#zk meta

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

i dont like the take that zutara is the like 'sexual' ship or something. not only bc im really uncomfortable with thinking that any relationship with teens is 'sexual' on screen - i really don't want to think about teenage characters in a kids show as sexual - but also because i feel like this perception of katara feels very madonna-whoreish

with a@ng, katara is the madonna, she needs to be perfect and pure. she can do no wrong and is held to an unrealistic standard that puts her under a lot of pressure. this results in katara's canonical traits and moments that don't fit this narrative being seen as monstrous, or even ooc. the problems with the madonna are the fact that by viewing katara like this, you won't ever see her as a character fully. she revolves around this idea of what she is to a@ng, and anything that strays from it is 'morally wrong' (it's not.)

according to antis, with zuko, katara is the whore. zutara explores a darker 'more sexual' side of katara that is connected to the canon moments that don't allign with a@ng. they are able to push all of the things they don't like about katara (and women) onto this ship of her with someone who is not a@ng. to them, katara's proximity to aang is what makes her the madonna, but with zuko, she is everything that they hate about her.

in all actuality, there is nothing inherently sexual about zutara. they don't have any moments that could even hint to sex when other couples in the show do. zutara is seen as sexual, not because there's anything actually sexual about the ship, but because they see katara without a@ng as a whore (not actually saying they call her a whore.) they feel more free to hate on her and allow themselves to call it sexual as a way to justify it. zutara isn't any more sexual than any other ship, less in some cases, but it will always been seen as such because antis see katara as a madonna with a@ng and a whore with zuko.

(i would just like to clarify that this is talking about generalizations. obviously not everyone who dislikes zutara feels like this, but i think this i a common way that people view it, even if they don't realize it.)

[ecoterrorist-katara]

I kind of love how Zutara has two distinct ship dynamics

dynamic 1: “I will save you from the pirates,” enemies-to-lovers, Zuko is dangerous but sexy, bad boy x good girl, morally grey antihero, Dramione vibes etc

dynamic 2: Zuko is an awkward turtleduck, idiots-to-lovers, pining for your best friend, having each other’s backs, thinking she’s the coolest thing since sliced bread, Percabeth vibes etc

We can argue about which is the correct interpretation until the cows come home, but I love that the possibilities exist in the first place. From s1 to post-series headcanons there are such distinct stages in their relationship, and you can basically pick whichever point that appeals to you and run with it. There’s something for everyone. Yet another reason why they’re the best ship y’all

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Take On "Momtara" – A Kataanger's Perspective

(I don't know who made this meme, but credits to them).

I saw this meme the other day, and while I agree with the sentiment, I have some notes.

I will not deny that Katara has maternal attributes, and I'll touch on this later, but she is not a mother figure. Let us go through each character of the Gaang and discuss how she is not their mom.

Sokka and Toph

Sokka and Katara's introduction is important. It establishes their dynamic for the rest of the show. Let's have a look at it.

Katara teases Sokka, as his little sister. Not his mom. This interaction is crucial in characterizing them both. And Katara constantly teases Sokka throughout the show. Mother figures don't make fun of their children like that. But I know what you're thinking. "Didn't Sokka say that he views Katara as his mom in The Runaway"? To which I say: now that we've established that their dynamic is nothing like a mother-son dynamic, let's look at The Runaway and at Sokka's character in general. Because this tells us a lot more about Sokka than Katara.

(1) "When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom".

Katara canonically does motherly things. She does so to fill the role that was left when her mom died to save her. She feels guilty over her death and determind to carry on her legacy for her. But does that make her a mom figure? Well, no. Because Katara also canonically wants to do motherly things and not have it have that meaning. When she heard Sokka's speech, she joined to Toph's scamming.

People often forget that Katara stole a waterbending scroll because it was from pirates who stole it in the first place. She was mad at Toph for scamming because she was bitter that she was excluded. Katara would love the scams, as seen by her taking the opportunity to join Toph when she could. Katara is a fun loving child. She can be quick to anger and she often says things she doesn't actually mean ("then you didn't love her the way I did" "I don't want to heal, I want to fight"). She likes fortune telling, boys, fighting and yelling.

When Aang came to her tribe for the first time, she gave her own speech about the importance of fun.

That is not a mother figure. Not to Toph and not to Sokka. That's a mom friend. A peer who exhibits maternal attributes while still being a child and one of the gang. That's my critisism of the meme. "Mom friend" is a genuinely good term to describe her. Onto the next part of his speech:

(2) "I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture".

Katara is an integral part of Sokka's entire being. When his father left him, he tasked him with keeping the tribe safe and specifically his sister safe. Now he's extremely protective of her ("You burned my sister"! & "Katara get back here! We don't know what that thing is"), and she kind of defines his sense of self. With that in mind, let's take a look at Sokka and Katara's mom:

She looks just like Sokka. When Sokka says that when he thinks of his mother, he sees Katara, he's wrong about why. It's not because he views Katara as his mother figure. He thinks of his own face and sees Katara because in his mind, she's become a part of him. Sokka's speech is him telling the audience about his trauma and that Katara has always been there for him.

