#lok katara deserves better

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Make Rohan a Bender but NOT an AIRBENDER

I know Pema wants Rohan to be a non-bender like her. But what would be cool is if he turned out to be a WATERBENDER.

Imagine how happy Katara would be! Kya it seems will never settle down and give Katara a grandkid. And Bumi became an airbender due to that dumb harmonic convergence crap (screw Korra btw). Rohan being a waterbender would force Tenzin to acknowledge the water tribe part of his heritage for once! Also maybe Katara could teach Rohan too :). Katara deserves to have a waterbending grandkid damnit and to be more involved in her own freaking family! Give LOK Katara some love please!

#lok katara is not my katara #look how they massacred my queen #atla katara #lok katara deserves better #katara deserved better #give katara a waterbending grandkid please! #legend of korra #lok critical #korra critical #harmonic convergence #is trash #cool idea but still trash #bumi ii #tlok bumi #kya ii #kya lok #tenzin #lok rohan #gaang grandkids #tenzin is part watertribe but it's never acknowledged #mixed heritage

[sapphic-agent]

I can't believe how mixed-up the fandom (and the LOK writers) get Katara and Zuko's characters.

I want to make this clear, just because she grew up during the war, doesn't mean Katara was forced to fight. I honestly don't know where people get this from. Her cultural norms very blatantly dictate for her not to. It was something she vehemently struggled against to be able to do. It was always her initiative and choice to fight because that's who Katara is; a warrior.

Hell, she's even reveled in dominating her opponents and showing off her skills in battle

But you know who was forced to fight? You know whose skewed concepts of honor dictated him to fight? You know whose society urged him towards participating in war? You know who was the most at-ease and relaxed working peacefully in his uncle's tea shop?

The entire concept of Zuko's character is that he doesn't easily thrive as a warrior and doesn't enjoy fighting if he can avoid it. One of the key things he learns post-redemption is that fire isn't just a force of destruction, it's also life and passion. And that's what allows him to be a better firebender later.

So it makes no sense that Katara gave up on fighting before Zuko. And don't misunderstand, both of them should have been still relatively active (because Zuko is a warrior too and the point of this post is not to claim he isn't). But between the two of them, Zuko would have been the one to embrace peace and retire

#katara deserved better #zuko deserved better #? #not really since out of the gaang he got the best deal #give katara her statue #AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING #if anyone would be “humble” about a statue it would have been zuko #katara would have loved that shit #i still can't believe they didn't give my girl her due respect #that one thing almost ruined lok for me #lok critical #i still love it #but they did katara dirty #katara #zuko

[wilcze-kudly]

Avatar Fandom!

Tell me your thoughts surrounding Katara and her parentification, how the fandom treats her as a character much older than she actually is.

#this is for a rant #I'm particularly curious about the opinion of woc #katara #avatar #pro katara #katara deserved better #atla #avatar: the last airbender #the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #lok #legend of korra #tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #atlok

[the-badger-mole]

Love your posts! Could you go into more depth on how Aang disrespects Katara’s/Watertribe culture?

There isn't much depth to go into, because the show doesn't touch on the Southern Water Tribe culture very much. And why would they, am I right? It's only 40% of their main heroes' culture. But what little they do give us is mostly shown through Aang's perspective, and Aang makes it clear that he isn't a fan of some of the most major components. He's disrespectful about the food and about the artifacts that come from a culture that mostly hunts their food. Bato of the Water Tribe is the most egregious display of his contempt, when he goes into Bato's tent as a guest and is sly and snide about the furs and antlers on display. That honestly bothers me more than Aang's reaction to the sea prunes.

There are a lot of people who defend Aang because he's young (his age as a defense is carrying a lot), but here's the thing. As with so many other things that he does, it's never walked back. We never see him come back to his attitude about the culture the girl he allegedly loves comes from, and think, hm...well, they are different from what I'm used to, but that doesn't make them less worthy of respect. I would not be surprised to hear that at some point in the comics, Aang makes a big show of loving the SWT culture, but first of all, Legend of Korra exists. I've already pointed out how so many things in that series points to Aang playing favorites among his children, and to the Kataang family dynamic being really unhealthy. I've also probably already pointed out how divorced Tenzin is from anything pertaining to his SWT heritage. There is no sign anywhere on Air Bender Island that he's mixed heritage. And why is that? Because his father never embraced his mother's heritage. Secondly, at one point in the comics, Aang is in support of the NWT soft colonizing the SWT in the name of "unifying" the two tribes...even though they sit at literally the opposite ends of the world from each other, so how does that even make sense? Still, even in the main series, he shows a lot more respect for the NWT culture than the SWT (or at the very least, he isn't as blatantly disrespectful). Bryke can do whatever they want to in the comics, it still ends with LoK happening.

