#fortunteller

[britishraptor]

Me: How to make a fake crystal ball. How to make a plastic ball. How to make a clear sphere. How to

Tutorial, every time: To make this, first I purchase a clear plastic ball -

[the-badger-mole]

To Tell the Truth...

Sokka was against it from the beginning. As soon as they spotted the stall, Sokka tried to steer his friends away from it. Especially his sister. Specifically his sister.

"Come on," Katara insisted. "What harm could it do?"

"It's a waste of money!" Sokka threw his hands up in frustration. "It's going to be Aunt Wu all over again."

"Aunt Wu didn't charge," Katara said. "She was also right. And besides, this isn't that expensive. Especially not since Mr. Moneybags here gave us access to the coffers." Katara grinned at Zuko and nudged him in the ribs. He'd shown them where his father had kept a supply of money in his office at the Ember Island beach palace. A combination of spite and an eagerness to make his new friends happy led him to be very generous with it's use.

"We might need to save that for later," Sokka groaned. "And you say I'm impulsive."

"It's a copper piece for each fortune," Suki pointed out. "That wouldn't even dent our grocery budget."

"Well count me out," Sokka folded his arms and glare at the ground. "The last time I went to one of these crackpots, she said that I was going to be the cause of my own misery."

"And that was wrong because...?" Katara smirked at Sokka. He just glared back at her.

"I'm not going," he repeated.

"Fine," Katara shrugged. "So you can wait for the rest of us."

"I think I'll pass, too," Zuko said eyeing the dilapidated stall dubiously. "Someone needs to be outside in case this place collapses."

"Fine, spoilsport," Katara scoffed. "So that leaves me, Suki, Toph and Aang."

"Wrong, Sweetness," Toph said. "I'm just fine living in the present, thank you."

"I'm in!" Aang chirped. "I had fun the last time." Sokka snorted and rolled his eyes, but that seemed to be the end of his protests.

Aang went first rushing forward to hand the fortuneteller- an elderly man with yellowing eyes- his payment. He motioned Aang into the back of the stall wordlessly. The reading took less than five minutes, and when Aang reemerged, he looked uncharacteristically subdued.

"What happened?" Sokka asked. "What that guy say." Aang's eyes went wide for a moment and shot a sideways glance at Katara.

"Well, he...er...he said..." Aang stammered. "I mean, it was bunch of nonsense, anyway. I think you were right Sokka. That guy's a quack. Maybe we should just go."

"No way!" Suki said emphatically. "Who cares if he's not the real deal. It's all in good fun."

"Waste of money and time," Sokka grumbled. Suki and Katara exchanged looks and rolled their eyes. Suki took her turn next. She paid and followed the fortunteller into the back room.

"What did he tell you?" Katara asked Aang. "Was it really so bad?" Aang looked at her and his face went bright red.

"It's not that important," he said. "It's just...he...he said that... I need to grow up?" His friends blinked in surprise.

"That's all?" Toph snorted. "Of course you need to grow up. You're 12."

"Yep," Aang chuckled nervously. "Like I said...a quack." Toph raised her brow at him.

"What else did he say?" she asked. Aang swallowed hard and looked around at his friends nervously. His eyes landed on Katara and he immediately looked downward. He was spared from answering by the reappearance of Suki.

Where Aang had been troubled by his reading, Suki looked positively delighted. She didn't wait for her friends to ask.

"He said that I am going to be an international name," she told them. "That I'm about to have a very big success soon, and it will catapult me into fame."

"I didn't know that was something you were interested in," Sokka said. "But I'm not surprised."

"Don't you get it?" Suki asked. "What...big event do we have coming up very soon that we want to succeed in?"

"You know that guy is just trying to tell you what you want to hear, right?" Sokka rolled his eyes again. "He just said something vague and positive so you'd fill in the blanks with whatever you want it to mean."

"He didn't do that with Aang," Suki pointed out. "And even if he's not the real deal, isn't it nice to hear that we're going to have a win? Especially after that play?"

"Yeah," Sokka scoffed. "Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to hear some whack job predicting fame and fortune."

"He didn't say fortune," Suki said, shrugging.

Katara went last. She paid the fortuneteller and followed him into the backroom. It was as dark and stuffy as she anticipated, but the furnishings were much nicer than she expected. There were red and gold silk hangings all around the small space, making it feel even closer. A brass lamp hung overhead, the fire burning inside of it cast intricate, flickering shadows all around. The incense was just a touch too strong for such a small space, and it almost immediately made Katara dizzy. She sat at the low table on the surprisingly plush cushions while the fortuneteller settled in on the other side. The flickering lights made his already aged face look even more ancient. His eyes, dark and unnervingly still, fixed on her. His face remained expressionless, which unsettled Katara further.

"Um...d-do I ask you a question or-"

"You can," the fortuneteller said.

"Alright," Katara said. "Um...I guess...I want to know if me and my family will be okay."

"That's a broad question." The fortuneteller's mouth hardly seemed to move as he spoke. It was a trick of the dim light, Katara decided firmly.

"It's the one I want answered," Katara said. The man's face didn't change, but suddenly he seemed amused.

