Zutara or Kataang? Where do you stand on Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Romantic Shipping

The pairing of Zuko with Katara has the argument that goes something like, "Fire/water bad boy/good girl is so overdone!!" But can we admit, they have good chemistry and Zutara would've made a wonderful couple in Avatar The Last Airbender?


0
24 comments, 1 share
Find the artist here. http://bloochikin.tumblr.com/post/81734116380

I happened to come across another blog post advocating for Kataang with an argument that goes something like, “Fire/water bad boy/good girl is so overdone!!” Maybe that is true, except that Zuko was never actually a bad person, he was a victim of an extremely abusive family. (Uncle) Iroh was telling him (Zuko) from the very beginning of the series that he was not a bad person and that he had choices about what he wanted to do with his own life.

All of the flashbacks from his childhood underline that he was not a bad/evil child (not to say that people don’t change as they grow older, but that Zuko has been consistently not evil and struggling with his demons aka his raggedy, abusive family). Zuko was born into a set of very unfortunate circumstances that included having a father and a grandfather who were both, for lack of a better term, super villains. Every bad thing he ever did was because he was under extreme pressure to be the perfectly evil son that any evil Fire Lord could ask for.

From https://happyzuko.deviantart.com/art/Zutara-Week-Mask-244499651

The Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. Both of them go undercover to do some good. Zuko saves Aang from imprisonment and Katara provides medicine and food to a dying water port and provokes her friends into helping clean the river while also scaring away the fire nation soldiers who were bullying the townspeople. Zuko’s actual motives for rescuing Aang are just a tad suspicious given that during the time that Aang was captured, Zuko was also still trying to capture Aang for himself, but if his intention was to get Aang for himself, I highly doubt he wouldn’t have, at the very least, enlisted his Uncle Iroh to help him. Having Uncle Iroh’s help would have increased his chances of success.

I conclude that the Blue Spirit was representative of Zuko’s inner good fighting to be itself as he could not be “good” as himself because of the circumstances thrust upon him by his father and his position as Prince of the Fire Nation. There is room to continue arguing that Zuko only rescued Aang so that he himself could take him back to the Fire Nation and have “his honor restored”, using the disguise so that Aang’s captors would not recognize him. The problem with that theory is…if Zuko had returned to the Fire Nation promptly after stealing Aang from his other captor, then those captors would’ve been made aware that Zuko stole the Avatar from them.

Those these are just thoughts and theories from repeated watchings of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I do not truly believe that Zuko’s intention at the time of snatching Aang from being imprisoned included turning him over to the Fire Nation at that time. Which would show that Zuko’s true nature, the child in the flashbacks who always defended and protected other people, was showing itself in the Blue Spirit.

This point underlines that despite his own, heavy circumstances, Zuko is a good person who, when he feels free to choose, chooses to do good. Making him a viable option for a love interest of Katara.

But have you seen the fucking fan art? They’re fucking adorable together. Let me talk about why I love this meditation art so much. Now, Zuko comes from a broken, very abusive ass home where people were always nitpicking and criticizing him. Okay, every fan of Avatar knows that Katara is kind of a butthole with a mothering complex and is very detail oriented, a hard worker, and supportive. Besides his Uncle Iroh (and his mother who has been long gone at this point), Zuko has never had someone who was working on making him better without tearing him down in the process. That sounds like love to me. Katara also thrives in her role as teacher and caretaker and has a very great capacity for giving. This would make her an excellent mate for the fire lord and a wonderful mother to raise the next generation of royal children.

This fabulous artist is unknown. 🙁

To give some balance and opposition to my own opinion (cackles), I will add that Mai does call out Zuko’s bullshit too with her no nonsense, dry, sarcastic, yet honest personality, but to me, their personalities are too similar to make a balanced relationship. This does not account for any emotional growth that Mai might have in the future, but even still, that would not change the foundation of their relationship, which we do not get to see a lot of as Mai is not a main character. Her feelings for Zuko have been strong and steady, but all potential love matches (Mai, Katara, Toph, and possibly even the girl from Ba Sing Se whose name I clearly do not remember that had a huge crush on Zuko) have a core of being steady and dependable.

Stream Becoming Air to Support This Blog
Available on Kindle and in Paperback!

Those Beauty and the Beast vibes. Zuko, a royal from a broken home who behaves as a monster although he is filled with conflict holds a peasant girl with an unconquerable spirit and big dreams prisoner. In the end, the ugliness melts away and reveals the loving Fire Lord beneath who wants peace in his nation and in the world. To complete the comparison, Katara must end up with Zuko. It’s only right. I repeat, Katara would be an amazing queen or Fire Lordesse or whatever it’d be called. The point is she is highly respected, intelligent, and has excellent leadership qualities to help Zuko clean up the fire nation and help rebuild the world.

