#Katara being the mom friend
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i am disgustingly late but for women’s day i wanted to appreciate the mother figures of the world :)
#atla#atla fanart#zuko and ursa fanart#kya sokka and katara fanart#avatar fanart#aang fanart#suki fanart#toph and katara fanart#juST to clarify the last one is not me saying katara is a mom friend bc like. she’s 14#im more saying that it’s literally canon that Toph looks more to katara as a mom than her own mom sooooo#Idk I needed them being soft#anyway hi happy women’s day (very very late uhhhhh)#women’s day
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can you imagine katara and iroh teaming up to chastise the gaang for not remembering to take care of themselves?? (iroh fully scolds katara for it too just not as much)
cause i see it like
katara: the brain and the digestive system require a lot of energy and are connected. that’s why maybe you wouldn’t have the shakes, a bad attitude, and a headache if you fucking ATE LUNCH
sokka: bold of you to assume i don’t have all of those regularly. even when i eat lunch.
iroh: you’re not eating enough ??
sokka: wrong. i have adhd and my adderall is wearing off-
katara: ok fair, that’s an exception
sokka: -and i’m probably concussed
iroh: you’re probably WHAT??
katara: TOPH I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU THREW ANOTHER ROCK AT SOKKA’S HEAD-
toph: he asked me if i could bend bone cause of the minerals in it so i hit him with a rock to see if i could fix his skull.
katara: yknow what. fair enough.
iroh: NO??
#atla#avatar the last airbender#natla#katara#uncle iroh#iroh#sokka#toph beifong#toph#katara is so mom friend cause she’s usually responsible but she’s also filled with annoyance#seriously though do you think earthbenders could bend bone#cause that would be sick#bones are really cool like imagine being able to just. pop your humerus back into place or smth#incorrect quotes#incorrect atla
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Just saw a "best mom character" poll that featured Katara and instead of talking about the fact she's an actual mom and her relationship with her children all the propaganda to vote for her mentioned how "she took on a mother role for her older brother and is the mom friend in the Gaang look at how caring and maternal she is!!" I'm going to stab someone
#that isn't a mother that is a fourteen year old girl#avatar fandom stop parentifying a fucking child please and thank you#and again! she is a mom!! she has three children!!! talk about that instead!!!!#anyway she was up against camila noceda so it's not like she stands a chance anyways but you know#this fandom genuinely makes me want to murder people sometimes#and to be clear this isn't an attack against the person running the polls this is just a general complaint#against people who reduce katara to being a 'mother figure' to her friends. when she really isn't#anyway take her name out of your mouth and go read comradekatara's metas#avatar the last airbender#katara
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momtara hiding behind aang such a mom thing to do (:
#obviously a jab at momtara#i acutally do think there ar lines that can be taken as motherly BUT#she lost her mom violently so her being super protecitve of aang a loved one makes sense#and she was motherly to zuzo as well its just her personality#i hate momtara cause it infatlizes aang#atla#if it was used teo mean shes just protective and caring of her friends/takes charge of stuff id be fine with it#katara#aang#kataang#anti momtara
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“the ember island players” has it all. gaang family bonding, shirtless zuko, theatre nerd zuko, socially awkward zuko (whaatttt nooooo i don’t have a favorite character), cute sokka and suki moments, sokka being a fucking dork, toph and zuko bonding, so many fucking hilarious moments… truly one of the most episodes of all time.
#the only bad part about watching it is that my parents made a z*tara comment >:/#when zuko sat next to katara and aang was being awkward about it my dad was like “now they’re both vying for her attention”#and my mom went “well yeah obviously”#like.. no… sometimes a guy is just friends with a girl without being into her.#and said guy just happens to be the most socially clueless person in existence who doesn’t realize why he’s made the situation weird#A N Y W A Y S. love this episode. do not love that ship.#avatar the last airbender#atla#the ember island players#eli.posts
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Gaang having a crush (bcuz I miss atla) also warning ? Me trying my hardest not to curse in these and making it kid friendly LOL
Aang is kinda obvious, given how young you guys are it makes sense though. It’s definitely his first time having a crush, but he comes to the realization he likes you more than friends rather quickly. After all, he has so many friends, he’d know the difference even if he never liked somebody like that before. While aang is generally speaking a nice guy, I see him doing extra nice gestures for you that he wouldn’t really think of doing for other people. He’s made you a “friendship” bracelet and a necklace as well. Boy or not, there’s nothing wrong with a boy wearing a necklace or bracelet anyway! He blushes around you a lot, this is typically when you are in close proximity to him. And while aang has no problem being physically affectionate around friends, he shy’s away from doing it with you. However, if you’re physically affectionate with him he will very awkwardly reciprocate. His shyness might do him more harm than good if he accidentally hurts your feelings by not being very physically affectionate with you in comparison to the rest of the gaang. Aang is very clumsy around you, and that’s not just falling on his face, he tends to mess up his words around you due to nervousness. However despite his lack of physical affection, he’s a very clingy dude with you and always loves to spend his time with you, and literally laughs at all your jokes no matter how bad they are. In turn, he also always makes jokes and tries to make you laugh literally all the time. Aang is also extremely patient with you, he’d have to be in a very bad mood to ever get angry with you, lol. (The only time I could think of is while aang lost appa, like literally the only time I think he’d be driven to the point of yelling and being angry with you). Even if he was mad at you for other reasons, I can’t see him yelling at you or even being mad for long. He also tends to be very protective, especially if you can’t bend or can’t bend very well. However, because of how caring and overbearing he can be, he may make you feel like you’re weak sometimes. So you two tend to have a lot of conversations about him not being so overly protective when it comes to danger. He can’t help it sometimes, especially when he gets nightmares about you getting hurt. He loves being goofy and dumb around you, and totally tries to impress you with his bending LOL. If there’s something you don’t know or understand, he tries to impress you with his 100 years of knowledge, lol.
