#justice for katara

[freetobee1216]

Hi I'm writing a Zutara fic and this is the first chapter

Warning, literally zero mention of Zuko yet, I plan for this to be the slowest of slow burns. Also I change cannon slightly, basically the events of the show take place over the course of 3 years instead of 6 month, just cuz I think it makes more sense.

Anyways, enjoy chapter one!

Chapter 1:

The wind ripped at her howling skin as she tried to manage the swelling gathering under her eyes. Far below, she could feel the crashing ocean waves of her element calling to her, screaming a familiar song that sounded like home. Pull yourself together she scolded herself, Aang was expecting her for dinner. Katara took one deep breath. Two. Three, and the emotions that moments ago were ruling her every action, telling her to run to where she belonged, ceased to exist.

Walking away from the cliff that overlooked the clouds swirling around the southern air temple, she stuffed the crumpled letter deep into her pocket. She could hear the sounds of meditation instruments coming from the gardens. Here, the newest air acolytes were coming to terms with their decision to turn their back on the life they once knew in order to follow the teachings of the Air Nation. A worth cause, a good decision, but that fact still couldn’t take away the sting of homesickness.

Raja, a girl from the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom, sat cross legged struggling to focus on her breathing. Her knee kept bouncing at an alarming rate and her eyebrows were so scrunched together that they looked like a unibrow. Katara waved to the girl and she sheepishly smiled back. Raja was sweet, only a year younger than Katara at 18, and the two had become fast friends in the month she had been here. Katara raised her eyebrows at her friend as if to say, need a break? Raja quietly looked at the rest of her group, specifically at Angi, the group leader, to see them all peacefully meditating. She silently stood up off the orange pillow and tip-toed to the path where Katara was waiting for her. The pair linked arms as they walked trying not to laugh and get Raja caught for playing hooky. When they cleared the corner and the music faded into the wind, they both broke into barks of laughter.

“You looked like your head was about to explode back there,” Katara said through her snorts.

“I honestly thought it would, I just can’t seem to get this sitting still concept.” Raja laughed back. “They’re doing that for the next hour, hopefully no one will notice I left.”

“I doubt it, wanna help me cook some dinner in the meantime?” Katara asked her friend.

“Yeah, anything other than that sounds good to me, what’s on the menu tonight?” She responded gratefully.

The pair went off to the vegetable patch to grab some ingredients then spent the next half an hour cooking together. Raja told her all about the drama with the new acolytes; who was just trying to rebel against their parents, who had already been caught hooking up, and who was out to steal her boyfriend. Katara laughed at all her friend’s stories, she had a way of imitating the others and embellishing just the right amount to make the story compelling. She was also aware of the many girls who joined the acolytes just to try and get closer to Aang, though she didn’t feel that pang of jealousy like she used to. She assumed she was just so desensitised to it at this point. Two and a half years of fending off pursuers and watching your boyfriend be absolutely oblivious to it, will do that to a girl.

“So, are you gonna pull out some master waterbending on the new ones to clear them off?” Raja joked as she chopped up carrots.

“Honestly? I don’t really care anymore, is that bad? O-or mad?” Katara contemplated while stirring the stew boiling beneath her making her face flush.

“Or wise?” Raja interjected adding in the carrots to the large cauldron.

“But, shouldn’t I feel something? You know just something more than nothingness?” Katara blurted out before she could help herself, these were thoughts that shouldn’t be voiced. Katara hid her face from her friend as she went to grab some herbs from the shelf on the other side of the kitchen.

Raja was quiet for a little bit before smoothing over with, “I think its fine, I mean it’s not like any of those girls are a threat to what you and Aang have, he loves you and would never cheat on you with some floozy.” She laughed out the last bit.

Katara swallowed and turned back to her friend with a smile and joked back, “Oh he’d never even dream of that, he knows he couldn’t take me in a fight if he did.”

The girls dragged the bulky cauldron filled with the vegetable stew out to the communal mess hall on the other side of the door. The room was already filling with hungry acolytes and Katara heard Raja curse under her breath. A stern looking Angi was stomping her way through the crowd that was gathering and making a beeline straight for Raja.

Raja sighed, “Well, I gotta go deal with her wrath, this is the third mediation I’ve skipped out of this week.”

“Wait, it was my fault, please let me talk to her,” Katara said, guilt spreading through her bones.

“Nah, it was my choice, I was looking for any excuse, don’t worry about it,” she said before skipping up to Angi. Katara could hear he start to apologize when she felt someone sneak up behind her.

The master bender was about to steal the water from her pouch and get ready to fight when she felt a pair of familiar hands cover her eyes. “Guess who?” the voice said. Aang.

Katara’s shoulders relaxed and she turned around to give her boyfriend a hug, “Hey Aang.”

“The stew smells great, thanks for cooking tonight! I know it wasn’t your night, but Sheejik wasn’t feeling great and I didn’t know who else to ask” Aang apologised.

“It’s fine, I like having something to do, should we grab a bowl and go to our normal spot?” Katara asked.

“Yeah, sounds great!” Aang said. Normally, they would eat in the mess hall with the rest of the air acolytes, but occasionally the two would sneak off to the private balcony downstairs that was build directly into the cliffside. It was beautiful, overlooking the other mountain islands in the sunset. It was a place where they could feel both of their native elements, the ocean below and the whipping winds around them. It had felt balanced, or well, it mostly did.

