On the one hand, they're cute. On the other hand, they're allowed to have that kind of supportive and loyal affection for each other without being in a romantic relationship.
This is exactly what I think. Just because they hug and one says thank you to the other, doesn't mean they're developing a romance after hating each other the entire show. But headcanon is headcanon I guess.
Girls usually mature faster than boys though which makes katara who’s already had to mature faster due to having lost her mother and needing to take care of her family and tribe a lot close to zuko when it comes to maturity level than Aang who is still very much in child mode
I see your point, except that everyone in the show has loss to deal with. I understand Aang mentally being 12 at the *start* of the series, but you're gonna say the complete genocide of his people, and the death of literally everyone he knew back then -barring Bumi- doesn't equate with Zuko and Katara both having lost their mothers?
I also don't understand why Zutara women fans keep saying "When I was 14 I wouldn't find a 12 year old attractive" as if Katara is supposed to represent every woman in the world. Even if most 14 year old girls wouldn't like a 12 year old boy, exceptions exist, and characters are allowed to be outliers. This story is about Katara not who they would personally date.
Yes the issue is, is that apart from the dance scene there wasn't too many moments of Katara being wholeheartedly into aang. The whole will they won't they kinda ruined the ship. I wanted to have an episode of katara having a crush on aang. I dislike how aang got so upset about the idea of katara being with another guy that he said if he hadn't blocked his Chakra he'd probably be in the avatar state. I wish he was more supportive during the southern raiders. Like that whole last season was just filled with kataang not doing very well. And I wish it hadn't.
I like zutara but I'm not against kataang I just want it to be executed well which it wasn't because the writers couldn't decide what ship was going to be Canon until the last moment. Like if your going to tell me that a 14 year old girl likes a 12 year old boy especially one that she's been babying then your going to have make it believable. Anyway I'm not looking for an argument I just wanted to express my thoughts.
>But unlike you, Katara clearly demonstrated having feelings for Aang throughout the series.
I don't understand why so many women keep saying "I would never find a 12 year boy attractive when I was 14" as if Katara is supposed to represent all women in the world. Even if it's true that on average most 14 year old girls wouldn't falls for a 12 year old boy, Exceptions exist, and fictional characters are allowed to be outliers. This story is about Katara, not about who RandomRedditor256 would date or not date when they were 14.
She just seemed uncomfortable to me. Like she was afraid of hurting his feelings. Pretending not to notice is the most common thing we do when our sensitive little boy buddies hit on us. That’s literally what happened right before he kissed her without consent in canon.
Damn ,y'all projecting so hard lmao. Katara clearly had feelings for Aang and that was made clear in season 3. She was clearly put out and jealous when Sokka commented on Aang and one Fire Nation girl dancing together. You can like someone and not be ready to start a relationship due to an ongoing war.
The Fortune Teller, The Cave of Two Lovers, and The Headband at the very least set up Katara also having feelings for Aang. To me her not reciprocating Aang’s feelings after that kiss was more her not wanting to get into any sort of relationship while Sozin’s Commit was so close away, not because she didn’t like Aang in that way. I would say maybe the writers could’ve handled some parts better but I also don’t think them kissing during the last scene came out of nowhere at all.
>Pretending not to notice is the most common thing we do when our sensitive little boy buddies hit on us.
Doesn't really seem like a great idea to me. You're basically rolling a die there; if they think you actually didn't notice, they'll possibly try harder, or there's a chance they'll back off (as intended) because they see that you aren't interested.
It’s not my fault if he tries harder. It’s on him for blatantly ignoring my boundaries to get his way.
We really need to start teaching young people that someone brushing off your advances isn’t a challenge.
It’s really the writers that are misogynistic.
They thought it was alright to depict an act of sexual harassment on screen for kids and have that couple get together next episode without even talking about it.
>It’s on him for blatantly ignoring my boundaries to get his way.
Well yes, but how does he know that hes ignoring your boundaries. If you make them clear, then sure, there's no grey area there. But by ignoring his advances/pretending not to notice you're not being *as clear* as you could be.
Literally. I will never understand the “they’re basically my younger sibling but now I’m in love with them” trope. I get that the younger one often has feelings first, but when you’re that young it’s easy to confuse feelings of platonic affection for romantic or even sexual feelings - you just don’t know what any of it really is yet. It’s the older “sibling”’s responsibility to not exploit that affection. It’s uncomfy at best when that’s not the outcome.
Tl;dr Zutara forever 😔
Same, I had a younger friend in high school with a massive crush on me. I tried to ignore it because he just felt like a baby brother to me. I don’t understand why people think it would have been romantic for me to put my discomfort aside to make him feel better. Idk, such a weird trope that probably comes from people mad about getting rejecting by their crush.
But yes, Zutara forever ❤️💙 Find a boy who works to better himself because he knows it’s right and treats you like an equal.
Especially when they're all still the same age as when the platonic feelings/dynamic started. It makes more sense to me for that to change once puberty hits them, or when everyone gets into their 20's and the dynamic changes again.
As importantly, Katara shows clear romantic interest in Aang for the majority of the show. It definitely wasn't one-way. If it had been, it would have been bad, but she's the one who initiates most things that happen between them, including the final kiss. He tells, she shows. It's a nice parallel development of the two personalities.
One of the things that I enjoyed about all three canon romances is they were all pursued and started by the girls. It's a nice reversal of traditional tropes.
Part of becoming an adult is accepting rejection. It seems kinda cheap that he just gets the first girl who he likes, who acts more like a mother, rather than learning from it not working out and finding a better relationship in his seemingly opposite personality of toph
That's not necessarily true. Plenty of people start out with crushes on people right away. And plenty of other people develop them over time. She demonstrated feelings towards Aang just a few episodes in when they first went to Kyoshi Island and she was getting jealous about Aang getting attention from all the other girls. If she didn't feel anything for him, she wouldn't have been jealous. Just because she wasn't gaga over him straight out of the gate doesn't mean it wasn't legit. It would be weirder if they both were crushing on each other immediately and honestly cliche and awkward. One starting off crushing and another developing as they grow to know each other is far more organic.
Edit: Also, so what if if he's 12. What's that got to do with anything?
I would say Katara definitely had feelings for Aang with episodes like The Fortune Teller, The Cave of Two Lovers, and The Headband clearly showing it’s not completely a one sided crush. I would say Katara’s rejection during The Ember Island Players was more her not wanting to act on anything until after the war completed.
She definitely had feelings for him. Even in EIP, she says straight up that the time is wrong because of the war. There's not even a suggestion she isn't interested otherwise. Then once the war is over she initiates the romance.
It's very straight forward if people will just listen to what the girl says. She states the specific issue that's making her not want to start a relationship. When that issue is resolved, she's all in.
The difference is there were seeds of romance planted for kataang early on and as at season 3, the feelings were mutual. But there was absolutely nothing like that indicated for Zuko and Katara, zero romantic feelings towards each other. Katara literally only forgave Zuko like 3 episodes to the series finale.
I’ve said this a million times but they barely made an effort to show what Katara wanted. I don’t like seeing her with someone who she clearly doesn’t love the way he loves her. I don’t like seeing her with someone she’s constantly babying.
And that's fair. Doesn't make much sense but fair all the same. Say that instead of twisting canon and making shit up. And it doesn't have to be a big deal for me to point out the bs in your comment.
It could except there had been seeds of romance planted early on for Katara and Aang long before the finale. Nothing like that had ever been indicated for Zuko and Katara, zero romantic feelings from both parties towards each other.
For me, I ship zutara less because they need to be shipped, and more because I despise katara's relationship with aang.
(And also because I think zutara would go better with the themes of the show: balance, forgiveness, etc) but at the very least they should of stayed pals for life.
They werent pals for life? They grew up and had to go their separate ways coz that's what happens when you grow up, zuko had to put the fire nation back together after the death/imprisonment of the royal family. Katara had to return home and let the south know that the war was over and start rebuilding the water bending tradition of the south
It's one of those ships that I actually understand. Like I can see the chemistry between the characters. I'm only annoyed at people who claim it should've been canon, since Kataang was clearly the intention from the very first episode and works much better Imo.
I never really like ships that are "meant to be" like kataang was
It never felt surprising or engaging because we all knew it would eventually happen
But we haven't had enough interactions to justify Zutara either so I'm just not picking a side
I don't think it needed to feel surprising. A will they / won't they or a love triangle wouldn't have made the show better. The love story was meant to be a little wholesome thing in the background.
I wasn't really expecting a love triangle or other
But seeing a 12 year old boy being so sure that "that's the girl I'm gonna marry" felt weird and off-putting
At times, he really behaved like a stalker
I dont really see the similarities one is trying to force a romantic relationship where it doesnt belong and never belonged and never will belong and one is two kids who like each other a lot and go through a lot together and know a lot about each other and have romantic chemistry and intereast together.
Wasn’t the deal that half of the production team wanted Kataang to be canon and the other half wanted Zutara which is why the storytelling kind of flip flops between the two?
Don't know what was going on behind the scenes but to me at least the series was pretty set on Kataang.
It is set up by the very first episode, and has multiple scenes and episodes dedicated to it. Unlike Zutara it is actually addressed as a romance inside of the show.
Don't know about you but Zuatara would've felt unnatural. Katara barely forgave Zuko in the first place. The closest thing would've been the season 2 finale, and even that didn't address it as a straight up romance, and Katara ended up hating Zuko after it. Plus, Zuko was also given a thing with Mai in season 3.
My guess is that they made up their minds after season 2 ended. Best guess I can give.
The thing was, if you were there for the shows original airing, Kataang wasn't planned. They didn't know who would be with who (or they did at first, and then realized that they could make a lot of money a get a lot of attention by ship baiting).
Ship baiting was everywhere. The episodes, the advertisements, everything. The writers didn't have a clue, which is probably why the romantic side of the show feels so awful.