Katara can be a bit of a mom when it comes to you at times, only because she worries for you. She’ll be darned if she lets anyone hurt the person she loves the most, she is protecting you through and through. Strong or not, she sees you as somebody worth protecting. She’s not as bad as aang is, but she definitely blushes quite a bit around you. She often tries to get your approval on things, whether that’s taking her side whenever she has an argument with toph or getting your approval on her new clothes. Or perhaps even her hair but .. shrug. She also loves teasing you, kinda like how she teases zuko honestly but she won’t get on your case as much and it’s all in good fun. She’s not funny, but still tries to make you laugh. She may end up embarrassing herself most of the time, but it’s worth it if she gets a little giggle out of you. If you’re a water bender, she’s more than happy to teach you. Probably doesn’t want you learning about blood bending though, so she doesn’t really mention it to you lol. It’s not like she doesn’t trust you, she just can’t imagine somebody she adores doing knowing how to bend in such a frightening way. She keeps you far away from it, as a means to protect you and your innocence. Because boy, she sees you as somebody that could do no wrong. Seriously, it’s kinda annoying to the rest of the gaang if you were ever in the wrong about something because she will defend you to heck and back. Although her crush is obvious, most of the gaang find her crush on you to be sweet (most of the time). She does not tolerate anyone yelling at you, or even being angry at you. She never gets angry at you as well, because again, in her eyes you could do no wrong. Maybeee have a talk with her about the fact you’re not a completely innocent goody two shoes, or not… up to you. Katara is surprisingly forward with you, often going out her way to hug you, to hold your hand, and when you accomplish something amazing, she gives you a kiss on the cheek. You’d have to be really dense to not notice her affections towards you.
Sokka is very obvious, he’s never been the type to hide his feelings so he really doesn’t even bother. However, how he approaches your relationship really depends on how long he’s known you. If you’ve only just met and are starting to become friends he tries to be extremely forward with you about his feelings, and flirts with you. Albeit, very poorly. He’s not as suave as he likes to act like he is. In reality he’s a big dork with a stupid crush. However, if you two have known eachother for years and have been friends for a long period of time, he wouldn’t even know how to approach the situation. Normally, he may try to act cool, like he doesn’t care about you. But in a situation like this, he can’t just do that. It hurts him to even think about pretending not to care about you. He struggles for awhile on how to approach these feelings once they’re realized, but honestly if you’ve been friends for YEARS he’s probably figured it out by now and treats you like always but there’s some slight changes. He’s always been protective but you’ll find that with you it’s to the max, he’s not even this protective of his own sister. Hes even more paranoid around newcomers when you’re apart of the equation. Always says something along the lines of “y/n! Step back! They could be dangerous!” and the others just make fun of him for it lol. He’s always trying to find ways to impress you, with his fighting skills and all. Happy to teach you to ;) but if you’re a bender he finds himself trying extra hard to show you just how cool he can be. He doesn’t blush nearly as much as katara and aang would, but it happens on occasion. This is typically if you said something along the lines of “sokka! Thank you for saving me :))) you’re so strong and amazing and blah blah” or if you were being extremely flirtatious LOL. Low key very clingy and follows you around a lot, but tries to act like he’s just bored and your the best option he has to cure the boredom lol he ain’t as slick as he thinks he is. Is the kinda guy who chooses to always sit next to you, fight alongside you, etc. gets angry whenever there’s a avatar plan and he isn’t with you/separated from you lol. Also suki loves you and thinks you’re great for sokka, if only man’s could just confess already.
Toph is not used to having crushes, she’s never had one. However, that doesn’t mean she’s stupid. She realizes her emotions very well but she does not know what to do with them. She’s not used to having a soft spot for anyone, either. She shows her affection by constantly punching you in the arm. However, if you happen to be very affectionate, she doesn’t pull away. So feel free to grab her hand, hug her, etc. you’ll find she has no qualms with you wanting to be there and helping her, either. Even if it can be a sore subject at times to accept help, wanting to be tough all the time, she appreciates that you don’t see her as a weak blind girl and as a strong person that can take care of herself if needed. She appreciates any reminders you want to help not because you think she’s weak but rather because you care for her. Toph shows she cares, though it’s rare and often is not shown through words. She shows it by protecting you. However she is not overly protective, knowing how bad she feels when people are overly protective of her. She loves to tease you, often being her form of affection. She even likes to train and spar with you. If your often physically affectionate, she expects you to stay that way and may think somethings wrong if you aren’t. In which case, she threatens to beat up whoever wronged you. If it’s not a someone, well, she’s always willing to listen. She’s good at doing that anyway. Because she would be used to your affections she would also start to initiate them. She blushes a bit around you, and you’ll even find she’s brave enough to kiss you on the cheek if you were to save her life or protect her. When toph is sleepy, she likes to lean on you and use you as her head rest. She always likes when you go on about random stuff, and she can just fall asleep to the sound of your voice. She is also kinda obvious sometimes about her crush. Normally, you wouldn’t have any idea, but she has small moments where she makes it obvious. A slip of the tongue gives herself away more often than not. “Nobody cares about my weird toy collection!” “I care… I mean! Psh! Yeah why would anyone care about t something so stupid anyway.” she has her moments.
