#i don't ship katara with anyone

[the-badger-mole]

@allnewalldifferentwildspider

I will say, I think it's interesting when people say that arguing that the finale and Kataang happening the way it was just giving Aang what he wanted is somehow us taking Katara's agency away. Katara was rightfully angry with Aang in her last two encounters with him. Giving her agency within that narrative would look like her actually having a conversation with Aang and telling him how she felt. I don't just mean romantically, I mean having an actual conversation where her conflict with him is laid out and resolved, like it would be in any healthy friendship, and much more a healthy romance. People can argue that they had a conversation off screen. That's fine. I will never tell anyone they can't headcanon whatever they please. It's none of my business unless they make it my business. Have so much fun. Don't even think about me or my opinions. They don't matter.

However, she never had that conversation. It's not in the show. It's not in the comics. It's not canon. The way her moment of "oh, I like him" was set up implied that she only considered him romantically because he ostensibly singlehandedly "saved the day" (he most certainly did not). There's never a moment where she gets to be vulnerable with him and have him help her carry her burden. No moment of why she might like him romantically (and also, may I add, we never see what, aside from her looks, Aang likes about Katara). Any "build up" of Kataang on her end is largely done through external circumstances and not the result of her coming to understand her feelings (this from the passionate girl who wears her heart on her sleeve for the entire series). They are also never again brought up by her- and the times it brought up by Aang in canon are disastrous (Lava Fissure Incident. EIP. Arguably DoBS). Katara never has a chance to confront Aang on his blatant disrespect of her culture, and it's never walked back- in fact, IIRC, in the comics, he supports the soft colonization of the SWT by the NWT.

I can understand why people have the headcanon that Katara and Aang had a deep conversation off-screen that resolved all their issues and gave Katara a chance to tell him she liked him and why. I think that if you ship them, you kind of have to headcanon something like that. But I do not think canon supports it. Their deep conversations center Aang and his feelings. Katara's feelings never seem to matter that much to Aang. He didn't even care that Katara and Sokka had lost their father to the Fire Nation after Hakoda sacrificed himself to save Aang's stupid behind. He wanted to go run off and play. Our hero, ladies and babies. There has to be a lot of head canoning to make Kataang work. I know because everything I hate about Aang and Kataang is canon. If I'm basing Kataang on the canon, it looks just like the glimpses we get in LoK, only with a lot less hero worship of Aang.

Don't get me wrong, all the overt romance in Zutara is pure headcanon. I recognize that and I love that for us. What's not head canon is that Zuko shows Katara a ton of support and respect in their short onscreen friendship. And at the risk of upsetting Aang's fans, I will argue Zuko showed her feelings more consideration than Aang ever did in the entire series.

[jana2071]

MY OTPs!

[zukoshotleafjuice]

and if i say that aang and katara's romance overshadowed aang and katara's relationship, would that make any sense to anyone other than me?

people are so used to viewing this show solely through a shipping lens (a flaw that is almost entirely the fault of the creators) that it hardly leaves space for examining the frankly incredible katara-aang interpersonal dynamic. like, for katara, aang is almost akin to a god. especially in the beginning, for her he symbolizes hope and love and admiration and he is almost larger-than-life. a child and a god. she will protect him and rely on him because through him suddenly, suddenly there's a chance that maybe her mother's sacrifice wasn't for nothing. maybe if she can help aang, love aang, then kya dying was worth it. and for aang, too, katara is his whole world. sokka too, of course, but katara's are the first eyes he saw when he woke up a hundred years after everyone he loved had vanished. it's her that keeps him grounded when he's overwhelmed with grief that he doesn't even know how to begin to process, because it's almost impossible for a child's mind to comprehend the scale of loss he's experienced. he loses his family, and she becomes his whole world. yes, he is saving the world for the sake of the world, but really he's saving the world for katara.

idk. upon rewatch, it's almost like love isn't really enough to capture what these two have going on. it's sheer devotion. it's a strange amalgamation of worship and adoration and mutual deification. it's fucking fascinating and regardless of whether you ship them romantically personally i don't, really , the relationship is so so profound. the depth of their love for each other is really on another level.

romance is secondary to what katara and aang have. they're each other's person first.

