact move. Well, if its a no then its a no. You dont know? Its not a no, but its not a yes?  But Kataang supposed to be canon. Also, Ian ( Sokka's actor ) did not reply but he did a thumbs up after Kiwaentiio read the question out loud so....for me his body language too showed something more than their answer.

I would say that they might feel awkward from the ship wars and obviously asked not to say anything about Zutara and Kataang but...did you notice that in the whole interview they were asked questions and they replied for the Animation and the comics? Like...about Zuko's mum. They gave answers that most fans know about the canonical story, but with this question " Does Zuko likes Katara in Avatar?" they replied about the Live Action show. Because come on! We all know that Zuko likes Katara in the animated show. The dude almost gave his life for her in the last episodes. But this is the only question they did not reply but at the same time replied about the Live Action. " It's not a yes. But it's not a no."

So, who knows? That is the answer. Did something changed in the live action and Zuko might like Katara? Did he hated her for the whole show in Natla's version? Could we maybe found out the reason Bryke left? Hm....

So, even if they do not go, Zutara still rocks even in this version and it means and shows it was meant to be. I do not want to hear again a " It was an accident, nothing was implied" or im going to lose my mind.

[lilyinthevale]

yk, with all this news about projects getting leaked and cancelled and hidden truths coming out about how terrible brykes leadership is under avatar studios, it’s no surprise they are receiving karma after bullying kids and teenagers who shipped Zutara years ago.

“Whoever ships Zutara will forever have doomed relationships”

well they just digged their own grave because the universe UNO reversed card them forever being doomed to fail with anything after the og show🖕🏾

[frogdisco2021]

Every flaw in the writing of Aa.ng's character can be explained by the fact that he is a self-insert and wish fulfillment fantasy for Bryke.

To be clear, I want to differentiate between a Character Flaw™️ and a flaw in the writing of a character. When I say flaws in Aa.ng's character, I don't mean things like his avoidance of his problems, his immaturity, or later on in the series his inability to regulate his darker emotions. These are Character Flaws™️, and every character needs them in order to be relatable, in order to feel real and not be boring. Aang having flaws is not a bad thing, it's just part of being A Character.

The flaws in the way his character is written, on the other hand, are the choices made behind the scenes by the creators that made him less likeable as the series went on. The Character Flaws he has are not things that condemn him to being labeled as a Bad Person who is worthy of hatred and derision, but it is the fact that his character flaws go almost entirely unaddressed by the end of the series that end up leaving a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth about him by the end.

Do a close watch and take note of every time Aang does something wrong, every time he makes a mistake or harms one of his friends unintentionally, and then take note of whether or not his friends stay mad at him when they reasonably would and whether he ever apologizes to them before they inexplicably forgive him or seem to just forget what he said or did. There are definitely examples where he DOES apologize when it's needed, especially earlier in the series, but the times when he does not apologize vastly outweigh the times that he does, especially later on.

All of this can be chalked up to the fact that the things Aan.g would need to do to positively develop as a character are things that are not fun and therefore get in the way of the fantasy. Having your friends stay mad at you is not fun. Having to reflect on your actions and recognize your faults and be humbled and apologize for the ways you wronged your friends is not fun. Having to accept that the girl you've been pining over might not like you back and having to accept the possibility that you won't end up with her is not fun. Having her stay mad at you for yelling at her, for violating her, or for continuing to run away from your problems, is not fun. Having to apologize for all these things and admit your faults and grow from them is not fun.

What is fun is not having to ever be held accountable for anything, not having to give anything up in order to win, and getting the girl in the end anyway despite never making anything up to her.

I don't hate A.ang, but I'm censoring his name in this post because his stans tend to have fucking rabies and will foam at the mouth if you say anything critical of him or the way he's written or point out the ways he treats Katara poorly or imply that it's not a foregone conclusion that he NEEDS to end up with her.

He could have been a stronger character, a better written character, if they had actually let his flaws be flaws, but they don't. It's not that they don't give him flaws, it's that they don't LET the flaws be treated as flaws by the story. He doesn't have to grow from them.

Often when criticizing Aa.ng's character, instead of refuting our points, his stans will just endlessly deflect to Zuko's actions and try to claim that we hold Aa.ng to a way higher standard than Zuko because people who criticize Aa.ng tend to like Zuko more, which may seem hypocritical from the viewpoint of an A.ang stan, because Zuko does way worse things than Aa.ng. Zuko stans who criticize Aa.ng do not think that A.ang yelling at his friends and acting like a dick and then not apologizing for it is somehow worse than the villainous stuff Zuko did, like (however unintentionally) setting fire to Kyoshi Island and showing no care for the consequences of such a thing. I'll die on the hill that canonically it was reckless negligence and not intentional arson, but that doesn't change that he didn't care once the fires started and consequentially the action has the same end result.

Zuko ends up being a more likeable character to us in spite of all of his crimes because he demonstrates visible remorse and growth in a way that A.ang does not. It's not that Aan.g does anything worse than Zuko or that Zuko's crimes are somehow more forgivable, it's that he takes steps to actually earn forgiveness in a way that A.ang is not made to by the narrative before being rewarded. Regardless of how much more mild Aa.ng's "crimes" are, comparing him to a character who has done worse things is not a replacement for actual growth.

