u/Bulky-Set4763

like someone will write a very thorough analysis of how katara was mistreated in post-atla material and atla fandom’s first response to point fingers and call you out for being misogynistic - because, get this, what if katara CHOSE to become a mother and a wife and happily stand by aang without a statue (or anything that CELEBRATES her legacy, her heritage, everything she’s contributed to the world since age fourteen brah) of her own! what if she just wanted to heal! what if she didn’t want to fight anymore!

i’m not trying to push that motherhood is inherently misogynistic - it’s not, even if the structure around is rooted very deeply in patriarchal ideals and standards (tradwife is a whole other thing) - but i don’t think it’s hurting to anyone to acknowledge the misogyny in the writing from predominantly WHITE MEN in the 2000s and early 2010s. like choice feminists genuinely have such a shallow grasp of what misogyny really entails - and no, katara did not “choose” to stay home as a mother and become remembered as a healer because katara is not real. she is a plot device. the narrative and how creators choose to portray her come from real biases and skewed perspectives. misogyny bleeds in through the cracks people! no one is exempt from it just because they write a #Girlboss Female Character. honestly, everyone pedestalizes atla into this indestructible, timeless show with 0 flaws - so let’s just shrug off the orientalism, problematic stereotypes, and sexist writing of course! it’s genuinely so irritating because everyone loves being a #Hater but flinch at their first encounter with Actual Criticism and tell u ur doing too much for a 2000s show 💔 like pick a side - either atla is the Greatest Most Nuanced Cartoon Show of All Time or it’s just a product of its time

don’t flame me for this but i genuinely think people hate on zuko/zutara because 1) in spite of the narrative and the creators Trying to frame aang as the Nice Guy Who Does No Wrong And Deserves Everything He Wants (i.e. katara), the crowd is just drawn more to zuko - and by extension, zuko and katara’s dynamics/arcs, which is way more compelling than anything i’ve ever seen about kataang 2) THE PEOPLE LIKE ZUTARA. have liked zutara for so long and so thoroughly to the point of og zutaras inventing ship weeks. zutara INVENTED SHIP WEEKS. how crazy is that. we do not talk about it enough (and also the irony of anti zks participating/hosting ship weeks because #Lol) 3) it robs aang of his Nice Guy Arc! a lot of people like to point fingers at zks for “Self Inserting” but when are we going to acknowledge the huge portion of dudebros that are OBSESSED with powerscaling and literally refer or see katara as His Property (verbatim from an actual kataanger btw). tell me how ur going to base your fandom’s personality on Hashtag We Love Katara Our Girlboss but can’t even acknowledge the non consensual kisses from their Cute Wholesome Ship? come on. come onnnnn

also i hate the zuko whump crowd that does nothing but paint him as a forever loser who isn’t capable of anything other than fainting from one good deed. that joke is getting real tired. he’s more competent than aang could ever be in his ancient age of 1726 years old. thank u

sorry if its a petty thing but it makes me laugh a little when i see a zk anti spewing unsolicited hate on whatever aspect they decide to lose their balls over - and then i check their acc and see them participate in their ship’s ship week…………………like………………u cannot be talking rn 😭 (i know zks as a Fandom dont have like - an ip or copyright over Ship Weeks………but come on………….lol)…………how are u going to hate on zk/zks then happily participate in their contribution to fandom culture ¿

some zks pointed out how kya looks like/is similar to zuko’s style…………..and omg everyone in atlatwt started crying for murder………………..why is everyone so hypersensitive like ? you cannot even tweet about headcanons now without them crawling up ur ass for it LOL like so what if some random twt acc thinks zuko and katara are cheating - they’re fictional characters………………like no one’s forcing them to agree or to even have to See It (ie block/mute button!!!!!)………………why do they love seeking out zk posts to dogpile on them…………how are they this bored

idk if this is a thing here but i posted a zutara fic days ago to Cheer Myself Up From The Void……..it kinda has infidelity elements so if that isn’t ur thing, sorry………..it’s very introspective and kind of wholesome in a way, just zutara centric in general…….if u want to give it a read ❤️

why is everyone so against zutara? in twitter, there is genuinely a War Against Zutara movement.. i know the ship has always had controversial roots—since bryke themselves humiliated zk fans—but to This Point? harassing an Iranian woman for her inactivity/her tweet? always utilizing the “Zuko is Katara’s colonized!!!!” narrative as if zuko’s redemption arc isn’t one of the high points of the show? ganging on every zutara fan account—regardless if its fanart, a simple shippy tweet, or anything, really? like what’s going on? is bryke paying for this? has this always been the dynamics in the atla fandom? why is everyone so hostile and why do they hold hold so much vitriol towards zutara when other ships (zuko/sokka, zuko/toph, azula/katara) barely have their wrists slapped? like…. not only is it disheartening to have to constantly see, it’s also concerning and odd. zutara shippers don’t even promote harmful content—if anything, one of the Most Tame I’ve seen in all the fandoms i’ve been in—but they’re constantly demonized and put down? esp by kataangers? you’ll see a random ass kataang edit and someone will suddenly comment “SUCK IT ZUTARA!!!!!! KATARA N AANG R FUCKING!!!!!!” ??????????

genuinely so confused

JUST READ SALT AND SCALE IN ONE SITTING…..and flabbergasted…..flummoxed….so Obsessed…..pls rec more fics like this………… the author captured the zutara dynamic so well…..dark n heady n angsty n SMUTTY n js utter perfection in 200k+ words….

After being seeped in fandom culture for years, I'm starting to realize just how dysfunctional the entire thing is and how no one ever talks about this.

Fandom, fundamentally, is not about anything real, but people get so sucked into it and spend so much time and energy pursuing a fantasy that comes at the very real cost of the time, energy, and attention they could be applying to their own lives. I've spent years still involved in fandom, even though I'm way too old for this now, and I've gotten so caught up in that fantasy that I've neglected to make friends, further my career, and take care of my health.

People get so caught up in shipping or how X is the "problematic" fan because they like Y or feeling bad about themselves because their fanart/fanfiction isn't popular without realizing that NONE OF THIS IS REAL. And I get it, the same thing has happened to me, but when you get obsessive about this stuff, it comes at a very real emotional cost to your real life.

Every friend I have ever met in fandom had some kind of profound mental illness that they were trying to cope with via escapism. I have never met so many maladjusted people in my entire life than I have through fandom. And while I feel bad for these people and wish them the best, hanging out with them has definitely not been good for me. Mental illness is, after all, somewhat contagious. And I have serious doubts that spending all day RPing your favorite ship is going to help with your dissociation. But no one ever points this out!

I'm starting to think that, for me at least, no amount of fantasy is healthy. I compare myself and my fandom friends to coworkers or relatives who aren't involved in this fandom stuff, and my coworkers/relatives are WAY better adjusted. Yes, maybe they're ""boring,"" but they actually live in their real lives and have way fewer mental problems.

I get that correlation isn't causation, and I'm sure many people with preexisting problems find themselves in fandom for reason of that problem. But the culture around fandom is going to make these existing issues way worse because the culture encourages you to avoid reality and actually confront your problems.

I've wasted so much time and energy in this. I don't think any amount of it is healthy.