#atla #anti aang #anti kataang #lok makes it clear that aang never did walk back his disrespect of swt culture #katara deserved better

[jumumo]

There's something so sinister about the fact that Katara is shunted away from the story when she should be way more involved in Korra's arc. Korra's seemingly main conflict is her sheltered life with her fiery passion for enacting justice and learning to temper it with diplomacy. Who's an old person in the series that has dealt with injustice, who always took direct action to correct them in any way she can and had moved to a more diplomatic role once there wasn't an active war?

Katara fits so well in Korra's story it's not even funny. Imagine Korra having a mentor from the devastated but resilient Southern Water Tribes that was the THE last water bender at a point and can absolutely do girl talk with? Imagine Korra having a tangible connection to the history of her Tribe. Imagine writing Korra to have connections to the place that was the next most affected by the war. Imagine writing a Korra where that mattered to her character.

The way she was canonically written, she don't really give a damn. And that's heartbreaking. And most likely a blind spot with the writers. Especially when passing down cultural traditions and respecting elders is one the most important things to happen to communities where there were attempts to erase them.

#Legend of Korra #LoK #Avatar The Last Airbender #Atla #Korra #Katara #Katara Deserved Better #Korra too #yall talk about Katara losing cultural identity all the time in the ship wars #Meanwhile the writers went to lengths to make Korra low key lose hers from the first episode #Once you start looking at it side ways #It's not about what's there but what's missing #I have other qualms about LoK #But this just hit me in an existential way #Late Night Thoughts #Should I put the anti tags?

[punkeropercyjackson]

I'd believe Zutara shippers when they say they don't ship it for a colonizer x colonized fantasy if they didn't do arranged marriages aus,call the Fire Nation feminist in the same breath they insult Air Nomads,defang and whitefeminize Katara to make her perfect for Zuko instead of a native punk girl and also spew anti-biracial propaganda in the form of sexual degradation towards her for marrying and having kids with Aang,use only western norms and general writing for a japanese man and a bunch of other things that fall under colonization fantasy by definition.Also the excessive buzzword usage and self-claims of maturity over discoursing with minorities of all ages for no real reason over a 2000s cartoon and then epically failing at gaslighting everybody to think they didn't do anything.So i'll stop being mean to Zutara shippers if they stop being child hating conservatives or if i stop having backbone or if i realize i'm not actually trans and autistic and afrolatino and just have internalized misogyny and a victim complex and melanin that should be washed out for aesthetic purposes

#anti zutara #zuko #katara #pro zuko #pro katara #katara deserved better #aang #tenzin #kya lok #bumi lok #pro kataang #kataang defense squad #t4t kataang #dadko #aang and zuko #pro aang #aang defense squad #pro zukka #pro maiko #pro ty luko #pro jetko #atla geekery #punk katara #bi katara #trans katara #autistic katara #genderfluid aang #audhd aang #pastel punk aang #summerposting

[burst-of-iridescent]

After all, I love Katara very much, and if she is given due respect in the new film, if her caring side is shown (according to rumors, will be a little Bumi in the new film, and I want to see Katara as a caring mother!) and at the same time they will show scenes of fights with her, show her skills as a waterbender, as a warrior, show her as a loyal friend, I, as Katara stan, will be very happy!

