#what does 'kataang-critical' even mean?

[sokkastyles]

I have a question, I know we know that shipping does not equal morality. And I get that, and I really like that. However, on my other blog, that should have been my main blog (yes I am that dumb). I have talked about Aang's non-consensual and criticized how Kataang is written, however, if you ship Kataang I won't come for your throat because that's not my style. I know the few misogynists/antis on here and on Twitter, and I don't want to let a few bad apples be my impression of a fandom, that's not fair, So now I'm side-eyeing myself over my past remarks. Likewise, I know shipping is not equal to morality, but I also want to criticize Kataang because of how flawed it is and how wrong that kiss was (and other things). I have no idea what I'm saying because at this point I'm rambling. What do you think?

Well, there is a difference between criticizing a ship and criticizing canon. I don't honestly care what people ship. I use the antikataang tag because I don't want to argue with people who do ship it, but that doesn't mean I won't be critical of what is in the show. I think expecting people not to engage critically with media is absolute nonsense. But there is a difference between engaging critically with the actual media and criticizing people's fanon or headcanons, which is where you get away from critically engaging with canon and move into the area of criticizing other people's opinions, which is how arguments start.

Like, there isn't really any actual concrete argument you can make to criticize zutara, because zutara does not exist in canon. It's all fanon and headcanons and speculation. And criticizing other people's opinions just makes you look like a dick.

You also have to take into account the intention behind something. The thing about the way Katara's relationship with Aang is presented is that we're supposed to root for Aang to get Katara, and every obstacle towards that end is just there to create dramatic tension for the male point of audience identification. That's the real problem with the noncon kiss, and people who are critical of it are right to point it out.

In contrast, when I say shipping isn't morality, I'm talking about people who write, let's say, dubcon zutara fics. Fanfiction as a genre is largely female-centered fantasy. Yes, even those lurid fics you're thinking of. People write and read these fics for completely different reasons and have completely different expectations than when watching a series like ATLA. Trying to say that someone can't criticize the way the show presents Aang kissing Katara after she said she was confused as a mistake to be glossed over (that is forgotten as soon as it happens) because they also happen to like reading darkfic is nonsense. There's also a long history of women's interests being policed that informs my views here, vs the fact that consent has only fairly recently become a conversation in mainstream media. You have only to look at the way the show itself portrays Katara having interests (especially in boys) outside of Aang as dark and dangerous to see this happening in ATLA itself. Or the way the creators got away with saying that zutara shippers are doomed to end up in abusive relationships while painting Aang as a typical Nice Guy stereotype who expects Katara to magically become his girlfriend (and gets angry when she doesn't) and seeing nothing wrong with it.

The thing is that zutara, if we look at the way it's written in canon as a metaphor for a romantic relationship, follows the same tradition of how fanfiction has historically existed as an exploration of romantic and sexual dynamics. Those conversations about consent are actually happening and being explored in fanfiction, even the dark stuff, whereas relationships that are presented as "wholesome" often push us to NOT have those conversations. So when I say shipping isn't morality, what I actually mean is that noncanon shipping and darkfic actually has more of a moral leg to stand on than uncritically engaging with relationships on the grounds that Aang is the hero so his goodness and worthiness to get the girl should just be assumed. Zuko has to work for his right to be in a relationship with Katara because he didn't start out from a place of goodness, and that, on its own, is very female centered because instead of starting out from the perspective of the male hero deserving a relationship by virtue of being the hero, we see the idea that a man has to work to gain a woman's respect and affection.

So it's not so much that I hate KA, but I hate the idea that we should engage in it uncritically. And that would be true even if it really was the most wholesome relationship in the world. The same thing cannot be true of zutara because even the darkest of darkfic are about women centering themselves in the narrative and engaging with power dynamics in ways that are subverting patriarchal norms about relationships by definition.

#zutara #antikataang #the discourse

[burst-of-iridescent]

I feel like the upcoming kataang!movie they are gonna do a hell of a job compensating for everything that peeved people about tlok like have them mention how they are like so super happily married for every five seconds and that they have no marital problems, like, ever and that they are each other’s one and only 5ever and that Katara is happily a housewife if it means Aang can do his avatarly duty and that Zuko officiated their marriage to get back at those Zutara shippers or whatever

considering literally everything that has come out about kataang in the last half a decade has been nothing more than damage control for the show and early comics... yeah, i see it.

they literally shoved in a "look! aang does domestic work after all HAH!" even in the fucking cookbook that maybe like 2% of the fandom bought so the movie is definitely going to be chock full of entirely unsubtle moments put in solely as a fuck-you to anyone who dared criticize bryke's perfect self-insert ship. poor zuko's probably going to become the bryke soapbox on kat.aang just so they can rub it in our faces because "look! even zuko loves kat.aang what do you MEAN he would never say that shut up about his sizzling chemistry with katara - "

either ways, it makes no difference to me. they could have every single character turn directly to the camera and say aang and katara have the most perfect romance of all time, and that would still do absolutely nothing to fix how their relationship started in atla, and how it inevitably ended in lok. nothing they do in the gaang movie will retcon how utterly irrelevant katara became in the legend of korra, or the complete lack of respect aang (and the narrative) had for her agency and boundaries in atla.

short of inventing time travel and rewriting the show, the problems with kat.aang cannot be handwaved away no matter how much bryke tries to word-of-god it. it's a pity most of the general atla fandom is definitely going to eat it up, but i'll just be over here shipping my beloved zutara in peace and ignoring the fuck out of "canon" like i always have :)

#zutara #anti kataang #anti bryke #though honestly given the writing talent those two have i'll be impressed if they don't somehow cock kat.aang up in an entirely new way #i still have major doubts about this movie actually becoming a finished product so let's hope for a cancellation #leave the atla franchise in peace and move the fuck on challenge

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Thoughts!

-First of all, ya'll need to leave those child actors alone, they are babies and they didn't write the show, nor was it their idea to do it. I have seen way too many people body shaming children; leave them alone they all did well!

-I think Gordon makes Aang just as cute and small and powerful as I always saw him as!! He manages to joke around and be fun even when the storyline is a lot darker and more serious.

-I really wish Sokka was able to be more of his goofy and silly self. I understand why he isn't, and his humor is more sarcasm and dark jokes, but I saw glimpses of him in there! His excitement when he was with the Mechanist, engineering and getting to do something other than be in charge. Also when he has any older brother convo with Katara or Aang. I'm hopeful with time he'll be able to loosen up!

