#people would actually see the chemistry between him and katara

[dylanaz]

I was thinking about that, "loving someone as they are" trope and was comparing it to "judging someone and helping them grow" trope.

I always had a hard time deciding which one was better.

And some of the A/nti-Zutara arguments were heading to this direction and said, "Mai loved Zuko as who he was. Katara accepted him after he redeemed himself"

I agree with it to some extent, but disagree with it mostly.

"Loving someone as who they are" trope is actually really powerful one. It requires them to UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER and love someone WITHOUT CHANGING WHO THEY ARE deep inside.

One of the best examples I can think of right now is Rachel and Jesse's relationship from Glee.

(If you haven't watched it at all, skip the spoilers)

If you need something to remind you about them, here's one of my favorite fanvideos:

St.Berry is one of my ships. People dislike it and try to use it as a proof Rachel and Finn were better match, just because Jesse threw eggs at Rachel ONE TIME. (It's kind of a friends to lovers to enemies to lovers trope)

Whatever, I don't agree with the "they're impossible to ship" statement people hold, because they clearly had chemistry and more. (Because Jonathan and Lea are besties in real life)

Anyway, if you watched the video, you would know Jesse cared for Rachel. Though he was used as a character that got between Rachel to Finn. Or something Rachel used to make Finn jealous. 🙄 Should've had more screentime, tbh.

No disrespect towards Finn/Cory(rip), but Jesse and Rachel were soulmates and they should've been together throughout the series. Not be a second choice.

Ok, enough ranting. Now, let's get back to our talk.

When Rachel was with Jesse, she never cared for her looks. (When she was with Finn, she always compared herself to Quinn. And Finn made statement about her 'boobs' when he was PRAYING!)

We never see Jesse obsessing over Rachel's body. He stopped when Rachel didn't want to do something. And asked her to sing about it if she couldn't talk (🥺 that is real husband material there)

If you watched Glee, at least one episode, you would know how much of an annoying person she is. Most of the people hate her. And even in the show, people let her know they think she sucks.

When Rachel said, "I thought you'd never come back", Jesse replied, "Miss all of your drama?"

It's like they understand each other at another level because of how similar they are. If someone understands how Rachel feels like most of the times (even Kurt sometimes thinks of her in bad angle), it's Jesse, since he is also a very dramatic person (I mean, he is a theater dork) and has a big ambition to reach his dreams.

Eventhough he is talented, he works hard for what he wants.

JUST LIKE RACHEL BERRY.

He just loves Rachel, even if she is considered to be the worst by others. Loving her doesn't make him a different person. It doesn't take away what he wants in life. Loving her is not a sacrifice. It just makes him who he is. Rachel can be the best person according to HIS OWN value. That is just beautiful to me.

Now, let's talk about Mai and Zuko's relationship. Did Mai understand Zuko or accepted him for who he was? Was loving Zuko a sacrifice? Is Zuko the best person according to her own values?

I don't even think it applies other way around. I mean, I have no disrespect towards either M/ai or Zuko. But they are the worst.

Mai having crush on Zuko when she was younger was cute. Maybe she loved Zuko for who he was. But... after Zuko changed into a different person, her view towards him became different. She tried to stop Zuko from changing. (I had similar experience with my childhood bestie and now we are not even in speaking terms. She told me she will always remember me as who I was in 2018, because that was the version of me she loved. Can't blame her. I will probably always see her as who she was in 2018.)

We sometimes hold images of a person and try to hold them in one place, because we don't like the uncertainty. We don't like what the change brings. But it's the best for us to try to understand. Also, it is one of the biggest reasons some couple don't divorce. They just play the good times they had in their head over and over again, thinking either of them would change. But it just pushes them farther away from each other. (It's just sad 😔)

Zuko's journey was what made him stronger. It pushed him to the right direction. I can't see him waste all of that for a person who doesn't want him for who he is NOW.

Now, let's talk about Katara and Zuko's relationship.

We always say "Zuko accepted Katara who she was", but I actually see that as a mutual thing.

When Katara forgave Zuko, she accepted who he was in the past AND who he is NOW.

If you see, M/ai tried to hold the image of him as a different person. And tried to push him to be his old self.

Katara STOPPED holding that image AGAINST him and accepted the new him.

You see the symmetrical pattern?

M/ai's acceptance of Zuko is his old self. Katara's acceptance of Zuko is everything Zuko was/is.

Katara accepting Zuko for who he was also lead to Katara being true to herself and her emotions. Their relationship doesn't require sacrifice that either of them are unwilling to take. And it doesn't change who they are deep inside. It is part of who they are inside. It is a good example of, "loving you as you are" trope.

K/ataang is the good example of the opposite of it. A/ang is the one who holds the image of perfect Katara. And Katara gives up on herself in order to be with A/ang. It invalidates her feelings/emotions and her own values as a person/character.

Acceptance is love. But it expires, just like credit cards do. In order to use them again, you have to renew them.

Some people never get it and they just lose their own colors in order to please others.

[forever--rain]

I wanted to create a separate post for this, @thebansheeandherboy, because it’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart as a little sister with an older brother. (And this got...LONG. So I've hidden part of it under the cut.)

My brother used to be very set in his patriarchal ways. Certain things were "a woman's job." He was absolutely convinced there was something wrong with every guy who miraculously took interest in me. For a long time, we had a very Sokka-and-Katara-Book-1 relationship. Antagonistic yet fond. Full of conflict yet protective.

As we grew up, he dated some girls who were very strong-willed and courageous. They didn't take his crap. They were my earliest feminist influences and I love them all for it. Without them, I may not have found my voice and become the person I am today. And they changed him, too.

He's very supportive of my independence now. He thinks I kick ass and is extremely proud of who I am, even if we don't always see eye to eye. And as the years have passed, he's learned that my judgement in regard to friends and significant others is pretty good. Sure, I made my youthful follies, but so did he.

Though I know he'll never admit it out loud because it would mean admitting that he likes someone whose views directly oppose his, he actually likes my S.O. and he's glad that we finally found our way to one another. And though I know I'll never hear the precise words, "I like him," I see it in a myriad of little ways which I won't delve into now because it's not pertinent.

"Ever," you may be asking. "What does any of this have to do with fictional characters?"

Well, Sokka learned from strong female influences as well. He shed his misogynistic views and embraced Katara, Suki, and Toph for who they were--strong women. He learned not to underestimate them. I've seen that in real life and I can relate to it.

It's my personal headcanon that Sokka and Zuko become lifelong best friends after everything that happened during the war. Zuko would come to admire Sokka's ingenuity and Sokka would appreciate Zuko's sense of duty and honor. They'd both respect each other's leadership skills and be in constant communication about inventions or laws or anything else under the sun. They'd be good sounding boards for one another. (And they'd also really grow to appreciate each other's senses of humor.)

(Truly, these two are my brotp.)

In a universe where Zuko and Katara get together, I actually see Sokka catching on long before either of them do. Maybe Suki would have to clue him in, but I don't think so. I think he'd catch on to their chemistry at the Western Air Temple during the war. And I think that he'd sit down with Zuko to talk to him after the war. Not in an "over protective big brother" kind of way or anything. He'd definitely just want to thank Zuko for saving Katara's life since she's always been the one to sacrifice for everyone else. He'd make sure to tell Zuko what that means to him and how much he respects him for it. He might even tell Zuko that he's like a brother to him.

That would be the beginning of it, though.

Sure, maybe a part of Sokka would find it weird because it's his little sister and his best friend (and, honestly? I'd find it weird at first if my best friend liked my sibling), but he'd kind of get it. Zuko and Katara push one another. They complement one another. They have a selfless and unconditional give and take that somehow always remains equal. Plus, Sokka knows Katara better than anyone. She's strong-willed and determined. Even if he hated the idea of her and Zuko getting together, that wouldn't stop her. He knows, too, that Zuko has always seen Katara for who she is. Zuko's not once underestimated her. He'll remember when Zuko and Katara went to track down Yon Rha and that memory will reinforce in his mind that Zuko is willing to provide Katara with unwavering support no matter the decision she makes.

And when he notices them looking at each other when the other has no clue, he'll realize he's seen that look before. Katara looks at Zuko the way Suki looks at him. And Zuko might be better at hiding his emotions than Sokka ever could be, but he can't completely disguise the way his eyes go soft when Katara walks into a room. (Don't forget: Sokka trained with Piandao. He has higher observational skills than most people give him credit for.)

And he'd just kind of watch over the years as Zuko and Katara sit in denial and dance around it. But he'd also definitely tease them both about it relentlessly, don't get me wrong! He'd make kissy faces at Zuko behind Katara's back. He'd walk around after Katara mimicking her voice as he says, "Oh, Zuko's so handsome. Zuko's such a powerful bender. Zuko has such nice, shiny hair." (Until Katara bends a snowball into his face, of course.)

Maybe Katara would try dating other people. Sokka would say things like, "You know, this guy doesn't make you laugh. Even Zuko makes you laugh." Or, "This guy can't even sling a boomerang! At least Zuko can wield two swords at once. You should find someone like that." Or, "You should be with someone who's unafraid to give you autonomy and likes your political ideas."

And if Zuko looked like he was about to give in to an arranged marriage, Sokka might step in in a subtler way. "You know, you should find someone who challenges you and inspires you to be a better person. Someone with aspiration who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Especially if she's speaking up for the average person. And you should really try to find someone you love because leading a nation seems like a lonely thing and you don't deserve to be alone."

When they finally decided to try to be together, the two of them would keep it under wraps at first. People might suspect, but there'd be no concrete evidence. Toph would claim she's noticed a difference in the energy between them. And Suki might say Katara's letters suddenly contain a little too much Zuko. But Sokka, ever the skeptic, wouldn't buy into it because his best friend and his sister are dense.

Maybe Sokka stumbles across them snuggled under a tree by the turtleduck pond one day. Or maybe he catches them kissing during the winter solstice celebration in the Southern Water Tribe. And he definitely pulls something melodramatic because, let's face it, he's Sokka. Plus, he just wants to give them shit because he's still Katara's brother and Zuko's best friend and he's obligated.

Afterward, though, he'd track Zuko down. Zuko might try to explain in his usual fumbling manner, but Sokka would just look at him and say, "You know if you hurt her or leave her or if you don't find a way to make this last forever, she'll kill you, right?" And then he'd pull out a flask of Southern Water Tribe vodka, raise it in Zuko's direction and say, "Flameo, hotman. Flameo." And together they would toast to Zuko and Katara's relationship.

(But Sokka would still lovingly give them shit for the rest of their lives.)

[shinidamachu]

I had no idea that the creators hated zutara. I never got into the atla fambase but i did watch and i kinda shipped zuko and katara together. I guess cause of the last fight scene together and that one part when they were trapped together. I hope shipping wars in atla aren't as bad as what i see in the inuyasha fandom.

I have no issue with aang and katara being canon though. But i would think that the creator would have been aware that not everyone is going to agree with what you do you just have to accept it. Like i don't 100% agree with some of the things RT did in the inuyasha manga but im fine with it.

Crazy, right?

I think the Inuyasha fandom is currently actually pretty chill on the ship wars department (the sᴇssʀɪɴ thing is something else entirely), but the analysis, metas and discussion on the ATLA fandom seem to be still growing strong to this day.

The first time I watched ATLA I was too young and not really interested in the romantic part, so it flew right over my head (to the point I was legit surprised when I learned people actually shipped Zutara). Like, I knew Aang had a crush on Katara and I loved Aang so of course I'd expect them to end up together, but that's just it, isn't it?

The whole ship is based on Aang's feelings while ignoring Katara's or limiting them to "she'll come around." Which she inexplicably does, off screen and after the war is over in the best "hero-gets-the-girl" style. This realization, that only came to me after rewatching, now as an adult, really put me off the ship. Not to mention how much it hurts their individual character developments.

Especially Aang's, who was facing a "Want vs Need" dillema and had the solution handed over to him without actually sacrificing anything to achieve it. It's sad to watch a character I love so much become that possessive, entitled and having the narrative reward him for it, cheating him from the growth he so desperately deserved.

That's my main issue with the ship (that and the way it treats Katara). On paper, it had everything to be friends-to-lovers supremacy, just the most wholesome, healthy, fluffy couple ever... but the execution was very poorly done. So I don't hate it, but I can't get behind it either.

On the other hand, the more I rewatched the show, the more I could see exacly where Zutara shippers were coming from until I became straight up obsessed. The amount of chemistry, understanding and wasted potential between them was just insane.

[sokkastyles]

You might have talked about this before but after reading a lot of your (really insightful) thoughts on A:TLA and Zutara, I was wondering what your opinion is on the "Would a Zutara kiss have worked in the finale" question? I can understand the feeling behind maybe thinking it'd feel rushed or "forced" but I also know that canon ships have happily sailed on a lot less development than ZK (*cough*), especially considering ZK spend 90% of the finale together, beat Azula together, and mutually saved each other lives', y'know? I don't know, part of me feels like the general/casual audience would've been good with it, it'd just be the ship fandoms up in flames about it if they'd had the spine to do it.

Hi! Thank you! I haven’t talked about it, mostly because I’m not that interested in seeing them kiss onscreen. I’m not the kind of person who cares one way or the other whether what I ship becomes canon. I ship based on whether I see chemistry between characters and whether there is a story there to explore, not whether or not they are likely to get together onscreen. I’m also an adult so I am more interested in relationship dynamics than physical intimacy between adolescent characters. I teach middle school and I have taught high school, I look at these kids and I don’t think any of them are old enough to be dating (although kids do it anyway) much less finding their forever partner.

I actually would have preferred no kiss and an ending that focused on the gaang as friends to the ka kiss we got. And if you can imagine that for a second, you can see where ka goes wrong as a ship, because without the endgame kiss, we leave Katara and Aang on a particularly weird note narrative-wise, because their relationship and Aang’s crush on her becomes a loose plot thread, and the last time they interacted they were fighting. The last time Zuko and Katara interacted, on the other hand, left them closer than ever, and was a resolution to their arc. I feel like that’s part of why the ka kiss feels so rushed and awkward, because it’s like the writers realized that they needed to close that plot thread somehow. A kiss was necessary for ka because of the way the writers wrote themselves into a hole, and the kiss wasn’t enough to get them out of it, either. A kiss was also narratively necessary to make Zuko’s relationship with Mai endgame because I, everyone else in the audience, the show, and Zuko literally forgot about Mai up until that point, and it feels even more forced. But a kiss would not be necessary for zutara because the emotional energy between them speaks for itself.

That said, if I could imagine an ending with a zutara kiss, Zuko and Katara have tons of chemistry and I don’t have a problem believing that they could be attracted to each other given the emotional energy between them in the series, BUT in order to make a kiss work within the timeline of the series they would have to make their feelings for each other more explicit than it is in the series. The show definitely teased the ship, and I’ve spoken a lot on that, but it never moves beyond subtext. Even in “Ember Island Players” when Aang is jealous and worries that Katara doesn’t like him back, he never explicitly worries that there is something going on between Katara and Zuko, even after watching the play tease it, for which I am grateful because I really love the Zuko & Aang relationship and I definitely would not want to see any kind of love triangle angst.