 

id="attachment_613" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-613" style="width: 251px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">Comic strip fanart of Zutara, Katara and Zuko shipping from Avatar The Last Airbender
How perfect would this have been? *cackling*
From: https://mandy-mo.deviantart.com/art/The-End-Comic-212342619

Given how obsessed I’ve been about shipping Zuko and Katara, I’m sure to come up with more examples soon. (skips away cackling)

Chibi style fan art of Zuko and Katara from Avatar The Last Airbender bending elements side by side
from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/zuko-and-katara/images/24008690/title/zuko-katara-ninja-photo

I will say that Katara does have a special way of calming Aang when his anger or upset causes him to go into the Avatar state, and no one else is capable of reaching him in this out-of-control state when this happens. This does present a special connection that Aang does not share with anyone else, but I’d be willing to bet that he could find another match who has the power to calm him when he is at his most agitated. Also, I’d like to think that as Aang got older, he learned to control the Avatar state, more specifically becoming so angry that he goes into the Avatar state in a destructive way, on his own, as he is not even a teenager during his time in the Last Airbender series.

So I don’t think that is enough of a reason to ship Aang and Katara.

Katara is a healer and after all of the fucking abuse, the nightmares, the stress, losing his mother, having a literal psychopath for a sister, and living 16 or so years beneath the thumb of an arrogant lunatic, Zuko needs some emotional healing. This is not to say that Katara should’ve felt obligated to help heal Zuko, but I believe after Zuko helped her find peace with her mother’s death by agreeing to do things Katara’s way (hunting down the man that murdered her mother), that they have a very innate understanding of each other in a very specific way that Katara and Aang do not share. They both have looked darkness in its face and made choices to not be as horrible as the people who harmed them.

Obviously, since the entire Air Nomad nation was wiped out during Aang’s extended hibernation in his iceberg, he has definitely experienced heavy losses too. But the specific “field trip” of Zuko and Katara hunting down her mother’s killer served as a bonding moment for them, I feel because Zuko supported her desperate desire to look her mother’s killer in the face while not judging her for harboring hate and violence nor for wanting revenge.

Although Katara does eventually “choose Aang’s way” of forgiving the man who murdered her mother, he did not support the way she processed her feelings of hate and the want for revenge and sought to deny her what thought she wanted by standing in the way. In this way, Zuko exhibits an ability to recognize and acknowledge the whole of Katara’s grieving and healing process that she needed to go through, against Aang’s advice, in order to find her own peace with the violent loss of her mother.

Get Yourself Something Special
Let me tickle your earholes!
My music and chill
Follow Must Be Undead
Keep Up With New Posts
Nightmares Night Scares Daydreams by Maple Summers ebook cover
Heeey, I heard you loved me with the lights off but I’m not some Cheshire maiden mistaken for lush beauty and kind generosity. What an atrocity to love the stars and hate the stars and galaxy and the space between your toe nails and nail polish. What an ugly shade of green. never thought you’d love to hate her you used to be whatever nice is but now you must be punished for your sins in lashings of the tongue. The bloating begins. I want chocolate ice cream chocolate syrup chocolate frappe a side of chocolate with my chocolate and a marshmallow pie. Fudge by any other name will still be fat and sweet. Welcome to nightmares, night scares, daydreams. What an ugly shade of green for snores to hide in. I’d give up sleep for Romeo if he were to climb my balcony and conqueror 15 my mind from the outside this time. Blind man, do you still lust for beauty day dazing at the yellow sun son sun of Zeus and goddesses of Earthy spirits. Here’s a hope for hoping. I’m done with wishing on falling stars. I’ll catch you once you’ve fallen.
Love sad and downright depressing poetry? Check out my book, Nightmares, Night Scares, Daydreams

Affiliate Link


Like it? Share with your friends!

0
24 comments, 1 share

24 Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. I understand the appeal of zutara katara and aang were built up to be soulmates and they are but everyone’s entitled to there opnion also I think zutara would be rly toxic more hot but toxic kataang is rly cute um kataang 4 evr

    1. 😂😂😂 why do people keep saying Zutara is toxic as if Kataang never got into any disagreements or did things that others didn’t necessarily agree with? Zuko and Katara have a LOT in common despite their differences, and I think that would work well in a relationship dynamic because there is a good balance between them.

      1. Ummm…but they are toxic?? Kataang did have disagreements but people aren’ t talking about that there talking Zutara and how toxic they are so… And what’s wrong with disagreeing? This is a free country we can speak our minds?