"I suppose that's not completely a lie," he said. Katara was taken aback at that. She didn't have time to respond. "Your family will be fine for the most part. There will be a lot of things to mend and rebuild in your near future, but the ones closest to you will be there to help."

Katara breathed a sigh of relief, even as her brother's assertions of fraud echoed in her mind. It was comforting to hear from the fortuneteller, regardless. She thought that was the end. She started to stand up when the fortuneteller's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you-"

"I have one more word of caution and a gift for you," the fortuneteller said. "First, the caution. You are very dishonest, Katara."

"How did you know my name?" she demanded. The fortuneteller went on as if he hadn't heard her.

"You use dishonesty to protect the people around you. You lie to yourself, too, and it will only lead to future heartbreak for you and those who rely on you. And now, a gift. Until the sun rises again, it is yours."

"What?" Katara stared at him. "What gift? What are you talking about? How did you know my name?" The fortuneteller sat placidly at the table. He was no longer holding Katara's arm. It hardly seemed like he'd moved at all. A shudder ran down Katara's spine, and she rushed from the stall. Her friends were immediately concerned.

'What happened in there?" Sokka demanded.

"I got my fortune read," Katara said, taking a shaky breath in.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked. Katara nodded.

"I'm fine," she assured her friends. "It was just...very stuffy in there. His incense was too strong."

"Let's get out of here," Sokka said. "We should head home."

When they got back onto the palace grounds, Aang seemed to have bounced back from whatever funk he'd been in. He turned to Katara with a hopeful smile.

"Hey, Katara, do you want to walk down to the beach with me?" he asked. Katara smiled back at him.

"No," she said. She balked in surprise along with her friends.

"A-are you busy?" Aang asked. Katara started to nod uncertainly.

"I'm not busy," she said. "I just don't want to go for a walk with you." Aang was stunned by Katara's bluntness, but Katara was too distracted to notice. The words she'd spoken were her own, but they were her thoughts, and not what she'd meant to say. Her friends looked at her in surprise. She was never that blunt. Not with Aang, anyway.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked.

"I am," Katara nodded uncertainly. "I just don't feel like walking with Aang."

"What did I do?" Aang asked. He sounded hurt, and his eyes were wide with shock.

"The last time we were alone, you kissed me," Katara said. Around her she heard her friends gasp. "I didn't like it. I'm afraid you're going to try to kiss me again." Why had she said that? Katara's hands flew to her mouth. Her friends had all rounded on Aang, and suddenly they erupted into loud demands and questions. Sokka bore down on him furiously, his voice rising above the others.

"You did what to my sister?" Katara slipped away in the confusion, fleeing for the shelter of the palace. She ran to the kitchen and sat against the door. She hadn't meant to say that. She hadn't planned to tell anyone what happened with Aang on the balcony. Why had it just come out like that? Part of her wanted to go back and calm everyone down, but she was afraid of what else she might say.

(Aang deserved the wrath he was facing).

Katara jumped up, shaking her head of that last thought. What Aang did to her was wrong, but he didn't deserve to face Sokka's wrath. She leaned against the counter in the middle of the room and took several deep breaths. He didn't deserve that...did he?

"Katara?" She spun around and found her friends standing in the doorway. Aang wasn't with them, unsurprisingly, but Katara felt a sting nonetheless.

"Sokka sent Aang to his room," Toph said.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked.

"No," Katara said honestly. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't going to say anything about what happened at the play. It just...came out."

"Good!" Sokka exclaimed. "You should have told me when it happened! I'd have kicked his butt right there!"

"I'm surprised you didn't do it," Toph said.

"I-I couldn't," Katara gripped the counter behind her. The words felt like vomit rising in her throat. She tried to hold them down, but they came spewing out. "I wanted to protect him. I didn't want him to kiss me, but I thought I still had to protect him." What was happening?

"That's not your job," Suki said.

"It is though!" Katara tried clenching her teeth, but they wouldn't stay shut. "He's the Avatar. He's supposed to end the war. I need to make sure he gets there."

"Woah..." Sokka took a step back. "Is that what you've thought this whole time?"

"Yes!" Katara was frantic. "I can't stop saying what I'm thinking! Why can't I stop?" Her distress finally registered with her friends. They froze, uncertain what to be most concerned about at the moment.

"Katara," Suki ventured first. "Are you feeling sick?"

"No," Katara shook her head. "I just can't stop myself from saying whatever's in my head."

"What do you mean?" Toph asked. "Like you can't lie?" Katara shook her head. Her entire body was quaking now.

"I don't know what's happening to me," she said. Her friends watched her quietly for a moment.

"Did that fortuneteller guy do something to you?" Zuko asked. Katara looked up sharply and gasped.

"The gift," she said.

"What?" Sokka leaned forward. "What gift?" Katara told her friends exactly what had happened during her reading. The fortunetellers positive prediction. How unsettled she'd felt in the claustrophobic room. How he'd reached out to grab her before she left and spoke about how she was being dishonest.

"Then he told me he was giving me a gift," she concluded. "He said I'd have it until sunrise. Did-do you think he...had something to do with this?"

"No!" Sokka said firmly. "No way! It's one thing to say that guy can predict the future, but a truth spell?"

