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comradekatara · 1 year

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responding to @levitatingbiscuits reply here because this post is already way too fucking long and I am not subjecting your dashboards to all that, but I do think this conversation is interesting enough to continue it (albeit under the cut):

I agree that roach work’s comment was annoying, and if you were responding to that, I get why you said what you said. this person regularly adds replies to my posts that are completely unrelated to the original point I was making, effectively derailing my argument and getting a bunch of reblogs from their followers who don’t have the common sense to ignore their pointless (and in this case, editorializing) additions. but everyone reblogging my post with your addition attacked me in the notes, as if I had said/implied all that you were arguing against, when I quite literally did not. and they said some quite nasty things, as if I couldn’t see their comments! I don’t go seeking out ppl saying shit about me ever, but if you do it in my house, we’re gonna have a problem.

as for your points...

I 100% agree that defending katara against people who unfairly vilified her, especially during the [vomits] atla renaissance (netflix you will rue the day...) is justified! I quite literally said aloud just last night, “anyone who hates katara can die,” and I fully fucking meant it. I don’t know why you seem to think we don’t agree here. maybe because I don’t think the solution to combatting idiotic, racist & misogynistic fans is by extolling katara to the point where you can’t appreciate her for her flaws. her flaws make her who she is as much as her virtues, and I would never negate the depth of her character just because I love her. I don’t “stan” katara, I appreciate her as a character who inspired me as a child for her strength and growth and brilliance, who is stunningly well-written and compelling.

meanwhile, the older I get, the more I’ve come to appreciate sokka. yes, I too was obsessed with katara the moment she came onscreen, especially when she showed the full depth of her anger over sokka’s misogynistic comment. I’d literally never even seen misogyny addressed before, let alone been given permission to be angry with it. katara knows her worth, and that makes her so fucking important!!! and yes, I know what it’s like to raise misogynistic brothers; it’s a thankless job!

katara was immediately inspiring to me, but appreciating sokka and the full depth of his character has been something earned with time. i think it's incredibly easy to misread him, dismiss his underlying motivations, and just generally discard him for the sake of the more exciting and shiny characters (in my case katara, azula, toph, iroh. truly appreciating aang has also been something i needed to grow older to do, but i think the more my maternal instincts develop, the more i want to pinch his baby cheeks and wrap him up in a big hug and kiss his forehead and put him in my pocket... i digress). i have come to forgive sokka for his sexism, and even excuse it. does that mean i think katara isn't in the right to challenge patriarchal ideas? of course she fucking is! just because sokka was deeply misguided in his gender essentialist views for logical reasons (before meeting suki, that is) it's not like katara should excuse him for it. katara has every right to get mad, every time she gets mad, and i love that her anger is treated as a virtue, because it is! her anger is righteous and sympathetic and revolutionary. she is so fucking important.

by "delicate touch" i didn't mean "sokka isn't acting like an airport dad" because i would never deny his grumpiness. sokka can be a massive cunt most of the time, and i love that about him. he is a miserable, neurotic, curmudgeonly little freak, and frankly, that rules. i think we need more teenage jewish grandpa representation always.

^ literally sokka

i think by delicate touch (again, i wrote this post like 3 years ago, i don't even remember writing it) i just meant that as much as he does kvetch, he also knows how to engage them in a way that gets them to do what he wants. when he makes them go to the library, he frames it in their terms, as if he's taking a vacation (frankly, taking a vacation to a library is something i've actually done, and it was awesome, but we all know how their library excursion turned out, so, yknow). or just how the only time he ever actually even reveals like a fraction of his insecurities is in "sokka's master," because as much as he complains, he never actually wants to burden them with his internal problems (which is not why aang bottles up his shit, and i think we all know that). as much as he complains, he also tries as hard as possible to preserve their innocence whenever he can, especially when it comes to aang. he could've been way less indulgent of aang's antics, but he isn't, because he knows how important it is for aang to be a kid despite the enormous loss he's suffered. anyway, since i know how hard it is to wrangle twelve year olds and try to convince them to do something when they'd rather do something else, sokka is fucking jesus on the cross for that, and you can't change my mind.

