#I love maiko and sukka | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zukkaonthebrain · 5 months

Text

my favorite thing abt being a multishipper is ignoring the canon ships :3

#taang #zukka #zukki #mailee #tyzula #I still like the canon ships tho guys PLS don’t attack me #I love maiko and sukka #pro maiko #atla maiko #maiko #sukka #<3 them #bloopbabbles

202 notes · View notes

flameohotwife · 7 months

Note

So I always thought the canon pairings in AtLA had good writing/development but all the Aang and Mai bashing has made me decide to rewatch the series because shippers of a certain other ship called them "abusive" and Aang sexist. But honestly, I love how Mai calls Zuko out on his jealousy and possessive behavior in "The Beach" and Aang is always supportive of Katara's dreams, even refusing to be trained by Pakku because he's sexist to Katara. I like that Sukka teaches kids watching the show to treat women with respect but also Kataang and Maiko in the examples I mentioned above are also good examples of feminist moments in the show too.

YES! Anon, say it louder for the people in the back! There are so so SO many amazing feminist moments in this show and honestly I loved watching it with my kids (multiple times, haha) for that reason. I don't remember growing up with media that showed SO may instances of how girls/women could stand up for themselves in those types of situations. I love how Katara stood up to Pakku (with Aang's support! His little "Go, Katara!" makes me smile every time) and also how she CONSTANTLY takes boys on in fights, from pirates and Rough Rhinos to the taunting kids that subsequently get frozen where they stand ("oh, a girl has her ways") and anyone who insults Aang. How SHE is the one to defeat Azula in the end. How the WHOLE SHOW starts with her rant against Sokka's sexism. How Suki finally put's Sokka in his place. How Toph had to be played by "a really BUFF guy" in EIP because the Fire Nation couldn't admit to being bested by a tiny, 12-year-old girl. How Mai won't let Zuko treat her like a possession with no agency of her own. How she is the one to save HIM in the end at Boiling Rock (how's that for a damsel in distress?). How Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are trusted by the Fire Lord to perform tasks even the highest generals can't achieve. How the show is relentlessly turning sexist stereotypes on their heads and making viewers question what they think they know.

Beyond the feminism (which you all probably already know I adore so much), I love that each of the leading boys has learning experiences wrt less-than-ideal behaviors towards girls/women, because in real life boys (and girls, too!) are GOING to make mistakes as they're learning and it's important to show how they can move beyond those mistakes and not forever be defined by them. Zuko learns not to be a possessive asshat like he is in The Beach (at least, we don't see him act that way towards Mai again--he might as well have broken up with her via text and not given her the option to follow him to the "good side," but he never acts possessive again. Baby steps). Aang learns he can't just solve their relationship problems by kissing Katara when she's confused. He gives her space and she clearly thinks he's learned from it by the end (really, by the next episode). Sokka learns not to be sexist and that sometimes girls are going to be stronger/better fighters than he is AND THAT'S OKAY. Good, even! It doesn't make him "less of a man" or anything like that, and we don't hear those sexist ideas come out of his mouth again. ALL of these make great talking points for parents watching the show with their kids, too.

Kids make mistakes. They lean on stereotypes or prior experiences and sometimes that bites them in the butt. AtLA shows that we can teach kids hard lessons. Not only can we fight back against injustice but we can improve ourselves when we've been the ones to mess up. And I really think that's something special.

Thanks for sending in your thoughts, anon! You're so right.

#kataang #maiko #sukka #kataangtag #atla gaang #atla feminism #anon #asks #i know everyone hates EIP but honestly it's my kids' favorite episode and i LOVE the conversations it generates

87 notes · View notes

cdlunee · 1 year

Text

Kataang and Zutara Shippers on my dash:

Me ignoring it all so i can just enjoy amazing art, discourse, headcanons, fic, popular and rare ships, and analyses in the atla tag:

218 notes · View notes

prying-pandora666 · 3 months

Text

What Your Ship Says About You

It’s so interesting how certain ship fandoms behave relative to their characters.

Zutara fans are deeply passionate and ready to fight at any moment. They don’t care what canon (authority) says, they’ll fight them too. They also have very creative souls and explore possibilities that others wouldn’t have even considered. However they can be hotheaded and their passion can turn to aggression. Just like Zuko and Katara.

Kataang fans are more peaceful usually, content to bask in the zen of being canon. But if you drag them into a fight, they’ll bring the fury like they’re in the Avatar State! They strive to find coherency for the canon couple and accept what they cannot change rather than fight a fruitless battle. Just like Aang and Katara.

Ty Zula fans are fierce and sometimes they say things that don’t make sense to others because it’s based on “vibes” (auras). But if you insult them, they’ll come at you with the full force of their collective might. Just like Ty Lee and Azula.

Toko/Zutoph fans don’t care about the rules and are happy to enjoy their ship without feeling the need to defend it as canon. They’ll hit you over the head with their love for the ship in their memes or stealthily lure you in with fanart. Under their rash surface though, there’s some heartbreaking and vulnerable metas. Just like Toph and Zuko.

Zukka fans are just fun. Although sometimes there’s the occasion where they slip into taking themselves too seriously, and need to remember they have nothing to prove. They’re fine the way they are even if it’s not canon. Just like Zuko and Sokka.

Sukka fans are lovely and I haven’t ever seen them start fights with anyone, and yet Bryke continues to do them dirty and neglect them, even going so far as to imply this ship has broken up. Just like Suki and Sokka.

Maiko fans handle criticisms with smug dismissal and apathy a lot of the time, but set them off and you’ll see another side. It has ardent defenders but most of it seems like a defensive reaction against much more stable ships. Just like Mai and Zuko.

Taang fans are myths of epic proportion. Can’t tell if they never existed or if they simply vanished. Just like Toph and Aang.