"Well, how else do you explain it?" Katara asked. "It's either he did something, or I'm losing my mind!" Sokka stared at her for a long while, mouth opening and closing uselessly.

"We don't know that anything's actually wrong with you," Suki said. "You spilled the beans about Aang kissing you without your permission. It's clearly been bothering you. Maybe him asking you to be alone with him again set you off."

"There's one way to test that theory," Toph pointed out. Katara leaned forward eagerly.

"What is it?"

"Tell us the truth, Katara," Toph's mouth turned into a wicked grin. "What do you really think about Zuko?"

For a moment nothing happened. For a split second Katara started to relax. Then she felt the words rising into her throat again. The thoughts that she intended to keep to herself prickling the back of her tongue, threatening to gag her if she didn't let them out. She tried to trap them with her teeth, but then she glanced at Zuko, with that adorably confused look on her face, and she knew she was going to lose this fight.

But at least now she knew what was going on. She'd find a way to make Toph pay later.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Hello! I wanted to ask a potentially hardish question. How do you feel about non-Romani engaging with Tarot, doing paid reads, and such? Do you think it's okay for everyone to partake in it? Would you at least want people to be more informed of its origins?

My general attitude, when it comes to anything related to magic, fortunetelling, etc, is that we should be focusing more on cultural restitution and historical authenticity than trying to make a list of who can do what. When it comes to tarot, there's a lot to learn, and a lot to unpack in both of those areas. The short answer is that I don't believe that tarot is, or should be, a closed practice. There is, however, is a deep legacy of racism in the evolution of tarot as a fixture of mainstream culture, and the fortunetelling industry is rife with Romani exploitation. I believe that understanding this, and integrating it into your actions and conduct, is key to developing an ethically and spiritually holistic practice. And I think that applies to all forms of magic and spirituality-- racism and colonialism are very common in magical spaces where historical understanding is not encouraged.

If this is something you'd like to learn more about, I would highly encourage you to pre-order Secrets of Romani Fortuntelling, which is an upcoming book written by my friend Jezmina von Thiele and their Romanistan cohost, Paulina Stevens. Preorders make a huge difference for small publishers and new authors.This book is an authentic new look at fortunetelling practices in Romani culture and I, personally, think everybody who reads tarot needs to buy a copy.

If you'd like to receive a reading from a Romani practictioner, I am running a donation drive for Palestinian families and offering online tarot readings with personalized writeups and graphics as rewards.

My understanding is that tarot, and cartomancy in general, are closely tied to Romani culture and history because they were trades that Romani families developed and practiced as a form of survival work*. The same is true for several other types of fortunetelling and folk magic practices. There is an element of cultural preservation and ancestral custom in a lot of these skills, but ultimately, this is something that was meant to be shared with non-Roma, so it's not a closed practice, in that regard. And it's worth mentioning, of course, that many of these skills and devices were adapted from existing aspects of Western culture. The original tarot deck was, after all, just a set of European playing cards.

Over the centuries, tarot has really taken on a life of its own outside of Romani society, as both a popular practice and object of cultural fascination. There are other cultures who practice divination and fortunetelling for very similar reasons, and because tarot is so universally known, it's become a tool that is shared by many, and I think it informs the way folks approach cartomancy even when they're using other devices. And I think that's really beautiful! Unfortunately, there is also a more painful part of this history that also needs to be acknowledged.

Most modern tarot decks, and much of the basis for how we read them, are the products of 19th & 20th century occult and esoteric movements in the West, which often held an Orientalist fixation on Romani, Jewish, Middle Eastern and East Asian cultures. When you look at the works of Levi, Crowley, Waite, and so forth, you'll find a lot of fabricated histories and colonial fantasies about these cultures, and that informed the symbology with which they designed the formative modern decks we know today as the Thoth and Waite-Smith tarot. In my opinion, Jewish and Romani peoples were the most heavily exploited by this movement. It just goes to show how deeply our histories a diasporic people are connected.

Here in America, many states have legislation intended to police or even outlaw the fortunetelling trade, and you will often find that these laws are based in anti-Romani racism. Furthermore police are known to profile Romani citizens and families as scammers, and a lot of the language used to describe these "scams" in both police documents and the media employs racist language and stereotypes. Despite this, non-Roma, particularly white people, are often able to turn fortunetelling into a lucrative business by using their privilege to safely navigate the legal system's impositions-- and many of these white people love nothing more than to dress up in an approximation of Romani costume in order to give themselves an exotic, mystical air-- just like Levi and Crowley before them.

So, it's my opinion that the modern fortunetelling industry and the last several generations of tarot knowledge were built, both directly and indirectly on Romani oppression. People need to understand this history, and their place in it, in order to understand how they, personally, have arrived at their own relationship with tarot. Once you do understand that, you can begin to incorporate anti-racist intention and action into your practice. If you want suggestions, providing historical acknowledgement and Romani resources to your clients is a great place to start. Being an ally and being in community with us in our fight for human rights is even better. If you own a business or a shop, you can divest yourself from problematic suppliers, or learn how to identify racist books and decks, and stop selling them. Make sure you're not exploiting or perpetuating Romani stereotypes and call other people out on it, too. And if it's possible, really reevaluate the way you have arrived at your understanding of the cards, and how you communicate with them. Look past information that has been sold to you and seek personal authenticity. You'll be a better reader for it.