Similarly, Toph viewing Katara as her mom also reflects more about her than it is about Katara. As I previously said, they literally fought in the mud instead of teaching Aang. That's not a mother figure. So why would Toph suggest that she is?

Katara is feminine. Toph is not. Toph associates femininity with her upper class feminine mother. She accuses Katara of being motherly because she's feminine just like her annoying ableist mother, not because she actually views her as a mother figure. In The Tales of Ba Sing Se Toph shows distain for feminine activities, and in this very episode Toph admits that Katara is fun and that she was wrong about calling her her mother.

"Katara, you are fun. If nothing else, you're at least fun to argue with".

The lines do get blurry between how much is Katara acting motherly and how much is just a reflection of other characters' trauma, but I believe that they balance each other to create the "mom friend". Not a mother figure, just a type of friend.

Aang

One question need to be answered. Does Aang view Katara as his mother? He does not. In episode one when she said "I haven't done this since I was a kid", Aang said "You still are a kid".

And just like with Sokka and Katara's dialogue, this is one of the first times where they interact. Thus, it is important in establishing their dynamic. Now, I've gathered a few moments people point to to prove that they have a mother-son relationship. Let's examine if they hold up.

1#

In The Storm Katara is looking for Aang after he'd run away. This is not a maternal act. In Sozin's Comet Aang also disappears and everyone go look for him. But none of us would suggest that he has a mother-son relationship with all of them.

#2

Katara: Oh, good! Can you help me carry this back to the room? [She moves the pot toward Aang.] It's a little heavy. Aang : Actually, I can't right now. Katara: What do you mean, "you can't?"

Here Katara is doing chores while Aang refuses to help. Seem motherly enough, but is it really how their dynamic is characterized? In The Chase, Katara directly tells Toph that everyone does their job in setting up camp.

(Yes, she did say in the first episode that she does all the work around the house, but we are talking about her relationship with Aang. I already said that Katara was always there for Sokka).

3#

Aang : I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?!

Aang lashing out at Katara has nothing to do with him hypothetically being her son. Katara lashes out at Sokka in The Southern Raiders but she's not his daughter.

4#

Katara: Aang, we do understand. It's just ...

Aang: Just what, Katara? What?

Katara: We're trying to help!

Aang: Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it! [Walks away.]

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this.

Once again, Sokka also encouraged Aang to Kill Ozai. But Sokka isn't Aang's dad. And again, fighting doesn't mean mother-son relationship.

5#

Here Katara holds Aang like the statue in the picture. It is a statue of Virgin Mary holding Jesus. This can be seen as motherly, since it's based on a mother and a son, but this pose has been used for many other types of relationships in media:

6#

Katara passing herself as Aang's mother was discussed in this post, so I'll just quote it:

1) In Howl's Moving Castle, Sophie works as Howl's assistant and falls in love with him, but she's cursed, looking like an old lady. There's a scene where she too has to pretend to be his mom, and it turns into her realizing her feelings towards him. She becomes young again, a girl Howl's age. It's a beautiful confession, while pretending to be his mom. No one criticized that, becuase pretending to be someone's mom for the sake of a mission isn't maternal.

2) Sokka is also there. I don't think it's controversial to say Sokka isn't at all a parental figure to Aang. That's because the point of this joke isn't that Katara actually is motherly towards Aang, it's that they aren't actually similar to [Aang]'s supposed parents and this entire situaton is very silly. The implication behind this joke isn't that Katara is maternal towards Aang, but that she isn't.

I also want to add that Sokka and Katara pretend to be a couple, but no one would ever suggest romantic implications to this.

(I know it looks like I just made up a bunch of strawmen for argument's sake, but trust me, I've seen people bring it as proof).

I also want to add a subtle detail that proves that Katara isn't Aang's mom. In The Deserter, she literally hid behind him. This is the dynamic people say they have, but reversed. A mother would never do this.

(Yes, there is that one joke from The Runaway, but as I've established Katara doesn't actually act as Aang's mom. She just exhibits maternal attributes and that's what the joke is about).

Katara and Aang's relationship is nothing like a mother-son relationship, as well as her relationship with the rest of the Gaang. In a way, Katara is maternal. But she cannot be and is not a mother figure to anyone.

Thank you for reading.

[soopsiedaisies]

suffering will be your teacher

I don't think it's too late to share this one :)

Rating: E, for violence

Tags: Time Travel; Scarless Zuko; Zuko & Zuko's Crew; Jee has only had Zuko for a day and a half but if anything happened to him he would kill everyone on this ship and then himself

Summary: Zuko falls asleep on the evening of his official coronation, when he’s twenty-one-years old and has finally reached his majority. Zuko wakes on the morning of the Agni Kai with his father, eight years earlier. This is annoying for several reasons, like the fact that the War is still ongoing, that he has zero friends, and that Ozai is not in jail. It’s time to scheme.