Tokka fans are fun and most people will get along with them. But if you’re one of the few to get on their nerves or find them annoying? You’re gonna have a bad time. Just like Toph and Sokka.

Sokkla fans are tactical. They don’t usually get in fights for the ship, they just slowly lower your defenses with beautiful fan art. Sneaking in past your walls, once they’re in they’ll bring the receipts with their metas and brainwash you to their side. Just like Sokka and Azula.

Ty Suki fans are perfect and correct and deserve a giant gay island all to themselves and their girlfriends. Just like Ty Lee and Suki.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #Ship wars #this is a joke #nobody take this seriously please #Zutara #kataang #Ty zula #Toko #zutoph #zukka #sukka #maiko #taang #tokka #sokkla #Ty suki

277 notes · View notes

katarasmomsnecklace · 2 days

Text

I wanna talk about all my fav ATLA ships cuz being a multishipper can suck sometimes

I wanna look at ship tags and not see hate for another ship in them

SPREAD THE LOVE

KatAang: Classic friends to lovers. Couples who commit ecoterrorism together stay together

TAang: She was a punk He did ballet what more can I say. But like actually they're so fun to analyze with what we have in canon, they legit give soulmate vibes.

ZuTara: SHOT THROUGH THE HEART another fun one to analyze, opposites attract/enemies to lovers it's a good time

KaToph: They're defined by overcoming their "weaknesses" Katara fought for her right to be a master despite her gender and became one of the most powerful benders because of her will to fight. Toph literally invented a whole new bending style BECAUSE of her blindness. Love them

MaiLee: Bad bitches deserve bad bitches, we love a sunshine and sunshine protector. They're fighting styles compliment each other as do their personalities

MaiKo: 'I love Zuko more than I fear you" will never not be the hardest line in the show. *doesn't care she got pickles* "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU SHE SAID NO PICKLES"

Ty Luki: I just want Suki to show TyLee the ropes of being a kyoshi warrior. The have so much they can teach each other also if you like the Airbender! TyLee headcanon there's something poetic about her unlocking her powers with kyoshi's fans

YueTara: MOON AND OCEAN NEED I SAY MORE

ZUe (I actually don't know their ship name) we in rare pair hell but SUN AND MOON NEED I SAY MORE also applies to Yue x Azula you guys come up with the coolest scenarios that put the either fire sibling in the north pole, this fandom is so creative

ZuKKi: Let Sokka pull lol but actually a King and His Guard and King and his Ambassador, it's like Sukka is great but make it better

Mai TyLee and Suki should be a bigger ship cuz I swear I'm the only one that sees it (help me name them)

Tell me about your favorite ATLA ships I freaking love these characters and I love when they love each other

93 notes · View notes

bluespiritshonour · 13 days

Text

Another thing I've been muling over: a complain I've seen about Maiko is that she keeps him from going on the right path—and... I agree.

For Mai, Zuko's well-being is her sole concern and the rest of the world could crash and burn and that's... Okay?

Realistically speaking, your support system should NOT be one person. One thing I love about ATLA is that (despite romance writing not being one of it's strong points) the lack of ships that follow the tropes.

Kataang is not an archetype. Neither is Sukka or Maiko.

Having your support system be just your romantic partner isn't healthy (for them or for you) or realistic. But most romances do that and until I watched ATLA it didn't occurred to me that that's not a good thing.

ATLA and Maiko are very realistic in that Zuko needs both the Gaang and Mai. He needs the Gaang to hold him accountable for every shitty little thing he did—and he needs Mai there to keep from spiraling and self-destruction.

Zuko and his uncle were de facto conquerors, so they had to do much more to redeem themselves than Mai and Ty Lee (mere soldiers, but NOT innocent) had to.

Zuko had to work hard to earn the Gaang's forgiveness (personal opinion: he should've grovelled more and he should've been called out on his racism against Aang) and Uncle Iroh reconquered Ba Sing Se in the name of it's people.

They both did reparations to the very people they hurt. And their crimes were much more direct and vicious compared to Mai and Ty Lee’s.

As someone not as responsible as them, Mai and Ty Lee's redeeming themselves was at the Boiling Rock.

And well, when Zuko is Firelord right after the war—he would be paying for the crimes of his ancestors. He needs the Gaang there to keep from acting like he did with Katara pre-Southern Raiders (everyone else seems to have forgiven me!) and he needs Mai to keep himself from actually spiralling into self-destruction and undeserved guilt (Sozin's and Ozai's faults aren't his even if he's paying for it and someone needs to remind him that)

So, yeah. He needs them both for different things.

As for Mai, her conflict was that she was never allowed to express herself. And loving Zuko made up for that—she finally stands up for something she believes in (not in the cause, but in Zuko) and Zuko didn't even have to do anything beside exist. He didn't “fix her.”

Although, again I do have the the complain that Mai has to do a lot of emotional labour for him and if you really are gonna shit on Maiko: it's Zuko who needs to step up, not Mai—well, Mai tried to “fix him” and she couldn't!

That's so important to me!—I’m tired of girl fixes boy narrative. And she couldn't fix him because only he could fix himself and Mai herself is used to making the best out of a situation and being selfish/passive/choosing the path of least resistance. She tried to do to Zuko what worked for her (or maybe didn't, considering she was coping)—and well—later when Zuko's Firelord it'll be Mai who keeps him from harming himself.

Zuko needs both to be balanced out.

He needs multiple people to act as support system and that's both healthy and realistic. Mai isn't everything and neither should she be.

I know what the comics did; don't bring them up here. It's not about the comics.

