THANKS FOR 11111 HITS EVERYONE!!!

An animated version can be found here: [link]

I made this pic for two reasons:
1) to thank all the incredible people who've supported me over the years...I can't even begin to express how grateful I am for your feedback on my art! You've made deviantart a great place to be ^_^
2) to remedy the almost plague-like incursion of Zutara fanart on dA.

But I better stop and warn you. The following rant has the potential to offend those people who spend their hours paging through Zutara fanart and fanfics, a tiny stream of drool emanating from the corners of their mouths as they contemplate these two underage characters doing all sorts of things that they shouldn't be doing. She's 14, people. Would you want your 14 year old sister doing that? I don't think so.

Here I go. Flames are welcome, I can handle them. Who knows, if you post something convincing enough I might even reconsider my viewpoint.

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I simply can't understand Zutara. I started off having no real opinion about it; I thought "to each their own, right?" But over the years the Zutara fandom has managed to accomplish quite a feat: it has become so incredibly annoying and widespread that I've actually come to despise the pairing.

Here's the thing. I don't CARE that much about pairings. I'm usually very tolerant of all viewpoints; they just contribute to a more interesting experience as a fan. But Zutara has slowly made its way to the top of my hate list, right up there with waking up early on Monday mornings and the kicking of small innocent puppies.

It's EVERYWHERE. Drawing a Zutara pic is like a recipe for instant popularity: I see tons of them in the popular section all the time, for elusive reasons which don't seem to include artistic merit.

Now if you genuinely think that Zuko and Katara have compatible personalities and would be able to have a successful, supporting relationship...then fine. I'm all for ya. But I'm so sick of fans citing all this melodramatic crap about how "opposites attract" and "fire and water OMGspaz". And let's not forget how "their hate is just a sign of their hidden desire!" or "OMG it's forbiddn luv that's so hawt!" Or my personal fave: "it's destiny!" It's not destiny...it's whatever the creators choose to write, and they've been hinting at Kataang since the very first episode.

As far as I can see, the Zutara fandom is largely comprised of a teeming mass of squealing Zuko fangirls. Katara is just some weird vicarious way of healing Zuko's inner wounds or something. I'm sorry, but Katara and Zuko's passionate love is not the bridge between two rifted nations. Have you not been WATCHING the show? It's been made very clear that AANG AND ZUKO are the bridge between wartime and peace. Their stories are the ones that parallel and converge. It's called "the plot", and it's been happening for like 50 episodes.

Oh, and while were at it, do Zutarans ever stop to think about Aang's feelings? Just because he isn't angsty and bad-boyish doesn't mean he's not a worthwhile character. And Mai for that matter. Just because you don't think that she's as pretty as Katara doesn't mean that she's some horrible glitch-in-the-plot who's "not worthy of Zuko".
I should add that some Zutara fans try to make up for this. They pair Toph with Aang as a sort of "consolation prize" for not getting Katara. NO WAY. Toph is an incredibly awesome character and deserves a pairing in her own right. If you genuinely like Aang/Toph as a couple, then that's awesome. But don't treat her like some silver medal consolation prize, OK? She deserves more than that.

And now for my final point. What's so wrong with Kataang anyway? I've heard so many people say "it's not exciting enough" or "she's too old for him". Well of course, why didn't I think of that? It's obviously SO boring to have two people genuinely care about one another, right? God forbid that a couple actually gets along both in and out of romance. As to the latter point, you are a horribly sexist person. Why is it OK for the boy to be two years older than the girl, but not vice versa? Here is the likely response: "at that age a boy is not as far along as a girl developmentally". At that age. Hello, ever think that they might GROW UP? It tends to happen, you know. And nobody ever objected to a 24 year old girl marrying a 22 year old guy. Basically, they're all still so young. They shouldn't be getting involved in any kind of heavy romance at this stage anyway. Give it time.

Bottom line is this: Mike and Bryan are wonderfully talented and whatever happens in the show is likely to be awesome. And in the meantime, I beg you DRAW SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES ZUTARA!!

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