“The sunset is beautiful tonight,” Aang remarked. It was burning a bright orange that let into a salmon-like pink on the edges of their vision. The waves below perfectly reflected the light of the sun, and far to the east, dots are starlight where starting to breakthrough the periwinkle.

“Yeah, it is,” Katara said, being drawn to the last lights of the sun.

“Not as beautiful as you though,” Aang said softly.

Katara once might have blushed at a comment like that, but she was far too mature now. At least, that’s what she thought was keeping the heat from creeping up her neck. She did however paint a smile on her face and lean over to kiss his cheek, when she puled away Aang was bright red. “Thank you.”

“Have you, uh heard from Sokka?” Aang asked changing the topic.

Katara felt the letter in her pocked multiply in weight tenfold, “Uh yeah, you?”

“I got an awesome letter from him this afternoon, he’s been named Chief in Training! And he told me all about his plans to expand the Southern Water Tribe with the aid they’re getting from both the North and the Fire Nation. It’s really great what he’s doing down there,” Aang rambled on about things Katara already knew about.

She tried to hide her face by looking south towards her home, “Ye-yeah, I got a letter today too.”

“You don’t sound that excited,” Aang noticed.

“Well, I just, I don’t know Aang, it’s a lot of change.” Katara said, frustration beginning to build in her chest.

“But change is good Katara, it’s a natural part of life,” Aang tried to reason with her.

“I know that,” she snapped, then tried to regain control over her words when she saw his hurt face, “It’s just, it’s hard that all of this is happening without me.”

“All of it is happening because of you Katara, without what me, you and Sokka did, going to the Northern Water Tribe and getting them to care about the South again, stopping the war. Without that, this wouldn’t be happening.” Aang said.

“But it’s not fair! That’s my home, and it’s changing without me there! Am I even going to be able to recognize it when I return? What if the North takes over too much? What if I wake up one day and my culture is so different it doesn’t make sense anymore and I did nothing to stop it because I wasn’t there?” Katara yelled, her anger and confusion bubbling up to the surface.

“Katara, it’s going to be okay; you just have to trust in your tribe, they’ll find the right way,” Aang tried to reassure her, grabbing hold of her hand.

“It’s not about trust it’s-” Katara started pulling her hand away, but then she sighed. He doesn’t understand her anger, how could he? He has to put all of his hope into trust at the moment for his nation, or else there would be nothing left. He is trusting these new members from all over the world to find it’s way back to some semblance of the Air Nation and what he lost all those years ago. Looking at Aang, she sees the scared homeless kid from the iceberg, the pain that is still there hiding under the surface. She takes a deep breath and dissipates her anger, grabbing back hold of his hand; this isn’t something that is helpful for him to hear. “You’re right, it’s all going to work out, I was just being anxious. Of course, Sokka will figure it out.”

Aang smiled at her and leans in for a kiss, she closes her eyes and reaches within herself to try and feel how she used it, something small in her chest tried to wiggle its way out, but it feels as if it has been locked away. Their lips touch and she’s just going through the motions. It’s fine, she tells herself, this is just what happens when you’ve been a couple for a while.

The door behind them bursts open and a young boy no more than age 13 named Ren blushes profusely, “I am so sorry Master Aang to bother you and your girlfriend, but there is a reporter from Ba Sing Sei here and he wanted to get an interview about the progress of the Air Nation,” he blurts out in one single breath.

“Uh yeah, Katara do you mind?” He asks, still concerned about their earlier discussion.

“Of course, send them in.” Katara says giving Ren a maternal smile, not wanting to make the boy any more akward than he already looked.

“Of course!” he squeaks out and turns down the hall. They can hear him say something to the other side of the door then pronouncing, “Right this way sir.”

A well-dressed man in his mid-20s appears at the threshold. He is wearing a traditional Earth Nation robe and sports the most fashionable facial hair in Ba Sing Sie, a well-groomed moustache and goatee. He gives a low bow in the way of greeting towards Aang, “Avatar Aang, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Manu Sho and I have been writing for some time about the tireless efforts you have been making towards restoring the Air Nation with the Air Acolytes. It would be an honour if I could receive an interview with you.”

“Of course, come join us, Katara and I were just finishing our dinner, would you like a bowl as well?” Aang offered.

“That would be lovely,” he said and looked expectantly at Katara. “Oh, you must be Katara, Avatar Aang’s faithful girlfriend.”

Katara squirmed in her seat a bit but said, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“And you are from the Watertribe?” he asked gesturing to her outfit.

“Yeah, from the South, that’s where I first found Aang.” Katara said, feeling as though she was being looked at through a microscope.

“It must have been so nice for you to get to travel with the Avatar and learn waterbending from him!” He said joyfully.

“Oh, actually, I was Aang’s teacher.” Katara said, and edge entering into her voice. This wasn’t the first time she had to clarify this.

“I thought the Avatar was taught by Master Pakku in the North?” Manu said in confusion.

“Well yeah for about a month or two, but I was the one teaching him for almost 3 years,” Katara said haughtily.

“Yeah, Katara is a master waterbender!” Aang added in helpfully.

“Oh, I’m sorry I was misinformed,” the reporter said looking more like the uncomfortable one now. Good, Katara thought to herself. “Um, may I have some of the stew please?”

