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I love you in every universe…

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okay i’ve had fucking enough of this so let’s clear something up right now: the fire nation did not colonize the southern water tribe.

here is the literal fucking definition of colonization:

see the common thread there? settling.

as in, people from the colonizing country have to actually live in, and establish control over the local government and people of the country being colonized.

as established in show canon, the fire nation did not send anyone to live in the southern water tribe. the fire nation did not establish its own form of government in the southern water tribe. the fire nation did not depose the existing leadership of the southern water tribe, set up a puppet ruler, or otherwise exert any form of political, social or religious control over the people of the southern water tribe. what the fire nation did do was commit genocide against the southern waterbenders.

the only country that the fire nation colonized in atla was the earth kingdom, but somehow, i rarely see the colonizer argument applied to jin/zuko, suki/zuko or toph/zuko. sokka/zuko is one of the most popular ships in the fandom despite the fact that…. *checks notes* sokka is also from the southern water tribe, a place zuko supposedly colonized. funny, i don’t see anyone hating on zu/kka for that though.

zuko and katara are not a colonizer/colonized ship in the show, and neither is the dynamic between their countries reminiscent of our reality. zuko and katara are not based on real people, the way j*hn smith and pocahontas were. there is no real history of war or colonialism between the people they were inspired by (the Chinese/Japanese and the Inuit respectively).

what is real is the terrible, horrific history of colonization. what is real was my people having their food stolen by the british & dying in the millions from famine. what is real was my home being conquered by the japanese because england colonized my country, forced it to depend almost entirely on them & then left it to suffer when they lost.

colonization is not a cute little buzzword you get to throw around to disparage any ship you don’t personally like. if you’re uncomfortable with zutara, that’s your prerogative, but for the love of god please open a fucking dictionary before you decide to (inaccurately) compare the brutal, bloody reality of one of the worst aspects of our history to the relationship between two fictional characters.

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oh toph you will always be iconic

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Why I feel like Ka/taang is one-sided, despite textual evidence 

ATLA does try to convince us that Katara has romantic feelings for Aang. For example: she seems thoughtful when she realizes that Aang is a powerful bender; she’s offended that he didn’t want to kiss her in the Cave of Two Lovers; she gets jealous when Sokka says On Ji and Aang look good together.

So…what’s wrong with anti-Kataangers? Do we just lack media comprehension? 

To be clear, on their own, these gestures can indicate romantic interest. But at the same time, we have stuff like “Aang is a sweet little guy, like Momo.” We have her ambivalent facial expression after he kisses her before the eclipse, and her hedging during Ember Island Players, and her anger when he kisses her anyway. In the context of these conflicting cues, Katara’s possibly romantic reactions can absolutely be interpreted in a different way, because: 

Acknowledging a friend as a potential romantic interest is not the same as actually being romantically interested in them. (Imo this is something young women struggle with, due to a combination of romance-centrism and heteronormativity that make women feel like they should be in romantic relationships, and that boys and girls who share intimate and deep feelings for one another must be romantically into each other) 

Wanting someone to find you desirable is not the same as desiring that person. (Which is something a lot of women, especially young women, struggle with. Remember all the discourse around Cat Person back in 2017?) 

Being jealous when someone flirts with your friend is not the same as wanting to be with your friend. (Especially when you see your friends as family, or if you’re accustomed to a specific type of devotion from that friend. It is jealousy, and it is possessiveness, but it doesn’t always arise from romantic feelings) 

Growing up in a patriarchal society means that your desires are always filtered through what men want from you, sometimes in an abstract male gaze-y way, and sometimes in a very visceral and interpersonal way when a boy wants you specifically. And Katara’s reactions are just that — reactions. Reactions to what other people — including Aunt Wu, Sokka, Aang himself — have insinuated about her and Aang. She’s not really proactive in her interest in Aang: we don’t really see Aang, romantically, from Katara’s POV. Under the framework of “Katara is reacting to a romantic prospect she’s kind of uncertain about,” it is completely plausible — and indeed likely — that she would sometimes act in ways that indicate romantic interest, in addition to moments where she indicates the opposite. 

Ka/taang shippers often bring up other evidence, like Katara’s despair when Azula hits Aang with lightning, or how protective she is of him when Zuko joins the Gaang. The thing is, these pieces of evidence aren’t necessarily indicative of romantic love. The fact that Katara genuinely loves Aang makes the whole thing more complicated, not less, because — especially at that age, especially when Aang is twelve years old and grew up in a sex-segregated society of monks — it is really difficult to tell the difference between platonic love and romantic love. Their mutual devotion is layered and complex yet straightforward in its sincerity. What was not straightforward, until the last five minutes of the show, is whether this devotion on Katara’s end is romantic. The romantic arc for Katara and Aang is not really an arc, as Sneezy discusses in this classic ZK video. Katara actually becomes more conflicted over time and we never see an event that clarifies her feelings. She seems more interested in him in The Headband than on the Day of the Black Sun, and she has never been more hostile to his romantic overtures than in the penultimate episode. 

And in light of this, it’s pretty easy for fans to fill in the blanks with a different interpretation: maybe Katara’s weird expression after their kiss at the invasion means she didn’t enjoy it; maybe the kiss made her realize that she doesn’t actually feel that way about Aang; maybe against her will and her better judgement, she’s developing feelings for another person, a person who hurt her and whom she fervently tried to hate until he pulled off what is in my opinion the greatest grovel of all time in the form of a life-changing field trip. Maybe. Am I saying that Zutara has more romantic interactions than Ka/taang? Of course not. But ironically, the lack of romantic interactions means that it’s not inherently one-sided, the way Ka/taang became in the latter half of season 3.