-(Speaking of the Mechanist, my boy Danny Pudi was SO GOOD, I love him, him and his little son).

-I wish Aang would practice waterbending with Katara :( those scenes of them practicing together were always some of my favorites in the series. Just beautiful kataang moments. I'm glad they addressed it but I missed those moments.

-I don't understand how you guys can't be having fun watching this, I get so excited waiting for little moments of lore, or when Jet and Katara were fighting in the forest I was sitting in front of the TV like "WHERE'S SMELLERBEE AND LONGSHOT. OH MY GOD NO IT'S PIPSQUEAK!" It's just so much fun! The colors are beautiful, the effects are gorgeous, and the plot and characters are entertaining. Think about the piece as it's own thing and enjoy it!

-Adaptations are just that; adaptations, and things will be changed! I think so far I haven't minded their changes, I understand why they've been made. There are things to criticize, but I think this is pretty well done.

-Zuko is fantastic; I think all the child actors are fairly good but Dallas' pissy attitude and the faces he makes are so so fun! I feel for Zuko and I'm scared of him when he shows up, and he's just as annoying and bratty as ponytail Zuko should be. His physical motions are fantastic!

-TEO WAS SO LITTLE?? Oh my god, like as a kid I thought the cartoon version of him was kinda hot so when they wheeled that tiny baby in I was HORRIFIED.

-Idk why YOU ALL weren't scared of Lizzy Yu's Azula, but her little smile in her intro scene gave me a lil chill. Maybe it's because I was away when the show first came out so I saw post after post about how bad she was, but I just.... Thought she'd be worse?? She did really well! Ya'll better be careful though or Gaten Matarazzo will come for you, that's his girl.

-So far the mushing of plots has made sense to me. Yes, I miss the silly filler episodes and the traveling the Gaang did, but it allows us to sit in a scene longer, and to colorize the world better, when we're in one place and one plot for longer. I think that's important for this type of medium and this amount of episodes. They might be able to justify more next season if this show does well enough.

-I am OBSESSED with Zuko and the 41st division oh my god, what a fantastic and well thought out addition. The reveal, and they're bowing for him when he comes back was DEVASTATING.

-They we're GIVING us Sokka and Katara best sibling moments, I loved all of them. They are so cute, they just mean so much to me.

-I don't feel Appa or Momo as characters like I did in the cartoon. I'm hoping this can change, because rn they surprise me every time they get on screen. I'm like "WHAT- oh it's Momo, he's here." How are we going to feel Appa's loss as much as we did in the cartoon if they continue to like barely be in it.

-Ken Leung SLAYED as Admiral Zhao, I watched him go literally insane as the episodes went on.

-Aang's imposter syndrome and feeling of failure being focused on I will always enjoy, even if I hope he can be silly next season too. His entire character arc this season just made me want to cry.

-Bro the coloring during the the Siege of the North was A M A Z I N G. The way the color faded in and out with fireballs and the monster koi passing nearby, just so pretty. It looked awesome.

-Making Yue a waterbender? The best. Her freezing Sokka in place so he can't stop her? Heartbreaking.

-Iroh and Zuko paddling off looking for bestie Lt. Jee?? Okay.

-They really grew this show up for us adults that watched it in 2005 and focused in on the really painful moments, themes, and details.

#listen i just feel like i can tell how much they all care about the series and it makes me want to like it #i'm liking it!!! #it's good! #i love all the children #aang #sokka #the mechanist #katara #jet #smellerbee #longshot #pipsqueak #zuko #teo #azula #appa #momo #admiral zhao #yue #uncle iroh #lieutenant jee #gordon cormier #danny pudi #dallas liu #elizabeth yu #gaten matarazzo #ken leung #avatar the last airbender #live action atla #melissa og

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Anti Tagging is a Broken System

So there was this anti Zutara post that I saw a while ago that was tagged as both 'anti zutara' and 'zutara'. As you can imagine, zutara bloggers were mad and the OP claimed they tagged the post as 'zutara' as payback for zutara fans bashing kataang in the 'kataang' tag.

There was also a jedi critical post that was considered to be insulting to someone's religion or culture or some other nonsense. The person asked (**demanded**), the post be tagged as 'anti jedi' because seeing it in the 'jedi order' tag was causing real-world harm.

It confirmed my belief that the tagging system is severely broken and lacking.

These are two issues at play that I notice:

Villain vs Hero Double Standard

What's interesting is that this issue is mainly relevant for protagonists. If I want to bash Ozai, Palpatine or Joker on Tumblr, I don't have to tag my posts as anti. Maybe their fans would prefer it but we all know that these men are villains and the lowest scum in media. It's not bashing - it's the cold hard truth.

So why is it that my calling Ozai a bad father is not Ozai bashing, but me calling Aang a bad father is Aang bashing?? Why the double standards?? Sure, the hero will likely be more sympathetic because we are meant to root for them. But at the end of the day, just like Ozai, Aang played favourites and this left scars on his kids even in their fifties. If you are an Aang fan you can try to justify it, but his actions still hurt his kids no matter how you spin it.

What Does 'Anti' Even Mean??

There are too many ways to be anti character, anti ship etc which makes things murky.

Let's use Kataang as an example. Are you anti Kataang because you objectively looked at the ATLA show and you think how it is presented makes it a bad ship? Are you anti KA because you genuinely like the ship but you think it was not developed properly or did not go the way you thought best? Are you anti KA because you are just emotionally repulsed for whatever reason even though canon may give you reasons to support it? Are you anti KA just because it may be popular to be so in your circle?

That's the problem. Theoretically, the first two scenarios could be classified under the general 'kataang' tag. Because people who hold those opinions are not just bashing it for no reason but have objective truths that they have observed about the ship. Saying that Aang kissed Katara without her consent is an objective truth. Why should that be labelled as 'anti kataang'? It's the truth about the ship.

How would I address this?

The general tag should not be treated as a safe space. If you want a safe space, stick to a 'pro' or 'anti' tag. The general tag should be treated like a neutral zone where everything is laid on the table for debate and discourse. So if I browse the Jedi Order tag, I should see metas about cool Jedi powers and master-padawan relationships but also metas about the separation of families and the social harm it causes kids.

People need to stop being babies and grow up. If someone posts a critical meta about the Jedi order, it does not mean they are attacking whatever religion you have or calling for genocide in real life. Do you know how much witchcraft, paganism, atheism and other kinds of Christian bashing posts I see in the Christianity tag?? If you don't like something, just scroll past it like a big kid. Don't send death or rape threats to someone if you disagree with them.