However, there isn’t that much you would have to change to make Zuko and Katara’s feelings explicitly romantic. I mean it when I say there’s obvious romantic coding in many of their scenes. Katara and Zuko’s arc from the crystal catacombs onward is almost identical to a breakup and makeup arc. I joked about Katara being angry that she’s attracted to Zuko post “The Western Air Temple” but that’s because her feelings towards him aren’t that far off, she is mad because she did like him before and doesn’t want to admit it to herself. When he asks her what her problem is with him she makes it clear that her feelings for him are different than the others (”I was the FIRST person to trust you.”) A few tweaks here and there and the subtext could easily be brought to the forefront and developed to the point where a kiss at the end could work. What I would do if I were writing it is introduce it after the play. Maybe Zuko and Katara talk about what really DID happen in the crystal catacombs. (”Wasn’t it ridiculous? The idea of us as a couple!” “Yeah, haha...” *significant look of romantic panic*) Especially since the last five episodes of the show seems to do all it can to nuke Katara’s relationship with Aang. It would feel rushed, but not more rushed than the canon relationships (except Sukka because it wasn’t developed at the last minute) do.

The main thing that they would have to change in order to make zutara really happen though is to give Katara much more romantic agency, and her feelings take more precedence in the narrative. A lot of people can’t imagine Katara with anyone but Aang because Katara’s romantic feelings are never allowed to exist independently of Aang. Even Katara’s crush on Jet is meant to show how much of a nice guy Aang is, the purpose of showing her with Jet and Zuko in the play is for the audience to want Aang to get the girl. Even when Mai showed up in the finale my first reaction was “Oh they have to pair Zuko up with someone because Aang ends up with Katara.” It’s all focused on Aang. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because Aang is the main character, but if you’re not invested in Aang getting the girl then that narrative feels particularly insulting.

[ruhrohimrorny]

What Subjects I Think LOK Characters Would Teach:

Lin: PE, obviously. Dating Kya and all the kids are happy cause there’s a noticeable shift in Lin’s mood once they start dating. She no longer forces kids to run a mile every day and instead does it once a week now, so the kids are hoping her and Kya stay together. She also coaches Golf and Lacrosse.

Kya: Waffled between MILF Math teacher, MILF Science teacher, and hippy/chill Music teacher, but decided on MILF Science Teacher. Getting strong Biology vibes. Very fun labs and not strict at all. Her and Zhu-Li are super passionate about leading the Science Bowl team. Seeing these young people be so passionate about STEM and helping their fellow teammates makes her hopeful for this young generation.

Tenzin: He kinda gives math teacher vibes, but a large part of his character in the show is about him keeping his history alive, and teaching others abut learning and respecting history, so I feel like he’s a History teacher. His class is a lot of notetaking but he plays quiet music and does a five minute meditation in the middle of class to encourage kids to relax, so students really like him and actually listen to him. Also, he’s kind of gullible so they make up fake trends to tell him. He once spent a week addressing people as “brony” cause students told him thats what people say now instead of bro. Kids got a good laugh out of that one. Him and Pema are another favorite teacher couple.

Bumi II: Def gives off eccentric/unhinged English teacher vibes. Very interesting and informative conversations in his class, but things get off topic very quickly. Whenever kids ask about Bum-Ju, he gets distracted and will talk the entire rest of the period about what to dress Bum-Ju up as for Halloween. Probably plays a lot of videos. And students don’t worry about if they read the books Bumi II assigns cause they don’t think he’s even read the books he assigns. When having discussions about the books in class, sometimes kids will make up stuff and say it’s in the book and for the most part, Bumi II goes along with it cause he doesn’t know what actually happens in the books.

Varrick: Also gives off eccentric/unhinged English teacher vibes, but because he’s a businessman/war profiteer, I’m gonna have to say he teaches Econ and gives students lots of unsolicited financial advice. Also supervises the Engineering and Robotics Club.

Zhu-Li: Science teacher, probably Chemistry. She’s very good at explaining and getting kids to follow her instructions. Not only is she a co-supervisor for the Science Bowl team, she helps Varrick run Engineering and Robotics Club, cause if it were only Varrick running it, no kids would come. His intensity and eccentricity scares them.

Iroh II: He’s definitely the young Math teacher everyone has a crush on. Very chill and doesn’t give a lot of homework. Kids love when he shows pictures of his dog to the class and eventually he brings in the dog cause admin think the dog is too cute to say no to.

Tonraq: Resident DILF History teacher. Kind of a hardass but also a nice dude so most everyone passes his class. Probably that History teacher that is also a football coach, so during fall he doesn’t give a FUCK about whether anyone actually turns anything in. Him and Senna is the teacher couple that seems like opposites but actually are pretty similar and balance each other out.

Senna: That English teacher that every mentally ill student becomes emotionally attached to. You know what I’m talking about. She’s so sweet, funny, and chill so all the kids love her class. Tries to include memes in her presentations to seem “with it” but they’re like, doge memes from 2014. But the kids appreciate the effort.

Pema: Definitely the sweet English teacher that occasionally has a mental breakdown when the students test her patience. Otherwise very chill. Also teaches the Childhood Education and Development class. Her, Senna, and Bumi II run the school newspaper.

Bataar: Drafting. Pretty chill, very skilled, and def smokes on the weekend. Also, him and Suyin are that teacher couple that everyone likes.

Suyin: Dance. Super nice and always has like to of those smelly plug in things going so her room smells good and has a “good vibe that evokes emotion”. Always plays EDM or weird 80s rock to get the kids moving. She runs the school dance team. When Bataar has prep period, he sometimes drops in to see Su dance, cause she’s mesmerizing to watch. All the kids think that, coupled with the fact that they eat lunch together every day, makes them the cutest couple ever.

Amon: Drama. He loves directing kids on how to totally live a role. If you can imagine, he sometimes gets a little overdramatic about drama, forgetting that these are just highschool kids, not Oscar winners, but his passion makes the class more enjoyable. Runs Drama Club with Tarrlok.

Tarrlok: Probably Physics. A difficult class, but he’s pretty good at explaining so most kids don’t struggle too much. His main focus is running student government, which he takes pretty seriously. Sometimes too seriously.

Unalaq: Teaches Psychology. The most pretentious teacher on campus. It’s literally so bad, that even other teachers avoid him. Amon abandoned his coffee still being brewed in the machine in the staff room cause Unalaq walked in and he didn’t want to be in a room with Unalaq again after he said that Amon’s outfit “looked like something stolen from the lost and found of a funeral home”. Unalaq sees it as “telling it like it is”.

Zaheer: Government and Politics. Tries to teach the class very well but also injects his own opinion into teaching a lot. The students find him scary but some also kinda think he’s hot. Also does Yearbook. Him and Senna run Mock Trial. Replaced the old Government and Politics teacher Hou-Ting after she retired. She was that one old teacher that made it a hobby to harrass students and constantly reminisced about when you could smack students.

P’Li: Math teacher. Much scarier than Zaheer. Plays her trash ass music very loudly while the kids work. Def yells at kids. She’s kind of funny when she’s in a good mood tho, and when she roasts kids it’s really funny cause it’s usually dead on. Her and Zaheer are those teachers that flirt a lot and you know they’re sleeping together.

Ming-Hua: Art. Loves drawing and, you guessed it, watercolor painting. Very chill and plays soft music but lets you listen to your own music. Super sarcastic and all the students eat it up. Literally a universal favorite. She runs Art Club and Fashion Club.

Ghazan: Guitar. Pretty cool teacher that definitely has some weird stories. All the students know he has a crush on Ming-Hua cause they flirt constantly, but he denies it. Runs E-Sports Club. Idk why I think that, it just feels right. Him and Ming-Hua are also the kinds of teachers kids become emotionally attached to.

Kuvira: Government and Politics also. Seems calm and reasonable, but is a total ass. Makes kids give up their phones, allows almost no talking, gives out more detentions a week than most teachers do in one year, and doesn’t allow for much discussion. Everyone wants her class cause she’s hot but most drop within the first week, to the point that counselors have to say no to some kids so they don’t have to get rid of the class altogether.

Bataar Jr.: Computer Lit teacher. None of the students respect him so they’ll play Minecraft the whole time or play inappropriate videos really loud. Doesn’t really put much effort into teaching, which for some kids is a dream, but for others is an annoyance. Him and Kuvira are the teacher couple that makes everyone say “wtf”. Literally no one knows why they’re together.

Izumi: Secretary/Attendance. Pretty much remembers everything and is super organized. She is the glue that holds the school together. Most students don’t know her name though cause she’s super quiet and works mostly behind the scenes. Whenever Zuko sends anyone her way though he reminds them of her name and to say thank you cause he recognizes how hard his daughter works to keep everything running smoothly. Izumi catches on to this and always manages to thank her dad with a nice tea and a hug.

Toph: Vice Principal. Scary as fuck. Doesn’t ever call kids’ parents cause she efficiently scares the shit out of every kid, so they never do whatever bad thing they were doing again. When she has to work dances, Katara always tries to get her to dance with her. She resists every time, but she always gives eventually. She’s happy to though, cause although she’ll never say it out loud, seeing Katara this happy at her old age warms her heart.

Katara: Health Clerk. Very sweet and everybody loves her. Sometimes kids pretend to feel sick just to talk to her. She doesn’t mind though cause a kid that has a tummy ache and a kid that needs to talk are both kids that need help, and she’s happy to offer whatever support she can. She also always offers to supervise dances when the school has them and always manages to bust a move.

Zuko: Counselor. Wants to be to students what his uncle was to him. Aang and Sokka were counselors too, some years ago. And while they could give some good nuggets of advice and offered the kids amazing support, they also would totally fuck up student’s schedules by accident cause those numbskulls were exactly that- numbskulls. So usually Zuko would have to fix that. He misses fixing their messes and, more importantly, he misses them (they aren’t dead, just retired). He hopes to retire soon too, cause he’s getting too old for this, but he secretly doesn’t want to retire just yet cause working at school allows him to see and spend time with Izumi. Since they’re both working, it’s not like they have too much time together, but even just her popping into his office to bring him tea or check in on how he’s doing that day brings a smile to his face that doesn’t leave for the rest of the day.

Raiko: Principal. After Toph stepped down cause she’s “too old for this shit” (her words), Raiko stepped in. The students aren’t a fan of him but he’s not terrible. And since Toph is still Vice Principal, she keeps him in check.

[zutaralesbian]

zutara and bamon!

Zutara:

Why I ship them (or why I do not): Ooooh Zutara. They're one of my oldest ships and one that I ALWAYS drift back to eventually when it comes to phases lol. I started shipping them back when I was about thirteen and they were one of my first major introductions to online fan works. The first time I watched ATLA it was when it was first airing and I was only a young kid, so I naturally just 'shipped' the canon pairings. But when I found out that Zutara was a thing I was intrigued by it and a bunch of meta and fics later, I was hooked. I just love the fire and water symbolism of them and the way they parallel each other. Their relationship development and the mutual understanding and respect they have for each other by the end of the show. There's just....so much interesting storytelling material for Zutara. And I think that's one of the biggest reasons they're so popular.

My favorite moment between them: I feel like this changes all the time but I think right now it would be the cave scene in Ba Sing Se. Despite Zuko's betrayal afterwards I just loved how these two people who were enemies for the entire time they've known each other bonded and found some understanding between each other. Also Katara offering to use the water from the oasis to heal Zuko's scar and Zuko letting her touch the scar???? Kill me. I feel like a lot of what I love about Zutara is represented in that scene alone.

My least favorite moment between them: I don't think there is a ZK scene that I hate. I mean, I don't like the infamous pirate scene in book 1 but I also think people make it out to be a lot worse than it actually was. (I've seen people compare it to the R*ylo scene where Kylo captures and tortures Rey and that is so undeserved and extra.)

The character I prefer: Zuko is my socially awkward son and I have a special love for him so he's definitely my personal fave. There aren't many character arcs that make me as emotional as his. BUT at the same time I know Katara is queen and she's definitely my second fave.

A fanfic idea for them that I would love to read or write: The post-war idea I have where Mai leaves Zuko for Ty Lee, Katara and Aang breakup amicably, and then Zuko and Katara fall for each other on a trip together to visit a healing Azula lives in my mind rent free.

What I would have changed about how canon handled them if I could: As amazing as canon Zutara done right would have been, I'm kind of okay with them not being canon? Mostly because with the exception of Sukka I think Bryke sucks at writing romance lmao. And I have more than enough ZK fanwork to keep me satisfied. BUT in a perfect world I would have had Zutara been implied as a future romance in the end and erased the K*taang and Ma*ko stuff. (The gaang are all literal children. I think it would have been more than fine if they ended the series all single.)

Bamon:

Why I ship them (or why I do not): They had great chemistry and were just a fun dynamic with a lot of potential (especially in the later seasons after they became friends.) I think their development from begrudging allies (and occasional enemies) to friends was fun to see and always an underrated dynamic in TVD and I would have loved to have seen it go all the way to lovers.

My favorite moment between them: Damon reciting the letter he wrote to Bonnie before he put himself in the coffin that she never read always gets me in the feels.

My least favorite moment between them: For some reason I can't really remember a specific scene but I know there were plenty in the early seasons that made me angry lol

The character I prefer: Oh definitely Bonnie. She was a queen that always deserved better than the way that shitty ass show treated her. She's the only reason I stuck with TVD as long as I did. I do admittedly have some kind of soft spot for Damon too though and I prefer him as a character over Stefan. But I completely understand why people hate him lmao 🥴

A fanfic idea for them that I would love to read or write: It's been soooo long since I've even thought about Bamon fic. But back in the day S6 canon divergents were my shit and I'd be down to reading one again if there are new ones out.

What I would have changed about how canon handled them if I could: Here's how I think I would have made them canon starting in S6: Damon and Bonnie would have had a frenemies with benefits kind of arrangement while they were stuck in the prison world together. (Honestly it's ridiculous to me that they didn't on the show. Two people with chemistry stuck in a prison world together with only each other for company, not expecting to escape and they never once fucked? Fffs). Once they're both free from the prison world there's this lingering Tension between them even though they obviously decided to stop having sex now that they were both free. Bonnie now feels off seeing Damon and Elena together and she eventually realizes it's because she's developed feelings for him. But she keeps it to herself out of loyalty to Elena and Damon has been obsessed with Elena for almost as long as Bonnie's known him so there's no way he'd feel the same anyway.

This would continue on for a while until we got to S7, where Damon decides to put himself in a coffin until Elena wakes up. I would have had part of his decision to do this be because he realized he has feelings for Bonnie and felt like he was betraying Elena by having them, so he ran.

Cut to Damon returning and Bonnie suddenly being in a relationship with Enzo. Damon would have been insanely jealous and this would have kicked off a Damon/Bonnie/Enzo triangle. Maybe Damon has some kind of talk with Stefan that makes him realize it's okay for him to want to be with Bonnie, that Elena wouldn't have wanted him to be miserable while she was gone. The triangle would have eventually ended with Bonnie/Enzo breaking up and Damon/Bonnie getting together. (And the 'Dear Bonnie' scene would have been re-written to be a reveal that Damon confessed to being in love with Bonnie and not knowing what to do about it in the letter). We would have then seen Damon and Bonnie as a couple throughout the entirety of S8, with the finale having the implication that Damon was going to stay with Bonnie throughout her whole human life and then one day in the far future reconcile with Elena. (Basically the same way the Will/Tessa/Jem situation was in The Infernal Devices.) What really sucks is that the TVD writers could have EASILY done something like this if they weren't cowards.

Thanks! :)

[lydia-yougowith-stiles]

My Top Ships of 2020

It’s FINALLY here!! The list of my top ships of 2020. What a year it was and I can’t believe it’s already January 8th as I’m writing this. Just like I mentioned with my 2020 TV Wrap Up, a lot of these ships helped me escape during 2020. I can’t wait to see where they’re headed for 2021. I have also started watching a few things in December, but I will be saving those ships for my 2021 list. (You’ll notice I have already expanded this list from last year.) Last year, I debated about including an Honorable Mentions sections. This year I will be including it because I wanted to still talk about these ships, but found it hard to rank them with the others. Without further ado here we go!  