A.ang's character declines in his likeability because his wrongs are not meaningfully addressed, he's just allowed over and over again by the story to get away with them and not have to atone or change for his friends to forgive him and pretend like nothing happened.

Zuko has to over and over again be humiliated and punished by the narrative, until eventually he is for the first time in the story rewarded for doing something heinous with everything that he thinks he wants and has to decide on his own, with no tangible reward waiting for him on the other side, that he's made a horrible mistake and must make things right no matter how ego-bruising it will be. Admitting you were wrong hurts, and the more wrong you were, the harder it is. And Zuko did A LOT wrong, so him having to admit that both to himself and to the people he's hurt and to try to make it up to them is a Herculean task for most people. The fact that he takes on that task anyway, and that the audience already understands that he is a character with deeply rooted self-worth issues, is impressive and admirable. It would have been way easier for him to do nothing, to keep living his empty vapid frivolous life of luxury and never have to face the people he's harmed, but he doesn't.

Comparatively, the fact that A.ang wrongdoings are much milder than Zuko's does not translate into him being the more likeable character, but the opposite. Because comparatively, it should be way easier for Aa.ng to admit his faults and apologize than it is for Zuko to do the same. He never burned down anyone's village, he never attacked anyone while their back was turned, he never threatened a bunch of terrified women and children with fire. It should be the easiest thing in the world to give him a moment of growth where he says something along the lines of "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you back there, I'm going through a lot but that doesn't mean it's okay for me to take it out on you." That is way easier to do than trying to prove yourself to people who you hunted and attacked across the world. Zuko's trauma and the fact he's had a rough life is never used as a replacement for his atonement. He still has to prove himself to them regardless of how he ended up the way he is.

A.ang's lack of character development can be directly attributed to his status as a self-insert for Bryke. Going through the growing pains associated with becoming a better person and developing as a character is not fun, so Aa.ng does not do it, because that interferes with the little-boy power fantasy they're trying to create.

And the most frustrating thing is that it didn't have to be this way, Aa.ng could have been a way better written much more likeable, relatable character if they had let his flaws be flaws and made him work through them, if they had shown us his growth. But they don't.

[yours-eve]

As a Zutara shipper, will I be bad if I say that I'm a little satisfied that Bryke have problems with the Avatar Studios? I mean, it's a little like " karma is a bitch" situation, plus the fact that these 2 men for 20 years claim to be the ones who made Atla what it is, when they ARE NOT!

The other writers were the ones who made Atla successful. That wrote the greatest episodes, Zuko's redemption etc, not Toph being a guy and Iroh a spy. That's what Bryke wanted to write.

But they cannot for once claim their wrongdoings.

They never took credit for the movie of 2010.

They never took credit of how bad Lok was written.

And then they lied to us fans about the live action and claimed that Netflix producers were the ones who didn't want to follow their " dream" a dream that HAD NOTHING to do with the original cartoon, and they didn't even bother to tell us that they would make Iroh be the bad guy for example. The most favorite character of all! And the bullying all these years that we've been through, by them and the fans of their favorite ship.

I'm so happy karma got them. And I heard that yesterday the Seven Heavens (which is a stollen idea from ao3 by the way, many have written fan fictions about two twins Avatars in the past) is leaked as well.

Well, Karma is a bitch Bryke.

[donewithlifeitself]

Okay second atla post of the day but like……..how the fuck people think that story is THE BEST WRITTEN SHOW EVER when the romance is like that….guys do you understand that writting romance IS STILL WRITTING???IF THEY FUMBLED THEYRE MAIN COUPLE TO THE POINT OF CREATING IN STORY THEMES CONTRADICTIONS(remember aang needing to let go of katara only for that arc to to nowhere and the fact that mai represents all the zuko thought he wanted but didnt actually want and yet STILL ENDS WITH HIM EVEN THOUGHT SHE DOESNT HAVE IN ANY CAPACITY QUESTIONED THE WAY THINGS WORKED)then the writting of youre show is not that fucking good sorry to say

[rifari2037]

What’s . , your Opinion On Katara. And Aang relationship, with each other.?

Short answer :

In my opinion, Katara and Aang's relationship would more beautiful and healthy as very good friends, because they support each other way better in friendship-relationship.

Long answer :

Kat/ang as couple wasn't build up with a good storyline even from the start. Their relationship felt and looked like siblings, Katara even acted motherly to him - many proof for that and the writers said so.

So, there's no reason for me to see them as lovers in the future but just supportive good friends with a crush. But a crush - even in real life - isn't a deep feeling and it's very easy to fade away. A strong feeling needs bond, chemistry, sometimes needs twist and turns to understand each other better and strengthen the foundation of their relationship.

Katara and Aang didn't have much chemistry, just physical contact (kisses on the cheek and hugs) and blushing. But for me, chemistry is not just about physical contact, chemistry and bond is about relationship development - it's Maiko problem as well.