“Oh right, of course, uh Katara, would you mind grabbing Manu a serving?” Aang asked trying to smooth over the rough interaction.

“Sure,” Katara said through her teeth and crossed arms. She stomped back upstairs to the mess hall and grabbed Manu a serving, muttering to herself the whole time about blatant sexism and forgotten female narratives. When she returned, Aang and Manu were laughing together, talking about cabbages.

“Here you go,” Katara said shoving the bowl into Manu’s hands, then sat down next to Aang. Manu looked a bit unsure at Katara, but she was refusing to move. She had been helping with the efforts to rebuild the Air Nation just as much as Aang was. Katara stared the journalist down in a dare, he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he continued to ask about the progress from the last two years after the war ended. Both Aang and Katara answered his questions about the acolytes, the program they were following, the diet and efforts to restore traditional Air Nation vegetables in the gardens, the newest recruits, everything. It was going pretty well and Katara had calmed herself down now that Manu was actively listening to her. But then it happened; he brought up the idea of kids. This was something she and Aang had been avoiding speaking about ever since they got into a huge argument last month about it.

“The air acolytes are great, but when are you planning on hopefully producing the new generation of airbenders?” Manu asked bluntly looking between the two of them.

“I’m sorry what?” Katara asked her mood going south immediately.

“The new generation of airbenders, when will you be producing them?” he asked as if she were slow.

“Yeah, I heard your question, what I don’t understand is why you are asking it,” Katara snapped at him.

“Well, Ms. Katara, it’s an important question, the world is out of balance, we will be needing more airbenders,” he said.

“Well, Katara and I aren’t sure on the timeline,” Aang answered trying to be diplomatic.

“Aang, I do not want to discuss this publicly,” Katara hissed at him.

“You are a few months away from being 20 are you not? And the Avatar has just turned 18, that is a perfectly respectable age to start having children, especially because you will probably need to have a lot in order to get the new generatio-” Manu began.

“Okay that it, we are done here!” Katara interrupted grabbing his quill and scroll out of his hands that he was taking notes with and packing them into his bag, “You can go now.”

“But, I, uh, miss I am not finished,” Manu sputtered.

“Master.” Katara said.

“I’m sorry what?” He asked.

“It’s Master Katara, and you are dismissed,” She ground out, pulling the water from her pouch and getting into a defensive stance.

“Uh yes of course, Master Katara, Avatar Aang,” he said quickly bowing to them both and running off.  

Katara slammed the door to the balcony shut and let out a grunt of frustration. She then walked over to the balcony to put her head down onto the railing. Aang watched her quietly from the bench. “Katara, we need to talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about?” she huffed moodily, still staring out at the horizon. The sun was almost completely set by now, just a small sliver of it that was reaching out towards her.

“I had a feeling people were going to start asking us this, that’s why I’ve been really wanting to talk about it with you, but you keep avoiding this,” he said gently, standing up to walk towards her and putting hand on the small of her back. “I could make you a necklace first if that’s what you’ve been waiting for, well I have been car-”

“No!” Katara said, protectively placing a hand onto her mother’s necklace and backing away, “No, I don’t want a new necklace.”

“Well, what do you want? We need to talk,” Aang repeated.

“But I’ve already told you how I feel about this. Yes, I want kids someday, sure, but on my terms. I’ve been acting like a mother since mine died, and I want my freedom Aang. I never got the chance to be young and, I’m just not ready,” Katara spoke feeling as if they had been here before. The moon began to shine above them as the sky went dark.

“But, when will you be ready?” Aang pleaded.

“I don’t know, I’m just confused right now and I can’t give you an answer. I… I don’t know if I’ll ever have an answer for you…” Katara trailed off.

“Katara, being a dad, it’s not only something that I really want, but it’s also a duty I have to fulfil. It’s my destiny to bring balance to the world, our destiny,” he said reaching to hold her hands in his.

“Well, I didn’t know that falling in love with the Avatar meant I would have to sacrifice so much!” Katara yelled in frustration dropping her hands out of his grasp.

“Sacrifice?” Aang asked, his voice cracking in hurt.

“Yes! This is a sacrifice! I don’t want to be a breeding farm for airbenders! Or give up my culture to serve another! Or lose myself in your projects!” Katara shouted, her anger getting the better of her. She was saying things that she had hid deep inside her soul, things she never wanted to tell him because she couldn’t bear the pain it would cause.

“I’m not asking you to do any of those things!” Aang yelled back at her.

“Yes, you are, that’s exactly what you ask of me every day, how do you not see that? Where am I in any of this? People don’t even remember what I have done, what I have given up already to bring peace to the world. Where is my peace?!” She couldn’t stop the hot, angry tears from spilling down her face at this point. Everything she had been holding in was spilling out of her in thunderous waves of hurt. Every breath was strained with emotion.

“I thought I was your peace, like how you’re mine.” Aang whispered, tears filling his eyes as well.

“I thought you were too, but…” Katara said and turned away from those eyes, so filled with hurt and betray. Her guilt was eating her alive. She sobbed inwards, crossing her arms over her chest as if she could hold herself together.

“I’m not anymore. Am I?” he asked, emotion welling in his throat.

Katara’s sobs turned silent now, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t see out her eyes. Why was this so hard? What had happened? This place, once lovely, now was her prison. She cried, “I don’t know why you stopped, why I stopped.”

