Zutara Critical

Blog dedicated to critiquing the Avatar fandom’s alleged “untouchable” Zutara ship and their hypocritical fanbase. Criticisms of Bryke and Avatar Studios also won't go ignored.

[rottingintheinsides]

not tryna be rude but as a zutara fan on pinterest i notice much haters of the ship say its weird for Zuko and Katara to be together because she's fourteen like Azula and would be more of a sibling dynamic than a couple , and that Katara and Aang are better.

but sis , HE'S TWELVE AND SHE IS FOURTEEN. what the frick is wrong with your kataang brains?

you leave our ship alone and we'll leave you alone :D

[zutara-critical]

“Not trying to be rude” That’s the fattest lie I’ve ever seen. If you had any intentions of not being rude, you wouldn’t tag this as Kataang in the first place.

“People on a whole different platform are hating on my ship 🥺” And the fuck do you expect Kataang shippers on tumblr to do about it? Does one Kataang shipper represent the rest? By that logic, I don’t see you doing a single thing about the number of Zutara shippers on here AND other platforms that have mental breakdowns in the comments section of Kataang/Maiko content. I better see you go into the Pinterest comments section of Kataang and Maiko posts and tell your fellow Zutara shippers to leave them alone.

Also, you don’t have a backbone yourself? You can’t tell these shippers to fuck off on your Pinterest Zutara posts? Truly living up to your username, I see.

“You leave our ship alone and we’ll leave you alone” So take your own advice? Leave their ship alone first? You can never do that, as direct evidence with this post. Remember: The state of the fandom toxicity started with Zutara shippers and what you’re witnessing is just the domino effect of your own fandom’s actions years later. So don’t be upset over something that is directly your fault.

That last sentence is really giving this:

[zutara-critical]

Y'all need to get off your high horses. Y'all act like no one else in this fandom is toxic or annoying. And if someone wants proof give them proof. Or stop talking about the subject.

Yawn. I just argued against a whole post claiming that the movie spearheaded by a notable female director with an all Asian and Indigenous cast will apparently push conservatism because … *checks notes* Katara won’t interact with Zuko. This makes Bryke affiliated with Trump and Nazism and they needed to be boycotted just like JKR (who is funding trans genocide).

At this point, the proof is fucking everywhere! If you want to find it so badly, you can, in your own home. If you people didn’t turn a blind eye to your fellow shippers it would be very obvious to see what we’re all seeing.

[zutara-critical]

hope you'll still be active, we need more voices like you in this fandom 😭

Sorry. I was busy with my Master’s, but I’m back!

[ceruleanwhore]

So apparently they're talking about making an AtLA movie that's a sequel to the main series, and all my zutara people in my feed have a lot to say about it. Personally, I think the original AtLA series was a fluke and that Bryke and Ehasz alike have proven through all their other projects since that they are completely incapable of making anything else that's even a fraction as good as that series was, so I stopped caring about Avatar content a while ago, about when LoK dropped. I think we can all agree that whatever they come up with will be a shit mess of bad writing like every other Avatar project since the original series, and I also think we can all agree that even though it's been like 20 years, they're still butthurt about the fact that some people don't ship kataang and some people don't like Aang, so it's also a given that they're going to work overtime to double down on the bad decisions they've already made. This will almost certainly include expanding upon and doubling down about Zuko's character assassination in the comics as a way to justify erasing his and Katara's deep, meaningful friendship that they developed over the course of the series just because Aang is supposed to be Mike's self insert and this whiny pissbaby little man can't handle the idea that other people actually have things like free will and opinions and aren't all going to unanimously support the poorly constructed ship he's built around his own personal fantasies.