Even if the mistakes are corrected in the film, and there is a caring, loving kataang in it, I will only be happy, even though I am a zutara fan. Because I love Katara, and if it is canonically confirmed that she is happily married, I will be happy for her. My heart will finally find peace.

the problem with this is that the legend of korra exists.

and it tells us enough of what happened to katara and her family to know that there was no way her marriage could be truly happy. not when two of katara's children have no connection to her culture. not when her oldest son and daughter still display deep-seated resentment towards their father for his favouritism, which their mother somehow allowed to happen. not when katara doesn't have a statue, is known as a healer instead of the fighter she wanted to be, and all-in-all appears to be a lobotomized version of the character we knew in atla.

no truly happy marriage results in such a drastic change of personality, or in that kind of troubled family dynamic. i'm sure the atla movie will try to tell us that katara and aang are happy together, but everything else post-atla shows us the opposite: that it's a deeply flawed relationship with a lot of problems that were clearly never solved. you cannot retcon something like that, and given that bry.ke don't even seem to recognize the problems with their depictions of katara and the kat.aang family in lok, i doubt they'll know what to fix, even if they could.

no matter how many cool scenes we get of katara fighting or being badass, none of that is going to erase where she ultimately ends up. that's the problem with any new atla material involving katara. unless you ignore LOK as canon, the end-point is fixed, and so her life cannot be turned into anything but a tragedy.

#anti lok #like genuinely if you have hope for this movie i am happy for you #i have just seen too much of bry.ke's shit to agree #plus like what's the point. you can't change lok. you can't change what inevitably happens to katara #even if they give her a statue in the new movie #it won't change the fact that she does NOTHING of relevance to the world by the time of lok #apart from banning bloodbending #which is in and of itself just a constraining of her own power #anti bryke #anti kataang #once again screaming from the rooftops that katara deserved better

[miss-sweetea-pie]

Been thinking about that new avatar movie and bestie I’m scared that Katara is just going to give us stepford wives energy the whole time. And everyone’s just gonna be like wow such a cute couple they are so wholesome.

#anti kataang #katara #katara deserved better #anti bryke #anti lok #zutara #I have very little faith in this movie #what if she’s not even a main character #I dont trust bryke to not ruin this

[fancylala4]

Can katara “stans” on twitter just admit to themselves that they are sexist? These dumb ass arguments for katara being a sad old lady who only heals in lok just proves they are. Especially when franchise introduced the white lotus, which is full of old men and they were the strongest fighters on the show. So the excuse that she’s too old and weak to fight is bs.

#mine #anti atla fandom #anti bryke #katara deserved better #anti lok #lok critical

[stardust948]

Co-worker: I'm hesitant about watching Legend of Korra. I really hate what they did to Katara in Last Airbender.

Me: Oh, it gets worse.

Co-worker: How could it possibly get worse?!

Me:

#oh honey you got a storm comin' #atla #anti kataang #anti lok #katara #katara deserved better #irl #work #meme #atla meme

[perfectlypanda]

“By giving Aang, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph statues, LoK signals that these characters did important things with their lives that had a big, positive impact on people. By omitting a Katara statue, LoK implies, intentionally or unintentionally, that unlike her friends, Katara didn’t do anything important enough in her life to merit a statue commemorating her or her accomplishments.”  (via “Katara and the “Trophy Wife” Trope as Depicted in Legend of Korra”)

Katara deserved better.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #lok critical #katara deserved better #katara #bryke critical #panda gifs #look I made a thing

[fanfic-lover-girl]

LOK did Sokka and Katara dirty

Nowadays, I forget LOK even exists but I realized how LOK did the water tribe siblings dirty in opposite ways.

For Sokka, we know he had a great political career. He helped to protect Korra from the Red Lotus and he served as a councilman in Republic City. And he has the statue to prove it. But what about his personal life?? What happened to Suki? Did he have a family?? Was Sokka's life career-driven with no loving home life?

For Katara, her legacy is mainly about her family. Besides the bloodbending law and teaching Korra, there is hardly anything else of note that Katara did. She's a world-class healer but where is the evidence for that? She was not even present at Yakon's blood-bending trial. While Zuko and Toph get to be badasses in their old age, Katara is just a lonely old woman tucked away at the South Pole, not even lifting a finger when her family is in danger.

So Sokka got the better end of the deal!

What little we got of Sokka painted him in a good light. He was an accomplished politician so at least that facet of his life was explored well. Meanwhile, Katara doesn't seem to interact with her own grandkids enough for Meelo to recognize her :(. It's bad enough that she wasn't present for a high-profile bloodbending trial, but Katara couldn't be bothered to attend Jinora's master ceremony. So Katara fails at family too. Poor Katara. Look what Bryke did to you Queen. Bryke couldn't even give you a waterbending grandchild as a token of appreciation :(

#anti lok #atla sokka #atla katara #lok katara is not my katara #water tribe siblings #anti bryke #katara deserved better #katara's character arc is just depressing

[sapphic-agent]

Rewriting the Gaang in LOK

Basically how I would have written the adult Gaang. Pretend the comics as they are don't exist.

