Zutara, Taang, Sukka, Pride&Prejudice

😶🤩😎

Then actually figuring out the quote like:

Men are like roses. They look great when they're growing in the garden but their glory quickly fades when you pick one and bring home.

But are really more like

?

Been working on this ship remake template for the last few days. Enjoy!

Art 1:

base sketch (notebook doodles)

ship remake template (feel free to use for any ship you ship)

Day 1 progress:

Day 2 progress:

Day 3 progress:

Day 4 final effect:

Art 2:

original sketch:

ship remake template (again, use wherever you like)

Day 1 progress:

Day 2 progress:

Day 3 progress (aka final art):

Finished writing chapter 6 of my non-zutara fic - Crimson Clover.

If you're here only for Zutara, sorry to disappoint you! I need more time for 'The Guru' chapter. Still, I encourage you to take a look!

wattpad(beginning) - the first chapter is a map, just so you're not totally confused where the plotline is happening, I recommend taking a look.

wattpad(chapter 6)

ao3(the very beginning) - This is a link to the first oneshot meant to lock you in the universe. the whole thing is linked into a series so you shouldn't have problems with continuing to the second oneshot and and the actual fic later on, but let me know if there are some issues.

ao3(chapter 6)

I included the map for those of you on ao3 who don't have the opportunity to take a look on wattpad.

Enjoy!

Guys I just saw this article and read through the entire thing.

https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-katara-aang-not-zuko-relationship/

This is a piece of crap, I'm pretty sure all of the arguments here were thoroughly debunked before but I just HAVE to address them because I can't stand by and watch them twist things into something they're not.

Because MAN does this author even know what what talking about???

"They were enemies in season 1"

Bro. Exactly. Season 1. What does this have to do with them ending up together in season 3?

Like, seriously you kataangers got to stop using that argument. Being enemies at the beginning is literally the point of enemies to lovers arcs. Arguing that they shouldn't be together because it(meaning: being together) fits their arc is like arguing you should give a child a knife because it might hurt itself.

Then again, while I do understand why people say Kataro hated Zuko (she very much did in season 1), I have to point out that Zuko's feelings about Katara aren't exactly straightforward. While there might be annoyance at the fact that she prevents him from getting his honor aka the avatar, there are little things that suggest he didn't hate her. For example the fact that he puts his hand on her back to prevent her from sliding form the searshu.

Or the fact that when he catches her in 'The Waterbending Scroll' he doesn't torture her like Zhao or 90% of respective Fire Nation generals would, he just ties her up to a tree and tries to bribe her. For the record, I'm not saying Kataro should have ended up with him because he didn't torture her when he had the chance to. I'm pointing out this shows respect.

A respect I'd argue is mutual, because Katara, for all the hatred we see, never disrespects him. I have to point out that Katara doesn't hate Zuko as an individual so much as what he represents (canonically confirmed in the crystal catacombs). Example: you never see Katara calling him names or flexing the fact that she and Sokka and Aang escaped like e.g. Sokka sometimes does. The hatred is there, but so is respect.

Here, I have to point out that the author downplays Zutara to 'just friends bonding over shared trauma' which has been addressed so many times I won't even bother doing it again.

Zuko and Katara’s relationship may have been too toxic to evolve into a healthy romantic relationship, especially given the fact that Avatar: The Last Airbender’s target audience when it aired on Nickelodeon was for children age 9 to 14.

Excuse me? Toxic? Zuko and Katara? How? I already addressed 'The Waterbending Scroll' drama, I won't do that again, as well as the whole 'they were enemies' rant.

Also, excuse me, the crystal catacombs betrayal is crucial to both Zuko and Katara's individual arcs as well as their joined arc. The fact that Zuko was mature enough to apologize for it and ask for forgiveness without forcing anything and that Katara was able to truly, thoroughly forgive him that is the reason why people ship them and shows true maturity. Canon Zutara validation would be the ultimate true forgiveness force power which isn't toxic at all unlike Katara 'forgiving' Aang for something that is literally a textbook case of sexual harassment/assault (you guessed it right, the ember island players kiss) which is literally toxic masculinity validation.

I get why people say their bond in seasons one and two first half of season 3 is based on mutual respect and understanding, but Bryke thoroughly messed this up in the second half when they made Aang go from a smitten teen to an insecure asshole and abuser. Like damn, he forced two kisses! One of them crossed boundaries Katara set literally a few second earlier and met with a definitely negative response, the other one was so uncomfortable for Katara and the face she made after suggests she wasn't into it even then. I don't even know how to start with why Kataang isn't a relationship based on respect.

About them encouraging each other to work on their waterbending techniques, I have to point out Katara was the one encouraging Aang to work on it 90% of the time. And this does not equal a romantic relationship. I don't get why the author used that argument.

About Aang 'giving up his training with Master Pakku', how is that a sign of respect towards Katara? Like, she was pissed at Pakku' for being sexist. And that comment Aang made before the duel?

Aang: You don't need to do this, I can find another teacher.

Like bro thinks the world revolves around him, that's main character syndrome which is also what ruined this ship for me.

About the Kataang 'good line of communication', I already said this has been so thoroughly destroyed in second half of season 3 that it is literally an argument why Katara and Aang are better off as friends. Their communication works when Aang stays friendzoned.

Katara and Zuko’s friendship allowed them to grow as people in a way that couldn’t have been achieved had they become a couple

Impressive. This argument is literally the opposite of what would have happened. Like yes, their friendship allowed them to grow as people. And no, a romantic relationship wouldn't have stopped that process. It would have sped it up and made it even more efficient.