Oh! One last thing. Compared to previous years Bellarke has not made it on this list. J. Roth did us dirty with this last season of the 100 and I will pretend it didn’t exist. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

~ Anne with an E: Jerry and Diana

These two were SOOO CUTE until Diana started acting rude and left our perfect boy Jerry. Watching this last season back, I grew not to like this couple as much as I did the first time. This most definitely had to do with the fact that I knew the outcome AND I could see Diana using him more earlier. She wanted to experience something different and rebel and Jerry was there. But they were so cute as they walked home together and shared books. I’m also really proud of Anne for sticking by Jerry when she found out the truth about their relationship. (As you probably already know I love Jerry so much and don’t want any harm to come for him, so this was a tough one, but yes I’m still including it.) 

~Umbrella Academy: Klaus and Dave

I started watching Umbrella Academy this year, so I was lucky to not just experience the first season, but also the second. I instantly fell in love with Klaus and Dave and we barely got any scenes with them. (That’s my main reason for making them an honorable mention rather than a permanent spot on this list.) I wish we had more scenes with them in love. We do get some great moments in scene two with a younger Dave, which highlights Klaus’ love for him, but it’s not the same. I really love how much Dave changed Klaus. I would argue they’re my favorite romantic relationship on the show. 

~Walking Dead World Beyond: Hope and Elton

Here’s my classic shipping people together who weren’t technically romantic (but honestly those often make the best and most satisfying ships if the writers open their eyes to the chemistry that is on screen...but I digress). While they technically weren’t “romantic” you could tell that Elton grew to have a crush on Hope as the season went on. There was definitely a lot going on between their characters as Hope ***I’m going to try and avoid a spoiler here*** was one of the last people to see Elton’s mom. I think there’s potential for these two down the road and as there are only 2 seasons slotted for Walking Dead World Beyond, I can only hope this is the path the writers take. 

~Violetta: Angie and Pablo

Okay, so even if you have not heard of the Disney Channel telenovela “Violetta” or seen many of my posts, can you just appreciate the chemistry in the above moment between these two people! For a good amount of season 1 of the show, Angie and Pablo were the couple for me and I was ESTATIC when they finally got together. I anticipated it wouldn’t be for long because of slight spoilers and more intuition, but god were they beautiful together. Friends to lovers to the extreme. Screw Herman! Now as I’m slowing watching season 3, I know these two won’t be OTP, but I can savor in this moment and remember the good times. 

17. Violetta: Violetta and Leon

Two back to back Violetta appreciation posts. This show took up my entire 2020 from awaiting for season 2 (and 3) on Disney Plus, as well as watching the 80 episodes (a piece!). Currently, I’m trying to get back into wanting to watch season 3 (as other shows took precedent). With the amount of Violetta I watched, I couldn’t leave Violetta and Leon off this list. They were the favored ship of the show (and one of the most central). In season 1 it took me a little time to like them together, but by episode 35 I could feel the mutual attraction. I remember the moment of them singing/playing piano together. I knew they’d be endgame. My main complaint is that when these two are a part they are SUPER ANNOYING! Like they (specifically I’m thinking of Leon) say rude things about the other person and I’m like how could you be okay to get back together? Their best moments are definitely in season 2, whether singing to the other person or imagining singing to them. Definitely at the end of the season when they’re in Spain. I still have to watch the end of their love story, so I hope it’s satisfying.

16. High School Musical the Musical the Series: Nini and Ricky 

So I added this ship onto my list long before I knew about any real-life/personal drama that was happening among the cast. I considered taking it off the list, but as I am discussing the fictional characters I decided to leave it. High School Musical the Musical the Series was a very early 2020 watch. I liked the show more than I was expecting and was upset to hear that season 2 wouldn’t include a performance of High School Musical 2. (I mean, Beauty and the Beast...really?) This was one of those extremely rare times where I actually liked a ship that was the main ship. Usually, I favor the other part of the love triangle or the underappreciated part. I was both shocked and happy when Ricky and Nini kissed in the finale and got together. Of course the final episode ended with some hurtles for season 2 (which now I guess there will be even more), but it was good to see them together and happy. 

15. Legacies: Hope and Josie

With all of these shows ending earlier than they should have due to COVID, I feel like I’m going to sound like a broken record when I say I don’t remember a lot of what happened in this last season. (I guess for 2021 I’ll have to take more thorough notes, but then again you can see which ships I like more.) With Hope and Josie, season 2 was a bit of a rough road. I mean, what do you expect when you erase yourself from existence for the greater good, which means that your boyfriend hooks up with your friend/eventual lover? (Yes, I added in that second part.) Josie and Landon felt very awkward in the beginning of this season when they were in “love” and forgot about Hope. (I rarely heard anyone say they liked them together.) It got more awkward when Hope came back in the picture and had to watch them together. Then we had that spill with Josie being evil (which I was surprised they tackled so early on in the show. Feels like a later plot to explore). Due to all these hurtles, there were less opportunities for my OTP of Legacies. The best moment we got was in the above photo when Hope went into Josie’s subconscious and was speaking to Josie as a fictional pig the whole time. We will never forget how the “pig” suggested Hope kiss her awake. Come on Julie! Give us what we want! 

14. Single Parents: Will and Angie

Will and Angie were far down on my Top Ships last year. Another friends to lovers, you could just feel the chemistry between these two and that was strengthened in season 2. (I just loved some couples more this year I guess.) Last year, they couldn’t really act on too much romance between these two because of Poppy and Douglas’ relationship, but as those two had some drama this season, Will and Angie had a greater chance of getting together. We watched moments where the two pretended to be a couple (for the sake of Will’s parents) and eventually Will came to the realization of his feelings for Angie. In a classic season 2 plot device of a sitcom, Angie decided to go with her real-life husband/Graham’s dad at the end of the season. But you could see she also had feelings for Will and they HAVE to act on those next season. I can’t remember if the show got a third season, and I will be crushed if they didn’t. Previously, they’ve been mid-season starts so I feel hopeful.  

13. Emma: Emma and Knightley

The last movie I watched in movie theaters was Emma. While it makes me sad that I haven’t been able to go back since, this film was a great one to hold this memory. As an avid Jane Austen fan (and period drama as you will continue to notice), I LOVED this Emma and Knightley pairing. This couple is one of my favorites of the Austen heroines and heroes and I have many favorite reincarnations from Romola Garai and Johnny Lee Miller to Joanna Sotomura and Brent Bailey in Emma Approved (still so sad those two broke up). So it was very hard to live up to what I’ve watched and liked before. Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn did not disappoint and will be one of the combos I think of when I re-visit the novel. I love how we didn’t focus on their crazy age difference and really highlighted on their relationship as family friends and going back a long time. I specifically like the decision to bring in some early nods to Knightley admitting his feelings for Emma and then not doing so because of the presence of Frank Churchill. Just talking about all of this makes me want to re-watch the movie all over again. :) **If you’re a fan of this combo or Emma/Knightley in general that you have to watch this video. It is amazing! 

12. Avatar The Last Airbender: Zuko and Katara

Another binge from 2020. I watched Avatar the Last Airbender in the summer and was amazed by the story-telling and how deep they could get for a kid’s program. Despite, being in MS/HS when the show originally aired, I hadn’t watched it before. So many people had told me to do and then with the help of Netflix, I felt the pull to do so during quarantine. When I headed into the show, I thought Zuko and Katara eventually got together. Mainly, because I know the fandom and love for them is so strong. I instantly felt this too. There were so many great parallels between there characters. (I mean clearly we have the whole water and fire dynamic.) Even when these two weren’t in scenes together I was thinking about how well they’d work together. So needless to say I was disappointed when they didn’t get to be endgame. We did a lot of great moments at the end of season two and definitely with season three. The Last Agni Kai scene will forever give me chills and represent how deep Zutara is. The evidence is all right there. Such a great ship. 

11. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Zoey and Max

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist was one of my favorite watches of 2020 and such a feel good show for a moment with a lot of uncertainty. (I highly recommend if you haven’t watched it. Season 2 just started on NBC this week.) For a while I felt very on the fence if I shipped Zoey more with Simon or Max. As you can notice friends to lovers has been a common thread with my posts (although I LOVE a good enemies to lovers) and Max was that 100%. Plus, he’s played by Skylar Astin so what’s not to love. Despite, all of that I felt both of the men in Zoey’s life had potential and I could be happy if she ended up with either one. By episode 6 I was leaning towards Max (if I’m remembering correctly this would be the “When I Wake Up” number with the scooter) and then by episode 8 I was all in! I mean she sang “I’m Yours” to him. (Episode 8 was one of my favorites for the whole season. She did a fantastic job singing and I loved the twist of events. Also, Max being there for her was adorable. The “Pressure” song in the conference room OMG, get me a Max!) The only thing that upset me about their relationship and Max’s character was how sudden his emotions were. It became all or nothing and it felt like too much. He shouldn’t have given Zoey an ultimatum like that. Once he went to work upstairs, I grew to not like this character. Luckily by the last episode I saw some of the old Max again. We’ll see what happens with this new season. 

10. Julie and the Phantoms: Julie and Luke

Julie and the Phantoms: I cannot talk highly enough of this show. It is amazing and everyone needs to be watching it. Of course, it was created by Kenny Ortega so need I say more...but there is so much more to appreciate too. The actors are fantastic and I love the characters they portray! I also can’t stop listening to the music. But this moment is for Julie and Luke, sorry, I should stop promoting the show :) It was very obvious that two members of the band should fall in love and with Julie and Luke both writing their own music and being passionate about their craft it became a no-brainer that they should end up catching feelings for one another. Of course, there’s the major hurtle that he’s a ghost, but we can figure that out in season 2. Luke is obviously the better pick for Julie (Nick who?). They are just so adorable together and I can’t get over that moment when he talks to her at school by her locker and she pretends to talk on her phone. The way they look at each other says it all. (Such great acting!) Then there’s Edge of Great and Luke’s guitar solo. OH! They’re so meant for each other. While no season 2 announcement has been realized yet, there’s no way this show does not get renewed. 

9. The 100: Murphy and Emori

Okay, so I know this sounds hypocritical that I said I won’t think the last season of the 100 exists and here are Murphy and Emori. But in my defense they are the best part of this season and my love for them as a couple really came to a head this season. Murphy had so much character growth and I was fearing for his life almost every episode. Same went for Emori especially after her accident I didn’t feel positive. These two (along with Raven) were the shining beacon in a very disappointing and confusing season. I love how close they are and how strong they make each other. They have been through so much and it was nice to see them so happy (despite everything going on). You just knew they’d always have each other’s backs no matter what. 

8. Violetta: Fran and Diego

I feel like I would do anything for this ship and I have so many more episodes of season 3 to go. (So that’s saying something.) Another Violetta ship, but arguably the best and one that I know is endgame because I grew so obsessed that I started searching for spoilers early on. (That’s how you know it’s bad. Especially when you’re watching YouTube videos without subtitles, so you have no idea what they’re saying, but they look happy and therefore you are happy.) Fran and Diego only got together in the third and finale season of Violetta. Previously, they were a part of different romances (Diego a major one with Violetta), but at the start of this season they are put together in a lot of situations and quickly grow a strong relationship. You can feel the chemistry instantly! They just fit each other so well. Their singing voices together-OMG! While it took FOREVER for their relationship to be public knowledge, I really haven’t had any other problems with them together. (And with 80 episodes it could easily be the case.) A positive of having more than 30 episodes to go: I have more opportunity to fall even more in love with these two. 

7. Sanditon: Esther and Babington

I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH! I watched Sanditon so long ago that my memory could get fuzzy, but one thing that stands out clearly is how great it was watching Esther and Babington get together. When thinking about this show people will probably immediately think of Sidney and Charlotte and while they are great and the central couple of the series, these two have my heart. Esther has SO MUCH character growth and development and Babington is a big influence on that. He helps her to see that she can be so much more than what she currently is doing and gets her away from her brother and that lifestyle. For a bit it was touch and go and I wasn’t sure if the two would be endgame, but luckily they were. It appeared to be a marriage out of friendship/necessity. Babington is fine with loving Esther more and hoping she’ll grow to love him. This quickly changes with a scene where we see the two looking very much in love. While this show only used Jane Austen’s unfinished novel as a stepping stone and became a lot more modern (than most fans liked), I thought it did a nice job with several aspects. The main one being Esther’s character. It is a show that I will definitely be re-watching and will always be upset that it did not get a second season. 

6. Legends of Tomorrow: Ava and Sara

A great ship since Ava was introduced. These two balance each other out so well and are one of the most constant ships on the show. (As the Waverider’s doors continue to be revolving in recent seasons.) Each season we watch their relationship deepen and I truly felt that with this most recent season of Legends. Now this might sound super ironic, because from what I can remember (remember 2020 brain, it’s been a while since watching), Sara was off the Waverider a lot, leaving Ava in charge. Sara was away for so many episodes that I started to question (and do a lot of Google searching) if she was leaving the show. Despite the two being a part, I feel we got to know Ava’s character more. She has definitely grown since we first met her all those seasons ago. Due to this development, I felt this couple deserved this spot on the list. When we got to the end of last season ***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS*** and it looked like Sara (and actually all the Legends) might die, my heart broke for them. Ava and Sara deserve the world. And with the way the finale ended it’s going to be some time till they get it. Once again, Legends is the best CW Superhero show (I said it) and everyone should be watching it.

5. The Spanish Princess: Mary Tudor and Charlie Brandon 

This ship is so underappreciated and deserves to be talked about more!!! (Another common thread in many of these entries.) I have searched for Tumblr posts and YouTube videos and have only found a few dedicated to this couple. There needs to be more!! As the second season of the Spanish Princess dragged for me a bit, once Mary Tudor and Charlie Brandon got more screen time and a plot-line I was instantly sucked in. They nicely balanced the falling out of love of Katherine and Harry. There should have been more scenes with Mary and Charlie. Right away, you could feel some sort of chemistry, but Mary had to be married to the King of France. Then the King dies and she’s promised to pick a marriage of love for her second marriage. Knowing her brother and expecting that she will be married off again she marries the messenger come to get her from France, Charlie Brandon. Super intrigued by their story I looked up the history of the real Mary and Charlie Brandon and their story matches very closely. They got married despite the King’s rules and had many children together. It seems to be a marriage of love like she wanted. This couple will forever be one of my favorites. 

They are also one of my major reasons for wanting to watch the Tudors. While they completely change the Mary and Charles romance (Firstly by naming her Margaret), at least it was very easy to watch. As Charles Brandon is played by the beautiful Henry Cavill. 

4. The Outpost: Talon and Garret

Speaking of underappreciated ships (and TV shows), I present Talon and Garret from CW’s The Outpost. It was SO HARD for me to find a picture from the third (and latest season) of them to put with this post. It’s even hard to watch any scenes of the show on YouTube. Talon and Garret FINALLY got together this season and it was ABOUT TIME! Since season 1 you have felt the tension between these two, but there were always obstacles and people in between them. There seemed to be potential in the first season and by the start of third I was not holding out hope anymore that they would be together. So, it was such a joyous occasion when they became endgame (is that too soon to say? I have no idea if there’s another season on the horizon). This couple solidified my love for a WARRIOR romance. One where, despite being two different genders (and for this show species), both partners are equal in strength and fighting ability. (Well, Talon could take Garret, but they are such a powerful duo!) I now want to read and watch more romances/ships with this trope. [Please let me know if you have any suggestions.] Just talking about them, I can’t help but smile (almost as big as Garret when he saw Talon again before she left for another mission). At the end of the season they might have tried to make it seem like they would pick other partners and I’m so glad they didn’t. You seriously need to watch this show if any of the above sounded appealing/you like high fantasy and maybe a little CGI cheesiest. 