  2. These points are so untrue and one-sided. For one Zuko NEVER helped Katara find peace…. let me repeat that..ZUKO NEVER HELPED KATARA FIND PEACE. It was Aang. Aang was the one who told Katara to forgive and look for peace within herself and the killer. All Zuko did was instigate Katara’s bad idea which was to kill the killer. Zuko just wanted Katara to forgive him that’s why he followed along with her idea and left it at that. He didn’t do it for the purpose of being genuinely comforting, he did it for his own good. Second Aang and Katara had plenty of understanding for each other.For all Katara knew about Zuko was that He was a hot headed, mean, hunter. What understanding are you talking about? I understand the “famous zutara’ scene where they were in the cave and they both had a ‘connection’ about….. losing their mothers and blah blah but it was never a true deep understanding of one of another. Also your opinion on “Katara is perfect for Zuko because she will heal him ” Is exactly why the bf/gf relationship wouldn’t work. Relationships are all about give and take…and what I’m seeing with your reasoning is that all Katara is doing is giving and giving and giving without receiving. All Zuko needs is Iroh to make him some Tea and calm him down and everything will be peachy. To add on Katara being a Fire lady Pfft….I just can’t see it. Katara despised the Fire nation for so long why in the hell would she want to be.. the queen of the fire nation….when her mom was literally was sent there to DIE. This is hella Stockholm syndrome vibes like Beauty and the beast which you compared it to XD. One more thing fan art is the dumbest reason for a ship to be canon. The fan art can be beautiful and delightful to look at but some fan art completley avoids the concept/plot of a show/movie/whatever *cough* zutara. That’s why fan art shouldn’t be the decider of it all.You wasted a whole page just to say some bullshit. Phew I’m done with this correcting this. Keep the bullshit coming.

    1. You haven’t “corrected” a damn thing. Imagine coming on a public forum to be wrong AND an asshole. All Zuko did was HUMOR Katara in her own idea to revenge for her mother’s murder. Because he UNDERSTOOD that Katara would go with or without his help and she’d be safer and more successful with his help. My argument is clearly one-sided because I’m a ZUTARA shipper, but I guess that wasn’t obvious enough to you either. ZUKO recognized the same anger he’d held onto all his life in Katara. The same anger that his uncle tried for YEARS to talk out of him. Did that work? Hell the fuck no, it didn’t. Zuko needed to go through the anger to finally ARRIVE at peace. And so did Katara. Which Zuko understood. Just because you have a childish and rudimentary understanding of character development, doesn’t make me wrong. Also, according to you, Aang preached forgiveness into Katara so it shouldn’t matter about all the bad shit the Fire Nation did because, again, according to you, she should just forgive them and do whatever is best. Stupid.

      1. That was literally what I just said….I know.he did HUMOR Katara but he didn’t do it GENUINLEY which was the point I was trying to get at. To add on We know the talk didn’t work because that’s ZUKO. Zuko is DIFFERENT FROM KATARA. Just because Zuko let out his anger one way doesn’t mean Katara had to let it out that same way. Do you understand were I’m coming from? Zuko doesn’t really know Katara THAT well. So that’s why he stuck with ‘maybe she will release her anger how I did’. Aang knows her so that’s he led her into the right direction. And I digress you are right about the forgiving thing but she still wouldn’t make a good fire lady.

        1. He was GENUINE in the fact that he recognized that Katara needed to look in the face of the man who murdered her mother. Zuko knew Katara was a good person and probably believed that she wouldn’t actually kill that vile man, while also recognizing the anger that pushed her to confront her mother’s murderer. You’re saying Zuko thought she’d release her anger the same way he did but yet you disagree with what I’m saying. Like I said, Zuko had to go through the darkness to find out that that path wasn’t for him which is what he guided Katara to do. Aang ain’t tell Katara to forgive the man, and then she sat down, thought about it and said, “Golly gee. Aang is right. I forgive him!!” No. She needed to go the Zuko-way to arrive at forgiveness, which, Aang cautioned her AGAINST.

          1. OMG…I am tired of arguing with a fucking WALL.. Forget it! I disagree with you because you think this TOXIC relationship should be canon. Zutara based off the series..is a fire that will eventually burn out. Can Zutara become something maybe so.. but If ‘s and butt’s and coconuts won’t make a difference. If Zutara was meant to have a deeper then a friend connection and the 2 protagonist didn’t fall in love with each other…..I would probably be a Zutarian. Zutara is just a wattpad fantasy so just deal with the reality. Writing a whole page on why Zutara should be canon won’t change anything. The writers won’t go back and be like “OH LET ME GO BACK AND CHANGE THE WHOLE PLOT JUST FOR ZUTARIANS.” Zutara has no built up love. Kataang has all 3 seasons and yet you still manage to ignore the fact that there is a real connection in your face! Well good-bye entitled zutarian.

