#aang gang
The op Announces ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Co-Op Board Game: ‘Fire Nation Rising’
The co-op game will have players gather teams of heroes to battle Fire Lord Ozai and the Fire Nation. It’s set for release this summer.
Aang: But Kyoshi, I cant kill the Firelord. The monks taught me that every single living thing’s life is important no matter what! I’m even a vegetarian!
Kyoshi:
I always wondered why Aang and Katara’s kiss at the end of the series felt like such a moment.And then rewatching the series, I figured it out. It was the song. Don’t get me wrong it’s a lot of build-up that we had been waiting for, but there’s more to it. The song is literally a timeline of their relationship.
In the finale, when we first see Katara walking up to Aang all the way until she hugs him, we hear a tune that sounds very familiar. It’s a clear staple of the series, but when does it normally play…
The tune’s typical appearance occurs whenever Katara kisses Aang on the cheek at the end of the episode, and he begins to blush. It’s a sweet little melody. Their cheek kisses almost always were done with friendly intentions, but there was always a hint that it could lead to something more. (Katara isn’t giving Toph, and everyone else cheek kisses, so it isn’t 100% platonic). This parallels their hug in the finale scene because while it’s a hug rooted in so much friendly love, their eyes give you a look at the end that tells you there is much more to it than that.
Then the song changes briefly into a very soft melody. An iconic melody. Right as Aang and Katara are about to kiss.
Say hello to the song from “The Cave of Two Lovers” episode. This parallel is gorgeous. The scenes line up exactly. The images are almost identical as they are about to kiss each other. It’s the song of their firstandlast kiss in the series.
Which brings us to the last part of the finale song: the part where they actually kiss. This tune is much louder and, for some reason, makes us feel passionate? If you weren’t a Katara/Aang stan before, I’m not sure how you’re not one after watching this. The kiss paired with this song makes you feel like their adventure is not over. Like you’re about to go off to battle, and you’re prepared to die with this ship. But why?
Becauseyou are about to go off to battle. This is a louder version of the song that was playing when Aang kisses Katara right before he went to fight the Firelord, and you didn’t even know it. The finale kiss makes you feel passionate and promotes a sense of urgency in you because that’s how the kiss before the invasion was supposed to make you feel. What is so beautiful about how they used this song in both scenes is that:
- Aang kissed Katara the first time it was used and now Katara is kissing Aang the last time it is used—tying it together in a really pretty way.
- They are letting you know that the kiss at the invasion was a massive milestone in their relationship, and, yes, it was mutual. Otherwise, that song wouldn’t have been in the finale. So congrats, Aang, your baddie move worked.
My point is, is that throughout this entire goddamn series, we were being conditioned and trained to fall in love with the pairing. Their intention with putting all these tunes into one big song at the end was to remind you of how you felt during their past romantic moments. It was a mental nostalgia montage. We were being told, it’s going to happen no matter what, and here are the signs. And as they left, the creators/writers/music director wanted to leave you with this one note: it’s Aang and Katara. It has always been Aang and Katara.
Flameo, sir. Fla-me-o.
There’s so many articles or “think pieces” popping up about making Zuko/Katara a thing now that there’s going to be an Avatar live action remake. (Buzzfeed has even mentioned Zutara in two of their recent posts) And, while I doubt the creators would change who she ends up with, I hope Netflix doesn’t push them to throw in a love triangle for the sensationalism of it all. Not only because love triangles are annoying and unnecessary, but also because I can’t stress enough how unhealthy that relationship would be. I don’t care about people shipping them—to each your own—and some people have even said they shipped them because they like Zuko and related to Katara. All the power to you! But I’ve said it once and I’ll die saying it: he tried to kill/harm her several times. He fought with her in the Siege of the North episode with a vengeance that was meant to kill. He hired an assassin, stalked her and her friends, verbally abused her, stole from her, and there was literally physical confrontations. If someone does that to you, donot get into a relationship with them. I can’t believe I even have to say that. Yes, he changed, but you can’t discredit that he did all those things to her at a point in time. If you choose to ship them though, then that’s fine. Tomato, toe-ma-toe. But please for the love of everything, do not write think pieces or posts asking for the remake of a children’s show to have a young girl be in a relationship that would ultimately be toxic rather than the healthy, supportive-from-the-start relationship she originally ended up in. Let’s give kids healthy relationship examples.
The entire Zutara v. Kataang discourse explained
I’m always very confused by people who thought Katara and Zuko were going to end up together and thought that Aang and Katara were forced. In each season they had essentially a whole episode screaming it in your face that they had feelings/would end up together:
- The Fortune Teller(S1): This entire episode is basically one big lead up to telling you that Katara would look at Aang as a serious love interest once he grows up. Also, it’s unclear whether the fortune teller is a fake at the end of the episode because while she may have been wrong about the volcano, she’s right about everything else (the umbrella, Aang’s battle, etc). And when she told Katara that she would end up with a powerful bender, it’s literally pointed out to us—in WORDS—at the end of the episode that that bender was Aang.