I think if someone does not have substantial or accurate reasons for hating something, they should stick to the anti tag and avoid the general tag.

What do others think?? Tagging is hard because it's up to the discretion of the poster but I hope my arguments here made sense.

@caripr94

@tragicfantasy-girl

@sokkastyles

@the-badger-mole

#tumblr discourse #fandom etiquette #tagging #shipping discourse #character discussion #atla aang #aang vs ozai #character bashing #atla #anti tagging #jedi order #jedi order critical #toxic fandom #star wars discourse #star wars #atla discourse #anti kataang

[nono-bunny]

As I grow up and continue loving Avatar the Last Airbender, I also start to engage with it more and more critically... And honestly, I fully belive that the reason that it's not a perfect show, despite when I used to think and want to believe in when I was younger... Is solely because season 3 exists in the state that it does.

What this means is honestly up to personal interpretation, but! Personally I believe that Aang should've killed Ozai, or at least work for NOT doing that. Either erase the chakras subplot that goes nowhere to enhance and actually give importance and weight to the lionturtle... Or resolve it by following up and officially killing Kataang. I firmly believe that Zutara was the only correct resolution to the whole ordeal, but I also would've coped so much easier with a less disastrous and unhealthy Kataang, and with an Aang that actually gets his teased character development. I didn't always hate Aang, and I wish the third season never made me.

I just... Truly feel robbed on all fronts by the third season, and of the things it introduced in the first place! I don't agree that Aang should've spared Ozai, and I don't agree that he should've ended up with Katara, but... Both happened, but they were done so poorly that I feel like even those who do agree with them deserved better.

My first impression of the finale is just forever gonna be how when we were kids watching the show, both me and my little brother were not even close to being the minority in being wholly underwhelmed by Ozai and Aang's battle, and agreed that he should have just killed him, even though we may not have necessarily wanted to see death. Also my brother was and is a fellow Zutara shipper because he's cool like that and I love him, shoutout to my little brother who's not gonna read this! Also, to my dad's partner who is, hi! You're cool too even if you have no idea what I'm talking about! Like... When your core audience is unsatisfied with your story's resolution, that's!!! Not a good sign! We as kids got that they were going for kid friendly messaging, and we did not care for it because it didn't make sense and wasn't fun to watch, and that's!!! A huge failure!

#avatar the last airbender #atla #anti bryke #atla critical #zutara #anti aang #anti kataang

[starlight-vixen-emiko]

I’m not sure if you’re in the ATLA fandom but l*ve square feels a lot like kat*ang where people can easily criticize female main but don’t you dare not ship canon or criticize our boy!

Childish boy that can do no wrong/ is perfect that needs come before duty or the wants of his partner x woman of color that’s kind and strong which are her best or worst traits depending on when you ask and who must end up with male lead because he earned it

................................................

*SIGH*

Anon...Sit down for a moment.

I am not sure if you read my about me or not but I should I mention I ship Kataang and my blog is a pro Aang blog!

I was going to write up a big response but I think I should keep this relatively short and sweet.

But to start off...How is Lukanette like Zvtara?! Like how?!

Zvtara was more popular than the canon ships before and after Avatar's run. And while Lukanette was popular for a time, it was by no means more popular than that one ship that shall not be named! If anything Zvtara is just as popular as the LS and Zvtara fanfics are similar to Adrien and Marinette's fucked up """"love story"""". I remember reading ZK fanfics where everyone and I mean everyone pushes Zuko and Katara together, Toph, Iroh, they are all reduced to mouthpieces for the Zvtara fanbase. Kind of similar to the creepy ass Adrie//nette cult in the show. I literally found a fanfic where Iroh and Kanna try to get Zuko and Katara together by shoving them in a freezer together, which reminds me a hell of a lot like M*raculous.

And I am not sure why you Z/tara shippers are once again playing victim. Yes, there are Kataang shippers who arrogantly flaunt their canon but I also seen Z/tara shippers who think me and my peers are delusional for not seeing the """"romantic chemistry"""" between Zuko and Katara. I have seen Z/tara shippers act all smug and think they have better reading comprehension than people who ship canon. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think anyone who doesn't like Z/tara hates woman and all Kataang shippers are white men while all PoC are uncomfortable with the idea of Kataang.

And honestly the people who think everyone who hates Z/tara hates women can seriously fuck off! Shipping isn't activism! Some of you really need to get off the computer and touch some grass! And stop talking for all PoC as well! I am PoC! And the way a lot of Zvtara fanfictions fetishize Katara and make her Zuko's exotic girlfriend makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think Aang would force Katara to let go of her culture (Legend of Korra and the comics proved this wrong) while Zvtara fanfics involve Katara completely letting go of the water tribe to become the perfect fire lady.

Not to mention, my friends and I were bullied by Zvtara shippers! I was bullied by a ZK shipper in her 40's who acts all smug and thought she had moral superiority and had better reading comprehension because she ships ZK. She just complains about cartoons all day.......Yeah! Complaining about cartoons all day is what ZK shippers do I guess.

And I am not sure why you Aang antis and ZK deepthroaters go on and on until kingdom come that Aang never faces consequences. He felt guilty for burning Katara, for kissing her at the wrong time, for Katara putting herself in the line of danger during the desert episode. Aang saved Kyoshi Island when it was attacked by the fire nation, and he felt guilty and saved Katara and Sokka after hiding a letter from their father from them.

Unlike Adrien whom the creators literally said does no wrong or doesn't need to apologize for anything. Chat Noir ate up kissing Ladybug in Oblivio...Aang felt guilty for kissing Katara in Ember Island Players and didn't bother her about it again.

And Aang takes his role as Avatar seriously! Even if it was all so scary and sometimes he wished wasn't a 12-year-old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders...Which is human. The ML bible confirmed AdriChat doesn't give a crap about being a hero he's just in it for the freedom!

And again...Not sure why you guys think ZK is like Lukanette...Is every non-canon ship "Just like Zoootara ZOMG!" now?!

I mean...Luka and Marinette actually liked each other. Zuko and Katara never showed romantic interest in each other. (But I guess that is a hard pill for you people to swallow) And "Katara falling in love with Aang is unrealistic because i would've chosen Zuko!" isn't a valid argument! And yet ya'll claim Zvtara isn't a self insert ship.

Honestly I have seen more similarities between Lukanette and Kataang. Both are best friends to lovers that are brushed off as "just bros!" People dismiss both shippers by the mere virtue that the other choice is "more attractive". I have heard people said that the two year age gap between Marinette and Luka is creepy...Similar to Kataang.

