#not to mention hakoda’s mother :’)

[dalekofchaos]

Ways Legend Of Korra could've paid tribute to Suki instead of acting like she never existed

Suki is the cop, not Toph. Suki would have formed the Republic City Police, in this case. The Republic City Kyoshi Guard. Suki enforcing the rules and law makes way more sense than Toph. Lin would be Sokka and Suki’s daughter and would have a brother named Hakoda in honor of Sokka’s father and both would be in charge of the police after Suki’s retirement. Lin always wears the Kyoshi Warrior make up to honor her mother and Hakoda inherits his father’s boomerang and cunning mind. Toph “fuck the rules” Beifong would never in a million lifetimes EVER be a cop. I find it hard to believe Toph, the rebel who hates rules would become the very institution she despised, if anything Toph would be the Founder of Pro-Bending or a nomad Earthbending/Metalbending master and a hermit. Suyin would be her daughter and The Duke or Teo would be the father.

Suki leads a new generation of Kyoshi Warriors that helps train Korra non-bending techniques to counter the Equalists Chi-Blocking techniques.

Just giving Suki a statue in Republic City. Literally anywhere.

One little mention to her existence. Bumi mentioning he was trained by uncle Sokka and aunt Suki would've been enough.

In The Red Lotus Society's attempt to steal Korra, Sokka and Suki died protecting the Avatar

I came up with 5 near perfect scenarios that could've paid tribute to Suki. All Bryke did was act like she never existed or didn't matter. Fuck you, Suki deserved better.

[wilcze-kudly]

Katara and the fear of loss (aka why she waited)

I think one aspect of Katara's storyline I don't see explored nearly enough the fact that she is terrified of losing others, especially those whom she cares for. This makes sense, especially looking to her background, how the death of her mother affected her and the fact that war has been a very large part of her life since she was a small child. Not to mention, she is actively a huge part of said war, along with her brother and friends, at the tender age of 14.

Now, some of you may ask "quill what the hell does Aang have to do with Katara's mother?"

Yes, on the surface, there isn't that much connecting Katara's dead, grown ass mother to Katara's alive 12 year old goofball bf but the parallels between Kya and Aang are planted even at the beginning of the show, in the first few episodes.

When Zuko and the Fire Nation attack the Southern Watertribe, they are looking for Aang, the last airbender, not dissimilar to the Southern Raiders looking for the last Southern waterbender. Furthermore, both Kya and Aang willingly give themselves up to the Fire Nation in order to protect the village, particularly Katara.

Throughout the show, we see Katara's interest and endearment towards Aang grow, and we see them create a genuine friendship. But I'd argue that Aang being the Avatar is, to some degree, a problem to their relationship. Aang's duty as the Avatar, and the risks and decisions he is faced with due to it, often create a rift between him and Katara.

Be it due to Aang's responsibilities leading him to make decisions she doesn't agree with, like in the Avatar State, where Aang feels the pressure to force the Avatar State due to the suffering of the soldiers he feels responsible for.

Or, more poignantly, in the Awakening, where Aang is once again compared to one of the parents Katara lost due to the war, though Hakoda's 'loss' was not due to death, but a need to fight. I think this also shows how much Katara values Aang not just as the Avatar, but as a person.

Katara: Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that it's all his responsibility. Hakoda : Maybe that's his way of being brave. Katara: It's not brave; it's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him, and I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind? Hakoda : You're talking about me too, aren't you?

This is twice Aang has been directly paralleled to one of Katara's parents, whose repsective losses have clearly affected her greatly. This is also extremely poignant, since we've been explicitly told that Aang's love for his own lost family, the Air Nomads, was reborn into Katara. For Aang and Katara, the ways they deal with their losses influences how they pursue each other romantically.

Of course, there's also the ✨️ immediate threat of death and physical injury✨️. Aang and the rest of the Gaang, but particularly Aang is constantly being chased and tracked and endangered by the Fire Nation and he is meant to face the Firelord and defeat him. There are a lot of possibilities for something to go horrifically wrong here.

From Aang being half dead when Katara found him, then almost immediately getting kidnapped by the prince of the goddamn Fire Nation, to almost every villain of the week shenanigan, Katara already has good reason to worry for Aang.

But then the reach Ba Sing Se and things get even worse. Jet, Katara's only other canonically confirmed love interest dies, and Katara is helpless to do anything about it. This is already enough to make someone reconsider future romantic endeavours, but surely it can't get any worse, right?

Oh yeah, Aang FUCKING DIES

He gets blasted in the back with lighting, right as he enters the avatar state, right before Katara's eyes. The saviour of the world, but more importantly, her dear friend, brutally cut down before her very eyes. And Katara, a child, is the only person with even a sliver of hope of bringing him back.

So is it really any surprise that Katara, having experienced loss before multiple times over, and almosf having lost Aang himself, would be hesitant to enter a romantic relationship with someone being actively hunted by the greatest military in the world, someone obligated to take on the leader of said military?

Katara is afraid. She's afraid of opening her heart up to loving Aang and then losing him after that. This is the main reason why she hesitates in initiating her and Aang's relationship. Whenever Aang tries to brooch the subject, she brings up the war and the Firelord, but due to being a child, she struggles in communicating her exact feelings, which leaves Aang confused and of kilter. Katara often gives Aang romantic attention, and clearly feels rather possessive of him, however, she is not ready to enter a romantic relationship due to the threat of the war looming above their heads. But due to being 14, she doesn't know how to explain these feelings, which is what leads to the minor conflict between her and Aang. Because, you know, they're both children in a situation that children aren't built to deal with.

Katara : Aang, I don't know. Aang: Why don't you know? Katara : Because, we're in the middle of a war, and, we have other things to worry about. This isn't the right time.

It's important to note that Aang isn't exactly a bad person for wanting this relationship to be made tangible. He does push boundaries, and kissing Katara without her consent in the Ember Island episode is obviously a horrendous misstep (which he acknowledged), but I think you can at least understand his motives. He may soon die, after all, and he wants to love Katara and wants to express that love before he possibly loses his entire goddamn life. I think this can also be traced back to how Aang deals with the genocide of the Air Nomads and vs how Katara deals with the death of her mother.

Aang certainly blames himself for the death of the Air Nomads, although this guilt is unfounded. Perhaps part of him believes that if he'd just stayed with them, spent a little more time with Gyatso, he could've helped them. It wouldn't be a leap to imagine that Aang wanting to spend more time with those he loves, including Katara is a coping mechanism surrpunding that loss.

Now juxtapose this to Katara, who's entire encounter with Yon Rha is permeated by helplessness and fear, an 8 year old Katara being unable to do anything but run away and try to get help, sadly not in time for Kya to survive. So Katara trying to assert some control over her relationships, maintaining a certain distance to Aang while the war that robbed her of her mother is still in full swing isn't an improbable concept. She's trying to not feel that helplessness again.

(Katara probably blames herself for her mother's death too, but it has less to do with Katara's actions and more to fo with what Katara was; a waterbender, something she hasno bearing on)

This is why she initiates the kiss with Aang at the end of the show. Not because she feels the need to give in to his advances due to him being the hero of the world. Not because she's caving to his insistence or because she's pressured. But because the possibility of Aang getting fucking murked by glorified pyromancers are significantly lower than they were during the war.

This is not a 'taking one for the team bcs I feel like I have to due to Aang saving the world' type of smooch. This is a 'finally I feel safe to express my feelings' type of smooch.

To be completely honest, I don't like how Kataang was handled post day of black sun, I think it was an unnecessary addition of a redundant "will they, won't they?" aspect to the relationship. Teasing Zutara in the last few episodes was also just unnecessary, because it was obviously never a viable endgame relationship and it only served to give kid zutara shippers false hope. This is especially fucked up looking at how the same zutara fans were later mocked by the creators, which, no matter what you think if the ship, is a horrible thing to do to a bunch of teenage girls and I think has contributed to those teenage girls growing into bitter, aggressive adult zutara shippers.

But, as much as I dislike this storyline, it does make sense for Katara's character and is an interesting and touching 'silent arc' for her to have. We often see characters fall in love in the midst of a conflict, but we aren't always shown how that conflict would affect the way they look at their relationship, so I appreciate this storyline for what it was.