*What I am describing here is not a universal experience. Some people and some families practice these trades, not all. Romani people are not a monolith, and this is not a defining aspect or Romani culture.

[sirenalpha]

Your post (about the netflix shenanigance) made me realize that the only female authority figure in Earth Kingdom is Aunt Wu and the show uses her just to make snarky comments about our world and people who believe in astrology and all that. Like she's a fortunteller in a fantasy i.e. mythological setting of course fortunetelling and prophecies are real!

Her and the woman in charge of the fur wearing tribe in the Great Divide and I'm pretty sure that's it

really great examples of female leadership in one off episodes fans really like

[xxthe-party-steedxx]

sooo are Tuckrr and rhe fortunteller fucking or what

[katlimeart]

Made in 2021

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

Mario girls cosplaying as characters from the Harvest Moon (SNES)

1. Ellen’s Mom

2. Fortunteller’s Granddaughter

3. Fortuneteller

4. Nina’s Mother/Seed Shop Owner

5. Your Wife (Any of the Bachelorettes after the wedding)

6. Mayor’s Wife

7. Mother

[internetgiraffekid1673]

🎵 "If only if only," the Woodpecker siiiiighs!

"The bark on the trees were as soft as the skies!"

The wolf waits belooooooow, hungry and lonely!

He cries to the moon, "If only, if only!" 🎵

Go watch holes everybody. Get the creepy fortunteller song stuck in your head and start riffing on it just like me!

“But if you forget to reblog Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity.”

[miriamsoracle-blog]

The daily general message for 4/6/2019, Saturday, with the Harmonious Tarot deck: the 4 of Pentacles and the Justice cards. ⠀ Our general questions for these readings are, what does the Universe want us to tell, what is the attitude we should take today to gain the most out of the day? Of course, remember, real gain is not always obvious to us, and it may even look upside down and backward to what we imagined or desired for ourselves. My attitude as a card reader is that I try to stay aligned with Higher Forces and I don't encourage imposing our will's to something higher than ourselves. But this does not mean to be passive and just accepting whatever will be. That is different and it is called carelessness. It means, taking responsibility for our actions and in our case, asking the cards to help us seei the Way we are supposed to travel on our Soul-Journey. ⠀ So, the cards are suggesting that by holding on to things, by not sharing, the Universe will eventually create justice and the outcome will be in their hands. This can manifest as a simple speeding ticket to lose that saved money we had for a new purse. Whatever will happen, remember that in disguise today the law or other authorities will represent the will of the Universe to remind us that it is not us who will determine what we can own and what we can't. ⠀ For a private reading, please email at miriamsoracle@gmail.com ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #miriamsoracle #justice #dailyreading #dailymessage #tarotreader #inthehandsoftheuniverse #divination #fortunetelling #oracle #tarotmessageoftheday #tarotreadings #tarotcards #tarotreadersofinstagram #tarotcommunity #tarotonline #fortunteller #dontholdontoit #share #shareyourself (at California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv5qxten18r/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1aqh6lc5x9wea

[alolocotattoo]

Fortune Teller Forearm tattoo alolocotattoo.com . Done using @silverbackink @hustlebutterdeluxe @killerinktattoo supplies . #killerinktattoo #hustlebutterdeluxe  #silverbackink #silverbackinkblackth1rt3en . #fortunteller #tattoos #inked #ink #bestoftheday #magician #tarot #realistictattoo #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgray #realism #esoteric #tattoosociety #sullenclothing #inksav #supportgoodtattooinguk #tattoorealistic #bgis #tattoofreakz #tattooartmagazine #tattedskin #bestblackandgrey @skinart_mag @inkfreakz @inkstats @crazyytattoos @art.collective @tattoo_artwork @tattooartproject . THANKS for looking (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu512gAghQX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rwh80in9wiqp

[the-world-hopper]

"Usual place, huh?" Lucas guessed, "I'm sure I'll ask one of the fortunteller sisters for a ride there. If you'd like a present, I could at least have one subtle hint on what you like."

"Hey, PJ," Lucas greeted, "Any chance you could set up some kind of Valentines party somehow?"

@the-world-hopper

"Sure. If you have the time to show at my birthday next month." PJ replied. "Unless, there's something keeping you from showing up."

"Pika pika." My Pikachu frowned.

[thmadethis]

~ The Fool ~ ••• This was a piece that I teased but I never actually posted. I did this piece that I did for Wonder all at the Columbus Museum of Art back in 2018. This is the first card in the deck titled, "The Fool". I was one of 78 artist who contributed artwork for this collection. Unfortunately I never got my hands on a deck. Even though tarot is not "my bag, baby" it would've been a nice piece for my collection of art. But now it's available for all of YOU in my shop!!! ••• #taylorhicksart #awesomejunk #tarot #fortuntelling #thefool #blackandwhite #ink #illustration #halftone https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ZMquSgbJ_/?igshid=7202o8v7j01e

[zarbone]

eamildmanneredadultoid said: The youngest possible Goku speaking to Baba.