I do also want to bring politics into this discussion because I think it matters a lot that Aang, from his inception, has had incel behaviors and tendencies while, increasingly, Katara is watered down, relegated to being a homemaker with no personality other than her unwavering devotion to Aang, and even erased altogether, and now, much more than in 2006, American culture has taken a sharp turn in a very bigoted, entitled, patriarchal direction. With Trump in office again, people already calling for his third term (I was at a No Kings rally and some guy literally pulled up and said "Trump is king" - I shit you not), many people are taking this as their sign that now more than ever it's actually completely fine to go full mask-off with their prejudices. Someone like Michael DiMartino, who made his self-insert an incel who's rewarded and encouraged by the narrative for those exact behaviors and who deliberately made the love interest for that self insert a strong, independent young woman who ends up losing all of that strength and independence in order to become a submissive housewife, is exactly the sort of person who might take our current social/political climate as permission to do something even worse than what he's already done in the comics and other projects.

Something else I feel that I should point out is that I used to be very active in Facebook groups (I was a modmin in like 10 different groups and that's actually why I don't have any social media anymore except this) and this included an AtLA group and a zutara group. I bring this up because the fandom over there was drastically different from how it is on here, and I'm sure there are some of you who (fortunately) are unaware of this. Basically, AtLA is unique because it has a lot of liberal-leaning messages and values, and yet it also showcases a lot of misogyny and more conservative values, so it's like the fandom is split and, on one side, you have the more left-of-center folks, like those of us here on our beloved hell site, who resonate more with stuff like Iroh's wisdom, the strong female characters, and the humanist messaging of the show, but then there's also the other side. On Facebook, I found the misogynist, more conservative-leaning side of the Avatar fandom, so this includes the actual incels who love Aang not because he's a pacifist and a pretty good depiction of a more sensitive male character who's allowed to be in touch with his emotions like that, but rather because he's an incel and these men have related to that aspect of a character from a young age and continued to act that way and view women that way for their whole lives.

So my point here is that this sort of messaging is already there in the canon of the show and has been since the beginning, so even though I think plenty of people view the show as more liberal, it wouldn't actually be that big of a jump for Bryke to go full mask-off conservative with a new project, and they already have a significant fanbase on that side of the aisle who will support them completely if they do. As such, I think shipping is the least of our worries, and if everyone on this website can be so vehemently opposed to JKR on moral grounds, to the point that people will literally argue that pirating her shit for yourself in the privacy of your own home is as bad as buying her shit, then I think we need to be wary and critical going into this new Avatar film and be ready to bring all of that same energy to Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino if the end product warrants it the way I fear it will. This could literally end up being straight up nazi propaganda depending on what they do, so we all need to be vigilant and be ready to respond accordingly if they go in that direction.

[zutara-critical]

I’ve seen a lot of ridiculous Zutarian arguments around this website. But this? This argument has got to take the cake for one of the most absurd. And I don’t even like Bryke or endorse their majority of their stupid ass post-canon decisions. But I know when to differentiate criticism versus when one is going off meaningless assumptions over someone’s political affiliation based entirely on how they’ve made some fictional choices in the past.

Neither Bryan or Mike are MAGA affiliated or even Republican. They’ve fundraised for Black Lives Matter, they’ve participated in marches just as you have. Bryan regularly posts content calling out the genocide happening in Gaza on his Instagram stories. They’ve been vocally liberal for years. The main director for the movie is a prominent female director in animation (Lauren Montgomery) who has previously worked with them as an artist on ATLA and TLOK. The executive producers of this movie alongside Bryke are female (Maryann Garger and Latifa Ouaou). They’ve replaced the entirely white voice cast with Asian and Indigenous actors, including a Blind actress to voice Toph (Dionne Quinn). The Indigenous actress for Katara in particular (Jessica Matten) is extremely vocal and excited for this opportunity.

Bryke’s company, Avatar Studios, has hired an Indigenous consultant to oversee Indigenous representation. They have liberal Asian writers spearheading the novelizations; including the novels for Kyoshi, Roku, and the upcoming tie-in Adult Aang movie novel. These novels have introduced queer characters into the franchise, such as Kyoshi and her partner Rangi, and trans and non-binary characters, such as Makittuq, who is a transgender woman and two-spirited character. I think it’s incredibly insulting to compare their works to that of JKR, who is actively trying to suppress trans voices and funding the genocide of trans people.