#maiko #atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #mai #atla mai #gaang #zuko and the gaang #atla maiko #honestly i would admit that atla's writing of romance is lacking #but if you don't like maiko it's not mai's fault #if anything it's zuko's #jerk didn't even apologize for his behaviour on the ember island #mai threw her lot in with him whole heartedly no hesitation #he should've made up to her too #say whatever you want but mai loved that boy #in defense of mai #i just felt like word vomiting #pro maiko

71 notes · View notes

biochem-in-training · 17 days

Text

Everywhere I see, there's always a ship pairing battle between Kataang vs Zutara vs Zukka. But what I have seen so far in both Tumblr and Twitter (or X 😒):

Kataang (Katara/Aang) shippers are the worst bullies you would ever see. With their childish excuses and constant harassment. There's even worse things from them that could be triggering for some people. I understand it's canon (I know man, it's everywhere 🙄), but don't boast it. On this day and age, the tropes for Kataang would be unacceptable, for example, lack of consent or lack of meaningful conversations between two people (both from Aang, sorry kid). In contrast, I like their artworks; it's fun and cheerful. In the past, I had seen Kataang shippers who were neutral to other ships, but that's rare these days.

Zutara (Katara/Zuko) shippers are humble or passionate (depends on the person), supportive and have the best resilience than all the ships. I've seen some people writing University-style essays about why Zutara is better, with actual evidence and quotes from the show, that would make literature professors proud. Also, I love witnessing how they defend or provide comfort whenever someone is bullied or harassed. Additionally, they create beautiful artworks. Unfortunately, I hear a few Zutara shippers bullying others, but I've not witnessed it so far. I would be disappointed and angry if I do see it.

Zukka (Sokka/Zuko) shippers are chill. I love their quiet emergence and possibly overtaking both ships, like a renaissance. They don't argue or bully, rather just stand back as wallflowers; I would like to be with them in that situation as well. Besides, Zukka is Zutara, but with more man-to-man tropes. I like their artworks - it's comedic like a rom-com style and it does make me chuckle - and their neutrality to anything. Fortunately no homophobic comments from other ships against them, but I'll be very pissed if someone would do that.

[I acknowledge there's also Taang (Toph/Aang), Sukka (Suki/Sokka) and Jinko (Jin/Zuko), but I always see positive contributions to all of them, with no negativity. So I don't mention them. There's also Maiko (Mai/Zuko)... but that's another story to tell.]

But come on, let people enjoy their favourite ships or even just the show! I'm not against any ship pairing as everyone has their own favourite thing and all of us are unique. I've seen way worse in Bridgerton shipping wars between Kanthony (Kate/Anthony) and Polin (Penelope/Colin) on Twitter, but I like both ships!

#avatar the last airbender #shipping wars #analysis #kataang #zutara #zukka #sorry Aang you deserve better

55 notes · View notes

comradekatara · 9 months

Text

atla ships ranked solely by name

reminder that i am basing this off of ship names i have seen frequently enough to be established and therefore judged. the actual makeup of the ship is irrelevant here.

zutara: 1/10. horrible. should be “katuko”

azutara: 0/10. even worse! should be “katzula”

harutara: 2/10. also not good. should be “kataru”

kataang: 8/10. now there’s a ship name!

sukka: 10/10. very jewish name, i love it

zukka: 5/10. i have no objections to it, but i don’t find it particularly inspiring either

zukki: 5/10. meh. not inspiring. i would’ve gone with “sozuki”

yukka: 6/10. pretty nice. “sue” would be funnier though

taang: 10/10. such a great ship name

tokka: 8/10. apparently this is the name of a teenage mutant ninja turtle character. cool

toko: 7/10. short and sweet. i like it

zukaang: 8/10. sounds fun and appealing. a good ship name

zuki: 6/10. it’s fine

tyzula: 7/10. i like that ty lee’s name is first

maizula: 9/10. manages to nearly fit both their names in there! good job

mailee: 6/10. good, but also kind of sounds like it could be another character entirely instead of a ship name

maizulee: 9/10. sounds very fun and exciting. i enjoy this one

ty luki: 8/10. very fun sounding. i know the kids these days are calling it “tysuki,” but i think that’s worse

azuki: 8/10. sounds very fun indeed!

maiko: 9/10. a cute, fun name.

maikka: 3/10. unfortunately this ship name does not spark joy. i would’ve gone with “sokmai” personally

sokkla: 2/10. azula’s name is barely even in there! “azukka” would be even worse though (see: the azutara problem) so maybe “sokzula”?

bakoda: 7/10. a solid ship name.

sutara or sukitara (i’ve seen both): 3/10. haven’t we learned by now? katara’s name should always be first!!!! (i propose “katsuki”)

katoph: 7/10. that’s better

yuetara: 6/10. yue’s name is too short not to come first, so i’ll make an exception for this one. and it sounds pretty

jetara: 6/10. i don’t like that jet’s name comes first, but i do enjoy that he and katara share the T

jetko: 4/10. not actually sure what else it could be, but this name does not spark joy.

jetkka: 0/10. sounds like someone hacking up phlegm.

yueki: 7/10. cute ship name. although again, might i recommend “sue”

urzai: 8/10. surprisingly fun name

jinzula: 8/10. love this name. very cute

jinko: 8/10. also a cute name

not atla but shoutout to both makorra and korrasami for being 10/10 perfect ship names

and then of course, the best ship name of all: mohawk (momo x hawky): ♾/10.

#if i missed anything obvious please let me know in the replies please ridicule me for all time please #posts brought to you by that tiktok of the woman ranking how things get crushed in a hydraulic press #and that other tiktok of the man describing his reaction to seeing dominoes fall

148 notes · View notes

thegaybluejay · 18 days

Text

Just for fun, here are my rapid fire rambling thoughts on the ATLA ships and platonic dynamics hehe (please don’t go full ship wars tho - these are just my opinions as a chill multishipper!)

