Thought This Might Help

No Question

Every time I think about Zuko and Katara doing the fake dating trope in canon. I always laugh because no one would question it. In fact, it would be the most believable thing in the world. The only question people would have is, “What took you so long?”

But Zuko and Katara are so oblivious to each other's feelings that they don’t recognize that the only ones acting weird are themselves. They constantly try to overcompensate and make things more “believable.”

~0~

Zuko holding Katara’s hand: Does this look authentic? Oh, Agni, we must look so awkward. She’s so pretty, and she’s so out of my league. This is never going to work. Dont panic. Dont panic…

Katara: His hands are so warm. Don’t blush—wait, maybe that would be a good thing. It would make things more believable. But what if he figures out my feelings?

Meanwhile

Iroh: I knew they were soulmates when he sacrificed himself and took a lightning bolt directly to his heart for her.

June: I knew they were perfect together when I saw how he wore her necklace on his wrist. It was obvious he was holding a torch for her.

Sokka: I knew they were meant to be when they teased each other during the Elember Island players' performance. Everyone knows playful teasing is an act of love.

Toph who can feel their heartbeats: These bitches dumb.

Hear me out, friends.

Zuko has two scars. One for absence of love, and one for love.

One he got from the person who he thought loved him with all his heart and was supposed to protect him, but he actually never did. Another he got protecting the person who he didn't dare to even think would ever love him, but she actually did, with all her heart.

So symbolic. Just like everything else.

is there a genre of TV called good people trying their best? coz i think thats my fav genre atm

zuko staying up all night outside katara's tent is genuinely one of the tenderest moments in the whole show to me because it's so clear that zuko didn't have to do that. whenever we've seen zuko do this before it's usually for a purpose (hunting aang), out of necessity (catching sokka sneaking off to boiling rock so he didn't go into danger by himself), or because someone he loved was in danger (iroh being injured by azula's lightning).

with katara, there's no such urgency. there's nothing stopping zuko from getting a good night's sleep and finding katara the next morning to tell her about the southern raiders. it would hardly have delayed the trip by more than an hour or two, if that. it's likely zuko would've woken up before katara anyway (mr. rise with the sun after all) so he probably could've met her at the same time he did in the show without having to lose sleep and wait outside her tent.

but he doesn't, because he knows that katara would want to know about the southern raiders right away -- that this is information given already six years too late, and which he has no right to keep from her for even a second longer than he has to. i think too that zuko saw some part of himself in katara here; the little boy who ran to find the person responsible for his mother's disappearance the moment he learned she was gone and the teenager who had to live an almost equal amount of time never knowing for sure who had taken her away and why, would surely relate better than anyone to katara's desire for closure, for answers so long denied.

(which is also why i can't take it seriously when people paint zuko's actions in this episode as self-serving. of course he wants to earn her forgiveness -- which, by the way, he should want-- but not once does zuko let his desires take precedence over katara's. if he was going to do that, he would probably have started by not pulling an all-nighter on an uncomfortable ass rock for no logical reason.)

so he stays. he waits. he puts his needs second to hers -- as he will do for the rest of the episode, as he will do when he leaps in front of lightning for her -- not only because he cares enough to try, to figure out what she needs, but because he understands her.

and if that's not love, idk what is.

Zuko, be like: I support women’s rights *the southern raiders episode* but I also support women’s wrongs

I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP

just finished s3 of sex education and all i want to say is that adam groff fucking CARRIED this season and his development has been incredibly well done.

Of course Zutara is a self inserting ship. Through Zuko I live my wildest fantasy which is having someone showering Katara with attention and understanding, seeing and accepting her flaws and taking care of her for once instead of her taking care of everyone else.

Adam: *said I love you first, is a bottom, lets Eric do his makeup when they’re alone and very clearly enjoys it, is actively working on communicating better with Eric abt his feelings, worked hard to befriend Otis for Eric, is consistently putting himself out of his comfort zone for Eric’s benefit despite the turmoil in his family life and internalized homophobia and self hatred, is writing a poem for his boyfriend, and then proceeds to FORGIVE HIM FOR CHEATING ON HIM AND BASICALLY APOLOGIZES FOR ‘CAUSING IT’ AND PROMISES TO TRY TO PUSH HIMSELF FURTHER OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE*

Eric: 🤩I’m breaking up with you and I’m ~saying~ it’s not your fault but I’m saying it’s because you’re not on my level of queerness yet (read: I’m better than you) which basically means I’m breaking up with you because there’s something wrong with you(so its ‘not your fault’ but it is because of you)! I know you’re out to the entire school and we kissed in front of your dad but you’re not out to your mom yet — I expected you to come out to everyone on the planet the day we started dating! and oh yeah, cheating on you with a stranger I’ll probably never see again on a 1 week vacation was more enjoyable for me than our tender and loving relationship and I’m going to heavily imply that cheating or as I like to call it my ~moment of freedom~ was a result of your shortcomings. I’m gonna just walk away now without any remorse or emotions on my face even though you’re clearly heartbroken and trying not to cry — oops you’re crying now sorry bye 🚴 toodles! 🤩

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