and by "de facto chief" i don't mean that sokka was the one taking care of the whole tribe. obviously kanna and the other adults were the ones in charge of making sure the community functioned smoothly, because again, sokka was like thirteen, and thirteen years olds are fucking useless. what i meant was that sokka took what hakoda said to heart, and thus considered himself the first and last line of defense should the fire nation ever return. it's not remotely a reach to think sokka was prepared to die for katara, because a) his mother literally did and b) his father all but told him to? maybe he was just trying to placate his kid, because i really doubt hakoda would actually be in favor of letting his son get himself killed, but it's clear that sokka took that to heart in the way in which he prioritizes katara over everything else. also, it's clear that hakoda does respect sokka a lot. he calls him a "great warrior" and a "genius," and it's not in vain, sokka is those things! hakoda sees his son better than he sees himself.

and i would never claim that katara talks about her issues for attention or sympathy from others. that's absurd. anyone who does so is plain wrong. but empathizing with others isn't emotional labor, it's healing for her, it's cathartic. when she talks to haru, jet, zuko, hama, aang, etc. about her trauma, she's doing so from a place of healthy emotion and vulnerability wherein she is exchanging empathy between them, receiving comfort and comforting in return. sokka doesn't know how to do that, which is a shortcoming to be sure, but the fact that katara is so open about her trauma does signify that she never felt a need to bottle it up the way sokka clearly does. (i would argue sokka's arc in the entire "swamp" episode is about the spirits all but taunting him for being so repressed about his trauma, but that's for another post.)

sokka wanted a bag to carry supplies in, not because it was fashionable. he enjoys that the bag matches the belt he got from the earth rumble tournament (he had no intention of purchasing such a belt), but katara is the one who shows an interest in fashion. and to be clear, i'm not saying that sokka would immediately know how and what to forage in unfamiliar terrain; foraging is fucking hard, and that's when you already have any kind of guide. katara is definitely the one buying the groceries, i won't argue that. whenever sokka is in the vicinity of a grocer while wearing blue, they tend to dismiss him with outright hostility, while being much more sympathetic to katara. it's a running joke that throughout the earth kingdom adults are far kinder to katara than to sokka. but this isn't actually an issue when they're hiding out in the fire nation and both disguised in red, curious! i wonder why adults fed imperialist rhetoric their whole life might internalize the idea that a young water tribe girl is harmless whereas a water tribe boy is a threat to be treated with hostility... but yknow, it could also just be vibes. katara does generally have a more pleasant attitude. it could just be that. who can say!

as for "jet," as i've already stated, i don't think the gaang has a leader. but katara does grow to trust sokka's instincts more and more over the course of the show. and sokka only tells katara not to trust jet once he has evidence! he tells her that he beat up a harmless old man, and katara still takes jet's side, even though he's obviously lying. as for aang, i really don't think sokka's instincts not to trust a person who for all intents and purposes should not currently exist and suddenly waltzes into their life while ignoring their current reality are that contrived. katara thinks she's in a story that she is the narrator and hero of (which, metatextually speaking, is true), but sokka thinks he's in a war and is thus suspicious of magical little manic pixie dream boys. and not for nothing, aang does set off the fire nation flare that alerts zuko to the location of their village, so sokka's instincts were actually correct here, even if aang is of course an angel.

and katara calms aang down from the avatar state, what, twice? and once she's literally just talking to him from behind a rock. her act in "the desert" is 100% a testament to her bravery and the unique bond she shares with aang, i'm not denying that whatsoever. sokka simultaneously shields toph in this moment, which granted is far less dangerous than what katara does with aang, but is also a subtle moment that demonstrates the nature of his bond with her (i don't really have a point here, i just love aang & katara and sokka & toph's relationships). i don't remember katara comforting aang for burning her, i just remember her reasonably telling him that he can't let his guilt get in the way of learning firebending, and showing him that she's healed to calm him down. and the comics are stupid, so i'm not even gonna address this point. anyway. sokka does come to trust her to fight her own battles as the show goes on and she gets demonstrably stronger, but he still worries about her whenever she's in trouble, and would do anything to protect her. he's still her big brother.