Also, here are some ficnotes under the cut, if you're interested in some of my reasoning in regards to how the Agni Kai went in this universe. It's a bit spoilery but not if you've read chapter 1:

I’ve received a small handful of comments being shocked and/or delighted by Zuko deciding to burn Ozai the way Ozai burnt him: hand over the face like wiping away a tear, and then just going to town with their natural flamethrower ability. Whether this would be seen as in character or not, I wrote it in because I think it’d be in character, and I suppose that’s a rather important bit of writing lol. 

You can probably interpret it as Zuko perpetuating his family’s violence, or suddenly being okay with being goaded into a fight. But here’s the thing: he’s not okay with it. I’ve tried to hint at Zuko being disgusted with himself post-burning, yet simultaneously satisfied—because, hey, he’s back to fight-or-flight mode. He’s gone from the relative comfort of a palace filled with people he’d show his soft underbelly to, to the metaphorical viper’s den that was the palace when Ozai still ruled. Despite it having been a few years for him, Zuko still knows that it’s dangerous to be there, and that he cannot, under any circumstance, show aspects of his natural personality that may be deemed as weak. He’s the Prince and kindness, or mercy, will be punished. And he also doesn’t want to be burnt again—he’s not going to take that challenge lying down. 

So Zuko takes a risk. He fights back and uses his own experience to get his father to his knees. He burns Ozai before Ozai can burn him, despite the detail that harming the Fire Lord is probably illegal. And yes, like Azula told him, a simple burn on the shoulder would’ve been enough… but with someone as dangerous as Ozai, it’s better to incapacitate him. Ozai clearly doesn’t care about fighting fair and nobody would’ve stopped him either: in the show, Zuko went on his knees, refused to fight, and begged for mercy, but Ozai burnt him anyway without any sort of protest from anyone there. Zuko was in an inescapable and incredibly violent situation where the only way out was violence from his side. It’s an easy choice at that point, I think. 

Additionally, it’s also a revenge fantasy come true. I do believe that during the confrontation between Zuko and Ozai in Day Of The Black Sun, Zuko would’ve considered killing his father for a moment—or at least harming him. He doesn’t because it’s Aang’s responsibility to do so, and because killing your dad at age 16 after a lifetime of loyalty is kind of…. hard, but I’m certain there was a brief moment he thought about it. And burning your father instead, in the exact way he burnt you in another life, with him on his knees instead of you? Possibly a little bit satisfying. Zuko was granted a chance and took it. 

So, he’s scarless (if you have trouble imagining it: think of his face in the flashback of The Storm, plus his Fire Lordly face in his fever dream in The Earth King). I can hear people go like, “But Soopsie, that’s not our Zuko! The scar is a very important part of his character!”, and that is very fair. But keep in mind that he’s a 21 year old man who only occupies the body of his thirteen year old self, and he’s actually older than the Zuko of the show. I also think it’s not the scar which makes Zuko Zuko, but rather the mental/emotional scarring that lies underneath. Ozai still very much burnt him. There’s just not any physical proof right now. 

(I also don’t need to do any physical character design for this, which is a plus. He’s a lot less recognisable rn)

[demaparbat-hp]

I’m sorry, but don’t you feel bad for your fav ship cuz’ like, a lotta Zutara fans are obnoxious and hate Aang and Mai for no reason. It just, kinda ruins your ship and makes it one of most hated ships in the fandom cuz’ of them. You’re the one of the few sane Zutara fans and I’m proud of you. Stay this way through your entire journey.

Oh! Thanks! I, uh, I'm glad you believe me sane 🤭

Honestly, there are terrible people in every fandom, but those are just a loud, small minority. Most of us are just here to share our love for these characters and their world.

The ZK fandom is, sadly, very well versed in ship wars and fandom hate and...well, we all know about it.

That being said—I don't let fandom wars or toxic behaviour from fans on any "side" dictate how I enjoy the og series or ZK.

People have vastly different takes on ATLA. Some may not like Aang as a character, or Mai, or Katara, or Zuko, or Sokka—and that's okay! We all have our own ideas and our own ways to interact with canon and the Fandom.

But things get out of hand when someone sends you death threats using anonymous asks, or calls you horrible slurs, simply because you enjoy something (I am talking through personal experience here).

I support discourse. I support metas and takes and headcanons. I support those who say "Well, I understand why you like this couple/character, and I respect that, but I don't like them because..."

And that's the thing that's sometimes missing—respect.

I know what my stance is regarding ZK, and Kataang, and Maiko, and this senseless hostility. And I will always defend it, but that doesn't mean baseless insults need to be part of my vocabulary.

I can't tell anyone how to engage with fandom—and I'm not trying to! These are my own personal views on this matter, and I hope everyone understands the intention and meaning behind them.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

i've seen zks be like "if we were self inserting we would've been doing so with mai since she's such a blank slate character" but the thing is mai *does* have a personality, it's just an unconventional type of personality they can't personally relate to as much as they can with katara or jin

Katara also has a personality - one zutarians constantly disregard for the sake of self-inserting. Hence them constantly going on and on about how "No 14-year-old girl would go for a bald 12-year-old instead of the hot, older guy with a cool scar."