If the historic treatment of your main female character - who was treated poorly not just by Bryke but the other male writers (some of whom shipped Zutara) - is synonymous with an entire movie promoting conservative ideology onto an unsuspecting audience, then the upcoming Aang movie still can’t be regarded as the conservative copaganda that you so desperately think it is (or want it to be, so it can help with your personal boycott). I don’t recall the famous conservative ideologies of:

Removing a pregnancy plotline for your main female lead

Making your female lead the second most prominent character in marketing

Giving your female lead an impressive rumored building that could serve as an office space

Ensuring your female lead will be involved in the main conflict instead of relegated to the side as a homemaker

And this is everything that we know publicly, from leaks. Nothing has come out yet from this movie that supports a single theory of Katara being a submissive housewife. If it does, you and I both can complain, but there’s nothing out so far.

I don’t think it’s farfetched to say that the two men in charge of a company that has oriented the entire 20th anniversary Avatar in Concert tour around Katara’s story, legacy, and empowerment (the tour being the only prominent thing to come out of Avatar Studios thus far) isn’t actively pushing for conservative values. Neither is the same company that has created their next Avatar to be a disabled, dark-skinned, South Asian child when representation of POC and their stories are becoming erased day by day under Trump’s MAGA.

Your conspiratorial view of the creators throwing tantrums over people not liking their endgame is make-belief. Janet Varney (a queer woman) worships the ground that Bryke walks on, she calls them her two dads. Yet she has no problems asking people if they ship Zutara over Kataang on the official podcast that Bryke has approved of. The creatives part of the franchise - past and present, even the ones currently working at Avatar Studios - have no issues coming onto the podcast and stating their love for Zutara. If Bryke are truly these dictatorial overlords that you want them to be, why is shipping even a topic on the podcast? Why are the cast and crew that wanted Zutara completely fine with revealing the debates in the writer’s room?

The reality is that Bryke care more about making profit off of you guys, and it’s very easy for them to do so. All they have to do is give literal crumbs of content (not even crumbs, maybe even less than that sometimes) and your fellow shippers will flock to that content like some sort of lifeline.

This post would be more effective if you told your fellow shippers to grow a backbone and stop tripping themselves over the slightest of bait (like live action Katara… which is another can of worms) instead of accusing a movie that hasn’t come out yet of pushing some non-existent conversative agenda because you’re upset that Zuko and Katara’s “deep friendship” won’t be explored.

[zutara-critical]

Zutara version of Zuko: One-dimensional character who agrees with everything Katara says, even if it's contradictory to his own values and goals. Stripped of all nuance and agency; actually has no personal values and goals because he will always align with Katara, prioritizing her wants and needs over everything else, especially diplomatically.

Canon Zuko:

Blatantly rejects Katara's insistence to not have him fight Azula alone in the final Agni Kai, even though he was the one who asked Katara to join (Katara ends up being right, and she's the one who ends up defeating Azula).

Agrees with Aang - Katara's oppressor and the antithesis of Fanon Zuko - about him knowing what Katara actually needed in order to heal, despite Katara clearly outlining that she wasn't willing to forgive Yon Rha mere seconds ago.

Refuses to defend Katara in any capacity when she takes great discomfort over her portrayal as a "preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time."

Finds the hypersexualized version of a fourteen year old Katara in the propaganda play put on by his colonial nation amusing.

Oldest in the gaang and canonically could do his own chores and cook for the group; doesn't do anything beyond serving tea once (how does that take the emotional load off of Katara again?)

Stops caring or asking about Katara's emotional state the second that he earns his forgiveness. If we're going to be honest, the only time he's ever expressed any initiative to address her pain and anger was in his trial to earn her forgiveness. Sozin's Comet 4-parter is filled with Katara doing all of the emotional lifting to address Zuko's concerns, with nothing in return. Men who ship Zutara aren't kidding when they say that they like this dynamic because they relate to Zuko and want him to have a "mommy girlfriend."