[johnskleats]

is anyone going to tell the kat@angers that it's not feminist activism to argue Katara's arc in LOK is fine on the grounds that "some women want to be homemakers and that's okay!!"

Like you're not helping real women that way. In fact, most antis for the cannon ship ARE women. Many are homemakers themselves.

Katara is not a real woman. She is a fictional woman written by men.

Can the sensibilities and wishes of a girl change by the time she is a adult? Yes!

But as this is a textual character who, as per the text, rejects the societal structure of her fictional world (which mirrors our own) that women are and can only ever be docile homemakers (i.e. I don't want to heal, I want to fight; I will never turn my back on people who need me; let's start a prison riot; let's engage in vigilante ecoterrorism; let's pitch an absolute fit because the boys are not pulling their fair weight in the homemaking; let's confront my mother's killer at the absolute rejection and condemnation of the male figures whom I am to respect; etc) it is perfectly reasonable to argue that this end was not a natural course for her character.

Fictional characters are not real people. This means that they do not change their mind off screen. That is not an acceptable argument. That is called a "plot hole", which is a nonsensical change made at the convenience and contrivance of the writer(s), who in this case are men exhibited to not care for women or girls all that much. It is within THEIR character to write this way.

Regardless of who, if anyone, Katara ended up with, Katara tolerating disrespect, neglect, abuse of her children, giving up all of her former aspirations to live in the shadow of men, and dying as a mere footnote in history (and being alright with it!!) is not surprising given the absolute vitriol Bryke has shown toward female fans of their "creation". It was supposed to be a "boy" show. It was always supposed to be a "boy" show. The creators of Supernatural and Game of Thrones did the same thing. ATLA just did it first.

Arguing "not all women" is not activism in the face of what is really happening in this discourse. Sending death threats to real, actual women with feelings in defense of a fake pretend woman's fake pretend autonomy is performative activism, and worse, hypocritical.

Not all women agree with you. Not all women feel represented and find the outcome of Katara's story satisfactory. If y'all care about feminism and respecting women's choices so much, lay off the real life women you're so fond of harassing. Our views and opinions, while opposing your own, don't affect you.

[late-draft]

One, two, three... a couple of moments in narrative, or all of them viewed isolated, could be called "misinterpretation" and "an incurable case of shipping goggles" but when the events start piling up and staying consistent between each other, every new one adds context to the previous events.

Zuko keeps Katara's necklace for 10 episodes? Oh it's a plot device so he can track them. Zuko steadies Katara so she doesn't fall off of the shirshu? Oh anyone would fall off of it while paralyzed. Katara jokes about giving a kiss to Zuko for the necklace? Oh she's uh... teasing Aang to whom this completely goes over head? Iroh keeps encouraging annoying love songs during music nights on the ship? Oh it's typical content for sailors. Zuko randomly recites cringe poetry after basically ending a fight in a draw against Katara while he's clearly running out of time? Oh it's the Rule of Cool. Katara randomly defends Zuko's hairstyle when Sokka insults it? She's uhh... defending Sokka's hairstyle even though Sokka didn't insult his own hairstyle (honestly I have no other explanation for this one). Katara is in Zuko's personal space 5 minutes after they started talking without being on opposing sides? She's uhh just that much empathetic. Zuko smiles at her on the very same day they let him stay near them? Uhhh... He waits an entire night awake to apologize to her? Uhh he's just a master manipulator hiding his selfish motives he's really sorry and would do this for anyone. Katara's glued to his side since their hug? Uhh she's empathetic. Zuko plants himself next to Katara during the play and won't budge? Uhh he's just socially unskilled (for now due to abuse) and does't quite understand what Aang wants from him. Zuko intercepts lightning for Katara in slow motion? It's the Rule of Cool again.

All of these things are true, but it's also true that when viewed as a whole... the narrative is portraying something. Reality is everything, the purposeful and the pointless. But theatrical stories pick and choose what to show, and we are taught how to interpret shorthands. Good writing won't have pointless or unconnected events. Neither is it smart to over-animate irrelevant actions.

And I purposefully didn't even list any of the symbolism or outside events that don't "originate" from the characters themselves (other than Iroh's actions because it's hilarious).