And honestly the fact you people have been watching Avatar the Last Airbender with your eyes closed thinking Aang never faces the consequences or apologizes reminds me of that old drama of how people honestly felt Marinette never apologized and got off scott free with everything!

And Luka and Aang are two sweet boys who get way too much unwarranted hate!

And don't you dare compare Kataang to the LS! Similar to how not all non-canon ships are like Zvtara (Because I hate to break it to you people...But Zvtara wasn't robbed of anything! There are plenty of non-canon ships done far worse than Zvtara!) Not all canon ships are like the LS!

Kataang had gradual development and Aang and Katara were best friends! They were each other's ride or die! They had so much development that I am surprised you people are shocked that Aang and Katara ended up endgame.

Adrien and Marinette didn't have the same development that Aang and Katara did! Don't even compare Kataang to the loathe square around me!

But hey, if you can't see how awesome Aang is and how beautiful and nuanced Kataang is...Sucks for you I guess.

I think I am done now...Sorry if I wasn't here to validate your overhyped erotic wattpad fantasy ship but......I am not a Zvtara apologist blog and you messed with the wrong person.

Edit: I forgot to note!

One of the biggest fandom woes I dealt with in both fandoms is

ZK shippers being like "Katara never liked Aang!!!"

and LS shippers being like "Marinette never loved Luka!!!"

And I am like "Guys I am tired!"

But hey...Lukanette is toooootally not like KaTaang amirite???

I mean you guys only think Lukanette and Zvtara are similar because they are both non-canon right? Even if Lukanette was canon briefly. As short lived as it was...

#antizutara #anti love square #love square salt #ml salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt #pro aang #pro kataang #lukanette #pro lukamari #kataang defense squad #anti adrienette

[hello-nichya-here]

Let’s be real. The only reason toxic Zutarians and delusional Zukkas became so rampant is for the same reason.

Zutararians and Zukkas are two generations of the same issue.

Maiko is written so incoherently and Mai gets no development of her own. Zuko and her are a terrible match and treat each other poorly (I know the fandom can’t agree which one is at fault but I don’t think it matters).

Fans searching for a more satisfying conclusion of the fandom fav Zuko stumble into the waiting clutches of Zutarians or Zukkas who bombard them with their terrible takes, OOC writing, and admittedly beautiful fan art. Before you know it, they lose touch with actual canon.

This is all Bryke’s fault for writing Maiko terribly.

And yet people blame Zucest… nonsense!

Anon, I don't mean to be rude, but you're just wrong all around. Not only do I not think Maiko is terrible (might not be my OTP, but I am fond of it), but even if it WAS and fans had to rely on fanon for good romance, that does NOT explain or justify the way Zutarians and Zukkas not only act like their personal preference is objectively better than everyone else's but also actively lie to themselves and others about their ships totally being secretly canon but screwed over at the last second.

They do that for one reason alone: Entitlement. They're entitled, spoiled cry babies who screetch at anyone with a different preference because they take it as a personal attack.

Bryke writting Maiko any differently would not have made these people less insufferable. Hell, their ships hapenning in the exact way they wanted them to would also not do the trick, if anything it'd make them worse.

It doesn't matter what you think about Bryke as writers and people, or how you feel about the canon ships: The bad behavior of Zutara and Zukka fans is the responsibility of Zutara and Zukka fans, nobody else.

I don't like Legend Of Korra or the comics. Never sent a death threat to the people who made them. Never harassed fans of it or had them doxxed. I love Zucest to unhealthy degrees, but you won't see me claiming "There was totally a deleted scene of them kissing in the finale instead of fighting, but evil Bryke ruined it all, and if you don't believe my obvious bullshit I'll scream at you until I'm blue in the face!"

I LOATHE the ending of How I Met Your Mother with all my being, and resent the showrunners for being such dicks to fans and complaining we didn't praise their terrible writting. I would NEVER accuse them of abusing their authority over the actors and being predators just because I disagree with awful messages the finale sent - something zutarians do Kataang and Maiko fans ALL THE TIME.

It's really, really, really, really easy to not do that kind of stuff.

Be critical of Bryke and their writting, have whatever opinion you wanna have on Maiko, but let's not pretend writers/showrunners are to blame for FANS attacking people.

It'd be like going "Oh, this actress and her fans got death threats because audiences didn't like her character, clearly this is the writers fault for mishandling said character" NOPE, the blame of that kind of awful behavior ALWAYS lies solely with the people who choose to act like that.

#asks #anti zutara #anti zukka

[shrinkthisviolet]

for the ship ask game: maiko!

Ship It!

What made you ship it?

I think it might've been spite at first? It's so clearly canon, but it's surprisingly unpopular in fandom. And it wasn't abusive or toxic or anything (despite what some people say), so I liked the idea of it out of spite to those who didn't.

And then from there, I just...found more things to love about it. Things that fics included, things that I noticed in gifsets and meta posts about them (and even blatantly false/misinterpreted things in posts criticizing them), etc. And now it's snowballed so incredibly...and they're my favorite ship in the show (with Kataang as a very close second, because obviously...it just can't top Maiko for me because Maiko is more personal to me)

What are your favorite things about the ship?

How she's able to make him smile (one of the few people who can!), how she takes no bs from him (when he lashes out in jealousy, she calls him out and doesn't forgive him until he apologizes for it), how their daughter looks so much like her…just AHHHH I love them so much!

(I also have a headcanon that they eloped shortly after reconnecting, because despite changing in the three years apart, they both knew there was no one else for them. And then they got to know each other after that! Which is a bit like how arranged marriages work - you marry someone who you feel you can spend the rest of your life with, someone who you feel you can love, someone who you feel can fit into your family (and whose family can fit int your family) and then you get to know them! That's what I mean when I call Maiko "personal", because even though that headcanon isn't canon, it makes sense to me with where they are in the finale)

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Apparently even shipping it seems to be unpopular 😂 so many people would rather ship the two of them with anyone else, or act like their love wasn't real, or was comphet, or something. But these two were so in love!! Mai fell first, and Zuko fell harder!!

Mai, to Azula, the friend she's lowkey afraid of, who probably knows what Azula does even to her friends when they disobey her: "I love Zuko more than I fear you."

Zuko, to Sokka, about his Mai even after he broke up with her to keep her safe, in response to "That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?": Yeah... *dreamy smile*

This is CANON DIALOGUE PEOPLE

Plus the stuff I said in the second question!! All of which (except the ending parantheses) is canon!!

ship ask game!