I’m not arguing that Katara’s unequivocally not into Aang. Obviously the text declares that she is, because they get married and have kids. But I am saying that there’s a very good reason that so many people, especially women, see Katara’s interest in Aang as ambiguous. It’s not because we can’t pick up “subtle” hints of growing affection. It’s because we know not all affection is romantic, and it’s really easy for someone else’s insistent romantic intentions to muddle what you want.

P.S. I first started thinking about these topics (platonic vs romantic love, desiring someone vs wanting to be desired, etc) in the context of compulsory heterosexuality, a term describing how queer women contort themselves into relationships with men even if they’re not really into men. I saw a post a few days ago joking about why so many queer women seem to be into Zutara. I wonder if part of the reason is because as queer women, we are very sensitive to the ways in which we can talk ourselves into wanting things we don’t actually want, and Katara’s romantic interest in Aang can be easily seen that way. 

#antikataang

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i have always wondered what happened behind the scenes between the show and and the comics. in the show, while s3 definitely relegated her to trophy for the main character to win in the end, she still was competent and her own person. the comics though? the writers actively hated her and it always felt like a very personal 'fuck you' from the writers to the (female) katara fans. there is such a huge difference in how they treated her, it still breaks my heart. she deserved so much better.

I think it’s telling that so many Katara fans take her post-ATLA lobotomy arc very personally. So many young girls loved her, looked up to her, saw her as the epitome of Girl Power TM because when ATLA was airing, that was the pinnacle of pop culture feminism. And that’s great, honestly, because she’s an amazing role model.

Let’s not forget that ATLA, despite its all-ages appeal, is a franchise for children. Unlike adult media, children’s media should have morals, and role models, and aspirational narratives. Katara is more than a fictional character: she’s a fictional character carrying the burden of not only representation, but aspiration. We want girls to look up to Katara and relate to her and put themselves in her shoes (and that’s why I never got the “self insert” argument wrt Zutara — if girls relate enough to Katara that they want to be like her, and shipping Zutara is a manifestation of that, how is that a problem?). We want girls to stand up for what’s right, to be brave, to embrace their own power and their agency. Which is what happened in most of the original ATLA, like you said.

and that’s why Katara’s later arc is such a slap in the face, because here’s a fictional character that so many girls looked up to…and now the narrative is going to relegate her to, what, a girl who follows her bf around and never does anything of note? A woman whose biggest contributions to the world happened when she was fourteen? A woman who begins to inexplicably take the backseat, again and again, whether it’s supporting her friends or maintaining world peace or even just making sure some groupies don’t hit on her boyfriend?

To be clear, I don’t give a fuck about the “what about the children!!!!” argument for most media, because most of it is just pearl clutching and purity politics, but children’s media is the one place where actually, you should ask, what message are we sending to the children? And apparently the answer here is “fuck you girls, no matter how accomplished and cool you were, you get married and have children and never do anything of note again. Leading a country? Saving people? Forget about it!”

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER (2005–2008)

Sokka

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The story arcs of Avatar - part 2 Twitter | Instagram

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER S3E18 | Sozin’s Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King

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The reason I'm so vulgar in regards to Aang's crush on Katara is that his crush on her is very superficial. He thinks she's pretty and nice, but he makes no effort to get to know or understand her. He doesn't accept the parts of her that he doesn't like.

We get the male gaze from him a couple of times at Katara. He clearly finds her attractive. Katara is confirmed to be considered attractive in universe. She gives him emotional support. And then...that's it.

Aang doesn't care to find out what happened to Katara's mom, one of if not the most single important event in her life. He always gets surprised when she gets mad at something. He hates the food and culture that she loves so much. He doesn't respect her boundaries and kisses her twice without her consent. He keeps trying to talk for her when she's angry. And he expects her to do the work for their "relationship." After he kisses her, he's upset that SHE didn't talk to HIM about their "relationship."

Just because he kissed her without her consent once, he thinks they're exclusive. He's a literal child who doesn't have the maturity to handle a romantic relationship.

Aang wants the beautiful image of Katara. He wants that pretty face, those big blue eyes, that body, those long legs, those hips, the chest, and the hair that is just so manageable.

He has no interest in the complex, strong, hurt, angry, and caring person that Katara actually is.

I'm calling it like I see it. Aang doesn't actually like Katara; he's just really horny for her. There's a difference.

#antikataang #aang critical

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ᴢᴜᴋᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴᴄʟᴇ ɪʀᴏʜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘɪʀɪᴛ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. 🐼

ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴏʟᴅ ᴅᴀʏs. 🌋

ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴊᴀsᴍɪɴᴇ ᴛᴇᴀ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ. 🫖🍵

ᴢᴜᴋᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴀᴛᴀʀᴀ ᴅʀɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴊᴀsᴍɪɴᴇ ᴛᴇᴀ. 🫖🍵

ᴋᴀᴛᴀʀᴀ ɪs sᴇᴡɪɴɢ ᴏɴ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏᴛʜᴇs🧵🪡

ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʀᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴊᴏʏ.

☺️🫶🏻❤️

Beautiful fanart 🎨

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Reblog so everyone can hear what they need.

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER 2x19 ➢ The Guru

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i want 60 thousand votes by next thursday

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I tried everything to fill up the void that you left me with, my phantom.

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER 2x18 ➢ The Earth King

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ATLA If they were allowed to swear

part 8/??   [suggested by anonymous] [I’d love to hear suggestions for more]