Actually, the writers had so many opportunities to make Katara and Aang's relationship well-written - especially since the writers worship this ship - but instead they built up the conflicts between Aang and Katara in the last few episodes.

Well, at least, Aang and Katara's conflicts was resolved in season 1, but I can say that they were forced to end up together, even though their conflict wasn't resolved in season 3.

Conflict 1 : Aang kissed Katara without consent, then Katara acted like nothing happened in the next episode.

Conflict 2 : Aang yelled at Katara, even though she wasn't mocking him like the others, and she just wanted to help him, then they separated and there wasn't even a single conversation at all until they kissed in the end of the story.

Yes, the kiss was canon, but only because the writers forced it, not because Aang and Katara - both of them - deserved it.

The writers tried hard to keep Kat/ang as the winners in post ATLA. But, the more the writers fix Kat/ang the more the writers failed to make them better in their relationship, in fact the writers even ruined some of the characters - especially my lovely Katara, whose role was increasingly decreasing.

That would happen if two characters are forced to become lovers without being built with a good storyline and the writers don't care about female characters.

I don't read the comic and I don't want to read it. But I read quite a lot of criticism about it, especially how Katara's role was nothing more than just the Avatar's girlfriend.

Also, writing them calling each other 'sweetie' all the time is so cringe. I mean, look at Suki and Sokka, most people said they were the best canon pairing, I said the same. They never called each other 'sweetie', they called each other by name and they were still romantic.

Do you know what I felt when I saw this?

Katara sat alone in the corner, looked sad watching her boyfriend having fun with his fans. I could almost feel what Katara was feeling. Katara was angry, of course, but Aang couldn't understand her feelings. In the end, Katara was the one who understood Aang and let it go. Why is it always Katara who understands Aang? She deserved an apology!

Once again, the writers tried hard to keep Kat/ang as the winners in TLOK by writing them as a married couple with three children. Avatar's girlfriend changed to avatar's wife, but the writers still failed to convince people that Kat/ang was a healthy and happy couple.

Instead, Aang was written as a bad father who only favours his air bending child, while Katara had no role, no statue to honour her, and even her grandchildren didn't recognise her.

Actually, even though I am Zutara shipper, but sometimes I'm glad that they weren't canon. I mean, the writers worship Kat/ang but they failed to convince a lot of fans how good this pair - except the shipper only.

I can't imagine Zutara was canon while the writers hated it, the would ruin Zutara badly!

And since the writers are on board in The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie next year, I'm guessing they'll try to win Kat/ang over (again) and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails (again).

That's why I'm not waiting for the movie.

Katara and Aang don't need to be lovers to be great characters, they can have a sweet relationship as friends and family. All the crush scenes between them could be removed and it wouldn't change the storyline one bit - maybe just annoy the shippers.

NATLA proved that. Aang and Katara had a family-relationship and it was very very sweet. NATLA removed all the scenes of Aang having a crush on Katara, even the Cave of the Two Lovers scene was replaced with Sokka and Katara. Did the main storyline changed? Not at all.

I once read an opinion from a Zutara shipper. The point is, when Aang and Katara are together, Katara has to stay away from Zuko (because their chemistry is stronger). It happened in TLOK, when Katara didn't show up to her granddaughter's coronation because Zuko was there.

Meanwhile, if Zuko and Katara are together, while Aang mature enough to accept his destiny, they will be forever great friends. He also will be a very very very sweet uncle and steam babies' favourite person. It happened in Zutara fanfics and fanart.

I agree 1000000%!!

[rifari2037]

Some things never change ~ I guess...

Kat/ang before canon :

Aang really enjoys being the center of attention, right after after Katara reminds him to stay down to earth. Still enjoying the attention of the girls because he can't get Katara's attention, even though he knows Katara doesn't like it.

Refuse to help Katara because show off for a bunch of girls was more fun rather than helped Katara carrying basket of their own supplies. Like, what????

Aang : [Happily.] Katara! You showed up! Katara : [Somewhat concerned.] I wanted to make sure you were safe. You really had me worried. Aang : Back there you acted like you didn't care. Katara : [In a regretful voice.] I'm sorry. Aang : [Lowering his eyes.] Me too. I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk.

And after Aang upset Katara, she was the one who come to him and apologise first. Aang ~ he only said "me too," when he should've said "I should be the one saying sorry to you."

Well, at least he admits he's being a jerk.

Kat/ang after canon :

Aang forget to add "my girlfriend" when introducing Katara and let his fans think little of her.

Another Aang really enjoys being the center of attention, having fun with the girls while Katara sitting alone in the corner with a sad face ~ like, no one cares about her.

Katara never likes Aang enjoying the attention of girls, but Aang still do that without understand her feeling. She's mad, of course, but then, she's again the one who understand Aang.

"Don't thank me, Aang. I don't deserve it," she said.

No, she deserves something like, "I'm sorry, Katara, I may have been ignoring you, but that silly fan club has made me feel at home again, so thank you for agreeing to stay there for the night..."