[zutara-critical]

The Kyoshi fandom has dedicated hours to creating beautiful fan animations while Zutara shippers on TikTok deplete entire resources by resorting to AI generated slop of their ship. Notice how no other shipping subfandom across both series depends on AI the way Zutara shippers do?

[zutara-critical]

https://www.tumblr.com/draxofoy/799086450517917696

thoughts on this counter-argument to your post?

That last one reminds me of when kataang fans were complaining about that Korean promotional poster for Sozin's Comet because Katara looks unhappy and using it as proof of "how zutara shippers see Katara," when it's actually supposed to represent a tension filled moment of the show, and Katara's expression, the characters' physical closeness and support of each other, and torn clothes actually mirrors the moment at the end of the fight with Azula. Context matters.

Let’s compare that promotional art to how Zuko and Katara actually look in the final still of the series.

In the finale, Katara is pained and in grief over Azula having a mental breakdown, but she does not once shrink within herself. Her body language is concerned, offering support, but she stands alongside him as someone who equally had a hand in defeating Azula (and seeing the consequences of those actions) rather than someone physically retreating inward to prop up Zuko the Hero.

If we examine the context, it makes it so much worse. In the promotional art, Katara looks visibly upset, head downcast, arms curled into her body, drawn to look smaller than she actually is. Compare that to Katara in the actual still, who is looking visibly at Zuko, head up and open body language, offering her support and empathy in that moment. Katara also is meant to encapsulate the feelings of the viewer, who is privy to the ugly exchange between Azula and Zuko.

The art drawn by the Korean animator who is a Zutara shipper places an emphasis on Zuko’s physical stature and heroic pose, while Katara retreats into herself. It’s absolutely meant to symbolize Zuko as The Redeemed Hero, Physically Strong and Tall, while Katara’s pain is emphasized tenfold, to the point where she is physically curled inward to make her appear smaller. It absolutely is meant to highlight a disparity between Katara and Zuko.

When you compare promotional art drawn by a Zutara shipper versus promotional art ordered by Avatar Studios of Kataang, you see the stark difference in how Katara is depicted. The promotional art of Zuko and Katara could have been the two of them back-to-back or side-to-side, neither character curled inward, both displaying an equal air of heroism mixed with anguish as they stand in the aftermath of the final Agni Kai. But doing so would require Zutara shippers to remove their long hard fetish for miserable!Katara, and I doubt that’s something they would ever want to do.

So yes: Katara looks radiant and confident in official promotional Kataang art, and she looks miserable and shrunken in official promotional Zutara art, and I think it perfectly captures how both fandoms see her, as well as how a canon Zutara would’ve played out.

[animegeeksworld]

Will forever mourn how we got robbed of zutara. Dont get me wrong i love kataang and im glad that there end game but i would have loved to see katara and zuko dating or having more tension like this in the show.

[zutara-critical]

Here we observe a Zutara shipper in their natural element crosstagging so that they can force their unwanted opinions onto Kataang shippers and anyone else. Yet those shippers have the audacity to tell me that their fandom isn’t a cult, that they’re all nice and respectful, and that their thirst for canon Zutara isn’t because they want complete control over fandom optics (even more than they already have?? Boy, they sure are greedy bunch).

OP, you’re never getting canon Zutara, and all that “tension” dissipated the moment that they became friends within the last 4 episodes. Maybe stick with fanfiction if you want to mourn something nonexistent from 16 years ago that would’ve never came to fruition.

[zutara-critical]

It must upset Zutara shippers to know that Zuko will never smile and blush around Katara like that. Perhaps it’s time to admit that the narratively significant relationship most important to Zuko was never with Katara but instead with his ACTUAL narrative foil.

[broadwaybalogna]

*cough* I’ll just leave this here

Also who gives a shit if Zuko doesn’t blush around Katara. Like, since when in the 20 years of A:tLA being around has that ever proven to have any kind of significant impact on the shippers?