Katara: Breaks up with Aang sometime post-finale to do some soul-searching. Travels the world on her own and sees how people are struggling after the war. After talking (beating) some sense into a few government officials, she realizes that the best way to help people post-war is through politics. She becomes an (unofficial) ambassador, helping and negotiating aid for small villages that tend to get overlooked and does this for a number of years. She joins up with Zuko and Aang after they found the United Republic of Nations and becomes Councilwoman Katara, representative of the Southern Water Tribe. She eventually gets voted chairwoman due to her passion to improve the lives of the citizens (and because her fellow council members are too scared to vote against her). She heals on the side when she needs to, but only out of obligation since she can't stand to see people suffer; she puts much more effort into getting raising funds for a hospital full of healers. A few years later, Haru moves to Republic City and is just as awestruck by her as he was the day they met (the pornstache has been removed by divine intervention). They meet up a couple of times; for drinks after work, walks around the city, and they even attend a few galas together. They eventually start dating and get married two years later. They have their first daughter Kya (who's an earthbender), a son- Tyro (who's a nonbender), and another daughter Suma (who's a waterbender). They live a happy, peaceful (if you could call Katara stopping the occasional criminal before the police peaceful) life together where their children are well-loved and as part of the Southern Water Tribe as they are the Earth Kingdom. Aang's death hits their family hard, but they all come together and support each other. Katara personally mentors Korra, even convincing her family move to Republic City so that the Avatar knows the people she's meant to protect (the White Lotus protests, they fail❤️). She teaches Korra Waterbending, but also teaches her empathy and appreciation for other cultures (and that sometimes, selfish world leaders need a good punch to the face, a lesson Korra took to heart even though she absolutely wasn't supposed to see it).

Aang: Is torn up after Katara breaks up with him. He's hurt and confused and doesn't know what to do with himself. He retreats to Ba Sing Se where he talks with Iroh and learns that he unfairly pushed his feelings onto Katara. Wracked with guilt at hurting someone he cares about so much, Aang realizes that he has a lot of growing up to do. He focuses on his job as the Avatar, working closely with Zuko, Kuei, and the other leaders to heal the world after the war. The first time he sees Katara again is when she arrives to help with the United Republic of Nations. He apologizes to her and Katara forgives him, promising they'll always be best friends. His role in Republic City is more or less the same, though at some point he develops feelings for Toph. But he fears doing to her what he had done to Katara, so he tries to ignore them. But Toph, never one to beat around the bush, point-blank asks him if he's ever gonna man-up and confess to her. They start dating, and Lin comes a few months later as a surprise. They have their hiccups- Aang especially needing to reconcile with the fact that there's a chance she might not be an Airbender- but they manage to resolve them. Lin is an Earthender, of course, but Aang loves his little girl to pieces (which is good, because Toph would kill him if she suspected otherwise). Tenzin is born three years later, an Airbender, and Su Yin is born two years after that as an Earthbender. Lastly there's Bumi, a nonbender. There's always the urge to favor Tenzin, but Aang knows he can't. They're all his children and they deserve to be treated as such. So he teaches them all about their culture, takes them all on trips. The kids fight, but Aang is always quick to help resolve it (as it turns out, getting Lin and Su to stop fighting is a lot harder than getting the four nations to get along, go figure). Aang loves his wife and kids and wouldn't trade any of them for the world. He dies peacefully at age 66, surrounded by his children and the love of his life.

Sokka: Fucking hates politics. He'll leave the negotiating and speeches to his sister, thank you very much. If the room of government officials isn't a war room, he wants no part in it. After the war, he spends most of his time in the Southern Water Tribe. He works with his father to rebuild and relearn their culture, and writes frequent letters to his sister. Though, something about his life in the south is unfulfilling. Maybe he misses Suki, but there's something about inventing that calls to him. He can't do much of that in the south pole, so he leaves for the Earth Kingdom, helping villages struggling with heat, agriculture, transportation, etc. In the United Republic of Nations, he becomes lead engineer of the city, utilizing bending to make quick technological advances. He and Suki reunite in Republic City where Suki becomes the police chief. They get back together and have a daughter, Lian. The three of them live a simple life together, until Suki gets gravely injured in the line of duty when Lian is twenty. They decide to retire to the Southern Water Tribe where Sokka takes over for Hakoda as chief and prepares Lian to take over for him.

