#zutara was never meant to happen

[katerina-q]

Get them, atla Twitter 🤦‍♂️ We are so tired 🤦‍♂️

[emrys-merlin]

"Zutara was robbed"

No?

Ship what you want, but atla writers don't owe you shit and they can draw/write whatever they want. Zutara was never meant to happen and they made it clear many times

This series doesn't revolve around you

[rightwheretheyleftme]

I’m watching Korra book 2 and I have so many emotions about Aang’s neglect of his kids

After watching ATLA earlier this year, I started following a bunch of fan accounts and saw the same discourse regurgitated over and over again; One of the main points of discourse is whether Aang was bad father.

The discussions that I saw would always play out the same way. Aang’s detractors would say: “Aang didn’t take 2/3 of his kids on vacations. That’s neglect” and Aang’s defenders would reply “Aang is not a bad father! The places that he took Tenzin to were built for airbenders so Kya and Bumi wouldn’t have anything to do there!” And you know what? When I was reading those arguments, I thought that both sides had valid points and that this was a complex discussion.

Oh boy.

Now that I’m watching the episode, I realized that the people in this fandom are lying through their teeth. Aang only taking 1 out of his 3 kids on vacations is true, but the claim that that happened because Aang only visited places made for airbenders is completely false. Let’s recap the places that Aang and Tenzin went to:

- Kyoshi Island; to ride the elephant koi

- Ember Island; to build sandcastles on the beach

Now explain to me, why on earth does the majority of the fandom say that Aang went to airbender-only places? Kyoshi and Ember islands have 0 historical significance to the airbenders. These are just fun vacation spots, we know this because we saw the Gaang vacation at these places multiple times.

Moreover, according to Bumi, Aang was busy due to his job as the Avatar but he made time for Tenzin, only Tenzin. Kya agrees with this.

I’m so disgusted by this information. There is no way that a grown man in his 40s wouldn’t realize that taking only 1 of your kids on fun vacations and leaving the others behind is hurtful, the only possible conclusion that you can reach here is that Aang was intentionally trying to hurt his kids’ feelings.

And that breaks my heart.

This is not the Aang that I know and love. Aang is a fun, caring, accepting, and loving person. The behavior that I’ve described above is not only emotional neglect, it borders on abuse.

At first, I thought that maybe this storyline was meant to deconstrue the “The hero can do no wrong” cliché. Except that it ends with Kya and Bumi looking at a family picture and reminiscing about how happy they were. So no, there is no deconstruction; Aang is portrayed as a flawed but otherwise good father. Apparently, not loving 2/3 of your children enough to want to spend leisure time with them is a common flaw and not parental neglect, according to TLOK.

I feel so betrayed not only by the writers and the story that I love, but also by the fandom who silences victims of parental abuse when they are rightfully pissed off by Aang’s actions. I never wanted for Aang to be a neglectful father, but he is. Harassing people who are mad about his actions and calling them bitter Zutaras is a disgusting way to try to silence conversations about parental abuse.

Side note: Where tf was Katara while this was happening? Did she not take offense that her husband was neglecting 2/3 of her kids? Why didn’t Aang respect Katara enough to not play favorites with the kids she gave him?

[kidcaroline]

A reminder that "atla writers were fighting for Zutara" is a bullshit

There are 21 atla writers and only 3 of them supported Zutara. The creators said over and over that they were never meant to happen

Maybe one day y'all will finally enjoy this fanon ship without twisting the canon to your will and bashing the characters 24/7 so atla fandom will finally be less toxic.

[sokkastyles]

Based on this post by @daily-zutara-prompts

“I just can't believe he'd do that to mom,” Katara huffed, as Zuko poured her a glass of wine. It was a vintage he'd been wanting to try, but he wasn't much of a drinker himself. He didn't like the way wine clouded his judgment and made it harder to stave off the dark thoughts that always hovered on the edges of his subconscious, threatening to drag him down into the depths. But when Katara had come asking for something strong, he'd obliged. He'd never been able to deny her anything.

Zuko poured himself a glass and sat down opposite her, holding the wine up to his nose to get a whiff of the warm Fire Nation spices mixed with the scent of fermented fruits from the isles. “Have you met her?” he asked calmly, with interest.

Katara wiped her eyes and sniffed. “Yes, once or twice,” she took a small sip of the wine, then a larger one. She cleared her throat “But, honestly, I guess I haven't been as…present in the past few weeks. You know, everything with Aang…I haven't been home enough.”

Katara swirled the wine in her glass, then took another long drink.

“It's like I've been afraid to go home.” She looked down, and Zuko could see the shame in her expression, the way she couldn't quite meet his eyes. He tried to will her to meet his gaze, wishing he could fix her sadness, wishing that she would look at him with only that joy and determination that were his favorite things about her. But she had come to him to talk, and he would do his best to listen, to be the support she clearly needed.

“No one blames you for what happened,” he said quietly but firmly, swirling his own glass and watching the dark red legs of the wine trickle down the sides.

Katara looked up, then, setting down her glass. “Oh, come on, Zuko,” she said, the fire that he remembered igniting behind her blue eyes. “The entire Earth Kingdom knows me as the Avatar's ex, the girl he left behind in pursuit of a younger, more ‘enlightened’ partner. The whole world worships the ground he walks on, just like she does. I'm ostrich-horse dung, as far as the world is concerned.”