Your request is granted!

[ellakomskaikru]

I saw your list of ships that you like and dislike. You explained why you dislike M@iko and I agree with all your reasons. It’s the absolute worst relationship in the entire series. I literally can’t stand it. You said you that don’t like K@taang either. I wouldn’t say I like the ship but I don’t dislike it either. I’d like to know your reasons for disliking K@taang.

Hello anon!

You are correct. I do not like Kat.aang. In fact, it makes me very uncomfortable as a woman. Now, just to get this out of the way, before the accusations start. I do not hate Aang. I have so much sympathy, empathy, and compassion for him. The poor child lost his entire people and culture, was frozen in an iceberg for a century, and woke up to world ravaged by the Fire Nation that could only be saved by him. That’s absolutely awful, and he still managed to remain a good person and save the world despite the immense pressure. I want him to be happy. But all of that does not entitle him to Katara’s romantic affection. And that was the way Kat.aang was written. I anticipate this will be fairly long, so everything else will be below the cut.

It was understandable that Aang had a crush on Katara. She was the first girl he’d seen in a hundred years. She was always there to comfort him and help him. And she was pretty. He did appreciate her and support her at times. But Katara did not seem to even notice his crush on her and just saw him as a friend and even mothered him, until The Fortunteller Episode, which was supposed to really begin to set up Kat.aang. Ironically, that is the episode that completely put me off Kat.aang.

The writers clearly wanted us to sympathize with Aang failing to get Katara to notice him in a romantic way. It did not focus on Katara’s feelings. It was all about Aang’s desires. Then when we did hear what Katara desired in a partner, someone tall and handsome, which is a description that did not fit Aang, then she later looked like she was beginning to consider Aang as a romantic interest after Sokka called Aang a powerful bender. That really rubbed me the wrong way. To me, it looked like the message that was sent was that women should lower their standards and accept dating less attractive men, while men should be entitled to attractive women.

During that same episode, Meng had a crush on Aang, but she learned to accept rejection unlike Aang, who was rewarded by the narritive for having a crush on Katara even though it doesn’t look like she reciprocates. The Fortuneteller Episode sent the message of, “Katara is an idiot for not realizing how great of a guy Aang is because she’s such a shallow teenage girl who only cares about looks, but later that will change.” So I feel like it shamed women for having preferences, but rewarded men for having preferences. For me, that’s when Kat.aang shifted from feeling like an innocent little crush to a nice guy fantasy.

There is also something about the Kat.aang dynamic that I did not like. I didn’t like how Katara was the only one who could get him out of the Avatar state when he went into it uncontrollably. The writers clearly meant for that to look romantic, but to me it looked like anything but. Katara was put in danger time and time again for Aang’s sake. They made her responsible for calming him down at her own personal risk. Katara also did mother him a lot, which is not a good foundation for a future romantic relationship. The writers made Katara’s feelings for Aang so ambiguous and then on top of that made her act like she was his mother. She coddled him and was always so considerate of his feelings, sometimes even at her own expense.

Then in the Day of Black Sun episode, that’s when I truly started to completely loathe Kat.aang as it officially geared into non-con territory. There is some debate on whether or not Aang kissed Katara without her consent in that episode, but will not be debating that. He did. Katara was in the middle of talking, and he smashed his lips to hers. She stayed with her eyes open blinking in surprise for a while. She did not look pleasantly surprised. She did blush after but then she looked away, as if in discomfort. People can blush due to discomfort or embarrassment as well, not just due to attraction, for those who claim that her blush is proof that she liked the kiss. Then to make matters worse, Aang didn’t even stay to ask her if she had liked the kiss. He just flew away, and they never discussed the kiss again until the Ember Island Players episode.

The Southern Raiders is an episode where I have issues with Aang’s behavior towards Katara, and trust me, it has absolutely nothing to do with Zutara or Zuko. I understand that Aang was raised as a pacifist and he was taught that forgiveness is always better than violence, but Katara was not an Air Nomad, and he knew that she and the rest of the world most certainly did not share his pacifist beliefs. Many Kat.aang shippers criticized Katara’s behavior during that episode, when she literally did not do anything wrong. Aang was trying to get her to forgive her mother’s killer. Of course she reacted negatively to that.

He compared her to Jet for wanting justice. Zuko did not tell Katara that she had to kill Yon Rah, he just was defending her from Aang telling her that she had to forgive. And yes, Aang did lose his people, and that’s very painful, but that is not the exact same pain as losing a mother. Air Nomads did not have family units. They were raised by the community. So he cannot understand the deep bond between mother and child. That’s not his fault, but it’s the truth, and it makes Zuko more equipped to understand Katara’s pain, having for all intents and purposes lost his own mother. Aang later did accept that Katara had to go on the trip to face Yon Rah, but he still insisted that she forgive him, and yes, Zuko mocked him for it. Was it nice? No. But Zuko reacted like that out of annoyance for Katara, and because he himself could not imagine forgiving Ozai for taking away his mother. It was an emotional reaction.