#avatar the last airbender #atla #mai #maiko #zuko #ship ask game #i love love LOVE maiko so so much

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

"Saying "It's canon!" isn't a good way to defend Kataang against Zvtara!"

That's fair. I have canon ships I dislike where people can't think of a decent argument to save their lives and simply clap back with "It's canon!" disregarding that the writing is terrible and the canon status doesn't feel earned.

But I have hung around the Kataang and Maiko fandoms and they have made wonderful metas on why Kataang and Maiko narratively work. It's a lot more chill...The reason I left the Zvtara fanbase in the first place is because people are so hateful.

I mean if Zvtara was canon ya'll would scream it to the goddamn rooftops and nobody would be allowed to criticize Zvtara or ship non-canon ships opposing it. If Zvtara was canon ya'll would still be as hateful as ever.

And before someone says "Kataang wasn't earned but Zvtara was!" I do not see how Zvtara was more earned as an endgame ship than Kataang.

You broke down their double-standards perfectly. There's a reason they keep coming up with random conspiracies about how Zutara was actually planned from the start and the "real" writers were shocked and devastated when the evil showrunners forced them to "randomly" make Kataang happen instead - and go as far as faking evidence for it.

They ABSOLUTELY see canon as being better than fanon, which is why they never stop demanding any new show/comic of the franchise to make it happen. They expect "Ship and let ship" to apply to their ship while it remains fanon, while fully preparing to then use "You can't ship that, it's not canon/endgame" against Kataang and Maiko if Zutara ever becomes endgame in some reboot or live action adaptation (never forget that these people were hopeful the "last airbender" movie was gonna have Zutara and "replace the show's canon").

Since that has not happened, they pretend stick to this "briliant" alternative strategy.

Them: Zutara has always been and always will be canon, you idiots! Why do you even bother shipping anything else?

Anyone who has actually paid any attention to the story: What are you talking about? Katara is dating Aang, and Zuko is dating Mai? There were never even any real hints of Zutara, just random ship bait that nearly every ship in the show got to some degree?

Them: CANON DOES NOT MEAN "GOOD" OR "BETTER", WHY DO KATAANG AND MAIKO FANS ACT LIKE IT DOES?

Anyone with a minimally functional brain: But you guys were the ones that tried to use canon as evidence of quality in the first place!

Them: SHUT UP, WE HAVE BIGGEST NUMBERS ANYWAY SO WE'RE PRACTICALLY CANON!

Me, an annoying little shit: Ah, so canon does mean better. Got it. Time for you guys to stop shipping Zutara then.

#anti zutara #pro kataang #pro maiko

[kataraslove]

I just really hope that the new ATLA movie will be interesting, bright and exciting, that it will pay tribute to all the characters, but especially to Katara. And there will be kataang in it: wonderful, respectful, supportive relationships. And a huge number of pro-Katara, pro-Aang and pro-kataang new fans will come to the fandom. I hope that the time will come when a respectful and competent and deeper gaze of the canon and canonical characters will dominate the fandom, and the toxic z/tara will remain in the minority (I have nothing against zutara as a ship but I am against lying about characters and hatred, and, unfortunately, I saw most of this in the z/tara fandom). Let the era of peace and kindness finally come for the fandom, as Zuko would say.

one can only hope for that, anon! after that leaked image of adult gaang came out, i saw antis do a complete 180 about their perceptions on kataang. so who knows? however, considering that it's been 15 years, i don't think perceptions on here - or in other places - are really going to change much from people who vehemently despise kataang. i think every interaction and scene between katara and aang, no matter how positive it is, will be spun to be made as if it's negative. i mean, we literally saw their reactions to a COOKBOOK that stated that aang liked to cook for katara. "wow, i can't believe you need a cookbook to confirm that aang does the bare minimum," or, my personal favourite, "katara has to literally baby aang by controlling how much sugar he eats!"

that being said, i'm not interested in changing the minds of people who genuinely believe kataang to be an abusive relationship. what i do want instead is for the adult gaang movie to provide a fandom environment in which kataang shippers are not afraid to admit that they ship kataang. for a whole week after the leaked image was released, there was a kataang renaissance that occurred on twitter, with viral kataang tweets and people coming out and admitting that they enjoyed kataang. much like the kataang renaissance that occurred after the legend of korra first aired (with canon confirmation that katara and aang had three children before bryke ripped that perfect family perception to shreds), i want that same thing to happen following the adult gaang movie, except in a much larger scale, with much more fandom content.

at the end of the day, though, what i really want is for katara to be done justice by this movie; for her to receive the recognition that she deserves after 15 long years of absolutely null. i do believe that she will receive justice in the form of good writing and canon recognition - the signs are all there - but at the same time, i am a little cautious just because it is bryke behind the wheels. those two, in their efforts to explore what they believe to be nuance, tend to leave out a whole bunch of details. simply put, they're not the best writers, and even worse, they've been horrible at receiving criticism in the past. so i hope those are attributes of theirs that have changed over the years, as they've matured and gained more industry experience. i think it has, just based on the things that i've heard from the two, and the fact that they're now part of a gigantic hollywood megacorporation and streaming service that is dependent on the success of avatar studios. speaking of which, you have no idea just how much paramount is riding on avatar studios to become a commercial success. the fate and future of avatar studios are absolutely reliant on this adult gaang movie becoming a huge commercial hit.

... which is my other area of concern. just what are bryke willing to do to ensure that the movie will be a huge hit? what plot points will they introduce? what will they do with the characters? i don't think that they're going to pander to fandom demands (have certain ships become romantic) because they said that they're not going to do that. at the same time, however, what exactly are they going to do? katara and aang aren't the most popular characters in the series, their romantic relationship is an area of contention and controversy among the fanbase; from a business standpoint, how exactly will avatar studios handle this? i don't want any cheap, convoluted, soap-opera. i also don't want a marvel movie in the form of avatar. i want fulfilling character arcs and dynamics and plot points that stay true to the themes of avatar the last airbender. as we've seen with the kyoshi novels, we know that the spirit of avatar can be replicated if the right creative voices are in the writing room, holding the pen.

i suppose that's something that bryke will have to deal with and figure out. no use losing sleep over things we know nothing about. just based on the things that i've seen and read, the contextual clues over the years, the new content from avatar studios, i think we can expect the best, especially as kataang shippers. however, i do approach this whole scenario with some (read: a lot of) caution.

but i absolutely agree with you here (and what you said about zutara shippers):

And a huge number of pro-Katara, pro-Aang and pro-kataang new fans will come to the fandom. I hope that the time will come when a respectful and competent and deeper gaze of the canon and canonical characters will dominate the fandom.

i long for a future in which katara fandom analysis isn't essentially, "she's horribly mistreated by the gaang as their resident Mother. that is, until zuko the liberator comes save her. this is why she would be a perfect firelady." if nothing else, please let the outcome of the movie allow for nuanced perspectives of katara's character.