There was no use in pretending he hadn't heard the rumors, just as she had. He regretted that he hadn't been there for her as much as he had wanted to be, but if he were being honest with himself, it wasn't just his duties as Fire Lord or his friendship with Aang that had kept him from getting involved, then. More like, he was afraid of what he would have done, had Katara chosen to confide in him about her relationship troubles. Of what he very much should not do, of the feelings he had harbored that had only grown over the years. He thought of how often he had imagined Katara coming to him to confess her feelings, to ask him if he felt the same way…

But that hadn't happened, and that wasn't what Katara needed now.

Zuko took another sip of spiced wine.

“I know you're right,” Katara said, her eyes still a bit misty. “And of course I want him to be happy, and of course I know he's been lonely, he's had to be. It's just…weird.”

“No one blames you,” he said again, even though what he really wanted to say was I don't blame you, and what he really meant was I love you. “Talk to your dad. If she makes him happy, then that's a good thing, right? I know it's hard, but it doesn't mean he's replacing your mom.”

“I know,” he said, his hand reaching out and stopping just short of touching hers.

Katara rubbed her forefinger along the rim of her glass. “How'd you deal with it?”

“Well,” Zuko said, “It's not the same, obviously. I don't care if my mom wants to forget about my dad. She'd be better off. Was better off.” Zuko took another long drink. “But I'd be lying if I said I never felt…resentful, when I found out that she had a new family and everything. A whole new life.”

Katara listened in fascination. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Zuko cradled his glass of wine.

“But you and Kiyi get along so well!”

“Yeah,” Zuko said, smiling at the thought of his half-sister. “That's what helped me a lot, at the beginning, knowing that I had this sister I didn't even know about who wouldn't have existed if mom hadn't remarried.”

“And now?”

“Now, I just…” Zuko thought for a minute. The dark shadows were clawing at the edges. Too much wine. But if he was going to drink, it would be with Katara, who he trusted more with himself than he trusted himself. “I think about how different things were back then. And I know they're never going to be the same, even the good parts.” Katara was watching him, taking in his every word. “And I think about how sad my mom was, even when things were good. I didn't know it back then, of course, because I was just a kid. But I'm not a kid anymore. And I'm happy for her happiness, you know?”

He smiled in a way that he hoped was reassuring, although he was a bit stupid from the wine. He didn't know if any of what he was saying made sense, although it did in his head when he had thought of saying it.

“Happy for her happiness,” Katara repeated, thoughtfully. “Yeah. Thanks, Zuko.”

She reached out, then, placing her warm hand over his, and her smile was warm and lovely, and he thought he could be happy for her, too. All he wanted was her happiness. That was all he had ever wanted, even if it was never going to be with him.

[rifari2037]

15. What do you think would have happened if Katara and Zuko hadn’t been interrupted in the Catacombs?

They would kiss!!!!! 😂😂

I'm kidding, guys!

Even though I love the idea of Zutara kissing since this scene had romantic atmosphere and setting, but I'm pretty aware that it would be so forced just like canon 😂

But, I love this 👆🏼 idea if Zuko and Katara hadn’t been interrupted in the Catacombs.

Zuko would change his mind and refused Katara's offer. He might say thank you to her, then told her that he wasn't that important to take the water spirit. He also had accepted to have that mark forever.

Then Katara would convinces him that he is important and valuable. Katara might tell him that she believe there's good in him. In the end, it wasn't the water spirit that gave Zuko a new hope, but Katara and her words. Then, Aang and Uncle Iroh came.

I like this idea because I think it wasn't a right choice if Katara succeed to heal Zuko's scar. That scar was part of Zuko, when it gone then I might feel like I was seeing a completely different character.

Actually, I also do have some thoughts why Zuko betrayed Katara.

Whether they were interrupted or not, Katara had give Zuko hope. At least he had hope for free from the scar that marked him as a banished prince.

Is it just me, or in this moment Katara is the one who disappointed/betrayed Zuko first by withdraw her own offer.

After that moment, Azula offered him glory and he might have been affected by Azula's manipulations, but I don't think it was the only reason of his betrayal, Aang was also the reason.

He didn't directly attack one of them which means he hadn't made a choice yet. He looked at Azula first, then he looked at Aang, and he made choice with anger at his face to Aang.

But, Zuko had started to accept himself in the previous episode. He happily helped his uncle serve tea at Jasmine Dragon. He had stopped chasing the Avatar since he freed Appa and feverish because he changed his drive.

When he saw Katara in the Crystal Catacomb, a very familiar person as Avatar's companion, he was just silent. Zuko didn't seem obsessed with chasing the Avatar anymore. So what was the reason Zuko suddenly mad at Aang?

In my headcanon, Zuko was mad at Aang because Katara was the first person Zuko could open up to, Katara was the first person who touch his scar, and he had never felt affection like Katara gave him. Then, she just left him without saying anything to him because of Aang.