And by the end of the episode, when Katara returned, she did not do what Aang wanted. She faced Yon Rah, she scared him, but she did not forgive him. No, she didn’t kill him. But she didn’t do what Aang wanted either. When Aang tells her that he’s proud of her and assumes that she forgave him, Katara tells him she didn’t, with a rather angry expression, and then goes on to forgive Zuko wholeheartedly. Zuko tells Aang that he was right, but that isn’t true. The writers were wrong. Katara did use violence. She did display her dark side.

She did what she needed to do. She did not forgive the man like Aang told her to. So Aang was not correct, and that episode put me off Kat.aang even more by how Aang was trying to get Katara to forgive the man who murdered her mother. Aang felt uncomfortable with Katara’s anger, “You sound like Jet” he was used to the soft, kind, and gentle Katara who always was accommodating towards his feelings. Aang was shaken when Katara acted out of his idealized perception of her. And I love that episode for Katara. She got to do what she wanted, others be damned. She got the closure she needed. She forgave Zuko on her own terms.

After the Day of Black Sun kiss, I think that was when Aang truly began to feel entitled to Katara, and he hadn’t even asked her how she felt about him in return. I think he had the mentality of, “I’m the Avatar so she’ll have to come around sooner or later.” So when time passed after the kiss and Katara did not automatically become his girlfriend, Aang began to show his entitlement issues towards Katara during the Ember Island Players episode. During the play, Aang showed some alarming possessive behavior in regards to Katara.

He angrily nodded when an actor on stage said, “I thought you were the avatar’s girl.” That made me so uncomfortable. Katara and him had not even discussed their potential romantic feelings. But Aang still viewed Katara as his without any regard for her feelings. Then when Aang and Katara talk in the balcony, Katara looks so uncomfortable. She has her arms crossed and she plays with her hair in discomfort. It reminded me of a similar situation I went through in my own life. I felt so bad for Katara, and I related to her as a fellow woman who has dealt with pushy men. When Katara told Aang that he was overreacting and he said that “If my chakra wasn’t locked I would be in the Avatar state” I actually felt alarmed and scared for Katara. Aang said that he would go into what is essentially an all powerful destructive God-mode because an actor playing Katara said that she viewed him as a brother.

Then Aang went on to say that he thought him and Katara were going to be together after the kiss at the invasion, to which Katara had no comment. It was honestly as if she had forgotten about the kiss entirely, which again, is not a good foundation for a future romantic relationship. Aang’s immaturity really showed. He was a 12 year old who did not understand that the feelings of the other person were important as well in a romantic relationship. And people defend him with “He’s 12! What do you expect?“ Well, exactly. If he thinks he is entitled to a girl’s affection after one kiss that wasn’t even discussed after, then he is not old enough to be in a romantic relationship. Then Katara told Aang that she “didn’t know” and that “it isn’t the right time” and that “she’s confused” for some reason, Aang took this as permission to kiss her, to which she rightfully got angry at. I thought I couldn’t hate Kat.aang more than I already did by that point, but I was wrong.

Yes, they did show Aang calling himself an idiot for kissing her. But that isn’t enough. It was narratively framed as the writers wanting us to feel more sorry for Aang than Katara. I felt the message was “Yes, Aang was wrong to kiss her, but aw poor Aang! He just loves her so much!” Not, “Poor Katara, who got kissed without her consent for the second time by a boy who is supposed to be her best friend.” After Katara ran away, the camera stayed on Aang instead of following Katara to show her more negative reaction. We were meant to sympathize more with Aang than Katara, and that really rubbed me the wrong way. There should have been a scene that showed Aang apologizing to Katara and showing that he truly learned that it is wrong to kiss someone without their consent. But there was no such scene.

Then after that, there was no more discussion about Kat.aang. There was no focus on Katara’s feelings. In the finale, after Aang saved the world, Katara magically knew that she liked Aang back, and went to make out with him on a balcony. We did not see Katara’s reasons for doing that. And no, I don’t buy the excuse of, “Katara liked Aang back, she just didn’t want to be with him because of the war.” Because if that was so, she would have just told him that. But she didn’t. It was hard for me to interpret that scene as anything but Katara being handed to Aang as a trophy for saving the world. To me, Kat.aang read as a nice guy fantasy for men who do not feel as attractive and who have been rejected by attractive women. It is not Aang’s fault. It is the writers for writing it that way.

The romantic relationship as a whole made me deeply uncomfortable. Other women have spoken out about how Kat.aang also made them uncomfortable, and have been rudely shut down by Kat.aang fans, because some of them shipped Zutara, as if that somehow invalidates our discomfort with Kat.aang. It doesn’t. When Zuko chased Aang and by default Katara, he was her enemy. He was not supposed to be nice. But when Aang kissed Katara without her consent and did not care about her feelings, he was her friend. A friend is supposed to respect you. To value what you want. And Aang didn’t do that. To me, that is worse.

I understand not feeling comfortable with the enemies to lovers trope. I’m not comfortable with it either unless it is done right. With Zutara I feel that it was. Katara was allowed to be angry at Zuko. His actions were not excused. He worked to earn her forgiveness and she forgave him when she was ready. After that, they developed a friendship based on mutual trust and respect. They supported each other equally. And if a romantic relationship developed from that, I would feel comfortable with it, because they had the foundation of being friends.