My Favorite Ships:

• Zukka - My current brainrot and main ship!! I know they aren’t canon but I really love them and their potential okay😭I just feel like their personalities would work so well! Sokka would call Zuko on his shit and Zuko would be good at grounding Sokka when he needs it. Plus I have seen some absolutely breathtaking AUs with this ship! And fire-and-ice vibes except gay! Them <3

• Kataang - Cutiessss!! I love them! They may not be the ship I think about most often, but when I do think about them, they’re adorable! Aang is such a “my wife” guy and Katara absolutely adores him back! Also the last airbender x last southern waterbender dynamic goes HARD! I like that these two are canon!

• Yuetara - Listen I know they barely interacted but THEY’VE ACTUALLY GROWN ON ME SO MUCH LATELY AND I VERY HIGH KEY SHIP THEM! Something about like, Katara thinking about Yue when she bends is so😭Their story would be heartbreaking in the best way!! Sapphic noncanon blorbos <3

• Mailee - These two are SO cute and have so much potential rahhh!! Again, love some noncanon sapphics <3

• Batkoda - Super SUPER cute and silly and fun! The dads fr <3 Bato is either Katara and Sokka’s adopted uncle or their stepdad and I love it for them hehe! This usually pairs well with a “Hakoda adopts Zuko” AU lmao!

Other Canon/Relatively Popular Ships:

• Zutara - A pretty good ship! I see the potential and tbh it’s very very fun to think about sometimes!!! However, some of y’all toxic Zutara stans need to leave my boy Aang alone lmao. Those who are chill tho, I rock with y’all!! Overall, I’m not opposed if it’s done well and I do occasionally seek out Zutara content! I personally do prefer seeing/writing them as found siblings tho, especially with the Azula and Katara parallels!!

• Sukka - Canon cuties!! I really like them! Suki my BELOVED <3 She’s so underrated!

• Yukka - Also canon cuties! They make me sad tho ahhhhh😭😭😭

• Maiko - Also ALSO canon cuties!! They have an interesting dynamic that I can really appreciate! And gotta love Mai <3

• Jinko - Jin my beloved! These two had a super cute dynamic during the one episode they had together lmaoooo, tho I don’t think about this ship too too often.

• Tokka - I don’t mind it if it’s them getting together as adults! But tbh I personally don’t prefer shipping them as teens and I think Toph’s crush was just a typical young girl crush on someone slightly older lol. Definitely not horrible and most Tokka shippers are relatively chill! I like to think Sokka sees Toph as a little sister tho.

Now For Some Of The Crackship-y/Less Popular Ships (based on ships I’ve actually seen):

• Zukki (Zuko/Sokka/Suki) - Power throuple fr and I love some polyamory!! While I mostly lean plain Zukka, this is extremely fun to think about and would be a great dynamic!

• Mai/Ty Lee/Suki - Saw this in a Zukka fic once and it was adorableeeeee! I may not have plans to actively write this or anything, but it’s cute! Another power throuple!

• Jetko - I don’t think they would be compatible long term, but by god they are very very fun to think about in a “Jet flirts with Zuko and Zuko is completely oblivious and they share one kiss before everything goes to shit” way lmao!

• Taang - I can respect it!! I will always love them as chaos siblings personally, but it’s a totally valid and chill ship!

• Katoph - Not a bad ship at all! I’ve only come across like one post tho lmao. Also I do think I heavily prefer them as found sisters, but that’s just me personally! Again, totally a valid and chill ship!

• Azutara - I’m very neutral on this lmao. I don’t despise it at all and it could be pretty interesting?? But tbh really not something I plan to seek out.

• Azulaang - I mean?? I’m also pretty neutral on this one. Aang would be kind to her if she was trying to get help but…idk lmao.

• Tyzula - I see the potential, but I personally think Mai and Ty Lee had a healthier and more interesting and more realistic dynamic. Just my preference tho!

(I think I just want Azula to be in therapy before I reallyyyyy ship her lmao, but NOT THE KIND OF “THERAPY” SHE WAS GIVEN IN THE COMICS)

• Zukaang - I don’t love this as a ship honestly. The canon age gap as teens is sketchy for my personal taste, tho I’ve seen people ship them in “Aang was 16 when he got frozen” AUs and that’s…better and I can get behind it a little! It would be interesting! But I think Roku being Zuko’s great-grandpa just still throws me off of this ship. I don’t have any beef with the shippers tho! I’m very “live and let live” and I have seen so much worse lol.

Can’t Forget My Fav Platonic Dynamics!

• Sokka and Aang - Two found brothers who share one idiot braincell when they interact LMAO! Love them always <3

• Sokka and Katara - The siblings ever!!

• Zuko and Aang - Enemies to found brothers!! Canon besties! I love their friendship and their parallels SO MUCH!!

• Toph and Katara - Absolutely ADORABLE as found sisters!!!! Love them!

• Zuko and Katara - I really like their development in a platonic sense and I think they’re very very fun and lovely found siblings by the end!!!! Zuko is 100% the brother that just “yeah my sister can and will whoop your ass” LMAO!

• Zuko and Toph - Also very found siblings in my head!! Only have a handful of solo interactions in canon but I DON’T CARE! I WILL FOUND FAMILY THEM ANYWAY! I’m a “Toph seeks out Zuko for sibling hugs/cuddles when she’s cold because he’s basically a space heater” truther.

• Uncle Iroh and the Gaang - Zuko needs to learn to share because that is ALL OF THEIR Uncle!!!