The Earth Kingdom Chronicles: The Tale of Katara

Yes, he betrayed Katara and that was a terrible thing (also important for his redemption arc). But what happened in the Crystal Catacombs meant a lot to him, which is why Zuko didn't actually try to hurt Katara.

Azula noticed that. And if I pulled further towards Agni Kai, when Azula shot lightning at Katara, she knew Katara means something to Zuko and could be his weakness. She kinda right since Zuko literally jump into the lightning for her.

[dukeofdelirium]

https://www.tumblr.com/xabura/752028677741608960/bryke-confirming-that-katara-loves-aang-like-a?source=share

I gotta ask you something? Apparently there was a behind the scenes interview and Bryke compared Katara loving Aang like a babysitter or to a younger brother. This confuses me so much. Especially seeing as this is from the creators who are Pro Kataang as far as I know and the show itself contradicts this as Katara doesn’t view herself as babysitter or Aang as a younger brother despite what the ZKs will say. What does this mean? Are the ZKs right? 😱

Zutarians are so obsessed with trying to find canon “validation” for their fanon ship that they’re digging up shit from almost 20 years ago and then misconstruing what Bryke even said 😂

Bryke didn’t literally say “Katara and Aang are like siblings and her role in the story is to be his babysitter”. They were talking about how they liked teenage drama stuff and always found it fun and engaging, which is why they then began discussing common tropes WITHIN said genre of “teen drama” which is a younger guy liking an older girl and how said girl usually viewed him more platonically at least at first.

They were literally just discussing different things that they found some sort of inspiration in or that they wanted to play on in some manner in their own storytelling. They weren’t literally discussing Kataang itself as it is written when they mentioned genre tropes 🤦🏻‍♂️ they then go on to say they feel that Katara is really the “heart” of the group while Aang is the “spirit”, and that Katara is really the first person Aang feels a deep connection to and that she and Sokka are like his new family. They are also strictly discussing book 1.

Bryke drawing some kind of inspiration from teen drama and its many tropes doesn’t make anything in their show a 1 to 1 replica or iteration of such. Writers know how inspiration fuels their own work, and I say that as a writer myself. Small things can spark ideas of your own, especially if you enjoy the tropes and genres already which bryke literally said they frequently watched happily.

It’s crazy to me that they still try so hard to invalidate kataang by failing to actually listen to anything bryke is saying as they meant it. The whole behind the scenes thing was also not even for ATLA itself but was rather over the M Night movie. Like???? Zutara is never gonna happen, stop trying to make it happen 😂 kataang is canon and endgame. “reeee they’re siblings!!!!!” they had 3 kids 💀

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Joshua Hamilton, John O Bryan and Tim Hendrick already confirms the writers have speak about zutara in the room many times, and wans’t really settled. It seems was 50-50 Kataang and Zutara.

What you think?

For fucks sake, guys, there's an old storyboard of Azula and Haru, two characters that never even met and have nothing in common, getting married. The freaking Cabbage Guy is officiating the ceremony, Foaming Mouth Guy was a guest for some reason, and Ozai is just standing there looking grumpy like a dad that doesn't approve of his daughter's relationship, instead of losing his shit because she's marrying a foreigner that isn't even highborn.

Writers and animators aren't on "work-mode" 24/7, sometimes they just do silly shit that is purely to amuse themselves during their lunch break or when they got stuck in a traffic jam, or to joke around with their co-workers, not because they're hoping to actually make it part of canon, or an alternative to it.

Zutarians use that "argument" of "there were writers fighting for zutara!" all the fucking time, and the name of the writers that were supposedly "zutara champions" changes constantly. Why? Because said writers are constantly pointing out "This is not what happened, Kataang was always gonna be endgame" which makes people realize zutarians were lying. Aaron Ehasz literally had to point out that someone faked an interview with him to push that nonsense narrative. It's bullshit. It's ALWAYS bullshit.

Kataang was not the only ship the writers liked, but it was the one that was the heart of the show from the beginning, and even the writers that DO like zutara have already said they loved Kataang too.

There was no power-struggle, no fighting, no second-guessing, no "lets make this a thing instead!" Just a bunch of writers toying with ideas every now and then and having their own preferences, but also having a very clear vision to follow and that they never strayed from.

Stop looking for zutara behind the scenes because you can't find anything on the actual show, that shit would at most count as crack fanfic. It's literally does not matter. It was never meant to be taken seriously. It is not the win you think it is.

Here are the Azula storyboards if yall are curious: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/1chzchf/old_storyboards_shown_at_a_con_in_2007/

[demaparbat-hp]

I used to just think Zutara was cool because Zuko and Katara had that whole fire-water duality, had more chemistry with each other than their canon love interests, Kataang gave me this sexist pseudo-incestuous vibe while Mai was just way too under-developed to interest me (Zuko gets the most character development out of all the characters but they pair him off with the most boring character in the series?).