[forevermore05]

I don't know if I've said this before but going is in the mainstream fandom as someone who likes Katara is actually exhausting because the bastardization of her character is just not acknowledged enough by the mainstream fandom. Like God forbid the person who has been keeping the entire group together has mental breakdown about her dead mother. It's also frustrating the amount of times I see women being the ones bashing Katara. The difference between everyone else and Katara is that their struggles and stories have been acknowledged. But Katara's is not fully unveiled until the end of the third season. You have just gotten used to her giving little hints of information of her mother which has clearly annoyed people. Then when she fully broke down you couldn't handle it. Of course when you ship her with Zuko it gets a whole lot more exhausting because now you don't have any idea what you're talking about to a lot of people outside of this community. I find it weird that people think that Aang is Katara's moral compass. That he brought her back to the good side. I want you to look me in the eye and look at her character in the past three seasons. Katara does not require anyone else to be her moral compass she is very morally strong even if she makes mistakes, she knows what she wants and she doesn't need anyone to tell her what she needs. For a lot of people villainizing Zuko for bringing her to the dark side you do realize that this is a side that needed to be addressed. She needed to be able to fully grieve because I don't think she's been able to do that for many years. A lot of people take the line that Zuko says at the end that he may have not known what Katara needed as a way to indicate that Aang has superiority. No that's not why he said it means that he's also learning alongside Katara. Maybe she did not need to murder him but address it in a different method. Zuko and Katara were in right in addressing her pain and bringing it to the forefront . To make this clear once again your shipping preference does not sway or invalidate your opinion on a character.

[sapphic-agent]

As a non-Zutara shipper, one of the worst arguments that came from the wave of Renaissance Kataang shippers was the claim that Zuko and Katara were "barely friends." Like, excuse me? Post Southern Raiders they're practically besties.

Katara opened up to him about exactly what happened when her mother was killed, something she's never done with anyone else (Zuko was also the only one who cared enough to ask)

When she sees Zuko betraying Iroh in the play she asks, in concern, if he really said that and he gives her an open, honest answer

Katara is comfortable enough to tease him about "baby Zuko"

He trusted her- over EVERYONE- to help him fight Azula. He trusted her to have his back (over Sokka, who people claim he's so much closer to)

He was ready and willing to die for her

One thing I absolutely cannot stand in any fandom is making shit up to disparage a ship you don't like and mock its shippers. Katara and Zuko worked hard to build a close bond of trust with one another, that doesn't deserve to be pushed aside because you don't like them together

[punkeropercyjackson]

Yeah,no,Zutaras don't care about representation for anyone other than themselves.Because if they did,why do they

Call Aang white because they don't like him while knowing full well he's tibetan and come up with every insult in the book for him because he's a femme boy

Say Mai is a pick me and toxic because of her autistic-coding and trauma responses and dosen't 'deserve' Zuko even though he canonically finds the former attractive and has the latter too

Accuse Zukka shippers of being fujoshis who 'just hate women' for wanting Sokka to be bi and Zuko his boyfriend when most Zukka shippers are queer minors who only started the fandom because Atla got put on Netflix so that's how they found out it then instead of when it came out

And completely disregard Ty Lee as an even potentional love interest for Zuko by calling her 'too much of a bimbo' and 'stereotypically girly' for him when she was written with deconstructing that archetype in mind by giving her real emotions and what it puts girls through by misogynists who want to police how we present even if it's a healing/coping mechanism like in her case?

If moc queer or not love Kataang,they get called dudebros with no basis.If autistic women instead of just 'quirky nerds' love Maiko,they get strawmaned as 'creepy alt girls who're trying too hard'.If gay and trans people love Zukka,they get the classic 'these FILTHY GAYS are RUINING our HETEROSEXUAL SPACE' take.And if autistic queer girls who're femme in ways that aren't palpable to allistics and cishets love Ty Luko,we get told we aren't even worth considering romantic options because we're too 'stupid' and can't 'really have deep connections' that aren't being someone's annoying friend.You wanted Zutara to be canon because you're a woc like Katara and had a crush on Zuko?Cool,i feel the same way about Ty Luko and so do certain Maiko and Zukka shippers with their ships but none of run around cyberbullying school children and causing unnecessary infighting over it!So be quiet,not everything is about you and at this point we've proven we're too good to be near you so leave and don't forget to let door hit you on the way out♡

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What did you think of kataras character arc if you exclude all the shipping wars?

