People Who Claim That Katara Ending Up With Zuko Rather Than Aang Would Have Made Her Character More

people who claim that Katara ending up with Zuko rather than Aang would have made her character more “feminist” completely disregard her race and ethnicity. it shows a lack of understanding when it comes to intersectional feminism because Katara and Aang ending up together is revolutionary. these are two people who understand each other in a way no one else could. both victims of the same regime in the exact same way. both genocide survivors. both the last of their kind (Katara being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe and Aang, of course, being the last airbender). both genocides committed to kill the avatar and erase hope from the world. both come from a collectivist culture. they are both leaders of a resistance group, two people who fight for a better world and in the process find love during war time, in the face of an imperialist nation that was set on wiping them out but they prevailed. not only did the end the war together, but they are tangible proof that love and hope and peace is possible and it’s never too late for things to turn around, even if you are the last of your kind.

Aang, Katara and their relationship is embodiment of that hope and of the revolution.

oh my god they opened the first episode of season 2 with the House Stark theme... and a shot of Winterfell!! this is so nostalgic

that one spidey and mj panel feat. kataang

give Emma D'Arcy and Phia Saban their flowers!! their acting chops are such a big highlight of the first episode.

Emma only had ONE line but they bodied the feeling of grief so hard.

and tbh I think the writing for Blood and Cheese could have been done better, but Phia knocked it out of the park!! she carried the scene.

headcanon: Kiyi and Tom-Tom help Maiko get back together after Smoke and Shadow

(this post doubles as sort of a director's commentary on my latest fic that literally no one asked for, but I thought it would be fun to do! LOL)

So we all know that Mai and Zuko broke up in the comics... but their last panel together in Smoke and Shadow Part 3 is them holding their younger siblings, which we can argue leaves things on a pretty hopeful note

(and if we REALLY want to push the Maiko agenda, dare I say it's a foreshadowing of some sorts?)

Additionally, at Emerald City Comic Con 2017 (timestamp 17:52), Gene Luen Yang implied that the breakup is only temporary.

Anyway, shipping aside, I love this part in Smoke and Shadow where Zuko worries about Tom-Tom losing his innocence after getting kidnapped by the 'Kemurikage'. We also find out that him and Mai babysat Tom-Tom on one of their picnic dates.

Going off of this, I have a headcanon that the abducted kids would occasionally gather at the palace after the Kemurikage incident to essentially have group therapy sessions (an initiative by the Fire Lord, because he's worried that the kids might be traumatized). This is how Tom-Tom and Kiyi became friends.

One day, they heard that Mai and Zuko are 'boyfriend-girlfriend'. Here's how it went down on my fic:

“You know, I heard from Dad who heard from other guards who heard from the kitchen ladies that the Fire Lord and Tom-Tom’s sis are boyfriend-girlfriend.”  Hearing Guri, Constable Sung’s son, join in on the conversation made Tom-Tom hyper-aware that he probably shouldn’t say anything bad about Zuko, especially now after knowing that he’s the Fire Lord.

Between the events of the ATLA finale and The Promise Part 2 (which is where Mai breaks up with Zuko in the throne room), I think it's safe to say that Mai would be at the palace for a considerable amount of time. I think it would be funny if the news of their breakup didn't reach ALL of the palace employees---so Kiyi and Tom-Tom took it upon themselves to have their siblings spend more time together.

Another thing I had so much fun writing is this interaction between Mai and Kiyi:

“We already met before. That night in the graveyard,” Mai stated matter-of-factly, causing Kiyi to whip her head up with stuffed cheeks, noodle broth dribbling down her chin. She felt her previously strained smile give way to something more genuine, imagining her younger self.     Instead of scolding her for poor table manners like what her own mother would have done, Mai took out a handkerchief. And, driven by instinct, she wiped the girl’s face—the movements gentle and unhurried.  

Meanwhile, here's my favorite exchange between Zuko and Tom-Tom:

“Do you like my sister, Mister Fire Lord?”  The question took him by great surprise, the fact that Tom-Tom still refused to drop his title never even registered. But despite the unprompted nature of the question, it was one that he could give an answer to at any time of day—and at any stage of his life. “I like your sister very much,” he declared, staring straight into Tom-Tom’s eyes. It was a truth that he has stood by since he was twelve, deeply rooted in the fiber of his being. It was an innate warmth that he believed he would carry forever—one that beats in tandem with his inner fire.  

Near the end of the fic, Mai and Zuko also have a conversation about Azula, and how their messed-up nation didn't give her a normal childhood, while Kiyi and Tom-Tom happily chase glow moths in the background:

“Do you ever look at Kiyi and wonder whether Azula would have been as happy if this country wasn't so messed up?” Mai asked, her gaze curious.  “Every day,” he replied, and generations of siblings being pitted against each other flashed through his mind. “That's why I'm doing my best to give her a normal childhood—with a country that hopefully isn't as messed up.”  “I’m glad that kids today can at least have that much.” She looked at Kiyi and Tom-Tom who were laughing as they continued to chase glow moths, then turned to Zuko with a smirk. “Era of love and peace and all.”

If you've read my rambling all the way to the end, thank you! Here's the link to the fic if you wanna read (please give it some love)

first post on here!! so atla got me back on tumblr lol