Now when I actually think about it more deeply, Zutara genuinely made more sense for the narrative and characters too. Aang was told he had to let go of Katara so he could become a fully realized Avatar but then he just gets a deus ex machina so he doesn't have to. They dropped an entire arc just for Kataang to get together and made it happen in the most stupid way. The lion turtle deus ex machina was already badly done but at least it sorta made sense with the lore. The rock was just beyond ridiculous. Aang solved his problems by randomly hitting a rock even though they already established how Aang had this unhealthy attachment to Katara because she was his coping mechanism for his lost people. Instead of letting her go, Aang keeps that attachment and becomes even more possessive of her. He never learns to prioritize the world over Katara even though it is his duty as the Avatar! He didn't have to sacrifice or learn anything to achieve his goals and the way he became a fully realized Avatar NEVER made any sense. Katara and Aand were not always intended to end up together if you look at the IP Bible. Katara goes back to the SWT to help rebuild it while Aang goes looking for the hidden Air Nomads. There's hints early on in Book 1 that the Air Nomads are still alive (like how Aang was able to get a bison whistle from some merchants but they never explain where they got it from).

Meanwhile the whole Maiko relationship seemed like it was a metaphor to represent Zuko's false destiny and dissatisfaction with his life since Mai encouraged him to sink into his bad habits and ignore everything else, and Azula actively encouraged them to get together so she could control Zuko easier and keep him in the Fire Nation. Zuko leaving Mai behind felt like him embracing his true destiny. This entire thing falls apart when they get back together though, and them being so toxic in the comics is just further proving how dysfunctional they are (like, do they think this is going to sell us on the ship?). I also thought it was strange that apparently Zuko and Mai liked each other since they were kids but Mai never bothered to write him his entire banishment, Zuko never thought about her, Iroh never mentions her, Zuko was totally fine with going on a date with Jin (which Iroh also encouraged), and Iroh thought Zuko and Katara would make a good couple as soon as he saw them interacting as friends. It makes me think Bryke just created Mai and put her with Zuko as a way to discourage Zutara shippers but then forgot to develop her properly. Zuko doesn't even think about Mai after she risked his life to save him lol.

I'm about to make this a long answer, sorry about that :)

I love narrative, and I love to analyze how it is built. Narrative is the way a story is shaped to express its themes. Narrative is using the events within the story to build metaphors. Narrative is the smart foreshadowing, the parallels, the foils. Narrative is intentional, until it isn't.

I am not a professional. I do not have a college degree on this subject. I just like to think about what can make writing be great or lacking. I am merely expressing my personal opinion on this show and these characters, not stating an universal truth.

ATLA is such a well-written show. It treats its themes maturely and builds the story and characters masterfully. Of course, it isn't perfect, as nothing made by human hands is meant to be. ATLA has issues with its storyline and characters and, ultimately, with the narrative itself.

Aang's character arc is different to Zuko's in that, while Zuko's is focused on change, Aang's ultimately ends with him standing his ground. (And isn't that poetic? That in order to grow they need to embrace the philosophy of their opposite element?)

Zuko was forced to change in order to survive from a very young age. He learned to suppress his true, compassionate nature, to become The Perfect Prince—that which Azula embodies. When Zuko fails to do this, he is burnt and tossed away and forced to change once more. He has been hurt and thus is the farthest he has ever been from his true self—Zuko almost forgets who he is.

Zuko's arc, in that way, is similar to Aang's. It's about staying true to himself, but also about learning, about opening his eyes to the horror and using that same passion he has always had to do the right thing. Zuko changes, not into the person he was, but into someone who could, in the future, turn into the better version of himself.

Aang is different. Aang is a child born into peace, who does not have the personal, terrible experience of his people's genocide or the hundred years of war that have left the world wrecked. Aang's arc is about changing and learning and adapting to this new reality, about accepting his role as the Avatar. But it's also about standing firm and saying, "This is who I am, this is where I come from—pain will not break me".

Aang's struggle to control the Avatar State was all about that. The Avatar State meant that Aang lost control. It meant the pain and the hurt had turned him into a thing of anger (righteous as it was) and instinct and awe. Aang needed to be at peace with himself in order to control the Avatar State.

That tiny rock at the final battle felt like an easy way out. It felt like taking from the sheer terror of watching yourself almost kill a man as if from afar. The real moment of triumph for Aang in the finale happened when he stopped. It happened when he took control back and ended the Avatar State, stopping himself from betraying what he believed in.

Was not killing Ozai truly the best choice? I won't get into that debate. I know where I stand on it, but it's not really the point I'm trying to make here.

Aang's triumph, character-wise, happens when he stands his ground and refuses to abandon who he is and what he believes in. And for someone whose flight or fight response almost always turns to flight, this is a huge deal.

Now, where do Katara and Mai stand on this?

It has always been clear to me (even as a Maiko shipper) that Mai was always supposed to be a narrative device. Her relationship with Zuko is supposed to give us, the viewers, and him, another reason to see that this isn't the life he wants, that everything isn't perfect even when it should be on paper.

Zuko goes back home. Zuko is welcomed by his nation with open arms. He is revered. Loved. His father tells him he is proud of him. Zuko has a doting girlfriend—a beautiful, noble girl who can kick his ass and is everything a Fire Prince could wish for. She is adequate and things with her are easy, untroubled. Zuko has everything he could wish for.

And yet he is not happy.

Mai and Zuko have issues that should not be pinned fully on either of them. They had trouble comunicating. They wanted different things in life. They had different ways to look at the world. Different ways to look at each other. Different ways to cope. Different ways to express themselves. Different expectations.