Did you like it

I think it's pretty good, and I like her character a lot. I'd say she was the best written female character, and one of the best written characters in general, and that's despite her not being my favorite on either category.

There were a few issues/inconsistencies, namely her going from not being as good as Aang at waterbending then suddenly she's a master, or her stealing from the pirates yet getting on Toph's case for "cheating a cheater", but overall I'd say the show handled her well.

I like that they allowed her to be one the kindest characters, yet don't shy away from making her assertive, proud, strong-willed, stubborn and even mean sometimes (because children be like that) and that is so satisfying to watch, especially compared to bullshit like the Netflix version that is fucking TERRIFIED of giving the characters any flaws, to the point of stripping them of any agency or emotion.

Even her being both a fighter AND a healer ties into that duality. If you mess with her, you're fucked. But if you're nice to her, she'll be nice to you. And if you're in trouble, even if you're are a stranger, she'll help you because she can't wrap her head around the notion of just letting an innocent suffer. And as a bonus she commits ecoterrorism and helps deliver babies. Girly can do anything! How could anyone NOT love her?

We see her compassion ties in with her morals and convictions in MANY episodes (Imprisoned, Jet, The Avatar State, Crossroads of Destiny, The Painted Lady, The Puppet Master, The Southern Raiders, etc) as a result it feels like we really KNOW Katara, to the point that it's super easy for me to forget that she's a character because she's just that believable. I don't see a list of traits or just necessary actions that move the plot forward, I just see Katara being Katara, reacting to and influencing the world around around her.

As for her arc, like I said, I do think it was strange how she went from struggling to do some basic stuff to being able to hold her on in a fight against Pakku so fast, but once the show settled on "This girl be strong as fuck" they made damn sure we didn't forget it and they were smart to tie that in with her being a super inspirational figure (and to also have continue to learn new things even after being considered fit to be the Avatar's official teacher, so it made that incosistency a bit less distracting).

Pakku calls her master and Aang calls her sifu, we see her doing lots of cool moves in fights, and she's powerful enough that Hama's bloodbending doesn't work on her, she literally held up the rain and parted the seas and, oh yeah, she brought the Avatar back to life. No fucking wonder the messiah of this story took one look at her, fell in love immediately, and said the SHE gives HIM hope. It IS pretty difficult to give into despair when you're friend is that awesome, and goddamn, it'd be hard not to simp.

I also love that the show lets her be smart with HOW she uses her powers. Even in the second episode, when she's struggling with her bending and accidentally freezes Sokka instead of their enemies, she's smart enough to think "I just have to do the exact same motion, but to the other direction", she can work with her mistakes. She uses her waterbending to lift up a piece of the floor to defend herself from Mai's knives. She even uses her own sweat as a source of water before meeting Hama and being made to think of "Oh yeah, nearly EVERYTHING has water." Her last battle move in the show even was a mirror to her struggling to freeze her enemies at the start of the series, with her luring Azula to the right spot to freeze them both, unfreeze herself and slowly chain her, showing us how using her powers effortlessly has become second nature to her.

But THE episode that shows us the key role Katara plays in the story is "The Desert." Appa is gone and can't fly them away, Aang is too emotionally distraught by Appa's kidnaping to be of any help, Sokka is high as fuck, Toph can't "see" or use her bending as much because she still struggles to use sand the way she uses Earth, and we know for a fact that Momo doesn't understand a damn thing that's going on. The responsibiliy of keeping everyone together and then getting them out of there fell entirely on her shoulders for that episode, and she handled it like a pro. And at the end, when Aang is going nuts with grief, Katara is the only one not cowering before his power and can bring him back to earth with just one look.

The show could never work without her. The creators even said she's the heart of the story. That's why her voice is the first one we hear in every episode. She introduces the audience to this world and is the one to welcome us back each time. We learn her backstory before we even see Aang, that's how central she is to the plot.

And just like her introduction was handled perfectly, her send off was the same. She is reunited with her dad, who is very proud of her and knows her mom would feel the same way. She has helped save the world, and now she can finally be a kid again. She is free from the war. Free to go home with her family, travel with her friends every now and again for FUN instead of on a mission.