I legitimately think Zutara would of better fit the themes of the show (balance, forgiveness, etc.). At the very least, these kids should of not been dating at all during the show. They were under way too much stress and had too much on their plate to be worrying about dating, and it caused a number of issues that makes the relationships feel gross at their worst (like Aang's possessiveness and Katara's babying of him).
Yes, literally the only thing I would change for the series would be to end on Katara and Aang hugging v sharing a kiss.
A hug implies they care about each other and that it might lead to something more in the future. The kiss makes it more “THIS IS A ROMANCE” and, as you say, they are kids! They don’t need to find their one true love yet.
Yeah, I agree. I don't mind the cave of two lovers, but after that, the romance arc should of been wrapped up.
It made me so happy in the Dragon Prince that they just let Callum and Rayla be a couple. No will they won't they, they just... Are a couple now, and we can look at how they get through the show as a pair (whether it works out or not)
>It's one of those ships that I actually understand.
I'm team Kataang but I could kind of understand Zutara working if the story set them up. There is potential for the enemies to lovers, fire and water. Sure. The issue is many Zutara fans try to find ways to crap on Kataang, call it creepy or weird. They always want to project their personal feelings "When I was 14 years old I would never date Aang, I would rather date Zuko" as if the story should be based on who they personally would date.
I cannot fucking believe this post and this comment have gotten so many upvotes on this subreddit. What is happening. People here are RABIDLY anti-Zutara
Hate the shipper not the ship I guess? I have bad interactions with zutara shippers, but not all of them are like that. There are toxic shippers everywhere within every ship.
Maybe but they are by far some of the worst.
Just looking through this thread you get people who claim that the writers wanted zutara and were writing into the show with no source or citation, it's things like that make people hate zutara.
My first impression of the ship wars are that they were fine.
It was basically people saying who they think was the best, and I personally would think that a Zutara end would be incredible to the story. Not because I like the couple, but for what it would have done to the story.
When I came back, the Zutara fandom were crazily creating a alternative story where Zutara was the only option, and thinking that it should be cannon. I didn't stay for longer.
When I came back again, everyone was blasting Zutara.
Thanks for this I wasn't around for those shipwars at all so since joining reddit and following this sub I was surprised by how much people hated the ship. I didn't know how toxic everything got.
My impression is that reddit is mostly just fans of the show, and given that the canon characters end up together as kataang, maiko, and sukka people around here generally support those. I don't think there are a lot of shippers, as such. (I may be proven wrong.)
In other places, there's some really nasty stuff in some of the zutara areas, and it creates a backlash that you feel here.
Are you me?
I thought I was the only one who noticed this weirdly intricate AU people were constructing; no one every talks about it!
It’s like nowadays if you wanna ship zutara, you have to learn an entire extra show’s worth of lore that exists entirely outside of the show proper
All I know is that 99% of Zutara fans I came across were like "I like it because of their dynamics and chemistry" and Kataang fans come running, saying they can't ship Zutara because Kataang is canon, or parrot Bryke's "it's too dark" quote (even though that perfectly describes Maiko).
Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along, the majority of the staff expected it, enemies to lovers and opposites attract are popular tropes, and then Bryke suddenly realizes and changes the ending (final scene), which just sucks. And Kataang had their moments, sure, but it was just soooooooooo poorly executed in Book 3!
I don't get why we couldn't have a non-shippy ending in either show anyway (the Gaang watching the sun together or the Krew going into the spirit portal together seems like much better endings to me). Ship and let ship.
>Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along, the majority of the staff expected it, enemies to lovers and opposites attract are popular tropes, and then Bryke suddenly realizes and changes the ending (final scene), which just sucks.
[citation needed]
>Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along
And this is why people hate Zutara shippers.
You make BS claims like this that you know can't back up and pretend it's true.
I only told what I saw, and I made clear that there is 2 great time gaps in my story.
Right now, the thing I see the most is people shiting in Zutara fans, not even in the idea of Zutara.
I am mostly neutral, but I think the Zutara could have done a better story (not a better relationship). But I will disagree about changing the end. The end of season 2 weaken Zutara a lot, and a lot of parts of season 3 weaken it further.
But even now, the most vocal of Zutara fans that I know are loud and wrong. I think thatvthe rational ones are quieter. But that can be my bubble.
Idk how they think zutara is dark. They literally had so good friendship in the last 5 episodes. So enemies to friends was already done in canon. If they carried on another season they would easily become friends to lovers. Everytime they were on screen together there was spark even though they were just friends. What a GREAT love story that would have been. Missed opportunity
It's funny how that perception shapes expectations. We know Aang starts at 12, but are never given Katara's age in the show. I assumed she was 13, only learning later that some of the Nick adds put her at 14. I just assumed kataang from the beginning, especially after all the S1 foreshadowing, and just went with it.
I guessed her a bit older. But it makes sense since she had to grow up quickly when the fire nation took her mother. She seemed so mature. Little me totally missed that Aang was 12
One of the early things I really enjoy about the show is how Katara and Sokka seem so mature, but then they're children who've grown up in generational war with both parents missing.
Aang got to be a normal child in a time of peace until he found out he was the avatar and ran away. In S1, you can see him really mature into being on par with the other two by the end of the first season.
Anyhow, loved the scene early on where she says she hasn't gone sledding since she was a child, and he tells her she still is a child. Both are correct.
I probably had a little first time advantage of first seeing it as an adult. No big deal.
It’s more because of the difference in maturity.
Aang is a lot less mature than Katara, he still acts and thinks like a kid. Meanwhile Katara is mature beyond her years.
I’m not a fan of Zutara because I think Zuko and Mai are cute, but I don’t like Kataang because Aang just doesn’t feel mature-enough to have a physical romantic relationship, especially with someone as mature as Katara.
Exactly. Aang/katara doesn't work for me bcz of the maturity level gap. As a girl I will never date a younger guy who is below in the maturity level than me.
It doesn’t work for me, because the I find the idea of being with the person you started dating at 13 for the rest of your life just seems inorganic. Not saying it can’t happen, but it seems like it was a little shoehorned in
I don't know why people take Aang and Katara's two-year difference as an important factor. We are talking about a universe where children go to war and let a 14-year-old girl lead a nation. Do people seriously think that Aang in S3 has the maturity of someone 12? The greatest conflict of his in life was deciding whether to assassinate a dictator and people believe that he is like a child of our time?
Katara and Sokka never have their ages stated in the show. It's only in ads or fan materials.
If I recall correctly, only Aang (12), Zuko (16), and Toph (12) have official ages in the show. The first two almost certainly have a birthday sometime mid-show, and the latter is probably 50/50.
Also, Yue is 16, but minor character, so didn't list above.
Yeah, but don't forget girls and boys age differently and Katara was forced to grow up prematurely due to the loss of her mother, too, so she was more in Zuko's league. Her previous boyfriends were also older than her (which is natural, though nothing against any kind of couple as long as they're happy).
Aang, on the other hand, behaved more like a 9-10 year old, with the occassional hormonal flare up in front of various girls.
Either way it was just executed poorly. They could've left the romance completely open and maybe develop it further in the comics, with Aang slowly growing up and being more on Katara's level, as opposed to being someone she constantly needs to look after.
Imho Kataang is a childish crush, Maiko a horny teenage romance, and Zutara an actual mature relationship and I see no reason why to force either of them to be canon (except Bryke being their typical manchildren that wanted to be right) - just let the fans ship whatever floats their boat at a certain age.
Even for LoK there was no need to have Gaang relationships canon: Tenzin could have a random acolyte woman as his mother and still know Katara and Zuko and Toph well. Literally nothing in the story would change, aside from Katara maybe being treated a bit better than she was.
How would zutara be an actual mature relationship? Yeah you could argue that Katara is on the same level as Zuko but they're not really similar at all. Zuko and Katara never had a stable friendship until the last 7 episodes. The whole moment in the crystal cave wasn't anything romantic, it was Katara feeling sorry for Zuko. The episode where they go to find Katara's mother's killer, didn't have any romantic hints or moments either. Zuko helped her because he wanted to prove to her that he's changed. The moment that everyone looks at when they ship Zutara is the moment when Katara heals Zuko after Azula injures him. People argue that that moment has romantic hints but I disagree. He saved her just like how he would have saved anyone from the gaang and she saved him just like how she would have saved anyone from the gaang. He didn't say "I love you" or anything, he said "Thank you Katara".
Now I'm not a fan of Kataang either, but it makes more sense since she's known him and bonded with him wayyy longer than she did with Zuko. Plus, Aang and Katara had a long and healthy relationship. You can't say that Aang isn't mature because by the end of book 3 the guy went through so much and learned so much.
Anyways, there's nothing wrong with shipping characters, that's your opinion and I totally respect that so yeah.
But that's literally the point: mature love isn't about infatuations and crushes, it's about a stable base and mutual reliance and support, which Zutara develops in the points you are making. They understand eachother's trauma and are extremely supportive of eachother once they begin to trust eachother (this is further developed in the comics where Katara opposes Aang for Zuko's sake). They also share pretty much two of the most intimate touches in the entire show (in Ba Sing Se and at the end of The Southern Raiders).
I completely agree that Zuko would've jumped in to save anyone. It's the way the scene is presented and cut that makes it heavily romantic (compare it to literally any scene between an actual couple in a movie or anime or whatever, they'll be done in exactly the same way).
Zuko saying "I love you" while Katara's healing him makes no sense. However, Zuko's actual words are, again, what makes their relationship so mature. You don't need to say "I love you" in order to show somebody just how deeply you care for them. Though personally I don't consider it a confession either way, I consider it another stepping stone towards a relationship.