I wouldn't even say Mai's personality is unconventional, it's just personality that sexism says girls should not have. Being all nurturing and soft and vulnerable with someone else doesn't come easy to her, she doesn't react with too much emotion to most things, yet she will speak her mind when something isn't to her liking - and most things are not to her liking because, despite her apathy, she's not exactly someone people would discribe as "easy going". If Mai was a guy, especially a conventionally attractive one, she would be super popular, much like her boyfriend who could be a real bastard sometimes.

You just have to look at all the zutara fics, fanart and meta that constantly make Mai out to be an uncaring, cruel, and downright abusive person for doing things like not pretending to like something just because her boyfriend was the one to get it for her, or getting cranky, or asking Zuko to get her food, or simply getting mad at him when he unfairly accuses her of liking someone else... and then act like Katara is the "better woman" for supposedly being super easy going and "only wanting love"

Zutarians want a doormat girl that they can use to not only ship themselves with Zuko, but also to CONSTANTLY suck up to him. Katara just happened to be the one that was there from the start and, more importantly, didn't actually interact with Zuko that much, so she doesn't ruin their fantasy of "ideal girlfriend for precious boy Zuko" (extra ironic considering that, if Katara really was that passive instead of stubborn and strong-willed, Zuko would fucking hate her).

Because Zuko and Katara are rarely seen truly talking to each other and having to deal with their clashing personalities/goals, zutarians just pretend the negative scenes were "repressed sexual tension" to ignore the simple fact that these two characters genuinely hated each other - Zuko hated her for being a foreigner that dared to put up a fight against his nation's imperialism, and Katara hated him because imperialism killed nearly everyone in her tribe, including her mom - and then hyper focus on the few positive scenes, taking them out of context to make it romantic.

More importantly, they can pretend that they were TOTALLY thinking about each other during all those scenes in which they're dealing with literally any problem, as if Zuko and Katara were each other's "saviors", even though their arcs have nothing to do with each other -and since these are the overwhelming majority of the "scenes with zutara subtext" they are PERFECT for people who like self-inserting because they are completely blank slates.

But Mai? There are entire episodes in which her romance with Zuko is a super important part of the plot - and she speaks her mind regardless of whether Zuko likes what she has to say. She can be bossy, she can be cranky, and she is her own damn self (which Zuko canonically likes). More importantly, the show doesn't take the easy route of "every problem in their relationship is caused by something outside of their control, like the war or an obviously evil romantic rival that is totally coercing one of them into a relationship" - aka the lazy excuses Zutarians use to justify why their ship was never canon, let alone endgame.

Mai's personality is not easy to erase because she has an actual dynamic with Zuko, something Katara didn't have until the very end of the show and thus it naturally didn't get fleshed out enough to threaten the idealized version of it zutarians came up with in their heads. If Mai had been a one-off character like Jin, with only enough time to be charmed by Zuko's cluelessness, they would LOVE her.

[kataraslove]

Do you know anything about where i can find people talking about the fake zk interviews, or how "zutara was originally gonna be endgame" was fake news? conversions haha 😅😅

as it stands, some of the writers on the writing team (joshua hamilton and john o’bryan specifically) wanted zutara. they confirmed this on braving the elements, the atla podcast hosted by dante and janet. one of them mentioned that there was an original pilot that initially had a zutara endgame. i’ve yet to find any evidence of this, and the actual series bible posted on Reddit mentions no ships, so who knows if this was something legitimate or false.

the popular rumour is that aaron ehasz was adamantly pro-zutara and devised a whole season 4 in which they became endgame, in addition to an azula redemption arc. this rumour came from a fake interview from a zutara blog who claimed to be an intern working at nickelodeon. aaron ehasz on video confirmed that the interview was fake, and also stated that he did not personally ship anything in his writing because rooting for a particular ship would lead to contrived plot points. rather, he went with the “natural flow of things” by listening to his characters and their needs. bryan later echoed the same sentiments on the braving the elements podcast, that fandom could ship what they want but ultimately they would make their writing decisions based on the direction of the story and the characters’ wants and needs, whether those decisions ended up finalizing platonic or romantic relationships.

on top of that, aaron ehasz also:

said that the only thing he would change in atla was a composition shot of azula and the gaang in the chase in the same interview that he denied wanting zutara as endgame

loved mai and maiko (him and his ex wife first introduced maiko in zuko alone)

confirmed parallels between kataang and rayllum

expressed his interest in reading kataang-rayllum parallel meta (i can’t find the tweet, but it was an interaction regarding @raayllum’s meta).

requested, alongside mike dimartino, the tale of oma and shu to be created as a way to develop katara and aang’s romantic relationship in the cave of two lovers (as confirmed by the writer joshua hamilton himself)

[captlok]

The temperamental Katara and Zuko constantly competing for Aang’s affection my lovelies

Aang being flustered about it

I think A/Z/T would be a bit more laidback, bc if Toph ever wanted to hog up Zuko’s attention then Aang would simply let her bc he’s ok with his own company lol. Extra long meditation sessions? Yeah whatever! that’s cool. *shrug

He finds that maintaining Guru Pathik’s non-attachment instructions over the years is actually much easier if he’s not the sole focus of another person.