[zutara-critical]

A chibi reenactment of an actual canonical scene versus fanservice animation made by the creators to appease your cult fandom. Hmmm… I wonder which one has more value.

You should give a shit that Zuko is more willing to smile and blush and express affection around Aang than the girl you ship him. Especially since Zukaang and Zutara are both non-canon ships.

This blog was created to critique Zutara and it’s very loud, very hypocritical fandom. Exactly what my title says. The purpose isn’t to ragebait, but to critique because criticisms are allowed in fandom spaces. If you felt ragebaited by anything that I said, as your tags seem to indicate, perhaps you should work on your unhealthy attachment to a subpar ship that is worth plenty of criticism.

You answered your own question in your tags: why does my blog exist? Because of people like you who are so dumbfounded that anyone could ever dare to question a fandom that will attack it’s own shippers if they say anything less than “Zuko and Katara will ride off together in the sunset.”

“Since when has that ever proven to have any kind of significant impact on the shippers.” Zutara shippers eat up absolute bare minimum. Even less than crumbs. I once saw shippers rejoicing because Zuko and Katara were diagonally across each other in official art. I think it’s safe to say that you guys would go crazy if they were ever portrayed as smiling and blushing while hugging one another. You yearn for canonical content like that.

[broadwaybalogna]

Mmmm I mean I would say this feels like rage bait specifically because I was genuinely confused and you immediately jumped to attacking me. A smidge rude— considering I did literally nothing to elicit any kind of hostility. I’d like to believe I didn’t come across as extremely defensive or attacking your post, just adding my five cents and expressing a few questions.

And I mean if this is purely rage bait which I’m pretty sure it is (?) you’ll probably continue to do this in order to keep my engagement.

I’m mostly asking why this blog exists on tumblr of all places. A site where the main user base is extremely caring about their tags. So if everything you post is critical of Zutara, thus not being pro Zutara (so it wouldn’t be in the main Zutara tag), then who are you criticizing Zutara to??? Like, seriously, I don’t feel attacked that your blog exists, I’m just confused as to why it does. Who are you criticizing Zutara to?

As for the start of this whole argument: Zutara shippers Zukaang chibi Zutara chibi oh well do anything for any slice of cannon content or whatever. Agree to disagree on a lot of your points. Since your blog is very clearly extremely anti Zutara, I doubt anything I say to try and combat your arguments will actually have an affect on you— which is fine, by the way, I just don’t wanna waste either of our time.

[zutara-critical]

So if everything you post is critical of Zutara, thus not being pro Zutara (so it wouldn’t be in the main Zutara tag), then who are you criticizing Zutara to??? Like, seriously, I don’t feel attacked that your blog exists, I’m just confused as to why it does. Who are you criticizing Zutara to?

Why do people critique anything on this site and stick it in the anti tags? So like-minded people can find it and agree. Are you shocked that there’s an anti Zutara audience?

The exact purpose of this blog is to bring forth anti Zutara arguments that can actually withstand on their own, with substantial evidence supported by the text. I see far too many wish-washy takes on this subject, too many blanket statements without specific examples (example: “Zutara would be terrible.”) I want people to learn how to explain the why. Why would Zutara be terrible? Why are there issues in the ship’s writing? Why does actual canonical Zutara fall short of the fandom mirage that so many people are convinced it is? Why would Zutara fail to benefit both Zuko and Katara narratively and in post-canon? Why are the people who crafted Zutara just as misogynistic?

At the same time, I want this blog to be a reprieve for anti Zutara people and the multi/former shippers who are tired of the fandom’s toxicity and hive mind-thinking. I intend for this blog to be a place to rant and call out double standards. There’s no ragebait going on, nothing I write is without purpose, and I didn’t attack you. If you’re offended by anything I’ve said, this blog clearly isn’t the place for you, and you should do better to filter out the anti Zutara tag.