Toph: When Toph hears that Twinkle Toes and Sparky finally started that fancy new city, she thinks it's the perfect opportunity to cause a little chaos. Closing her metalbending school, she decides to relive her days as the Blind Bandit by founding pro-bending (thanks @ecoterrorist-katara for the idea!). Zuko's a hater and tries to shut it down because "safety," but finds no help in Aang who really, really loves the idea. He goes to every one of her matches and Toph feels both smug pride and... Something else. But she tells herself it would never happen, Twinkle Toes likes girls like Sugar Queen and she was the furthest thing from that. But she isn't totally oblivious, she can feel his heartbeat pick up when he's around her and how he's started to stutter when he's talking to her. So she bites the bullet and they start happily dating. But the arrival of Lin uncovers issues she didn't even know were there. Lin cries loudly and for Toph who relies heavily on her sense of hearing, it's hell. She was also unprepared for how much her body would change. She finds herself not wanting to be around her daughter. But Aang realizes this and urges her to talk to someone. After some arguing, she does. Aang is attentive, so Toph can take breaks when she needs to and Katara and Suki are always ready to get her out of the house when she's overwhelmed. Things with Lin get better and when Tenzin comes around she doesn't suffer nearly as much. Su Yin is similar. It's hard with Bumi because she's older, but Aang and her friends are there to support her. Toph can be distant with her children- her closely monitored childhood always present in her mind- but sees how Aang can be doting and allow their kids freedom. She follows by his example, trying to find a balance between hovering and absence. Aang's death is the worst day of her life- she was there, she felt his heart stop- and she retreats into the swamp for a while to grieve. But she returns to Republic City when Katara begins to mentor the new Avatar. Not to be outdone by Sugar Queen, she becomes Korra's second teacher. It's hard to be around Korra sometimes, but she likes the girl's spunk and attitude, even if she is a brat.

Zuko: Zuko struggles after the war. The obligations of the Fire Lord are crushing and daunting and the fear of turning into his father feels like it's constantly looming over his head. Mai doesn't understand why he's struggling so much and he can't figure out how to explain it to her, so they break up. She goes to Kyoshi Island to spend time with Ty Lee and figure out what she wants in life. Stressed, burnt-out, and heartbroken, Zuko asks Aang to kill him if he ever starts to act like Ozai, but Aang steadfastly refuses, berating him for even suggesting it. Aang assures him that he'll never turn into his father and that he has his friends to rely on. He follows after Aang to Ba Sing Se, working in his uncle's tea shop as a much needed break. He opens up to Iroh about his fears and Iroh affirms that even having these worries proves that he'll never be Ozai. He spends time in Ba Sing Se working in the tea shop and negotiating with the Earth King when he meets Jin again. She's as carefree as she was back then and Zuko is both envious and in awe of it. But he knows he can't have a relationship with her, he can't burden her with his problems. But Jin is gently persistent, lending an ear when he needs one and assuring him that he isn't burdening her. When she asks him if he wants to be with her, he confesses that he does- more than anything- but also admits that he has no idea how it'll work. She tells him that if they want to be together no one should stop them. A year later, they're married and she's crowned Fire Lady Jin. There are some protests to their relationship from traditionalists, but Ambassador Katara (Zuko is so sure that she was never actually given that title, but he can't prove it) is quick to shut them down citing that the Fire Lord marrying an Earth Kingdom girl is a sign of unity. They have their daughter, Izumi, and she's Zuko's entire world. Zuko's greatest fear is that his children will end up like him and Azula, so he refrains from having more kids. Jin respects this, but urges him to talk to Azula. So he does; his sister curses him out, but seems to enjoy his company in her own way. They'll never have a good relationship, but Zuko doesn't want her to feel alone so he makes time at least once a week. It's shortly after Aang's death that Zuko relinquishes the title of Fire Lord to Izumi, his grief over his lifetime friend far too painful. Eventually, though, Katara and Toph bully him into training the new Avatar. It's not a role for a retired Fire Lord, but Zuko knows that the world needs Korra to be strong and it's his responsibility to make that happen as much as he can. And so, he becomes Avatar Korra's third teacher (if you told him 60 years ago that he'd become the Avatar's most sane instructor, he'd think you were high on cactus juice. But with Katara punching dictators in the face and Toph breaking every rule ever written, someone has to be a good influence).