C'mon, my girl isn't there just to understand Aang all the time. She deserves an apology, she deserves a thank you, she deserves better.

[rifari2037]

The way anti-Zutara are indirectly hate Katara:

Zuko and Katara dynamic is bully x victim, and female character is always the victim.

Are you referring to Katara or the actress Katara in the Ember Island show?

Katara is absolutely not to be underestimated. She managed to overthrew the patriarchy of the Northern Water Tribe, defeated the inventor of bloodbending, and you think Katara would just be a victim of Zuko's bullying? It doesn't make any sense!

How many times Katara kicked Zuko's ass?

They started as enemies and fought as equals, then became friends and worked together as equals.

Zuko would've taken the lightning for everyone, even Momo. Katara IS NOT special in that state.

Katara IS INDEED special for Zuko. I'm telling you again and again and again, SHE IS SPECIAL FOR ZUKO.

Zuko had to earn Katara's forgiveness. And that alone already makes Katara special to him.

He approached Katara and said, "What can I do to make it up to you?"

He went to Sokka's tent to say, "I don't know why, but I DO CARE what she thinks of me."

He waited all night for her

That's something he never even did for Mai, his own girlfriend. And you said Katara isn't special?

Zuko would've taken the lightning for everyone. Katara IS NOT special in that state???

Katara was the ONLY ONE in that state where Zuko jumped in front of lightning. And that is because she's SPECIAL.

After she forgave him, Zuko trusted Katara more than anyone.

Zuko had the choice to ask for help from Toph or Sokka (who anti-Zutara claim have better chemistry than Katara), or Suki, or even Iroh.

But without a second thought, Katara was the FIRST and ONLY person he asked to help him face Azula. Why?

Katara rejected Aang, poor Aang. And he kissed her without concent was wrong, but he was only 12 year old.

A 12 year old boy can make mistakes, but also can say "I'm sorry. I was wrong."

If he really really loves her, is not very hard words to say.

Besides, don't you ever wonder how Katara's feelings suddenly shifted from confused to choosing Aang, especially after he kissed her without consent or after he snapped at her out of frustration over Ozai right before he disappeared?

Or do you guys just not care, as long as the hero gets the girl?

Katara is destined to be with Aang. She is the only hope for bringing back the Airbenders.

Do you think it was romantic?

To say that Katara is the only hope for bringing back the Air Nation means forcing a heavy burden onto her for something that isn't even her responsibility.

Have you ever imagined what if Tenzin was never born?

Either Aang would just keep trying for a baby until an Airbender finally popped out

Or he’d end up disappointed with Katara because even being with her couldn't make his dream come true

I mean, do you remember every time Katara tried to help (like in the desert and when Aang was trying to find a way to defeat Ozai), Aang got mad at her like she could never understand him?

Is there any a single reason he wouldn't do that again?

Not to mention, Korra accidentally brings back the Air Nation. The solution was a cosmic event all along! That reduces Katara narrative as 'the only hope'. In the end, she's not the only hope.

But Katara gave birth to Tenzin, who would eventually teach them airbending.

Why wasn't Aang the one to bring his people back? He could've triggered a cosmic event or found a hidden civilization, anything that didn't put the burden on Katara in the first place.

Worst: Those fanarts where Aang looks depressed and completely clueless about how to restore the Air Nation, and everyone is pointing at Katara like"Hello, this is your solution!" Looks like she's a baby machine to me.

I didn't just see one fan art, and I really hate the concept. I feel like Katara is nothing but a tool, rather than someone who is loved for who she is, not what she can provide.

Katara help people, because she wants to, not for glory. When Katara more mature and older, she would be more humble.

She's helps people and being humble doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a statue. All Gaang have theirs, are they being arrogant? No! The statue is the symbol of their legendary roles in saving the world. That's why, as humble as she is, she deserves better.

[darkcrowprincess]

Natla season 2 is feeding my Zutara and Taang shipper heart, with more Sukka moments as well!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh so happy.

[jana-137]

It Didn’t Really Matter Whether A.ang Was Right Or Not

TW: There’s a brief mention of weight loss in this post, so just a heads up for anyone who might need it.

Whenever it comes to shipping discourse in regards to The Southern Raiders, the main topic of a lot of the discussions is whether or not A.ang’s philosophy was right or Zuko’s. But frankly, I actually don’t think it really matters all that much in the grander scheme of what Katara needed from the people around her in that episode.

Let me use an analogy; Imagine a woman with a husband. She recently just gained a considerable amount of weight, maybe she just had a kid or just general weight fluctuation as you age. She’s feeling quite insecure about her body, some of her clothes don’t really fit anymore so she’s just wearing more baggy clothes instead.

She’s not going out as much and generally just feels sad all the time. But her husband……doesn’t notice. She’s been upset for weeks at this point and he hasn’t taken note of anything. Then one day, while she’s researching ways to lose some weight, her husband notices what she’s searching and then says something like:

“oh you’re trying to lose weight? Here’s what you should do, just cut back on all that candy you eat and you’ll be good to go”.