“Do you think I could be it again?” he croaked out.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back, staring at the dark waves below.

They stood there, her back still turned to him, silently crying for an interterminal amount of time. At one point, Aang reached out towards her, taking one step, but then stopped. His reach hung in the air for a full breath, but then he turned and walked away. Out of the balcony, out of the building, and took off towards the skies on his glider. She was left to drown in a bed of her own making.

That night, Katara packed a bag.

[ok-boomerang]

Part of the reason why Ka.taang falls so flat for me—well, besides *gestures wildly at everything*—is that Katara being "confused" about her feelings for Aang, and wanting to wait to talk about them, is not that believable.

She says they have "other things to worry about"—okay, that's understandable I GUESS. A little weird for Katara because she didn't even wait five minutes before cozying up to Jet even though they also had "other things to worry about," but whatever, let's say this is different since they're so close to ending it.

"This isn't the right time"...but after the war is the right time, because then she's going to magically understand her feelings and act on them? (Yeah actually.) Here's the thing: these kids are at WAR, they know they could die, and Katara, who is clearly a romantic, would probably not let someone she truly has feelings for face his possible death without telling him the truth. Even if she didn't want to start a relationship before the war ended, she could still say, "I LIKE YOU, BUT—"

I mean, "I don't know," "I'm confused," and "This isn't the right time" are ways someone young might let a friend down gently. Especially if, idk, that friend was about to go face his death.

I know the real reasons Katara said she was confused—all narrative reasons, like Bryke wanted her reciprocated feelings to be a surprise and wanted Aang to get the girl after he won the war. But I can't help being furious anyway, and my anger feels a lot like it does when I'm railing against something sexist.

[countessravengrey]

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE ASSASSINS IN THE BACK

I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such a interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

[julsera]

FLAMING FIRE FLAKES CHALLENGE.

I rewatched the show, it's still so so good ♡

[meoowwxx]

w/ katara doodle

[atlaculture]

Cultural Fashion: Katara's Fire Nation Outfit

Was looking at some of my old posts and wanted to re-do a few of them, now that I'm 4 years older wiser.

Katara's Fire Nation outfit is inspired by the outfits worn during traditional Dai folk dance performances. These outfits are typically comprised of form-fitting tops that show off the midriff paired with flowing skirts or pants that emphasizes the elegant movements of the dancer. The necklace and other accessories that Katara wears are also reminiscent of the costume jewelry worn for these performances.

The Dai minority group refers to several Tai-speaking ethnic groups in southern China (Yunnan province) that are closely related to Lao and Thai people, both linguistically and culturally. They're a great inspiration for Fire Nation fashion. Fittingly, Katara debuts this outfit in the show's dancing-focused episode. Below are some examples of the elegance of Dai dance:

The "Peacock Dance" is the most famous Dai dance:

[firelily-mermaid-jedi]

I just really wish that it would be more acknowledged that what Katara said to Sokka WAS NOT WRONG.

Of course his relationship with their mother is different from hers. That's just a fact. They are different people, who had different needs from, and they react to situations differently. And they were different ages. How a parent treats an older child is going to be different to how a younger child can be treated. That is not a bad thing (usually). Of course she mothered them differently even though they were under the same igloo. And that's not even getting into how she mothered them due to their gender.

Could it have been said nicer? Probably. But he and Aang pushed her into that outburst. And Katara was just spittin' facts.

Hi,

Hope you are doing well. Thank you for the answer on the previous query, regarding Zuko.

Going back to TSR, I want to ask two things.

First, the outburst that Katara had at Sokka was harsh. But, I think given what we know about Katara, she would have had an outburst in the episode at some point I think. Maybe not the outburst she had in the episode, but definitely she would have shouted at Sokka and Aang, maybe.

Second, Katara tells Aang, that she knew he would not understand when he wonders what will Katara's trip achieve. To me , it shows a problem in their friendship. At this point, we are nearing the end of the series, and Aang and Katara have established a friendship, but it looks like Aang does not understand her as well, if he even asks about what the trip would achieve.

I would like your thoughts on this.

I've said before that I think she would have had that specific outburst at Sokka sooner or later, even without the context of what to do about Yon Rha, because that was an issue between Katara and her brother that had been established since episode one, Katara feeling like she had to carry the family in her mother's absence and carrying some resentment towards Sokka over it. Some of which is misplaced, but it's definitely fueled by Sokka's sexism and dismissal of her waterbending abilities, both of which are things that in turn fuel Katara's guilt over her mother's murder. Because as the remaining girl in her family, she is forced to mother her older brother, and as the remaining waterbender in her tribe, she is forced to carry a part of her culture that her brother doesn't seem to understand or respect at the beginning of the series. They did not experience Kya's murder the same way and that would have come between them sooner or later, as long as Katara had unresolved feelings of anger over it. Sokka siding with Aang just brings that tension and unresolved anger to the surface.

Aang doesn't just ask her what the trip would achieve, he asks her in a way that is meant to be sarcastic. Which implies that Aang things nothing will be achieved if Katara confronts Yon Rha. And not only does Katara tell him he doesn't understand, she says she knew he wouldn't understand. Which not only indicates that Aang doesn't understand, it indicates that Katara does not trust him to understand. Which is even worse for their relationship. Aang could have said "I don't understand what you hope to get out of this," and it would have been less insulting. He tells her angrily that he does understand, but also that he thinks what she wants to do is pointless and that she's a bad person for doing it.