Zutaraang but in a Zukaang x Kataang, anti-Z/tar/a sort of way.

[atla-confessions]

"zutara and kataang shippers are equally toxic when it comes to ship wars"

respectfully disagree. both are toxic but not equally. atp zutara shippers need to hire pr because the "loud minority" of you guys are telling native americans that they didn't experience real genocide over shipping and blindly defend people casual fans would side eye if they read or heard the things they say on social media.

like i understand death threats and personal attacks on character over the net is the usual in most if not every fandom but at some point you have to draw a line...? idk how this community is supposed to run but as someone who's first introduction to fandom was through anime you guys need to stage an intervention. i mean i cannot name a single head honcho from the kataang community that is equivalent to those in the zk community--people i only know about because you guys keep recommending their awful metas and forcing curious people to go down a rabbit hole of weirdness.

both sides-ing these two feels like when centrists try to pretend like the right and left are both equally evil when there is no leftist trumpie equivalent in the two party system. like come on.

X

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

I really hate when people compare canon Zutara to pocohontas but I have to admit, there are *certain people* in this fandom who very much lean into the whole “kidnapped indigenous woman falls in love with her captor/abuser” trope and as a Native who loves Zutara I find that really gross

no i totally totally agree. unfortunately there are people who are apart of the fandom who are also really gross in their portrayal of zk. ive seen fics that really play into it even fics where they have zuko KIDNAP katara and its honestly so disgusting. just because it is happening within the community does not make it okay.

i feel like theres so many obvious reasons why comparing zutara to a romanticized movie about an actual indigenous woman and a colonizer is weird and icky and just offensive, but clearly there are people who don't get it.

other people's pain is not something that you can romanticize and fetishize. Native peoples have been treated so horribly by european colonizers and white americans today that to pretend that a relationship between a colonizer and Native woman is hot is just wrong. i think that in part of defending the idea that zutara is not a colonizer relationship, we also need to hold creators within the community to those same standards. it's not okay to compare the two, whether its as an excuse to hate on the ship or if its coming from a shipper. comparing zutara to Pocohontas is so, so gross.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

I'm sure there are a ton of deranged Zutara shippers... Which makes it all the more baffling that that weirdo anon chose to attack you of all people. You rarely say anything bad about Aang (light criticism if anything), you're a mulit-shipper, and your takes are absolutely correct all the time (no I'm not biased).

No one should be attacked over a ship, but the fact that anon chose to attack you is just... Weird

UGH ILY <3 means a lot to me coming from you, someone who is chronically correct all the time

Yeah idk! I’m one multishipper-leaning-Zutarian who likes shipping discourse and writing metas and complaining bc I’m an argumentative person…I see these long anon messages and I’m like that cat with the salad meme…like what did I do

In one of anon’s longer deranged messages that I have since deleted, they said something about how ZKs always act superior. Iirc there was also an atla-confessions post about how ZKs are uppity, so I guess it’s now a thing people are mad about. If you can’t accuse people of actual wrongdoing you can always accuse them for vibes you don’t like I guess

[starlight-bread-blog]

Some people say that Katara becoming Firelady would be an empowering role for her, that she could become an activist and a leader. I find this notion to be false. Firstly, even though I haven't read the comicses of A:TLA, from what I've seen from the show, the title of firelady is decorative at best. It literally just means "Fire Lord's wife". Ursa didn't have any political power, and we never heard of any other active fireladies, because they are not relevant at all. They aren't activists or leaders.

But still, Katara being a politically active firelady would require her to be associated with noblemen and councilmen from the FN – the people who were calling the shots during the war, the people responsible for the genocide of the SWT. Additionally, the FN is racist. In The Headbend, we see FN propaganda up close. They've been through 100 years of indoctrination.

In The Painted Lady, the people of the village that Katara helped all turned on her when they found out she's a waterbender, only changing their minds when Sokka yelled at them.

Thus, Katara would be one of the most controversial and hated figures in the FN and maybe even in the entire world. Not to mention potential assassination attempts.

These are negative experiences she doesn't have to go through. So why would she? Why would this be her job? It isn't. Plain and simple. Zuko can and should already be fixing the damages caused to the SWT on his own. While it's true that Katara is the type of person to seek out injustices, and could want to face these horrible people, she can make a change in the community without it taking a toll on her mental health and safety. An indigenous girl suffering to fix the ethnic cleansing and damages of the past isn't empowering. Especially when it's supposed to be a happy ending. Zuko can do all these stuff, but leave it to Katara to take on the mental strain of associating with her oppressors and being public enemy 1#.