Zuko is just .. painful. All of the gaang get second hand embarrassment from how awfully obvious he is about his crush. From the constant red cheeks to the nervous stuttering over his words to accidentally fire bending just because he’s so nervous around you.. it’s hard to believe he’s even trying to hide it. He doesn’t even know how obvious he’s being until sokka says something to him about being cooler about you. “Wait.. if you think I’m obvious do you think they know?” “Nah.. they’re totally oblivious.” “Oh… that’s… good…” “what do you mean good?!” but in all seriousness, he acts completely different around you in comparison to everyone else. Even if we’re talking book 1 and 2 zuko, he’s a lot more patient with you (not saying much though cuz boy still has a big temper). He tries really hard to be nice, forced awkward smile and all. He is told that it makes him more … approachable. Though if you’re childhood friends (or have been friends for a long time) he kinda drops that rather quickly. If not though, he tries to actually keep it up. However you’ll find he’s quick to apologize if he blows up on you. Unless it’s in an especially bad mood (by that I mean sadder, rather than madder) but he will come around when he’s feeling better. Gets embarrassed easily around you, like if you tease him his entire face goes red. He just cannot deal lol. Pretty protective, but isn’t overly protective… unless azula is involved because bro will be worse than sokka if she’s involved at all LOL. Is willing to do anything with you, which says a lot. Not a fan typically of “fun” events such as festivals or parties but is willing to go with you without much fuss, he can deal if you’re having a fun time. He gets very jealous though, even when you two aren’t dating. He just doesn’t know how to handle the idea of somebody else liking you, or even worse, you ending up with them. He doesn’t handle jealousy very well, very willing to fight the individual as a means to “protect” you, or whatever excuse he can come up with. Out of all of the gaang, he’s the least ready the confess his feelings. He fears rejection, he fears ruining what you two have together.
Suki doesn’t like to mess around, no bulls, so she’s very bold and very open about the fact she likes you. It’s up to you to take your relationship to the next level if that’s what you desire. She does not hesitate to kiss you on the cheek before a tough battle, a battle she isn’t sure she’d come back from, or one she isn’t sure you’d come back from. If you asked, she’d tell you “it’s cause I like you, silly.” It’s up to you to take it further with her if it’s what you desire. However; she has no qualms with you wanting to be friends for awhile first before anything else. She understands that sometimes people need more time and more trust before building a proper relationship. As a result, suki is very understanding of you as well as your boundaries and never holds these things against you and furthermore doesn’t take this as something she should feel bad about either. For the most part, even she can’t help insecurities. So long as you have good communication, she will not feel as though she’s gross or not good enough for you or something along the lines. She may help you train, if your not a good fighter and just need to learn some basics. She doesn’t mind being the one to protect you, but she’d like you to know how to at least defend yourself even if it’s the bare minimum. She knows fighting helps with her self confidence so she wants you to be able to have that for yourself too. Though I will say, she already treats you like her s/o, even if you aren’t a couple. What can I say? She’s just straight forward and doesn’t like to play around. Suki is very trusting of you, so I can’t say that even when you two do start dating she’s the jealous type, but she can be protective. She likes being the one to keep you safe. She loves to tease and poke fun at you a lot, in a purely affectionate way. You’ll also find she thinks the world of you and finds you, no matter what, to be endearing and special to her. For a strong Kyoshi warrior she has quite the soft spot for you and treats you like an angel from the heavens. She likes grabbing your hand a lot in random moments, almost like a sign to other people that maybeeeee are interested in you, that you’re taken. She may flirt with you from time to time, and it’s rare but you can make her blush:0 all you have to do is beat her in a training match, or be very forward with her and flirt. However it will only work if you’re not normally forward, lol.
#zuko x reader#sokka x reader#aang x reader#toph x reader#katara x reader#suki x reader#atla x reader#avatar the last airbender x reader
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atla fandom please learn to expand your understanding of katara beyond “she’s the mom friend.” and for the love of god, stop viewing every single interaction she has with the gaang as her being motherly. she’s a child too! credit to chiefesskatara on twitter.
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Things that definitely happened Post-War in ATLA a.k.a. assorted headcanons that really boil down to "wouldn't it be neat/funny if...":
Zuko fought an inordinate amount of Agni Kais, to the point that some of the junior officials ended up thinking that it's custom to fight the Fire Lord every once in a while. He was notable for both never losing, and never seriously injuring his opponent.
Aang and Katara helped with the reformation of Ba Sing Se. They became friends with Joo Dee. Katara helped her regain her own memories, and her own name. Some of the women formerly known as 'Joo Dee' formed a theatre troupe, which produced highly subversive counterculture plays. Their anti-authoritarian nonconformist plays became a huge cultural movement, though they did face a fair amount of criticism from the more traditional groups. Aang loved them, and the patronage of the Avatar definitely helped them grow. They also produced a play on the history of the Air Nomads, at the request of Aang. Aang, of course, helped write it.
Sokka once hit his thumb with a hammer. This led to the invention of the nail gun, powered by pressurized air. Aang spent over four days bending air into canisters and pressurizing them. The invention never saw widespread use. The day after it was complete, Sokka drove a nail through his thumb.
That one old guy who ratted out Haru for being an earthbender stubbed his toe every single day for the rest of his life.
Lieutenant Jee resigned his commission. He requested that Zuko accept his resignation in person, and Zuko was happy to oblige. The moment his resignation was official, he went on a 45-minute tirade attacking the Fire Lord, which was never written down in its' entirety, but was described as "extremely vulgar, even for a sailor" by attendees, and mostly had to do with their time on Zuko's ship.
Toph actually ended up having a great relationship with her mom after a long and harrowing process. She competed in a couple more Earth Rumbles, and her mother was in the audience, cheering. She never really got along with her father, after the whole "hire two guys to kidnap her by any means necessary"-thing.