3. The Society: Grizz and Sam

It breaks my heart talking about this ship ever since Netflix released that they were taking back the second season renewal of The Society. I started watching the Society during quarantine (shocking I know), but I do remember a lot from my time watching (more shocking, right?). Hands down the best couple from this show was Grizz and Sam. They weren’t introduced right away and again I might have cheated when I suspected the two might get together, so I looked up some spoilers. (Honestly, that’s the best sign of a ship in my book. If I can’t wait and need to look up spoilers then your show has a good thing going.) Individually Grizz and Sam were my favorite characters and then pairing them together I was dead. So many amazing moments with them. Naturally we didn’t get enough and I will continue to watch fan videos (because there are so many). They are precious and I’m so glad we got some closure at the end of the season because if we didn’t this cancellation would have been even harder. 

2. Nancy Drew: Nancy and Ace

Okay, I’ll try to keep this brief because I know I’ve talked about this couple A LOT on this page in 2020 (but that might be difficult FYI). From an honorable mention thought last year to #2 this year-THAT’S HUGE! But they deserve it, even if they haven’t officially become a couple on the show...well not yet. Early on in the first season I felt a pull between these two characters, which is super ironic seeing as how they had few scenes together and were a part of two different romances. (I mean Nancy had two different love interests.) I thought I was just imagining things (as I do often pair people who barely share plots), but then episode 14 happened and I was sold. Then I came onto Tumblr and discovered the amount of people that felt it too and knew we had something. Shout out to all the other blogs that mention Nace or are made just to honor this amazing duo. I know they will be endgame too and value all your posts that I’m constantly liking and looking for. 

Again, there’s so much I could talk about, but I’ll focus on how much they trust and listen to one another. (I mean Ace drank that stuff because he trusted Nancy!!!) I love how they get paired up on cases and go into investigator mode. They speak SO CLOSE to one another and just all the looks! If we don’t get more moments in the second season I don’t know how I’ll survive. They are just so perfect and I could easily see them become number 1 next year. I cannot wait for the start of season 2 on Jan. 20th!! For now I’ll fast forward through old episodes and watch my favorite moments. Like these:

AND NUMBER ONE.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

1. Anne with an E: Anne and Gilbert

Now I know what you’re thinking...’Stephanie, didn’t you pick Shirbert last year too?’ Why, yes that is true. But back then I had only watched seasons 1 and 2 with some spoiler videos of season 3. The release hadn’t come to Netflix yet. Since then, I have watched the last season (and the show as a whole multiple times). It’s just so good and watching the growth of the characters (not only Shirbert) means so much more when you can watch the episodes back to back. But we’re here for Shirbert and how we watched them rise. Yes, it departed from the novel, but I love the twists and turns it took getting to endgame. So many looks and unspoken feelings. I thought it was great how Anne discovered her feelings. I hated Winifred, but understood her purpose. Anne and Gilbert will always be one of my top OTPs no matter which adaptation. Of course, the book will always be the tops, but so many great representations of it have been done on screen. Ultimate enemies to friends to lovers. I hope to one day create characters that could be so strong and beloved. 

[daughterofzagreus]

The Astrological Signs of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" characters

Part 1 - Team Avatar

♎ Aang - Libra

Libra is an air sign and Aang is an airbender. More than that, though, Libra (represented by the scales) is the sign of harmony and balance. As the Avatar, restoring and maintaining balance is Aang's primary duty. Aside from all that symbolism though, Aang's personality is a lot like a Libra.

Libra is the opposite compliment to Aries, a war sign. Libra don't really like discord (at least, they don't like to be IN the discord and chaos). They're lovers, not fighters, so they tend to be peacekeepers. This is Aang to a T. Aang is not only one of the youngest characters in the show (and therefore, the most likely to be uncomfortable with violence), but he is also a monk, raised by other peaceful monks.

He values peace and all life. Even his fighting styles are evasive and are more about using an opponent's strength against them, rather than attacking. It's something that is brought up in the Book 2 episode "Bitter Work", when Aang has trouble learning earthbending from Toph. Libras (depending on the rest of their chart, of course) often tend to respond to conflict in a similar manner, by being avoidant.

You see the pacifist in Aang anytime he needs to mediate a conflict. Examples include "The Great Divide" in Book 1, where Aang has to mediate between the two tribes (as well as Sokka and Katara). He does so by telling them that "Harsh words won't solve anything. Action will". Of course, when that doesn't work, he just lies and makes up the alternative story of WeiJin and JinWei. I don't think Aang is a big fan of lies, but it was for the sake of peace, a means to an end. Very Libra.

Another thing that makes Aang a Libra is the fact that 1) Libra is ruled by Venus and 2) Libra rules the 7th house, which is essentially relationships. Aang's relationships (platonic and romantic) mean EVERYTHING to him, and there's a reason why putting one of his loved ones in danger is initially the only way to activate the Avatar state. He's a very friendly, charming and loving kid (like most Libras) and he's the first one from team Avatar who believes they can make it through the secret tunnel, because of how strongly he believes in his love for Katara. The final point is Aang's reluctance (or sometimes downright refusal) to cause harm to others unless absolutely necessary. While others use violence, Aang is more likely to want to befriend his enemies, and that's actually a good thing. It's Libra's superpower.

♋ Katara - Cancer

Cancer is a water sign that is ruled by the moon, and Katara is a (very powerful) waterbender who draws her powers from the moon. In astrology, water signs are known for being on the emotional side. And with Cancer's ruling planet being the moon (the planet of emotions and also the celestial body that pushes and pulls the tides), Cancers are known to be so emotional, that they're often just archetyped by it. Katara is similarly emotional (see the Book 3 episode "Ember Island Players"). However, Katara being so in touch with her emotions also makes her extremely emotionally intelligent. Like Cancers and most other water signs, her heightened sensitivity allows her to almost psychically sense how others are feeling, and to know how exactly to respond to and comfort them. There's a reason why Katara has such great chemistry (when it comes to her one-on-one conversations) with so many people (Aang, Haru, Jet, Zuko, Toph). Her emotional intelligence also makes her very mature for her age and allow her to see things clearer than others, or to foresee things that others don't.

Cancers are often either family oriented, or they love and value their home (this can either be their childhood home, current home, or the city, country or culture that they came from). This applies with Katara. As a waterbender, being from the water tribes is a big part of who she is, and she has a deep love for her culture. We see how being the only waterbender in the South Pole and having no one to show her the ways of waterbending saddens her, and how happy she is to hear that Hama is willing to teach her (the only other waterbender from the Southern water tribes that Katara has ever met).

With regards to Katara being mature for her age, she's also very motherly. The Book 3 episode "The Runaway" (as well as most of her interactions with Toph) demonstrates this. The moon (which rules Cancer) is The Mother in astrology, and so most Cancers have a significant relationship with motherhood. Katara was very close to her late mother and her death still affects her.

Following the death of her mother, Katara has basically had to become everyone else's mother and hold things together. You see this as well (in a more positive light) in the Book 2 episode "The Desert". In this episode, Appa is missing, Aang is too upset to think or act clearly, Toph can't see properly because of the sand and Sokka is high off cactus juice. Katara is the one that is keeping everything together in this episode.

On the downside, Katara's mothering can turn to nagging sometimes, but I don't blame her. She's a child that's had to grow up way too fast. She has a lot of pressure on her. With water, that pressure can build up, until it bursts like a dam wall (which it's likely to do). It's the combination of this, as well as Katara's strong and fearless sense of right and wrong that lead to those cataclysmic outbursts that both Katara and water signs are sometimes known for.

♋♐Sokka - Cancer sun, but with a lot of Sagittarius aspects in the birth chart

Okay, let's start with the Sagittarius side of things. There are a lot of elements of the Sag personality in Sokka. For one thing, luck. Not only does he manage to survive (and thrive) in the entire series WITHOUT any bending powers, but that boomerang ALWAYS comes back! That's some Jupiter-luck energy if I've ever seen it.

Sokka was originally going to be a more serious character, but the voice actor decided to improvise and add some of his own humor to the role, which created the Sokka that we know and love now. I mention this because the voice actor (Jack De Sena) is a Sagittarius. Sokka has the kind of personality that provides humor in difficult times and can lighten up the sometimes very heavy atmosphere in the group. He doesn't just make people laugh, he likes to laugh as well (at his own jokes and even at his enemy's jokes). In the book 3 episode "The Ember Island Players", heeven goes to the effort of getting Suki to sneak him backstage, so he could give the actor playing himself some tips and extra jokes (and low and behold, the crowd actually laughs at them). In his words, he's "just a guy who loves comedy". In fact, I think he's one of the only ones there who just decides to kick his feet up and enjoy the show (by basically turning the situation into a date night for him and Suki). Sagittarians love to laugh and make people laugh. They're optimists who like to have a good time, and are likely to be the make-lemonade-out-of-lemons type.

He's also one of the smartest and most competent characters on the show. He has excellent problem solving skills, and isn't afraid to look at things through a different angle and try new things to expand his worldview and knowledge. This is relevant, as Sag rules the 9th house which includes, amoung other things, higher learning, truth and knowledge. He can be a bit tactless and insensitive...a little slick at the mouth, but it's largely ignored by others, as he is likeable and funny enough for others to let it go. That's quite a Sag trait.

The Cancerian part of Sokka's personality is less pronounced, but it's there. He's VERY protective of his loved ones, even before the situation with Princess Yue. He is family oriented in that he admires his dad and the traditions and customs of the water tribes. He loves and is just as proud of his culture and home life as Katara is, but just in a different way. He also always looks out for the other members of team Avatar. He can tell when a member of the team needs support and immediately jumps to action (for example, the way he immediately grabs Toph's hand to guide her in "The Serpent's Pass", in "The Desert" and on the air ships during the final battle in the series finale). He's also very loving and protective of his sister, despite how often they fight. Also, quiet as it's kept, Cancers are one of the funniest signs in the zodiac.

♉♈Toph - Taurus sun, but with a lot of Aries aspects in the birth chart

Let's start with the Taurus aspects. Taurus is not just an earth sign, it's FIXED earth. It embodies the firm stance and hardheadness of not just Toph, but earthbenders in general. Tauruses are very stubborn and like to do things their own way at their own pace. Combine that with the independence and confrontational nature of an Aries, and you've got Toph.

Aries value their independence, sometimes to the point of being selfish, which is what we get with Toph in the Book 2 episode "The Chase". In this episode, it's Toph's first time riding with the group, but it's also her first taste of freedom. Like an Aries, she hates the idea of seeming weak or helpless, and has to learn that freedom doesn't mean that she has to do everything alone.

As Toph shows us, there is, however, power and strength in valuing independence, so long as you're not insecure about independence or projecting. Toph is a wealthy, sheltered child who is blind, which, in most cases, would make her vulnerable. But it's not the case. Toph ran away once before when she was little, and that's where she learned earthbending from the giant blind moles. She learned earthbending not just as a martial art, but as an extension of herself and her senses, and as a way to see. She would have never been able to master doing that (nor would shehave gone on to do even greater things like train the avatar and discover metal bending), if she didn't have the will, bravery and self assurance to run away in the first place. That little pilgrimage (her life changing adventure, if you will...but still not with Zuko, I'm afraid😔) showed the value of independence. Of going out on your own journey of self-discovery. Much like how Zuko needed to be be alone for a while during Book 2 for his own journey of self-discovery.

Oh, speaking of "Zuko Alone"...

♈Zuko - Aries

Zuko's arc in the show shows us the transition from a dark-sided, low vibrational Aries, to a high-vibrational Aries at it's best: passionate, brave, protective, strong, innovative, a good leader, driven, energetic and independent. Zuko embodies many Aries (and general fire sign) traits, both good and bad. He can be impulsive, and doesn't always think things all the way through. Aries is cardinal fire, so it's about getting up and going, just DOING something. Zuko is known for never giving up. These are things that that Iroh, Sokka and Ursa have mentioned. Zuko is an impatient person and is very fiery, hot headed and reactionary even for a firebender.

His reactionary nature makes him prone to a bit of melodrama (and I imagine that's why it's so fun for Azula or even Iroh to get a rise out of him). This is definitely the case with Aries. They're not the only sign with a temper, but they are the most likey to cause a scene and storm off in a huff about it. Or challenge you to a fight. Zuko can't refuse a fight for the life of him. At least not until he evolves and figures out his ✨true destiny✨.

One the other hand, he also keeps that same fiery energy when it comes to defending those who can't defend themselves and fighting for what he believes is right. In these cases, he refuses to back down. Even if his chances of winning are low, he'll still keep pushing forward. That's the will, energy and drive of cardinal fire. Zuko just needs to chanel all that power into something useful and constructive, like creating change for the greater good, and not distraction. Like with fire in general, Aries (and Zuko) is useful and powerful, but requires direction, guidance and purpose, so as to not risk letting the fire run wild to cause destruction and devastation.

[elleleh]

You know, I was actually surprised to find out you didn't ship Zutara. Not saying that to be rude, I just thought it gave off the same energy as other pairings you shipped. I also seem to follow a lot of other artists who have Zutara as their OTP. No hate though, I do ship it as well, I'm just more of a Zataang shipper (And I agree with you on how they should of handled them better towards the end of the series)

Okay so... here are my thoughts & feelings on ATLA ships, specifically Zutara and Maiko. Zutara fans will wanna skip this:

My personal view of ATLA concerning Zuko and Katara is that they are, at best of times, ok friends. There is very little canon chemistry between them save for at least one moment each season where they spend some alone time together and each time it’s not super compelling for me as Zuko attacks our hero’s at the end of each, excluding book 3.

I also don’t like the implication of the colonizer getting the prize of the indigenous woman whose people his own destroyed/killed. I didn’t like it as a kid when this show first came out and I don’t like it now.

For those reasons, I can’t support Zutara as an individual. Doesn’t mean AU’s can’t be compelling or the rewrites can’t be good, but for me the narrative is a bit icky that his redemption for some people must also include the girl who his people, and he himself, tormented for years. Him pulling a 180 and being a good person in the end doesn’t exactly erase or make up for the trauma for me.

—————

I ship Maiko more than I do Kataang, and the reason being is that they are genuinely good together. They learn to be more open and caring towards one another, willing to sacrifice for the other. Zuko doesn’t want to make Mai look like an enemy of the nation and Mai would rather be locked away in prison than see Zuko get captured.

For me, their love is one out of two in this show that is sincere and unapologetic. They’re childhood friends who clearly cared about one another at an early age and don’t even hesitate their romantic relationship when Zuko initially “redeems” himself.

Lots of people want to call Mai abusive, but I think they forget how young and dumb they are as a couple and that they were raised in abusive homes. Mai herself admits that she has trouble showing her true emotions because she was shut down a lot as a kid and had to grow up with high expectations from her political parents. Their relationship isn’t without flaws or needing improvement, but neither of them are “abusive”, especially her. They’re both edgy and sarcastic but clearly love one another more than anything.

Maiko hits a tender sweet spot for me of two troubled goth kids who found love and acceptance with one another where they otherwise had none.

Tldr; Zutara is fine but just really not for me due to the implications it sets in the show. Maiko is where my heart lies and is my all time OTP.

[metallicarules5]

Gloves are off, I don’t care anymore. This is not a troll post or a light hearted joke post, I’m being serious with this. And I’m not doing this to stoke ship wars, because frankly, I don’t give a shit about shipping in Avatar, but when I’ve seen as many bad takes as I have from one side, than it’s something I just can’t put up with anymore.

Zutara is absolute trash, nothing more than a crack ship that has garnered a legitimate following thanks to trash takes by trash people.