[mysticwolfshadows]

Taken - Zutara

Pt 1 (Here), Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6

So, as far as I know, we don't know much (if anything) about Azulon's wife. And I have a soft spot for fics that set up her as the origin for much of Iroh's (eventual) kind nature. Knowing a bit about world building and government structure (thanks DND), Azulon being a very militaristic leader means that the Fire Nation, to survive, would need a second in command (Fire Lady) that kept things stable on the home front. I love fics that include this, too. And we do see hints of that in ATLA. The polluted river? What smart leader puts a factory shooting chemicals into a river right housing a floating town???

Anyway, the fic that I was working on had Azulon's wife (who I called Ilah) as a main character. Basically, Fire Lady Ilah has fallen ill, and out of desperation to keep the balance of their power, Azulon managing the war front while Ilah kept the mother land alive, Azulon searches for something that can be done to save her. The only thing that was suggested that could work was a water bending healer. Of course, the Fire Nation had no access to any water benders. They executed all of the prisoners after Hama's escape, and an assault on the North would take to long to be effective. Thankfully, word had just come that there was a new waterbender spotted in the South.

Some worry its the blood demon (Hama) returned to rally dark spirits. Others hope it is a potential healer for their ailing leader. Either way, an investigation must be made. They must find the waterbender in the South.

When the ships arrive, led by Iroh (maybe Lu Ten, or with Lu Ten aboard), the tribe is helpless. Hama is not there, and hasn't been in decades. No warrior, no matter how many there are, could stand to the well equiped soldiers of three high class cruisers. So when the leader steps out, wanting to see the waterbender, the village can only cower. Hakoda tightens his grip on a spear that will be useless against so many. It's when an officer mentions a rumor that waterbenders instinctively save themselves from drowning, and suggests holding each tribesman under water until the bender is found that Katara, only 8, screams out that its her, so the Fire Nation won't hurt her family.

She's taken, her family screaming, onto the ship. There, she's kept by Iroh and/or Lu Ten, who sits with her and gives her tea. Iroh or Lu Ten explain why they came, how his mother/grandmother is ailing, and needs a healer. He tells her that, while she may be young, she's their only hope of a healer. Katara has no choice but to promise to do her best, knowing her village would take the punishment for her failure.

They dress her in Fire Nation clothes, which she hates, and as they sail back to the Fire Nation, Iroh and/or Lu Ten do their best to trian her. They have her practice on soldiers that are injured either from training or work accidents. She becomes surprisingly competent in a short time, all because she had a master (even though a firebending one) to guide her.

When she finally reaches the Fire Nation, she's taken by how bright and colorful everything is. She's amazed by how load and plentiful the people are. And when she's taken into the Fire Palace, she's shocked by how big everything is.

When she's brought before Azulon, the Fire Lord rages. A peasant child? This is the hope of the Fire Nation?! Iroh asks his father to trust, and they take Katara to the Fire Lady.

And, by some mix of sheer force of will and some miracles, Katara succeeds.

Ilah is able to recover, at least partially, and Katara is placed as her 'ward', always at the Fire Lady's side, lest the sickness return. But Ilah is a gentle soul. She won't have a child acting as a nurse full time. Whenever there is a moment, she makes sure to be where Katara can be around others her age will be. In the Fire Palace, that is anywhere Zuko and Azula will be.

Katara spends a lot of those first weeks stiff and cautious, hesitant to go near the Fire Nation royals. But Azula constantly pokes at her with Mai and Ty Lee. She bites back, snaps when Azula sneers. It is only because Ilah is there that Azula doesn't try to burn her. Later, Zuko starts to come by. He's awkward and kind of rude, but it's not meant in a mean way. Ursa encourages Zuko to be kind, to make friends with her, so Zuko does his best.

After a couple months, Katara isn't skittish or cautious. She surrenders to the fact that she's never going home. Ilah doesn't need her as much, so she is mostly locked in her room, a small room attached to the Fire Lady's personal chambers. With little to do, Katara begins to despair. It's Zuko, still trying because his mother asked and he would never disappoint her, that becomes her ally.

He brings her snacks, books, even trying toys and things, to get her to brighten. Eventually, she opens up, relying on Zuko as her only friend. It brings out more of Azula's spite, and Zuko becomes worried about safety. He asks if Katara would maybe like to come with him to practice instead of sitting around in her little room, hoping to keep her closer in case Azula tried anything.

It's at these firebending practices that Katara starts to learn combat bending. She mimics and mines certain moves when she thinks no one is watching, slowly learning what does and doesn't move the water. She learned, if she loosened her stance, made her body just a bit more fluid as it moved instead of sharp like firebenders, she could waterbend. Slowly, she adapts, teaching herself to fight by changing firebending moves to fit her needs.

It's about a year after Katara arrives in the Fire Nation that it happens. The sickness returns with a vengeance, and Fire Lady Ilah needs full time care again. Katara, attached to this woman whose life she holds in her hands and has been at the side of for over a year, weeps when she realizes she's not enough to save her. At 9, Katara must tell Fire Lord Azulon that she is weak and can not do the one thing that they kept her around for. She cowered as the Fire Lord raged, knowing that it could be the last thing she ever sees.

"It is only by Fire Lady Ilah's will that you live," Azulon tells her after the funeral. "It is her memory that stays my hand. Do not sully it, lest I forget why you are here."

Katara is put into Ursa's care, and is placed in lessons. She attends private classes, learning Fire Nation history, math, and literature. Her life becomes so busy, she barely has time for anything but her studies. Zuko is her only reprieve, and they share their wants and desires. Zuko wants to become someone that his mother and father can be proud of. Katara just wants to go home. Zuko promises that, some day, some how, he'll make that happen for her. Katara thanks him, but she knows that it's impossible.

Next

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Your thoughts on this

"Zuko did not have a conversation with the person the was clearly there to kill him and his friends, thefore he did not care about his girlfriend" is certainly a take.

And I gotta love how they use Sokka and Suki as the exemple of "how an actual caring boring reacts" when Sokka ALSO never mentioned his girlfriend AFTER being told by Azula that Suki was in a miserable, sorry state, and the only reason he was at the boiling rock at all was because he wanted to save HAKODA. Suki was just lucky enough to be there and tag along.

Why is that not used as proof that Sokka doesn't care about Suki, but Zuko not asking questions to the person that is blasting fire balls at him means he never loved Mai? And if not talking about missing/being worried about someone every other scene means the character doesn't care, why do people not complain that Zuko asking about his mother in the finale came out of nowhere since she only ever came up in FOUR out of SIXTY ONE episodes?

Why is it that only Maiko needs to constantly be talked about to prove that the characters care about each other - and why are scenes like Zuko remembering Mai's childhood crush on him after not having seen her in years, or being visibly upset that he has to leave her, or bringing her up when talking to Sokka about THINGS HE'LL MISS ABOUT HIS OLD LIFE completely disregarded?

And why, why, WHY do zutarians act like, even if Zuko didn't care about Mai, that would somehow mean he HAS to care about Katara? During most of "The Southern Raiders" he's being super entitled and acting like he's OWED her forgiveness and friendship just because not having it is inconvenient. Zuko is not "pining" for her, he's basically saying this:

Also, it makes perfect sense that Azula would not bring up the Mai thing:

1 - Her feelings, and more importantly, her ego, are still VERY hurt by the fact that Mai chose Zuko over her. She literally tells the guards to put Mai and Ty Lee somewhere she'll never have to see their faces again. This could not be more different than the situation with Sokka and Suki - two people that meant literally nothing to her.

2 - She's already snapping a little bit. We see her using her entire hand to firebend instead of her signature two fingers-move that make her flames precise and basically cut through stuff like a blade. Zuko is even able to bend her flames away from him, and for the first time his strength is equal to hers, thanks not only to his new training with the dragons, but also Azula's imperfect fighting style. She's not gonna be thinking of how mess with Zuko's feelings to make him lower his guard, like she did on their first on-screen fight, because SHE is the one deep in the emotional turmoil this time and she isn't thinking clearly, even if she hasn't fully lost it yet.

