#it was very powerful. Big respect for Iroh doing what was necessary for them to get by

[late-draft]

On first glance, this is a funny scene about Iroh making funny faces and dancing. But it was exactly this that left an impact on me because of how hard the humour contrasts with the reality of the situation.

It stayed with me just how much this event probably disturbed Zuko: it wasn't just the stress from being in danger. He was probably appalled that Iroh would lower himself so much, that he would ever allow this; going from the position of once being the crown prince to now, submissively performing for a sneering aggressor on a filthy street in enemy territory, allowing himself to be in danger and not fighting back. (quote unquote)

Zuko certainly felt immense shame, insult and shock. Even second-hand, observing his uncle. Iroh implicitly involved him in this social ladder descent as well with his behaviour. I imagine it would continue to bother Zuko for quite some time, like a heavy bundle of stress he wouldn't know how to get rid of.

(Look at these frames. The framing and pacing tells you everything. The camera moves closer and lingers on him, he doesn't have to say anything.)

Of course, Zuko doesn't understand Iroh's position in this. It's so different from what Zuko has been through that it's normal and logical he wouldn't understand. Iroh has long since let go of pride and arrogance and of looking down on other peoples. He understands the gravity of their situation and he doesn't have arrogance preventing him from doing what he believes is necessary to help him and his nephew survive. Even if it means being a beggar and, I would assume, even taking a beating. In a way, this was also a bit of ad hoc demonstration from him to Zuko on how it's possible to not be overburdened by royal pride. It wasn't specifically a lesson on it, but the event had traces of it.

On a meta level, this scene deals with violence against the homeless. It just shows it existing and doesn't comment on it. It's also a very strong scene that continues the demonstration of both Iroh's and Zuko's characterization.

It then leads with Zuko using force to steal, contrasted to Iroh begging and being thankful for what they receive. He's very forgiving - he doesn't chastise Zuko for theft too much. It wasn't the "defeat" at Ba Sing Se that humbled Iroh (Iroh was never defeated, he withdrew). It was losing Lu Ten and thus learning the actual value of human life, the illusion of separation and kindness. But hand-in-hand with this is that Iroh also always was and stays a very resilient and steadfast person, where he doesn't give in (for the most part) to people who are truly evil and selfish. It's why the "I looked away" stays as one of the things he will always regret. He didn't bend to the bully on the street because he was weak by this point or lost his sense of orientation in the social ladder. No; he sang and performed for a gold coin with full understanding.

[welcome-to-the-end-of-eras]

Pulleyverse Characters as ATLA Benders

Mori: If any one of the pulleyverse characters were to be the avatar it would definitely be Mori, but if he weren't the avatar I think he would be an earth bender who specializes in metal bending. Like I think he would have so much fun making little metal sculptures and moving structures and stuff like that, not unlike the Beifongs in LoK. So combining those ideas, he'd be an avatar born in the Earth Kingdom who very much does not want to be the avatar.

Shenkov: He's definitely a fire bender, no question. He has that classic fire bender strength and honor routine basically engrained in him from a young age, and I feel like he could be pretty accomplished as a fire bender, but again he probably wouldn't want to do much fire bending. He'd kinda be like an Iroh situation; was and could be the strongest person in the room if he let loose, but all he really wants is some tea.

Joe: Water bender, and a damn good one too. He really mastered the calm meditative nature required of a water bender, (the man stared blank faced at a ticking bomb two feet from him, for Christ's sake) but he can also be really ruthless about it too. I don't necessarily think he would be a blood bender or anything like that, but he would definitely be able to pull the freezing rain thing like Katara.

Missouri: He would also be a water bender for the same reasons as Joe, but I think he would in fact be a blood bender. In the world of ATLA, blood benders are very widely feared, and for good reason, and I think Missouri would absolutely be capable of using something like blood bending to instill fear in people. He wouldn't like doing it of course, but he could and would if necessary.

Gale: They're very much an air bender. They're very calm and meditative when they need to be, and that is how they prefer to be, but they could definitely pull a Yangchen and just go buckwild if they needed to. And I feel like of all the pulleyverse characters, they're the least attached to their "earthly desires" (and that is relative bc none of these mfs are detached at all). Plus imagine them having a fuckin MAMMOTH as their little companion buddy instead of a bison!!! A big ass flying mammoth!!!