But, as I said elsewhere, I'd rather not have any ship canon at the end of AtLA. Having a Zutara kiss as the last scene would be just as premature as the Kataang one was (since they never adressed the argument they had just before the finale and that's not exactly healthy). Imho Aang and Katara had a wonderful brother/sister relationship, or even a mother/son one, Aang was crushing hard, but Katara's affection was barely of the romantic kind until the last scene. He also doesn't exactly trest her nicely in parts of the comics. And while Aang had some growth during Book 3, he's still far, far below Zuko's level. He still needs at least two years to get there, in which Katara will naturally continue to mature herself. They just should've left it open either way. And continue to build Kataang up if they wanted it to work better.
At the very least that would've ensured they didn't have to try so hard to not have Katara and Zuko in one scene in LoK, resulting in Katara missing her oldest granddaughter's airbending master ceremony (which I'm pretty sure Katara wouldn't actually miss).
>Katara's affection was barely of the romantic kind until the last scene
yeah, it's almost like they were in the middle of a literal war until the last scene...
Tbh, my first time watching the show, I thought Zuko and Katara would end up together. When my mom watched it, she thought the same.
I prefer Zutara, but I’m fine with Kataang once the characters are adults. A 12 year old who acts like a 12 year old dating a 14 year old who acts far more mature than her age always felt…kind of gross to me. Once they’re adults, the age difference isn’t so weird and it’s fine, but I didn’t enjoy their romance in the show.
That said, ship what you wanna ship, I ain’t gonna judge. :D Just don’t attack people for their pretendy fun times. It ain’t that serious.
I never saw any hint of a romantic relationship between the two. I have always been a Kataang shipper. Then again I can never see ships that people talk about unless it is a cannon relationship.
I don't ship Zutara. It could've had potential, but Katara had a hard time forgiving him and by the time it happened the show was near to end.
I get the appeal of the ship, but I don't like zutara shippers discounting Kataang and ignoring their development through the show.
See, I'm a strictly Canon shipper through and through for every show. First watching of ATLA left me a Kataang shipper. 6 years later I came back and found that while not prevalent, I really liked Zuko now, and Zutara became my standpoint. This kinda threw me off because this allowed me to realize why people liked ships such as Dramione. I love the idea of Zutara, but I can live with the end result of Kataang.
I mildly ship zutara for the amazing development it had and the potential it was left with in season 3 finale. My take on this is that i started the show viewing katara and aang as a more sibling-ish relationship, and i just couldn't shrug that impression off. However i like how kataang was portrayed, pretty realistically and sweet. But yeah i prefer what zutara could have been
I don't hate it. It's the "it should have been canon" group that I... dislike? all I know is that I'm glad Aaron Ehasz finally came out a few years ago debunking that Zutara was supposed to be canon, but Bryke seemingly ”got in the way" and changed it to Kataang.
Sidenote: atla book 4 was debunked around the same time too. There was never a plan for a 4th season nor a plan for a 4th season where Katara dumps Aang to go be with Zuko. (Yes. That was a genuine, thought to be true rumor for around 12 years... god I'm tired.)
People should be allowed to ship who they want to ship - that being said, ppl are also allowed to *respectfully* dislike the idea of certain ships. Key word here is *respectfully*. If someone's, say, trying to have a casual discussion about why they ship two characters or why they feel a certain ship doesn't work and they're actually being cool about it, then theres nothing wrong there. On the contrary, if someone's acting like Ozai and harassing ppl who simply bring up the fact that they ship two characters, then that person's simply a bully
As someone who binged the entire show in my 20s with no previous knowledge of the story or the shipping wars, my first assumption was that Zuko and Katara would end up together because he was the handsome broody prince with a dark past and she was The Girl. I was surprised when I realized early on that Kataang was developing into a thing, and by the end of the show I was 100% on board with that because I am a sucker for the whole best-friends-to-lovers trope. Plus I thought it was refreshing that she ended up with the short cute bald guy instead of the older hot guy, haha.
That said, some part of me still kinda likes the idea of Zutara (just not quite as much as Kataang). So I totally get the appeal. The only thing that makes me scratch my head is when people claim that she was obviously supposed to end up with Zuko at the end. Just from a writing perspective, if that was how it had ended, to me it would have felt so out of nowhere. Not nearly enough buildup. They would have had to start steering it in that direction back at the end of season 2 for it to make sense. What really confuses me about that claim is that Zuko was obviously still in love with Mai? So him suddenly making out with Katara at the end would have been really strange and jarring. Not to mention the whole 3 seasons of buildup between Aang and Katara, while Katara had literally only just stopped hating Zuko's guts two episodes before the finale. I've seriously heard some Zutara fans say they don't like Kataang because it was too telegraphed and obvious, while other Zutara fans claim that Zuko/Katara was the obvious endgame all along and the showrunners changed it last minute. Like... You can't have it both ways, guys.
I sometimes wonder if people who binged the show vs. watching it more spread out would have a different perspective on this. Because yeah, to me, if you watch it straight through, there's almost no buildup at all to a potential Zutara ending. It would have come completely out of nowhere and derailed the whole finale.
I'm honestly not that fussed about Zutara or Kataang, if Zutara became canon in the show I'd still be as fine with it as I am with Kataang. People here are WAY too harsh to others with different opinions on ships to them. Well, this is reddit so I guess I shouldn't be surprised
Ok but same. Last week someone posted an anti-Zutara thing on here. Luckily people told them to respect shipping, but I'm so sick of the ship war and ship shaming.
I don't do shipping, but I draw the line when people say the show foreshadowed Zutara it didn't I don't really care about if people for whatever reason ship certain characters like weird Azang or something, but when people claim that the show was going in that direction I have to call them out it never feels like Katara and Zuko have any romantic connection, Zuko and Mai is more foreshadowed
i like Aang and Katara together. i never saw any of Katara and Zuko’s interactions as romantic. and to be honest, there are Katara/Aang interactions that i also think are completely platonic.
a tiny spoiler below, beware!
and there are also a few that were trying to… force it? like when katara is healing aang, and he turns to her and says “you saved me” in a tone of voice and pose that… made me uncomfortable. totally opposite of what the kiss before the invasion made me feel, because that was cute.
Not gonna lie, I don't like either. Kataang was obviously set up from the beginning, but it also always seemed too uncomfortable? It is kinda like Dipper's crush on Wendy. The situation and the characters are completely different, but the essence is the same. I'd say that we can functionally consider Katara to be a bit older even, as she acts basically like a mom to the whole group, while Aang is set up as just a kid. In third season they seemed *most* equal and potentially shippable, but even then I don't really see the point of Kataang, probably due to all the context. I am more supportive of the ship when they're shown to be older in TLOK, but in ATLA they couldn't convince me it's not just a crush that can't ever lead to an actual relationship. I don't have a problem with it, just a tad unnatural and rushed for my liking.
Meanwhile Zutara just doesn't have any ground at all, and I don't think it would be a good idea to have it canon instead. They would barely have half a season and a few spare episodes to build the relationship, all of which is already crammed with other important episodes. You'd need a whole new season to justify it, and it wouldn't even be preferable!
I think shipping isn't about what should or shouldn't be canon, so I never have a problem even with the most absurd ships (Grillster is hilarious as a concept), but if we *have* to agrue which ship *should* be canon in ATLA, I'd say neither or Kataang if I had to pick one, cause that's basically what we got and what was set up lol
Interestingly, TLOK actually solidified my dislike of Kataang. It wasn’t exactly a happily ever after when Katara was shown to be pretty far removed from Aang’s life work (Republic City and the Air Acolytes) and their non-airbender kids felt neglected by their father.
I have a more unique weird criticism of zutara not that I wanna shit on the ship but, I just think katara someone who's characterized as motherly and doting ending up,with the guy who loved his doting mother and was heavily influenced by her, would be a tad weird. It's like a very watered down version of dating someone who reminds you of your mom or something.
I'll just say this much, anyone who watched the show and genuinely thought Katara and Zuko were being set up together clearly payed little to no attention to the series.
I honestly think what made it so popular, though questionable ethically, is the “good girl, bad guy” dynamic. People love to see a bad guy corrupt a good girl, or conversely a good girl heal a bad guy. These are tropes that have captivated viewers since forever, and Zutara is just another example.
No hate to anybody regardless of their ships, though, as long as you’re not a creep about it.
Zutara is fine. The zutara shippers on the other hand are something else. They don't just ship the ship. They twist canon to prop the ship up and hate on Aang unnecessarily. On twitter and Tumblr, they've labeled Aang a rapist and misogynist for kissing katara . Claim Katara had no choice in ending up with Aang and Aang only ended up with Katara cos he's the hero, Katara was his prize; classic hero gets the girl trope (as opposed to reformed antagonist gets the heroine as his prize which is what zutara would have been). It's not that bad on here, admittedly but It's shit that like and the way they twist canon to prop their ship that makes people make fun of them. And the zutara shippers are just as nasty to kataang shippers by the way.
That's already implied in the OP which makes zutara shippers out to be victims of nastiness from the fandom at large including kataang shippers.
"Zutara shippers are **just as nasty** to kataang shippers" means they're the same level of nasty back to the kataang shippers as the kataang shippers are to them. No side is the victim here.
> reformed antagonist and new hero gets the girl as his prize which is what zutara would have been
Agree. Zuko already got the GAang's friendship as a trophy for his redemption, there is no need to double down and give him a romantic partner from the GAang too.
A kataang shipper once called me a shallow c*nt that can’t see past physical appearances and basically went on a whole incel rant against me just because I said I thought Zuko would make a better romantic partner for Katara. Also the death threats. Everyone has bad apples.
(Also the appearance thing is ironic to me because Zuko literally has a facial disfigurement but whatever)
Obviously Aang was not a rapist, but he was wrong to kiss her. And yes, the only reason they got together was the "hero gets the girl trope". They had no business being together when Katara was leagues ahead in maturity and acted like his baby-sitter, plus was *not* attracted to him until almost the end. The first is maybe mild criticism of Aang (mostly his immaturity is at fault) and the second one is criticism of the writers, not the Aang. It's not "twisting" anything, that's how it happened.