3 - This fight is very clearly foreshadowing both for the Last Agni Kai AND Zuko's reaction to his victory coming at the cost of Azula's well-being. She's attacking him and his allies, and fully said she wants to kill him - yet when he sees her falling "to her death" he isn't happy like one would expect, even if he's kicking himself for giving a shit later when she inevitably saves herself. That scene was about Zuko's hostile, yet complex, relationship with AZULA. Bringing literally anyone else up would make no sense. It's THEIR moment, completely separate from his romance with Mai.

[lovelyelbowleech]

Hi, currently in love with your work. I’m on my 4th re-read since I discovered All’s Fair several months ago, and I have you to thank for prolonging my current Atla Hyper-fixation. Back in the building.

I wanted to ask when you started this story, how much did you develop characters like Shen or Kazuma? Were they mainstays since the beginning or did you end up coming up with them and their roles as the story progressed?

In chapter 12 of War Crimes, Shen mentions both his brother and his mother eluding to what happened to them so clearly he had something going for him since he first showed up, and it got me started on this train of thought, wondering just how ingrained in the story you figured they’d be? Cause I don’t see a ton of OCs in fics that affect the story this much, nor are such well rounded characters of their own I forget they aren’t in the actual show.

What made you decide to bring their roles in the story to the forefront?

Also, if you’re still doing the WIP and game;

“Stop” or “Dread” ?

Thanks and keep up the good work! heaps of praise upon thee!

Hello! So sorry its taken an age to respond, being sick knocked it out of me.

4 rereads is a lot! Glad you have enjoyed so much!

In regards to your questions about the OCs – it varies from character to character.

During War Crimes, I started planning War Games and I was torn between using Hakoda as the main adult view point character or making someone new. I felt like Hakoda was going to need to be focused on Sokka and their relationship, so I created Shen. I planned a basic backstory for him (his brother, the fact he was essentially a grown-up child soldier) and then sort of just waited to see how it turned out while writing. I didn't really have an end game for him, although I knew the important beats when it came to his interactions with the kids. It was actually the way I wanted to introduce Suki that was the main influence for the direction his story went and I think the catalyst for him becoming so entwined in the story.

Which leads me to Kazuma.... he did not exist until he was on the page 😅 I needed someone to take Shen to be imprisoned with Suki. So I made Kazuma... I like to give even the small characters a little bit of backstory – even if it never makes it into the fic, it makes them feel more nuanced in my head. So I gave him a bit of personality and a (tragic) back story and then decided I quite liked him. I thought his perspective would be interesting – being in a similar position to Shen but on the Fire Nation side. So I just rolled with it, and then somewhere around his first POV I realised he was exactly what I needed for Azula's story. So he was very much a fly by the seat of the pants character! Although when I got him figured out and how he would be involved with the story things became far more planned and now he is all tied up with plot.

Hua was plotted from the end of War Crimes, but Tu was more flexible. I knew how I was going to use him just not the details. Jianjun has also grown as I have written him. I always knew what I wanted him to do, just not quite how 😂, so he has grown as a character as I write.

It was never my intention to get any of them so wrapped up in the plot, it just sort of happened that way, so I’m rolling with it 😅

Thank you for the ask! And the interest in the OC’s ❤️❤️

I will come back to the ask game when I have written a little more of the new chapter 😂

[emkini]

heyy I read towards the sun the other day bc I saw you mention it and it fucked. so ty!!!! if you feel like it, do you have other atla recs? 👀

Ohohoh do I

Notes:

I tend to be primarily a zuko-centric gen fic enjoyer in the atla fandom so that's what most of these are gonna be!

Pretty much every author on this list has a bunch of stellar works and I'd recommend checking out all of their ao3 profiles, but these are just some of my personal favorites!

I've been having a Rough Time™ lately, so most of my faves fall on the soft and squishy side– if you're looking for heavy angst I do not have much of it 😔

-----------

Salvage (complete) by @muffinlance is by the same author as Towards The Sun and a fandom classic at this point; I cannot recommend it enough. Summary: Mid-Season-One Zuko is held for ransom by Chief Hakoda. Ozai's replies to the Water Tribe's demands are A+ Parenting. Hakoda is… deeply concerned, for this son that isn't his, and who might be safer among enemies than with his own father.

The Fire Nation Yacht Club series (reads as complete) by @sword-and-stars gives me all the emotions. Summary: Sokka knows three (3) things: 1. The caldera is on fire. 2. Ozai’s really, really dead (and so is his daughter). 3. The only one having a worse day is probably Zuko. / Everyone has their breaking point. This is what happens after you’ve broken. In which healing is a process and also it kind of sucks.

For Hearth and Home (complete) is another classic fic by the same author (honestly just check out all of their work, it's all stellar) that I absolutely adore. Summary: There’s a child underneath Fire Lord Zuko’s desk. He doesn’t realize this until he sits down and tiny hands wrap themselves around his ankles, and Fire Lord Zuko definitely does not shriek and backpedal away at the unexpected touch. He definitely does do that but Gou, the single guard he’s agreed to let shadow him, is kind enough not to mention it.

Mountains and Badgermolehills (complete) by Glass_Onion is an incredibly fun and well-written romp of a read. Summary: After the Blue Spirit frees the Avatar from the Pohuai Stronghold, Admiral Zhao captures Prince Zuko under suspicion of treason. Isolated from his Uncle and his crew, Zuko has only one ally: the chatty prisoner one cell over.

The Art of Burning (incomplete, ongoing) by @hella1975 is superb- lots of angst, lots of emotions, and lots of memes. Summary (excerpt): In a warring land, the Water Tribe forgave the enemy in an act of defiance. For this, he was torn from them, and this time, his wounds won't heal so easily.

Embers (complete) by Vathara is another fandom classic– one I have not yet been able to finish because dear god is it long. like holy shit. Very dense and plot-heavy and an incredible read if you're a lover of worldbuilding and fantasy politics. Summary: Dragon's fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world...

where the stars do not take sides (complete) by WitchofEndor is a very sweet and interesting canon divergence fic, and of course as always I am a SUCKER for the fire siblings being close. Such a sucker. Summary: When Azula is nine, she becomes an only child. She hears the Fire Lord call for Zuko's life, and in the morning, her mother and brother are gone. Azula may be young, but she isn't naive. She knows what happened to them. Which makes it all the more surprising when Azula tracks the Avatar down and fights his group of peasant friends, only to find herself staring into an eerily familiar face.

Honor & Vengeance on the High Seas (complete) by @paramouradrift is a very fun read– I haven't finished it yet but if you love boats, pirate Zuko, and angry teenagers being gay and doing crime, I guarantee you'll have a good time. Summary: Zuko was banished, but instead of devoting his life to finding the Avatar to regain his honor he gave in to his spite and became a pirate against Ozai.

And the world, still so wild, called to me (I was lost, I’d been kept on my knees) (complete) by delightfullydiscordant– An Aang-centric fic that hurts my HEART Summary (excerpt): A study in grief and loss, in anger and hate.

a viper-lizard's tales (incomplete, ongoing) by Yumi_Take is really sweet and very fun; it has a simple but unique and interesting prose style that I really like. Summary: The desert sun burns and Zuko probably shouldn't touch the moving cloth, but he does anyway.

[starlight-bread-blog]

In Defense of Katara

Update: The views expressed on Aang in this post are majorly dated.

Katara has been..

a controversial character. Particularly for the following reasons.

Supposedly talking about her mother "all the time", bringing it up out of context, making it all about herself and lashing out about it.

But before properly analyzing her character, let's first actually list off all the episodes where Katara has mentioned her mother (also in video form):

The Boy in the Iceberg:

Mentions her mother to confront Sokka about being lazy, establishing the family dynamic after her death and generally setting up her character arc.

The Southern Air Temple:

Firstly mentions her mother to prepare Aang to discovering a "potential" loss when getting back home. Then again to show empathy to Aang by showing that she somewhat understands what he's feeling.

Imprisoned:

Brings up Kya to connect with Haru about similar losses. It's also brought up again by Haru when her mother's necklace disappears.

The Waterbending Scroll:

Didn't mention her mother, just the necklace. Since Zuko showed her the necklace, which was lost.

Jet:

Mentions Kya to connect with Jet who also lost his parents to the Fire Nation.

The Waterbending Master:

Once again, she only mentions the necklace. And only because Pakku notices it himself.

The Swamp:

The swamp makes her hallucinate about her mother. It was fully outside of her control.