Zuko and Katara cared deeply for each other, and that was shown especially during the Final Agni Kai. Zuko initially took her with him to fight Azula with him, but then decided to keep her out of the fight to protect her when he realized he could defeat her alone. Then he took lightening for her at the potential cost of his own life. Then Katara tried to heal him during the fight despite Azula chasing her. Then she did heal him with tears of joy in her eyes. You cannot tell me that Zuko and Katara didn’t care deeply for one another. So yes, I feel uncomfortable with Kat.aang and ship Zutara, and that is not invalid, no matter what anyone else says.

I also did not like the way Kat.aang was portrayed in LOK. Kat.aang was not a multicultural family. Bumi seemed to be part of neither of his parents culture’s because he was a nonbender. Kya seemed to only participate in Water Tribe culture because she was a waterbender. And Tenzin only participated in Air Nomad culture because he was an Airbender. The Kat.aang kids did not participate in both of their parent’s cultures. Katara’s only grandchildren are from Tenzin, and they are all airbending Air Nomads who never participate in her culture. I feel that it wrong, because Katara’s own culture was almost completely wiped out too, and coming from such a family-oriented culture would have made her want for her descendants to be part of her culture too.

I feel that realistically Aang and Katara would have clashed culturally and ideologically. As someone else pointed out before, Aang did show disgust for Water Tribe culture once because of the use of animal skins. He also didn’t like their food, which is fine, it’s a taste, but it is concerning because his future wife is a proud member of the Southern Water Tribe. And I can’t picture Aang being truly okay with participating in a culture that is so different from his.

People say that Aang and Katara bond over being genocide victims which is true, but I think they’d clash more over their different cultures and ideologies on life, and I can picture Katara feeling the pressure to birth Airbender children to repopulate the Air Nomads, which is just something that is so unfair to her. Kya and Bumi canonically did feel overshadowed by Tenzin, which I think definitely says something. I get that Aang was trying to rebuild his culture, but I think it would have been so much easier if it had been done with an Air Acolyte, someone who is willing to completely embrace the Air Nomad culture, so that Katara wouldn’t have that pressure on her and she’d be able to focus completely on her own culture, that was also completely annihilated.

And you may be thinking, “But Ella, Katara would have to give up her culture if she was with Zuko too!” No, I don’t agree. There are many ZK fanfics that portray Katara still participating in her own culture while married to Zuko. Their kids are proudly both Water Tribe and Fire Nation, regardless of their bending. And Zuko and Katara also have more similar ideologies on life. They are both not pacifists and both omnivores. They both come from cultures that have family units. Yes, I’m aware that the Fire Nation nearly wiped out the Southern Water Tribe and I totally understand why someone may be uncomfortable with Zutara because of it. But as I’ve said in another post, Katara does not blame the entire Fire Nation. She helped the common people of the FN and she forgave Zuko. And Zuko himself also was not responsible for the raids. And he would make reparations to her tribe and help her rebuild. Some people think Katara would be uncomfortable with marrying Zuko because of the Fire Nation’s atrocities towards her tribe, while ZK shippers do not for the reasons I explained. Therefore, we are not invalid for disliking Kat.aang and shipping Zutara.

People are welcome to have different interpretations of Kat.aang. But this is the way that I interpreted it, and that is why I don’t like it and why it makes me uncomfortable.

Thanks for this ask anon. I’m not going to lie, this was kind of hard for me to write because I’ve gone through experiences in my life where I’ve felt like Katara when she was being pressured by Aang. To any potential haters, don’t even waste your time trying to invalidate this view. You will not silence me. I send support to any other women who feel uncomfortable with Kat.aang. You are valid no matter what anyone else says.

Thanks for the ask!

[the-badger-mole]

How It Could Have Ended

Picture this: a story of a guy frozen in ice being woken up in a world he no longer recognizes. On waking, he meets a girl who is stubborn, strong and caring who takes him under her wing as he adjusts to this strange new world. The boy turns out to be the literal savior of the world, and with the help of the girl, he fulfills his destiny. There are some twists and turns, but in the end they fall in love, and it's a very sweet and satistfying ending, despite the fact that behind the scenes production drama made the last part of the series hit or miss.

Don't worry, I'm not being held at gun point and this is not a cry for help. I'm just talking about Futurama.

It's no big secret that I don't like Kataang as a ship, and I've spent a lot of words on all the ways it was a terrible ending for Katara and for the entire series. Here's something you may not know, though: I don't hate the dynamic that Kataang was built on. The lovable dopey boy and the competent, strong girl falling for each other is a Friends to Lovers trope that works really well if done correctly, and while I hate how ATLA did it, Futurama is one of my favorite examples of this ship dynamic in all of media and fandom.