[beifong-brainrot]

https://www.tumblr.com/miss-sweetea-pie/755138140549808128/something-that-ive-been-thinking-about-is-how?source=share

Hi! Apologies, but I've decided that I would no longer be responding to having zk takes sent to me! I started doing these bcs people sent them to me and I saw other people doing it and, don't get me wrong, it was fun to write analyses based around them, after realising that posting a link to the OPs blogs might put them at risk of harassment/hate, I don't think it's worth the cheap thrill of spending like half an hour researching the symbolism of La Pietà and then infodumping it.

This doesn't mean I will stop doing analyses cokpletely, but if you do have requests for me to do them, please just send an ask containing a subject, not a link.

I will be still writing metas about Avatar, but I think I will be trying to remove myself from the Kataang/Zutara ship war. While it's fun to pick apart arguments and research filmography etc, the animosity between the two sides is genuinely quite upsetting and I've noticed its been taking a toll on me. I just find it very suprising how many people view Zutara and Kataang as some sort of dichotomy.

I will still gladly talk about Aang, Katara, Kataang and Zuko, but I want it to be less in terms of going against someone else and more because I genuinely love these characters.

I don't like that I may have contributed to someone getting hate over a questionable, but ultimately rather benign take and I also don't like how I've handled certain conflicts and situations.

I also know that a certain zutara shipper has access to my blog, despite me having blocked them particularly to avoid conflict, which is very cool and not at all disconceting.

So to that person, if they may be reading this, I genuinely apologise for reaching out to you when I did, it was never my intention to cause you discomfort or upset. I had previously seen some of your metas on other characters and I enjoyed them and found your points intriguing and wanted to learn more about them. I apologise for using the term "arguing in bad faith", because I may have used the term incorrectly, trying to express that you didn't seem to interested in discussing the subject, which I understand, as I was the one reaching out to you. I apologise that I missed any cues of discomfort or unwillingness to engage. I take responsibility for that and I mishandled the situation and may have gotten too pushy. I just wanted you to know that I never wished to come off as disingenuous or pushy or make you uncomfortable in any shape or way.

[raayllum]

25. a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces

I have two pieces of advice basically that loop back into each other honestly.

Don't ultimately care about what anyone else says or thinks

Not caring about or trying to manage what other people think of you or your thoughts ≠ being rude or disrespectful, that doesn't mean it never happen - tone and frustration are absolutely real and I express the latter occasionally,

Other people are gonna ship things you don't or ship the same thing but in a way you don't like or just have opinions that are coming from a fundamentally different perspective or reading of the text and... none of it really matters. You don't have to conform to popular fandom if it doesn't fit what you think (that's basically been me in every fandom But TDP, so it's quite refreshing, and even then I very much felt like a lil island in the immediate s4 aftermath), you can ship whatever you want and so can anyone else. I think the most important thing with this is being self aware, though... like yeah I could hypothetically get annoyed over characters in TDP being childish, but coming-of-age stories are about kids and maturation, so like. I can vent in the proper tags but it may just mean the show isn't ultimately for me, y'know? Or at least that it's something I gotta learn to live with if I wanna engage with the show in a way that balances the salt and the sweetness

Additionally, one of the side effects I've found of being '''popular''' within TDP fandom is that my opinion will be taken as gospel or made out to be more than what it is, which is just my subjective opinion / interpretations, the same as anyone else's. Obviously I think my opinions are Right / grounded in the text (as do many people about their own opinions, whether they align with mine or not), but that doesn't mean everyone else is wrong, like... it's a children's cartoon show, if you're getting regularly butt hurt about what other people think or if they do or don't agree with you or whether ur ideas are popular or not you're not gonna have a good time, and fandom is a hobby. It's supposed to be a good time

Avoid taking things personally at all costs

In a similar vein to "don't care what anyone else thinks/says" that goes double for what they think or say about you / what you think. For me this means that unless I get 1) name dropped or 2) something that is so specific me it couldn't apply to someone else, I assume it's not about me. "Rayllum shippers / stans are so annoying"? Not about me and even if I am annoying - isn't everyone sometimes? Being annoying isn't a death sentence lol. "I hope the fandom takes this well"? Not about me. "People who defend S4 just can't admit TDP has flaws"? Not about me. "Snake boi Callum content is so dumb" is about a tag categorization I started for Callum's characterization, but has since more than taken on a life on its own... and isn't about me.

And even when it is personal, it says a lot more about what frustrates the OP or what they're trying to potentially wrangle than it does about me. Like someone disagrees with me or thinks I'm dumb, specifically? Okay, I know I've thought that about people on occasion, I try not to post it or make it obvious, but I can't control what you do. There were a couple of ZK bnf I thought were horrendously bad at meta that I knew by name bc they were everywhere, and it just meant forming my own atla communities/tags and/or stepping away from the fandom.

On a similar note, I'm still gonna keep doing my thing and I encourage people to block me and/or blacklist tags I use if they don't wanna see my stuff. I know how annoying it can be in fandom to feel like you still see stuff you don't want to if it's everywhere, which is also why I don't put all my stuff in the main tags either, but I'm not going to Stop Posting unless I... want to, which won't be happening.