Momo started several diplomatic incidents. Future historians would forever puzzled by the many mentions of this mysterious 'Momo' in official documents, with the theory that Momo was the Avatar's pet being dismissed by the leading historians. Clearly, Momo was some sort of rebel leader - perhaps a Water Tribe extremist?
#atla headcanons#avatar the last airbender#atla#zuko#aang#katara#toph#sokka#momo#joo dee#lieutenant jee#this is just a silly lil thing#atla spoilers
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Is Katara "Motherly"? - The Discourse
The whole "is Katara motherly" discourse is a little annoying to me because for one thing its impossible to deny that in canon she acted motherly towards Aang, Sokka, and Toph, with Sokka even saying at one point when he thought of his mother Katara's was the face that came to mind.
But the other problem is that this fits into the shows themes so perfectly of children being thrust into adulthood and enormous amounts of responsibility too easily because of war and the subsequent (or end goals of) genocide, cultural genocide, and colonization. Katara's motherly characteristics are of the show's own making, they're right there in the text and their there for a reason, and although they weren't given enough attention as they should have been, there is no doubt that this is treated as, not exactly a tragedy, but as something bad and debilitating to Katara and her teenagerlike need to goof around with her friends.
But for whatever reason, the fandom seems to think that this characterization is fan made. Katara is supposedly forced into a motherly role by the fandom, particularly the zutara fandom, when in reality it is the show that does this to her. And the whole idea of momtara and dadko is that Katara doesn't have to be the mom anymore. She doesn't have to be the one solely responsible for the chores and the cooking and the emotional labor. She has a partner, and equal, who is willing to put forth the time and energy to assist her in what she feels obligated to do, and to tell her to go sit down sometimes before she burns herself out.
Could the other kids besides Zuko do this? Of course. But as we've already established, everyone in the gaang besides Suki shoves Katara into a motherlike role. Is this their fault? It's hard to say. Toph at least has a heart-to-heart with Katara about it, and Sokka's idea of her as a mother largely stems from trauma.
But my significant problem with Katara's motherly traits comes with the fact that there is no real closure to that arc in the "Runaway". Toph and Katara talk mostly about Toph's parents, and Toph tells Katara that she thinks she is capable of having fun. But other than that, there's nothing. The boys don't have to come to terms with the fact that Katara does not want to be seen (solely) as motherly or put in that position. Instead, the show gives us a few colorful explosions and subtlety implies that it is a little bit Katara's fault that she is seen that way. But again, that's not the fault of the zutara fandom or a reason the trope of momtara and dadko is problematic. It seeks to acknowledge these character traits in Katara, which a lot of kat@angers refuse to do, and give her a way to work past the trauma that caused them and help her adjust to a more healthy amount of stress and pressure on herself for a kid her age.
#the random desire to write in conclusion at the end of these#katara#atla#avatar the last airbender#zutara#anti kataang#the gaang#zuko#toph#sokka#suki#aang#bryke critical#anti bryke#atla meta#katara meta#zutara meta#katara deserved better
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notes on “the runaway”
the more i see people discuss how strangely sokka’s character is portrayed in “the runaway” the more i cannot help but feel that all my ad hoc rationalizations and justifications as to why he would contradict himself so greatly might actually be meaningless. why would he allow the gaang to endanger themselves for foolish reasons when he is the overly paranoid voice of caution in literally every other episode? why would he be so easily swayed by toph’s manipulative promise of buying him a fancy atlas when he’s literally holding her wanted poster? and most crucially, why would he say that he sees katara as his mother when no other episode in the show indicates that this is remotely the case?
this episode is great for katara and toph, whose hangups are compellingly explored here. i won’t get into the common misconceptions about katara being “motherly” or why they’re even at loggerheads to begin with, as i’ve discussed this at length in the past, but it’s actually undeniable that the assumption that katara is the de facto “mom friend” stems primarily from this episode, where toph all but outright accuses her of fancying herself their collective mother. however, katara becoming “the mother” of the group is very much a post-toph shift in her character, and you see her femininity being accentuated in contrast with toph’s deliberate lack of femininity also being linked to this sort of maternal role that she occasionally adopts, especially around toph. but i don’t actually think the issue is one of katara being a smothering, maternal figure towards toph, but rather a miscommunication regarding power, gender, class, and community vs independence. when katara and toph fight, it is for far more complex and nuanced reasons than the notion that katara is simply too overbearing. if anything, it’s the way in which she is overbearing that irks toph, just as toph’s rudeness is not the central issue, but rather that toph’s values (those of total independence and freedom) are misinterpreted as malice by katara (who values community and collaboration), and vice versa.
something very crucial to understand about this episode is that katara is not actually mad that toph endangered their group by pulling fun scams. katara has endangered their group countless times in the past to satisfy her own impulsive desires (and yes, she wants justice, but toph similarly rationalizes her scams through the lens of achieving moral vindication). katara would be all over toph’s scammery, would come up with scams of her own, would be having more fun than anyone—had she been included from the start. which is exactly the point. it is her exclusion that foments her critique, not the subject of their act itself (and the reason that you could not replace katara with sokka in this scenario is simply because toph would never exclude sokka in the first place). but katara would never admit that she is hurt by toph’s exclusion aloud, because katara is an extremely proud person. and a prideful, wounded fourteen year old is not going to thoughtfully use “i statements” as if in a group therapy session with the equally prideful twelve year old who deliberately excluded her; no, she is going to lash out. (lest we forget that in their first real episode establishing their group dynamic, katara literally mocks toph’s blindness. hardly an okay thing to do, in my opinion!) their conflict stems from their differences, but also from their similarities. they are both proud, angry, powerful, stubborn, and must assert their dominance at all times. it’s clear they both want to be friends with each other, and at times they are, but it is really only in this episode where they are able to cross a threshold that allows them to be truly honest about more meaningful insecurities than simply their looks (although i do of course find their exchange in “tales” beautiful as well). and you know who is instrumental (albeit reluctant to interfere) in facilitating that growth? sokka.