katara's idealism is inspiring & beautiful & heroic. but yes, it is also naive. that's not even a bad thing! katara fighting to preserve her childhood wonder and innocence in the face of incalculable loss is deeply moving to me. aang and katara show sokka and toph how to become more awe-inspired and vulnerable over the course of the show. sokka never would've suggested a beach party in "sozin's comet" if not for aang and katara's influence. that's growth. but that doesn't mean that katara was right to trust zuko in the crystal catacombs, or that she was right to trust jet, or aunt wu, or hama. i understand why she trusts these people (especially jet and especially hama), and it's hardly a bad thing to see the potential good in everyone, but zuko's betrayal hits her so hard because she had mistakenly put so much faith in him right before he turned around and helped azula kill aang. of course she sees potential in both aang and zuko, though. she's the heart of the show, and they're both mirrors to her character in significant ways. sokka is not a part of this central thematic triad, and he doesn't care that he's in a story, he just wants to make sure that his friends and family don't get murdered. they have different narrative priorities, but katara's are admittedly much prettier.

also, of course sokka wouldn't say he sees himself as a sacrificial lamb. even if he realized this about himself (which i also don't think he does), he wouldn't say it. saying it would negate the entire point. but i do think it's justified by the text. katara clearly carries the guilt of knowing kya died for her, and it's what inspires her to try and be her own mother for herself and her family, and to be the best waterbender in the world. sokka doesn't have that guilt. while katara feels it her duty to remember, to carry on her mother's legacy so that her sacrifice was not in vain, sokka feels it his duty to repress, to tamp down any shred of humanity that is not relevant to the war and to making sure his sister isn't killed for who she is. i don't think it's a reach for him to want to emulate his parents in this regard, since he clearly idealizes them and their bravery in defending their home, their culture, and their family.

no, i don't think sokka acts like a mom or a dad or even a wacky uncle (a grandpa, maybe). my point was to illustrate how neither of them are parents. they may try to emulate their parents in many regards, but they are still both very much kids, who happen have both seen far too much for their years. and katara mourns kya differently (more, as she claims, which i believe to be true) because her death was deeply personal to katara, in a way that it just wasn't for sokka. like i said, sokka represses his trauma. he claims that he thinks about yue all the time, and yet he barely ever talks about her. a defining moment in his life, which is hakoda leaving him behind, is only revealed to us in a flashback that occurs while he's sitting quietly by the fire watching over katara and aang as they sleep. katara's way of mourning kya was to try to become her in her guilt over her sacrifice. do you really think sokka doesn't understand the implications of this?

sure, he dismisses the domestic labor she does, which sucks of him for sure, though i'd argue it's just as much his cerebral stem bro attitude that prioritizes ideas and theory over those little manual tasks as it is straight up sexism. but yeah, it sucks. i know very few men who appreciate the work that goes into those "feminine chores," and it's absolutely because what is categorized as feminine is devalued by society. but yes, i think if the binary established is between "mom" and "servant", sokka sees katara as someone who is simply better at feminine labor, and that's not great of him, but katara does enjoy being feminine, so i understand why he'd make that assumption, seeing as the only thing she doesn't seem to enjoy is doing his laundry for him, which, yknow, checks out. do your own laundry, sokka.

again, katara has a more personal connection to the events surrounding kya's death. it's why her saying "you didn't love her the way i did" is both deeply hurtful, and something she clearly believes to be true. what she really means is, "you didn't grieve her the way i did," and it's because sokka doesn't feel like his very existence was responsible for her death. "the southern raiders" is a deeply personal episode for katara, and zuko is the one who understands her trauma, more intimately than sokka can, because kya did not sacrifice herself for him, but ursa did with zuko.

and yes, katara's seemingly throwaway line about how she's lost her childhood innocence hits really hard. it's why she's so immediately drawn to aang. because she wants to have fun again, but no one is there to encourage her, certainly not her depressed as fuck brother who only cares about being a better warrior. aang and katara inspire each other to preserve their innocence and they get to be kids together, which is what makes their friendship such a beautiful thing.

katara has a lot of skills and roles sokka doesn't. he can't midwife, he can't heal (obviously), he can't shop for groceries in the earth kingdom without being abused by vendors. he could probably cook and sew if he set his mind to it (we never actually see katara clean, but we do see sokka clean appa) but katara seems pretty confident in those areas, so why step on her toes. but sokka also has a lot of skills and roles katara does not. he reads maps, makes schedules, strategizes in battles, helps invent new technology, is able to fight without bending, is able to sense red flags that katara refuses to see, etc etc. they balance each other out, both emotionally and practically. considering that they basically raised each other, and didn't have parents to do things for them, it makes sense that they each have their own skillset, and function as a codependent team.