And yes, she's in a relationship now, with the guy she has clearly been in love with for a while. That romance IS one part of her arc and I celebrate it because there's nothing wrong with wanting love. I was cool with it even back when I didn't care for Kataang as a ship and didn't think it'd last - because I already cared about Katara and had seen the literal YEARS of foreshadowing, set up and development for it.

That's why I don't mind it when people ship her with her someone else - but get furious when Zutara shippers claim ALL OF THAT doesn't really count as her being treated with respect, both in universe and by the writers, because she didn't up marrying Zuko and becoming his girlfriend and future wife. Like it was all for nothing unless she kisses an emo boy and/or end up being a ruler, despite never having any interest in ruling anything. Like Katara's character and arc, all that she is, all that she overcame, accomplished and was rewarded with is irrelevant if the romance is not with the "right" guy. ONE part of her arc not being what they would have preferred RUINS her for people COMPLETELY.

And they have the nerve to call themselves "the REAL Katara fans"? What a joke. They can ship whatever they want, but they better put some respect on her name.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Demonization of the Enemies to Lovers Trope

I find it very disingenuous when Zutara antis compare or lump Zutara with problematic ships like Reylo and Dramione. Anyone who makes a claim like this should have not any opinions about ATLA respected. Because they obviously did not watch the show.

There are major differences that set Zutara apart from Reylo and Dramione.

Zutara vs Dramione - Friendship

Zuko and Katara reconciled and became very close friends in season 3. Draco and Hermione disliked each other in canon and the best of their relationship was civility. Dramione could have served the same narrative function as Zutara by representing union after war but Dramione lacked the canon building blocks that Zutara had.

Zutara vs Reylo - Redemption

Zuko has a powerful redemption arc. But even when Zuko was an antagonist, he was never truly evil. And Zuko's actions towards Katara (eg tying her to a tree) were not completely monstrous. Zuko and Katara never crossed any boundaries while enemies. When Katara starts showing compassion to Zuko, it is in season 2 when Zuko is no longer an active threat (eg. offering to heal Iroh and their emotional moment in the catacombs). Compare this to Reylo where there are all these romantic undertones while Reylo and Kylo are still enemies. Kylo also has a worse record than Zuko: murdering his dad, oppressing countless people, killing civilians, and maiming people. And Rey for some reason, before Kylo does anything to deserve it, begins to feel sorry for him. Unlike Zuko, we don't see Kylo truly atone for what he did to Rey. Not to mention the abusive elements in their relationship such as Kylo calling Rey worthless.

The point is that people need to stop demonizing enemies to lovers ships. And stop lumping healthy ships like Zutara with more toxic ships like Dramione and Reylo. It's not a fair comparison.

[the-badger-mole]

I get the frustration around shipping within this fandom. No, really I do. It does take up a lot of the bandwidth in the conversations around the show. I don't blame the fans, though. This is really Bryke's fault. They may not have started the ships wars, but they definitely threw napalm on the bonfire. Add that and the fact that when you really look at it, the friendships- the relationships that were supposed to be the backbone of the series- don't really add up to much. The biggest mistake was trying to make Aang the heart of the group and have so much of the "friendships" hinge on him. The kid has zero empathy and nil desire to actually get to know his friends.

His closest bonds are supposedly Katara and Zuko. I've talked at length about how little focus Katara gets in their relationship, platonic or romantic. His interest in her is very shallow, and mostly focused on the fact that she's pretty and sweet. Any moment of real, in depth friendship between them is Katara supporting him and caring for his feelings, but the moment she needed him to give her the same energy, he compared the death of her mother to his losing Appa for a few days, and compared her desire for targeted justice to Jet trying to do a deep cleanse of an entire community which included children (and possibly other EK citizens). Then the episode ended with his continued misunderstanding of Katara with no attempt at getting to know her better.

His other major bond is supposed to be with Zuko, but I have many of the same criticisms (minus his hyper focus on how pretty Zuko is). Honestly, I don't think Zuko and Aang actually had that strong of a friendship. We know they were "best friends" by the end because the narrative says so, but aside from that moment after Pouhai, and their field trip to see Ran and Shaw, they don't have a ton to do with each other. Even their training together is glossed over. Zuko is more narratively tied to Katara, and he has a stronger "bros" vibe with Sokka, and even Jet, for a quick moment.