• Hakoda and Zuko - I thrive in this section of the fandom!! They have exactly one (1) frame together in canon, but I ADORE Dadkoda adopting Zuko! Something about it is just so wholesome and cute!!! My very very fav ATLA fics are this trope!!#LetHakodaBitchSlapOzaiAndAdoptZuko2024

• Uncle Iroh and Zuko - God they make me so ALSNDKSNXNCNSNSNXNX, y’know?

• The Gaang as a whole - Obvious I know, but I really do love them😭They all bonded sm and I adore their little family!! I eat up fanart of the Gaang cuddling like CANDY omg. And yes Suki is included in the Gaang because WHY WOULDN’T SHE BE!

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TedTalk. If you made it to the end, you get a big platonic kiss on the forehead MWAH!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zukka #yuetara #mailee #kataang #found family #fanfiction #the gaang #multishipper

44 notes · View notes

firenaition · 8 months

Text

i really will read any atla fic under the sun as long as the love is well-written. kataaang, azulaang, azutara, zutara, maiko, tophzula, sokkla, tyzula, zukka, sukka, toph and some random character no one's ever heard of before, etc.. do these ships tend to contradict each other at every turn? yes! but have you considered that i love consuming content and i love love!

#as long as there's angst i'm going to the party #azulaang #azutara #kataang #zutara #azula #aang #avatar: the last airbender #atla #avatar the last airbender #maiko #sokkla #tyzula

112 notes · View notes

zukkaonthebrain · 21 days

Text

have a wonderful day bisexuals & bisexual supporters. 💗

#atla zuko #atla sokka #atla mai #atla suki #maiko #sukka #pro maiko #i love maiko and sukka #maikoforeverbitches #maiko my love #atla shitpost #avatar the last airbender #atla #bisexuals (real canon)#bi4bi #bloopbabbles

50 notes · View notes

leantailean · 8 months

Note

I really love Toko, but i feel like its often constrained, largely due to the age gap. Like stories will often either be set in post-canon, or the characters will be aged up. Do you feel like that holds true and if yes do you feel like there's a dynamic that i'm missing. And post-canon is fun to explore, but i feel like the most interesting story telling is generally set while the war is ongoing. Conversely i feel like aging up Zuko would be fairly disruptive to his journey. Not that i think those are bad things, i'm really liking Third Time's the Charm that plays with the latter, and arranged marriage which to feels like a very natural trope for them, and obviously i love your art. They say for a reason that constraints inspire creativity. I'm just curious about your thoughts about that.

Hi! Thanks for the ask and sorry for the late reply (sickness prevented me from replying)

I have a lot to say about this, so let’s begin (it’s a loooooong answer).

Age gap is the most common argument against toko I’ve heard. And, to be honest, I find it really strange. You see, Aang and Zuko have the same age gap, and almost the same have Sokka and Toph, and nevertheless Tokka and Zukaang are quite widespread and supported ships, and no one cares for the age gap. That’s why I don’t really see why people believe that age gap as an issue in Toko.

And this argument sounds strange also because If relationship, even romantic one that are originates from friendship are starting to built it doesn’t mean they immediately become sexual. Kataang is canon and beautiful, but in reality several years should pass for them before they step into that kind of relationship. I’m even uncomfortable to think about Maiko having sexual activity in the canon, when they both are around 16.

Besides, it is difficult to imagine Zuko anything but aro/ace to me.

Toko's relationship originates from similar life experiences and mutual support for each other. This is not a love at first sight, but a gradually developing "friends-lovers" relationship. Which, by the way, completely similar with other canonical pairs, such as kataang.

Also I think that this argument originates from extremely wrong, primitive fanon interpretation of Zuko and Toph. Usually Zuko is depicted super mature and super experienced dude (all that dadko bullshit, omg), and they prefer to see Toph as some tomboy-ish brat (here in Russia people call such girls “the guy from the next yard”), rude, not serious and childish. Nothing can be farer from the truth.

In fact, Zuko is emotionally underdeveloped, traumatised and rather infantile due to the abuse he experienced. He Is a teenager with serious anger issues and bad social skills.

Toph is, otherwise, one of the most mature gaang members. She is able to understand and listen to other people , and she never demand anything back (“Yes, thank you Toph”. Indeed it woul be very nice of Sokka and Suki to thank her for saving their lives). Despite her guarding her boundaries carefully she is always open to other people and she is in good contact with her own emotions (which is what Zuko lacks). So in their relationship, at least that the very beginning Toph would be the most mature side (although it’s fair for every possible Zuko’s partner, such as Maiko, Zukka or Zukaang).

So I don’t think that Toko is having any problems in that sense.

On the one hand, I agree that it’s the most interesting when the relationship somehow develops during canonical events, and not in the post-canon. But in this case, this applies to absolutely any couples, except of maiko, kataang and sukka, since they are the only ones developing during the war. Any possible other relationships, such as Tokka, or Zukka, or Zukaang, can exist only in post-canon if canonical couples break up for some reason. Again, Toko is no exception in this case.

Zuko and Toph's relationship (doesn’t matter friendly or romantic) did not get the development they deserve in the third season. In fact, their relationship was just thrown under the bus because of the sloppy writing of the entire third season (to give Zuko one episode with each member of gaang just to check the box, like "mission accomplished" and give almost not developing of his relationship with each of them outside of these episodes. And Toph was robbed even of this). But despite this, toko still has more then any other fanon ships (although “Boiling Rock” is definitely a very Zukka episode). We see that Toph was the first one who believed Zuko, and not just believed - she actively defended him in front of the others and made an attempt to have a chat with him herself. It is important: the fact that Zuko's relationship with Toph is radically different from any other ones with the rest of the gaang member, since she was not with them when Zuko actively hunted the Avatar, and their first close interaction was after his redemption, when he became the best version of himself. Toph has no personal negative experience with him, and Zuko does not feel guilty towards her, and with her he doesn’t need to make up for anything, and this is very important.