As for the start of this whole argument: Zutara shippers Zukaang chibi Zutara chibi oh well do anything for any slice of cannon content or whatever. Agree to disagree on a lot of your points. Since your blog is very clearly extremely anti Zutara, I doubt anything I say to try and combat your arguments will actually have an affect on you— which is fine, by the way, I just don’t wanna waste either of our time.

Ah, here goes the classic “I could totally debunk you if I wanted to, but since your blog is clearly anti Zutara, I won’t” as a disguise for not having a rebuttal. Especially since you clearly had no problem adding your two cents when you first reblogged it, lol.

[zutara-critical]

It must upset Zutara shippers to know that Zuko will never smile and blush around Katara like that. Perhaps it’s time to admit that the narratively significant relationship most important to Zuko was never with Katara but instead with his ACTUAL narrative foil.

[broadwaybalogna]

*cough* I’ll just leave this here

Also who gives a shit if Zuko doesn’t blush around Katara. Like, since when in the 20 years of A:tLA being around has that ever proven to have any kind of significant impact on the shippers?

[zutara-critical]

A chibi reenactment of an actual canonical scene versus fanservice animation made by the creators to appease your cult fandom. Hmmm… I wonder which one has more value.

You should give a shit that Zuko is more willing to smile and blush and express affection around Aang than the girl you ship him. Especially since Zukaang and Zutara are both non-canon ships.

This blog was created to critique Zutara and it’s very loud, very hypocritical fandom. Exactly what my title says. The purpose isn’t to ragebait, but to critique because criticisms are allowed in fandom spaces. If you felt ragebaited by anything that I said, as your tags seem to indicate, perhaps you should work on your unhealthy attachment to a subpar ship that is worth plenty of criticism.

You answered your own question in your tags: why does my blog exist? Because of people like you who are so dumbfounded that anyone could ever dare to question a fandom that will attack it’s own shippers if they say anything less than “Zuko and Katara will ride off together in the sunset.”

“Since when has that ever proven to have any kind of significant impact on the shippers.” Zutara shippers eat up absolute bare minimum. Even less than crumbs. I once saw shippers rejoicing because Zuko and Katara were diagonally across each other in official art. I think it’s safe to say that you guys would go crazy if they were ever portrayed as smiling and blushing while hugging one another. You yearn for canonical content like that.

[zutara-critical]

It must upset Zutara shippers to know that Zuko will never smile and blush around Katara like that. Perhaps it’s time to admit that the narratively significant relationship most important to Zuko was never with Katara but instead with his ACTUAL narrative foil.

[dukeofdelirium]

“Aang ruined Katara’s life” “he made her a human incubator” “she was just his baby machine”

Now I know damn well y’all would nottttttt be saying this vile shit if it had been Zuko’s kids she had 🙄🤚🏻do y’all talk about your mothers like this?

[no-mere-mortals]

I’ve literally never heard anyone say that. I *have* heard “Aang left all of the child raising to Katara (except for his one air bending child), to the point where his own students DID NOT KNOW that he had two other entire full grown kids, which probably left Katara, who has known abandonment issues, feeling pretty abandoned by the guy who’s supposed to be her partner” (which is 100% canon)

[zutara-critical]

Actually, the incubator and breeding machine accusations are pretty much along the lines of your argument that you’re disguising as canon: Aang using Katara as a sole means to bring back the Air Nomads rather than wanting to build a family with her.

I hate TLOK’s writing with a burning passion, but not even I’m bothered to interpret it that poorly.

Those students aren’t Aang’s.. considering that he was dead for the last 18 years. They’re closer to Tenzin’s students, if anything.

At no point did the text state that all the child-rearing of the two children were left in the hands of Katara. What is canon is that Aang gave Tenzin more attention than he gave Kya and Bumi, which caused them to feel left out because they wanted to be included in their father’s legacy. A component of this plotline that often goes ignored is how the world perceived Kya and Bumi as secondary to Tenzin for not being born an airbender. Scenes such as the Air Acolyte questioning who Kya and Bumi were in relation to Tenzin are meant to emphasize this disparity.