And that's okay. It's possible to make a relationship like that work. Nobody is perfect and no relationship is flawless. Opposites attract and it's possible to find a middle ground in which they can both be happy.

Except they never truly did.

Mai and Zuko's relationship was a plot device. One that did its job damn well... Until it didn't.

If your relationship with the girl is supposed to symbolize the lowest point in your life, and going back into being someone you don't like anymore, then why get back to her when the story is over?

As for Katara, well...

Many things have been said about the abandoned Letting Go Of Katara arc. I'd like to avoid that discussion right now, if that's okay.

I think Zuko and Katara's relationship would have made a lot of sense both narratively and thematically, but also (and most importantly) it would have made sense character-wise.

Give them a few years, let them explore the beautiful friendship they had at the end of the series. Let them find themselves and grow into their roles in this different, exciting new world. Let them reconnect.

If they fall in love in the process? Well, maybe it was a long time coming.

[empressofthesunslittlecorner]

A rant about Aang and Byrke

WARNING NOT KATAANG FRIENDLY

CONTINUE WITH PRECAUTION

Hello my loves!

Here I'm with a new blog entry.

This time we will talk about Kataang, Aang and Byrke.

Since I'm writing a FanFic where Aang is paired with an OC, I thought I could tell you why I prefer Aang with OCs instead of Katara.

Just to be clear.

I like Aang.

I love Katara and would for this girl sell my liver.

But them together as a pair...please no!

Kataang is one of my NOTPs.

In my Let's Talk about Zutara post I pretty much said why I can't stand this pairing.

One is the age and maturity gap.

What does a 14-year-old want with a 12-year-old? It's just creepy, no matter the gender and it would have been better if they got together at like 22 and 20.

Even if I think Zutara is superior, I could grimly accept Kataang.

Second Aang and Katara are the worst version of their self together.

I haven't read the comics, but what I saw on Tumblr and on Legend of Korra was enough to make me angry.

Katara was reduce to Aang price, girlfriend, housewife and mother of his children.

The warrior girl we all loved, who never turned her back on people who needed her, became in the name of love (and Byrke) a shadow of herself.

Our real Katara would smack this wishy-washy version of herself to kingdom come!

Then we have Aang. The boy clearly turns into a Nice GuyTM when it's about Katara.

He kissed her TWICE, TWICE, without her consent and never said sorry for this.

He thinks he deserves her love because he is the Avatar (the hero) and that's how it be.

Till Season 2 Aang wasn't that worse about Katara, a lot of plotpoints pointed out that Aang obsession, I'm not calling it love, on Katara was not good.

He replaced the love for his people with Katara.

Erm, that's not healthy at all.

What Aang expierendec was traumatic, he is the sole suriver of a genocide, but he can't shove all his love for his people to Katara.

How can only one person hold this standards?

It's impossible.

Katara is a bandaid on a ripped arm.

A bandaid isn't going to fix Aang trauma.

He needed to really face it and accept it and let Katara go.

Guru Pathik told him he to let Katara go, but I don't think it was meant to say, don't love that girl anymore.

No, it was more like: you clearly are obsessed with her and think if she loves you all your hurt will go away, but this isn't the case!

Aang could still love Katara, he just needed to stop to put her on a pestal!

Then we know what happens, he let's her go, seems to get the Avatar State, but turn it down because Katara is in danger and he must save her.

Alright, we all would run to our loved one if they are in danger, but Aang, you are the Avatar.

The Avatar is the peacekeeper of this world.

Sadly he can't put his own desires forward, he has do to what was for the world right!

In the Crystal Catabombs he realizes this.

So he let's go of Katara to get the Avatar State and then gets shot down by Azula.

Then when the first episode of season 3 rolls around, you get the feeling that Aang learnend his lesson.

Because he was selfish, he lost his greatest eapan.

He needed to be better.

Only...after the first episode season 3 was really...bad.

I can't say it better.

If you compare it to the other two seasons...season 3 has mayor problems.

A lot of plotpoints get forgotten, Aang didn't learn from his mistakes, he acts entitled for Katara love and he gets his Avatar State back thanks to Deus-Ex-Machine Rock and even finds a way to handle Ozai thanks to Deus-Ex-Machine Lion Turtle.

How, HOW, did the creators look at this and want a golly what an awesome final?

It was not!

It was rushend and not earnend!

Because Aang is a selfinsert from Bryek.

They statet once in an interview that Kataang was reflection how they had a crush on their babysitter, who of course didn't wanted them and would go out with the "bad boy".

The bad boy here in question is Zuko, which is hilarious since Zuko is the most awkward dork.

So they wanted to create a story were the young hero gets the hot older girl.

No normal 14-year-old girl would date a 12-year-old and if she did call the police on her ass!

Avatar was only amazing because of writers like Aaron Ehasz, who turned Toph, who was supposed to be a boy and a love rival for Aang, into this badass girl who didn't let her disabilty stop her to become the greatest earthbender and inventer of metalbening in the world.

They truned Iroh into thee loveable and wise uncle and not like Byrke wanted into a spy for Ozai.