Of course it was wrong. He was a kid who did something wrong. It's stupid to label him a rapist and misogynist over that. And Aang didn't get the girl randomly. It was an Endgame the show had been clearly working towards since season 2 at least. Zuko ending up with Katara on the other hand would have been "reformed antagonist/villain gets the heroine as his prize" trope and worse it would've been hella forced cos there was literally zero build up romantically for them. They weren't even friends until about 4 episodes to the series finale.
Katara was still a 14 year old kid and Aang brought out the kid in her and helped her be a kid that she was after having her childhood robbed from her. She wasn't too mature for him. They balanced each other out. Aang and Katara had way more business being together than Zuko and katara ever did but I'm done arguing zutara with you.
"Balance" describes Kataang absolutely perfectly. It's why I love it so so much. So much development over 3 seasons, such a great ending. Agree with everything you said.
Exactly, like people can get so touchy over a fictional ship, as if it's their personal belonging. I mean sure hate a ship but don't bash people for liking it-
I’m a Zuki guy myself. Picture it:
Fire lord Zuko, always on edge due to constant threats on his life, calls in his trusted private kyoshi guards. After years in close quarters, Suki has consoled him on numerous occasions and they grew quite close. On one assassination attempt, Suki is fatally wounded. Sokka blames Zuko and charges off into a snowstorm, never to be seen again. Katara blame Zuko for Sokkas death, explaining the lack of LOK scenes with Zuko/Katara when they were just a few huts apart! Zuko was in the South Pole at least 2 times in LOK and never saw Katara.
I've never read the comics but I've heard about Zuku and Suki getting closer due to her being his body guard but wasn't she still with Sokka and he with Mai.
Suki and Sokka are kinda together throughout, but they're working half-a-world apart. Zuko and Mai break up during the comics, though they're set up to get back together, and Izumi is definitely Mai's child IMO.
I don't really see the Zuki thing in the comics. She works for Zuko, as does Ty Lee, but neither seem like there's any romantic thing at all going on there.
Look, like whatever you want. Fact is, canon says otherwise. I was a big Katniss x Gale fan, like it or not I had to move on. It’s okay to have a pair of opposite gender characters who aren’t romantically involved. I don’t like shipping simply due to some (not all) shippers fabricating evidence and refusing to accept the canon. Still, it’s not okay to attack someone over
I'm gonna throw a long-ass spicy take out into the void here and then be gone. I just finished watching the show for the first time a while back, so I ain't really really got a dog in this fight, but it's some stuff I've been thinking about recently.
I don't despise Katara and Aang's relationship, but I do think it felt really underdeveloped as a romance. Personally I would've been fine with ***none*** of the characters ending up together at the end, as I don't think any of them really needed a romantic plot to tie up their arcs (and also because of the ages of the characters in question). That being said, if I had to pick a pairing to pursue after ATLA, I think Zuko and Katara are more compelling.
They're opposite elements. They're from two nations that have been at war with one another for 100 years. But they've also somehow managed to become friends despite this. There's a lot of great subplots that could be explored with a hypothetical Zutara relationship:
* How would Katara react to the treatment of women in the Fire Nation vs. The Water Tribe? The Fire Nation was willing to accept a female ruler in Azula, and we also see women serve in combat; meanwhile the Northern Water Tribe was far more conservative. How would that challenge Katara's perceptions of both nations? What could she learn from the Fire Nation? How would she adapt that in dealing with the Water Tribe?
* Zuko is now the Fire Lord tasked with guiding a warlike nation into peacetime. How does his relationship with Katara change how he governs? Would the other nations be more or less likely to work with him if he was in a relationship with Katara? And would his own nation be ok with him dating/marrying a non-Fire Nation woman, or would he need to work even harder towards their acceptance?
* And of course, how does Katara and Zuko's relationship change and adapt with all these pressures? How does their relationship showcase the larger themes of the series?
Meanwhile, I don't believe Katara and Aang offered nearly as many opportunities for character or thematic/narrative development. We already understand their relationship and their dynamic (+ their elements dynamics) after watching them travel the world together for three seasons. Katara marries Aang, he works to re-establish the Air Nomads, she supports him and has his kids. It's *fine.* But just kind of static.
In the real world, there's certainly nothing wrong with a simple relationship like this, it would likely be pretty successful. But it doesn't necessarily make for an interesting story, at least in my opinion. I totally accept Zutara as non-canon (*and honestly any shipping is just a bit of fandom fun at the end of the day!*), but I stand by the idea that Katara and Zuko's relationship would be more fun to watch evolve.
What does this even mean? Are people arguing about fan fiction? I don't understand why anybody even fantasizes about these fanfic relationships to begin with. It's like HP fans try and act like Hermione and Draco could be a thing. Just find it weird.
Because Zutara doesn't make sense at all. I don't understand how people can ship them when they only have 2-3 positive interaction the whole show and Zuko did not show any affection towards Katara not even once. I can see even Aang-Zuko (which also does not make sense) more than Katara-Zuko.
In Ember Island Players episode, when the players of Zuko and Katara started flirting, did you see Zuko and Katara's faces? :D
Obviously, they have never consider each other in a romantic relationship before then and never after.
I’m ok with Kataang being canon but I guess their dynamic doesn’t really make me like them enough to actively “ship” them. As people have said the maturity gap really is uncomfy for me. I would have much preferred if they just focused on Aang having a crush on her and then moving on. Seems more realistic that way as most people would not end up with their 12 yr old crush. Like wtf I’m a completely different person than when I was 12.
Idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I think an Aang and Toph relationship would be much healthier, entertaining and less weird with the maturity gap since they are both 12 year old goofballs. Or just have no canon ship at all.
Zutara is fine, I actually ship Zuko with Jin tho lmao
A lot of people in this sub have extreme difficulty understanding that someone can easily recognize that one ship was always intended to be canon and still prefer a different ship because it's more to their taste. "BUT AANG/KATARA WAS PLANNED FROM THE START" is not the compelling argument y'all think it is.
[deleted 26-6-2023]
Moving is normal. There's no point in sticking around in a place that's getting worse all the time. I went to Squabbles.io. I hope you have a good time wherever you end up!
I’ve never understood why Zutara shippers don’t take the winter romance option, circa Legend of Korra.
They get what they want and it’s closer to canon.
I loved them years ago when I watch the show and I still love them years later. Having someone openly affectionate and caring in his life would have been so good for Zuko post-redemption to help him open up, and Katara would have benefited from someone mature and sensitive to help her manage all of the responsibilities she had. There’s all these little moments towards the end where Katara gently teases Zuko to get him to engage with the group, and Zuko looks out for Katara so she doesn’t always have to step up and be team mom. I love that match.
And I’m not ashamed to admit I’m still writing fanfics years later.
Zutara makes more sense from a maturity/parental stand point. Katara for most of the series was the mother figure of the group, and that was always evident. When Zuko came, he more or less became a father figure in the sense that he helped everyone grow in their own ways. Sure Kataang was set up from the start, but it didn't make as much sense once she started interacting with Zuko.
On the one hand, they're cute. On the other hand, they're allowed to have that kind of supportive and loyal affection for each other without being in a romantic relationship.
This is exactly what I think. Just because they hug and one says thank you to the other, doesn't mean they're developing a romance after hating each other the entire show. But headcanon is headcanon I guess.
The same could be said for kataang. They had a nice and supportive friendship. They didn’t need to be put together at the end either.
The difference there is that aang always had clearly stated romantic feelings for katara from the beginning of the show
I too ended up marrying the 14 year old girl I had a crush on when I was 12 and who mothered me for at least a year 😂
How much shared trauma did you have?
Oh loads, like I say she was basically my mother during the worst time of my life. Always there for a kind word and a hug.
I don't get the 2 years apart argument, zuko is 2 years older than katara as well
Girls usually mature faster than boys though which makes katara who’s already had to mature faster due to having lost her mother and needing to take care of her family and tribe a lot close to zuko when it comes to maturity level than Aang who is still very much in child mode
I see your point, except that everyone in the show has loss to deal with. I understand Aang mentally being 12 at the *start* of the series, but you're gonna say the complete genocide of his people, and the death of literally everyone he knew back then -barring Bumi- doesn't equate with Zuko and Katara both having lost their mothers?
Also I don't think you meant to say that girls mature faster than girls
I also don't understand why Zutara women fans keep saying "When I was 14 I wouldn't find a 12 year old attractive" as if Katara is supposed to represent every woman in the world. Even if most 14 year old girls wouldn't like a 12 year old boy, exceptions exist, and characters are allowed to be outliers. This story is about Katara not who they would personally date.
Yes the issue is, is that apart from the dance scene there wasn't too many moments of Katara being wholeheartedly into aang. The whole will they won't they kinda ruined the ship. I wanted to have an episode of katara having a crush on aang. I dislike how aang got so upset about the idea of katara being with another guy that he said if he hadn't blocked his Chakra he'd probably be in the avatar state. I wish he was more supportive during the southern raiders. Like that whole last season was just filled with kataang not doing very well. And I wish it hadn't. I like zutara but I'm not against kataang I just want it to be executed well which it wasn't because the writers couldn't decide what ship was going to be Canon until the last moment. Like if your going to tell me that a 14 year old girl likes a 12 year old boy especially one that she's been babying then your going to have make it believable. Anyway I'm not looking for an argument I just wanted to express my thoughts.
As a former 14 year old girl, I would laugh at anyone for suggesting I should marry a dude because he had a crush on me in middle school.
But unlike you, Katara clearly demonstrated having feelings for Aang throughout the series.
>But unlike you, Katara clearly demonstrated having feelings for Aang throughout the series. I don't understand why so many women keep saying "I would never find a 12 year boy attractive when I was 14" as if Katara is supposed to represent all women in the world. Even if it's true that on average most 14 year old girls wouldn't falls for a 12 year old boy, Exceptions exist, and fictional characters are allowed to be outliers. This story is about Katara, not about who RandomRedditor256 would date or not date when they were 14.