Then he backtracks when she doesn't kill Yon Rha and says he knew she'd make the right choice. And not only is he wrong about what choice she makes, because he says he "knew" she would choose forgiveness, but he most definitely did NOT know she would make that choice. He thought the only two choices were forgiveness or murder, and made it clear to her that he thought those were her only two choices. Katara was right when she said he didn't understand, because he didn't. He didn't understand what the trip would achieve, tries to convince her not to take it, and then once she does, is convinced her only two options are forgiveness or murder, and is wrong about which choice she makes in the end and wrong about Katara not finding closure without forgiveness. He also never seems to understand because it is never mentioned again after that. He just tells her he "knew" what she would do, is told he is wrong, never has any reaction whatsoever to being told he is wrong, and then it is never mentioned again. Not only does the show not let Aang be wrong, but they denied him an opportunity to understand and learn about Katara by not giving him a scene where he could be like wow gee-willies, the girl I like is capable of choosing right from wrong all by her selfsies! Who would have thought!

[allgremlinart]

The REASON Katara is so disgusted by bloodbending is because of the way she was introduced to it and how she was forced to take hold of a power she never WANTED in order to save the lives of Aang and her brother. Why she found bloodbending subsequently so disturbing was because the form it was introduced to her as was very specifically about superimposing your will onto someone else, violently, outside the conventions of combat as she knows it, and without their consent - we do not know what she would think of bloodbending as used as a medical technique because she was never exposed to bloodbending as used as a medical technique.

It is not out of character for Katara to be disturbed by what is basically a rape of willpower - someone like, say, Sokka might see it in more pragmatic terms and consider its usefulness, but she has always been his foil when it comes to issues like this - I think it's very believable that her deep empathy and initial negative emotional impression of bloodbending would put her off from experimenting with it more in the future.

Frankly, I agree that it would be cool to explore bloodbending more in a less "oh so scary and evil" way, but I stand by what I've said above on characterization. Also, from a meta level, Katara made bloodbending illegal because, like, waterbending would just be too OP otherwise. So there's that.

[freetobee1216]

hi I've written chapter two of my zutara slow burn

In the light of early morning, Katara raised from the bed she didn’t get much sleep in, determined to stick with her decision. She makes the bed one last time, taking care to flip the tear-stained pillow over to the other side. She didn’t have much in the room, while she wasn’t an air acolyte herself, she felt strange having worldly possessions decorating her room when everyone else’s was bare. She did however have a few paintings on the wall; one an awful painting done by her goofy brother, one a portrait of her mother, father, Gran-Gran, Sokka and her from when they were little and her mother still alive, and one done by a professional artist after the war had ended featuring her friends and her looking rather heroic. Her eyes lingered on Aang only for a moment, that was right after they had first gotten together. She pulled her gaze away and looked at her friends, Toph, Suki, her brother, and Zuko.

Spirits, when was the last time she saw any of them? They would visit the temple from time to time, but each of their visits recently became more and more sparse as their schedules became busier. Toph was establishing a metal bending academy teaching the skill she single-handedly brought to the world. Suki was leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and they were often off doing missions to help restore the Earth Nation. Her brother was getting more and more responsibility put on him as he began preparing to take over the role of Chief. Zuko was also in a similar boat, the majority of Fire Lord obligations were now on him as Iroh and the other advisors believed his training was officially finished. It seemed like all of her friends had found their place in this world, while she was still drifting, and drifting apart from them. No, that’s unacceptable, Katara thought. These people were her family, and she spent too long without them.

Katara added the paintings into her rucksack and quietly tiptoed to the kitchens. As the sun was still rising, not many people were up yet and she luckily didn’t run into anyone. Entering through the back door, she sneaked to the pantry to grab some supplies.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice said from across the room.

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin and as she prepared for a fight when she saw the owner of the voice, “Raja, what are you doing up this early?”

“Breakfast shift all week for skipping meditation practice, Angi said because I seemed to like to cook sooo much,” She yawned out. “Now, what are you doing?”

“I was, uh, well, I…” Katara looked anywhere but her friend, she can’t believe she was about to leave without saying goodbye.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Raja asked bluntly, gesturing to her bag and clearly travel attire.

“Yeah,” she answered back, there’s no going around this.

“I had a feeling this was coming, ever since I met you, you’ve had this air of unsatisfaction around you. I get it, you don’t have to feel guilt around me. I-I did the same thing... Did I ever tell you why I decided to join the Air Acolytes?” her friend said slowly, walking over towards Katara and sitting casually on the counter.

“Not really, you just said you wanted a change of scenery and that you always admired the history of Air Nomads and their life style,” Katara said.

“Yeah, well that’s a load of badgermole dung. Well, okay, not all of it. But, not that far off.” Raja ranted, “Okay, so, before I left yes, I did have a special interest in the Air Nomads, but it wasn’t until my girlfriend and I broke up that I decided to come here. She, she was cheating on me, and I just had to leave.”

“Oh Raja,” Katara whispered softly.

