I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such an interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

Dark Flyer Edelgard

happy new year I have no new art to show at the moment so here's a throwback that still holds up smash like if you're a wolf girl who also loves clementines

So two weeks ago on Twitter was this trend called Cursed Cat Alastor. As far as I know, it started because Alastors's VA drew Alastor, and he looked like some creepy cat. Then some artist drew Alastor as a derpy, creepy cat, and folks rolled with it and did their own drawings of Catlastor. I got this dumb idea and decided to join on this trainwreck :>

Mermay 2022: Biology Influenced Merfolk

Hey there folks! If you've been following my twitter and instagram, for this Mermay, my theme is to basically take inspiration from real life biology, and apply them to their design as merfolk... especially their wicked set of chompers. It got so popular on Insta, I even made backstories for their designs there xD.

You can read up more about their stories on my Insta, but the gist is this: Kara is a Great White Shark mermaid, and she does her best to look out for her sister, a Lamprey. She lives in a town full of quirky characters, whose merfolk come from multiple kinds of fish and critters of the sea.

This is Lady Philomena

"suffering is endless, but so is my devotion" she is completely devoted to her Lord Archimorter, she would never waste a moment doing anything that does not honor or serve him.

I made based on blasphemous lore cause i love iiiiiit

A merman and his gf

Part 2 - Some concept sketches 😝

"I Belong to You"

Hayley Atwell as Hayes Morrison in ABC TV series 'Conviction'

Autumn Power puff girls 🍂

I’m back baby, gonna start posting more on here

"Honestly, I feel worse when I don't do it."

what's up I finally watched Nimona

Imagine...Fake Dating Gone Wrong

Genre—Fluff

Character—> Your Choice

A/N: I had this idea and thought why not — hope you guys enjoyed and SORRY FOR ANY MISSPELLED WORDS OR BAD GRAMMAR

Fake Dating with (character name) was easy at first. The idea had arisen as you wanted to make your ex jealous and your friend, (character name), agreed to help you.

Fake dates, fake acts of love, forced kisses, and every other forms of love was exchanged between the two of you as time goes by.

Here's when things starts going downhill...for (character name).

(character name) started to fall for you. They didn't mean for this to happen as the deal was to fake date to make your ex jealous. They couldn't help it as every time you showed affection "romantically", their heart would skip a beat or when you smile at them, they couldn't help but to smile back.

(character name) was heart-broken when they would remember that this wouldn't last and they were not in a real relationship with you. You didn't love them back.

Sure you cared for them and you would do anything for them but you didn't love them romantically. Or that what (character name) thought.

(character name) soon couldn't hold over their feelings for you, confessing everything on a night out with the rest of your friend group along with your ex. The confession happened when (character name) felt jealousy at your ex getting close to you.

When you both were alone together, (character name) confessed. The confession was a rushed, heartfelt rant that you barely understood half of but you waited for them to be done with a smile on your face.

At the end of it, they felt a weight lifted off their shoulders but soon embarrassment and fear hits them.

"I...I'm sorry, M/N.. I shouldn't have. I know you love (ex) and I really, really shouldn't–"

"I love you too, (character name)."

(character name) felt their heart skip as their face heats up at your words.

"You..love me back?" They whispered in disbelief, making you nod in confirmation.

"I love you and I would like to date you...for real."

A taste of what's to come - keep your eyes peeled for more development work for Wolf Girl Wicked. This soon-to-be webcomic about the trials and tribulations of turning into a wretched beast every full moon - oh, as well as being trapped in an all-girls boarding school. What could go wrong!

We talk a lot in fandoms about the villainization of female characters, but something more insidious that is also more common is the perfectification of these characters.

What will happen is a complex female character will be stripped of all of their flaws when discussed in fanfic or analysis. They will usually be cast into a “mom” role no matter how wrong that is for their character. And they can do absolute nothing wrong.

One example of this is Inej Ghafa from Six of Crows. She is an incredibly well-written character with a lot of complexity, but if you looked at Tumblr, you’d think she was just the responsible, badass one and nothing else. And in her relationship with Kaz, you would think he was the only one with any problems, ignoring how both of their traumas contribute to how long it takes them to be able to express their feelings for each other.

Another example is Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson, a character who is explicitly given a fatal flaw: hubris. Basically, she thinks she’s always right. And yet in nearly every post made about her, she is always right and is also the near-perfect mom friend. If you’re lucky, she’ll still be afraid of spiders.

There are so many more examples, but I imagine you can think of your own for whatever fandoms you’re a part of. And there is definitely something to be said for this being problematic, how we can only like female characters who have been stripped of anything even slightly negative. But it’s also boring. By messing with one character, you mess with the themes, the plot, and the other characters. And then it’s just bad analysis. Do better.

Commission for https://www.deviantart.com/rated-r-ponystar