i’ve gone more in depth in the past analyzing why sokka’s speech in this episode regarding his mother and katara isn’t exactly as it sounds. i personally interpret his admission, that katara has always been there for him and that her face is all he sees when he tries to picture his mother, as an illustration of his codependent attachment to her, as she is the very locus of his identity. this interpretation is compounded by the fact that when kya’s face is finally revealed later in the season, she does bear an uncanny resemblance to sokka, which to me signifies the way in which sokka sublimates his own face for katara’s—which is also deeply unhealthy, but in a different way than an older brother parentifying his younger sister would be.
the fact is that there is simply no indication throughout the entire show (including this episode) that sokka views or treats katara as a parent. there are of course moments wherein she supports him emotionally or materially, but most of the time she is in fact teasing, tormenting, undermining, yelling at, or otherwise making life harder for him, at which point he is far more likely to act as her guardian figure and admonish her while simultaneously helping her get out of whatever mess she’s caused. and considering that sokka’s defining moment is when hakoda stakes his identity to protecting his (ontologically special) sister (which, as we know, as the bearer of kya’s face, in fact means dying for her), this dynamic makes far more sense than the other way around. i know that people commonly portray katara as the voice of reason who cleans up sokka’s messes, but besides a couple examples, it’s consistently the other way around. yes, it’s very easy to assume that sokka’s speech indicates that he sees katara as his replacement mother, but we cannot take this speech at face value if we are also to take the rest of the text into account, which we must.
but then there’s also the other glaring question that must be taken into account: why would sokka even allow all this? considering the first thing toph bartered was the sword he has painstakingly crafted just an episode prior, why didn’t sokka just pull the plug then and there? it really doesn’t make sense that sokka wouldn’t take katara’s side just for practical, logistical reasons. even if she doesn’t really care about the own point she’s making (as demonstrated by the fact that the scam she devises literally lands her in jail), sokka would see the logic in it. but... he does. he is the one to first discover the wanted poster, and he immediately points out to toph that their scams are drawing undue attention to her, and that they should put an end to it now that's it's putting them at risk. and yet, toph successfully bribes him, and so he continues to participate. why? what about the prospect of having money is so appealing to sokka that he’s willing to risk his precious rationality and caution for the potential of acquiring more of it? well, it’s actually quite simple.
toph is scamming for the thrill of the game. she loves proving the kind of men who undermined and demeaned her all her life wrong. she loves humiliating the people of the world who had once humiliated her. she’s not someone who values earthly possessions or really even understands that money is a finite resource. to her, these scams are a matter of ego. aang is also scamming for the thrill of the game. he loves a prank, a bit of mischief, getting into some tomfoolery. he loves spending time pulling hijinks with his friends. it’s funny, it’s fun, and it’s lucrative on top of that. but it’s clear that he views it as a game. now, sokka similarly enjoys pulling these scams. he adores toph and clearly finds it nearly as satisfying as she does to watch her destroy the egos of men thrice her size. but even more potent than his adoration for toph, is his appreciation for money.
when katara put them all in danger countless times in the past, it may have been to enact righteous justice, but it was never materially beneficial to sokka. sokka is a very practical person, and growing up in a state of colonial abjection taking on the role of provider for a couple dozen people mostly comprised of elderly women and small children makes you appreciate the value of goods and resources in a way that an aristocrat and a monk do not. you may be asking, "are you really arguing that sokka would undermine his own values and endanger himself and his friends so readily for the prospect of financial security?" to which i would argue that you underestimate how truly cynical sokka is. of course he loves money and food he doesn’t have to catch or forage – see: his appreciation for the immediate luxury of ba sing se that everyone else finds so stifling. he is not spiritual; he is attached to earthly possessions and the immediate physical needs of those around him. so of course he loves a material object. in his own words: “i do believe in the power of stuff.” because even when sokka is supposedly being uncharacteristically foolish or naive, he is in fact nonetheless promoting the cynic’s agenda every step of the way.
“the runaway” is a good episode, perhaps even a great one. however, it has also lent to some of the fundamental misinterpretations i see of katara, sokka, and toph that are constantly thrown around (including the occasional citing of this episode to justify that aang apparently “sees katara as his mother”). so in some ways, i do resent this episode for begetting those strange and incorrect takes, even if i think that in a vacuum, it is well-executed. it is an episode that complicates our characters, adds nuances and shades of grey to their pre-established characterizations, but does not actually rewrite them. sure, if this was the only episode of the show i had ever seen, i too might assume that katara was the maternal and responsible figure of the group, toph was a careless and rude little bitch, and aang and sokka were idiots who relied solely on katara’s infinite well of long-suffering guidance. but even within this episode, that is clearly not established to be the case, and if that notion is not sufficiently undermined by the episode’s conclusion, it is quite clearly by the episodes bracketing it, which provide crucial context through which to inform our understandings of the choices made in this episode, and why they are indeed interesting, but nonetheless do not reflect the characterizations established in the series as a whole.