Strangely enough, but, one of the most Toko moments of the show is the moment in which Zuko and Toph do not interact personally: the meeting of Iroh and Toph. She is also the first from gaang who met and even, one might say, became friends with Iroh. Iroh, who has always been Zuko's father figure is talking to Toph about real Zuko. Not about the imperialist prince cruelly pursuing the last hope of the world - the way Sokka, Katara and Aang knew him - but about just a boy only Iroh, his closes person, knew. In addition, Iroh, who knows and loves Zuko, says how much he and Toph have in common (Iroh is the first and main Toko shipper, and I will die on this hill). Narratively and dramatically, this is an amazing moment, and I will fight with anyone who says that Toko has little canonical content: any other Zuko ships can only dream about such a moment.

It is also interesting that it is with Toph that Zuko has the most sincere conversation about his guilt towards his uncle. He talked about it with Sokka and with Katara, but it was Toph who was able to tell him the right words that really comforted him and make him smile (seriously, this is the best smile Zuko has ever seen, and it happens during his conversation with Toph!)

We see that they feel extremely comfortable and open with each other, even though they barely know each other.

Toph is the only girl in the canon made Zuko to blush, just a fact. And Toph, in her turn, openly talks to Zuko her feelings for him (I'm not saying that her feelings were already romantic at that time ). "This is how I show affection" is just the best moment.

We can talk about many other canonical points that are important for toko: the similarity of characters and life experience - both Zuko and Toph are from the upper class, both grew up in abusive families and both know what it is to feel unloved by their own parents. The Blue Spirit/Blind Bandit is one of the most interesting and direct parallels of Toph and Zuko - an alter ego that they needes to get away from theirs social roles (a prince and a young lady from an aristocratic families). This is the same direct parallel as the canonical pair has: The Painted Lady/Kuzon. Just as Aang and Katara need alter egos to help others people which is the core of their characters and unites them,Toph and Zuko need alter ego in order to satisfy their own desire for freedom, which they cannot satisfy in any other way.

They are both disabled, forced to deal with the fact that people judge them by their disability and appearance, forced to prove every day what they are more than their disability. Again: neither Zuko nor Toph share such an experience with anyone else, only with each other.

So canonically, toko has a lot of support - certainly no less than any other fanon ship.

After all, they look amazing together.

Also, I just love the moment with kissing doves. Seriously, ATLA rarely show us such a perspective, why they needed to place such a scene in the same shot with Toph and Zuko as if it were foreshadowing their future relationship? God, I love it!

I really like to explore the post-canon, especially since I don’t consider comics and LOK to be canon, although it doesn't even matter - nothing in them contradicts the idea that Toph and Zuko could be together at least at some point in their lives.

To explore alternative universes for toko, such as the arranged marriage plot, is also a very interesting, and it would be great to talk about it another time.

Thank you for the question, I think my thoughts turned out to be a little messy, but I hope it could be interesting to you.

________

Let's talk about TOKO!

#zuko #toph #toko #avatar the last airbender #kataang #i think?#atla #atla fandom discourse #long post #zutoph #ask #we need to talk about toko

51 notes · View notes

i-am-suffer · 1 year

Text

Reasons Why I Hate Zvtara, In No Particular Order

It’s so, so, so basic. Please, can we move on from the Hero Girl x Villain Boy/Good Girl x Bad Boy ships? They’re done to death by now, and I’m really tired of them.

Zuko and Katara are similar in the worst ways. They both have volatile tempers and cases of extreme stubbornness, and any long-term romance between them is likely to end with explosions and tears.

There’s nary a hint of romantic tension between the two in the actual show. In fact, there’s only five episodes (yes, I counted) where Zuko doesn’t see Katara as an obstacle, and where Katara doesn’t hate Zuko’s guts. I prefer ships with a good, solid foundation in canon, or with an interesting enough pairing to warrant any deviations. Zvtara has neither.

The pairing puts Katara with the ruler of a nation that destroyed her home and her culture. She would not like that.

Zk shippers mischaracterize both of the people involved. They cast Zuko as the sexy, brooding bad boy, or the soft UwU abuse victim with zero (0) flaws, or as a combination of the two. And they cast Katara as the sweet, innocent damsel in distress who needs saving from evil abusive incel r*pist Aang, which leads into my next point,

Zk shippers demonize everyone who gets in the way of their tOtAlLy cAnOn ship. According to them, Aang is (as previously mentioned) an evil abusive incel r*pist who feels entitled to Katara. He’s literally twelve/thirteen years old, calm down. Also according to them, Mai is a toxic jealous bitch who is the only reason Zuko’s redemption arc didn’t happen sooner so he could end up with Katara. Mai was one of the two people who unconditionally loved Zuko throughout all his emotional and moral turmoil, and yet Zks conveniently ignore this. (It’s almost like the ship has so little basis in canon that the shippers have to turn everyone into completely different people to make it even remotely plausible, go figure)

Many Zk shippers seem to be projecting themselves onto Katara. This is why y/n exists, guys, stop turning someone else into a hotter version of you.

Zk shippers sexualize both Zuko and Katara, but especially Katara. They 👏 are 👏 traumatized 👏 children. It’s frankly gross how much these two are thought of as having an ultra-sexy adult relationship with each other. Also, Katara is fourteen. Please stop sexualizing young brown girls.