If I'm keeping it a whole buck, Aang isn't really a great friend to anyone in the Gaang. The strong friendship beats have more to do with how they are friends to him than the other way around. He doesn't offer much by the way of empathy, or even a desire to know the struggles of his friends. I know that's mostly a failing on the part of the writing, but I do like exploring that as a character trait of Aang. His negative traits are a lot more interesting to explore than his positive ones.

I love the stories that explore the friendships within the Gaang. I love writing stories that do those friendships. In particular, I think the potential Katara, Toph and Suki, and Sokka and Zuko friendships had so much potential. And I'm right. They do. But let's be real here. The major points of interest within the show are the ships. And i think it was partially by design. Who else remembers how hard the show's promo material pushed the Zuko/Katara/Aang triangle?

[dreamchasernina]

So since the fandom has come back to life and there is not enough Kataang content on this app I will start sharing my two cents. Yay.

I want to start off by saying that as the show was airing, I, as a 10 year old, did kinda ship Zutara. Let’s face it, that scene in the catacombs was a turning point for a lot of shippers. But that was before I saw the final season a couple of years later. When I rewatched the show as a whole, as a teenager I was over Zutara, honestly their interaction kind of felt awkward to me, because they were enemies for so long. So I was all for Kataang. Now, that I’ve rewatched it for like a 1000th time, as a 28 year old, I finally see Kataang for the amazing pairing that it is.

Anyway, I’m not here to hate on anyone, you can ship whoever you like, and I love Zuko so you will not see me slandering his character here. Plus I don't feel the need to hate dump on a character to make my ship feel superior (*cough* unlike some Zutara shippers *cough*).

Ok, so. I feel that when people think of Katara, and her part in the show, they remember her as the responsible one in the group, the "mother" of the group, the sensible and caring one. Yes, when Katara’s mother died she had to step in and take the responsibility of the mother in the family, like Sokka says in the Runaway, and that stayed with her throughout the show. But, I hate that that’s the only thing she’s remembered for, because that’s just the result of her trauma. I feel like most people ignore a very crucial part of her character. Yes, she is the responsible in the group, but when she gets a chance to just be a kid, that's what she is.

People forget about the fun loving side of Katara. The one that goes penguin sledding and remembers how she hasn’t done it in a long time because life hasn’t allowed her to. The side of Katara that gets obsessed with Aunt Wu’s prediction because she is just a regular girl who’s fascinated by her love life, and dreams about what her future husband might be like. The girl that tries flying on the glider with Teo. The girl that relaxes on Appa and lets the hippie girl braid her hair, completely forgetting about the next task in their journey. People forget the side of her that dances in a cave, forgetting about the war and just enjoying life. Let’s not ignore that whenever Katara has a chance, she just enjoys being a kid, not just a badasss waterbender travelling with the Avatar.

And when Katara brings that side out, you know who’s right by her side? Aang. He’s not just by her side, he’s the one initiating those little fun moments. Penguin sledding is his idea, he’s the one to remind her that even though she’s been through a lot, and has a lot of responsibilities, she’s still a kid. He’s the one to organize the dance party, in a middle of a war, in the enemy's terrorory, he still finds a way for them just to be kids. And she’s right there with him, dancing. He’s also taking part in her obsession with Aunt Wu, not belittling or making fun of her faith, but taking part in it. Also sitting right next to her in a flower crown and enjoying the music the hippies play.

You cannot ignore that part of Katara, the part that shines when she’s comfortable, the part that just wants to be a regular kid and have fun. And that’s the part that Aang brings out in her. He’s the Avatar, the weight of the world is literally on his shoulders, but he still finds a way to enjoy life and be a kid, even after going through the worst trauma you can imagine. And he’s there to remind her that even if you’ve experienced the worst, you can still find joy in the little things. She literally says in the first episode - Aang brought something we haven’t had in a long time - fun. And that’s what he brings to her, this light, and that’s why she’s so drawn to him.

Isn’t that what we want for Katara, after the war is over? To just let herself be a kid, not to miss out on that part of her life, now that she doesn’t have to worry about their survival? And the best person to bring this joy and childlike wonder back into her life is Aang. And that’s why I think that Aang is truly the best one Katara could have ended up with.