And fine, let’s say he was actually right, let’s say cutting back on candy would help her lose the weight that she wanted……but does this woman love or appreciate her husband more because of it? Does she feel like she was loved and supported as she was having a hard time with her body? Does she feel closer to him at all?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding no, she doesn’t. You see, this is my biggest issue with A.ang’s approach to Katara’s situation in TSR. I personally believe in forgiveness and I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve said they believe in forgiveness as well, but for some reason, A.ang’s behavior in this episode just annoyed them, and I understand why.

Katara’s grief over losing her mother was unprocessed all throughout the show. A.ang travels with Katara and Sokka everyday for almost an entire year. All throughout this time, he never once thinks to ask about her mother, what happened, how’s she’s dealing with it and if there’s anything he can do to help.

In The Southern Raiders, Katara is very visibly upset during the campfire. She’s uncharacteristically quiet, she sent a mean remark Zuko’s way and then walked away to go isolate herself from her friends. A.ang saw all of this and made no attempt to go after her and find out what’s wrong.

But this wasn’t what did it for me, it’s what happened the next day. Everyone talks about A.ang accusing Katara of acting like Jet or comparing his temporary loss of Appa to the permanent loss of her mother, but the first thing that got me annoyed was this being the first line that comes out of his mouth:

Katara: I need to borrow Appa. Aang: [Jokingly.] Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?

Seems like nothing, right?…..wrong. Even though I was slowly beginning to dislike A.ang in Book 3, at this point, I still believed that he was generally a nice kid. When Katara walked up to him and asked for Appa, it seemed like it was the first time he was seeing her that day, since we saw her just waking up a few moments before. I expected him to say something along the lines of:

“Oh hey, Katara! Uh…..you seemed upset last night, are you okay?”

But instead he just makes a joke, as though he didn’t register that she was upset yesterday, as though he just forgot or didn’t care. Maybe I’m too sensitive, but this elicited a deep frown from me. He then proceeds to say this after Katara says they’re going to find her mother’s murderer:

A.ang: Um….and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

And the frown got deeper, why in the world did he listen to Katara say she’s going after her mother’s murderer and his first approach is to give her condescending attitude? Do you know what kind of context this kind of questioning is used? This kind:

Imagine a kid got a bad grade on their test and gets so angry about it that they decide to go vandalize their teacher’s car. The kid’s mom catches them, the kid reveals what they plan on doing and the mom goes, “And what do you think this will accomplish? (places hands on hips)”

He asked that question as though she was being irrational and stupid, he proceeds to immediately assume the worst of her and spends the entire conversation moralizing her situation, judging her and then telling her what she should do and then denied her a chance at processing her grief until she had to go behind his back and attempt to steal Appa.

It was morning when Katara first came to ask, he refused and just let her continue to stew in anger all day until night time. I’m sorry, but does this mean that even after hearing her very clearly express that she hadn’t even processed her grief over losing her mother, he was still just fine with her sitting on her anger ALL DAY?? So, if Katara hadn’t tried to steal Appa later that night, he wouldn’t have cared that she just went back to suppressing her anger.

What makes him think he has any say in her situation at all? What makes him think he gets to act like some moral authority after he failed to even notice what she was going through all this time? The audacity to not notice what Katara was going through, but then try to tell her what to do?

Because of this, I frowned at every line that came out of A.ang’s mouth. The fact that Katara’s grief was unprocessed and it flew right over his head should have caused him to have some humility and guilt and speak to her with such.

You can’t just not notice what your loved one is going through and when they try to fix their situation, you insert yourself into the conflict and act like you have any say after what you did.

Despite the fact that Zuko actually does the emotional work with Katara in this episode, he still didn’t believe he had any say in what she should or shouldn’t do. And chances are, had he offered his opinion somewhere later into the episode, Katara would’ve likely been far more receptive towards him.

I expected A.ang to speak with some degree of guilt, humility and carefulness since his friend and supposed “forever girl” was clearly dealing with a lot and he didn’t notice.

Because unlike A.ang, regardless of what you think of Zuko’s intentions, he did make Katara feel like she was cared for and like she wasn’t irrational or not thinking straight for wanting to confront her mother’s murderer.

Your heart will undoubtedly be softer and more receptive towards someone who made you feel cared for and loved, then someone who didn’t even notice what you were going through, felt no guilt about not noticing and then proceeded to judge you and tell you what to do.

He could be the “rightest” person in the world and quote the entire air nomad code of ethics for all anyone cares, but no one likes a clueless sanctimonious jerk.

Even at the end, he runs up to her, yelling her name while she’s very clearly in a somber mood. And then says this:

A.ang: Zuko told me what you did. Or what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you. A.ang: You did the right thing.

The distinct lack of humility and/or guilt over what he did wrong is so annoying. He still continues to speak as though his approval or opinion is in anyway important in her situation.

No, just no. You don’t get to not notice what she was going through, completely ignore how visibly upset she was the day before and then act like your opinion or approval of her situation has any weight. You can’t just do that.

Have all the wisdom in the world, have all the knowledge in the world, if there’s no love in the way you treat people even when you disagree with them, then it all amounts to nothing.