Also Azula was supposed to be a boy too, but she became the female villain we all loved and wish we would see in other media's too!

A lot of writer wanted also Zutara to happen and not Kataang.

If I remember right season 3 was so rushed and lacking because the movie-who-shall-not-be-named was in production and Bryke wanted the series to end before it.

A lot of concept were thrown out the window for it.

The writers wanted to make even a season 4, where Aang would even find other airbenders, but noooooooooooooooo we can't give Aang the healing he deserves, we must live out a fantasy trough this boy.

Looking at you Bryke.

Anyways we got, what we got and I'm so not happy about it.

Zutara should be canon and Aang should have found a girl who loved really, who was his equal and who didn't needed to be a broodmare for the air nomads, becasue there where still air nomads around.

Here we get back to my preference to ship Aang with OCs. Since I'm a big fan of the theoretical season four we would have gotten, it's only naturel to imagine own characters, since no canon characters exist for it.

I would have loved to see Aang with a descendant of Air Nomads. She learning from him, he learning from her, cute!

But let's be real if Aang is writing good he could work with a lot of characters.

Even canon ones like On Ji. I found her really cute with him.

The only thing I want for Aang partner is that the girl doesn't get reduced to a broodmare.

So the airbenders have always to come back/stop from hiding.

IT'S NOT THE COMPLICATED!

BUT WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!

WE LIVE IN THE DARK TIMELINE!

AVATAR COULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY CARTOON EVER, BUT NOOOOOO TWO MEN HAD TO MAKE THEIR WEIRD FANTASY REALITY AND DIDN'T LISTEN TO THEIR TEAM OF WRITER WHO WERE LIKE, FAM THAT'S NARRAVTIVLY SPEACKING HUGE STEPS BACKWARDS!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Yeah, I think you all guessed how much I hate Bryke.

Fricking pricks!

Also, people who make fun of their own fans because they ship a pairing themselves not like are the worst!

That shows have much respect they have for their fans.

Zero.

They just wanted to live out their fantasy and be done.

Again, fricking pricks!

So for now, that's from me, I needed to get it out of my chest.

Till next time my loves!

[eponastory]

I've seen some fans against Zutara once use Zuko and Mai's endgame kiss as evidence that Zuko is better with Mai than Katara. A Maiko fan once said that Zuko made sure to let Mai out of prison, which "proves their love," but I just laugh because that's not even what happened. Zuko was surprised to see Mai out of prison and even literally asked, "Mai! They let you out of prison?". This implies that Zuko did NOT let her ass out of prison. Otherwise, he would know she's even out, LOL. Unless he thought the Boiling Rock wouldn't let her out, why was he surprised to see Mai free? Maybe I'm sleep deprived, but when Zuko is shocked that Mai got let out of prison, it almost looks like he forgot that she was even in there, LOL

Then there was the, "but don't EVER break up with me again!". God Zuko looked so uncomfortable lol. At least when Katara threatened Zuko's life, she had a laundry list of reasons to not trust him and they weren't even friends. Mai is Zuko's girlfriend and she talks to him like *that*, LOL

Maiko is not a good ship for said reasons.

If my 'boyfriend' left me in prison and then forgot about me, I'd never want to see his face again. But that's besides the point.

As I've said before, Mai is a shoehorn for Zuko. I still believe she was always meant to be a supporting character for Azula and I'll die on that hill because that's where she fits in. Her relationship with Zuko isn't cute nor is it great. Actually, they bring out the worst in each other. Which is ironically what all the Anti-Zutara peeps keep saying that's what Zuko and Katara do...

Anyway, I hate that Mai and Zuko were just thrown together like 'hey, we need to give him a girlfriend so the Zutara people will shutup' without any previous setup. It's just awkward in that 'oh you two just hooked up because why? Oh... you both like angst... okay cool' when Zuko isn't even a bad boy. He's just an awkward teenager and it shows.

Mai is without a doubt not a good character in the way that she is written. Like she is the girlfriend that comes back to haunt you because she made you think you did something wrong. Actually, there is quite a bit of dismissiveness and gaslighting from her. Yet people think that's perfectly fine. It's not. But okay.

To be fair, Zuko isn't good at relationships. Actually, I don't think he's had a relationship with anyone before his banishment and during the three years at sea. He really never had friends, to be honest. So that explains his social awkwardness and frustration as well.

Poor kid is just love sick and starved of companionship other than Iroh. That's absolutely miserable as a teenager.

That's where the writing works on Zuko's part. But not with Mai.

[zukosdualdao]

a wound to close, the whole thing open

zutara month, day 2: journal/diary.

summary: when katara searches the attic of ember island, she comes across a journal, hidden away on an old bookshelf.

warnings: implied/referenced child abuse wrt ozai's treatment of zuko. what's referenced here is emotional abuse and i would say at show-canon levels.

other notes: title is from gracie abrams' "camden". also, this fic is very much 'picture taken moments before mild disaster', because i imagine after the end, katara still finds ozai's baby picture, thinking it's zuko, and her thought process is 'well that was sad but look at cute baby zuko!' oops!