[mal3vol3nt]

lesbian ranks atla ships

tier breakdowns:

the inventors of soulmatism -- kataang ofc

cute and canon to me! -- sukka, yue x sokka, maiko, tyzula, maizula

there's potential here -- zukaang

they're okay/don't care -- jetko, jin x zuko, tokka, mailee, suki x azula, suki x zuko, sokka x suki x zuko, mai x suki, suki x ty lee

y'all will ship anyone i guess -- katoph, jet x sokka, ty lee x sokka, taang, sokka x aang, zutoph

boring, yawning, sloppy, lazy -- azula x sokka, zukka, haru x katara, azutara, jetara

shit from a butt -- zutara

idk wtf they had going on, but it was sinister -- roku x sozin

[rifari2037]

First of all, Zuko had the choice to take Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph. Zuko also had the choice to asked for help to one or two of them. But Zuko chose Katara and only Katara without thinking twice.

Why?

I guess because Zuko trusted Katara more than he trusted the rest of the Gaang. So how could Zuko save the rest of the Gaang, if he himself chose Katara as the only one who could possibly be in that situation?

Second of all, well, Zuko would save anyone from the Gaang, but didn't even save Mai, the girl who was 'supposed to be' his girlfriend, from the same person, Azula?

It wasn't a life-threatening moment for Mai - or it could have been - but still, Zuko was 'supposed to' love Mai, right? She betrayed Azula for him, but he didn't do anything for her? Not even release her from the prison even though he was going to be a new Fire Lord?

Was that even make any sense?

When he saw Mai facing Azula, shouldn't he think, "I would not let my villain of a sister hurt someone I love who save me, whatever the risk!"

People mention Aang when Zutara is shipped because Aang was the main characters of the show.

Meanwhile Mai was so flat, not only in her gesture, but also as a character. She wasn't well developed enough to becoming the love interest of a complex character like Zuko.

She didn't have much role in Zuko's character development - if any. The storyline and his arc wouldn't change at all even if Zuko and Mai never dated. That's exactly why people often forget her and rarely talked about her.

Beside, was she really loves Zuko when she didn't really wanted to understand him and his struggle?

Even if she really loves Zuko, I feel sorry for this character because her 'supposed to be' lover treating her like she was nothing. He always forget her - even right after that moment, he didn't put much effort into her - while he waited all night for another girl's forgiveness, and honestly I doubt if he really loves her.

I don't understand about 'Mai is everything to Zuko what people describe Zuko to be for Katara', like, which part?

Yes, I agree that Mai was fascinating character, if only the writers had focused more on developing this character. She was so cool as Azula's trio, and in this elite group, her and Ty Lee's character could have been written deeper.

Mai deserve better!

[eponastory]

Ah, Sarcastic Chorus...

Let's break down the 'I'm going to fix you' argument for Katara.

First off, no one can 'fix' anyone. Going into a relationship thinking you're going to change somebody and make them different is going to make that relationship bad. It's not necessarily toxic, but bad. Why? Because it's not your job to 'fix' the other person. The only one who can do that is the other person. You can only 'fix' yourself.

A lot of relationships fail because of these expectations.

I'm going to talk about fanfiction here for a moment since I've been writing a Zutara story. Since Zutara isn't Canon (but we really wish it was) and all, I only have what does happen in Canon and what happens in fanfiction tropes I see a lot.

In the show we get these wonderful little moments where Zuko and Katara are fighting each other (book one), and it sets a nice theme of opposites attract. The motifs are there with all the color symbolism... it's nice. That does immediately set our brains to 'oh they are so going to get together'. There are a lot of nuances to that, and it's lovely.

I'm not going to lie, Katara is in that group dynamic of 'The Heart' role, and yes, it does put a little pressure on her character to care for everyone. It's my least favorite role for a character and it's a bitch to write when you want that character to be independent.

Anyway, back to Katara. She's the mother figure, the caring and nurturing one that has to help everyone else sort out their problems while she has to internalize her own. It sucks. It really does. So when we get to TSR in Book 3 and she is practically berated by everyone for not acting like herself... she gets pissed, rightfully so because she had to help everyone else with their bullshit until Zuko finally joined. This is where Zuko becomes a foil for her.

Just to be clear, a foil is basically a character that encourages change to happen within a dynamic. It can be a group or a pairing. Usually, that character had opposite goals or a different personality. Zuko started out as the antagonist, but when he joined the Gaang, he's now a foil for the entire group.