And no, the problem isn’t that A.ang disagreed with Katara morally. Friends, couples and family members disagree, especially on moral issues, all the time, it’s the way he handled the entire thing. There are ways he could’ve disagreed with her and that would’ve shown far more humility and care in her situation.

He could’ve started by asking if she was okay after what happened the night before, he could’ve just asked her what she was going to do and let her explain herself instead of telling her what he thinks are her intentions and assuming the worst of her.

If he asked and she gave any indication that she was actually going to kill him, he could’ve then said something like this:

“Uh Katara? I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. What happened to your mother wasn’t fair and whoever did it doesn’t deserve to get away with it. And don’t get me wrong, you’re allowed to do whatever you want……..but…I really don’t think you’re going to get the peace you’re looking for this way.”

Then she would’ve likely responded like this:

“Thanks for your concern, A.ang [maybe a smile]. But this is something I need to do, I’ll be fine.”

Simple! Sim👏ple👏! No conflict, no offensive comparisons, no making things about him, no judging, no excessive moralizing, no pushing her to do what he wants, but instead, far more caring, empathetic and considerate while still sticking to his beliefs. Less moral authority, more concerned friend.

A.ang is the reason for the conflict between him, Katara and Zuko. This didn’t need to play out the way it did between the three of them, but it did anyway and it’s primarily because of him.

I like how at the end, she doesn’t show him any appreciation, thank him for anything or give him any credit for her decision. She doesn’t even crack him a smile, and yeah, that’s because he doesn’t deserve it.

By the end of this episode, Katara felt closer to Zuko than she felt towards everyone else. And understandably so, he did everything right with her in this episode. And fun fact, Zuko was the only character Katara smiled at in this episode.

And the funny thing is, A.ang was never this judgmental in the first two seasons, Katara’s most emotionally heavy episode is when they decide to make him the most judgmental he’s ever been. What exactly were they thinking??

I’ve always jokingly said that A.ang’s behavior in this episode was either written by a woman with the intention of actually portraying him as inconsiderate, judgmental and self-righteous or by a highly tone-deaf and clueless man who genuinely thought that the way A.ang was being portrayed would be appealing to Katara or the audience🤡

I have my criticisms of A.ang’s morality, I don’t agree with coerced and premature forgiveness in traumatic situations and I disagree with his absolute pacifism and his view on revenge and justice, but before he even revealed his moral positioning, I was already displeased with him.

He didn’t treat Katara well in this episode to me, and maybe I’m just too sensitive, but I’m pretty sure anyone would be upset if they’re friend acted like this. I hope he enjoyed Sokka calling him wise and Zuko (inaccurately imo, but that’s a take for another post) telling him that he was right, because he really wasn’t a good friend here.

And I already know what the defence is going to be, “He’s twelve!”. Katara started mothering her older brother around eight years old, is it too much to ask a twelve year old to act like a decent friend? And if he’s too immature to know how to properly handle an emotional situation such as this with Katara, then he’s too immature to be in a romantic relationship with her.

His approach to Katara’s situation was really bad, then the next episode (EIP) had him agreeing that Katara was his possession (when actor!Zuko called her the Avatar’s girl), throwing a nice guy tantrum at the thought Katara only seeing him as a friend, saying the dumb play would’ve made him go into the Avatar’s state, him ignoring once again how visibly uncomfortable she was having this conversation and then proceeding to force a kiss on her.

Then in the episode after EIP, the first part of the finale, his last spoken interaction with her was him yelling at her for something that was not her fault. If Ka/taang was written with a consideration for Katara’s perspective at all, even if Katara started to have some feelings for A.ang, they would know that having A.ang display all these behaviors BACK-TO-BACK in the last half of the show, with no apologies and no attempts to make up for what he did would’ve drained every last drop of interest out of her.

They spent the last half of their show doing everything in their power to make Ka/taang as unappealing as possible and then acted surprised as to why so many people rejected it.

[jana-137]

It Didn’t Really Matter Whether A.ang Was Right Or Not

TW: There’s a brief mention of weight loss in this post, so just a heads up for anyone who might need it.

Whenever it comes to shipping discourse in regards to The Southern Raiders, the main topic of a lot of the discussions is whether or not A.ang’s philosophy was right or Zuko’s. But frankly, I actually don’t think it really matters all that much in the grander scheme of what Katara needed from the people around her in that episode.

Let me use an analogy; Imagine a woman with a husband. She recently just gained a considerable amount of weight, maybe she just had a kid or just general weight fluctuation as you age. She’s feeling quite insecure about her body, some of her clothes don’t really fit anymore so she’s just wearing more baggy clothes instead.

She’s not going out as much and generally just feels sad all the time. But her husband……doesn’t notice. She’s been upset for weeks at this point and he hasn’t taken note of anything. Then one day, while she’s researching ways to lose some weight, her husband notices what she’s searching and then says something like:

“oh you’re trying to lose weight? Here’s what you should do, just cut back on all that candy you eat and you’ll be good to go”.