          2. Look here DUMBASS. YOU are the one who is toxic. I didn’t ask the writers to go back and change SHIT. Just because you’re too blind to see that Zuko worked VERY hard to fix his toxic traits and become a good person, doesn’t mean that Zutarians are the stupid ones. You Kataang shippers are obnoxiously violent in defending a CANON FICTIONAL relationship. How do you win and STILL are a sore ass crybaby? The most toxic thing about Zutara is people like YOU. Have the day you deserve. 🙃🙃🙃

          3. Also… no one invited you here to start an argument. Like you said, I’m allowed to have an opinion. Just like you’re allowed to shut the hell up and continue having your own TOXIC opinion. 🤮🤮🤮

          1. Wtf look at yourself you are the toxic one here. Go die in a fire with your ship that will never be canon. Enjoy yourself 🤡🤡🤡

  3. What?? I’m the toxic one? I make Zutara toxic even though i’m not a zutara shipper? Okay..whatever you say Lovely Peaches.. I don’t really care at this point anymore. I don’t care what

  4. I’m a zutarian but honestly you didn’t need to write this……Your just making people more angry by writting some points that just aren’t simply true, well I don’t think some of them are true. We all know who won so there’s no need for explaining anymore. It’s useless to keep wasting our breath.

I love it when you share.

Support the blog with a share to your favorite network.
Take me back to the content
Choose A Format
Personality quiz
Series of questions that intends to reveal something about the personality
Trivia quiz
Series of questions with right and wrong answers that intends to check knowledge
Poll
Voting to make decisions or determine opinions
Story
Formatted Text with Embeds and Visuals
List
The Classic Internet Listicles
Countdown
The Classic Internet Countdowns
Open List
Submit your own item and vote up for the best submission
Ranked List
Upvote or downvote to decide the best list item
Meme
Upload your own images to make custom memes
Video
Youtube and Vimeo Embeds
Audio
Soundcloud or Mixcloud Embeds
Image
Photo or GIF
Gif
GIF format
In order to never grow up, you must be undead.
You are a dedicated survivor. Join me in this lovely journey of self-discovery, reclaimation of childhood innocence, and general nerdy behavior by following me.
Send this to a friend
Hi, this may be interesting you: Zutara or Kataang? Where do you stand on Avatar: The Last Airbender's Romantic Shipping! This is the link: https://www.mustbeundead.com/zutara-or-kataang-where-do-you-stand-on-avatar-the-last-airbenders-romantic-shipping/
Welcome to the Lair.
There are nothing but undead things here. Sign up for the latest blog posts about your favorite shows, movies, books, and music and to be the first to know about our giveaways. Get theories about vampires, zombies, sirens, and other flesh-eating creatures and how they came into existence. So abandon hope, all ye who worship the living for everything must be undead. Get prepared for the apocalypse.
Your Sire requires a sacrifice.
The time has come for you to make your sacrifice.
Are you dead inside? Probably. Make your sacrifice now to get this ebook in your mailbox and we will embrace your existential dread with open arms.
Your Email
Ask The Sire
Ask The Sire
Welcome to the Lair.
There are nothing but undead things here. Sign up for the latest blog posts about your favorite shows, movies, books, and music and to be the first to know about our giveaways. Get theories about vampires, zombies, sirens, and other flesh-eating creatures and how they came into existence.
Your Sire requires a sacrifice.
Woah there! Use one of these lovely buttons to support Must Be Undead and unlock the rest of this banging post. <3
This Content Is Locked
Sign up for my newsletter to unlock the rest of this banging post and get a FREE ebook from me. <3
This Content Is Locked
Being a blogger is hard. Sharing helps make sure I can keep pumping out awesome posts. Thank you!
Share before you go!
Sign up for my newsletter to get new posts, fan fiction, and giveaways in your inbox.
Love this post?
What if Peter Pan was black? Black kids can't go to Neverland? What if Peter isn't the star of this story? In this retelling of an old classic, my "Wendy" runs the show. It's like Disney but with a lot more darkness and a lot more girl power. It's...Neverland by Maple Summers.
Have you read Neverland yet?
Kobo
Buy It Now!
The Official Fan Fiction Story Schedule
The rules are simple: the more you read and review, the more I write.
Goals to Complete
Rewards to Earn
10 Reviews of Take Me In
100 Followers on Spotify
  • Powerpuff Girls: Chapter 2: Revenge of Poo Poo Plater
  • Powerpuff Girls: Chapter 3:
  • Powerpuff Girls: Chapter 4
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Zutarra: Chapter 1
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Zutarra: Chapter 2
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Zutarra: Chapter 3
20 Reviews of Neverland
5,000 Spotify Streams of Becoming Air
Do you see shadows in the daylight? If not, let this poetry collection take you to a new place where dreams are not dreams and nightmares are the beginning of all things fantastical. Not only ghouls and goblins can scare you. Fear can take the shape of your favorite uncle or your father. Horror can happen in the daylight. This is what Nightmares, Night Scares, Daydreams will show you. Maple Summers’ second poetry collection will bend your way of thought with its new usage of familiar words. She will bring you to a different realm of a new reality, a place of hopes and dreams and fantastic failure. She explores more familial relations, while also talking about romantic relationships in a new way. She speaks on friendship, fear, retribution, loss, bitterness, and emotional decay. Shedding light on controversial issues and her place as an African-American minority in a white society, Summers also delves into the darkness without fear that you will see the darkness inside of her. She wishes to share that with you in a way that will bind you together. She will show you the fear of living and the fear of death and also explore self-reflection and the meaning of self-confidence. Wishing to challenge you to think of words in a new way, a noun is not always a noun, as Nelson bends the rules of grammar by riddling this poetry with a naturally free flowing hand of colorful language. And she does not leave out the sex. She takes taboo sexual issues and drags them into the light forcing you to confront things that you may not want to think about. But there are others out there suffering too. And Nelson is here to tell you that you are not alone. She speaks directly to the reader without fluffed language or nonsensical fanfare. This is Halloween where we are all dressing as someone else but all we want is to be ourselves. How do you think of Halloween? Lori Jenessa tackles the question, speaking about the holiday itself and what it represents to her. And just for ghoulish fun and witchery, she has also included fun spells that are a little more than just magic. They are flashlights of her personal insights. Let her share this journey with you. Welcome, sweet dears, to Nightmares, Night Scares, Daydreams.
Love sad and downright depressing poetry? Check out my book, Nightmares, Night Scares, Daydreams
Sign up for the newsletter for more amazing blog posts and fan fiction from your favorite stories.
Love this post?
Playing the tank drum is a spiritual thing that frees you. Its sound echoes and its vibrations heal and give you the feeling that they are soaking into you like warm water. Absorb these vibrations through your ears and feel them in your heart. I imagine that I am invoking the spirits of somebody’s ancestors. The ones who were kind, yet strong, peace-loving, but fierce and protective of others. Ones who believe in hearts and souls and the importance of being forgiving and unforgiving. Isn’t life about balance? I reach for balance with every note and beat of the drum. There are highs and lows, quick songs and slower ones. Sometimes I can’t help myself. After I get warmed up, I tend to play faster and faster, but isn’t that another reflection of the rhythm of life?