Occupations if you missed them:

Katara: (Unofficial/Self-proclaimed) Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, United Republic of Nations Councilwoman and later Chairwoman, Healer (on the side), Waterbending Master to the Avatar

Aang: Avatar, United Republic of Nations Councilman

Sokka: Engineer and Inventor, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe

Toph: Pro-Bender, Manager of the Pro-Bending Arena, Earthbending Master to the Avatar

Zuko: Fire Lord, Firebending Master to the Avatar

Suki: Police Chief of Republic City (I'm sorry I didn't make a detailed background for her I got lazy, I promise I don't love her any less😭)

Defending my ship choices:

Harutara: Come on, y'all know what I'm about at this point. They're my everything, how could I not have them together? Plus, there's something really poetic about Haru falling for her as an adult the way he did as a teenager: watching her inspire those around her. I headcanon that he's enamoured with the sound of her voice because it's the voice that liberated him and his people and he attends all her speeches

Taang: I actually wasn't sure about this one. I'm not an active Taang shipper, but I do think they'd really balance each other out. Toph is the hard ass Aang needs to challenge him and Aang would bring out the softer side in her. Toph would never let Aang favor one kid over the other and Aang wouldn't let Toph neglect their kids. So looking at it like that, I felt them being together would be best for the story

Sukka: It's not as perfect in canon as people make it out to be, but I still love them. I wouldn't want any different for them

Jinko: This one actually made more sense than I would have thought. Jin is very different from Mai, so I can really see her being what Zuko needs considering where he would be mentally. I like Mai, but I feel Maiko really made her way more one dimensional so her living with Ty Lee and finding herself feels like a better end for her (and if they start dating, that's no one's business). And we've already seen Zuko go out of his way to make Jin happy so it's not like we're getting another Kataang situation. I'm happy with this for them

The Kids:

Yes, I purposely made Kya an Earthbender. And yes, Katara still gives her her mother's necklace. Because that's her firstborn daughter no matter what element she does (or doesn't) bend. One thing I hate is that Bryke made the Kataang kids primarily part of the culture that they bend. That's such a slap in the face to biracial kids, not to mention poor Bumi who doesn't seem to belong to either for some reason until he ends up an Airbender. So yeah, all of the Harutara kids are part of the EK and SWT. Suma is a name I made up because it sounded pretty

I know it's weird to think of Lin and Tenzin as siblings, I felt so odd writing it. But I love them both so I couldn't just not write them. I made Bumi the youngest so he could be spoiled because he deserved better in canon. Su and Lin have a better relationship, but they still butt heads because they feel the need to one-up each other due to them both being Earthbenders (and later Metalbenders). Lin still becomes a cop, but their big fight never happened because Su was never neglected to the point of becoming a criminal. All four kids are taught Air Nomad culture and traditions and taken on trips because Aang is a decent father

I named Lian partly after Yue, since Yuèliàng means moon in Chinese. One of my gripes with LOK is that Katara and Sokka's family are meant to be the leaders of the SWT. Kya or Bumi should be the chief in canon, but Bryke just... Didn't do that for some reason. So fuck it, Sokka's daughter is chief now

Nothing really changes about Izumi, although I'd say she's a little friendlier. I contemplated giving Zuko more kids, but I actually think his decision not to have more kids was one of Bryke's better choices. It makes sense, so I didn't feel the need to change it

Other notes:

The Gaang teaching/helping raise baby Korra is something I live for

The Red Lotus is swiftly dealt with by Katara, Toph, Zuko, Suki, and Sokka when Korra is a kid. They never stood a chance. I was actually going to have Sokka still die during the attack in the SWT and Suki kill Zaheer in revenge, but eh I decided not to off Sokka

The Civil War still happens, but differently. I don't have the patience to go into that, just know that Katara is HEAVILY involved