And fine, let’s say he was actually right, let’s say cutting back on candy would help her lose the weight that she wanted……but does this woman love or appreciate her husband more because of it? Does she feel like she was loved and supported as she was having a hard time with her body? Does she feel closer to him at all?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding no, she doesn’t. You see, this is my biggest issue with A.ang’s approach to Katara’s situation in TSR. I personally believe in forgiveness and I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve said they believe in forgiveness as well, but for some reason, A.ang’s behavior in this episode just annoyed them, and I understand why.

Katara’s grief over losing her mother was unprocessed all throughout the show. A.ang travels with Katara and Sokka everyday for almost an entire year. All throughout this time, he never once thinks to ask about her mother, what happened, how’s she’s dealing with it and if there’s anything he can do to help.

In The Southern Raiders, Katara is very visibly upset during the campfire. She’s uncharacteristically quiet, she sent a mean remark Zuko’s way and then walked away to go isolate herself from her friends. A.ang saw all of this and made no attempt to go after her and find out what’s wrong.

But this wasn’t what did it for me, it’s what happened the next day. Everyone talks about A.ang accusing Katara of acting like Jet or comparing his temporary loss of Appa to the permanent loss of her mother, but the first thing that got me annoyed was this being the first line that comes out of his mouth:

Katara: I need to borrow Appa. Aang: [Jokingly.] Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?

Seems like nothing, right?…..wrong. Even though I was slowly beginning to dislike A.ang in Book 3, at this point, I still believed that he was generally a nice kid. When Katara walked up to him and asked for Appa, it seemed like it was the first time he was seeing her that day, since we saw her just waking up a few moments before. I expected him to say something along the lines of:

“Oh hey, Katara! Uh…..you seemed upset last night, are you okay?”

But instead he just makes a joke, as though he didn’t register that she was upset yesterday, as though he just forgot or didn’t care. Maybe I’m too sensitive, but this elicited a deep frown from me. He then proceeds to say this after Katara says they’re going to find her mother’s murderer:

A.ang: Um….and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

And the frown got deeper, why in the world did he listen to Katara say she’s going after her mother’s murderer and his first approach is to give her condescending attitude? Do you know what kind of context this kind of questioning is used? This kind:

Imagine a kid got a bad grade on their test and gets so angry about it that they decide to go vandalize their teacher’s car. The kid’s mom catches them, the kid reveals what they plan on doing and the mom goes, “And what do you think this will accomplish? (places hands on hips)”

He asked that question as though she was being irrational and stupid, he proceeds to immediately assume the worst of her and spends the entire conversation moralizing her situation, judging her and then telling her what she should do and then denied her a chance at processing her grief until she had to go behind his back and attempt to steal Appa.

It was morning when Katara first came to ask, he refused and just let her continue to stew in anger all day until night time. I’m sorry, but does this mean that even after hearing her very clearly express that she hadn’t even processed her grief over losing her mother, he was still just fine with her sitting on her anger ALL DAY?? So, if Katara hadn’t tried to steal Appa later that night, he wouldn’t have cared that she just went back to suppressing her anger.

What makes him think he has any say in her situation at all? What makes him think he gets to act like some moral authority after he failed to even notice what she was going through all this time? The audacity to not notice what Katara was going through, but then try to tell her what to do?

Because of this, I frowned at every line that came out of A.ang’s mouth. The fact that Katara’s grief was unprocessed and it flew right over his head should have caused him to have some humility and guilt and speak to her with such.

You can’t just not notice what your loved one is going through and when they try to fix their situation, you insert yourself into the conflict and act like you have any say after what you did.

Despite the fact that Zuko actually does the emotional work with Katara in this episode, he still didn’t believe he had any say in what she should or shouldn’t do. And chances are, had he offered his opinion somewhere later into the episode, Katara would’ve likely been far more receptive towards him.

I expected A.ang to speak with some degree of guilt, humility and carefulness since his friend and supposed “forever girl” was clearly dealing with a lot and he didn’t notice.

Because unlike A.ang, regardless of what you think of Zuko’s intentions, he did make Katara feel like she was cared for and like she wasn’t irrational or not thinking straight for wanting to confront her mother’s murderer.

Your heart will undoubtedly be softer and more receptive towards someone who made you feel cared for and loved, then someone who didn’t even notice what you were going through, felt no guilt about not noticing and then proceeded to judge you and tell you what to do.

He could be the “rightest” person in the world and quote the entire air nomad code of ethics for all anyone cares, but no one likes a clueless sanctimonious jerk.

Even at the end, he runs up to her, yelling her name while she’s very clearly in a somber mood. And then says this:

A.ang: Zuko told me what you did. Or what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you. A.ang: You did the right thing.

The distinct lack of humility and/or guilt over what he did wrong is so annoying. He still continues to speak as though his approval or opinion is in anyway important in her situation.

No, just no. You don’t get to not notice what she was going through, completely ignore how visibly upset she was the day before and then act like your opinion or approval of her situation has any weight. You can’t just do that.

Have all the wisdom in the world, have all the knowledge in the world, if there’s no love in the way you treat people even when you disagree with them, then it all amounts to nothing.