The Crossroads of the Destiny:

Brings up her mother's death once she got a chance to have a conversation with Zuko, who was her enemy and for all she knew, represented the nation who killed her mother.

The Headband:

It is brought up by Aang. He tells Katara that people could recognize her necklace for being Water Tribe while hiding in the Fire Nation.

The Puppetmaster:

Katara connects with Hamma over being from Southern Water Tribe and being hurt by the Fire Nation.

The Southern Raiders:

This entire episode focuses on Kya. She mentions her 5 times total. (Worth noting that Zuko brought it up in the first place).

It is also brought up in The Runaway by Sokka, and in Sozin’s Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang by Hakoda.

To sum up: Katara brings up her mother in a total of 11 episodes. 1 to establish the tragedy, 1 to comfrot Aang, 1 was outside of her control, 1 to confront the Fire Nation prince, 3 to connect with someone with similar experience of loss, and 4 times it's just about the necklace.

The claim that Katara brings up her mother "all the time" and out of context is entirely baseless. But I know what you're thinking:

Yeah it's bad. Really bad. But Katara is a 14 year old, dealing with grief. By no means this is an okay thing to say. But let's dive deeper – how her mother's death effected her, the dynamics it created and if there is any truth to what she's saying.

Katara has always been the care giver, the one who'll notice when you're in need, giving seemingly unconditional emotional support. Even prioritizing other's well being over her own. In The Deserter, Aang acted careless, using his firebendering to accidentally injure Katara. Unsuprisigly, Aang feels terrible about hurting her. He is confronted about it not by Katara, but by Sokka. Meanwhile Katara heals her own scar. And in the end, she's the one comforting guilty Aang.

Another instance is The Desert. The Gaang was stuck without Appa, with little to no supplies, in the middle of a desert. They're all hungry, exhausted and unsure of what's to come. Katara shows incredible resilience and empathy – she offers her bending water to everyone, but isn't show to drink any herself. And her response to Aang's outburst after semi failinh to get water from a cloud.

Katara: Wow, there's hardly any in here..

Aang: I'm sorry, okay?! It's a desert cloud! I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! *Points at Katara* What are you doing?

Katara: Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

In the end of the episode, Aang finds the sendbenders who stole Appa. He gets in the Avatar state, and while all the other characters run away, Katara stays, she hugs him in an uncontrollable rage. Want to hear something interesting? We don't see the characters express gratitude to her efforts. Even in the next episode she helps strangers give birth.

Instead of resolving her trauma, Katara internalized it. She became "the mother". She is the reason Sokka doesn't bring up his mother. I'd like to add a quote from Sokka in The Runaway:

"I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly, I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara has been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there".

This is the closest we got to giving Katara the much needed support. Their grief is not the same.

Same goes for Aang's grief. Yes, he lost his entire nation. While Katara's grief molded her character, Aang's grief is only brought up when used in context. It's only brought up explicitly 3 times: In The Southern Air Temple, while finding out what happened for the first time; in The Storm for giving us his backstory and in The Guru when he has focus on his grief. It's also used to create another layer of tension 3 other times (The Northen Air Temple, The Desert and The Serpent's Pass). In every time it's brought up, it's linked to the overall plot/subplot in some way. It isn't something that is shown to change who he is as a person.

Katara on the other hand, took on the mother role in the age of eight, fundamentally changing who she is. She is used to swallowing her pain, to suck it up because others need help. Only showing weekness when alone, when no one from the Gaang is looking.

Almost everything about her is somehow linked to Kya. She cooks, she she sews, she gives orders – like a mother. A quote from The Runaway:

Katara: What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom?

Aang: Well, I-

Katara (intensively): Stop rudding your eye and speak clearly when you talk.

Aang: Yes ma'am!

That's her canonical love intereat what? So casually, it's about Kya. The trauma they all experienced is semi the same, but the impact was completely different. Katara's experience of grief is fundamentally different from Sokka's and Aang's and never had a proper closure.

Until The Southern Raiders. Katara has a chance to finally express all of this pent up trauma. You might not think it's healthy, or sympathetic, but now it's Katara's grief that is on full display. But Aang and Sokka weren't understanding. They suggest her to go right back to what she has been doing for years. Aang even compares her loss to losing Appa and tells her she sound like Jet. And in a moment of humanity, weekness and frustration, Katara lashes out.

[linnoya-writes]

Aang actually *was* a Terrible Dad (and we should stop making excuses for him).

One thing I cannot get over is how people say that Aang actually wasn't that terrible of a father, and I keep hearing the same excuses to his behavior: he didn't grow up with conventional parents, he had to focus on bringing back his air-bending culture, Katara was already a natural parent and was totally okay being the housewife/mom who let Aang off the hook with most of the serious parenting duties... ugh....

Anyway, I have three points to give:

1) Aang may not have grown up with conventional family structure, but he certainly knew enough about the world (being a nomad his whole life pre-war) to understand what a healthy family dynamic looked like. He knew enough about Toph's dad and Zuko's dad to understand what a poor father figure looked like. Aang also spent time with Hakoda, in ATLA season 3, to see the characteristics of a good father -- and this doesn't even include the time he spent traveling with Sokka/Katara alone and noticing how their dad's absence was affecting them. I put a lot of emphasis on Katara, here, because she makes it very clear in Season 3 that her father leaving the family was devastating... and this girl would want a partner who understood those feelings and do absolutely everything to keep the family together. It's what she did throughout the entirety of ATLA-- Katara was the glue that kept everyone close -- and you would think Aang would pick up on those cues, rather than let history repeat itself after he had his family with Katara. Imagine how awful it must've been for Katara, watching the man she married ultimately go off with their air-bending son on these cultural excursions, and not even consider that their two other kids might want to learn about air bending culture anyway. They're a bi-cultural family, after all, right? Wouldn't that have been a prime example for the new world, showing a blended family being together and not separate? Just let that sink in for a moment.

2) Many people say that any misunderstood family dynamics between Kya, Bumi and Tenzin came to a peaceful conclusion in LOK season 2 with a happy family portrait. Here's the thing-- a posed, smiling family portrait doesn't necessarily indicate a healthy family unit. I'm also making note of LOK Season 3, when Bumi admits that he finally feels more connected to their father after he magically gets Airbending, and also that scene when Kya/Bumi arrive to the Northern Air Temple and the acolytes are shocked to hear that Avatar Aang had other children besides Tenzin. I mean... how much effort would it take, exactly, for Aang to just mention to the temple monks and acolytes that he had two other kids? Was he embarrassed to tell them they weren't air benders? Was he ashamed? In any case, he was the Avatar and he should've demonstrated pride for the children he had regardless of their bending ability or lack their-of. It goes without saying that, while Aang did grow up differently and had many priorities being the Avatar and the Last Airbender... he still made some conscious choices about how little of a "family man" he wanted to be. Aang clearly favored the air-bending life and didn't process that he was also raising a family that was part WaterTribe (perhaps because many of their customs clashed with his air-bending way of life... but that's another conversation.)

3) Yes, Bryke are notorious for writing examples of poor father figures (Ozai/Unalaq/BeiFong/Yakone/Hiroshi) and I'm also here to tell you that they're known for writing women who lose agency and turn devoted-doting-domestic-docile once they get with their man. Pema from LOK is a good example-- all we know about her is she literally gave her life to be an air-acolyte and carry Tenzin's children (the only backstory we get is Pema secretly pined for Tenzin until it became too much and she had to say something), and be the good housewife and mother to those air bending kids. We know nothing about this woman's individual wants or needs outside of motherhood. Another example is the backstory of Yakone and his unnamed wife who-- after giving this man two sons, completely disappears from the narrative and is not aware Yakone is abusing his kids. And she's still exists, because Amon refuses to go with Noatak so as to not abandon their mom. Their mother was so unnecessary as a character after she had the kids, she became this oblivious/silent character in the background who let her own kids get abused. Another example is Unalaq's wife-- again, about a father using his two kids like his henchmen and the mother isn't even in the picture. We know she exists because after Unalaq gets destroyed... Esna turns to Desca and says "what're we gonna tell Mother?"  It may have been written as a subtle joke... but the underlying sentiment is still there.