Welp, that's everything in my brain

#katara of the southern watertribe #avatar aang #sokka of the southern water tribe #toph beifong #fire lord zuko #lok rewrite #lok critical #ambassador katara #councilwoman katara #master katara #engineer sokka #pro bender toph #master toph #master zuko #police chief suki #aang critical #harutara #taang #sukka #jinko #anti kataang #anti maiko #katara deserved better #aang deserved better #bumi deserved better #everyone deserves better #avatar korra #tw ppd #tw depression #atla au

[andromeda3116]

like, i've had people say in reviews before that they were disappointed in the zutara in such selfish prayers, because it was too subtle, and like.

i get that. it was supposed to be subtle, building to a new beginning rather than a true shipping fic, but i can get being disappointed that this famous zutara fic doesn't have a whole lot of zutara

but like

i didn't write it for the zutara? like, don't get me wrong, i love the ship, it's my comfort ship i always come back to but like

such selfish prayers is really about katara falling in love with katara

the emotional thrust of the story is katara growing into herself and becoming who she's always wanted to be, and the "ship" is, in a way, kata/ang, but in the sense of --

it's katara and aang coming to terms. realizing that they're better as friends, but that their friendship is deeply important to both of them, and they do love one another. it's not romantic, but the whole story is building to the coda where they can stand at the ground-breaking of republic city -- where he recognizes that she's engaged to zuko now, and congratulates her -- as friends, again

such selfish prayers is very much an idealistic story. the politics are idealistic and the relationships are idealistic, too. the guy i had recently broken up with, when i wrote it, ultimately couldn't be my friend again. politics are a dark and deadly mess. things don't always -- or even often -- work out for the better.

but such selfish prayers is about what we want to make happen, and believing that we can do it, if we don't give up. it's about hope, and optimism, and having faith in the future, and in falling in love with ourselves and growing into a life that fulfills us

the real love story is katara, for once, putting her own desires -- her own selfish prayers -- first, and choosing what she wants, after a lifetime of putting other people first

such selfish prayers is a katara fic first and a zutara fic second, and i understand people -- who were expecting another stormbenders or once around the sun or incendiary -- might be disappointed that it's not really that much of a zutara fic, but zutara wasn't actually the story i was telling

it's a love letter to katara, first and foremost and last and at the core and at the end, it's all about her, and what she deserved

the zutara is just a bonus.

#katara deserved better #zutara #such selfish prayers #i've been mulling over this for a while; i've gotten a lot of comments criticizing the lack of zutara content #(among a wealth of positive comments! don't get me wrong i've gotten a ton of moving and amazing comments from tons of people!) #and it's like. while i get the criticism it's also a little frustrating because the point is not the zutara #it's katara. it's all about and for katara. #i've said before that i'm primarily a katara/happiness shipper more than a zutara shipper #like i love the idea of fire lady katara and i think they could be really happy together but all i really want is for katara to be *happy* #and god but canon just. does not show her being happy with aang #like i thought lok would make it better but it only made things so so so much worse? #like i'd made my peace with it and then lok came out and it was just. so awful for katara? #she was reduced to ''the avatar's wife and mother of his children'' and... that was it? #no statue? #she wasn't even there at the trial of a bloodbender? and they didn't even bother to handwave it? #like they didn't even bother to *mention* her #she turned into a shell of her former self all alone on the ice and i just. i cannot with that. #such selfish prayers is a fix-it fic for katara #the zutara is just a bonus

[howhow326]

Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy that a show that I loved with my hearts content when I was 7 but then moved on from has come back in full force and now the whole world is telling me Look, look! That thing you loved from the before times has risen from the grave and it demands you love it more and obsess over it more from now until the day you breath your last!!!

I guess, what I'm really trying to say is Hama was right.