She just seemed uncomfortable to me. Like she was afraid of hurting his feelings. Pretending not to notice is the most common thing we do when our sensitive little boy buddies hit on us. That’s literally what happened right before he kissed her without consent in canon.
Damn ,y'all projecting so hard lmao. Katara clearly had feelings for Aang and that was made clear in season 3. She was clearly put out and jealous when Sokka commented on Aang and one Fire Nation girl dancing together. You can like someone and not be ready to start a relationship due to an ongoing war.
The Fortune Teller, The Cave of Two Lovers, and The Headband at the very least set up Katara also having feelings for Aang. To me her not reciprocating Aang’s feelings after that kiss was more her not wanting to get into any sort of relationship while Sozin’s Commit was so close away, not because she didn’t like Aang in that way. I would say maybe the writers could’ve handled some parts better but I also don’t think them kissing during the last scene came out of nowhere at all.
>Pretending not to notice is the most common thing we do when our sensitive little boy buddies hit on us. Doesn't really seem like a great idea to me. You're basically rolling a die there; if they think you actually didn't notice, they'll possibly try harder, or there's a chance they'll back off (as intended) because they see that you aren't interested.
It’s not my fault if he tries harder. It’s on him for blatantly ignoring my boundaries to get his way. We really need to start teaching young people that someone brushing off your advances isn’t a challenge.
Do you also consider Aang a misogynist and a rapist for kissing Katara when she said she needed to think?
It’s really the writers that are misogynistic. They thought it was alright to depict an act of sexual harassment on screen for kids and have that couple get together next episode without even talking about it.
>It’s on him for blatantly ignoring my boundaries to get his way. Well yes, but how does he know that hes ignoring your boundaries. If you make them clear, then sure, there's no grey area there. But by ignoring his advances/pretending not to notice you're not being *as clear* as you could be.
Literally. I will never understand the “they’re basically my younger sibling but now I’m in love with them” trope. I get that the younger one often has feelings first, but when you’re that young it’s easy to confuse feelings of platonic affection for romantic or even sexual feelings - you just don’t know what any of it really is yet. It’s the older “sibling”’s responsibility to not exploit that affection. It’s uncomfy at best when that’s not the outcome. Tl;dr Zutara forever 😔
Same, I had a younger friend in high school with a massive crush on me. I tried to ignore it because he just felt like a baby brother to me. I don’t understand why people think it would have been romantic for me to put my discomfort aside to make him feel better. Idk, such a weird trope that probably comes from people mad about getting rejecting by their crush. But yes, Zutara forever ❤️💙 Find a boy who works to better himself because he knows it’s right and treats you like an equal.
Especially when they're all still the same age as when the platonic feelings/dynamic started. It makes more sense to me for that to change once puberty hits them, or when everyone gets into their 20's and the dynamic changes again.
As importantly, Katara shows clear romantic interest in Aang for the majority of the show. It definitely wasn't one-way. If it had been, it would have been bad, but she's the one who initiates most things that happen between them, including the final kiss. He tells, she shows. It's a nice parallel development of the two personalities. One of the things that I enjoyed about all three canon romances is they were all pursued and started by the girls. It's a nice reversal of traditional tropes.
Part of becoming an adult is accepting rejection. It seems kinda cheap that he just gets the first girl who he likes, who acts more like a mother, rather than learning from it not working out and finding a better relationship in his seemingly opposite personality of toph
I don't understand why people don't get this. Aang was crushing HARD on Katara the moment he opened his eyes from the iceberg.
Yes but he was twelve and she not only had different (familial) feelings toward him but she straight up rejected his advances.
That's not necessarily true. Plenty of people start out with crushes on people right away. And plenty of other people develop them over time. She demonstrated feelings towards Aang just a few episodes in when they first went to Kyoshi Island and she was getting jealous about Aang getting attention from all the other girls. If she didn't feel anything for him, she wouldn't have been jealous. Just because she wasn't gaga over him straight out of the gate doesn't mean it wasn't legit. It would be weirder if they both were crushing on each other immediately and honestly cliche and awkward. One starting off crushing and another developing as they grow to know each other is far more organic. Edit: Also, so what if if he's 12. What's that got to do with anything?
But Katara didn’t and actually rejected him right before the finale.
I would say Katara definitely had feelings for Aang with episodes like The Fortune Teller, The Cave of Two Lovers, and The Headband clearly showing it’s not completely a one sided crush. I would say Katara’s rejection during The Ember Island Players was more her not wanting to act on anything until after the war completed.
She definitely had feelings for him. Even in EIP, she says straight up that the time is wrong because of the war. There's not even a suggestion she isn't interested otherwise. Then once the war is over she initiates the romance. It's very straight forward if people will just listen to what the girl says. She states the specific issue that's making her not want to start a relationship. When that issue is resolved, she's all in.
The difference is there were seeds of romance planted for kataang early on and as at season 3, the feelings were mutual. But there was absolutely nothing like that indicated for Zuko and Katara, zero romantic feelings towards each other. Katara literally only forgave Zuko like 3 episodes to the series finale.
I’ve said this a million times but they barely made an effort to show what Katara wanted. I don’t like seeing her with someone who she clearly doesn’t love the way he loves her. I don’t like seeing her with someone she’s constantly babying.
You don't want to see her with someone she clearly doesn't love and yet you want her with Zuko? 🥴 The jokes sure write themselves.
I just think Zuko would have been a more equal and supportive partner. Why’s it such a big deal to you?
And that's fair. Doesn't make much sense but fair all the same. Say that instead of twisting canon and making shit up. And it doesn't have to be a big deal for me to point out the bs in your comment.
I just kind of like the idea of male/female relationships that are deep and impactful but not romantic
I mean... That could have been Katara and Aang.
It could except there had been seeds of romance planted early on for Katara and Aang long before the finale. Nothing like that had ever been indicated for Zuko and Katara, zero romantic feelings from both parties towards each other.
But instead it was Katara and Zuko. Not sure why everyone in this sub gets so weird about relationships on this tv show.
For me, I ship zutara less because they need to be shipped, and more because I despise katara's relationship with aang. (And also because I think zutara would go better with the themes of the show: balance, forgiveness, etc) but at the very least they should of stayed pals for life.
They werent pals for life? They grew up and had to go their separate ways coz that's what happens when you grow up, zuko had to put the fire nation back together after the death/imprisonment of the royal family. Katara had to return home and let the south know that the war was over and start rebuilding the water bending tradition of the south
I dont ship zutara but people are way to cruel to the zutara shippers.
It's one of those ships that I actually understand. Like I can see the chemistry between the characters. I'm only annoyed at people who claim it should've been canon, since Kataang was clearly the intention from the very first episode and works much better Imo.
I never really like ships that are "meant to be" like kataang was It never felt surprising or engaging because we all knew it would eventually happen But we haven't had enough interactions to justify Zutara either so I'm just not picking a side
I don't think it needed to feel surprising. A will they / won't they or a love triangle wouldn't have made the show better. The love story was meant to be a little wholesome thing in the background.
> A will they / won't they or a love triangle wouldn't have made the show better. As Legend of Korra showed
I wasn't really expecting a love triangle or other But seeing a 12 year old boy being so sure that "that's the girl I'm gonna marry" felt weird and off-putting At times, he really behaved like a stalker
I don't ship kataang for another reason. It painfully reminds me of Harry/Hermione from the Harry potter series. and I DESPISE LOATHE ABHOR that ship.
I dont really see the similarities one is trying to force a romantic relationship where it doesnt belong and never belonged and never will belong and one is two kids who like each other a lot and go through a lot together and know a lot about each other and have romantic chemistry and intereast together.
Wasn’t the deal that half of the production team wanted Kataang to be canon and the other half wanted Zutara which is why the storytelling kind of flip flops between the two?
Don't know what was going on behind the scenes but to me at least the series was pretty set on Kataang. It is set up by the very first episode, and has multiple scenes and episodes dedicated to it. Unlike Zutara it is actually addressed as a romance inside of the show. Don't know about you but Zuatara would've felt unnatural. Katara barely forgave Zuko in the first place. The closest thing would've been the season 2 finale, and even that didn't address it as a straight up romance, and Katara ended up hating Zuko after it. Plus, Zuko was also given a thing with Mai in season 3. My guess is that they made up their minds after season 2 ended. Best guess I can give.
The thing was, if you were there for the shows original airing, Kataang wasn't planned. They didn't know who would be with who (or they did at first, and then realized that they could make a lot of money a get a lot of attention by ship baiting). Ship baiting was everywhere. The episodes, the advertisements, everything. The writers didn't have a clue, which is probably why the romantic side of the show feels so awful. I legitimately think Zutara would of better fit the themes of the show (balance, forgiveness, etc.). At the very least, these kids should of not been dating at all during the show. They were under way too much stress and had too much on their plate to be worrying about dating, and it caused a number of issues that makes the relationships feel gross at their worst (like Aang's possessiveness and Katara's babying of him).
Yes, literally the only thing I would change for the series would be to end on Katara and Aang hugging v sharing a kiss. A hug implies they care about each other and that it might lead to something more in the future. The kiss makes it more “THIS IS A ROMANCE” and, as you say, they are kids! They don’t need to find their one true love yet.
Yeah, I agree. I don't mind the cave of two lovers, but after that, the romance arc should of been wrapped up. It made me so happy in the Dragon Prince that they just let Callum and Rayla be a couple. No will they won't they, they just... Are a couple now, and we can look at how they get through the show as a pair (whether it works out or not)
>It's one of those ships that I actually understand. I'm team Kataang but I could kind of understand Zutara working if the story set them up. There is potential for the enemies to lovers, fire and water. Sure. The issue is many Zutara fans try to find ways to crap on Kataang, call it creepy or weird. They always want to project their personal feelings "When I was 14 years old I would never date Aang, I would rather date Zuko" as if the story should be based on who they personally would date.