Despite all of this, the three siblings look fondly on at their family photo, arriving at the conclusion that they were indeed happy. There’s canon confirmation that Aang taught Kya and Bumi their culture. And the siblings continue to miss and grieve him in the post-canon.

There’s no evidence that Katara felt abandoned by Aang. Or that Aang abandoned Katara. Just stipulations based off of excerpts, some of which contradict one another. The writing behind this plotline, as of much of Book 2, is poorly written, but it never gave the extreme version that y’all make it out to be, in an attempt to push Zutara (which would have presented it’s own plethora of issues).

If you’re 100% certain your version of events is canon, then there’s no reason why you should resort to blocking OP to avoid any future rebuttals. Stand on business.

[ly0nstea]

Interesting that the only talks/debate around consent in the ATLA fandom is the kataang kiss and not the fact that Iroh openly and borderline boastingly sexually assaulted June by groping her paralysed body while pretending to be paralysed himself

[zuko-always-lies]

Do Zutara shippers sign a solemn blood oath that they have to write Azula as an antagonist who hates the idea of Zuko and Katara being together and tries to undermine them? And they're only allowed to write Azula being the least bit supportive in a post-canon fic where she's been entirely "domesticated" already?

[nocturneblot-deactivated2026032]

They are horrible company, other franchises from the 2000s kept building their worlds and finishing character arcs, while Avatar keeps leaving huge plot threads hanging for over a decade. Any other company of a big franchise like this would have already resolved the relationship of one the main characters who’s daughter they already introduced. Sokka has not gotten any content since atla ended and azula subplot is still unresolved. They introduced kiyi a decade ago and they still haven’t done anything interesting with her

You're so right actually. I can't even begin to rant about how much sheer waste of space Yang comics are. (I'm gonna rant about it anyways) Hicks' comics are dedicated to restoring the status quo because you can't leave what Yang did just like that. It has to be undone. I wish they hadn't done any of it to begin with...

Dictionary definition of unnecessary should have Yang's comics as an example.

And as of now, they still haven't restored the status quo... And we know they're gonna do that. It was all for nothing. It's not like maiko break up gave us good writing. I'm gonna throw up. Sorry.

Just think about it. The Search could've been moved up to be the first thing to happen after the show with Ashes and Spirit Temple following it. We didn't need any of the other bullshit (I hated Hakoda marrying what's-her-face. I don't remember her name. Unnecessary, I tell you).

Zuko never did anything about Ursa because he didn't have the power to—but she was always—ALWAYS—at the back of his mind.

Yang though, being the genius that he is, showed people blabbing about family being what shook Zuko out of his stupour and start looking for Ursa.

You want me to believe he didn't go looking for Ursa the first chance he could???

I legit don't understand how any self-respecting Zuko fan considers his comics depiction canon. Are they stupid or are they stupid?

Next time someone (especially a Zuko fan) says he forgot Mai in prison, tell them he was all "let sleeping dogs lie" about Ursa.

You could've had The Search party (ha!) being the FN quartet—or better yet, take Zuko out of there because he has achieved peace™ and its only the Dangerous Ladies because Azula has unresolved feelings about Ursa. And since I'm so maiko-pilled, Zuko is swamped with work so he asks Mai to look for Ursa and of course Ty Lee tags along! (He trusts her, uwu)

(mention Zuko's political troubles in passing and say he deals with it well. Because I'd expect him to, after three-season-long character development that we were hand-held through. I know him getting it right wouldn't make for an interesting story so just tell me he isn't backsliding into imperialism [cough] anyways—!)

Then when Ursa returns to FN, Azula runs. Because her getting arrested is something that was going to happen in near future. Only this time, she's actually manages to avoid that fate in the asylum. Now you can have both Spirit Temple and Ashes happening concurrently with minor changes.