I guess this all basically amounts to:

Focus on finding your people in fandom, cause they are out there

If you find yourself being annoyed by the fandom every day, or find yourself feeling like you have to rebut every little thing that annoys you (for ex, people saying they don't like Rayllum doesn't bother me, that's a neutral opinion. Ppl saying they shouldn't be in the show feels like more of a theme misread, however) work on stepping away and letting things go

Cultivate being fucking weird and unabashedly enthusiastic with self awareness. If you love a ship or headcanon or plot point that's fucking out there or clearly not happening, fucking go for it! Make or enjoy all the stuff for it you want. That said, maintaining awareness that the story doesn't need to go there in order to be good, or that there's not a lot of plausible grounding in canon, can be important especially if you want to connect with other fans.

Like CHET is my pet theory that has also been wildly fortunate enough to get a life of its own in the TDP / Rayllum fandom(s). I've been prepared to drop it three times. I think more than ever that's where the story is going in S7, and that there's a lot of continued setup for it / Something Like It, but I could be dead wrong, and I'm sure I will love if not prefer whatever route S7 would take instead. I love it, and I have a certain amount of attachment, but the story doesn't owe it to me, similarly to how I'm not owed in fandom to have people Like what I make or make what I like

Like respect should be given for sure unless I make a routine ass of myself, but again, I've been very fortunate that some stuff has caught on as much as it has because it clicked with other people who were already thinking the same thing, or found xyz idea made a lot of sense. And that's really nice! I think it's those things that help build a community. But in fandom you kind of have to be willing to be an Island first, and then if you get stuck being an island permanently, it may be worth reflecting on why sometimes — whether it's because of aggression, shyness, preference, or no real reason except your people haven't shown up yet

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Hiii, I really love your ATLA analyses. I'm genuinely interested, what can you say about this take? I mean, it sounds pretty logical, and I'm really interested to know what objections there might be to that view of EIP?

https://www.tumblr.com/writer-rider-dirty-thirties/744225630324965376?source=share

There's a few main things that meta like this one, I think, miss out on. That said beyond the two paragraphs I'm not really discussing their meta in particular. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but it does play into why I think EIP gets blown out of proportion while ignoring the more... grounded subtext there? Which is what the rest of the meta response here is about as follows. Please refrain from sending me specific metas in the future - discrediting other people's work is not what I'm about, even I don't necessarily think it's always well argued.

They acknowledge the Doylist perspective... and then completely ignore the actual, textual Doylist perspective they have going on. The writers' intent was to, very evidently, use Ember Island Players to acknowledge their own and fans' reactions to the show (which is why the Great Divide, an episode that the writer of EIP wrote, gets the shaft in the play) by exaggerating and making fun of their own characters and plot points. Grounded in their portrayals yes (Katara does indeed make speeches about hope) but so heavily distorted; just look at how they portray this Katara and Jet, who are completely remorseless about drowning a town ("Oh Jet, you're so bad~").

But the distortion is key. The play pretty glaringly says "Canon Katara would never like Zuko" or vice versa, "because to do so would be a great distortion of her character and characterization." Furthermore, for Katara to only see Aang "like a little brother, and that you don't have feelings for me" is also a distortion, which is why Katara outright states on the balcony, "I didn't say that. An actor said that". It's also worth noting I think that the play itself also erases Aang's romantic feelings for Katara ("I wouldn't want it any other way!"). He doesn't make his feelings plain and be rejected in the play; they just don't exist. So even the play itself isn't saying that there's a love triangle, they're saying that a distorted version of these characters would feature a Katara and Aang that don't have feelings for each other, and a Katara and Zuko that would.

Now, I don't think the play is meant to be that dismissive of fans, either. Like I said - it's meant to poke fun, and the ZK faction had always been quite large and vocal. The crossroads of destiny and its associations with Oma and Shu (which serve the basis for Kataang's love theme) are the bulk of what the ship tends to stand on, 'canon' wise. It makes sense if you're going to do a ship tease with them to do it there, and it's also the last instance you can really make actor Katara 'like' anyone.

It's also a misread to assume Aang would get this angry over jealousy, as well, given that Katara was very obvious with Jet both times, and Aang was very sparingly jealous in Book 1 and only slightly so in Book 2. EIP is one of the rare instances where Aang projects onto other people, a trait more usually seen from his friends.

What makes him upset - and we Know this, because he repeats it outright when they actually Talk about it - is this exchange between actor Katara and Zuko:

EIP!Zuko: I thought you were the Avatar's girl. EIP!Katara: [Laughs] The Avatar? Why he's like a little brother to me. I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way.

That's what makes him potentially upset, which fair enough: it can be upsetting when someone doesn't like you back, especially when Katara previously has given plenty of indications that she does. But he's not mad at her on the balcony. He doesn't take his frustrations over her not seemingly returning his feelings out on her. He's mad because Katara can't, or won't, give him a straight answer.