I'd say my favorite example is the fate of Fire Lady Ursa-- a woman once determined to protect her children that she was willing to commit murder and treason -- ends up choosing to forget those same children and instead wipes all her memories of them entirely to start a quiet domestic life with her childhood sweetheart, a man who very much knows the life Ursa left behind and has the power to decide what truths he wants to tell her about the world and live like there wasn't even a bloody war happening. (Don't even get me started on how The Search disappointed me. Oy).

Perhaps Aang and Katara -- even without intent -- might have fallen into that formulaic pattern when Bryke wrote out the first two seasons of LOK, because that was during the time The Promise, The Search and The Rift comics got published, and Katara's character was definitely becoming that unquestionably-loyal/no fuss/devoted girlfriend to Aang where she would go with everything he decided and sadly sit in a corner while Aang got all the praise and attention and never considering her feelings. Bryke picked up on these mistakes, however, because in the later comics like North & South and Imbalance, you can see them giving Katara some leadership moments (particularly when Aang isn't around) and Aang more of a mature, considerate approach with Katara, saying things like "I'm sorry I just left you to fight alone like that!" and "You're always asking me if I'm okay. Now it's my turn-- are you okay?"  The effort was definitely there to make Aang and Katara look somewhat more compatible than they let on. But things didn't really seem that promising in Legend of Korra... as Katara's character arc gets breadcrumbs of acknowledgement regarding what she did for the world outside of Aang's narrative.

It seems like Katara's badass individual characteristics were written second only to whatever she needed to be for Aang, including being the primary parent to his non-airbender kids while he focused on the air-bending culture.

In any case-- I'm almost certain Bryke will be bending over backwards to "fix" all of these flawed elements of Kataang and Aang as a father figure in the upcoming animated feature films, because if there's anything Bryke likes to do... it is "tell" us that Aang was a great guy and there absolutely was no other better person for Katara.

[lizajane2]

Avatar the Last Airbender Live Action Episode 5

If Momo could speak: "Bitch where is the food?"

"So someone saw ice in a place where no ice should exist?" The head movement though, the sass. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

Azula: "Commander Zhao found the Avatar."

Ozai being the manipulative ass that he is: "And Azula, Zhao didn't discover the Avatar, Zuko did. He's the one who displayed resilience and dedication. That's what I expect from a future heir. Not self-serving flattery and coy whispers."

For a second there it really sounded like he was proud until that mother fucker smirked at the end cause Ozai knew it would mess with her head.

Wait, he dragged Katara and Sokka into the spirit world with him? That's new... okay I'm just gonna go with it.

Ooo i love how they mentioned the other storylines that animated series had.

JUNE?! Arden Cho is perfect for this role, honestly she's like an exact clone. Whoever made this cast did a fantastic job!!

Zuko's face though, he's not impressed. LOL.

WAN SHI TONG?! I thought he couldn't leave the library... it doesn't matter I loved that owl!

Dude, they made Hei-Bai look like something straight up outta one of my nightmares.

"Hey skunky! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" *Hei-Bai roars* "I-I didn't mean me." LMAO!!

Aww man, to hear and see your own mother be burned alive... that is so much trauma for just a little girl.

Ko out here moving like the Grudge. ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT.

If Sokka was that terrible why didn't his father just tell him the truth instead of talking behind his back? Or maybe give him a little encouragement that it's okay to fail and it's part of succeeding. All I know is that Hakoda in the animated series would never be disappointed in Sokka even if he failed.

Aang was able to see Gyatso again!

I love that the writers are indirectly having Zuko help Aang with the journal.

Aang's not gonna be able to see Gyatso again is he?

[atla-confessions]

More a/b/o ATLA stuff because that ramble I made like a few days ago or something wasn’t enough to stop me from thinking about this stupid thing 😭 Sorry if this makes no sense I’m incredibly tired

Firstly, in that ramble I said healthy pups in ATLA present after their twelfth birthday. HOWEVER, I didn’t mention that in some cases, a pup can present earlier than their twelfth birthday due to harsh stress which causes a hormonal imbalance; the spirits assign your second gender earlier than expected so that it can balance your system out again. The earliest a pup can present is ten and a half.

With this said, I believe that Sokka and Katara all presented earlier than expected. In my AU, Hakoda left when Katara was ten and a half and Sokka was eleven years old and. A few months later (around 2 or 3 months) Sokka presented early due to having the weight of his entire tribe on his shoulders. Katara also presented early from a similar reason at eleven years and seven months old.

I know that with this logic, Toph and Aang probably would have presented earlier as well, but Toph was already twelve when they first met her and I don’t know much about her home life, other than the fact it was restrictive. Aang encased himself in ice when he was twelve and from the flashbacks we see about his past, he wasn’t very stressed (not to say he wasn’t stressed at all, of course).

I’m not sure about Azula or Zuko. Azula prides herself on being perfect and honestly? I think she would present the day she turned twelve, right on the perfect dot. Zuko had to deal with the trouble of his father’s… everything, and his mother’s disappearance. I don’t know for certain whether I believe he presented early or not but if he did present early, it was most likely when he was eleven and a half. Again, not sure.

Unfortunately there’s little to no information about Suki’s past (that I know of) so I can’t be for sure about anything nor can I truly talk about her without doubting myself 🙁.

OOH another thing. (If it’s not obvious I just type what comes to my head.) There was definitely a lot of conflict between Sokka and Katara when she presented as an Alpha; it wasn’t easy for either of them and they got into a lot of fights the first few months of her presentation, as newly-presented Alphas are a lot more emotional and angrier until they mellow out. Add a moody, angry Katara with a moody, sensitive Sokka (who is still somewhat new to being an Omega and is also stewing in self-hatred 24/7) and you get Chaos. And angst, lots of angst.

Right. In this AU, Sokka struggles with embracing his Omega side, hating himself for being a ‘weak babymaker’ or something else horribly rude. Because he hates himself for being an Omega, he lashes out at others and exclaims his dislike towards Omegas publicly (much to Katara’s and everyone else’s nerves). He’s not the only one who struggles with his second gender, however. Katara has problems with her own Alpha-like tendencies, much like Zuko.

(I don’t know if it’s obvious but I mostly think about Sokka and Katara with this AU; Sokka’s my favorite character and I love sibling bonding and angst!! *pats Katara and Sokka* these bad boys can fit so much pain in them!)

Anyways. Yeah, I mostly feel like there would be a lot of fights between the water siblings. These fights would be where most of Katara’s issues with being an Alpha and some of Sokka’s issues with being an Omega would come from; they’d both do things they regret. Katara would probably be aggressive without thinking and Sokka would not be able to argue back due to his mind going into ‘Panic! Stay safe from angry and scary ass Alpha!’ mode.

Anyways more than JUST Katara and Sokka. The GAANG!!

The Gaang are all definitely Pack. Like absolutely family-core (save for Kataang and Sukka, or Zukka if that tickles your pickle or whatever the phrase is).

I feel like Katara was very protective over everyone, especially in the first season when it was just her, Sokka, and Aang. She doesn’t see Sokka as weaker or anything, but her mind just can’t calm down unless she knows her brother is safe. Sokka is just as protective though, but shows it in a different way. The only other time Katara was protective to the point it was downright crazy was when Zuko joined. Another Alpha around, a potential threat? Katara would go crazy, scenting everyone to make sure Zuko understood that if he hurt any of them, she’d kill him.

I think Zuko would make sure not to upset Katara in any way, staying away from the others and making himself appear smaller and kinder so that she wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

I think Sokka would be especially protective over Toph and Aang, since they’re both pups (well, until months after the end of the war).

Ok that’s all I’m about to fall asleep. I’ll probs write more lol 😭 Still obsessed with this stupid a/b/o au thing UGH!

X

[sapphic-agent]

A lot of katara hate really stems from misogyny (internal too) cause wtf is this

https://x.com/bambied_/status/1753880126029242427?s=46

Apparently that other girl's name is Hachi? Idk, I've never seen this show before nor do I understand what the tweet is saying (I can't see the replies because I don't have Twitter, thanks a fucking ton Elon). If someone can explain in the comments please educate me.

But it's definitely true that most Katara hate comes from misogyny, internalized misogyny especially. Most women who hate on her go absolutely crazy for Sokka or Zuko or Aang while excusing their actions and making Katara out to be worst than she is. Or they "prefer" Suki's feminism over Katara's (which is especially dumb because Suki never faced the level of misogyny that Katara did, she grew up on an island that celebrates the last female Avatar and reveres its female warriors while sexism was rooted into the Water Tribes' culture).