#kataang #but tbh i've kind of reached that fandom threshold where i'm like idrgaf what you say this is MY interpretation in which i have every right #to hold #sometimes i think about the adult gaang movie and kind of worry but then shrug my shoulders and go 'eh that's a bryke problem' #i just hope they don't sellout their artistic integrity for business god i hate when creators do #like say what you will about lok but that was all their stupid decisions that were subjected to fierce budget cuts #like i respect them in that sense that they will make the Worst Writing Decision Possible (losing the past lives) with their full chest #anyway long story short i think bryke has a lot of potential so long as they're not writing shit #i wholeheartedly believe in u kenneth lin

[survivalove]

Is it just me or is “I personally would forgive a boy for violating my boundaries so it’s ok for Katara to be portrayed that way” the same logic as “I personally want to be a hot guy’s arm candy so fire lady Katara is an empowering trope”? Like idk, I can’t get behind either ship for Katara. Neither one gives her character genuine power and the fans of both still fall back on the same stupid “she chose it so it’s feminist” fallacy that’s in vogue rn. I feel like both sides of the “ship war” are women projecting on Katara and the only difference between them is which variety of toxic masculinity they’re attracted to

I wouldn’t say the logic is necessarily the same, since these statements seem to be on very differing levels…

for the first one, i don’t think anyone’s projecting because as you said that is how she is depicted. i can’t say how i would react if i was in katara’s shoes because there’s no way I can imagine myself in that specific relationship or in her literal shoes. i personally haven’t seen anyone try to rebrand her forgiveness specifically as feminist even though I’m sure there are people doing that out there, but I agree it’s not.

let’s establish that not every choice a woman makes is feminist. that’s the problem I have with choice feminism which is what you’re talking about. women and girls these days are trying to spin every choice they make as feminist or empowering. just because something personally empowers you, doesn’t make it inherently feminist. there is nothing feminist about women marrying men in general, but women do and make other choices based on whatever circumstances that that led them there.

what i will say is i don’t typically police women and girls for not having the reactions they “should have”. does that mean that i think the reaction is feminist or that the choice is the right choice? nope and I don’t. again, not everything a woman does is feminist and you don’t have to agree with or support everything a woman does, real or otherwise.

feminism is a critical political movement with active conscious choices being made. on the other hand, there are women who autonomously uphold patriarchy, so no not every choice a woman makes is feminist.

that being said, if you don’t want to ship kataang that’s fine. i know a lot of katara stans that don’t ship either and i myself was like that for quite a few years growing up.

now the second statement seems to be downplaying a LOT (like zuko is way more than a “hot guy” and the fact that you kinda left out that he also violated katara multiple times makes me a bit skeptical of this ask) but i’m gonna respond anyway. all i’ll say is that this would actually be projection considering katara has no inkling in canon of wanting to be with zuko or to be fire lady. she even hates the idea of her own father living in a palace after the war. so it takes a very conscious effort to ship this and say “this is what katara would want” when this is just simply not what is presented to us at all.

compared to kataang, we see this is a choice (of course made by the mostly male writers) that katara makes over and over again in the series. katara kissing aang on the cheek, touching him every 5 seconds, showing attraction to him, getting jealous of other girls that are attracted to him, kissing him and kissing him back, even after EIP. is any of this feminist or moving women forward? lol no it’s a het romance in a kids’ show but I don’t see how one would have to project on to katara to enjoy the ship as it’s depicted.

do i like kataang for katara, yes. am i attracted to aang, ABSOLUTELY NOT. do I think katara could have achieved everything she achieved post canon if she wasn’t in a relationship with aang, of course!!! does me, a woman, liking any het ship make it feminist, negative.

#atla #kataang #katara #anti choice feminism #perhaps? #still a feminist but #not everything women like or do is feminist #and you don’t have to like it either #if you ask me that’s what the focus of choice feminism should be anyway #still putting #antizutara #anti zutara #because i really don’t want any drama #my asks

[i-am-suffer]

I’m going through the anti Aang tag rn and…. sigh….. there’s so much bull shit….. like people can have whatever opinions they like but so many of them are based off of unbelievably shallow takes on Aang’s character and character arcs. People are choosing to hate a fictional child because they can’t be bothered to see anything other than the worst in him. So now, in a fit of saltiness, I will be debunking some of the recent Aang criticism I’ve found.

Firstly:

Huh???? Whoever you are, anon, I think you’re the one who doesn’t know what good character writing is. Aang isn’t my all-time favorite, and he’s not always written consistently, but he still manages to tell a compelling story of a boy who, even after the genocide of his entire people and with the weight of the world on his shoulders, still manages to hold on to his happiness, his kind spirit, and his morals. And even though he makes mistakes (mistakes that his antis refuse to stop screaming about) he’s still a good person. Not even deep down, either, it’s right there for everyone to see. Which makes it doubly frustrating when people ignore that obvious fact.

Secondly:

Okay, so the context of the comic panel is this: Aang is mulling over his feelings for Katara, and he’s a little sad. Katara walks in, wanting to train with him, but he says he doesn’t want to. Katara thinks he needs to train, especially his firebending — and she’s not wrong — but then she starts throwing water at him and asking him to spar with her. So Aang, frustrated, does some firebending. That’s about where the comic panel is taken from. Taken out of context like that, he looks like he’s about to attack her, but he doesn’t. He actually gets really scared about almost hurting her and asks her if she’s okay. So, thank you for showing the whole unbiased truth, and not ignoring any parts that show things that contradict your opinions on any characters, tumblr user the-badger-mole. You clearly know the importance of reading the entire story before forming said opinions.

*deep breath* Okay. Now let’s talk about the Ember Island Players.