The biggest reason that Fry and Leela's relationship development succeeds where Katara and Aang's failed is that the creators of the show seemed to actually care about Leela and her story. Fry and Leela's relationship develops in a way that takes them both into consideration. We get why Fry likes Leela, but we also see why Leela likes Fry. Leela's feelings matter. Leela is shown thorughout the series to have an attraction to Fry, but resists because Fry isn't mature enough to move their romantic relationship forward for most of the series run. Leela isn't made out to be the problem because of it. Despite the fact that Fry is a genuinely good guy, it's made very clear that Leela isn't wrong about him. Their relationship advances only as Fry becomes more mature, and Fry isn't maturing so that Leela will like him. Yes, she has the effect of making him want to be better, but there is never a point where Fry throws his development in Leela's face and expects to be rewarded with her affection. He hopes she'll like him back, but he doesn't demand it (also note that by "becoming more mature", Fry didn't have to stop being Fry. He was just more aware of how his actions affected others and acted accordingly).

Let's compare that to ATLA, where Katara's participation (such as it is) in her romantic development is very passive. When she rebuffs Aang's advances, our sympathy is supposed to be with Aang. Even in the end, where she initiates the kiss, that moment isn't preceeded by any discussion of her feelings or why she's decided she wants Aang. There are two moments in the show before the end where she could be argued to be showing any sort of romantic interest in Aang, in the end of the Fortunteller, and in the dance, and in both cases, it's not clear that Katara actually feels anything romantic for Aang. Her feelings are also never followed up on in either case. It doesn't need to be because Katara's feelings in this relationship don't really matter to either the writers or to Aang. She ends up with Aang in the end because that's what the script demands, rather than a natural progression of their friendship.

How the hero views his love interest is also handled very differently in ATLA and Futuram. It's very clear from the beginning that Aang likes Katara. What's made equally clear is that he likes her because she's pretty. Really think about all the moments where he's shown a romantic interest in Katara. It's all framed around her beauty, not who she actually is. Even though Aang should absolutely have understood a lot of what Katara was going though, it never comes into play in how he veiws her as a person, even when it really should. Katara and Aang have a very surfacy relationship. Katara takes care of Aang and she is a good friend to him, but she is either seeing Aang the child in her care, or Aang the Avatar. He is never Aang, the person she turns to when she needs help. In turn Aang sees Katara, the beautiful girl he has a crush on, and when she deviates from that view, he gets uncomfortable (i.e. his reaction to Katara challenging Pakku's sexism, or her wanting to go after Yon Rah). Aang doesn't understand Katara's pain, or her desperation to see the war ended. These are two characters who on paper should actually have a lot to connect on, but they don't make that connection, and the result is a very lopsided relationship where Aang persues Katara as a prize, and Katara gives in because he's the Avatar. Katara's wants are irrelevant.

Fry and Leela, on the other hand, share a deep connection that isn't just based on physical attraction. From the first episode, their bond is based on the way they relate to one another's struggles. While, yes, it is clear that Fry thinks Leela is attractive, they connect over a sense of feeling out of place and lonely in the world they find themselves in. Leela is an orphan who (she believes) comes from a whole different planet. Fry is 1000 years away from the world he knows and everyone he has ever loved is dead. They understand each other in ways the rest of the world doesn't, and they help each other carve their own path. One of the most poingnant episodes of thier relationship is X-Mas Story when Fry spends part of the episode feeling sorry for himself because he is lonely and misses Christmas with his family. Then it's pointed out that Leela is feeling even worse because while Christmas is a reminder of what Fry doesn't have anymore, for Leela, it's a reminder of what she's never had and she expects never will. Fry goes out of his way to make Leela feel better, not because he hope she'll fall for him (at this point, I don't think Fry is even that serious about liking Leela romantically yet). He did it because she's his friend, and he can empathize with her lonliness.

There's never a moment where he demands Leela's affection in exchange for the things he does. Fry saves the world, several times, over the course of the series, but he never makes that transactional. He doesn't try to leverage the fact that he is the only person in the universe who could have done what he did to even get a date with Leela. Although he does plead with Leela several times to give him a chance, Fry is also willing to back off when he's rebuffed...It's really messed up that we live in a world where that's a rare and attractive trait in a man, but here we are.

At the end of the day, Fry respects Leela. He has feelings for her and would like those feelings to be reciprocated, but had Leela refused him, he would have let her go. And we get a few opportunities to see that he would let her go. Leela has a few love interests over the course of the series, and while Fry doesn't necessarily like it, he steps aside and let's Leela do as she pleases, even if it means he might not ever get to be with her himself. Aang, on the otherhand, was ready to go into the Avatar State over the mere suggestion that Katara wanted someone else. Rather than give Katara the space she specifically asked for, he pressured her for the response he wanted, and physically forced himself on her. Aang wouldn't step aside like Fry and let Katara have every chance to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

By the time Fry and Leela get together, they have a deep understanding of each other, both the good and bad. Fry has worked on himself so he could be the partner Leela needed without any expectation that she had to pick him if he did the things he was supposed to do anyway. Leela in turn was able to let her guards down and trust Fry would see her vulnerability for the gift it was and handle her with care. In contrast, by the time Katara and Aang get together, Aang has proven his feelings matter more to him than hers. He's proven that Katara can't trust him with her vulnerabilites, and he's disrespected her culture several times (remember the time Fry literally threw himself into a toxic lake and got "mutated" so he could support Leela after she called him out for being insensitive?). Aang is the king of "girl, lower your standards!" Mike and Bryan could stand to learn a thing or 15 about building a romance from Futurama.