"the desert" puts her in a new situation to show that she's the group's heart. not just the group's heart, but the show's heart. she is the narrative center. that's what i mean by "the desert" being a trial for katara. it's not that no one else will step up, it's that they can't. aang is in the first stages of experiencing an immense grief, toph is feeling guilty and scared and lost, and sokka's attempt to quench their thirst put him out of commission for the rest of the day (though granted, he was trying to be helpful). katara is always there. she will never give up on people who need her. that's a core tenet of her character, and it is what makes her not only so kind and giving, but also a revolutionary leader. it's why i think she should go on to be chief, because while sokka wants to be like hakoda, he's not actually a warrior at heart, but katara is an inspiration to many, and her connection with people and the way she sees the best in them is what makes her the pride and joy of her people, just as much as her waterbending skill.

toph and katara are both in the wrong in the chase. katara comes from a communal society where everyone pitches in, so she sees toph as a spoiled brat for not helping her. toph came from a family that acted as if she was useless and helpless, so she thinks by letting every member of the group carry their own weight, she is affording them the basic respect her parents did not afford to her. it's a classic miscommunication, which escalates because katara and toph are both very loud, assertive middle schoolers who don't enjoy compromising their beliefs. they eventually do, which we see illustrated in the spa episode. but katara clearly wants to go to the spa and enjoys every second of it, she's just taking toph with her because she thinks toph needs a shower. for the most part, they both have a good time, katara because she enjoys feminine activities and relaxing, toph because she likes mud and spending time with her friends, and both of them because they got to do violence to some mean girls.

aang also gets mad at toph because he's prone to take katara's side in arguments, and also she insults appa, which is the final straw for him, even though toph is fully right about appa's shedding being how azula tracks them. toph leaves because she thought she was joining people who would make her feel respected, but they don't. katara literally mocks toph for being blind. i also got bullied for being disabled when i was their age, and i don't blame toph for not taking that shit. it's downright cruel. iroh helps her adjust her perspective, but ultimately sokka is the one who makes her feel most welcomed and seen, and while she loves katara and aang, it's clear that sokka is her best friend. he's also the only one who doesn't interfere in their fight in "the chase" (because he knows there's no winning against two extremely stubborn, sleep-deprived powerhouses).

katara didn't sacrifice her childhood for the sake of her family, her childhood was robbed from her. there's a crucial difference. she doesn't sacrifice her own emotional needs to comfort others, she engages in fruitful dialogues. the only person she actually sacrifices anything for is aang, you're right, and i do think that's extremely important as an aspect of her character. she believes in the power of the avatar, and she loves aang deeply. it's why if aang is the soul of the show, she is the heart.

zuko isn't a dad to aang, that's just a ridiculous thing to say, sorry. i don't think sokka is a dad to aang either, if anything they're brothers. zuko acts as a brother to aang and katara too. he's their older, grumpy, kind of an airhead, kind of a jerk brother. sort of like sokka 2: electric boogaloo, except unlike sokka, he's a wide-eyed idealist just like they are! idk where i was going with this. my point is i love this trio. lol

you're right to criticize what roach works said, but you were wrong not to specify the target of your criticism. just because someone adds a dumbass comment on my post doesn't mean i endorse it. and just because i make a post appreciating sokka doesn't mean i don't love katara. i mean, i think it should be pretty obvious that i love her a lot. it seems like we grew up in fairly similar circumstances, and while i know what it's like to grow up with a cerebral math bro misogynist brother who gets far more credit for doing far less work and is utterly fucking useless at taking care of himself, that doesn't mean i resent sokka, a fictional character, for whatever commonalities they may share.

katara and sokka are both flawed, multi-dimensional, well-written fictional characters, and i've given a lot of thought to their motivations, nuances, and the unspoken symbolic undertones of their dynamic and its relation to the themes of the narrative. we don't have to agree on what every unspoken detail signifies, but i don't appreciate being misinterpreted, and i especially don't appreciate the implication that i don't love katara, because i absolutely fucking do, with my whole heart, and anyone can see that. she means a lot to me!!! her virtues, her strengths, her flaws, and her failures. she doesn't have to be perfect to be amazing. in fact, if she were perfect, i doubt she'd be amazing at all.