I don’t think Aang kissing Katara was a good decision for the writers to make. In my opinion, Aang was being ooc. They also should have shown him apologizing to Katara afterwards (which I definitely think happened because why else would Katara make the decision to be with him in the last episode?) But even onscreen, Aang isn’t portrayed as being in the right, and he’s clearly shown regretting his actions. He hits himself and calls himself stupid, and he was miserable for the rest of the episode. It was a mistake on his part, and he’s incredibly guilty about it. And it’s important for shows aimed at kids to show characters making mistakes they could make, teaching them not to do those things. That being said, I don’t think Aang traumatized Katara by kissing her. If he had, she wouldn’t have come back to him, and she wouldn’t have initiated the kiss in the finale. Katara is not the type of person to resign herself to a life of assault, and Aang is not the type of person who would knowingly assault someone, especially not someone he cares about as much as he does for Katara.

Which leads into the next criticism:

I am flabbergasted. What do you mean he never helped Katara with her problems? Who was willing to drop everything to take someone he had just met all the way across the world so she could learn waterbending? Who stood up for her when Pakku was being a misogynist? Who comforted her when she was crying about being forced to bloodbend? Who gave up the chance for ultimate power because her life was in danger? And that’s just what I can list off the top of my head. And of course he empathized with her! Also, the kiss at the invasion wasn’t assault. It may have taken Katara by surprise, but it wasn’t assault. Just say you don’t like Kataang and leave it at that.

Fourthly:

It wasn’t handed to him. The lionturtle was foreshadowed in season two, in the Library episode. And stop acting like a thirteen-year-old killing a man with his hands is the best solution. Taking a life is deeply traumatizing, whether or not it’s justified.

Fifthly:

I can only think of one time where the pan-up thing happened, in the fortune teller episode (lmk if I’m wrong tho). Getting flustered when your crush looks pretty is not a crime like these people say it is. Also, Aang literally travelled across the world with Katara and has seen her at her worst, and yet people still have the audacity to claim he doesn’t know her as a person? And don’t try to tell me he doesn’t respect her (“A herd of rhinos… or two waterbenders” —Aang).

Next:

Bro. This boy had his entire people killed, including his father figure and all his friends, and just when he’d made two new friends, they were given an opportunity to leave him and seemed to want to. He was afraid of losing Sokka and Katara! He didn’t hide the map out of malice. Plus, he was going insane with guilt the whole time he was hiding it! Sure, it was presented in a comedic light, but he was clearly suffering! And when he got found out and his friends understandably got angry and left, he didn’t try to stop them! He didn’t care about attention, he cared about his friends. (Plus that whole episode was really poorly written, not just with Aang.)

Okay, that about wraps things up. Thank you for reading my long, salty post. I’m going to put this in the anti Aang tag in an attempt to get the antis to actually think about their opinions for once >:3 To my fellow Aang Aapreciators, I congratulate you on your good taste. Love you guys <3

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla aang #atla meta #pro aang #aang apprectaion #aanglove #avatar aang #pro kataang #avatar the legend of aang #aang defense squad #aang #anti aang #aang critical #long post

[fighting-these-demons]

So the post that I wanted to reblog with commentary was locked (understandably) so I'm making my own dang post lmao!

Ok so! Since this isn't going to be on the original post anymore and since I'm generally not the type to put criticism directly in a tag I'll be sensoring Zvt4rla. I'm all for the ship, but I'm not fond of how fandom has behaved since 2005. With that out of the way,

Here's what I was going to comment on the above:

Just as a simple read of the initial posts: neither was explicitly trashing Zvt4rla.

Criticizing shipping conventions involving Katara, sure, but trashing? Nah.

Like it's completely valid for someone who ships Zvt4rla to view them through a lens where they either get and stay together in an on-again off-again way without marriage or in a temporary and highly passionate way without marriage.

And honestly if you go with the political marriage trope then Toph DOES make much more sense because the Fire Nation doesn't really have claim over the Southern Water Tribe and a marriage to Katara wouldn't realistically secure any political power with the Northern Water Tribe since they split 2 generations before. So a Zvt4rla marriage really wouldn't actually fix much of anything.

Literally if you're going for political intrigue or national healing through marriage then Tophko is the better couple to pick. It gives you WAY more to work with.

I know that chill Zvt4rla shippers that don't demonize Aang and ignore his and Katara's character arcs exist out there. I see them every once in a while, which is cool.

Honestly though, most Zvt4rla shippers spend a bunch of time demonizing Aang with made up bullshit to morally justify their shipping preferences.

Which is ridiculous considering they could just, idk, say they like the visuals and chemistry of Zvt4rla better instead of trying to make Aang into The Literal Devil to defend their ship.

Like hell at this point even though Kataang is my number 1 ship in AtLA I'm heavily into Zukaang as a close second because of all the parallels with Sozin/Roku and the fact that Aang seemed pretty attached to Kuzon pre-canon. Plus the Blue Spirit episodes and the Dancing Dragons and the Totally Normal Dual Monuments Zuko has built to represent his Friendship with Aang in TLOK. It's got a LOT of textual support and a lot of chemistry.

But Zukaang shippers aren't out here demonizing Katara to make Zuko into a better choice for Aang.

You can just let a couple split for unspecified reasons or not get together for minor differences.

You don't have to make the ex-partner into a monster to ship something outside of canon.

ALSO Zuko-Katara-Aang or Katara-Aang-Zuko are always a possibility y'all.

You don't have to break Katara and Aang up to get Zvt4rla to happen.

Aang's an air nomad. Air Nomads seem pretty chill about earthly attachment. And like I said, all 3 seem to like each other an awful lot... I don't think he'd be the type to hold it against Katara.

Now KATARA would probably need to work through 8 layers of possessive fury to get there despite her attraction to Zuko - since she's shown time and again that she takes other people flirting with Aang VERY badly (understandable) - but I believe they could get there eventually.

It might take a few years and lots of reassurance but still, they could work out some sort of relationship between the three of them no matter how you view it whether as permanent or temporary.

Whether that's Zuko and Aang as friends that both love Katara who loves both Zuko and Aang, or as all three in love with each other in different ways for different reasons but with love equally as strong in all directions.

Just because it's an ot3 doesn't mean that all 3 have to be present at all times. You can have moments between 2 partners of the ot3 that are just between them without the 3rd member of the relationship being present.