#this is about #atla #hama #atla hama #the franchise-ization of all media is a secret tragedy #the hyperfixation is hyperfixating #Hama being the best one off character in atla only to be written to be a villain that locks up rando citizens was stupid #hama deserved better #katara deserved better #the fact lok never mentions hama even as it dances over her grave with all these men having super duper bloodbending that's better than hers #somehow was the first red flag

[tiny-katara]

cilla my beloved not to bother you in the asks again BUT i realized i’ve never seen your LOK thoughts & i’d love to know them! (i just saw ur tags & u mentioned the animated movie probably wouldn’t be any better than lok - agreed - so i assume you’ve seen it, but if u haven’t then feel free to ignore this!)

have a great day my bestie!!

bestie you literally cannot bother me in the asks i don't think it's possible. i love seeing you pop up in them! it makes me so happy <3

if i'm being perfectly honest, i've only seen 3 or 4 episodes of lok, but i do have a vague understanding of the plot and it's such a mess??? some of these things i say could very well be misinformed, so don't hesitate to correct me lol.

honestly i think korra herself is kinda cool. she reminds me a lot of katara tbh because she wants to fight and she's really good at it. her design is cute and i do like her shorter hair as well. i think her little gang is also pretty fun and they all had some good potential. it's also never going to not be funny that korra and asami both date mako and then decide that dating each other is better. also bolin seems like he's a cute little dorky guy, which i whole-heartedly support. they all deserved better characterizations but the overall concepts weren't bad at all.

something about korra that really bothers me is that energybending isn't exclusive to the avatar. it seems pretty dangerous for the average person to use, so i wish that it had just stayed as something the avatar could do to maintain peace when absolutely necessary. it just feels wrong to take a core part of someone's identity. kind of reminds me vaguely of the way our restraints work at the hospital i work at. we consider chemical restraints to be much more severe and intense than like literally tying someone down to the bed because takes their identity and very being away from them. we have some pretty nasty patients here in america and i have never seen us use chemical restraints and my unit has some batshit people. so yeah, something about that whole thing rubs me the wrong way. i think taking away ozai's bending was valid because he had abused it, but that conclusion was far too easy for aang to come to. it is not something that should be taken lightly.

i also hate they solve the airbender crisis by just "now everyone bends" because it just kind of fuels this idea that if you don't have an exceptional skill, you're not as good as other people. like nonbenders have their strengths too??? getting rid of them does not solve the problem, it will only create new weaknesses. becoming too reliant on something that can be taken away is dangerous. we want a functioning society, not a building on the edge of a cliff that will crumble if one little stone chips off.

one of the worst things about korra is how they treat bloodbending though. do you have any idea how fucking useful that could be??? literally life saving. so many zutara fics under like 100k handle bloodbending better than a 4 season show and that's just ridiculous. katara should have been able to hone the skill and find its weaknesses and strengths. it's honestly very ignorant and just shows that they have a very poor understanding of the importance of blood in the body, which i could excuse if they didn't also demonize the skill and treat it as pure evil. i swear part of the point of the oringial show is that no form of bending is inherently good or evil and then they do that??? they don't even have a proper understanding of their own themes.

i don't think i really need to mention that the show is just full of blatant sexism towards katara doesn't get a statute, autonomy, accomplishments, etc. but that happens to all the women??? like where tf is suki??? you're telling me this girl that hijacked an airship and just vanished off the face of the earth??? yeah, i don't think so.

also yue??? she's badass of her own accord--and this a bit of a tangent but yue is a badass in a feminine way. like katara and suki are both feminine and badass, but they're badass bc they'll beat you up in the street if you're out of line. yue is badass in the sense that she is endlessly serene and patient and can calmly take you down without a single rude word. she will not be a pushover even tho she is kind and she is understanding, yet stern with her judgements. she is so cool snd it literally does not make any kind of sense that she is not mentioned or given a statue or any kind of acknowledgment. its literally so ridiculous and infuriating.

toph is treated slightly better, but is still a bad mom and everything surrounding her is just a mess. the fact that the stupid cabbage guy (sorry i don't really like him that much lol) gets his own statue makes my blood boil. like i know it's supposed to be a joke, but it's just a slap in the face because none of our beloved female protagonists get the same respect. it's disgusting.

i really don't even have the strength to get into kata/ang and their children and the damaged relationships and ignored cultural values and all of that, but just know that it's absolutely horrifying that katara had to give so much of the culture and identity she was proud of up for a man. no one should ever have to give up a piece of their identity for their partner.

anyways thanks for the ask bestie <3 you're welcome to drop in anytime i really do love hearing from youuu!!

#anti kataang #anti bryke #lok is a bit of a mess #the writing isn't great tbh #like i just... no #katara deserved better #so did suki #and toph #and sokka #i forgot about him for a sec but he does too #and yue #everyone does really #even aang #he didn't need to be a bad father #but here we are