Back to what I was saying... what was I saying? Oh yes!

So Katara is rightfully pissed because she needs to deal with her trauma when everyone is suddenly 'this isn't who you are'. No, this is exactly who she is. She is very much like her element. Water is fluid, it can be calm and it can be a torrent... which is exactly the way she is written. It's always been her, she just put everyone else's problems above her own. Now that she has to deal with her problems, it's chaotic for everyone else.

And yes, she does have survivors guilt.

That is her main problem, so now she has to deal with it. And Zuko gives her that chance.

This is getting pretty long, so I'll try to wrap everything up here.

Zuko doesn't need to be 'fixed' he's already done that himself by himself. Joining the Gaang was essentially a fresh start for him (I use that term lightly) which is why he is so awkward when he goes to talk to them at the Western Air Temple (or is it Eastern? I don't remember ahhhh. Fibro brain!) And it's so cute and I just want to hug him. I digress, but it's great.

He's got a shitty past, but he is trying to change himself even further by accepting responsibility for what he did to them individually. In Katara's case, he has to work hard for her. It's lovely, and the payoff is great. I know for sure that is what I see in their relationship. He cares so much about her that he works hard to win her trust again. Why? Because she showed him compassion in CoD, and that struck a chord in him. Her strength is her compassion when he was taught by his sociopathic narcissist father that emotions like that are a weakness.

That my dear Kat*angers is why we love this ship.

It's a beautiful dynamic between them that I would have loved to see Bryke explore, but they just gave us the most vanilla bland version of a romance they could find by pulling a D&B (Game of Thrones writers) and subverting expectations. It sucks.

TLDR version.

Katara doesn't have to fix Zuko.

[forevermore05]

1. I can't speak for other cultures that were represented in this show (I'm so sorry if your representation was ruined too), but since I'm a South Asian and specifically an Indian and Hindu. I think I have some credibility. Ok, so this may depend on the interpretations of Hinduism that you've grown up with if you're a Hindu reading this. Well, growing up, I was always taught that Chakras were so important. I learned that the GODS could not accomplish something unless they access all their Chakras (again, this is the interpretation I grew up with it might not be the same for you). So the fact that watching Aang just be able to live life without accessing all of his charkas properly was a big slap to the face. Let me just say this right now. If you were representing a culture, especially the culture that you base the entire show on you either do it correctly or you don't do it at all. Don't make it half-baked because that's just disrespecting the people who follow that religion. And you're emphasizing how insignificant their religious values are (mind you Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world). What little representation we had was also ruined.

2. I also want to talk about another point since I'm here. I think I've made it very clear that I'm a woman of color. Even though me and Katara Are not the same ethnicity. She was my representation through skin color. And it's so interesting. How even though I knew that she was not my ethnicity, I still grasped onto her as a representation. Now this is not a PSA for studios to say "Hey, let's have a person that is brown, and everyone will be okay with it because they will have a person of the same skin to relate to." No this is me criticizing the lack of diversity in the show. The fact that you can base an entire show on a culture but not be able to handle a main character from that culture. And also I think the reason why I like Zuko and Katara ( I've made this point before) But the amount of respect that they have. As a woman of color, I have not exactly received respect from other men whether that be because of my gender or my skin color. So seeing a woman of color be respected regardless it's just so refreshing to me.

3. Also I want people to be mindful that a lot of people who ship this ship. Are women of color and/or part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. However, I'm going to talk specifically about women of color since I'm straight. A lot of us have come from countries that have been colonized and still face the repercussions of colonization to this day, so what I'm trying to say is. When woc ship this duo they know what they're doing and they're not doing anything wrong. It's disrespectful to insult them for being racist and misogynistic when in reality a lot of these women face misogyny and racism in their own lives. They understand why they ship this ship. They understand it very well because they able to see and understand what is truly going on.

4. If you have a problem with this post and want to potentially hunt me down. I'm only saying this because I've seen other women of color be harassed for liking Zutara. I need you to remember that I'm a teenager. I'm a kid. I don't think you want to beef with a kid. And no, it does not matter that I'm 18. You shouldn't be harassing anyone over a ship. In fact, accusing shippers of being racist but then being racist to that poc/woc shipper is insane. It kind of shows that those people are not on a moral high horse.

5. I'm a kid......don't even think about it.