The canon ships are just… way more appealing to me. Kataang? Adorable. Sukka? Wonderful. Maiko? Smart, sweet, and sarcastic (and my comfort ship). Even non-canon ships like Toko, Azulaang, and Maikka have so much potential. Zvtara is fairly bland, and yet zks are raging about how it is absolutely canon and you (specifically) are wrong for not shipping it. It’s a crack pairing at best, and it’s not worth tearing down other people’s ships for.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is not a vessel for Zvtara, so stop treating it like it is

Thanks for reading my post. I’m going to bed now. Good night Tri State Area.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #anti zutara #anti zutara fandom #atla meta #atla katara #atla zuko #atla aang #atla mai #atla fandom #pro platonic zvtara #pro kataang #pro maiko #pro aang #pro mai #pro zuko #pro katara #long post

264 notes · View notes

classialaas · 2 years

Text

ATLA Fandom Survey 2022: Results

For those that are visually impaired or just don’t like graphs, here is a doc with all of the percentages and numbers on the following charts

I got 800 responses exactly! Here are the overall results (ID in alt text):

Under the cut is more detailed, summarized stats. Aka what really matters because these badly made graphs can’t tell us that much.

I’ll be making individual analyses that are Even More Detailed of the most popular answers, so check back if you’re interested.

Something pretty uplifting to see is that very, very few people said they outright didn’t like the show’s writing. It’s why I didn’t bother to make a graph on the question of whether or not people were happy with the show’s writing. There might be a lot of squabbles that happens in this fandom but at least we can all fall back on a shared love for this show. Love doesn’t mean lacking criticism, of course.

Shipping Stats

I’ll do this first since i know that’s what a lot of you are here for, lol!! To no one’s surprise, zutara and zukka dominated the charts in every way. They just can’t leave people’s minds.

Zutaras were quite uniform in this survey. If you like zutara, there is a strong chance you identify as female, specifically an 82% chance (big chance!). The most common age range is 24-30 years old, but 18-23 is close behind. There is a significant number of people between 31-40. The most common sexualities are split almost halfway between bisexual and straight. There is also an even split between favorite characters of Zuko and Katara. The majority are happy with sukka as a canon pairing, but not kataang or maiko. As everyone and their mothers expected, the most disliked pairing is kataang. The majority only accept the original show as being canon.

Kataang shipper’s stats were similar to zutaras, and yet so different. It’s only slightly younger, the majority being 18-23, but only a slightly larger number of teenagers. The majority identify as female, but was a more significant number of male and non-binary respondents than zutaras. Their favorite character is largely Aang and least favorite is largely Azula. A staggering amount are (understandably) happy with the show’s canon pairings. Taking up the mantle of zutara’s long-run rival, zutara is their least favorite pairing. The majority of them accept any material overseen by bryke to be canon.

Where zutaras and kataangs had very consistent stats, zukka shippers are much more of a mixed bag. This is a young fanbase, with the majority being 18-23, but a large amount also indicated they are under 18. The majority of zukka shippers are LGBT+. Zuko was largely the most popular character, with Sokka only receiving half the votes that Zuko did. The majority of them are happy with all three canon pairings. Zukkas don’t like problematic ships, with zucest being the most disliked pairing, and zukaang being the third most disliked. The second most disliked was the rival ship zutara. The majority of them take all ATLA-verse material as canon.

Zukaang shippers are like zukkas in that they are also a mixed bag in terms of demographics. The majority are LGBT+. Another young fanbase, lot of them are young adults, with the majority being 18-23. Aang once again gets a spotlight as the favorite character. An equal amount dislike zukka and zutara respectively. The majority only take the original ATLA show as being canon.

Sukka shippers are so diverse that I barely have anything to say. That is what I have to say. The only ones that stand out is that the majority of respondents are female and between 18-24. There is the one other person that’s 51-60 in this bunch! The majority like Sokka the most. A lot dislike Jet, but Zhao is still the king of least favorites here.

Maiko shippers are only united in some areas. The age ranges wildly, with the majority being 24-30, but there is a good number of other age ranges, including the sole respondent that is 51-60. A staggering majority identify as female and/or straight, but bisexual maiko shippers are not far behind. Maikos love Mai, with the majority choosing her as a favorite, but a lot of them don’t like Jet. Just like kataangs, most are happy with the canon pairings. Zutara is the least favorite, but zukka is not far behind. The fan base is split in what they consider to be canon.

Some more popular pairings were tyzula, tokka, sokkla, jetko, and mailee. None had enough responses to get solid metrics, but here are some stats that stand out. Tyzula respondents were mostly lesbians!! 🎉 🎉🎉 Most jetko respondents were non-binary. Sokkla respondents really don’t like Iroh and had higher than average male respondents.

The majority of people who selected “I don’t ship” identified as male and/or straight. Toph and Iroh are the most popular in this bunch, while there is no shared ground on a least favorite. The majority don’t have a least favorite ship, but zutara was not far behind. They are mostly happy with the show’s canon pairings and writing, and take anything overseen by bryke as canon.

Character Stats

I’m so glad I let people insert options for their least favorite characters. Some honorable mentions: The old man who snitched on Haru, Haru’s mustache, the mayor in Avatar Day, Aunt Wu, the circus master that abused Appa, Hahn, Sparky Sparky Boom Man, Kiyi, the two tribes in The Great Divide, Kei Lo, and Meng. Some of the responses had very lavish insults attached to them.

The demographics of Zuko fans are similar to that of the overall survey, likely due to the fact that there were so many respondents that chose him as their favorite, with one exception being that there were more respondents than average that identify as asexual. Zuko fans, understandably, really don’t like Zhao and Ozai. Most shippers that have Zuko as one half of their pairing select Zuko as their favorite rather than the other half, such as Mai or Sokka.

I don’t have anything interesting to say about Katara fans as they were essentially a 1:1 reflection of the zutara stats.

Sokka fans are young, a large majority of them being under 18. The majority are also, unsurprisingly, zukka shippers, and the stats reflect as such. More respondents than average selected Jet as their least favorite character.