A great instance of how the fandom treats Katara vs the male characters is TSR. Everyone will go batshit insane over Katara saying, "Then you didn't love her like I did," but not one of them will bat an eye over Aang comparing her to Jet (someone who used and manipulated her) in that very same scene. Not to mention that she's right, Sokka himself admits that he started to picture Katara when he thought of his mother. He didn't feel Kya's absence as much (whereas Katara felt Hakoda's absence as much as he did) because Katara was around to take care of him while no one was taking care of her. He isn't as full of grief as Katara is because he had her there to support him. Katara was parentified and it started with Sokka and continued through Aang and Toph. One of the failings of ATLA was that this was never addressed (and was even perpetuated by the show).

As for what you linked? I'm assuming the post is making some weird comparison? One thing I can't stand about any fandom- whether it's comic books fans, anime fans, book fans, or whoever- is the need to compare female characters from different media. Like, I can't stand people who are all, "nAmI doEsN't gEt haTe LikE saKUrA." I don't even hate Sakura, but why are you bringing in an unrelated character? Just because they both happen to be women? Because the other Strawhats (especially Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji) hit Luffy just as much, so Nami being the one brought up is misogyny in and of itself (also, as a Luffy lover, he usually gets hit when he's giving away money or putting them in unnecessary danger, so he usually deserved it). We need to stop using women to put other women down (both real and fictional).

Now, if we're saying, "Hey, this female character was handled better than that female character," that's different. But 9 times out of 10, that isn't the case

[dieauster-und-diegarnele]

In defence of Pakku

The fandom seems to have a lot of hate towards him. Like, every time I look up something about the White Lotus, there are things like "Why is he even accepted? What is he doing there? He is not worthy" and that upsets to no end.

Of course, there are people who understands Pakku right, - for example, this great analisys of his attitude really inspired this post. He is not a mysoginist. Yes, I will defend this point of view. He never ever says anything bad about women, and he refuses to teach Katara because of his tribe's traditions, not because she's "not good enough" or "women in general are not good enough, and this exception only supports the rule".

He loved Kanna and I wholeheartedly believe this. I saw arguments like "he didn't care! He just made her a necklace with a waterbending symbol, he was not even a tiniest bit creative about it". So hear me out. He carved her the necklace. In the series we have Yugoda's phrase about Pakku making a necklace for Kanna ("The waterbending master"). Why should she focus on the fact that he carved it if it's a common thing to do, expected from every groom? So at first I assumed that the necklace could be bought ready, or ordered to some carving master, or inherited - or made by the groom himself, although the last option is not happening all that often.

So, Pakku did not have to make the necklace himself, but he did. Doesn't it prove that he cared?

Of course, in the same episode Yue is showing her necklace, and earlier in the episode Sokka tried to give her a present that he carved himself, so maybe it all foreshadows that Yue's necklace is carved by Hahn and so every groom has to carve if he wants to propose... Well, the lore says so (does "customary" means "obligatory"? I guess it does, they do value traditions in the North), but it quite contradicts mentions about Pakku carving necklaces - if everyone does it, why it's such a big deal to focus on, thrice?

But anyway, even if carving itself is nothing unusual, we have the design. It's the symbol of waterbending. Pakku's family is a waterbending family, a dynasty of waterbenders. That's what he is, what he's good at. And his bride was going to be a part of his family. So the gift he made for her is symbolic. He did not just choose the design because he had no fantasy - no, he chose this one on purpose, he wanted it to have a meaning. Because, again, the woman he loved meant a lot to him.

And I hope no one will argue that this thing is just so beautiful. So much for a woman he supposedly did not actually love and instead despiced for, well, being a woman.

He never married. Kanna left sixty yers ago ("The waterbending master"), and still we don't see Pakku having any spouse, or children, or grandchildren, nor we ever hear anything like that. He stayed true to her.

Also, the idea of Hakoda being Pakku's son makes no sense - he is obviously younger than 60.

Kanna kept the betrothal gift. She travelled to the other side of the planet, alone - I suppose some money would really help her, but she never sold the necklace, although, as I said, it is really beautiful, not to mention - exotic; she could have get a good prise for that. If she hated Pakku, wouldn't it be logical to get rid of the thing he gave her to make her his, to take away her freedom and make the rest of her life miserable? So maybe she did not hate him? Just thinking.

Kanna made this necklace a family heirloom. She gave it to her daughter-in-law (mentioned in "The waterbending master"), and was okay with Kya wearing it so often that Katara strongly links this thing to the memories of her mother. She was okay with Katara constantly wearing it (not that she could ask her granddaughter to leave behind a memory of Kya, but we never see or hear about Kanna being upset or uneasy with the fact that Katara wears the necklace). Again, she is weirdly okay with a reminder of the man she supposedly despices oh so much.

When Pakku came to the South Pole and proposed to her again (and he made another necklace, again, by himself, wow, he really doesn't give a shit about this woman, really), Kanna accepted his proposal ("Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"). First thing I love about this fact: he still loves her. She is sixty years older than he remebers, she is not a healthy young woman who can do a lot of chores, she is not that beautiful anymore, she cannot bear his children, and I guess they both are not that interested in having sex at all, - and still he wants to be with her. Could it be that he liked her for her personality? Cause that's the only explanation I can think of.

Second thing I love about that: she said yes. So, the first time she refused, but now she changed her mind, why? Well, maybe because he changed himself. He agreed to teach Katara, and he did it well - we would notice if he had treated her differently, gave her less practice, worse explanations, less praise than to the boy students, but he never did anything like that, quite the opposite, he respects her very much ("The Siege of the North, Part 1", "The Siege of the North, Part 2", "The Avatar State"). And Katara developed warm feelings towards him too. She runs to hug him as a new grandfather and tells that he and Kanna must be very happy together ("Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"). So I trust Kanna's and Katara's judgement.

I guess Katara was right when she explained why Kanna left the North Pole ("The waterbending master") - she hated the custom, not the groom personally. Maybe, just maybe, she even had some respect towards him - she kept his necklace, after all. Maybe she was not sure about his feelings and thought he marries her just because of tradition/his parents' will/whatever else? Or did not know him that well to love back because she generally paid less attention to him than he did to her? I don't know. But she is a strong woman, able to act bravely to defend herself from the things she conciders unfair. If she hated Pakku with all her heart, she would tell him to fuck off. If she just did not feel the same way as he did she would have suggested them to remain friends. But she decided to marry him, and she's a woman who knows what she wants and what she doesn't want, so I don't know what to add here. She clearly wanted to marry him this time.

Another thing I love is Pakku's change. He must be about Kanna's age, which is said to be 80; she left 60 years ago, so she was about 20 when Pakku proposed and he was told to be "young" at the moment ("The waterbending master"). It is hard to develop the new point of view and accept new ideas and values this late in life - but he was able to do that. And to add the icing on the cake: he did not change completely, transforming into a lovable guy all of a sudden - no, he is still pretty sarcastic and even bitter, so his main traits that make him him are intact. Such a great example of character growth!

I just love this pairing so much, their story is awesome. Two strong personalities, complicated feelings, not always mutual, someone had to work hard to deserve the love he wanted, and many years later after spending most of their lives separately they found their happiness in each other.

[transboysokka]

rating changes made in natla: episode 1

I wanna be clear that I overall enjoyed the series. Most things I had problems with were actually pretty minor.

Planning to attack the Earth Kingdom as a distraction from the Air Nomad genocide: kind of cool I guess but still a weird and random way to open a whole ass show with these randos. Maybe a good way to set up the White Lotus I guess. Cool excuse to see Sozin. Reaction: Neutral

Kyoshi narrating the introduction: Cool. Makes sense. We haven’t met Katara yet. Also cool that they didn’t stick to the original opening monologue bc that wouldn’t have fit as well actually. Reaction: Positive

Showing life in the Air Temple before it was attacked. I mean I get it. It shows Aang’s reaction with Gyatso and kind of leads us to understand where he comes from. It makes his loss hurt that much more. Reaction: Positive

Great Comet Festival: Obviously an excuse to get everyone together for the Genocide but cool I guess. Reaction: Neutral

Aang just going away to clear his head instead of running away from being the Avatar: I get it. It’s to make him seem more likable, not irresponsible. I really don’t care either way. Reaction: Neutral.