Tears began to form in her friend’s eyes as she relived the pain of her breakup, “I had found these letters that she was writing to this other girl, and I just, I didn’t want it to be true. But it was true. That night, I confronted her and she had nothing to say, so I left. I packed a bag and I got a ticket on the next ship out to the Southern Air Temple. It was awful, I cried the whole way there, but Katara, I’m telling you this now because I don’t regret it for a second. Not one moment of that pain do I regret,” She looked directly into Katara’s eyes now, her gaze burning fire into her friend. “It was awful, and torturous, and it ripped my heart out of my chest, but if I hadn’t found those letters, I would have married her and stayed in my small town my whole life. I would have lost myself in her world, I already had been, maybe, I don’t know, that’s why she went looking for someone else, I was too wrapped up in her.” She paused looking out the window, Katara left the space for her friend to keep going. When she was ready, she continued, “I am so glad though that I left, and it doesn’t matter that it took a stupid girl to push me off the cliff. I did it, I’m here. Katara, what you’re doing now, it right, it hurts, but it’s right. I know it is. I know I’ve only known you a short time, but I will always have your back.”

Katara couldn’t take it anymore, she leaped into her friend’s arms and hugged her fiercely and the pair cried together, “thank you,” she whispered into Raja’s ear as they held each other tight.

“Do you know where you’ll go?” Raja asked, her voice still thick with emotion.

Katara pulled back and wiped her eyes, “To Kyoshi Island first, I have some good friends there, then I’m not sure. Maybe back home for a bit too?”

“Will you write to me?” Raja asked, a slight wobble to her voice.

“Of course!” Katara cried out, she grabbed hold of her friend’s hand and added, “Thank you Raja, truly. You are a good friend.”

The two hugged again for a long moment, “You should go quickly, before the rest wake up, here let me help you pack some food.”

Together, they picked out fuel for Katara’s journey and swiftly buried it in the bag, then it was time for Katara to run out of the kitchen and down the path that would lead her to the lowest hanging cliffs. It was so hard to say goodbye to Raja, especially after hearing her story. If Katara ever met that ex of hers, spirits have mercy on her soul.

Once at the cliff side, Katara turned to look at the beauty which was the Southern Air Temple. While she could still admire the aesthetic of the place, everything about it screamed Aang and her heart splintered. After one last, long look, she jumped into the raging waves below. At last surrounded by her element, she felt the energy course through her veins, waking her spirit up in the icy cold. Katara burst out of the surf and froze a plank of ice at her feet to hold her in place then began bending the water behind her. It didn’t take her long to reach the next island in the chain as it was close. This one was mostly deserted, but there was an Air Nation meditation circle in the centre, she ate some breakfast walking along the surf for a little while, but didn’t want to overstay her welcome. Too worried she might run into an acolyte, or worse Aang, Katara finished her breakfast and jumped back into the water, manipulating the waves on her ice-board heading for Whale-tail Island.

It was excruciating work bending the ocean’s chaos to her will, her whole body ached with the effort it took. The sun’s rays were now high in the sky, beating down her back. Luckily, the splash back of the salty ocean spray kept her from overheating. In the hours she worked, she kept her mind off of the pain by thinking about her friends. She wondered what each of them were up to; was Sokka on one of his monthly visits to Suki? Did Toph finally start using positive reinforcement in her teach style? How was Zuko fairing in the role his father once held? Were he and Mai still dating? Last she heard they were off again, but they had gone back and forth serval times over the years. She wondered how they had done it, getting their hopes up then heart broken over and over again. She was getting tired just thinking about the mental gymnastics it must have taken, or maybe that was just the cramp in her left arm taking over.

Finally, she made it to the shore and collapsed face first into the sand with a resounding “oof!” She lay there focusing on her breathing for a few minutes until she felt ready to move her body again. She and all her belongings were drenched in the salt water, luckily her bag had some waterproof properties, but after that long riding the waves, some moisture was able to permeate the material. She used the last bit of her concentration to bend the water out and away from her clothes and possessions, then checked to make sure her paintings were still okay. There was some minor water damage, but for the most part they looked fine. Katara heaved the bag back onto her back, much to her shoulders protest, and began walking west where she knew a lively village sat.

Katara had come to Soh Lee Raan Village a few times over the two years she had been living at the Southern Air Temple. It was a nice escape from Air Nomad life, plus she was able to get some really good seafood dishes here. Katara’s diet had become mainly vegetarian, since everyone else at the temple followed that life style, but she still loved eating fish and other crustaceans. So, whenever Katara had had enough of vegetables, she’d either convince Aang to join her on a date or let her borrow Appa for a solo visit to Soh Lee Raan and she’d pig out almost as badly as Sokka.

Climbing up the gravel path from the beach into town, Katara wondered about her brother. It had been almost two months since the last time they saw each other in person, he was on his way back from a week with Suki when he had stopped by for an overnight stay at the temple. He had been so excited to tell her all about the progress he and their dad had been making in the south. They had been able to connect all four of the villages together with a snow shuttle that went between them, an invention he helped design with Fire Nation technology, and each of the villages had expanded with new settlers from the North. Katara’s village had somehow been the largest, so it had become the capital out of the four. This meant most of the settlers went there and a lot of the rapid development was also happening. She was really proud of what he was doing, but it also scared her too. Change is great, but what happens to the parts that get left behind? That’s what worried her.