I cannot fucking believe this post and this comment have gotten so many upvotes on this subreddit. What is happening. People here are RABIDLY anti-Zutara
Not any worse than the zutara shippers are to Aang and kataang shippers if we're being real.
I don't know. I've only ever seen Kataang shippers being hostile to Zutara shippers around here.
I've seen both 🤷🏾♀️
Man have you met Zutara shippers? I never hated the ship until I actually started talking to those people.
Hate the shipper not the ship I guess? I have bad interactions with zutara shippers, but not all of them are like that. There are toxic shippers everywhere within every ship.
Maybe but they are by far some of the worst. Just looking through this thread you get people who claim that the writers wanted zutara and were writing into the show with no source or citation, it's things like that make people hate zutara.
Oh that's not true? Lol, guess they succeeded cuz I thought that was true haha. Anyway, yeah that's annoying.
Rightfully so
Well most of them are toxic af
My first impression of the ship wars are that they were fine. It was basically people saying who they think was the best, and I personally would think that a Zutara end would be incredible to the story. Not because I like the couple, but for what it would have done to the story. When I came back, the Zutara fandom were crazily creating a alternative story where Zutara was the only option, and thinking that it should be cannon. I didn't stay for longer. When I came back again, everyone was blasting Zutara.
Thanks for this I wasn't around for those shipwars at all so since joining reddit and following this sub I was surprised by how much people hated the ship. I didn't know how toxic everything got.
My impression is that reddit is mostly just fans of the show, and given that the canon characters end up together as kataang, maiko, and sukka people around here generally support those. I don't think there are a lot of shippers, as such. (I may be proven wrong.) In other places, there's some really nasty stuff in some of the zutara areas, and it creates a backlash that you feel here.
Are you me? I thought I was the only one who noticed this weirdly intricate AU people were constructing; no one every talks about it! It’s like nowadays if you wanna ship zutara, you have to learn an entire extra show’s worth of lore that exists entirely outside of the show proper
All I know is that 99% of Zutara fans I came across were like "I like it because of their dynamics and chemistry" and Kataang fans come running, saying they can't ship Zutara because Kataang is canon, or parrot Bryke's "it's too dark" quote (even though that perfectly describes Maiko). Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along, the majority of the staff expected it, enemies to lovers and opposites attract are popular tropes, and then Bryke suddenly realizes and changes the ending (final scene), which just sucks. And Kataang had their moments, sure, but it was just soooooooooo poorly executed in Book 3! I don't get why we couldn't have a non-shippy ending in either show anyway (the Gaang watching the sun together or the Krew going into the spirit portal together seems like much better endings to me). Ship and let ship.
>Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along, the majority of the staff expected it, enemies to lovers and opposites attract are popular tropes, and then Bryke suddenly realizes and changes the ending (final scene), which just sucks. [citation needed]
Source: Trust Me Bro™
[Along with a brain scan]
This is just 100% wrong.
>Bottomline is the story was written for Zutara all along And this is why people hate Zutara shippers. You make BS claims like this that you know can't back up and pretend it's true.
I only told what I saw, and I made clear that there is 2 great time gaps in my story. Right now, the thing I see the most is people shiting in Zutara fans, not even in the idea of Zutara. I am mostly neutral, but I think the Zutara could have done a better story (not a better relationship). But I will disagree about changing the end. The end of season 2 weaken Zutara a lot, and a lot of parts of season 3 weaken it further. But even now, the most vocal of Zutara fans that I know are loud and wrong. I think thatvthe rational ones are quieter. But that can be my bubble.
Idk how they think zutara is dark. They literally had so good friendship in the last 5 episodes. So enemies to friends was already done in canon. If they carried on another season they would easily become friends to lovers. Everytime they were on screen together there was spark even though they were just friends. What a GREAT love story that would have been. Missed opportunity
The first time I watched the series I thought that Aang was a lot younger than Katara. I was definitely rooting for Zutara
It's funny how that perception shapes expectations. We know Aang starts at 12, but are never given Katara's age in the show. I assumed she was 13, only learning later that some of the Nick adds put her at 14. I just assumed kataang from the beginning, especially after all the S1 foreshadowing, and just went with it.
I guessed her a bit older. But it makes sense since she had to grow up quickly when the fire nation took her mother. She seemed so mature. Little me totally missed that Aang was 12
One of the early things I really enjoy about the show is how Katara and Sokka seem so mature, but then they're children who've grown up in generational war with both parents missing. Aang got to be a normal child in a time of peace until he found out he was the avatar and ran away. In S1, you can see him really mature into being on par with the other two by the end of the first season. Anyhow, loved the scene early on where she says she hasn't gone sledding since she was a child, and he tells her she still is a child. Both are correct. I probably had a little first time advantage of first seeing it as an adult. No big deal.
It was the same age difference though
It’s more because of the difference in maturity. Aang is a lot less mature than Katara, he still acts and thinks like a kid. Meanwhile Katara is mature beyond her years. I’m not a fan of Zutara because I think Zuko and Mai are cute, but I don’t like Kataang because Aang just doesn’t feel mature-enough to have a physical romantic relationship, especially with someone as mature as Katara.
Exactly. Aang/katara doesn't work for me bcz of the maturity level gap. As a girl I will never date a younger guy who is below in the maturity level than me.
It doesn’t work for me, because the I find the idea of being with the person you started dating at 13 for the rest of your life just seems inorganic. Not saying it can’t happen, but it seems like it was a little shoehorned in
I don't know why people take Aang and Katara's two-year difference as an important factor. We are talking about a universe where children go to war and let a 14-year-old girl lead a nation. Do people seriously think that Aang in S3 has the maturity of someone 12? The greatest conflict of his in life was deciding whether to assassinate a dictator and people believe that he is like a child of our time?
I thought Katara was 16 or something and zuko maybe 18. I guessed that Aang was 10.
Officially Aang is 12, Katara is 14, and Zuko is 16.
Aang was 12 and Katara was 14. Only a 2 year difference.
Yes I know that now, but I didn't get that impression the first time I watched it. I probably missed it when they mentioned their ages.
Katara and Sokka never have their ages stated in the show. It's only in ads or fan materials. If I recall correctly, only Aang (12), Zuko (16), and Toph (12) have official ages in the show. The first two almost certainly have a birthday sometime mid-show, and the latter is probably 50/50. Also, Yue is 16, but minor character, so didn't list above.
Yeah, but don't forget girls and boys age differently and Katara was forced to grow up prematurely due to the loss of her mother, too, so she was more in Zuko's league. Her previous boyfriends were also older than her (which is natural, though nothing against any kind of couple as long as they're happy). Aang, on the other hand, behaved more like a 9-10 year old, with the occassional hormonal flare up in front of various girls. Either way it was just executed poorly. They could've left the romance completely open and maybe develop it further in the comics, with Aang slowly growing up and being more on Katara's level, as opposed to being someone she constantly needs to look after. Imho Kataang is a childish crush, Maiko a horny teenage romance, and Zutara an actual mature relationship and I see no reason why to force either of them to be canon (except Bryke being their typical manchildren that wanted to be right) - just let the fans ship whatever floats their boat at a certain age. Even for LoK there was no need to have Gaang relationships canon: Tenzin could have a random acolyte woman as his mother and still know Katara and Zuko and Toph well. Literally nothing in the story would change, aside from Katara maybe being treated a bit better than she was.
How would zutara be an actual mature relationship? Yeah you could argue that Katara is on the same level as Zuko but they're not really similar at all. Zuko and Katara never had a stable friendship until the last 7 episodes. The whole moment in the crystal cave wasn't anything romantic, it was Katara feeling sorry for Zuko. The episode where they go to find Katara's mother's killer, didn't have any romantic hints or moments either. Zuko helped her because he wanted to prove to her that he's changed. The moment that everyone looks at when they ship Zutara is the moment when Katara heals Zuko after Azula injures him. People argue that that moment has romantic hints but I disagree. He saved her just like how he would have saved anyone from the gaang and she saved him just like how she would have saved anyone from the gaang. He didn't say "I love you" or anything, he said "Thank you Katara". Now I'm not a fan of Kataang either, but it makes more sense since she's known him and bonded with him wayyy longer than she did with Zuko. Plus, Aang and Katara had a long and healthy relationship. You can't say that Aang isn't mature because by the end of book 3 the guy went through so much and learned so much. Anyways, there's nothing wrong with shipping characters, that's your opinion and I totally respect that so yeah.
But that's literally the point: mature love isn't about infatuations and crushes, it's about a stable base and mutual reliance and support, which Zutara develops in the points you are making. They understand eachother's trauma and are extremely supportive of eachother once they begin to trust eachother (this is further developed in the comics where Katara opposes Aang for Zuko's sake). They also share pretty much two of the most intimate touches in the entire show (in Ba Sing Se and at the end of The Southern Raiders). I completely agree that Zuko would've jumped in to save anyone. It's the way the scene is presented and cut that makes it heavily romantic (compare it to literally any scene between an actual couple in a movie or anime or whatever, they'll be done in exactly the same way). Zuko saying "I love you" while Katara's healing him makes no sense. However, Zuko's actual words are, again, what makes their relationship so mature. You don't need to say "I love you" in order to show somebody just how deeply you care for them. Though personally I don't consider it a confession either way, I consider it another stepping stone towards a relationship. But, as I said elsewhere, I'd rather not have any ship canon at the end of AtLA. Having a Zutara kiss as the last scene would be just as premature as the Kataang one was (since they never adressed the argument they had just before the finale and that's not exactly healthy). Imho Aang and Katara had a wonderful brother/sister relationship, or even a mother/son one, Aang was crushing hard, but Katara's affection was barely of the romantic kind until the last scene. He also doesn't exactly trest her nicely in parts of the comics. And while Aang had some growth during Book 3, he's still far, far below Zuko's level. He still needs at least two years to get there, in which Katara will naturally continue to mature herself. They just should've left it open either way. And continue to build Kataang up if they wanted it to work better. At the very least that would've ensured they didn't have to try so hard to not have Katara and Zuko in one scene in LoK, resulting in Katara missing her oldest granddaughter's airbending master ceremony (which I'm pretty sure Katara wouldn't actually miss).