Katara knows she’s wrong to snoop, but it’s just so hard to resist now they’re somewhere a young Zuko once lived for stolen weeks of golden summers at a time. For so long, she’d never wondered about him much at all—she’d had, after all, no reason to want to know the boy who chased them around the world in his pursuit of capturing Aang—but things are different now.

First, there had been the catacombs of Ba Sing Se, and she’d caught another glimpse of that boy, another side of him. Wearing Earth Kingdom robes two sizes too big for him, with grief and sympathy that matched hers shining in his eyes, saying strange things about destiny and curses and seeming so lost.

Katara had spent long weeks after the fact wondering whether any of it was true as she struggled to capture sleep on that stolen Fire Navy ship. 

Of course, that was far from the only anxiety on her mind. Wondering when Aang would wake up, if he would at all… Sokka’s growing plans for the invasion, and what it could mean for all of them… being with her father for the first time in years, how half of her wanted to light up at the comfort of it but the other couldn’t dare because he went away and what if it happened again?

And Zuko…

She would turn to her other side, her chin resting on a flat hand, and wonder about him. He’d seemed so sincere, but Katara had wondered often how that could be the case when just moments later, he was catapulting rage and fire in her direction. 

But then he’d come to them and begged for a chance to prove himself. 

And even before she wanted to, far before she felt ready for it, she’d started to come to know things about him. How he would get up at dawn every morning—rising with the sun, she’d thought bitterly—to practice his own firebending forms before his lessons with Aang. How he’d sometimes frown when making the first batch of tea for them around a campfire and then make a second and always seemed to light up when their meals had a little extra spice to them.

How he would sometimes squirm just a little and hesitate a beat and sometimes even bristle before smiling shyly when the others teased him, as though it took a moment to steady his footing and catch up to the fact that it was only teasing.

She had started to know him, to really know him, before she’d wanted to, before she’d forgiven him, before she decided it was safe to let the distance between them shrink.

But now they’re friends. And with the comet looming in the coming days, with things a little tense and strange between everyone since that disaster of the play, and with the vestiges of Zuko’s childhood right here, it’s hard not to be curious.

And, as she reasons to herself while setting the cooking pot of solid silver atop the bookshelf, at least she has deniability. 

The shelves are lined with old books, with gold thread traced through their spines, and old scrolls with white parchment coloring yellow, with shiny maps, and…

Katara’s brow scrunches as she catches sight of what seems to be an old journal, bound by leatherskins, poking out from behind one of the old tomes, clearly meant to be hidden away.

She reaches for it. It’s such a small, delicate thing, really, but it feels heavy in her hands.

When she flips to the first pages, she recognizes the symbols for Zuko’s name, written out in a long, intense, careful scrawl. She’s never seen his handwriting before, but it matches what she might’ve guessed it would look like, teetering between bold and delicate.

Katara flips past the first pages, which seem to mostly consist of Zuko practicing his letters, and comes across what seems to be a draft of a letter he’d written to Iroh, certain lines crossed out or words respelled after an ink-permanent error. He asks after when Iroh will return from the war—and she shudders to think that the kindly old man who'd helped them on more than one occasion had once been much different, the terrible Dragon of the West, laying siege to Ba Sing Se.

But in another line, Zuko writes to his uncle about a festival and paper dragons. Her heart swells to think he was once so young and even playful.

Atop the right corner of the page, there is a tiny, shaded-in sketch of a blooming fire lily. Katara smiles.

She flips through more pages, most of which are much the same as the first several, but then pauses. On this one, there are dark patches—the kind that she can tell came from water drying on the parchment, and it’s now wrinkled. Once, she might have been able to salvage the page with her bending, but the water has long-since dried up and left only deterioration in its wake.

It’s…

The page is tear-stained. He’d cried when writing this.

Gulping, Katara squints her eyes to read his small script, so much shakier than the previous pages had been. She can’t read most of it, for the smears and the wrinkling of the page, and she’s not sure she even wants to, anyway, because what she does manage to scan through makes her feel a little sick, her stomach clenching.

—don’t know what I can do, he had written, and it’s all too easy to imagine a much younger version of her friend with tears in his eyes, sobs wracking his shoulders, a lonely figure in a dark attic. — to better, to not so weak. 

There's a series of words Katara can’t make out, but she does catch Father and love.

And then, one shining beacon of hope:

But Mom says—

The writing stops there. She will never know what his mother used to say.

She flips through the rest of the journal, but the pages are hauntingly blank. There are no more entries after that. 

Katara places the journal back where it was tucked and has the vague sense that she’s back where she started.

A strange guilt gnaws at her. Somehow, she thinks she understands Zuko both better and worse than she did before.

[atla-confessions]

"...projecting the Zutara dynamic onto Zukka..."

I am sorry, how is that even possible? Sokka and Katara are very different characters, with different personalities, different personal subplots, different stories of relationship with Zuko. Even if the shippers (both zutara and zukka) make water siblings OOC, Katara and Sokka still don't resemble each other at all, and also have nothing in common with the canon sibling character.