And no, the problem isn’t that A.ang disagreed with Katara morally. Friends, couples and family members disagree, especially on moral issues, all the time, it’s the way he handled the entire thing. There are ways he could’ve disagreed with her and that would’ve shown far more humility and care in her situation.

He could’ve started by asking if she was okay after what happened the night before, he could’ve just asked her what she was going to do and let her explain herself instead of telling her what he thinks are her intentions and assuming the worst of her.

If he asked and she gave any indication that she was actually going to kill him, he could’ve then said something like this:

“Uh Katara? I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. What happened to your mother wasn’t fair and whoever did it doesn’t deserve to get away with it. And don’t get me wrong, you’re allowed to do whatever you want……..but…I really don’t think you’re going to get the peace you’re looking for this way.”

Then she would’ve likely responded like this:

“Thanks for your concern, A.ang [maybe a smile]. But this is something I need to do, I’ll be fine.”

Simple! Sim👏ple👏! No conflict, no offensive comparisons, no making things about him, no judging, no excessive moralizing, no pushing her to do what he wants, but instead, far more caring, empathetic and considerate while still sticking to his beliefs. Less moral authority, more concerned friend.

A.ang is the reason for the conflict between him, Katara and Zuko. This didn’t need to play out the way it did between the three of them, but it did anyway and it’s primarily because of him.

I like how at the end, she doesn’t show him any appreciation, thank him for anything or give him any credit for her decision. She doesn’t even crack him a smile, and yeah, that’s because he doesn’t deserve it.

By the end of this episode, Katara felt closer to Zuko than she felt towards everyone else. And understandably so, he did everything right with her in this episode. And fun fact, Zuko was the only character Katara smiled at in this episode.

And the funny thing is, A.ang was never this judgmental in the first two seasons, Katara’s most emotionally heavy episode is when they decide to make him the most judgmental he’s ever been. What exactly were they thinking??

I’ve always jokingly said that A.ang’s behavior in this episode was either written by a woman with the intention of actually portraying him as inconsiderate, judgmental and self-righteous or by a highly tone-deaf and clueless man who genuinely thought that the way A.ang was being portrayed would be appealing to Katara or the audience🤡

I have my criticisms of A.ang’s morality, I don’t agree with coerced and premature forgiveness in traumatic situations and I disagree with his absolute pacifism and his view on revenge and justice, but before he even revealed his moral positioning, I was already displeased with him.

He didn’t treat Katara well in this episode to me, and maybe I’m just too sensitive, but I’m pretty sure anyone would be upset if they’re friend acted like this. I hope he enjoyed Sokka calling him wise and Zuko (inaccurately imo, but that’s a take for another post) telling him that he was right, because he really wasn’t a good friend here.

And I already know what the defence is going to be, “He’s twelve!”. Katara started mothering her older brother around eight years old, is it too much to ask a twelve year old to act like a decent friend? And if he’s too immature to know how to properly handle an emotional situation such as this with Katara, then he’s too immature to be in a romantic relationship with her.

His approach to Katara’s situation was really bad, then the next episode (EIP) had him agreeing that Katara was his possession (when actor!Zuko called her the Avatar’s girl), throwing a nice guy tantrum at the thought Katara only seeing him as a friend, saying the dumb play would’ve made him go into the Avatar’s state, him ignoring once again how visibly uncomfortable she was having this conversation and then proceeding to force a kiss on her.

Then in the episode after EIP, the first part of the finale, his last spoken interaction with her was him yelling at her for something that was not her fault. If Ka/taang was written with a consideration for Katara’s perspective at all, even if Katara started to have some feelings for A.ang, they would know that having A.ang display all these behaviors BACK-TO-BACK in the last half of the show, with no apologies and no attempts to make up for what he did would’ve drained every last drop of interest out of her.

They spent the last half of their show doing everything in their power to make Ka/taang as unappealing as possible and then acted surprised as to why so many people rejected it.

[rifari2037]

He said, "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun."

But...

The moon was there and saved him...

The moon was there when he had a lot of mind...

The moon was there when he mad at himself...

The moon was there when he tried to make up for his mistakes...

The moon was there when he needed someone by his side...

And he said, "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun."

But...

The sun was there to see her sorrow...

The sun was there to see her getting closure...

The sun was there to see how great she was...

And somewhere in the other universe,

the sun rose and her mother was her strength...

[captainzutara]

I'm a Natla Zutara truther… I think we got at least a 50% chance of getting Zutara as endgame in the Netflix adaptation of Avatar

[rifari2037]

Zuko and Katara's clothes are already matching... just waiting for the crumbs 💙❤️

[captainzutara]

I'm so ready for NATLA to make Zutara endgame and for everyone to go absolutely batshit /hj

[elefaint]

The Painted Lady and The Blue Spirit

Believe it or not we’re on the same side. I just didn’t think it would take a mask for me to finally see that.

[littlepinksockofmine]

I need to yell because I literally made this edit with the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit in the Earth Kingdom a million years ago

[thewokewordsmith]