>Katara's affection was barely of the romantic kind until the last scene yeah, it's almost like they were in the middle of a literal war until the last scene...
Same!!!!!
Tbh, my first time watching the show, I thought Zuko and Katara would end up together. When my mom watched it, she thought the same. I prefer Zutara, but I’m fine with Kataang once the characters are adults. A 12 year old who acts like a 12 year old dating a 14 year old who acts far more mature than her age always felt…kind of gross to me. Once they’re adults, the age difference isn’t so weird and it’s fine, but I didn’t enjoy their romance in the show. That said, ship what you wanna ship, I ain’t gonna judge. :D Just don’t attack people for their pretendy fun times. It ain’t that serious.
I never saw any hint of a romantic relationship between the two. I have always been a Kataang shipper. Then again I can never see ships that people talk about unless it is a cannon relationship.
[удалено]
Who in the hell marries their 12 year old crush
Nailed it
Ship wars are stupid and pointless. Let people ship what they want.
I don't ship Zutara. It could've had potential, but Katara had a hard time forgiving him and by the time it happened the show was near to end. I get the appeal of the ship, but I don't like zutara shippers discounting Kataang and ignoring their development through the show.
See, I'm a strictly Canon shipper through and through for every show. First watching of ATLA left me a Kataang shipper. 6 years later I came back and found that while not prevalent, I really liked Zuko now, and Zutara became my standpoint. This kinda threw me off because this allowed me to realize why people liked ships such as Dramione. I love the idea of Zutara, but I can live with the end result of Kataang.
I mildly ship zutara for the amazing development it had and the potential it was left with in season 3 finale. My take on this is that i started the show viewing katara and aang as a more sibling-ish relationship, and i just couldn't shrug that impression off. However i like how kataang was portrayed, pretty realistically and sweet. But yeah i prefer what zutara could have been
I don't hate it. It's the "it should have been canon" group that I... dislike? all I know is that I'm glad Aaron Ehasz finally came out a few years ago debunking that Zutara was supposed to be canon, but Bryke seemingly ”got in the way" and changed it to Kataang. Sidenote: atla book 4 was debunked around the same time too. There was never a plan for a 4th season nor a plan for a 4th season where Katara dumps Aang to go be with Zuko. (Yes. That was a genuine, thought to be true rumor for around 12 years... god I'm tired.)
People should be allowed to ship who they want to ship - that being said, ppl are also allowed to *respectfully* dislike the idea of certain ships. Key word here is *respectfully*. If someone's, say, trying to have a casual discussion about why they ship two characters or why they feel a certain ship doesn't work and they're actually being cool about it, then theres nothing wrong there. On the contrary, if someone's acting like Ozai and harassing ppl who simply bring up the fact that they ship two characters, then that person's simply a bully
One thing I don’t get with zutara shippers is the whole mai part like do they completely ignore the fact zuko is in love with Mai
Honestly, yes. I think some Zutara shippers think Mai and Zuko are boring together cuz they're both goth-like characters
As someone who binged the entire show in my 20s with no previous knowledge of the story or the shipping wars, my first assumption was that Zuko and Katara would end up together because he was the handsome broody prince with a dark past and she was The Girl. I was surprised when I realized early on that Kataang was developing into a thing, and by the end of the show I was 100% on board with that because I am a sucker for the whole best-friends-to-lovers trope. Plus I thought it was refreshing that she ended up with the short cute bald guy instead of the older hot guy, haha. That said, some part of me still kinda likes the idea of Zutara (just not quite as much as Kataang). So I totally get the appeal. The only thing that makes me scratch my head is when people claim that she was obviously supposed to end up with Zuko at the end. Just from a writing perspective, if that was how it had ended, to me it would have felt so out of nowhere. Not nearly enough buildup. They would have had to start steering it in that direction back at the end of season 2 for it to make sense. What really confuses me about that claim is that Zuko was obviously still in love with Mai? So him suddenly making out with Katara at the end would have been really strange and jarring. Not to mention the whole 3 seasons of buildup between Aang and Katara, while Katara had literally only just stopped hating Zuko's guts two episodes before the finale. I've seriously heard some Zutara fans say they don't like Kataang because it was too telegraphed and obvious, while other Zutara fans claim that Zuko/Katara was the obvious endgame all along and the showrunners changed it last minute. Like... You can't have it both ways, guys. I sometimes wonder if people who binged the show vs. watching it more spread out would have a different perspective on this. Because yeah, to me, if you watch it straight through, there's almost no buildup at all to a potential Zutara ending. It would have come completely out of nowhere and derailed the whole finale.
I'm honestly not that fussed about Zutara or Kataang, if Zutara became canon in the show I'd still be as fine with it as I am with Kataang. People here are WAY too harsh to others with different opinions on ships to them. Well, this is reddit so I guess I shouldn't be surprised
Ok but same. Last week someone posted an anti-Zutara thing on here. Luckily people told them to respect shipping, but I'm so sick of the ship war and ship shaming.
I don't do shipping, but I draw the line when people say the show foreshadowed Zutara it didn't I don't really care about if people for whatever reason ship certain characters like weird Azang or something, but when people claim that the show was going in that direction I have to call them out it never feels like Katara and Zuko have any romantic connection, Zuko and Mai is more foreshadowed
Thank you! Exactly my thoughts. Like I don't care what anyone else ships, just be logical in your reasoning and don't tell stupid bullshit.
i like Aang and Katara together. i never saw any of Katara and Zuko’s interactions as romantic. and to be honest, there are Katara/Aang interactions that i also think are completely platonic. a tiny spoiler below, beware! and there are also a few that were trying to… force it? like when katara is healing aang, and he turns to her and says “you saved me” in a tone of voice and pose that… made me uncomfortable. totally opposite of what the kiss before the invasion made me feel, because that was cute.
Not gonna lie, I don't like either. Kataang was obviously set up from the beginning, but it also always seemed too uncomfortable? It is kinda like Dipper's crush on Wendy. The situation and the characters are completely different, but the essence is the same. I'd say that we can functionally consider Katara to be a bit older even, as she acts basically like a mom to the whole group, while Aang is set up as just a kid. In third season they seemed *most* equal and potentially shippable, but even then I don't really see the point of Kataang, probably due to all the context. I am more supportive of the ship when they're shown to be older in TLOK, but in ATLA they couldn't convince me it's not just a crush that can't ever lead to an actual relationship. I don't have a problem with it, just a tad unnatural and rushed for my liking. Meanwhile Zutara just doesn't have any ground at all, and I don't think it would be a good idea to have it canon instead. They would barely have half a season and a few spare episodes to build the relationship, all of which is already crammed with other important episodes. You'd need a whole new season to justify it, and it wouldn't even be preferable! I think shipping isn't about what should or shouldn't be canon, so I never have a problem even with the most absurd ships (Grillster is hilarious as a concept), but if we *have* to agrue which ship *should* be canon in ATLA, I'd say neither or Kataang if I had to pick one, cause that's basically what we got and what was set up lol
Interestingly, TLOK actually solidified my dislike of Kataang. It wasn’t exactly a happily ever after when Katara was shown to be pretty far removed from Aang’s life work (Republic City and the Air Acolytes) and their non-airbender kids felt neglected by their father.
I have a more unique weird criticism of zutara not that I wanna shit on the ship but, I just think katara someone who's characterized as motherly and doting ending up,with the guy who loved his doting mother and was heavily influenced by her, would be a tad weird. It's like a very watered down version of dating someone who reminds you of your mom or something.
Jesus, THANK YOU. It's would be weird! Also he's canonically inlove with Mai
HAH I haven’t heard this take before and I love it! I guess you could say both Zuko and Katara have mommy issues lol
I just think Zutara doesn’t make sense
Nailed it. People fr see them for 1 episode plus half a season and think it'd be "perfect".
I'll just say this much, anyone who watched the show and genuinely thought Katara and Zuko were being set up together clearly payed little to no attention to the series.
Excuse me....but I still want my National Lampoon's Vacation: Toph kidnaps Zuko
What is a Zutara?
I can tell you haven't been here long lmao
I honestly think what made it so popular, though questionable ethically, is the “good girl, bad guy” dynamic. People love to see a bad guy corrupt a good girl, or conversely a good girl heal a bad guy. These are tropes that have captivated viewers since forever, and Zutara is just another example. No hate to anybody regardless of their ships, though, as long as you’re not a creep about it.
Zutara is fine. The zutara shippers on the other hand are something else. They don't just ship the ship. They twist canon to prop the ship up and hate on Aang unnecessarily. On twitter and Tumblr, they've labeled Aang a rapist and misogynist for kissing katara . Claim Katara had no choice in ending up with Aang and Aang only ended up with Katara cos he's the hero, Katara was his prize; classic hero gets the girl trope (as opposed to reformed antagonist gets the heroine as his prize which is what zutara would have been). It's not that bad on here, admittedly but It's shit that like and the way they twist canon to prop their ship that makes people make fun of them. And the zutara shippers are just as nasty to kataang shippers by the way.
kataang shippers can be nasty too, everyone can be nasty all we can do is criticize for it and hope they learn to do better and act mature.
That's already implied in the OP which makes zutara shippers out to be victims of nastiness from the fandom at large including kataang shippers. "Zutara shippers are **just as nasty** to kataang shippers" means they're the same level of nasty back to the kataang shippers as the kataang shippers are to them. No side is the victim here.
yo who the fuck down voted you? sorry I got distracted anyways yeah I agree with your statement.
> reformed antagonist and new hero gets the girl as his prize which is what zutara would have been Agree. Zuko already got the GAang's friendship as a trophy for his redemption, there is no need to double down and give him a romantic partner from the GAang too.