- The Cave of Two Lovers (S2)- Katara is the one who brings up kissing and in an embarrassed-maybe-I-have-feelings-for-you type of way. It has also been confirmed by creators and voice of Katara that they kissed in that episode.
- The Headband (S3)- Katara gets visibly jealous when the Aang is dancing with a girl who obviously has a crush on him. Then when Katara and Aang dance, there is a clear connection between the two of them and it looks like they are going to kiss.
Every single season made sure to let you know where the endgame was. Yet people who ship Zuko and Katara argue that there were all these moments: he gave her this look (while he was attacking her), he kept her mother’s necklace (after he stole it to hunt her down), etc. It’s all very abusive. The main argument comes from halfway through S3 when she forgives Zuko, and they begin to have a friendship. Except the problem is, is that the entirety of S3 shows Aang and Katara’s growth from friendship into a relationship. (See: Katara’s extra protectiveness over him after he died, Katara leaning into Aang’s kiss on Day of the Black Sun, The Headband, Katara threatening Zuko specifically if he hurt Aang, etc.) Not to mention the fact that the writers literally made fun of Zuko/Katara shipping in Ember Island Players.
No one watched the show and thought that Aang and Katara were going to be together in the first or second season, but it was pretty obvious from the beginning that they were going to do a “last episode and now the main characters are a couple” thing. So, if Aang and Katara came as a surprise/seemed forced to you, then you either were paying too much attention to Sokka or you got too caught up in wishful thinking.
Saw these hashtags by @floppy-ding-dong and I feel like it’s an important addition to the post that many people don’t talk about.
I’m always very confused by people who thought Katara and Zuko were going to end up together and thought that Aang and Katara were forced. In each season they had essentially a whole episode screaming it in your face that they had feelings/would end up together:
- The Fortune Teller(S1): This entire episode is basically one big lead up to telling you that Katara would look at Aang as a serious love interest once he grows up. Also, it’s unclear whether the fortune teller is a fake at the end of the episode because while she may have been wrong about the volcano, she’s right about everything else (the umbrella, Aang’s battle, etc). And when she told Katara that she would end up with a powerful bender, it’s literally pointed out to us—in WORDS—at the end of the episode that that bender was Aang.
- The Cave of Two Lovers (S2)- Katara is the one who brings up kissing and in an embarrassed-maybe-I-have-feelings-for-you type of way. It has also been confirmed by creators and voice of Katara that they kissed in that episode.
- The Headband (S3)- Katara gets visibly jealous when the Aang is dancing with a girl who obviously has a crush on him. Then when Katara and Aang dance, there is a clear connection between the two of them and it looks like they are going to kiss.
Every single season made sure to let you know where the endgame was. Yet people who ship Zuko and Katara argue that there were all these moments: he gave her this look (while he was attacking her), he kept her mother’s necklace (after he stole it to hunt her down), etc. It’s all very abusive. The main argument comes from halfway through S3 when she forgives Zuko, and they begin to have a friendship. Except the problem is, is that the entirety of S3 shows Aang and Katara’s growth from friendship into a relationship. (See: Katara’s extra protectiveness over him after he died, Katara leaning into Aang’s kiss on Day of the Black Sun, The Headband, Katara threatening Zuko specifically if he hurt Aang, etc.) Not to mention the fact that the writers literally made fun of Zuko/Katara shipping in Ember Island Players.
No one watched the show and thought that Aang and Katara were going to be together in the first or second season, but it was pretty obvious from the beginning that they were going to do a “last episode and now the main characters are a couple” thing. So, if Aang and Katara came as a surprise/seemed forced to you, then you either were paying too much attention to Sokka or you got too caught up in wishful thinking.
Aaand welcome to today’s episode of which Aang are you today?
(I am number 6 tbh)
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Source of photos: Pinterest
The Gaang
New Avatar: The Last Airbender Figures Coming From Darkhorse!
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Dark Horse Reveals New PVC Statue Line - IGN
Zuko training Aang be like:
Sokka: *sharpens knife* We’ve got ways of making people talk.
Zuko:*nervous*
Sokka: *cuts cake*
Zuko: …Can I have some?
Suki: Cake is for talkers.
do you ever think about sokka having to deal with two 12 year olds and his little sister. like imagine you’re 15 and your only social interactions are kids younger than you and more powerful and these kids constantly make fun of you in a joking matter but deep down you start to kinda find that their jokes actually hurt you. i’d be a little a little annoyed all the time too. i’m not saying he didn’t love them because he did but he was probably a little relieved when zuko and suki joined them because he finally had people his own age to hang out it with