If you have to lie about the head writer of the show and his wife secretly teasing your ship and create false interviews with him that Zutara was going to happen, and then discredit real interviews where he acknowledges the fake stuff...

If you have to wildly exaggerate to the point of lying about statements from the creators to make them come off as evil...

If you are more willing to trust the account of some random, anonymous person on the internet claiming to have been an intern at Nick almost two decades ago and claiming that Zutara was going to be canon over the documented words of the creators and writers themselves...

If you argue that the creators just used Aang as a self insert for themselves to bang a 14 year old girl...

If you argue that chibi shorts made for shits and giggles and low level marketing material that had no input from the actual creators in Nick Magazine should be viable sources for arguing the validity of your ship...

If you argue that it would have been better for Aang to die with the rest of the Air Nomads and blame him for the genocide of his own people and everything bad that happened in the world...

If you argue that one of the most spiritual and kind hearted people in the show was a selfish, immature, whiny kid who went through no growth or character development...

If you argue that Zuko kidnapping Katara, tying her to a tree, and bribing her with her mother’s necklace to give up Aang is romantic...

If you take a single frame where Zuko grabs Katara while she’s paralyzed on the shirshu as demonstrative of how protective he is of her and doesn’t want her to get hurt...

If you argue that the scene between them in the Western Air Temple is riddled with sexual tension...

If you argue that Aang tried to belittle or disrespect Katara’s grief over her mother, despite him literally suffering from the same pain and grief, because he wanted to control her...

If a good chunk of your ship’s fan fiction revolves around Katara being taken prisoner by Zuko or being forced into an arranged marriage with him...

If you argue that you have less sympathy for Aang than any of the actual villains of the show...

then why should I take your ship seriously? I don’t give a damn about Kataang, so don’t even try to claim I’m a salty Kataanger (why should they be salty to begin with, they’re canon last I checked), I’m just fucking tired of shit take after shit take from these people. For the good Zutarians out there, the ones that like the chemistry between Zuko and Katara, would have liked to see something between the two, but still respect the other characters and fans who don’t agree, I’m truly sorry for you, because your ship has been overtaken by these morons and you don’t deserve that. If it wasn’t for those people, I’d just be indifferent to the idea of Zutara, not for it, not against it, and willing to let people ship freely. But the community has been overrun by toxic individuals with vendettas against certain characters for getting in the way of their ship, which leads to others despising the ship as a whole. I’d say more needs to be done to expel those toxic people from the ship, but they’ve become so ingrained in the Zutara community, and their views have become the foundations of the ship, that it’s impossible to separate them. For you, I feel sorry for you, but for any of those that actually believe and peddle the crap listed above, know that your ship is trash.

[appleb18]

Cartoons Relationships Are Terrible

Back in the day of cartoons, the romantic subplots were simple and yet very heartwarming to see such as 

Katara and Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Phineas and Isabella from Phineas and Ferb 

But now, modern cartoons are taking romantic subplots into heavier territories that something that some live-action shows would do. While it does sound interesting that making relationships more realistic and complex but the way that has been written in the previous decade is pretty bad. The writers try to make romance relatable to the audience but fail on doing so such as making likable characters to really cringy and awful people, shoving down our throats of how cute it is and having the romantic subplot more focus than the actual plot.

Adventure Time and Regular Show 

So you must be wondering why I put Adventure Time and Regular Show together instead of separate categories. The thing about these two shows is they used to have bad romantic subplots but as the show progresses, they really did it well and I have to say it did better than most cartoons that failed to do which I’ll talk about later. 

For Adventure Time, Finn and Flame Princess broke up in “Frost and Fire” due to him deceiving her by having FP fight Ice King/Simon Petrikov for his amusement

After their break, he tries to rekindle his romantic feelings for Princess Bubblegum and thinks age is just a number in “Too Old”. However, it doesn’t end up too well that she has people to watch over and that’s when he realized that he really did donk up with Flame Princess. 

Although he apologized to FP in “Earth and Fire” to her it didn’t fully restore their relationship and Finn still had romantic feelings for her and Princess Bubblegum. 

Thankfully, Finn matures in later seasons.

Finn realized it’s better for him to be friends with Princess Bubblegum 

He then fully apologized and realized what he has done wrong to Flame Princess and she tells him that he really matured and hang out by playing guess who and rapping in “Bun Bun” 

and Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline. They both finally reconcile at the end of “Varmints” and start to hang out more which develops their relationship from being platonic to romance.

For Regular Show, in “Steak Me Amadeus' ' Mordecai asked Margaret to be his girlfriend and although she would like that, she can’t because she got accepted into college which broke his heart.

It didn’t last when he’s been reunited with CJ in “New Years Kiss”. 

As the show progresses, the two become a couple but then things get complicated when Margret returns. It made things awkward between CJ, Mordecai, and Marget like CJ always gets jealous and runs away when she sees Mordecai and Margret together. 

By the end of season 6, he dumps CJ in front of everyone in Muscle Man's wedding. 

Like Adventure Time, Mordecai and Margret hangout and realized they should stay as friends in “Just Friends” 

While Eileen and Rigby become a couple. 

Now it’s time to talk about other cartoons shows and their romantic subplot problem  

Steven Universe 

Steven Universe relationships can sometimes be well written but most of the time can handle poorly.

Such as Lars and Sadie were starting to develop their relationship in “Joking Victim” however it repeats itself throughout three seasons until the end of season 4 where Lars develops. Then there’s Sadie trapping him and Steven on the island in “Island Adventure” so he won’t have to leave and they don’t resolve and don’t even mention it ever again in later seasons. All they show was Sadie scar and that’s it

In “Steven Universe: Future”, Sadie and Lars didn’t get together and she’s now with Shep and they did it off-screen. So throughout the whole thing with Lars and Sadie, they don’t get together. The show kept teasing it and they might get together in the future but the writers just said screw it, let's have her date a nonbinary while Lars goes on a space adventure. It feels like a waste of seeing those two characters that the show keeps showing them together and not have them become a couple. Unlike SvTFoE, Shep just came out of nowhere with no proper introduction and doesn’t establish they and Sadie's relationship and it’s really bothersome! 

Connie and Steven's relationship was good for the first four seasons. It was really had good chemistry and she was a good partner for him 

then season 5 came in and it kinda got ruins by after Steven escape from Gem Homeworld and coming back to Earth, it starts off with Connie leaving Steven with lion and never to be seen for a month according to “Keven Party”. The Steven and Connie arc was really bad like why was it dragged for five episodes? The whole thing could’ve been resolved in one episode by having them talk about their feelings like how “Mindful Education” and “Full Disclosure” did by they talk about their emotions instead of running away. 

Then in “Gemcation”, Steven the most important thing to him is Connie's relationship than worrying about Lars and the Off Colours' safety. That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard in my life and I can’t believe Rebecca and the Crewniverse have written it like that. 

Then there’s Ruby and Sapphire. I’ll be honest, the relationship feels like old Disney love stories like Cinderella, Seven Dwarfs, and Sleeping Beauty and that’s not a compliment. In “The Answer”, after they accidentally fused, they escape and wander Earth that caused them to fall in love which kinda contradicts what Garnet said to Jamie about love, at first sight, isn’t good in “Love Letter”. 

In “Pink Diamond” Arc, the plot came to hold to make room for Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding. 

While it is revolutionary that they show an LGBT wedding live on television but as a narrative standpoint, it feels rushed. The reason for that is after that Blue and Yellow came in after the wedding. They were no build-up or anything, they just came.The reason why they did it so some countries can’t take it down due it the main story which is stupid. It’s nice they represent LGBT but why in the middle of a major story arc, that’s just sloppy. 

Voltron 

So Voltron has a reputation of queerbaiting the audience that Shiro is gay and he has a boyfriend. The writers keep telling us on Twitter that they’ll show his boyfriend in season 7 but when it finally aired. It was terrible 

The first time we saw Adam was a flashback but it was nothing, it was more friendship than romance. 

When he finally shows up in the present he dies. Shiro goes to the memorial and signs than that’s it. 

The writers really made a dumb move of hyping it up but they let us down by having him die. They try to make it up by having Shiro marrying some guy who has a very little screen in the final season. Similar to Regular Show with Mordecai marrying a batgirl but not dumb while Voltron trying to get brownie points for having LGBT rep. 

Lance and Allura were really forced. For six seasons, Allura was never interested in Lance and only saw him as a friend but in season 8, the two confessed their love for each even though there wasn’t any chemistry nor sign that they truly love each other and they insensitively become a couple for one date. I would’ve supported if their relationship was established back in season 2 

The Legend of Korra

The love triangle between was handled so poorly with bad timing, making characters look terrible, making things force and having it engage more than the plot. 

For the first season, there was a love diamond. Bolin liked Korra, Korra likes Mako and Mako liked Asami and those two go out. Korra and Mako kissed which broke Bolin’s heart but he got over it but when Asami finds out when Korra was missing, she gets jealous. I understand that she was concerned about her relationship with Mako but during when Korra, the avatar that is missing while Equalis are on the move? That’s not the right moment to get jealous when Republic City is gonna be under attack but of course, Mako and Asami break and Korra gets in with Mako. 

In season 2, things get worse when the happy couple keep nagging and they break up

Which he tries again with Asami 

After Korra got her memories back but forgot breaking up with Mako, she asked him if it was bad however though he lied and everyone judged him for that dick move, especially Asami who started to have feelings for him again. Thankfully they broke up because that was just an awful way to get someone back by having their mind erased. 

Also, Bolin was with Eska and it was abusive. Forcing him to be her man, changed his whole entire to match with hers and she forced him to marry her. 

What’s worst about it is no one is concerned about him being with her and instead they just laugh like it’s supposed to be funny. Being in an abusive relationship isn’t funny and I hate how the show treats it so. By the end, they just forgot the whole thing that ever happened and moved on with their lives. 

Season 3 and 4 kept the romance to a minimum with Bolin x Opal and Jinora x Kai but there was one romantic relationship that had to happen with no hints or build up and it’s Korra x Asami. By the end of the series, they decided to go to the spirit together while holding hands and having their eyes glazed toward each other and they become a couple. 

While many of you may say that they hinted it since season 3, however, it looks like friendship. Blushing and writing to her isn’t enough to say they have feelings towards each other. That is what best friends do too. The creators even have to confirm that they are a couple and the comics showing their love while it’s nice and all but it would’ve been a lot better to show it either on streaming service or live television than buying volumes to see more of their pairing, it’s balderdash. Now it’s time to talk about a cartoon that has one of the worst romance I’ve ever seen in my entire life of watching shows. 

Star vs The Forces of Evil

Star vs The Forces of Evil has one of the WORST romantic subplots I’ve ever watched, it is even worse than CW’s Arrowverse romance and that’s saying something. The romantic subplot makes Star and Marco look like terrible people that only care about each other more than other characters. 

Jarco 

Out of all ships in SvTFoE, Jarco has the most establishment than most others. Marco liked Jackie when he was little and it was bound to happen that those two will date. Ever since season 1, the relationship has been growing to platonic to a romantic couple in season 2. 

Their chemistry together worked well but then “Sophomore Slump”. When Marco finally went back to Earth, he was obsessed with Mewni and Star and he won’t stop talking about and he still wears the cape. When Jackie told him to stop obsessing over Mewni which he tries to do but it got the better to him by he still wears the cape when he was on his date with Jackie. It’s really BS when Marco said to Jackie “You’re my best friend” which ruined everything that it established since season 1 and this, of course, caused them to break up.

 Then he left Earth to go to Mewni the day after their break up. It’s a real shame that building up their relationship and giving Jacie character got shoved aside for Starco. Although she returns and meets up with him again I can’t help feeling that it just for fan service and being inclusive for Jackie being Bi

Tomstar 

Before the show started, Star and Tom were a couple but broke up due to him getting angry very easily and he wanted her back for the past two seasons luckily he stopped trying in “Mr. Candles Cares”. Their relationship becomes healthier when Tom gives Star space and that causes them to get back together and not have feelings for Marco anymore.

 Tom went through a lot of development for Star and it was a Mewni x Monster romance which is similar to Eclipsa and Globglor and it fits season 3. After rewatching it, it was pretty good. However, like Jarco, it was doomed from the start due to fans wanting Starco to be canon even though Tomstar was getting good. Also, Star was a terrible girlfriend to him. 

Star never told him she kissed him, Marco did and when Tom confronted her about it, she got mad and tried to walk away. 

She mistreats him by nagging somethings, blowing on his face and angrily ask translate

She declined on going on a vacation with him so she can be with Marco.

Even his mom was afraid that she might break his heart again and her response “Everybody breaks up. That’s what teenagers do! Teenagers are dumb”. He went through so much development, changed his character and gave her so much but she never returned the favor. What an awful girlfriend 

Kellco

With Tom and Star getting together (for now) it left Marco feels devastated that she’s dating someone and can’t get rid of his feelings for her while Kelly doesn’t want to be with Tad which she broke up with him. They both have something in common and start to hangout and their relationship has developed throughout season 3 and he’s with her more than Star. 

They became officially a couple as “breakup buddies” in “Kelly’s World” and it also when they did a perfect synchronization between two partners. 

So they’re pretty much a good pair but everything changed when the episode “A Boy and His DC-700XE” and did an off-screen break up. I don’t care who or what you write but never, ever a major plot point or character development offscreen. Kelly finds happiness when she leaves Tad but they break up with no explanation. It was glossed over like for five seconds and Marco doesn’t even care about their break up, what an a*hole. 

This relationship feels like a real waste of time and serves nothing to the plot nor character development, it was just there to waste time.

Starco

Before I talk about Starco, I used to ship it and I thought they were enjoyable characters. They would've worked in a relationship if things were written better and would have been the next Phineas and Isabella but sadly the writers messed up probably the easiest romance to write. 

Season 1, Star and Marco became best friends. Although there weren't many romantic moments they still look pretty good together 

Season 2, As Star was happy for Marco that she’s finally dating Jackie, the girl he has had a crush on since preschool,

 on the other hand, she started to have feelings for him and she has trouble expressing it. 

In season 3, Marco started to have feelings for Star which caused him and Jackie to break up. Star told him that he wants nothing to do with him romantically in “Lint Catcher” and Tad told him that he does have feelings for her in “Lava Lake Beach” and he wasn't happy to find out about it at all. Then in Booth Buddies, they were held hostage by some freak until they kiss and they were completely in denial about having feelings for each other

Then season 4 is when Starco becomes really sour. Star and Marco always keep saying that they don’t want to have feelings for each other and yet the writers have several episodes before the end of the series

. They never showed any romantic interest until “Mama Star” where he confessed his feelings to her and then they kissed in the second last episode. By the finale, instead of either of them going back to their dimensions they went back to the World of Magic and held each other. It would’ve been more meaningful if they got together before the end of the  show. 

It’s very odd that they risk their lives for a relationship that just started. However, for some miracle, both of their worlds collide and become one with no explanation of what so ever. 

Starco could’ve been a lovely ship but the writers have to keep messing around with it till the very end. 

Conclusion 

Whenever a show presents a romance, I don’t mind as long it either fits with the narrative of the story it be fun but 2010s romantic subplots have been written very terribly by having it the main focus but sacrifice pacing and quality of the story, forcing characters to become a couple without establishing it enough in the show, and having characters go off for the sake of drama. Romantic stories can be simple and cute like Kim x Ron from Kim Possible, Suki x Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Starfire x Robin from Teen Titans and that’s all right. I do hope that this generation will fix what the previous decade of cartoons has failed to do. 