Haven't read a lot of zukka fics – do they really have plots where Sokka is totally miserable in his marriage and has to be saved from his abusive canon spouse (Suki, I suppose?) by a knight in shining armor Zuko? Do they have plots where quiet obedient Sokka is hated and constantly bossed around by his family and his whole village, forced to do all the work for everyone, until saint Zuko shows up to save him from boring laundry and mending clothes and neverending cooking? Do they have plots where Sokka is so tired of being nice to everyone and always pretending to be happy regardless of the shit happening around/with him, and Zuko is the only one who allows him to unleash his hate on the world, which is somehow the true Sokka's character? Because, despite having a limited knowledge about zutara dynamic as well, I've seen the things listed above pretty often in fics about Zuko and Katara, and literally never – in fics about Zuko and Sokka. I also haven't seen the catacombs scene or "The Southern Raiders" rewritten in any way with Sokka in Katara's place. Do such things even exist? Are they popular? Seems not, but I am not an expert, so if you know this stuff, please share, I need to cringe sometimes.

Also the overall zutara attitude looks like something "this pairing should be canon, look how meaningful it is, it carries the whole narrative, all the themes, all the symbolism, they are destined for each other, etc.", while zukka is more like "these two both can be very smart and very stupid, and it's fun imagining them together". So zukka doesn't even need dynamic from zutara, it will just be of no use.

If you were talking about ambassador-of-the-water-tribe-in-the-fire-nation or fire-lord's-consort or arranged-marriage type of things, I am sorry, no pairing "owns" that. Similar things might exist for any pairing where one of participants is royal and the other is an important foreigner. Or are you referring to wedding necklaces? Katara is not the only one who is allowed to wear it. I understand that zutara became popular earlier and zukka later, but it doesn't mean projecting. If these plots/tropes – not a dynamic, but at least all this stuff I have seen in both pairings – work well (or very badly) for zutara, they work just as well (or as badly) for zukka. Seriously, two characters in the pairing marrying each other is not something that haven't existed before Atla.

If you meant something that I haven't mentioned here, please, tell me what you were talking about because I am really confused with this phrase of yours.

X

[yiangchen]

i know people are really hoping for zutara in the live action, and as much as i would love them ending up together in book 3 or being hinted at, really all i need is for them to fix k/ataang's romantic storyline. aang having a crush on katara in book 1 and 2 is honestly really cute. it's not until book 3 that it takes a turn i don't like that hinders their development as individual characters. so...all i'm saying is that if they can just focus on their friendship in book 3, and then maybe have a flashforward a few years and they're together, i honestly would not be mad at it. it's not that i think k/ataang couldn't work. i've never said that. it's just how they went about it that doesn't work for me. i will always prefer zutara, but if they write k/ataang in a different way, that's honestly fine. friends being just friends when they're younger and then later developing feelings and ending up together when they're older literally happens all of the time. it would be so wholesome. i couldn't be mad about that. m/aiko on the other hand.......well, let's just that they can still be together and be toxic, i just hope that they don't randomly get back together in the finale. i just don't see any universe where those two make sense. i feel like the whole point of their relationship is to show how wrong they are for each other. it's like they weren't meant to end up together but...they do??? for some reason???

[kidcaroline]

since when do y'all zk shippers care what the writers and bryke say?

You didn't care when they said zutara was toxic and never meant to happen, your ship won’t last, that the catacombs scene was never meant to be romantic, that zuko was a bad influence to katara and that aang isn’t a bad father

pick and choose i guess

[sokkastyles]

Zutara Month Day 30: Time Loop

The night after Zuko takes them to Ember Island, Katara wakes up in the middle of the night, and decides to take a walk on the dock. While she is there, a spirit speaks to her from the water, a small, silvery fish with a long, serpentine tail, whispering in the moonlight.

The spirit tells her that it overheard her earlier, saying she didn't know whether she was strong or weak for not killing Yon Rah. It also heard quite a bit more of the conversation, and tells her that it has an offer for her.

"You are wondering whether that boy," it says, inclining its scaled head towards the beach house, and for just a moment she thinks it's talking about Zuko, until the spirit continues. "The current Avatar, you wonder whether he would forgive you if you had made a different choice."

The spirit offers Katara the chance to find out her true strength, and the truth of how Aang feels about her. The next day, she finds herself waking to an endless loop, repeating the day she and Zuko went after Yon Rah.

It ends when she realizes that Aang will judge her no matter what choice she makes. Even in the loops where she chooses forgiveness, or not to seek out the Southern Raiders at all, she feels herself diminished in Aang's eyes, somehow, even as she gives him what he wants.

It's worse when she makes herself kill, when she has to experience her own death, only to wake up again at the beginning as if it had never happened. She watches Zuko die for her, trying to save her. Every single time, she comes back to Aang's judgement, feeling no more certain about the strength of her own choices than she was the first time.

It's coming back on Appa without Zuko that makes her realize what it is she's truly meant to learn. She knows the route by now to his family's vacation home on Ember Island, even though he would never take her there in this timeline. She sits alone on the dock, and weeps. Below her, a silvery fish with a long tail watches her closely.

She wakes up, restored to her true timeline. She goes with the gaang to see a terrible play, and watches as Zuko dies again onstage.

The next morning, when the rest of them are having fun in the sun, she feels again that pang of absence, and knows now what it is that makes her strong. She goes back up to the house and asks him to come down to the beach with her.