Valery: I honestly think Valery would be a non bender. He's all for science and everything like that, and of course benders can be scientists, but I feel like he would spend a lot of time studying what makes people able to bend instead of being a bender himself. If I were to choose one element for him I would probably choose fire, but at the end of the day it makes the most sense to me if he were more interested in studying bending.

Merrick: Earth bender. There is no other answer for him that earth bender. He's very grounded and stable in his character, but also undeniably strong. His arc about overcoming the "weakness" he feels after his leg gets messed up honestly is very reminiscent of Toph to me, and I feel like he would absolutely take the time and learn from the creatures of the earth to become an incredibly powerful earth bender. Also adding in him being a mentor for Mori and it's just >>>

Raphael: I feel like he would also be an earth bender tbh. Like he just so ardently respects the land he lives on and constantly learns from his environment to adapt, especially considering he can't always rely on the people around him, so he would turn to learning from the world around him. If I were pressed to choose another one I think he could also fit into the fire bender role, but I prefer the earth bender interpretation tbh.

January: He honestly could be a non bender too, but the Sokka kind of non bender who takes the time to learn actual fighting moves from all of the nations and become just an incredibly powerful fighter on his own. I feel like he would be especially inspired by air nomad moves being a dancer and all, and that would be the way he bonds with Gale which I think is vvv cute.

Thaniel: he has stumped me this entire post, which is very odd considering I think about this man at least five times a day, and the best conclusion I think I've drawn is he'd either be a non bender or an earth bender. So probably then a non bender born in the earth kingdom, because he does embody the earth kingdom ideals of maintaining outward strength and balance in life, but not necessarily the actual ideals of an earth bender. And tbh he seems like he couldn't give less of a fuck about bending.

[jyndor]

what to say about zutara? only thats it's one of the most beautiful most powerful ships to have ever existed! theyre not simply enemies-to-lovers, because when they were enemies they were able to find common ground! katara reached out with empathy, and along other things, that changed zuko! and zuko worked so hard to be better, and he loved katara e he respected her and her boundaries without seekng anything in return but maybe forgiveness and even then in a way that respected her autonomy

Oh, the catacombs! That was the moment I fell in love with the ship back in the day. It’s just utter perfection, I mean that whole episode is perfect, but everything about the crystal catacombs is just pitch perfect.

Zuko is immediately at Katara’s mercy, on his knees in front of her. He’s vulnerable and knows it. At some point he turns away from her but he’s still kneeling, still vulnerable, and she’s so angry and just reams him - and he lets her. Yes, he does push back when she says that because he’s the Fire Lord’s son, hatred and war is in blood - he is very conflicted about that, that is a major part of his arc (coming to terms with being better than his father) but even the way he pushes back is specific to that accusation: “you don’t know what you’re talking about.” She doesn’t, not really, and she is wrong but she is well within her rights to think that given their history. And what I love about this scene is that neither really understands the other’s motivations until that moment. For Katara, she believes that Zuko is just bloodthirsty and imperialistic because of course she does.

But when she opens up about how the Fire Nation killed Kya, she is making herself as vulnerable as Zuko is - and she falls to her knees, turns away from him to cry. They are on equal footing, but facing away from each other. Until Zuko turns around and apologizes. Then he offers up his own mother’s disappearance, and Katara starts to turn around.

So they cut away and then we see them standing again, and Katara actually apologizes for shouting at him. I think that’s very big of her and is just another example of her unbelievable empathy. And when she says that he has been the face of the FN to her, he immediately thinks of his scar, his source of shame. And Katara starts to clarify but Zuko says something so important. That his scar reminds him that he is in control of his own destiny.

Her touching his scar like no one else, offering up her spirit oasis water - something from a place that the Fire Nation tried to destroy - for something as simple as aesthetics... but I think it’s very necessary for many reasons that she doesn’t get a chance to do it. And that Zuko never agrees to it.

I’m still not sure what he would have said. I believe that if she had healed him, he wouldn’t have joined up with Azula.

It ends purposefully, beautifully inconclusive, until Zuko betrays Katara (and Iroh).

But I have to disagree about one thing, anon. Katara didn’t change Zuko in that moment. Sure, she gave him a lot to think about. But Zuko was already changing. The reason I love his redemption arc so much is because it’s really just a growing up and unlearning shit arc, like Zuko is the antagonist in the first season but is never really a monstrous person (not to excuse the things he does, because he’s absolutely in the wrong), he’s just a teenager who has been taught one thing his entire life and is also dealing with significant trauma. When he gets some exposure to the world (with the help of his uncle of course) he starts unlearning these things, honestly in spite of himself.