[kikiscastleinthesky]

THE SOKKASM ZUTARA

I’ve seen a lot of tumblr blogs that ship zutara and I decided that is time for me to open mine too. So, yes, I’m a zutara shipper. And for the time being, my posts are going to be dedicated principally to analyze the ships in ATLA. 

Disclaimer alert:  I’m not forcing anyone to ship zutara. And I won’t accept hate because I (and many others) may have a different opinion, If you are one of those persons I invite you to leave, don’t waste my time and yours, because I’m not even going to reply. Everyone has the right to ship whatever they like and want, without been mocked, harrassed and humiliated. 

Well... now that everything is settled: 3...2...1 go!

I’m starting with this small analysis, because every zutara shipper has been attacked on why zutara and zutara is horrible yada yada but, this ocassion I’m gonna use all the attacks we get and defend it. 

I. Zutara is way the worst toxic relationship:

You call Zuko the abuser, the toxic and the bad tempered? Then you     didn’t get a clue of his redemption arc.

You call zutara toxic for:

a)     giving your mother’s closure and final acceptance into the group?

b)     saving each other’s life?

c)     being the “leading co-parenting” of the group?

d)     support you when you’re about to beg for his uncle forgiveness?

II. The cave scene didn’t mean anything, and just think about it, they would never ever get along well:•      

  Of course, I misunderstood Zuko confessing his own grief, probably he just hates her.

When Katara opens to her mother sorrow like she never did with anyone was like no big deal.

 That part when she offers to heal his scar with SACRED water was totally illogical.

And being the first person who he let touch his scar really said to me that they were absolutely toxic.

 Yes, he betrayed her initial trust. And it hurt, but guess who betrayed worst? The man who for three years was his father. But nope, Iroh, should never forgive Zuko, for what he did. (Right? Katara was betrayed and she should bever have interest in him, so Iroh would never forgive his abuser, right?)

III. Zutara is about getting in love with your abuser:

The abuser love? When did Zuko abused Katara? When did he forced to do something she didn’t want? Did he ever physically abused her or sexually assaulted her? Even if he tied her to a tree, he never humiliated her, he never hurt her or overpass against her. Or are you trying to make up his whole plot to eliminate all his attacks towards team avatar only rest in the female character? (Have you forgot how he betrayed his uncle? Or even himself?)

IV. Zutara is an age gap, it would be underage thing. “You don’t like Aang because he is a child and still pair Zuko, being a minor.” You want to hypersexualize two kids (Aang and Katara) into having sexual interest.

Katara would have been dating an underage guy too. She would have been 18 and Aang 16. I know! Age gap only matter when the man’s older. Both Katara and Zuko had gone through puberty, and both were in adolescence, both shared the same maturity level. Yes dude, there a huge difference in being a CHILD and being a TEENAGER, yes, still minor, But with puberty hit already.

Actually, I still believe even being 11-12 you can get like a… spark… a hint. Even if its not a relationship whatsoever, and not having sexual interest of any kind. If you really want to see what closest we get to a “real” attraction and potential between kiddos that age, you get S1Mike and Eleven (stranger things) / you get Chihiro and Haku (Spirited away) / you get Pazu and Sheeta. (The castle in the sky) –Wooo, that really changes things right?

But yet there are people that believe shipping zutara is “pedophile” I thought in seriously not replying to this stupidities but, here I am, dismantling their theories.

So, this is real life. An adult person trying to sleep with a prepubescent kid. So… there is no support on this. Because a ship is about two fictional characters in a fictional story.

What about fictional pedophilia? Well, we can change that: Fictional pedophilia is a psychosexual disorder when you ship an adult fictional character (+18) to have a sexual interest in a fictional prepubescent child (-12) and / or attempt to engage both characters in sexual acts.

So step one… are either Zuko or Katara either an adult or prepubescent child? As you can see in the image at the right, both have gone through puberty. Step two, are you trying to a couple of minors to get sexually involved? No, this is a love story, not porn. And before you yell at me for the porn zutara comics/fics on the web, I guess you should see the porn Kataang /fics comics on the web too.

But I don’t hate any ship. So, technically, neither Kataang, nor Sukka, nor Yukka, nor Jetara, nor Maiko is pedophilia.

Ok, yeah yeah its not pedo, but is statutory rape, so yet it’s illegal.

Oh yes, if we state that 18 is the age where you are considered an adult (at least in my country) both are minors, your term is partially correct. But guess what would be statutory rape too?

Sukka (15) and Maiko (16-17), both implied to have sex relationships and canon during the series.

The episode "The Southern Raiders" became (in)famous among the fandom for what is a truly epic instance of this trope. Zuko bumps into a very flustered Suki on the way to Sokka's tent, and she hurriedly excuses herself. He walks into Sokka's tent to ask him a question and finds him pants-less and surrounded by flowers and candles. He even greets Zuko with a suggestive "Well helloooo..." before he realizes who itis. After a short talk, he rushes Zuko out and sticks his head out to call for Suki. And if there was any doubt, Sokka is shown the next morning fiddling with a flower necklace for no apparent reason... except to indicate that maybe Suki had been “deflowered”.

And yet, if Kataang had sex, it would be statutory sex at some point too: 16 and 18 -Conclusions: Statutory sex takes all ships equally.

V. Poor Aang he would be devastated.

Kid, he’s 12, in the comics he’s 13-14. Or what? Haven’t you guys had a broken heart ever? Your high school sweetie? Or Aang’s so frail to not be able to find love? To close himself for a better opportunity? Seeking your own happiness in not selfish. What is selfish is seeking your own happiness at the other expenses.

And even that, we all know what would Aang do if Katara starts a relationship with Zuko. (Even if it wasn’t Zuko, I highly doubt he would like Katara dating someone else) He would go on avatar rampage. That is NOT healthy, that is NOT romantic. That is extremely possessive and selfish to do. It’s psychotic. Because Aang cares more about himself than Katara’s feelings, even if she would be happier without him.

VI. Zutara is all about sex interest.

Well once more you mistake chemistry with sexual needs. Wanting me to sleep with my husband means I only use him for sex relief? If I find myself sexually attracted to anyone probably means I just want to sleep with that person and nothing else.

VII. A hug is all zutarians have to acknowledge zutara:

We have a complete extended analysis in all the small details, but we like to use that forgiveness hug because in that hug you have more potential that all the kataang scenes all together. We have thousands of complete analyses, pages dedicated exclusively zutara. 

VIII. Katara “fell in love with Aang” and it’s not one sided.

Uh... Nope, just because two persons are good friends it doesn’t mean they are a good couple. Yes, the way the both of them interact is absolutely beautiful, But not romantically.

Do we see Katara’s view on romantically being drawn towards Aang? Yes, we see it, and yes, unfortunately, is one sided.

How Kataangers complete this:

·       The fortune-teller: I didn’t see like “Wow omg the avatar is going to be my future husband!” But… was like “uh… really?… well, I guess it’s him” Zutarians and Aunt Wu are the base for many backs up theories. ;) Aang is not the only powerful bender you know? And actually, that episode is way trying too hard to demonstrate the crush Meng has for Aang and Aang has to Katara. How is even healthy to accept that sometimes persons don’t like you back and it’s not the end of the world.

·       The cave scene: I forgot that Katara is telling him to be her boyfriend and they will live happily ever after. And really, it all gets us to a real Oma and Shu theory. Not to mention that they were “forced” to kiss because their kids innocence believed if they kissed, they wouldn’t die, and that Aang messed up things as well. But if you see it beneath, if she was truly interested, she would have told Aang: “wow omg we kissed, ok. let’s give him a clue…” nothing, she goes back in treating him same as always.

·       The headband dance: Well that’s a fair point yes. Actually, I felt something different…unfortunately Katara later had to tell him not to kiss her.

IX. Zutara is because you projected on Katara and had a crush on Zuko, because Katara and Zuko were your favourite characters and because is the bad boy style romance.

My crush was Jet <3, and zutara was the most logical endgame for girls. Ask any girl, ANY 14 yo who would like to date: A high school, nice and handsome guy or a 7th grader that had potential to be her best friend. (See the logic) 

And nope is not like “Insert fav characters of the opposite sex to ship them” You need to see real development.

I don’t know why they stereotype Zuko as the “bad boy” – relationship archetype. Zuko is never seen to be the classic fuck boy who treats girls like shit and suddenly there comes a lady to change him. Maybe he is a “bad boy” (confused though) in S1 and S2, but his redemption arc is literally the answer of why he is not “bad boy” anymore.

If Katara was truly and really romantically interested then she wouldn’t have friendzoned Aang. Once? Nope 4 times. And also… are we forgetting kind of imagery…

Friendzoned  

 When Aang fixes her a small necklace with the fishing  thread.

 When he kissed her at the invasion. She didn’t  reciprocate it. (I’m not even mentioning the mommy proud speech)

 When he wanted to talk about the kiss in the western  air temple (Comic love is a battlefield)

 When he kissed her at the play and she had to told  him to back off.

 Strange imagery

 She was June Pippinpaddleopsokopolis (Aang’s  granddaughter)

When Aang got shot, she held his body in her arms in  the exact way Mary held Jesus in Pieta’s sculpture.

 She was Sapphire Fire. (Aang’s pregnant mother)

After they got married, in the book legacy, she said  she enjoyed most seeing Aang becoming a man. (Honestly ladies if I got a BF  the least I want is seeing how the kid transforms into a man)

I’m looking forward to watch you grow into manhood  as I did to your father (Katara’s letter to Tenzin)

 I’m really  trying to deny Oedipus complex here.

Still hard for me to track Katara’s love interest for little Aang since all we see is more a relationship mom/sister or Harry/Hermione. I have heard rumours that Bryke wanted to give the ship “mystery” and “expectation” but I think they really messed up, I didn’t see expectation or mystery, I saw a child insisting to a girl that didn’t reciprocate. It wasn’t even like she didn’t have much of a chance, because her love interests:

Was killed by Long Feng

Gave him a hideous mustache and disappeared him after Azula’s attack in the western air temple.

Forced to be attached to a toxic relationship.

Apart that all those points I’ve mentioned, Kataang is not a relationship for me. Staying in a formal relationship with the first person they met of the opposite sex at 14 -12 (guys not even Disney does that, jeez not even studio Ghibli) and not having any chance to experience any other relationship. Never experiencing a broken heart, or someone better. I think that it gives the wrong idea, telling guys that no matter how long they are placed in friendzone, eventually the girl will fall for them. They just have to keep insisting.

You could say, but what a hypocrite! Snow White was 14 years old when she went to live with that prince! Many princesses are 16! And not to mention that many men were the first they met! Like Aurora, Rapunzel, and Cinderella. Well, you are right at one point. But ... the interaction of these characters changes radically, mainly because they never "give cute kisses" to their future husbands, nor do they treat them like their brothers or their children and ... the men were never friendzoned, except for Naveen at the beginning. You see the real attraction of teenage girls with an older boy. And I'm not saying that they should never be friends or support each other. Mulan and Chang were allies, friends, they supported each other, they saved their lives. But at no time was there the kind of interaction Katara and Aang had.

If Kataang was to be endgame, we would see Katara’s reaction to Jet, totally different, THAT kind of reaction was what I was waiting. (That kind of reaction is what every princess do, at least one time)

The same chemistry we saw in Yukka / Sukka. Honestly, I saw more chemistry between Haru and Katara.

Or at least give us some character development like: Aang, I know my feelings where not as you wanted but now I decided I want to be with you because (list everything here except he being the avatar), I really like you, perhaps we can give it a shot. Or like several things that could clue us that she is interested (come on people, two persons can kiss/hug/ have sex and that doesn’t imply they will be together in a formal relationship) But all we got was: Oh, right, he’s the avatar... suddenly I fell for him and I’m gonna kiss him fully in the mouth and that’s how I’ll tell him and that all my confusion has magically disappeared.

X. I’ve never saw that kind of spark between them. Again, it was “Just a hug”

Yes! That’s initially the whole point of it, a friendship hug, the truth of why we don’t need silly blushes. Because that forgiveness hug shows their initial relationship, they are friends! All their love needs to come first from a truthful friendship, by the contrary of calling the “immediate falling” like Aang did for Katara, it shows us that friendship love can evolve into something more beautiful, and that’s why we like the ship, because all zutara shippers know Zuko and Katara wouldn’t fall in love like that all of the sudden, they have to create the romantic relationship, and that’s what we portray in the fics.

What makes Zutara exceptional is that he, sees her, he hears her, he listens what she had to do, at anytime he forced her to do something she didn’t. And before a “teenager adolescence ship” he sees her as a human, with feelings with own ideals and goals.

And there is a complete and extremely well based analysis in: The crossroads of destiny + The southern raiders + The lighting saving.

XI. The comics show us how toxic they really where.

Their interaction in the comics was something I like to call: destroying a character. Not only Katara, who turned to be that awesome badass to the submissive girlfriend. From how I see it in the series to the comics there’s all I have to say: That’s not my girl.

XII. How Katara could be queen of a country that almost aniquilates her tribe and killed her mother? It would be a betrayal.

I think this argument is out. Not valid. Is like saying a Jew can’t date a German because of the holocaust. (German doesn’t mean nazi, just as Zuko, who was from the Fire Nation and didn’t order Katara’s mother assassination, and not every citizen of the fire nation means a ruthless killer). Is like saying that a Japanese can’t date a us citizen because of the bombs in WW2. And even if we see it “political”, is like… an aphrodescendant can’t rule a country that is racist, then Mr. Obama would have never reached the presidency.

Two persons can unify them, because they can demonstrate that being from different country that initally has not good terms can reach peace. The union between those countries represents the power of maturity, of overcoming adversities and the power of forgiveness. *Our lands now connected by love* And I want her to be queen, I want her to rule, I want her in charge, I want her in power. Imagine all the potential she could have (politics, business, negotiations, rebuilding, restoration, education, public health!! ***faints***) Not only for the fire Nation but for the whole world! Imagine that once Zuko abdicated they left to the south pole and she opened a fighting school and a healing school of her own (like master Pakku, but now her students are given a medical license that acknowledges them as professional healers) And this is just an idea. Like these ideas are hundreds. It would have been the perfect feminist role model!

XIII. Since the beginning, Katara was always interested in Aang and she always supported him and was for him when he needed her. That’s proof they were meant to each other.

If a girl expresses faith in your abilities, she loves you, she hugs you, and she supports you clearly she’s completely into you. Because obviously female best friends don’t exist.

[unexpectedreylo]

Congratulations, You Played Yourself?  Why We Didn’t See TROS Coming

I read a great meta by @ariainstars​ and it inspired me to finally address something I’d been meaning to write about since TROS came out.  How were so many smart Reylo fans and Bendemptionists convinced things were going to turn out with a happy ending, Rey and Ben riding off into the sunset, when JJerio as well as fired writer Colin Trevorrow clearly had other ideas?  

This isn’t a defense of TROS or its spin-out-and-crash ending.  I still think Ben’s fate was totally mishandled and it leaves DLF with the choice of a) never addressing the post-ST galaxy or b) resurrecting Ben from the dead in one form or another.  (When that will happen is of course a mystery.  My guess is not for at least not another decade.)  Returning to Rey Whateverherlastnameis without Ben is to dig their hole deeper, especially since I think the pop culture gods will determine that Ben’s departure was premature and unlike the deaths of Boba Fett or Darth Maul, materially damaging to the overall story.

This is an object lesson though in how fans and creators can end up on different pages and also how creators underestimate the power of their own work. 

I thought that death was always on the table for Ben but TLJ’s compassionate treatment of the character and his relationship with Rey as well as piles of well thought-out metas convinced me he was going to survive.  I was sure they were going for an unabashedly happy ending because it was the last film (not simply because it was Disney) and they would want to go out on an up note.  I didn’t think a Dead Ben would end things happily (and really I was right...the air gets sucked out of the movie the second he abruptly dies).  I also didn’t think they would solve the Skywalker problem by tacking the name onto Rey at the very end of the movie (sigh).