#id in alt text#analysis#katara#toph#sokka#aang#katara&toph#katara&sokka#this episode is sooo#well. i like it#but the things it has done to how this fandom reads the gaang dynamic#is just. goddawful#so here are my 2 cents on why it IS in fact in character#but simply. no one is reading is correctly#feel free to disagree tho you can just straight up think its a bad episode thats okay too#i love katara and toph fighting in the mud sm tho#how could you ever hate that. i ask of you. how
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Trans girl Zuko moments
Her liking pretty things(such as that seashell)because 'girls like that stuff'
Growing out her hair after a buzzcut as visual character development
'The son my father wanted.But i wasn't me'
Being heartbreakingly jealous of her ideallic sister and wishing she could be perfect like her while hating her for it at the same time
And Ozai perfering Azula for living up to standards while Ursa loved and nurtured both of them equally but payed extra attention to Zuko because of all the degradation she faced
Comparing herself to Ty Lee by saying she's not as optimistic or pretty
Misandrist queen(Her instant reaction to a guy getting near Mai was rage at him potentially being a sleaze,her insults to Iroh,her arc culmenating in coming for her abusive dad's entire life including jumping his ass,etc)
Dragon-coded
All her friends pre-Gaang were girls
Her and Aang=Tween dorky boyprotagonist and late teens mean goth older sister who learn to love eachother trope
She's really maternal to him but also in general
Sokka is the Team Dad to her Team Mom and their dynamic is 'Mean hotheaded girl and chill goofy guy start off thinking the other is annoying asf and picking on eachother until they go on an adventure together and now they're sickeingly lovey dovey best friends totally not lovers'
Chose the Kyoshi Warriors as her bodyguards
This panel in general
But also these that make her look like the second girl mc in a Nickelodeon girl power sitcom
Jet talks to and treats her the same way he does Katara and he's got Smellerbee on his team so He Knows What She Is(and is being an annoying cocky bisexual about it)
Had TWO secret identities-First one was pretending to be an ordinary boy to hide her royalty status and her first instinct on picking a name was after her childhood best friend who's a girlypop and the second one was a hero persona that included baggy ass clothes that hid her entire figure
Baby butch(Toph)immediately adopted her as her older sister
Got 1 taste of living as a daddy's boy prince praised by everybody for manliness after months of living on the run and interacting with the Gaang and went 'I need to get my ass outta here,i can't fucking live like this,I WAS WRONG BEING A REAL MAN FUCKING SUCKS,AANG WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!'
#zuko#transfem zuko#trans girl zuko#momko#autistic zuko#bi zuko#azula#ursa atla#ty lee#mai atla#aang#aanglove#sokka#zukka#kyoshi warriors#maiko atla#suki atla#platonic zukki#katara#jet atla#jetko#toph beifong#atla geekery#ty luko#aang and zuko#zuko and toph#💌#tgirl swag#summerposting
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NATLA PERSONAL PROS AND CONS
PROS/THINGS DONE WELL:
-making azula and zukos characters be that of kids with an abusive parent just trying their best under the absolute most pressure
-Iroh <3
-the combining of the eastern air temple/ omashu/ freedom fighters story lines made sense
-zhaos characterisation
-rokus characterisation
-ozais characterisation
-jets characterisation+ most of the freedom fighters
-CHOICE IN ACTORS WAS PERF FOR EVERYONE
-zuko is an artist??? 😭
-no white people get them outa here
-getting into the stories of the past avatars
-warm and fuzzy zuko and Iroh moments ahh
-kataras fight scene with pakku
CONS/THINGS DONE BAD:
-cringe and questionable writing
-way too much slow motion
-aang isn't silly enough
-sokka is bland asf
-katara is bland asf
-suki is bland asf
-mai is bland asf
-ty lee is bland asf
-zukos scar isn't scar-y enough
-they made tao seem fragile instead of sick asf
-"fire benders are dropping bombs on the city" "their weakness is obviously air power" LIKE IN THE SAME BREATH YOU CONTRADICTED YOURSELF
-bumis characterisation/story
-junes characterisation
-it feels like they changed all the male characters to be good and cool and women defenders and flawless and all the women characters to be boring, also flawless but lacking in personality
-MOMOS CHARACTERISATION
-appa is uggy so sorry
-Iroh lacks a bit of his mystery and whimsy
-the earthbending looked awkward and slow
-failed to convey that azula has terrifying, overwhelming prodigious skill in fire bending.
-the combining of Koh/ Hei Bai/ Roku/Fire Sages/ Gyatso/sokka and katara spirit world mom and dad journey??? that was so bad I'm sorry
-aang not really helping hei bai
-princess yues spirit powers??
-princess yues whole love plot with sokka was just so awkward, rushed, and not well written in the slightest
-tui and la's story
-team avatar doesn't feel like friends at all
-katara all of a sudden being good at waterbending instead of showing the progression through aang and her training+ them training with pakku
-everyone telling sokka he's not a warrior
-also whys aang not training with katara??
-they way they are obviously setting it up to avoid doing the spirit library episode in the future by showing zhao learning about tui and la elsewhere and showing the knowledge spirit early
Overall I give the show a 6.7/10 it felt like an adaptation of a medium-well-written zuko-centric fan fiction that wants zuko/sokka endgame instead of ATLA. Stop the Netflixization of shows!!!!
#avatar the last airbender netflix#avatar#avatar the last airbender#atla#sokka#zuko#aang#katara#iroh#princess azula#toph beifong#princess yue#kyoshi
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Many people genuinely get confused when we, native people, get uncomfortable when Katara, a native character, is reduced to a mom and her canon relationships with characters are put down in favour for a boy who lived in a society that benefitted from her oppression, antagonised her and her friends for most of the series and was even racist at times. But because he's hot and had an episode with katara, everything should be forgiven, because god forbid a native girl gets with anyone who isn't from a group of people who aided the genocide of her people. God forbid two characters who experienced genocide have a relationship and connect over this shared trauma, in favour for boy who also has mom trauma
Look, while I can understand your feelings of discomfort towards the ship, I’d still like to put certain things into perspective.