Maybe it would be a good idea to spend some time back home as well, though she didn’t think she could bend her way all the to the South Pole, master waterbender or not, she’d need a boat. Katara was still contemplating this when she entered her favourite tavern on the island. It had a strong cozy vibe with a large fireplace in the centre keeping the whole place warm. Another perk was that is had lots of little alcoves and nooks where a single diner or traveller could blend into the background. There was clutter and décor everywhere, not a single shelf lay untouched by a seashell from the surf or a spot on the wall that wasn’t adorned with paintings, scrolls, and decorative fans.

At the bar stood a friendly old man named Meshe and his son Hu, they along with Hu’s wife Kema ran the place which doubled as both an eatery and an inn. Hu was counting inventory while Meshe cleaned the counter. He was humming to himself, a tune about an old fable featuring the resurfaced love of two giant koi fish in the nights sky. Katara had heard the song before but wasn’t very clear on the lyrics, neither it seemed did Meshe as he kept going back and forth between singing and humming the melody.

Katara dropped her bag on a booth in between two bookshelves by the fireplace, then went to the bar to order herself some dinner and barter for a room.

“No giant bison today for me to look after in my stables?” Meshe smiled at her.

His comment shouldn’t have made her heart pang with guilt, but it did anyways. Katara swallowed the uncomfortable feeling and smiled, “No, not today, but a bucket of steamers, side of sea prunes, and a single room for the night would be much appreciated.”

“Ah ha! I knew you’d be back soon for my shellfish, I was just saying to Kema last night, you know its been over a month since we saw that waterbender, she’ll be in need of a seafood fixin’ sooner rather then later,” The kind old man rambled as he put on his apron and washed his hands in a basin, “I’ll be right back with your dinner and Hu over there will get you a key to a room when he’s finished his count.”

Katara thanked the man with a bow and went back to the table, before sitting down she browsed the shelf filled with tombs, scrolls, and novels. She grabbed one to her liking, a short story with beautiful illustrations retelling the tale of Oma and Shu, then sat down to read while she waited. A few minutes later, Hu arrived with a key to room number five in exchange for two silver and four bronze for the meal.

Her feast arrived just as she got to the part depicting the bloody war between the two groups of people either side of the mountain and she dug in. Katara had learned a fair number of manners and how to engage in polite society, but she showed none of that now, slurping every last bite of sea prunes and licking the butter off of her fingers from dipping steamers into the melting pot.

When she was finished, she wiped the table as he had made a bit of a mess, then grabbed her things along with the story and went up to her find her room, thanking Meshe on the way. He gave her an almost toothless smile and a little wave as she walked past.

The room was modest; just a bedroll, a small chest of drawers, and a writing desk. Katara dropped her bag on the floor and fished out some parchment and ink. She walked to the desk and took a deep breath. As much as she wanted to reach out to her friends and family, she was dreading telling them what had happened and what she now had done. She left. For La’s sake, how was she going to break the news? Katara ran her hands through her hair and wondered who would be the easiest to tell first. Sokka was her first thought but, well, he was so ready to be Aang’s brother, and he could be surprisingly judgy when it came to her love life. Suki would be good, but she was probably seeing her by midday tomorrow if she made good time, she and her letter would arrive at the same time. Toph could be expectantly wise, but she was also harsh as hell.

Then there was Zuko. If she was honest, he���s probably who she wanted to talk to the most, he had always seemed to understand her pain and listen in a way that nobody else ever had. Plus, he has had plenty of experience with heart break, both as the leaver and as the left, so he probably had some good advice. Only thing was, he was super busy with his new duties, he didn’t have time to deal with her boy problems. On the other hand, writing out everything she was feeling and sending it away to someone was a catharsis she needed right now, so she picked up the inking brush and wrote:

Dear Zuko,

I’ve really missed you these past months. I think the last time we actually saw each other was five months ago at the summer solstice festival. I know you’ve had a lot of responsibilities bestowed upon you lately, I guess a congratulations are in order now that you are officially a full-fledged Firelord. I was wondering how that must have been feeling for you, I’m sure its exciting in some ways, weighing in others, and difficult knowing the legacy of rulers before you. I hope you’re doing okay.

I should probably update you on my life. I left the Southern Air Temple today and I won’t be going back. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about that. I don’t know what to do. I just felt so lost there, and everything has been changing so much but I’ve just been there. I’ve been nothing for the past two years, everything I accomplished just stopped, there was no more progress, no more goals, no more me. So, I left.

I feel awful about it, I don’t know how to tell everyone. I’m scared to know how much I hurt him, but I also feel this overwhelming need to know how he is. I still want to protect him, but I’m also so angry, he let me slip into that shell of a woman. He watched me every day give pieces of my soul away, watched me forget who I am, watched me burry every feeling of doubt, and he didn’t say a thing. He just let it happen, and he never would have done anything. He wanted me to give him a child, no not just a child, children. Children for his mission to bring balance to the world, not out of love but out of destiny. How could he ask that of me?

I’m sorry, I just feel so lost and hurt and scared. I wish I could talk to you about this. I know Aang is your friend too, and there is more I could have done to fix things, but I could really use my friend right now.

I’ll be going to see Suki on Kyoshi Island for some time, if you can please write back.

Thank you for listening.

-Katara

[ultfreakme]

I just want to know what is this obsession with some ATLA fans on making Katara "The Mom"? She's 14. We start with Aang saying she is just a kid so what on Earth is this weird take?