Showing the Air Nation genocide: It didn’t last too long and it wasn’t as terribly graphic as I thought it could be. It fit in with the tone and narrative. Did it add anything to the point that it seemed necessary? No. Reaction: Neutral.

Katara using the Fire Nation ship as a place to practice her bending? Badass. Reaction: Positive

Showing more of Sokka’s duties/leadership/burden around the SWT village: love it, delicious, I’m obsessed. Also leaning into Hakoda’s absence. Great. Reaction: Positive

Finding Aang for some random reason that isn’t Katara being pissed at Sokka’s sexism: Honestly I wasn’t bothered by this the first time around but now it’s clear to me this is the first in a long line of choices that make Katara’s character more boring and like. peaceful so. Reaction: Negative

Zuko’s fanatical journal and doodle wall: Love it. Super on brand. Reaction: Positive

Aang already having the bison whistle: whatever. Reaction: Neutral

The SWT having a longhouse: It’s a small change but I love how much more developed the set is… Reaction: Positive

Gran Gran doing the opening monologue from the original show: it fit but I’m sorry it was soooo cringe oh my god….. Reaction: Negative

Let me just mention this here but it’s kind of weird that Katara doesn’t mention her mother’s necklace in the whole show when it was so important to the plot of the original show??? Just another facet of her character ignored I guess. Reaction: Negative

The weird claw thing the Firebenders do: it’s ugly lol. Reaction: Negative

Iroh starting real early trying to convince Zuko his dad sucks: their relationship is so much cooler and better in this show and I can’t really explain it. But I like this and it fits. Reaction: Positive

Sokka’s real ass engineering and defensive skills on full display? Huge love. Reaction: Positive

That one boy close in age to Sokka. Why is he here? Wasn’t Sokka supposed to be the only one left? Glad he gets a boyfriend though. Reaction: Neutral

Iroh’s conversation with Aang on the Fire Nation ship: it’s whatever. An interesting choice to have him tip his hand so early. I have to believe there’s a reason for it and again it works with his overall narrative in the season. Reaction: Neutral

Not spending so much time at the Southern Air Temple… I get it, it was kind of the trade off for showing so much in the beginning. It’s fine, it works. Reaction: Neutral

Aang bringing himself out of the Avatar state by thinking about Gyatso/who he is/whatever, instead of Katara doing it: I get it, they seem to be wanting to cut out any overt Kataang stuff. Still, the relationships between our three main characters are just not nearly as tight in this version of the show and something like this might have saved it? Still, Aang crying in her arms afterward covers that a bit so. Reaction: Neutral

[innocentimouto]

What do you think of the narrative's and the fandom's tendency to equate the Fire Nation characters' trauma to that of the victims of war, the way they do?

Both Zuko and Song have scars from the Fire Nation. Both Zuko and Katara lost their mothers to the Fire Nation. Stuff like that.

Both Zuko and Song have scars, but Zuko's is made more important to us. Both Zuko and Katara lost their moms, but people only complain about Katara trauma dumping.

Others have said this, but Western media tends to sympathize a lot with colonizers. I can't recall, but I have a vague understanding that I've seen some cartoons with people displaced from their homes trying to get it back and being painted as evil and crazy.

It's uncomfortable to acknowledge that everyone was once good, and every horrible person has the capacity to turn good and feel regret. And that's a strong message.

But media usually messes it up by portraying the villains as more sympathetic as the heroes or victims. It's good the Fire Nation aren't written as born evil and that evil runs through their blood---

Well except for that one scene.

So we get funny Fire Nation soldiers, and Zuko and Iroh get an absurd amount of funny moments, especially in Book 1, we meet Fire Nation kids, we get a whole episode to humanize the four Fire Nation teens, we get a lot of Iroh favoritism, the only female soldiers, we get the underdog Zuko from episode 3 and all his writing that came with that. We get an episode dedicated to explaining how firebending is life. We get Roku as a mentor figure. We get an episode humanizing the one who started the war. We get an amazingly complex villain, Azula. We get a strong girl trio with a different skill set.

These are the villains.

What do the other nations get?

Water Tribe.

Well they're sexist. Both the North and South apparently. This is only stated for them and no other nation. The season dedicated to them is barely even spent with the Water Tribe so that's nice. We get some cute kids at the beginning I guess.

We get sexist Pakku. There's Yue who is sweet. We get Hahn. Aang fights all by himself the first day of the siege because apparently after one boat, none of the benders are up for anything else. Also we see nonbenders but when the moon goes, they are nowhere to be seen.

The Northern Water Tribe never shows up again, despite I don't know, LOSING their princess to the Fire Nation and who knows how many others.

We also get Hama and her missed opportunity. And bloodbending which is only considered evil.

That's it. Roku's Water Tribe teacher doesn't get a name and isn't portrayed with much respect or attention like his other teachers. Aang has friends from everywhere except the Water Tribes. He's not even confused about the state of Katara's home, which was different as early back as Hama's time. And his temple is the closest!

Hakoda, Katara, Sokka, and Yue are great, but their nation could have used more attention from the writers.

Earth Kingdom.

We get Bumi who was funny to me as a child and still is, but he's kind of messed up and not a great leader. We get Toph's parents, an extreme general, Jet's portrayal, Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li, the bully soldiers for Zuko to look down at when he still hasn't changed, etc.

We get a lot of culture from the Earth Kingdom and a lot of kind or funny characters. This nation isn't so bad, except Toph, Jet, Haru, and Teo are all underdeveloped.

There are quite a few villains from here though and the only strong depictions of loss to war are Haru and Jet, and it's lacking for obvious reasons.

Air Nomads.

The way Aang leaves the Southern Air Temple with Katara and Sokka is how I wish the genocide was treated the rest of the show. It's barely mentioned after though. Aang is unrelatable to so many people who watch the show, and it doesn't help he never has episodes of crying over his friends or missing them.

The Mechanic destroying a temple is portrayed as good.

Their culture is brought up really only at the end of the series and we're supposed to believe Aang and the others haven't been killing soldiers all this time?

Aang not killing Ozai is great politically and morally, but he has killed before and it's not unreasonable to believe the Air Nomads allow killing if out of self-defense.

This whole thing has generated a lot of hate for Aang as a result of how little we were able to connect to his trauma and culture.

Aang being childish and wanting to have fun isn't him being immature or being unable to understand the trauma the other characters have endured. It's part of keeping his culture alive to bring joy and fun to others, and he did that naturally from episode 1.

(I think it's amazing thematically that Aang didn't kill Ozai, but we should have gotten an acknowledgement that all the kids have technically killed and Aang was just uncomfortable to end the war with death as it would be against his culture or to do it in cold blood. Something like that.)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I think ZKs are projecting Sokka onto Katara. Since let’s think about it, how much of their claims applies more to Sokka?

1. Being one of Zuko’s foils. 2. Being a “Parent” of the group. Sokka does want to be seen as the leader and he often behaves as the Dad Friend. 3. X Has irrational hatred for the Fire Nation, which Zuko and a few others helps him with. 4. Their stories making it make sense to pair them together. As mentioned, Sokka does want to be the Leader. 5. Zuko understands Sokka better than Katara.

Sorry to disappoint, anon, but I STRONGLY disagree.

On them supposedly being narrative foils

Zuko has three narrative foils: Aang, Ozai and Azula. The show goes out of it's way to make that clear through tons of episodes directly highlighting how simmilar Zuko is to Aang, designing Ozai to look like an older version of him that doesn't have the scar, and Azula is a look at the tragic fate he would have had if he had stood by his father's side until the bitter end.

Sokka wanting to be a warrior is not that special in a series about martial arts/war, and him wanting to be the leader is constantly shown as being about his relationship with Hakoda. At most, the "I want to make my father proud" thing would be the real parallel here (and one paralel does not make characters true foils to each other), with Hakoda being a good dad that is worth admiring and taking inspiration from, while Ozai is the cautionary tale his son needs to use as the exemple of what NOT to do.