Now, I don’t really know what you meant by her being “reduced” to a mom. Do you mean that her relationship with Zuko would confine her to such a role? Which, by the way, is absolutely laughable, since one of the main reasons why so many ppl ship these two is bcz unlike every member of the gaang (aside from Suki), Zuko is the only one with who she doesn’t have to act like a surrogate mother. Katara is allowed to be angry and be vulnerable with him. All things that we rarely see her be able to do with the rest of the bunch, let alone her own brother.
Actually, one of the main appeal of the two is bcz, both have the same level of of maturity and similar way of interacting with the members of the gaang. Which is why so many ppl label the two as “parents of the group”.
But, if you’re talking about how, we zutarians usually talk abt the intricacies that come with her being a motherly person, I’ve got some news for ya. Most of us, usually, never fail to highlight how much of a tragedy, her being pushed into a role of adulthood at such a young age is. Also, on how, ironically, her canonical partner (Aang) has never really helped with that phenomenon, actually he perpetuated it even further.
Besides, wanna talk abt canon relationships being put down for a boy, well, look no further than canon itself, anon. I’m guessing that you’ve probably read this post, due to the phrasing at the beginning of your ask. One thing I specifically touched on, was how much of Katara’s existence seems to revolve around Aang, the biggest example being, the comics. In them, we do see the creators ready to strain Katara’s established relationships with the gaang (aside from her brother) in order to shove kataang down our throats. Cuz if you think abt it, Toph and Katara’s interactions are heavily reduced, let alone meaningful ones and do not even get me started on Zuko or Suki.
Yes, Zuko lived in a society that benefited from her oppression. He has antagonized her and her friends. But Zuko is also made to recognize the harm his actions have caused. Additionally, at no point is he not faced with the consequences of what he has done towards the gaang. Every single member gets to express anger or/and resentment over what he’s done in the past, Katara is no exception. Actually, she’s the one who’s given the most leeway in terms of doing so. Even for things he had no control over such as her mother’s death and the fire nation raids. However, instead of whining about how he’s not responsible for all of this taking place, something he could’ve easily done, he makes it up to her. He helps her seek justice for her mother while her canonical future boyfriend is out here reducing her righteous anger to blindsided revenge.
I don’t know what you mean by “Because He’s hot and had an episode with her, everything should be forgiven.” To me, that last part owed to make me scratch all the dandruff off my braids. Language is a powerful tool, but often than not, people don’t really know how to use it nor seem to understand the ramifications of their use. When you say “everything should be forgiven”, you are framing forgiveness as something passive, when, here, it is active. Someone does the action of forgiving Zuko, Katara does. Katara forgives him, because he earned it.
Right now, I’m assuming that you thought you were in defence of Katara, but the truth is that you are actually perpetuating an habit that many have had when it comes to the Southern Raiders. Which is to perpetually strip any agency Katara has in an episode literally centered around her character!?!
Nobody forbid anyone from anything. If people don’t feel comfortable shipping these two, so be it. However, to act as if Zuko hasn’t actively fought against the system that has led to those atrocities being done or like he hasn’t used his position of power in order to make actual change or/and retributions, is simply disingenuous.
Aang and Katara did have a relationship, but have never connected over their shared trauma. More specifically, Aang failed to connect over their shared trauma, when he should have and instead used as a way to silence hers. @sokkastyles makes a very good point about it in this post.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#zutara#anti kataang#anti bryke#anti aang#atla fandom critical#zuko#katara#pro katara#the southern raiders#anti atla comics
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So, a Kataang fan made a post about a week ago "asking" (rhetorically, of course) why it's a bad thing Katara acts like Aang's mom. And I just-
First of all, isn't that something that Kataang shippers have been trying to actively dispute for almost two decades at this point? That Katara doesn't treat Aang as a younger brother/son? There's literally an entire post about it from The Headband that's made its rounds on almost every single social media platform.
So which is it, besties? Does Katara act motherly towards Aang or not?
(The answer is yes of course, as The Runaway outright confirms it multiple times. The whole premise of that episode is that Katata acts as a mother to Toph, Sokka, and Aang)
Now, why is it a problem? The fact that I have to explain this is telling for how little a lot of Kataang shippers understand Katara.
Katara was parentified. She took care of Sokka (by his own admission) as well as her entire village after Hakoda left. Even before then really, as she says in the very first episode that she's been doing all the chores around the village since their mother died which was years before that. She was delivering literal babies while basically being a baby herself.
Traveling- and being- with Aang is supposed to represent her freedom and childhood, right? That's what the first episode shows us and what Kataang is built on. But if anything, it has the opposite effect.
Book 1 wasn't terrible. Katara was very free-spirited and joyful in addition to being caring and empathetic. Her and Aang could still goof off together, even if she was doing her best to support him emotionally. You could easily see that as her being a good friend.
But somewhere between Books 2 and 3, that changed. Katara went from being his supportive friend to being his emotional crutch. During The Desert, she bears the brunt of him lashing out (he does yell at Toph once, but he's the most volatile with Katara). He also gets frustrated with her during Sozin's Comet, even though Zuko and Sokka were the ones pushing him. It's always Katara who has to bring him back when he loses control of the Avatar State, risking her own safety.
(This isn't emotional, but it was Katara who healed Aang after Azula's attack. She was the one who stayed by his side, staying awake for hours to make sure he would be okay. I like to look at it as a physical representation of their relationship. Aang's wellbeing is always put on her shoulders. If she isn't there to lift him up, he'll fall. And if he falls, the world falls. No 14 year old should be responsible for that. But it's so easy for the show- and y'all- to shove it onto her because this part of her character is never addressed. It's just used as a testament to her caring nature)
Even without Katara's parentification, this causes a major imbalance in their relationship. It puts Katara in charge of managing Aang's pain and being emotionally unsupported in return. The Southern Raiders is proof that Katara can't depend on Aang emotionally the way he does her. She's been his shoulder to cry on through everything and the one time the tables turned, she couldn't even get that from him.