Aang: You said that I'm just like a brother to you, and that you didn't have feelings for me. Katara: I didn't say that. An actor said that. Aang: But it's true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together, but we're not. Katara: Aang, I don't know... Aang: Why don't you know?

AKA "if you don't like me, which I just gave you a perfect out to acknowledge, can you at least confirm it for me?" And she won't even do that.

Katara is usually a very openly emotional person, which is why when it comes to whether she has feelings for him or not (and he has very good reasons to think that she does, given if you remove the Aang's POV we see, Katara is wayy more obvious with her affection than he is), it's accordingly frustrating that she won't just come out and say it. When does someone like Katara hold back? Well... normally when she's concerned about Bigger Things (i.e. not initially pushing with Pakku because Aang learning waterbending is more important to her) or when she's not sure what to do (when Aang rejects her comfort in The Serpent's Pass).

Conversely, his feelings for Katara also makes Aang more likely to stop evading or dodging and to stick his landing. He's the one who tries to confess on two different occasions. He's the one who kisses her first. And he's the one who wants to actually discuss their relationship now. (These are all reasons why I think, if they ever did break up, Aang would actually be the one with the guts to say it out loud, just FYI.)

Alternatively, if we wanna talk about Framing, let's talk about the actual balcony scene, namely Katara's dialogue, and the placement of the moon:

Not only does this balcony scene take place on a balcony like their infamous finale kiss, with parallel framing of Katara walking up behind Aang and seeking him out to talk (if Katara hadn't approached him, it's likely neither would've happened either time) but like

When Yue finds herself in a similar situation with Sokka - a young man she loves, has kissed, but finds herself unable to be with for a variety of reasons - she says almost beat for beat what Katara says here about her feelings and reasonings for wanting more distance. But like both Yue and Katara say, there's more important things going on:

I say this because everyone ignores the aspect of Katara's bond with Aang that is informed by her own trauma and fear of losing people. Aang kisses her because "What if I don't come back?" Katara literally watched him die and brought him back to life. She watched her father mourn her mother and Sokka mourn Yue (The Swamp), which the play likewise gives her an ample reminder of. She watched Jet die too. Katara has faith that Aang will be different ("I knew you'd come" from CoD and "He's gonna come back; he has to" in Sozin's Comet) but that doesn't mean she's not scared. Everyone else going on is complicating her feelings for Aang, and that's perfectly valid -- but like I said, it's a 1 for 1 with Yue.

Which is why she kisses Aang first after the war, on another balcony, because now it is the right time.

This isn't even touching on the in-universe canonical reading of EIP being Fire Nation imperialist propaganda, but that's a meta for another day.

Not to mention: EIP also teases Zukaang through Aang and the Blue Spirit, has them similarly react in distaste, you can equally read Zuko wanting to sit in between them as wanting to sit next to Aang, and Zuko and Aang's dialogue is a lot more ship teased in canon, Anyway.

June: What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you? Zuko: It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's travelling with.

Zuko doesn't even correct June for implying a romantic connection, only who he's looking for (love you Avatar "Zuko I want you to dance with me" Aang).

I also personally think that basically any episode that has 'strong' Zuko-Katara subtext actually has far stronger Zuko-Aang subtext, but that's a meta for another day.

I do always think the ZK fandom is a fascinating example of what can happen to a fandom when they only have maybe 5 episodes to work with, nor does ship teasing make something implied canon, otherwise The Dragon Prince (also created by Aaron Ehasz) would have a very different endgame ship (to the point that every Soren/Rayla shipper I've seen also ships ZK, funnily enough, because neither of those are remotely canon).

People have gotta stop taking the bone they're thrown and acting like it's a feast.

[katara-stan-club]

Compliment tag game! @johnskleats came up with this idea to combat negativity in fandom recently, and I think it's a swell idea!! thank you so much for your compliment <3

Tag three people you admire and leave them a compliment or nice message! Don't feel pressured to respond or thank anyone publicly; a compliment is like a gift, not a transaction.

@most-beloved-star

thank you for putting up with me for over 10 years!! you are such a delightful friend and I love our rants both on and off tumblr! I can't wait to see you again soon!! #VanthKenobiTruthers

@burst-of-iridescent

I absolutely love all of your zk/atla metas, they are always so well written and your mind is so brilliant!! The zutara dissertation you did is simply a work of art, and anytime I see your username involved in an atla discussion, I just know it's going to be a great take. The zk community on tumblr is truly blessed to have you as a part of it! (also fellow aroace zk fan we love to see it <3)

@eriexplosion

I loved seeing your theories about TBB this past year (I'm still slightly upset Shrimp Theory never panned out!!), and your analyses as season 3 aired were always engaging and fun to read! Also, I read all your replies to that one person who just Wasn't Getting It with regards to Sol's actions in this week's Acolyte episode, and you deserve a medal of honor for putting up so patiently with that. Here's to hoping future Star Wars content does Tech (and Phee!) justice!