I think the fundamental problem was highlighted in @ariainstars​‘s meta:  many thought we were getting Pride And Prejudice or 50 Shades Of Grey while they were riffing off of Phantom Of The Opera.  All of those stories are variations of La Belle Et La Bete, Beauty And The Beast.  POTO though ends tragically because Erik is too much of an outcast and his crimes are too terrible.  @ariainstars​ states that Kylo/Ben was always doomed because he’d killed his father.  A happily ever after was never going to be possible for him.

Why did so many of us reject the idea that killing Han meant Ben had to die in TROS?  Because a lot of sequel fans grew up with Asian and Asian-influenced media, namely anime, manga, and shows like Avatar:  The Last Airbender or Dragon Ball Z.  Serious crimes weren’t necessarily bars to redemption or a happily-ever-after.  There were and still are lots of comparisons between Kylo/Ben and Prince Zuko, who was redeemed, survived, and marries (though not Katara).  Dragon Ball Z’s former villain Vegeta sacrifices himself but is allowed to return to his body and he gets to be in love with Bulma.

JJerio and Trevorrow though didn’t grow up with that stuff.  They grew up with Star Wars and everything else Hollywood produced in the ‘60s-’90s.  While I’m pretty sure Rian Johnson would’ve sold it better if he’d directed and wrote IX, I am not sure if Johnson would’ve let Ben get a happily ever after either.  While Star Wars always had an Eastern influence, it still is very much a product of the West and all it entails.  

Maybe the trouble with Ben’s arc is Abrams and Kasdan deciding he had to kill Han Solo.  When I saw TFA, my first thought was Kylo would redeem himself in the last movie but he was toast.  Which is too bad, because you doom your character in the very first movie and that’s not fun.  TLJ then only offered false hope that this would not be the case.  I get that Johnson was making redemption credible but either he was too optimistic that whoever followed him would consider letting Ben live or he unwittingly oversold Ben to the point where you not only wanted him redeemed, you wanted him to survive so he’d have a chance to be happy and free.  (And of course that Rey would have lasting companionship with an equal.)

Another reason why we thought we’d get a happily-ever-after is because Kylo/Ben was the son of Han and Leia and the only Skywalker scion, this meant he was somehow bulletproof and his importance in the story was only going to grow.  Adding to this assumption is Rian Johnson referring to Ben and Rey as co-protagonists.  But to Abrams and company, these movies weren’t about Ben.  This was Rey’s story and in case you don’t understand that, she appears in nearly every scene in TROS.  While Kylo/Ben leaves a big impression, if you pay attention you’ll notice he gets less screen time in the movies than guys like Poe or Finn.  To those who made TROS, Kylo/Ben was little more than a foil, a catalyst for their heroine.  He was supposed to be Darth Vader to Rey’s Luke Skywalker.  (If you want to understand why some fans who clearly aren’t TFM types don’t like these movies, there’s your answer...the Skywalker family got sidelined in the last third of their own saga.)

Perhaps though there’s another simple answer and that is fans are great at being in denial.  If we want a certain outcome, we’re going to bet the farm on it.  Soon among a subset of fans, it’s practically a tenet of being a part of that subset.  This led to what I call following “signs and wonders,” fans believing there are secret codes they were putting out to reassure us we were going to get what we wanted.  I”m seeing a lot of that now with regard to Ben returning, though I don’t buy they are really giving it much thought right now.

Reylos correctly predicted that Ben would turn and there would be some acknowledgement of the attraction between Rey and Ben.  We actually got most of it right.  But Ben’s death wasn’t an outcome most Reylos entertained to any extent.  There were fans who predicted Ben’s demise but they didn’t talk about it very much and those metas weren’t as enthusiastically shared.   Why?  We didn’t want it to happen and we didn’t want to think about its possibility.

Whatever JJerrio’s and Lucasfilm’s intentions, Ben Solo was a character who had escaped.  I guess everyone knew Kylo Ren was going to be popular and iconic but those guys severely underestimated his power.  It’s due to the mystique built up in TFA, the revelation of his humanity in TLJ, being the last Skywalker, and his relationship with Rey over the course of the films, all expertly performed by someone who always brings his A game and had plenty of charisma to spare.  Some sympathetic story groupers added further pathos to his back story in various comics and novels.  He, like the cinnamon roll The Onion made famous, was too pure for this world.

Moreover, they severely underestimated the power of Reylo.  They unwittingly tapped into something primal and mythic with those two.  Nobody could’ve foreseen their incredible chemistry and they didn’t fully understand or appreciate  how epic the pairing truly was.  Or at least those not named “Rian Johnson.”  But many in the audience could see it.  There was a lot in the media about Reylo.  The two times I saw TROS in the theater people applauded when Rey and Ben kissed. It was the gas in the ST’s tank.

That’s why we bought it.  It’s amazing to me how often studios, filmmakers, and show runners miss this stuff while fans keep expecting a different outcome.

[raexxbb]

Critic of Cartoons (SPOILERS!)

KyI figured I would begin doing on here what I do in my life. Rate a cartoon 10 out of 0 (-10 being highest/best and zero being the worst of the worst nonsense-) while telling my thoughts as to why. The third one is older and full of adventure with tales beyond what’s expected. Now on Netflix:

9 -Avatar: the Last Airbender

This may get a bit long ‘cause I want to bring each character justice. I love this show so much. I only deducted one point for the smallest of reasons otherwise it probably would have gotten a ten.

There’s a strong love-hate relationship with this show. All of the characters are incredible in there own unique way. My only issue is with the fact that the ‘hero gets the girl’ and does so by being whiny. It’s such a cliche and literally the only reason this show has a nine. The romantic element has a strong scale to hold but this show does a poor job of holding it up. Aang is fine, and I love Katara just not them romantically. Aang’s crush on her right away just rubbed me weird. I guess, it’s fine to crush on a pretty girl but to push the crush so much until she feels the same way... Katara had multiple boyfriends along the show and didn’t show much interest in Aang other then as a friend. So, them romantically together I never saw it being as Aang also pushes the chemistry. That’s it, my only issue is there in that relationship. Alone every character is very well thought out and placed in such a particular situation it makes them each perfect.

This forced kiss is the most disgusting moment in the entire show. He pushes this on her right after she says she’s confused and doesn’t know her feelings towards anyone. He’s just being childish (yes, I register he’s twelve) but if you want an adult relationship this is the wrong way to go about it. I don’t see why Katara would ever consider moving into a romantic relationship after this. Pushy is such a red-flag for me. Maybe I’m the only one that feels this way but it just outright infuriates me. Just look at how uncomfortable she looks during this moment.

Another thing I’d like to bring to light is the fact that Aang maybe a bit sexiest. I state this lightly ‘cause of the play episode in the third season. The thought came to be while reviewing Korra. Katara fights against sexism and to empower women. However, Aang became overly insulted when a woman was acting as him in the Ember Island play. Toph loved the idea of a guy playing her, but Aang just couldn’t get over his part being played by a female cast member. It is rude. Yes, everyone knows he still isn’t a girl but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t doing a decent job representing him. The fact that Katara still enters into a relationship just makes me feel like she’s going against something she stood so strongly for. 

People may believe it’s because I favor Zuko and Katara but it isn’t that. Honestly, I’m no longer sure I like them as a couple anymore either. They have cute moments. There are just so many issues among all of the romantic relationships. Somehow, I found myself wishing it revolved more around friendship ‘cause the romance in this show wasn’t handled well at all.

The only reason I’d ever argue for Katara and Zuko to be a couple is because of the ending where he saves her life from Azula. I mean, yes, he put her in danger quite a few times but he was slowly redeeming himself throughout all of that. This wasn’t the only time he saved her and tried to give his life for hers. Throughout the third season of him trying to redeem himself, he tried the hardest with Katara because he had already betrayed her trust once. 

Although, I’m still not saying they would’ve been the best couple either. Let’s not forget: they’re young -teenagers and children. If someone has found their soulmate already, good for them. It’s just abnormal and I’m trying to look at these relationships with a bit of a more realistic thought process. 

There are a few times this show has been about friendship:

Toph was once worried about their friendships, however, one line from Roku gave her confidence and soothed her completely.

“Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes.” -Avatar Roku

Really love this quote from Roku~ 

Zuko’s redemption ark was beyond the best point in the show and had me balling the entire time, every time I’ve watched it gets my heart throbbing for this boy! What if his mother had taken him with her? His life would’ve been so different and probably a lot better! The scar would be gone. No father abuse for him! Of course, without him the Fire Nation would be even worse then it ever was.

“It was to teach you respect!” -Ozai

“It was cruel! And it was wrong!” -Zuko

“Then you’ve learned nothing!” -Ozai

“NO! I’ve learned everything! And, I’ve had to do it on my own.” -Zuko

That conversation with his father, where he finally stands up to such a horrible man was beyond astonishing. Especially seeing as it seemed like something Zuko would never do. 

Although, Iroh new all along that Zuko is great.

“Then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?” -Zuko

“No. Someone new much take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko.” -Iroh

Uncle has always believed in his nephew. That he would be the one to take the Fire Nation and bring balance to the world. They’re the best relationship in this show once Zuko stops being so angry.

Of course, there’s also the Mai of it all. 

They’re occasionally good for each other. Their relationship is highly problematic. Mai is an awesome character alone, standing up to Azula when she’s terrified of her is great! However, Zuko and her argue nonstop and have an on-off dating history. It can be tiresome to watch. There just wasn’t any chemistry between them that I felt.

The only thing that I love about them is the prison scene. (Which could’ve been a friendship scene.)

Even when Zuko locks her away she chooses him. That is when I thought perhaps their relationship isn’t terrible. She still chooses him afterwards. Their behavior before is erratic and not that of a good relationship. Mai alone wouldn’t have been a trouble thing. Honestly, I relate to Mai as a gayer character then straight.

Although, that leads me to think about Azula, the girl of evil.

“My own mother, thought I was a monster...” -Azula

She’s only fourteen and she’s been raised by an abusive mad man. The entire background just makes me wish someone had tried to love her instead of shown her hatred. Her mother feared her, didn’t even say good-bye. Her brother had to fight her in order to save her from herself and father. 

The thing that made her truly snap was her friends (only ‘cause they fear her) betray her. The last people she had on her side! She just needed love as Zuko did. It would probably take her years to recover from the madness just as it took Zuko. She needs love and help. Who was going to give it to her after the third season? 

In the graphic novels, it’s revealed Zuko has her in a special insane asylum trying to give her the mental help she needs. But, she still seems tense and full of rage. It would’ve been nice to see further into that department of the Fire Nation.

These two are both extremely important. Their bond throughout the entire story is amazing. Him becoming his teacher was his true redemption, true honor came from that act. Of course, he learned so much from hunting Aang and trying to kill him as well.

Above all else, Uncle Iroh (-Zuko’s true father-) is definitely my favorite of all the characters. He’s just so warm and always does the right thing. He waited for Zuko when he went down the wrong path continuously knowing Zuko would realize his mistakes.

The White Lotus is one of the greatest things about this show.

“Don’t you know? All old people know each other?” -King Bumi

He’s just so hilarious and random. All of the great masters together in a secret society despite their nation’s differences is the most grandest thing.

Of course, another favorite is Appa.

The episode portraying animal abuse is heartwrenching. Him being taken from the ones that love and protect him only to be beaten and abused. This show goes beyond any other show in displaying all the different types of abuse in the world- emotional, physical... And it covers even more than this.

Another piece of me would’ve been interested in seeing if Aang had died and a water Avatar born to be the last Airbender. *Cough, cough* Maybe Katara? She is the most powerful bender in the show after all.

“I will never ever turn my back on people who need me!” -Katara

Perhaps instead of killing Aang off, just have them be wrong that he’s the Avatar and so whoever was actually got killed during the air temple raid. Causing the line to move on to water. Aang could’ve been trapped in an iceberg to be able to teach Katara air. Of course, that may not work if he weren’t able to waterbend and freeze a bubble around him. But, there’s definitely an air pocket in there. 

It is one of the most beautiful cartoons ever created. Besides the fact I never really enjoyed Aang as the main character. All of the others are just so much more interesting then him, in my opinion.

Toph is one of the many characters I didn’t discuss. That fact just is that Toph is beyond incredible. She is the character that is ahead of her time. She proves that being disabled doesn’t mean she a person that’ll stop trying.That’s all, her blindness doesn’t work against her. Instead it works for her giving her a stronger way to see the world.

I’ll be doing Avatar: Legend of Korra at a later time. Trying to make sure I go back and re-watch everything to properly review it.

I really wish they would go back and create a show called Avatars about all of the past lives. Maybe 2/3 episodes to display each of them. There are hundreds and I’m curious to know more about them. I’d love to see Kyoshi as a badass teenager.

[stayflaminhotmen]

Katara and her trauma with the fire nation

The reason why some people like me can’t see any romantic between Katara and Zuko with that ATLA put in the show because Katara experienced deep trauma from the fire nation is completely reasonable.

My problem is how Katara experienced trauma first hand from the fire nation and it affected her a lot. If it was the next generation of kids who never experienced a traumatizing war and saw the fire nation in a good light first hand despite the history, then it’s not a problem in general (unless there’s specific problems such as them still experiencing oppression in some sort of way then it’s up for discussion but in a general sense, I don’t see a problem.) This is because the next generation KNOWS about the war and what it caused, that’s not the same as EXPERIENCING it first hand. That’s the problem that people like me are anti-zuatara are saying. Katara experienced it first hand and had personal experience and trauma from it. Her mother getting killed IN HER OWN VILLAGE when they attacked and she was only 8, then Katara first meets Zuko wearing fire nation armor and comes with fire nation soldiers and threatened her village and then the siege of the north where fire nation attacked and Katara saw it first hand. Zuko was there while the fire nation attacked the north pole (which is her sister tribe). Zuko used this opportunity to his advantage to get the Avatar, attacked Katara, called her a little peasant and even knocked her unconscious in the process. She was there and she experienced it. I genuinely believe that is traumatizing no matter how much they down played the trauma for the sake of it being a kids show. They even showed how much it affected her by how she immediately talks about losing her mother to the fire nation whenever anyone brings up the fire nation. The trauma she has of losing her mother is tied to the fire nation. Yes, Zuko helped her get closure about that which is literally so amazing for him to do. But closure doesn’t mean that the trauma isn’t there anymore. It’s something she has to live with for the rest of her life and deserves sufficient time to work through it.

Which is why some people are a little hesitant to ship them. It’s not just because he’s fire nation, but because she experienced TRAUMA from the fire nation specifically multiple times. It’s has more to do with trauma she experienced and it just so happens that the trauma she has is linked to the fire nation which is Zuko is heir to. Not to mention, he contributed to that. I don’t find that racist because it’s addressing the rightful trauma that Katara has. It would be racists if Katara never experience trauma from the fire nation and I wouldn’t want her to be with Zuko just because he’s from the fire nation. That’s why I’m saying the next generation of kids who only know about what happened, isn’t a big problem (again, unless they still experience oppression and are deeply affected, it becomes something that needs to be discussed.)

That’s why people like me would really like for Katara to really deal that trauma first and for Zuko to take action into fixing the political problems within the fire nation. This is actually why I genuinely find the whole Zuko and Katara reconnecting in their old age when Aang has died and Zuko is single actually non problematic in terms of LOK canon. We see how Zuko actively worked on fixing the problems within the fire nation, Katara has seen and helped rebuild her tribe, and the world as a whole is in a new era of peace with each other. No more being scared of the fire nation. On top of that, much time has passed that it’s realistic for Katara to no longer be traumatized of her past. She no longer fears the fire nation or would be hesitant towards having romantic feelings for Zuko because of the changes made. His actions showed it.