And the saddest thing about this? Katara says to him, "I knew you wouldn't understand." She never expected Aang to support her. She's become so accustomed to being there for others that she's never once expected anyone to do the same for her, least of all Aang.
(But Zuko does. He's the only one who recognized Katara's pain- admittedly, mostly because it was directed at him- and tried to help her. Without being prompted. I gotta give this one to the Zutara folks)
In what world is this dynamic healthy for a romantic relationship?
#anti kataang#anti kataang shippers#i had to process that post for 3-5 business days#i was flabbergasted#aang critical#i really don't hate aang#at least not in books 1 & 2#but pushing kataang ruined his character#i might make an analysis on that later#but this isn't about him#criticizing kataang and criticizing aang are two different things for me#because kataang is awful all around#and aang WAS a good character until bryke ruined him#anti bryke#parentification#pro katara#katara deserved better
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I was thinking about how much yue’s death must have meant to katara (and I honestly believe her death had the most impact on her after her mom’s, yes even more than jet) in the narrative sense.
imagine katara finally reaching the north in all its grandeur, meeting her northern equivalent and she’s probably thinking how much better off yue had it than her. but then yue goes on to make the ultimate sacrifice, not just for the world but specifically for the water tribe and waterbending. and then how much waterbending has always been such an integral part of katara’s character and how like her mom, yue gave her life so katara (and the entire tribe) could not only survive but live on waterbending.
and then just how much yue’s narrative is a foil to katara’s arc just as much as azula’s is:
these two princesses trying to meet their father’s expectations and both meeting their tragic end (re: defeat for azula) as they do just that.
especially yue, being a girl i don’t believe she was going to be a chief hence her arranged marriage to hahn. her life has always been carved out for her and the only way she breaks free from this is by literally dying, but of course, she dies for her people. she makes her father proud while freeing herself from the life he sets out for her by simultaneously losing the ability to live at all.
i also think it’s fascinating how yue a nonbender growing up in the north where she never would have learnt how to fight anyway becomes the most powerful waterbender ever in death.
and then you have katara, who is if nothing else, a survivor. katara is a female character that gets to choose where she lives, who she loves, when she fights, heals etc. without any pushback from her father or anyone in her tribe. her legacy extends past her home and goes beyond the men in her family but it’s because of women like yue and her mom that she has the chance to do so.
so i think katara would hold yue in high regard and her death would definitely have impacted her (at least symbolically) more than the canon lets on.
i also like to think katara spent some time with yue realizing they have more in common than just daughters of the chief. idk maybe she thought yue would have been too naive and pampered in the beginning but that’s just me projecting atp.
i think they would have bonded due to yue’s spirituality and her storytelling, possibly filling little gaps in katara’s cultural knowledge like the story of the moon and ocean spirits. i think katara would have appreciated it and in return yue probably relished having a female friend that wasn’t trying to compete with her or kiss up to her for brownie points, which i imagine happens in societies with nobility if jane austen adaptations have taught me anything.
#atla#headcanon#katara#yue#kya#yuetara#but platonic lol#not knocking the ship tho#every time i think about yue’s death i just get really sad#then i think about katara thinking about yue too
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Hi! I hope you're having a wonderful day. I was just thinking about TSR and how although it is obvious that Zuko's motivations are convoluted, a lot of what we can glean from the text on his thoughts can be interpreted in many different ways. It's easy for anti-zukos and anti-zutaras to frame his primary drives as selfish, and although these interpretations can have a little merit (his feelings about giving Katara the opportunity for "revenge" are undoubtedly inextricably linked with his feelings about his own mother and that could be framed as selfish from a narrow minded standpoint), I still think that's a very surface level interpretation of what we're given (and very hypocritical for a lot of them considering that you could dismiss any of his life-changing field trips as selfishly motivated). Anyway, I realized my thoughts on the matter aren't clearly formed, and although I do agree with the way the episode was framed as incredibly Katara-centric, with her feelings about the matter being more important both to the viewer and to Zuko than Zuko's feelings, I wanted to ask your opinion, because I do believe that understanding what he was thinking is extremely important to understanding TSR and the zutara dynamic. Any thoughts on the matter you have would be much appreciated if you have a moment to spare.
Yeah, trying to argue that Zuko is selfishly motivated because he wants Katara's forgiveness, or because he relates to her anger at the man who hurt her mother, is ridiculous because any action can be construed as selfishly motivated by that logic. It reminds me of that episode of friends where Phoebe convinces Joey that any action is selfish, even giving to charity, because it makes you feel good. It's an inherently silly argument and a cynical view of the world that doesn't actually do anything.
I also am not sure what these people think would be the nonselfish option. For Zuko to just keep his mouth shut? Let's look at this logically. Zuko realizes that Katara's mother's murder is somehow connected to her anger at him. As he is investigating this, he also realizes that the person who did is someone he knows how to find, someone who was never brought to justice.
I would argue that Zuko has a moral duty to give Katara this information as soon as he realizes he has it. If he's really committed to ending the genocide, this is the first step, an act of reparation towards a victim of the war.
I don't necessarily think Zuko was thinking about it in that way, but I think he felt, as soon as he realized he had this information, that Katara should know who was responsible for her mom's death. He doesn't tell her what to do with that information or how to feel about it, but it's information she should know, information that was kept from her. And a huge part of finding closure is just in knowing what really happened, and why it happened. I think Zuko's first thought was that at least he could give her that.
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