[moredifferentthanusual]

my atla au fanfic pet peeve is people making katara angry or reluctant at zuko joining the group. katara was the FIRST one to trust and forgive zuko. he spent >5min telling her he had a tragic backstory and she was ready to use up her one and only vial of superultramagical healing on a cosmetic problem because it would make him happy.

katara is thee Most forgiving, trusting, and generous of the lot. thats Why she could be betrayed at all. Because she trusted so easily! the fact she holds a grudge at a betrayal that got her best friend killed severely injured does not mean she is anything less than the most trusting and willing to take a chance on others of the group!

if in an alternate universe zuko wound up joining the group earlier or the betrayal never happened she would be the first to accept him, she would welcome him with open arms and fight on his behalf with the groups true skeptic ie sokka

[perfectlypanda]

When visiting the many islands that comprise the Fire Nation, it was not uncommon for their royal majesties Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara to don the traditional dress of the host island.

Almost as soon as I had finished working on the art piece I did with Zuko and Katara in Thai inspired outfits, I knew I wanted to do something similar but with outfits inspired by the Philippines (or outfit, sorry Zuko I find women's fashion more interesting than men's).

Before jumping into the commentary, I'll stress that this design is fantasy inspired by the Philippines. Although I did research, it is not an accurate representation of Filipino national costume, nor is it meant to be.

This was more challenging in some ways than the Thai piece, because even though the Thai piece required a ton of detail work, I was creating a design much closer to its real world inspiration. In this case there wasn't a specific "look" I was trying to recreate, instead I wanted to create a design inspired by the traditional fashion of the Philippines. However, 1). pre-colonial fashions were very different from the Spanish inspired styles that arose during colonialization and that have since evolved into modern traditional Filipino attire, and 2). the Philippines is home to many different indigenous groups, each of whom have their own traditional costumes.

Originally, I wanted to exclusively look to the pre-colonial period for inspiration, but when I looked only at pre-colonial designs, I found I missed the iconic silhouettes seen in modern Filipino dresses. So I widened my research scope to see how I could combine pre-colonial with elements of modern fashion.

For pre-colonial styles, the best historical resource is the Boxer Codex. Karakoa Productions was also a helpful resource to see how pre-colonial looks were being interpreted from historical illustrations and descriptions into real world garments. I looked at modern designers from the Philippines to see how they were playing with the design of terno (which often feature the iconic butterfly sleeves I wanted to include). One design I was really inspired by was a look worn by Filipina actress Kathryn Bernardo.

Both written and illustrated accounts of the pre-colonial era in the Philippines emphasize the prevalence of golden jewelry, so Katara has a gold necklace, bracelets, hair beads, and belt. Katara's belt is inspired by two main sources. The first is an extant kandit (royal belt) woven from gold wires in the Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas's pre-colonial gold collection. The dangles on it are loosely inspired by the beaded belts made by the T'Boli people.

With Katara's skirt, I tried to blend the longer style of skirts seen in the Boxer Codex, with a striped pattern inspired by the numerous woven designs I found in traditional indigenous attire. The specific photo I used as inspiration was labeled as being from Kalinga, but I found similar weavings from other groups as well.

The flowers in Katara's hair are flowers found in the Philippines - sampaguita, waling-waling orchids, plumeria, hibiscious, and santan. She also wears her dual moon-flame tiara.

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!

[lovegrowsart]

"aang didn't tell katara to forgive just to let her anger out and let go" ?!?!?!?! litcheraclly the WHOLE false dichotomy presented by the narrative of the episode (using AANG as the primary mouthpiece) is forgiveness vs revenge like please watch the episode again and pay actual attention to the words coming out of aang's mouth.... so many tsr takes ignore the words in aang's mouth to interpret him more positively while putting words in zuko's mouth to view him more negatively, all the while pretending katara never said anything at all about HER OWN TRAUMA

[i-d-e-g-a-f]

i ache for katara so deeply, she deserves so much better than her canon fate. i cannot express in words how much her story and how the fandom views/treats her physically hurts me

[brikogane]

Sokka: Hey guys.. Uh I have something to tell you.

Katara: What's up?

Sokka: Well I have this crush..

Aang: Oh! You should tell her!

Sokka: Well.. Actually.. It's not a "her"

Aang: *frowns and hands Toph 20 coins*

Katara: Oh! Well then you should tell him.

Sokka: Uhh.. I dunno.

Toph: Who is it anyway?

Sokka, whispering: Zuko..

Aang: *groans and hands Toph 20 more coins*

[fictionrecipe]

Re-reading, rewatching, and reliving my childhood, I just realised that it's so strange watching fictional characters, once your age, become adults with agency, like you now. They become free of adolescence but also face the reality of being an adult. They are not confined to a single period or time in their life, but, they stop ageing once the story ends. They are childhood heroes who might do good for society, but they're also adults with trauma, faults and issues that affect those around them. They're idols who you looked at with starry eyes as a child, only to realise, with a small, weary smile, that what you idolised them for is how they faced adversity they never wanted, and chose to be different because of it. They don't have the luxury of just "being a kid" and not seeing the world the same way another adult might, but they have the power to change what they experienced as a kid.

They are the legacies you look back on when you want to remember a time in your life, but they're also the bittersweet memories of a time that passed and will continue to pass. You will have white waterfalls cascading around your face, with a tired smile but they'll still look strong, proud and relatively young, eyes swelling with life. There's something beautiful, haunting, sad, strange and nostalgic about it all.