Toph fans were largely diverse in demographics, reflecting the stats of the overall survey, but with significantly more respondents that are under 18. The favorite pairings was close between zukka, tokka, kataang, and people that don’t ship. Toph fans are generally happy with the overall franchise.

Other observations:

One of my mini hypotheses was confirmed: A whole lot more people picked zucest as their least favorite pairing instead of zukaang after I added it to the list of options, despite there always being an option to type it in. I’m talking a staggering number.

At around 230 responses, I added zucest to the list of options. My personal theory on that is that anyone that doesn’t have a strong personal opinion about one specific ship will instead choose the most “problematic” of the bunch, zukaang because of the age gap and zucest because of the, well, ‘cest. That’s not to say that there weren’t people that didn’t pick zukaang after zucest was added and vice versa, but the difference in numbers was immediate.

A similar thing added to Ozai: a whole lot more people voted for the local Phoenix King after I included him into the list of options. Whatever was on the list of options was crucial to what the final number will be, and I’ll keep this in mind next time I do this.

I did put a lot of the question answers on shuffle, so that the listed answers are always in a random order. Hopefully that mitigated whatever tf that one thing I learned about in my research class where people have a bias to select the first option. Something-bias.

A few people admitted to not having seen the show and were only relying on information they got from fandom. Not judging, but that did make me curious about how common that is…

Final Notes

By this time next year, the new live action show will likely have already started to release. The movie will be on its way, and new graphic novels are coming along quickly. Old fans and new watchers of the original series will still be around. Needless to say, this fandom is NOT going anywhere.

I’m planning on doing this next year, and I’ll continue to tinker with the survey I made, adding new questions. I got some good suggestions on things to add, too. How much things have changed by next year will be an interesting question to answer.

#edit; PLEASE don’t start discourse on this post LMFAO #that’s not what this is about!!!!#atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #zuko #sokka #katara #toph beifong #suki #zutara #zukka #kataang #maiko #zukaang #fandom stats

492 notes · View notes

smilindesperado · 23 days

Note

I'd love to know more about your post-canon Mai fic if you're willing to share! I saw a previous post from you about how it's nearly ready to publish - is it fully written? How long have you been working on it? What's something in particular you're really excited about? Is it Maiko? (You don't have to answer all or any of these questions, of course lol. Just anything you feel like talking about, if you feel like talking about it!)

Truly thank you so much for asking @myargalargan I have been working on this thing for the better part of the past year so the brainrot is sooo real, and I have been dying to gush about it 😆

I'll post the summary here and then everything else below the cut because you gave me the opportunity to ramble and I will happily take it haha

Mai had always wondered what it felt like to be stabbed by the point of her blades. The 100 year war is over, but not everyone is happy. Mai’s not happy either, but she’s beginning to suspect that her discontentment might be self-inflicted. Fortunately, an old Master sees her potential. OR Mai finds her place after the war. And gets a sword.

I've spent the last year plotting, outlining and drafting all 13 chapters - so in a way yes it's fully written, but also no because I edit everything to death. I finished the rough drafts at the end of last year (and some of the chapters are still truly rough but that's what second drafts are for i guess). I'm currently working through the second draft of chapter 5 which is the goal I gave myself to reach before I started publishing to give me a buffer of a couple of chapters at the ready. So it's close.

I'm really excited to get to the ending honestly and how everything comes together. The story came from a mix of scenes I had made for other fics that I really enjoyed writing, but I couldn't make sense of the rest of the plot so I ended up abandoning those wips. So it was really exciting finding a place for them that made sense and seeing the full picture with those scenes. And then also it was important for me to put Mai in a spot after the war that I think she would actually enjoy instead of just blending back into the background of royalty and politics.

I also really enjoyed writing her relationships with other characters, especially with those she's closest to - Zuko, Azula, and Ty Lee. I know you're a Sukka/Sokka fan so you should also know I am continuing my Mai & Sokka besties agenda and there's a fun little arc where they get to work together full of shenanigans (and Suki also gets to knock some sense into Mai)

And yes, it is maiko because I am incurable. I'd say it's:

A-Plot: Mai finding her groove

Followed closely by B- Plot: Maiko romance

Distant C-plot that could probably have been better developed but then I would never publish: some background political scheming that moves the plot forward

#truly thank you for the safe space to gush #i'm happy i can finally start talking about this fic that has consumed me for sooo long #asks #smilindesperado fic #smilindesperado writes #maiko fanfiction #atla fanfiction

16 notes · View notes

kataraslove · 4 months

Note

I love the Kataang fanart archive. Thank you for all the work that you do. I know this is a huge ask, but I was wondering if you plan on extending this blog to Sukka and Maiko as well? I feel like people have such a hard time finding fanart for the Kataang ships because this fandom loves non-canon 😅

first of all, thank you so much, anon! that means a lot to me to hear that you’re really enjoying the archive. i love running it too.

secondly (i think your ask meant hard time finding fanart for the canon ships?) I feel like this is a project that i could only do for kataang. just because i was fully aware of all the kataang fanart and fanartists and where to locate them before i started this blog. all of the art posted on this blog is posted with the artist’s consent.

i’m not as passionate for sukka and maiko as i am for kataang, so i don’t think i could do either of those ships justice if i made the sukka & maiko versions of @kataangfanartarchive. i wouldn’t really have the time/energy/motivation & the blogs wouldn’t be as active (plus can you imagine running THREE fanart blogs? insanity, so to speak).

with that being said, i’m tagging this with sukka and maiko in hopes that someone would be able to pick up these projects! it should be someone who ideally:

knows their ins and outs of sukka or maiko fanart. or, at the very least, is willing to research into the artwork.

very passionate for sukka & maiko

willing to message artists for permission to repost on the archive(s) and only posting when you have full consent from the artists

#sukka #maiko #kataang

20 notes · View notes