I hope that this music gives you a taste of some freedom. That it takes you out of yourself and the world and lets you float. Maybe it will be the soundtrack to your feelings of peace and relaxation, and you, like every note that lifts from the drum, will become air.
Stream Now
Nightmares Night Scares Daydreams by Maple Summers ebook cover
Heeey, I heard you loved me with the lights off but I’m not some Cheshire maiden mistaken for lush beauty and kind generosity. What an atrocity to love the stars and hate the stars and galaxy and the space between your toe nails and nail polish. What an ugly shade of green. never thought you’d love to hate her you used to be whatever nice is but now you must be punished for your sins in lashings of the tongue. The bloating begins. I want chocolate ice cream chocolate syrup chocolate frappe a side of chocolate with my chocolate and a marshmallow pie. Fudge by any other name will still be fat and sweet. Welcome to nightmares, night scares, daydreams. What an ugly shade of green for snores to hide in. I’d give up sleep for Romeo if he were to climb my balcony and conqueror 15 my mind from the outside this time. Blind man, do you still lust for beauty day dazing at the yellow sun son sun of Zeus and goddesses of Earthy spirits. Here’s a hope for hoping. I’m done with wishing on falling stars. I’ll catch you once you’ve fallen.
Love sad and downright depressing poetry? Check out my book, Nightmares, Night Scares, Daydreams
Parsippany has only ever known how to do the one thing that G'hadora has destined her for: collecting and protecting the children of G'hadora. The leader of the sea-faring potea is fighting for a lot more than golden plunder as he seeks to ruin Parsippany's every attempt to stick to her destiny as he fights to change his own. A fairy tale retelling of the Peter Pan that dances around the children who will never grow up as they join in an immortal struggle on a far away world.
For lovers of Peter Pan and Children Of Blood and Bone.