He doesn’t mean to, and so in s2 he’s so angry and lost but episodes like Zuko Alone show him that he has contributed to the suffering of so many people and that some people aren’t ever going to forgive him (and that they don’t have to). That’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s true.

Zuko changes himself and because of that Katara forgives him.

[rachelillustrates]

Having unexpected A:tLA shipping shifts and need to raaaaant/whine <3

As it says. Contains discussions of Kataang, Zutara and Taang.

(Guess where I’ve ended up. Hoo boy.)

Okay, so once upon a time, I was a calm, relaxed, accepting Kataang shipper. I blindly accepted that the Powers that Be (aka, the writers) intended Aang and Katara’s romance from the start, so I chose to be very on board with that. And they ARE, still, cute. I get it. Katara became Aang’s family right after he lost his ENTIRE people. There is beauty and sense in that.

But also, convenience. 

And is that enough?

My birthday was recently (yay!) and my wife and I celebrated with an A:tLA rewatch - the intention was to actually watch season 4 of “Legend of Korra,” which I haven’t seen even though I love that Korrasami is a Truth :D But I declared that intention WAY early in the summer, which led to a rewatch of season 3 of Korra, which led to a rewatch of A:tLA.

Which led to revelations of how OBVIOUSLY Zutara was set up in the first place, even though the creators put her with Aang in the end.

Hmm.

It turns out, also, that my wife is a big Zutara shipper (bigger than I realized) and that motivated me to question the blind faith I had in Kataang in the first place - if they were endgame, always endgame, why would they have written Zutara in?

I have read since that the creators claim Zutara WAS the plan in season 1, but they decided on Kataang in season 2, and that was it. So that begs the question - why would they KEEP building on Zutara after that point? There is definite evidence, all the way up to the end of the series. 

From all of that, on this rewatch, I got the definite impression that Zuko chose Mai because he assumed Katara wasn’t an option (the “Avatar’s girl” and all), and that Katara chose Aang because Zuko had chosen Mai - she was even at the party at Iroh’s tea house, in that last scene (which must have been SUPER awkward).

I had always assumed before that the writers intended Katara and Aang’s relationship to be romantic from the start of the series. I’ve actually relied on that a bit in my love of Korrasami (since part of what the writers were allowed to do - to prove that love - was to make parallels between them and Katara/Aang). So I understand how that is valuable, but now that I’m seeing things differently, I’m finding that kind of insulting - using another ship to validate the relationship they intended, but didn’t communicate well enough. And if that’s what they meant all along (which, surprise, it turns out they didn’t), should they be having to fight to validate it at all? Cause its not even just that - there are other moments in their commentary and in their canon that are clearly like “Hurrr, this is what we meant guys!” Like they’re forcing the acceptance of what they chose to do, without doing the right work to convince us.

The canon should be clear enough that validation after the fact is. Not. Necessary. I understand that mistakes are made, yes, things change, yes. But the writing within the canon work NEEDS to make up for that. And I do not feel like this is the case here.

And now that I’m examining WHY I’m having so much trouble with this, I’m realizing I had this fear-based gut reaction to the idea that The Writers could have made such a drastic mistake with their characters (since I’m writing a romance comic, myself). How could they have put the wrong people together, in the end, after all that work? But that fear was based on the idea that they had always intended to put Katara and Aang together - which they didn’t - and the assumption that Zutara is a crack ship - which it is not. I would argue now that they put more work into developing Katara and Zuko’s relationship, even “nonromantically,” than they did Katara and Aang’s. And smooshing two characters together ‘just because’ is NOT responsible writing (sorry, guys. But no).

Though I am finding myself in as much turmoil over this as I often am about Rumbelle (yeesh), I am learning something important - if you intend something in your writing, you MUST set intention early on AND do the groundwork. Especially if things change.

I also mentioned that this rant would include Taang thoughts, and that is true - one other thing that bothered me about all this is that I really like Aang. I am inspired by his spirituality, and I wouldn’t want to see his heart broken. Still, that is not a good enough to put him with someone who would be better off with someone else - who would be more loved, and more treasured, and more equal in life.