Personally, I’m not into it because it’s not my thing but that’s besides the point. The point is that it’s an unproblematic way for things to be post canon for Zutara in the Avatar universe. If it’s like AU, then it’s non problematic either because it’s in a different world where that “never” happened. It’s just the characters personality in fanfic. However, I find it highly uncomfortable when I see things like pictures of Katara and Zuko kissing after she heals him. It just feels like it’s diminishing her rightful trauma. If others don’t find that problematic then that’s on them. I have my reasons which I think are valid as to why I don’t like it and I hope others consider.

Anyways, I’m not saying that Katara and Zuko can’t have a romance together but I’m just saying that for the sake of Katara, I would want her to work towards working through her trauma within the fire nation more. I think that’s completely reasonable. That’s why it’s hard for me to realistically look at Zuko and Katara connecting in the Cross Roads to Destiny and think romantic partners just at looking at those scenes. That’s why, it’s hard for me to realistically look at Katara and Zuko forgiving each other in TSR and think romantic partners! Call me uptight but I just find it hard to believe that Katara’s subconscious wouldn’t think about all that before even consciously considering him as a romantic partner. Or that Zuko would be slightly hesitant because of what his people, the people he’s going to lead did to her people. He listened to her story of how the Southern Raiders attacked and I can only assume that he would think that it’s something she needs more time to work through. Zuko more than anyone knows how people need space and time to work through their trauma. Zuko more than anyone knows that even though he gets closure, that trauma doesn’t go away. That’s why if he truly cared for her, he’d give her the space to heal and make changes in the fire nation. People like me feel like it should be separate from romance because we don’t like to romanticize situations. I guess I like to see things for what they are especially when that’s the situation presents to us in ATLA. 

(Which is why I’m annoyed that the creators thought it was a good idea to use this ship as bait in the video teasers for season three. Like if this was the background of a ship, they really were going to bait the viewers like this, give them hope, not make it happen and then make it such a big deal. I’m just like really. They really just had to do this. I’m just like, how can someone create such a masterpiece tv series and make such a problematic promotion video that’s like what 2 minutes long or less. Like REALLY. smh) 

And I get that Katara helped a village because they needed help, but she didn’t see them as fire nation military. She saw them struggling as well which she empathizes because that’s literally how her village was too. It was also small and the people were scared of fire nation too. That different with how she saw Zuko when they first meet - him threatening his village for the avatar. He knew that he was in a position of power seeing that the village feared him. He didn’t stop to think about the oppression they faced due to his father, grandfather and great grandfather. He didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse what he did do. That doesn’t excuse diminishing that act as if it was nothing in Katara’s POV. 

My problem is that even they do connect and share chemistry, some people have trouble passing all that hatred and trauma after ONE interaction in the crossroads of destiny when they open up to each other and immediately see romance. Then in the southern raiders, again, I have trouble seeing that with her trying to forgive him after his betrayal, she suddenly feel romantic feelings or that Zuko would. I just feel like it would kinda be a bit odd how Katara would be confused with her feelings for Aang because they’re in the middle of a war when they’ve been best friends, but would suddenly fall for Zuko also in the middle of the war almost immediately despite their shaky foundation and the new found trust they have. Not to mention, seeing anything romantic in him saving her but seeing that he’s really changed from when she last caught Azula the cross roads of destiny. It signifies their friendship at least in my perspective, not exactly anything romantic (there’s potential, I admit) but for what was given to us, it’s just doesn’t make sense to be canon or even see any romance in the near future with all that trauma. 

Like I said, there’s potential for a romantic relationship for Zutara but the show didn’t give some of us enough interactions between them to be 100% on board. Not to mention, if I wanted a good relationship dynamic, I’d pick up a romance specific book and go read it. ATLA is not a romance, it’s a fantasy story which is why I love the series so I’d rather not fantasize over a romance that’s problematic for me. Especially since I’m not a fan of the whole enemies to lover trope. I just believe that a proper redemption arc shouldn’t mean that a guy should then be allowed to get a romance interest they hurt. Especially with Zuko and Katara’s relationship throughout the series. It showed boundaries which is a really good underlying message for young kids. That’s why I really love Zuko’s redemption arc because he got his honor and became fire lord which was done so freaking well. Like what truly mattered in the end for Zuko wasn’t who he ended up with, but that he got his honor back and the title of Fire Lord Zuko. 

Back to the boundaries thing, I wanted to adress that the difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship, at least for me, is that a friendship has more boundaries than a romantic relationship. Because of their shaking foundation of their relationship, I want those boundaries there for Katara and Zuko. I see the potential, but like I said, it’s hard for me to literally see Katara and Zuko as more than friends in those scenes where they’re friends knowing all that in a short amount of time. I’d just very much for more time for them to work on those others things before I see romance. That’s a valid reason and one that I don’t think people should just toss around and be defensive about, and calling people racists or ignorant. It’s not, it’s seeing this specific situation of Katara and Zuko in terms of boundaries.

Basically, wrapping this whole thing up, it’s hard for me and others to look past all the stuff that Katara and Zuko went through and see anything more than a deep friendship and understanding for each other with such little time and in such few episodes. Which is why I feel like them ending off as platonic friends in canon was the right move. It gives them time to work on building an even stronger friendship, Katara working through her trauma, and Zuko actively trying to change the problems within the fire nation. It also opens people in fanfic to explore romance if anyone’s into that. That’s why I personally believe that Zutara as a couple has a place in fanfic, fanart, etc, but it was the right move for them not to make it canon in terms of what they made canon in the tc show. 

Again, this is my personal opinion and people don’t have to agree. People are entitled to their own opinion. However, I feel like people saying that this isn’t a valid excuse are being extremely defensive and not considering thinking about why others feel this way. I also addressed just Zutara because it’s where I see this problem not being considered the most or being downplayed. It’s in Zutara that I see the argument that it should have been canon the most and not in other noncanon (but valid) pairings in ATLA. 

[zukoshotleafjuice]

The funniest thing about june teasing katara and zuko about being a couple is that she just sees a pretty girl and an attractive guy, both looking almost the same age which immediately makes her go "you two must be a couple" and it just reminds me of zvtara shippers, you know what i mean? I'm convinced one of the reasons a lot of ppl ship them is bc of their looks. katara being the female protagonist and also a pretty, smart and powerful girl & zuko, despite not being the male protagonist, being the most attractive guy in the gaang. Boom, a "bomb ass ship". It is worth to recall that "people ship zutara bc they projected onto katara and had a crush on zuko". And if they say they don't ship them for that reason, then it's bc they read too much between the lines in every interaction they have. So, back to june, she didn't even care if they had chemistry or if they were friends or anything, she just straight up teased them about being a couple lmao. Because in all honesty zvtara can be an appealing ship in anyone's eyes but THAT'S IT, it doesn't go further than that. I can be testimony of that😅Before even watching the show i was like june, one day i saw a zk fanart and was like "wow aren't those zuko and katara from atla? They look so good, she's gorgeous and he's hot" i already knew kataang was endgame and that mai was zuko's love interest but seeing zuko and katara together was pleasing to my eyes. However once i watched the show for the first time (2 months ago i think) i realized there was really no romantic chemistry between them, nothing, literally nothing, i mean, i wasn't even waiting for the zvtara content in the show that made ppl ship them so much, i was actually very neutral about ships, i couldn't care less about them, but i still realized nothing was happenig between them and that it was obvious since book 1 ep 1 that kataang was endgame. Zuko and katara were two teenagers from opposite sides of a war that tried to kill each other multiple times and when zuko changed sides they developed a completely platonic relationship. As i said, people either ship them because it's an appealing and aesthetically pleasing ship (water/fire, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, the common red & blue ship) or they just love reading too much between the lines, OR BOTH, because they were so thirsty about it they ended up convincing themselves there was romantic tension between them, that they liked each other and that zvtara was scrapped when it was never planned in the first place. Not to mention the reasons why they claim zvtara should've been endgame are based only on symbolism and things they have in common that are just so ??? Random. e.g. (i saw these on a post on facebook and the comment section was hilarious, it was full of ppl being sarcastic about it & making fun of it) saying they should've been canon bc:

1. "They both lost their mothers at a young age" (?)

2. "katara was good but had rage in her heart and zuko was bad but had good in his heart so it was like yin and yang, and that was the main purpose/topic of the show" (?)

3. "they both had alter egos (painted lady and blue spirit)" (???) this one sounds like saying maiko was canon bc zuko worked in a tea shop and mai worked in a flower shop😂

4. "Zuko was the only one who supported katara in taking revenge on her mom's assassin" (?) if you ask me, that just proves zuko is not right for katara, he led her to do something she was gonna regret later (not trying to hate on zuko, i love him, and since i love him i acknowledge his flaws. I understand why he thought it was the best thing to do, he's an impulsive and resentful boy (he would've done the same if it was his mom) and he noticed how thirsty katara was for revenge, ofc he wanted to help her + he wanted her to accept him and thought it was the right thing to do in order to gain her trust, but it wasn't) unlike zuko, aang tried to make katara come to her senses and do the thing that was best for her: forgive and let go, and it was basically what she did at the end. She didn't do what zuko expected her to do. She did what aang expected her to do. She didn't forgive her mom's assassin, but she forgave zuko, and she didn't do THAT thing she (and aang) knew would regret later. Aang knew katara and what was the best thing for her to do.

5. and the most ridiculous one, "they both saved each other's lives in the final agni kai"(???????) and the funniest part is that it was followed by "WHAT MORE PROOFS DO YOU WANT???". Honestly wtf did ppl expect? Did they expect zuko to stand there and watch katara die? Did they expect katara to just stand there and watch zuko lay on the floor & die? And this has been said a million times and i am going to join and say it once again: zuko would've done that for ANYONE from the gaang, he would've done the same for toph, sokka, suki and aang. Because he learned to care about them. As for katara, she would've done that for anyone too wtf she healed aang once too and even brought him back to life. (I wouldn't be surprised if zk shippers used that as a parallel for romantic zvtara proof bc they're just like that💀)

There were more "reasons" but they're just so stupid and taken out of context like "they care for each other" & "katara was the one who encouraged him to talk to his uncle" like yeah that's what friends do. Basically all zvtara shippers do is REACH.

Also, i just can't see it happening. I like the enemies to lovers trope, maybe if the writers really intended to make it canon, i would have been down for the ship, it would've been interesting to see how it developed, but,, they didn't, and later i came to the realization that if it would've really happened, it would've been so... weird. Time to bring up the "colonized and colonizer ship" and how some ppl feel uncomfortable about it. Besides the fact that a relationship between zuko and katara wouldn't have worked (they're incompatible af, katara is a girl with a strong character and zuko is a guy with anger issues that takes everything personal, they'd be at each other's throats 99% of the time) it's just weird to think that katara would choose to marry a man from the fire nation, the nation that caused a big war that traumatized her, the nation that took her mother away from her. Imagine katara ruling along with zuko a nation she despised for years. Fire lady katara doesn't sit right with me, and i'm sure it doesn't sit right with a lot of ppl as well. I don't see katara doing that, and yes, i know she forgave zuko, but still, she would've never done that 🤦🏽‍♀️ i think it would've been so OOC tbh.

Another thing i laugh my ass off at is when they say "zuko should've chosen katara instead of mai" as if they were ever in a relationship for zuko to say "ok imma choose katara i wanna be with her". As if katara was EVER an option for him. They never showed interest in each other, what's not clicking?????? And zuko only had eyes for mai, not to mention that despite zuko and mai had a rough relationship, no girl would've dealed with zuko's bs better than mai. Can you imagine katara dealing with zuko blowing up over everything? Because i can't. Also people saying things like "zuko deserves someone who is always there for him and listens to him" (and ofc they're talking about katara) like, ok, you hate that katara is aang's "therapist" but you want her to be zuko's therapist. Logic? Where? And I do remember mai being a supportive gf and trying to cheer him up multiple times. Did they watch the same show as me?

Zvtarians try to play the victims about how they were "robbed" bc some voice actors shipped them and from what i've read people who worked for the show suggested to go for zk, but that's stupid, it doesn't count as "they planned it but scrapped it, we were robbed". The only word that counts are the creators' voice and they have stated they were always rooting for kataang, so no, you were not robbed.

People are just so in love with the idea of zuko and katara together they really convinced themselves it was likely to happen. Honestly zvtara it's a fine ship as fanon but ppl ruined it for me and what i hate the most is when they ship it and hate on aang and mai at the same time and make them look SO bad to invalidate kataang and maiko. Saying aang is abusive and mai is toxic is complete ✨bullshit✨ and lastly, it's ridiculous when they say the creators were cowards for not making it canon. They're cowards for not fulfilling your greatest childhood wish? Something they never planned? It is THEIR show. If you hate sm how things turned out then quit atla once and for all and go find another show that you know is gonna give you what you expect,,, it's tiring that they've been crying about it for 15 yrs , like, i joined the fandom recently but i can imagine how tired old atla fans must be of this.

OK so I have a lot of thoughts about this and firstly,,,anon I appreciate the dedication that it took for you to write  this, and I agree with many of your points. However, the attitude I have on this blog towards Avatar ships is far more neutral than what you’re saying.

Ultimately, romance is not and never was the focus of Avatar. Romantic development was always secondary or tertiary plot, and the entire show was far more focused on platonic relationship development. My attitude towards shippers on here - including Zutara shippers - is that people can ship what they want, as long as they’re respectful of each other and of the other characters that “interfere” with their ship. End of the day, shipping is irrelevant to the core of the show. 

People shipping something because they find it aesthetically appealing is honestly,,,fine. Personally, I think it’s reductionist, but I don’t care if you do because everyone has the right to enjoy media however they want to. 

That being said, we absolutely should call out racist or problematic tropes that we see, including ‘fire lady katara”. I also agree that it’s upsetting when people bash other characters in order to further their ship, as much of the bashing is also pretty racist and/or misogynistic. Calling that out, however, is separate from calling out every single person who happens to enjoy certain ships. 

“She didn't do what zuko expected her to do. She did what aang expected her to do. She didn't forgive her mom's assassin, but she forgave zuko, and she didn't do THAT thing she (and aang) knew would regret later. Aang knew katara and what was the best thing for her to do.”

I understand where you’re coming from, but I honestly disagree with this take. Both Aang and Zuko were approaching the situations from their own life experiences, but Katara didn’t do what either of the boys wanted. She chose her own path, by both sparing Yon Rha’s life but also refusing to forgive him. The episode is about Katara and her personal trauma and its focus should not be on her relationships with either Zuko or Aang. 

When I make posts such as this, it’s less about hating Z*tara and more about how this fandom focuses all its attention on romance and shipping, to the point where if you acknowledge a relationship’s importance it’s assumed you pair the two romantically. I don’t read Zuko and Katara’s relationship as romantic (for reasons that it would take too long to explain here), but their relationship development is extremely important, the two of them share tons of parallels and the final Agni Kai marks the culmination of both of their character arcs. Yes, Zuko would have taken the lightning for any of the characters, but it’s thematically important that it was Katara. None of this inherently means it’s romantic, but refusing to acknowledge the significance of the relationship between them is equally reductionist. 

This isn’t an attack on you, anon, and you’re 100% allowed to have negative feelings about a ship. But at the end of the day, it’s not worth getting this worked up over. If I were you I’d focus more on creating/consuming content for a ship you like than bashing ships you don’t!