That's how little things changed!!! That's how unnecessary most of Yang's stuff was, which did change things but in a way that can't be left alone!!! Yang didn't move the story forward, he just shook the status quo and now it's someone else's job to fix it. Which... Is nowhere close to happening.

I need this to stay:

Zuko asks Mai to teach at the academy because Kiyi, yes, but also because he thinks it'd be healing for her. No springing it on her out of nowhere like he did in Ashes. And Mai's like, "sure. Whatever. I'm doing this for you [kiss]"

Give Kiyi and other girls backstories and personalities so Mai could care about them. Maybe I'd have liked Kiyi better then. If she was more than just "this is how Azula sucks btw" I don't like Kiyi. At all. I do like the idea of Ursa getting to remarry and have a new family after the shit she went through with Ozai but Kiyi is just... not it, ya know.

Anyways as Mai gets invested throughout the course of the comic she's like "oh, no." I love Mai having "oh, no" moments. You know, because only men are allowed this kinda things. Mai is a girl, so she has to be perfect with kids from the beginning! Otherwise she'd be sent to the gulag! No room for learning here, folks, she just has to be naturally nurturing from the very beginning. No "growing into it." But Zuko gets to "learn" that he should look for his missing mother because family is important... It's a realisation he gets to have.

Yang's Zuko is exactly the selfish, weak-willed cunt his haters accuse him of being. Not show Zuko, but comics Zuko is exactly that.

By the end of the comic Mai's like "I like these kids and I like teaching. Go, get my flower crown so I can debase myself thoroughly." Because she's ~~free~~ and she cares now!And it doesn't have to be shown as devotion for a family that doesn't give a rat's ass about her!

And we'd be exactly where we are now in canon minus the character assassination.

I repeat, I'm saying all this to show how fucking unnecessary Yang's stuff was. We didn't need any of it!

As for Sokka, idk if I'm glad he's spared the character assassination on account of having been ignored... Who knows, Yang might've made him a dumb jock, meat-and-sarcasm guy for real [shudders] if he'd spend more time on him.

Given that he didn't understand the depth of maiko and Toph, I wouldn't put it past him to misunderstand Sokka and the fact that he has depth.

And Suki's fate remains unknown. Same as Mai. Same as Azula. Are you noticing a trend here? 'Cause I sure as fuck am. -_-

Show me how Sokka and Suki manage a long distance relationship. 'Cause he ain't leaving his tribe and she ain't leaving the Kyoshi Warriors.

Anyways, there's gonna be a Suki comic. I don't think it's gonna be good but I just want names for her comrades. Then I'll draw tons of Suki and fellow warriors in samurai armour. Being an artist, I can ignore bad characterisation if I so choose. I feel sorry for all the fic writers who can't afford to do that as much. (Canon gets taken out back and shot is still a thing).

[zutara-critical]

They are horrible company, other franchises from the 2000s kept building their worlds and finishing character arcs, while Avatar keeps leaving huge plot threads hanging for over a decade.

It says a lot that Avatar Studios entire marketing tactic for their newest show is destroying every single character's legacy in both ATLA and TLOK, while pouring gasoline on the decade-long fandom vitriol and hatred of their dark-skinned Native female protagonist.

[porcelainaang]

This is the conversation that Jet overhears.

From this he knows that iroh is a ex military personal and zuko is his nephew and apprentice. Adding the latter gained information about iroh being a firebender makes it pretty clear where iroh and zuko once fought.

Jet is ridiculed in his persuit to hold these warcriminals accountable so its pretty messy, but the way the show antagonizes everyone who does so puts iroh and zuko's redemption into a funny spot.

Its just the way we know that iroh had a hand in burning Jet's village with his parents in it is so messed up, like confronting the ppl who traumatized you is only possible for zuzu and his love interest.

[nocturneblot-deactivated2026032]

I want y'all to think about the fact that avatar studios prioritised establishing Mai as a good sister before establishing her as a character that has thoroughly unlearned imperialism...

...the priorities. The fucking priorities.