We haven’t seen a lot of what Katara’s life as Aang’s wife was like - but in the comics, as his girlfriend, I feel like she has lost some of her autonomy. Everything always HAS to be about him and they world they’re building, guided by him as the Avatar. Maybe that’s not how it is, in their private moments, and I admit that I’m not caught up on all the comics (I have yet to read “Smoke and Shadow”) but she does read as less of a badass in the comic stories than she did in the series. Her autonomy seems watered down (whoops, pun) and I noticed that even before this shipping conflict came up. I’m really feeling like her future with him would be much like Pema’s life with Tenzin in “Legend of Korra” - the rebuilding of Air Nomad culture is SO important that it eclipses all else. And while Pema chose that, falling in love with Air Nomad culture even before she fell for Tenzin, I believe that intense focus would be harder on Katara, who is even more willful and has different needs and desires.

She might run into similar problems being with Zuko - the need to restore his nation’s honor, after what his father did, is also hugely important. BUT - she being who she is, and so devoted to her people and her culture too, actually feeds into that same mission. 

How better to show the world that he’s devoted to a more equal, peaceful future than to take a wife who’s of a different culture? (I would argue, especially a Water Tribe one, since they were the closest to being wiped out after the Air Nomads - what would have happened if Zhao had succeeded, at the North Pole in season 1? Exactly). 

Also, the fact that they already have love between them (or at least affection, very clearly), and how Zuko understands her even better than Aang does - even though Aang was right about the non-violence in the end of “The Southern Raiders,” Zuko more understood her need for revenge and closure from his own experiences, in ways that Aang couldn’t. And that anger IS a part of her, much more than it is a part of Aang. 

She and Zuko balance each other out and compliment each other so nicely - that’s how they came to care for each other so quickly in the first place, even after all that Zuko had done to the Gaang. And the status of being the Fire Lady, in a loving relationship to boot, would give Katara the power to effect change as she wanted and needed - not just based around what Aang needs.

But that still leaves Aang in a position of not being able to care for her in the ways she needs, or give her the autonomy she needs - which, while its not his fault per se (Avatar stuff? Not his fault. Need to rebuild his entire culture? Not his fault), it is still a problem and would still show up in any relationship he has.

Or would it? - if he was with someone who respected that, but instead of giving in and doing just what he needed, chose to take a step back and do their own thing in an equally respectful way.... that would work. That would give both him and his partner the space they both needed to be who they are in the rebuilding of the world. 

Toph would be EXACTLY like that, with him.

I admit, the start of my interest in Taang was not from an interest in their chemistry. Since I unquestioningly followed Kataang before, I didn’t even consider what their relationship would be beyond their friendship, and just enjoyed their banter as it is. But now, reexamining things as I’ve described, I think there’s some gorgeous potential there. 

Aang is really very clingy with Katara - though he loves so deeply, and that’s beautiful, his NEED for her is a bit unhealthy. He won’t be able to focus on his mission as the Avatar, the needs of the world AND have a fully healthy relationship if his partner isn’t a) also completely devoted to that mission 100%, without any other needs, or b) able to set healthy boundaries and just do their own thing and let him do his. 

I don’t think Katara fits into either of those categories - not that she’s incapable of setting boundaries at all, but her relationship with Aang is so focused on entirely what HE needs, who HE is, that I don’t see her living up to her full potential with him. 

But Toph clearly would be able to let him be him and herself be herself, and that’s that, and that would work. Yes, they would both need to do a bit of growing to get there - he would need to detach more, just as his troubles releasing his Crown Chakra showed us, and learn to be okay with taking care of himself and letting his partner take care of herself. She would need to learn to let herself be vulnerable, and loved. 

But once they get there, how beautiful would that be? :)

I’m sure I’ll be thinking on this (and probably drawing on it) MUCH more, but let me just say again that I’m grateful for this insight into why I was upset, and for this exploration of how the writing happened and the creation of these loves in the first place - and I look forward to what I can learn from Zutara and Taang, since I always learn from ships (unless, you know, I just accept them as they are and don’t do any thinking about them at all. Which is where I was before this shift. I am a very silly person).

Gonna leave you with this gorgeous Taang artwork, too (also in hopes that someone knows who the artist is, I can’t find them!) <3

(And kudos to anyone who read this whole thing, since I wrote it for my own brain-craziness!)