The Ot3 leaves room for all 3 ships: Kataang, Zvt4rla, and Zukaang

#Atlashipcourse #Aang is truly the Canon Female Love Interest Murdered For Her Crimes Against Yaoi in this fandom except it's another Het ship #I feel so bad for him #He's so kind and good and full of love and because he's in the way of an intensely popular ship he's ripped to shreds #He doesn't deserve it y'all #Jesus leave the guy alone #Multishipping is incredibly difficult in this fandom because of how toxic zvt4rla shippers can get #But I'm multishipping anyway #AND LET TOPH HAVE MORE LOVE INTRESTS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE GAANG GEEZ #She had a big stinking crush on Sokka and people just like ignore that #She has a type and Zuko shares a handful of qualities with Sokka #Zuko/Sokka/Suki/Toph ot4? #Like #It works travel wise too #Sokka and Toph are the most mobile of the 4 and can visit pretty much at will #And Zuko and Suki and Sokka are a thing for a whike post Maiko break up #And then Toph makes her way into the fold as she gets older and bolder and more confident when it comes to matters of the heart #Before they all break up for whatever reason further down the line #Maybe Suki wants something permanent and committed like starting a family and the other 3 can't do that #Just like #Dang it has sucked being someone that loves Aang since the earliest days. The show loves Aang but if you stood up for Aang irl or online #You'd get roasted for liking the fruity sweet girly boy instead of the cool edgy manly boy and like #For some reason despite all the cultural change between then and now that still hasn't changed in this fandom #It's so weird it's like a time capsule of fandom bullshit #Like I've watched the western YYH fandom completely change over the years from toxic bs involving Kazuma Kuwabara hate and Keiko bashing #And ridicule that you'd get if you shipped Hiei and Kurama with anyone outside of each other #Into the multishipper's paradise that it is today as Western Values changed but AtLA fandom is stuck in 2007. 😞

[sokkastyles]

Do you think that if Zutara was canon, the people who justify Kataang by saying that it's canon would've shipped Zutara instead?

Some of them would. Really, it depends on a lot of factors, like why people ship things in the first place. Some people are only interested in canon pairings, and some people who ship KA definitely are those kinds of people. But it also depends HOW it's presented if zutara were canon.

What I mean is, yes, it's true that some people ship things based on whether they are canon, but it's also true that some people who ship KA do so because the narrative leads us to hope Aang will get with Katara in the end, because we've been watching him crush on her from the first episode. The show wants us to identify with Aang's crush, which of course is one of the big criticisms of people who don't feel like KA prioritizes Katara's feelings enough. But if you're one of the viewers who watched the show and identified with Aang the way the show leads you to, then you ship KA.

Let's say zutara does become canon. What does that mean? Does it mean the romance is instead written from Zuko's perspective? If that were the case, the people who ship KA because they identify with Aang's crush would likely also ship zutara in this theoretical scenario. However, a lot would have to be different about the show for us to conceive of it this way. Zuko isn't positioned as the hero of the story, especially not at the beginning. He is A hero and a point of audience identification, but the show has to work to get him there because they position him as a villain at first. So if the narrative were to present zutara as the canon romance with the narrative being about Zuko's crush on Katara, a lot would have to change.

That's why a lot of people who identify with Katara ship zutara, because Zuko's relationship with the other characters isn't about Zuko's feelings, and when it is, it's about how Zuko has to change to meet the needs of the other characters, not the other way around.

The other theoretical canon zutara scenario is the one I see most zutara stans advocating for, the one where not much changes in the main narrative of the show, but have Aang's crush on Katara remain unreciprocated while growing Katara and Zuko's relationship into something romantic. This sort of narrative can be done, and is a more popular way of writing young adult media nowadays than it was twenty or so years ago, because conversations about what girls want and consent are more prevalent than they used to be.

Of course, even in narratives that do prioritize a female character's feelings, you still get people who will only identify with a male character or prioritize his feelings, because even though the Nice Guy narrative has gotten a lot of criticism in recent years, it still exists, and has existed for a long time.

I also tend to the think that no matter how well zutara was written and how it prioritized Katara's feelings, you'd still have people screaming about how Zuko is a bad boy who is corrupting Katara and leading her astray from wholesome good guy Aang, because people already say that and Katara and Zuko only hug platonically onscreen. As I said, the nice guy narrative is so prevalent in our society that people imagine that it's there even when it isn't. Which is actually really quite meta, because Aang did the same thing with Katara in "Ember Island Players" when he yelled at her for the imagined actions of her actress and how she didn't magically end up in a relationship with him despite him never once asking her out.

But, again, people ship things for all sorts of reasons and I'm certainly not saying all people who ship KA do so because it's canon or for bad reasons, just as not everyone who ships zutara would have wanted it to be canon or cares whether it is. Some people ship characters who never interact in canon and that's perfectly valid, too. That's the main problem with the "it's canon" justification, because at the end of the day, people ship things for all sorts of reasons, and a lot of people have really good and creative reasons for why they ship stuff. In my view, whether something is canon or not is one of the least interesting reasons to ship something, because most of my participation in fandom is about whether or not there's a story to explore, and noncanon ships usually have the most untapped potential. But that's just me.

#zutara #antikataang

[monaluisa]

What happened, guys? 

#atla #zutara #kataang #zukka #i saw someone call themself 'kataang-critical' #can we not just get along??? #it's a kids show????? #you don't have to like the way kataang is written #or the way they almost made zutara a thing and then didn't #but like holy shit #what does 'kataang-critical' even mean? #did we have to make a whole-ass dictionary for the ship war

[shifuaang]

Kataang and zukaang for the ship ask

I think anyone who knows me knows how much I adore Kataang. They were one of my very first ships as a young teen, and the fact that I'm still shipping them to this day - even harder than I did in my youth - speaks volumes. Aang and Katara's love is the embodiment of the love of his entire people reborn, and there is something so profoundly beautiful about that. I've never seen that executed in any other piece of media which makes them incredibly special and unique to me. It's almost difficult to put into words how much they mean to me. Here's a meta I always refer to that does a pretty amazing job at describing why their love is so meaningful.

As for the brutally honest part: I desperately wish the Kataang fandom was not married to LOK canon. I think the fandom has a tendency to cling to LOK as 'definitive proof' of Aang and Katara's relationship withstanding the test of time. I do understand why considering it's been like 15 years since ATLA ended and anti-Kataang rhetoric is still extremely prevalent in the fandom; LOK has become a lifeline for a lot of shippers. But I've seen people bend over backwards to justify some of the writing and character decisions in LOK when it's okay to just admit that it was a bad show. It's okay to write new children and a new story for Aang and Katara. It's okay to criticize the way they were written post ATLA, even if that means you agree with ZK shippers on some points. The version of their lives that LOK put forth isn't anywhere close to what I envision for them, I don't like the cloudbabies, and I consider LOK an entirely separate entity from ATLA. LOK canon compliant Kataang is hands-down my least favorite part of the Kataang fandom.

My opinion on Zukaang is here!

#ask meme #anonymous