Leader/Parent

Sokka is not the parent of the group, and neither is Zuko. Katara is the mom friend, and she has mixed feelings about it exactly because, while she naturally takes on that role, she's the ONLY ONE to do so, and thus she sometimes resents her own motherly nature because she fears her friends see her as "mom friend" first and "one of us" second.

As for the leader of the group, that is very clearly Aang, with Katara taking charge/co-leading sometimes because, duh, he's the main character and the whole show is about HIS mission, of course he calls the shots.

Sokka, at most, has moments of frustration when people are being stupid or disregarding a plan, and the show constantly makes fun of him for taking himself too seriously and trying to pretend he is the "adult in charge". Not at all the same as being the dude in charge of changing an entire nation's philosophy on war - which is ALSO very different from being the dad friend or a leader of a small squad.

Racism VS Righteous Anger

Zuko was indoctrinated from birth to be an entitled, selfish, racist prince, and he also experience emotional and physical abuse, as well as victim blaming after it, and it all made him prone to lashing out at people who have done literally nothing to deserve it. He is trying to help his family, and Fire Lord, commit genocide.

Sokka meanwhile hates the Fire Nation for the DECADES of raids on his tribe that killed his culture and his mother, and forced his father to leave. Still, he speaks out against things like Jet's plan to kill a bunch of innocent people to "free" them from the Fire Nation, doesn't have anything against Piandao, is horrified by Hama's actions, and accepts Zuko into the group once he proves he truly has changed and doesn't want to harm them.

He wasn't eager to save the guy that was constantly chasing him, his friend and his sister around the world, and was willing to kill a tyrant to save himself and others. That is not the same as "irrational hatred" - no, I don't care what a spirit that will not be killed if the Fire Nation wins the war has to say on the matter, it's really easy to say "violence is always bad, even in self-defense" when you're not the one in danger.

"They understand each other more, so it makes sense to pair them together"

Does it? Does it though? Because The Boiling Rock makes a running joke of how much of a not ideal match they are. Awkward silence during their conversation followed by an equally awkward "that's rough, buddy", and Sokka CONSTANTLY not understanding what in the fuck Zuko is talking about when trying to give advice.

Sure, they managed to make it work in the end, but that's not the same as the effortless pair up of Aang and Zuko in the Blue Spirit episode, or Azula always knowing how to get to Zuko so he puts himself in vulnerable position during a fight (and him then using her own tactic against her in the finale) but also working as a great duo with him in Ba Sing Se without having to say a word, or even the time he and Iroh fought against the earthbenders in book 1.

Just because Zuko reacted when Sokka said the word "honor" and they talked about girlfriend trouble doesn't mean they have some deep understanding for one another. Sokka is legitimately one of the few characters that has even LESS of a connection with Zuko than Katara. They're on the same side and they're friends, but they're not as close to each other as they are to literally everyone else in their friend group.

[moonlitxeuphoria]

14, 17, and 18 for Zutara asks please!

Hello there, kind stranger!! Thanks for submitting!

(This was a lengthy response so I apologize in advance)

14. How do you feel about “The Southern Raiders”?

- So many intense feelings, that’s for sure haha. That episode is just one of my favorites from the show overall, and not just because of the obvious showcasing of how good Zuko and Katara work together as a pair (though it does play a major part), or them finally having that moment of reconciliation after what happened in the catacombs, but mainly because of the highlighting of Katara’s internal battle over coming to terms with deep seated grief caused by the traumatic loss of her mother. Obvi, that loss is a big part of her character, considering it’s consistently referenced throughout the show but in ‘The Southern Raiders,’ we finally get to see and hear from Katara first hand about that awful day. The episode gives her the room to rage - to feel her and express those dark, ugly feelings - and delve into just how she’s been baring the pain of being the reason why Kya is no longer with them (them - referring to Sokka/Hakoda/Herself). It’s messy and cathartic and just great writing all around on the very real topic of how consuming grief can be; of how you can end up hurting others, be it purposefully or inadvertently, while navigating through it. With that, there’s also the flip side of being able to eventually find peace with the help of someone who truly understands that pain you’re carrying. That with the right person, that load can be lightened until it doesn’t feel as heavy anymore.

17. How do you think Iroh and Hakoda would react to Zutara?

- Iroh is zutara’s #1 cheerleader aside from Toph and Suki, and that’s just facts. There would be fireworks, music, and endless rounds of tea and food in celebration over the news. That sweet old man would be overjoyed at his nephew/adopted son having found someone who pushes and makes him into a better person and vice versa. Not to mention the endless supply of dad jokes, like come on. DAD JOKES.

- I feel like Hakoda - as easy going as the guy is - would be a little skeptical about zutara at first. Not just from general fatherly concern, but because of the stories Sokka and Katara more than likely filled him in on regarding Zuko during the aftermath of the battle in the crystal catacombs. He eventually comes around though, especially with the added help of getting broken out of prison by his son and the aforementioned ‘Prince of all jerkbenders’ and then later hearing about how the kid put his own life on the line to save his daughter from certain death. Needless to say, Hakoda cashes in on his own set of dad jokes later on at their expense alongside Iroh because seeing Zuko and Katara’s slightly mortified but amused expressions are absolutely worth it.

18. How do you think the Gaang would react to Zutara?

- Toph: this girl would be absolutely unsurprised. She’s the first one to find out and tell them straight up that it “took you guys long enough to figure it out” cuz she’s a walking, talking lie detector and those heartbeats never lie. She clocked them from the get go and takes every opportunity to tease them over it because how is it that the literal blind girl could ‘see’ they clearly liked each other but these two dunces couldn’t. (Deep down they know it’s her way of saying she’s happy for them without sounding too sappy about it).

- Suki: would absolutely be the second one to figure it out and is immediately onboard with it because who doesn’t love a good enemies to friends to lovers storyline. (One of us, one of us) She obviously teams up with Toph in teasing the hell out of them whenever the opportunity arises and the two end up bonding over how equally dense their friends were to the blatantly obvious fact that they’re so into each other. It’s borderline comical, really.

- Side note: In my head, Suki, Toph, and Iroh are the official but unofficial zutara council who get together every so often and gossip about whatever new updates on their favorite couple they may have over tea and cakes. It’s a grand old time for all of them and they all would absolutely lose it when Zuko finally proposes to Katara.

- Sokka: Ah my over dramatic water tribe boy. His reaction is just a thing of beauty, really. He would basically go through the five stages of grief because first off, that’s his little sister and second, that’s his best friend and third, what do you mean they’re together now???!! (I picture it to be like a Ross from ‘Friends’ type of reaction, specifically when he finds out about Monica and Chandler) It’s only made worse when Suki and Toph just say ‘called it’ and continue on like this isn’t the most earth shattering news to ever be released. After he’s processed it though, he’s 100% on board and later joins in on the zutara council meetings with Suki/Toph/Iroh.

- Aang: Oooh, our little flighty boy. This one was a tough one to settle on, let me tell you, buuut I think I figured it out. In my head, I think that Aang would obviously hurt for a little while over the news because Katara is his special person. This girl literally saved his life more than once, has seen him grow up, has supported him through so much, and seeing that person you so deeply love end up with someone else isn’t easy. Never is. He would more than likely keep his distance while he works through his feelings. But then one day, he starts really paying attention to how they interact with each other and Aang feels something in his brain click. Zuko understands Katara, and I mean truly understands her. He thought he understood Katara, that’s why he knew in his heart that he loved her, but seeing the two of them together makes him realize that maybe he doesn’t. His perception of her - her wants and needs - are vastly different from his and that’s probably why nothing ever truly developed between them. Sure there was maybe a spark or two but never anything big enough for a full on flame to burn, ya know. And that realization is what eventually pushes him to be in full, genuine support of their relationship. Because how could he deny her that deep understanding that Zuko is more than capable of providing? (To end on a happy note, he later joins the weekly zutara council meetings and full out cries happy tears when Zuko finally proposes to Katara because oh my god two of his favorite people love each other so much and they’re making it official.) Now keep in mind, this is how I think his reaction would be once he’s had some time to grow and actually understand (and I mean understand) that Katara is her own person and doesn’t belong to him (she’s not an object that someone can simply say is theirs).

This was so long oh my goodness but what a fun set of questions!!! Really got my brain’s gears working overtime to think up of some eloquent-esque answers for each of them 😊💗