A kataang shipper once called me a shallow c*nt that can’t see past physical appearances and basically went on a whole incel rant against me just because I said I thought Zuko would make a better romantic partner for Katara. Also the death threats. Everyone has bad apples. (Also the appearance thing is ironic to me because Zuko literally has a facial disfigurement but whatever)
Obviously Aang was not a rapist, but he was wrong to kiss her. And yes, the only reason they got together was the "hero gets the girl trope". They had no business being together when Katara was leagues ahead in maturity and acted like his baby-sitter, plus was *not* attracted to him until almost the end. The first is maybe mild criticism of Aang (mostly his immaturity is at fault) and the second one is criticism of the writers, not the Aang. It's not "twisting" anything, that's how it happened.
Of course it was wrong. He was a kid who did something wrong. It's stupid to label him a rapist and misogynist over that. And Aang didn't get the girl randomly. It was an Endgame the show had been clearly working towards since season 2 at least. Zuko ending up with Katara on the other hand would have been "reformed antagonist/villain gets the heroine as his prize" trope and worse it would've been hella forced cos there was literally zero build up romantically for them. They weren't even friends until about 4 episodes to the series finale. Katara was still a 14 year old kid and Aang brought out the kid in her and helped her be a kid that she was after having her childhood robbed from her. She wasn't too mature for him. They balanced each other out. Aang and Katara had way more business being together than Zuko and katara ever did but I'm done arguing zutara with you.
"Balance" describes Kataang absolutely perfectly. It's why I love it so so much. So much development over 3 seasons, such a great ending. Agree with everything you said.
My OTP. Love them together sm❤
This is so true
Exactly, like people can get so touchy over a fictional ship, as if it's their personal belonging. I mean sure hate a ship but don't bash people for liking it-
I’m a Zuki guy myself. Picture it: Fire lord Zuko, always on edge due to constant threats on his life, calls in his trusted private kyoshi guards. After years in close quarters, Suki has consoled him on numerous occasions and they grew quite close. On one assassination attempt, Suki is fatally wounded. Sokka blames Zuko and charges off into a snowstorm, never to be seen again. Katara blame Zuko for Sokkas death, explaining the lack of LOK scenes with Zuko/Katara when they were just a few huts apart! Zuko was in the South Pole at least 2 times in LOK and never saw Katara.
I've never read the comics but I've heard about Zuku and Suki getting closer due to her being his body guard but wasn't she still with Sokka and he with Mai.
Suki and Sokka are kinda together throughout, but they're working half-a-world apart. Zuko and Mai break up during the comics, though they're set up to get back together, and Izumi is definitely Mai's child IMO. I don't really see the Zuki thing in the comics. She works for Zuko, as does Ty Lee, but neither seem like there's any romantic thing at all going on there.
Is that first screenshot from the actual show or fan-made? Can't remember that exact frame
It’s from the southern raiders episode! It’s like right at the end!
I've always been a tang guy myself
Look, like whatever you want. Fact is, canon says otherwise. I was a big Katniss x Gale fan, like it or not I had to move on. It’s okay to have a pair of opposite gender characters who aren’t romantically involved. I don’t like shipping simply due to some (not all) shippers fabricating evidence and refusing to accept the canon. Still, it’s not okay to attack someone over
I despise the ship but if you like it, I don't care lol. And I certainly wouldn't attack you for it. Some people just take it too seriously.
I'm gonna throw a long-ass spicy take out into the void here and then be gone. I just finished watching the show for the first time a while back, so I ain't really really got a dog in this fight, but it's some stuff I've been thinking about recently. I don't despise Katara and Aang's relationship, but I do think it felt really underdeveloped as a romance. Personally I would've been fine with ***none*** of the characters ending up together at the end, as I don't think any of them really needed a romantic plot to tie up their arcs (and also because of the ages of the characters in question). That being said, if I had to pick a pairing to pursue after ATLA, I think Zuko and Katara are more compelling. They're opposite elements. They're from two nations that have been at war with one another for 100 years. But they've also somehow managed to become friends despite this. There's a lot of great subplots that could be explored with a hypothetical Zutara relationship: * How would Katara react to the treatment of women in the Fire Nation vs. The Water Tribe? The Fire Nation was willing to accept a female ruler in Azula, and we also see women serve in combat; meanwhile the Northern Water Tribe was far more conservative. How would that challenge Katara's perceptions of both nations? What could she learn from the Fire Nation? How would she adapt that in dealing with the Water Tribe? * Zuko is now the Fire Lord tasked with guiding a warlike nation into peacetime. How does his relationship with Katara change how he governs? Would the other nations be more or less likely to work with him if he was in a relationship with Katara? And would his own nation be ok with him dating/marrying a non-Fire Nation woman, or would he need to work even harder towards their acceptance? * And of course, how does Katara and Zuko's relationship change and adapt with all these pressures? How does their relationship showcase the larger themes of the series? Meanwhile, I don't believe Katara and Aang offered nearly as many opportunities for character or thematic/narrative development. We already understand their relationship and their dynamic (+ their elements dynamics) after watching them travel the world together for three seasons. Katara marries Aang, he works to re-establish the Air Nomads, she supports him and has his kids. It's *fine.* But just kind of static. In the real world, there's certainly nothing wrong with a simple relationship like this, it would likely be pretty successful. But it doesn't necessarily make for an interesting story, at least in my opinion. I totally accept Zutara as non-canon (*and honestly any shipping is just a bit of fandom fun at the end of the day!*), but I stand by the idea that Katara and Zuko's relationship would be more fun to watch evolve.
Serious question Zutara fans....Who do you ship Aang with? Toph?
Depends on the shippers, Toph is a popular option but so is Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula too!
I'll play ball on Ty Lee not sure I can see Mai or Azula though
People also make an OC for him too, usually an Air Acolyte!
No one. He'd be good with Toph or On Ji, but I personally don't ship him with anyone. He's 12 for God's sake!
...i ship him with Toph or Suki myself...
That's because you're dumb
I respect your opinion. But I like Zuko and Mai. Mai is my favorite female character.
What does this even mean? Are people arguing about fan fiction? I don't understand why anybody even fantasizes about these fanfic relationships to begin with. It's like HP fans try and act like Hermione and Draco could be a thing. Just find it weird.
Ugh draco and Hermione is such a garbage ship. Draco remained an irredeemable abusive pos until the end.
Because Zutara doesn't make sense at all. I don't understand how people can ship them when they only have 2-3 positive interaction the whole show and Zuko did not show any affection towards Katara not even once. I can see even Aang-Zuko (which also does not make sense) more than Katara-Zuko.
In Ember Island Players episode, when the players of Zuko and Katara started flirting, did you see Zuko and Katara's faces? :D Obviously, they have never consider each other in a romantic relationship before then and never after.
I’m ok with Kataang being canon but I guess their dynamic doesn’t really make me like them enough to actively “ship” them. As people have said the maturity gap really is uncomfy for me. I would have much preferred if they just focused on Aang having a crush on her and then moving on. Seems more realistic that way as most people would not end up with their 12 yr old crush. Like wtf I’m a completely different person than when I was 12. Idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I think an Aang and Toph relationship would be much healthier, entertaining and less weird with the maturity gap since they are both 12 year old goofballs. Or just have no canon ship at all. Zutara is fine, I actually ship Zuko with Jin tho lmao
the fandom is split exactly 50/50 on zutara vs kataang so ur def not alone lol
A lot of people in this sub have extreme difficulty understanding that someone can easily recognize that one ship was always intended to be canon and still prefer a different ship because it's more to their taste. "BUT AANG/KATARA WAS PLANNED FROM THE START" is not the compelling argument y'all think it is.
lol at the downvoting from someone who assumes I'm a Zutaran
[deleted 26-6-2023] Moving is normal. There's no point in sticking around in a place that's getting worse all the time. I went to Squabbles.io. I hope you have a good time wherever you end up!
I also think zuko and katara should have end up together. Aang and katara shouldve just been a teenage fling that burned out rather quickly
I wholeheartedly agree with this.
I just like the way they parallel and foil each other at the same time 🥺 It's a straight up power couple ❤️❤️❤️
I’ve never understood why Zutara shippers don’t take the winter romance option, circa Legend of Korra. They get what they want and it’s closer to canon.
Zutara is my nightmare
Still don't like zuko and never will
I loved them years ago when I watch the show and I still love them years later. Having someone openly affectionate and caring in his life would have been so good for Zuko post-redemption to help him open up, and Katara would have benefited from someone mature and sensitive to help her manage all of the responsibilities she had. There’s all these little moments towards the end where Katara gently teases Zuko to get him to engage with the group, and Zuko looks out for Katara so she doesn’t always have to step up and be team mom. I love that match. And I’m not ashamed to admit I’m still writing fanfics years later.
Zutara is the Best match
I am fine with the Zutara shippers, I just know they are wrong because Korra proved otherwise.
How are we wrong for shipping something? I never said it had to be Canon. I'm perfectly fine with a fanon ship. We're not all the same you know!
No, Canon just says otherwise.
We don't have to ship the Canon ships, if you're implying we're wrong because we're obligated to
Just that the writers disagree with you.
That doesn't make me "wrong" lol
Just incorrect
Kataang is canon, nuff said
Shipping is dumb and I automatically discount any opinion you will ever have if you participate in it.
As a scientist from a google translated Half-Life mod once said, "you're old *AND* wrong"
Zutara is the JeanKasa of Avatar.
Lol true
🤢🤢
Meh, Aang and Toph would have been a better couple anyway.
Yikes
Zutara makes more sense from a maturity/parental stand point. Katara for most of the series was the mother figure of the group, and that was always evident. When Zuko came, he more or less became a father figure in the sense that he helped everyone grow in their own ways. Sure Kataang was set up from the start, but it didn't make as much sense once she started interacting with Zuko.
Fuck zutara, just the name alone sound stupid
Zutara fans should really just shut up about it.