The 'friendly' life saving jump in fron of Azula's lightning was such blatant ship baiting that you have to be literally blind not to notice that. The familial love goal would have been achieved with Sokka becoming practically a brother to him and do I have to mention the sibling dynamic between Zuko and Toph?

The regaining of Zukos honor would have been even more emphasized if Zukos jumped in front of a lightning to save the love of his life because the old Zuko would have let Katara take the lightning and use that moment to beat Azula instead. The fact that he chose to save Katara and trust that she'll have it in her to beat his psychotic sister despite knowing she might fail says everything about his honor and moral compass that we need to know.

Katara's kind and nurturing nature makes her the perfect person for Zuko because she'd love him with all her heart and help him through rough times instead of giving vague statements like Mai did. And Zuko, for all his flaws would do the same thing for Katara which would be the ultimate validation of his redemption arc.

All the zutara fanart I've ever created from scratch.

Zutara love confirmation.

We all realize that while there were definitely moments where the dynamic between Zuko and Katara felt like they were in love, there was no outright confirmation (at least not on screen), which is logical given that Bryke wanted to canonize Kataang. The fact that we never see them actually kiss or say 'I love you' or anything similar gives off two friends in love struggling to unfriendzone each other. While there are many, many examples of couples like that making it out, there are also some who don't.

Side thought: Getting out of friendzone is also notably a huge part of the Kataang overall arc, so thanks to (or because of) that, we see both things in the show and we have examples of both splattered all over pop culture.

Anyway, given all the things and thoughts on that particular area, we have one part of a recipe for Zuko making the wrong choice.

I love Zuko more than I fear you.

This is the most iconic quote by Mai in the entire show. She is portrayed as two things: an emo ninja chick with an emotionless attitude and Zuko's girlfriend. As we can see in the first part of season 3, they are definitely together. And while Mai seems ok with the relationship, Zuko is struggling to connect with her which (among others) eventually leads to him breaking up with her and leaving to do what feels right to him. Here, we need to mark that all the time he is away bonding with Team Avatar, Mai is left devastated (canonically confirmed in 'The Boiling Rock'). At the end of this very episode, Mai gets herself into prison for helping Zuko escape it. We also get the iconic quote and while I seriously doubt Zuko ever heard it, he definitely knew that after what she did for him. This situation creates an emotional debt to Mai in Zuko's psychology. He receives confirmation that despite the fact he broke up with her, she still loves him and is willing to sacrifice herself for him. Many men would feel, in a way, guilty about getting closer to another girl while knowing what the first one did for him. Additionally, behaviour like that is often criticised by outsiders in a manner going like 'Why did you abandon a girl who did so much for you?' or stuff like that. This is exactly what happened in Zuko's case. Him choosing Mai over Katara isn't about him loving her better. He essentially got trapped with the feeling that he owed Mai a relationship for all the favours she did for him.

These two combined create a (in my opinion) much clearer picture of why Zuko chose Mai over Katara. He wasn't entirely sure about Katara's feelings and the favour he owed to Mai was weighting on him. If he asked Katara and she dated him, he would have looked like an asshole to all the people who knew about Mai's sacrifice. Him asking Katara and her not agreeing to date him and then him agreeing to date Mai would make her feel like a backup plan. Zuko choosing Mai without talking to Katara was the only way he could save face and return the favour without being an asshole (at least that's the logical conclusion in his mind).

What we can see here is a textbook example of how people get trapped in unhappy relationships (because like, let's all agree, Maiko wasn't a happy relationship). In Zuko's case, we also have Katara trapped in a pretty toxic relationship (comment if you want to know why I think Kataang is toxic).

But I also think that after a while he started to accept reality and started to be genuinely happy for them. It must have been a real relief for both Zuko and Katara because they both liked Aang as a friend and didn't want to lose him over romantic drama.

I believe that when Aang gave his blessing for them (as the last one, but better late than never) he also learned the lesson that just because he thinks he deserves something doesn't mean he will get it. This taught him to be more adult about what he gets and he learned not to take anything for granted.

The moment he understood that in his heart, he moved on from his childhood crush on Katara. He also observed how Zuko and Katara operate from a place of mutual respect and understanding which gave him a great example of a healthy, sustainable relationship he then proceeded to try replicating in his own life.

I imagine he dated a few girl he met during his travels to check if maybe they were the ones. But Meng, who stayed single, was more in love with the idea that he is the guy from the prophecy and Onji from the Fire Nation didn't like him as much without his hair.

Toph watched Aang change from a whiny needy kid into this more mature version of him. She always had a thing for him, but since he was always hung up on Sugar Queen she never made her move. When they met again after Aang came back from his journey of self-discovery, she caught him alone on a balcony and they ended up talking for hours. The conversation was easy and they understood each other in this easy, natural way Aang observed in Zuko and Katara's relationship. It didn't take long for them to start dating officially.

Fast forward to their wedding, Katara and Zuko already married and expecting their first child. During the reception, Toph gave a speech about how she watched Aang change over the years and about how she loved each version of him.

Aang surprised everyone with a speech where he thanked Katara for choosing Zuko instead of him. 'I used to resent you for that.' he said. 'I thought that because I defeated Ozai I was entitled to a prize, and by a prize I mean you. By choosing Zuko you taught me that I should never treat a person like something to be won by heroic actions, gave yourself the loving and understanding partner you deserve, gave him the very same thing he also deserves and showed me what a healthy, sustainable relationship looks like which made me good enough for my lovely bride.' he winked at Toph who smiled, listening to his speech. 'Thank you so much for not choosing me, Katara. We are much better off as friends.'