Zuko finds out Katara was parentified from the age of eight and was a single mom friend of three until he stumbled into the position of gaang dad friend. So when she visits the Fire Nation Zuko dotes on her, making sure her every need is anticipated and catered to. He even goes as far as - to the horror of his council - kneeling to remove her shoes.

Because of this she earns the nickname Lady Katara among the palace staff which she finds amusing but a little confusing. So one day over tea she asks Iroh why they call her that and he explains:

"They're just practicing."

"Why would you need to practice a nickname?"

"Well my dear, they expect that within a few years Fire will preceed it."

And that's about when Katara chokes on her tea.

“katara i can walk to the medical wing myse-“

“WHOS THE HEALER YOU OR ME🗣️💯💥🔥‼️‼️”

bedtime

More zutara 😬

But Daddy I Love Him / Her

Hey! So, I just need some help understanding something... I heard that people think that Zuko took Katara straight to Ember Island after TSR. I missed it on my rewatch, and I don't get where this interpretation comes from, and whether it is just a headcanon. Do you happen, by chance, to know more about that? I LOVE this tidbit by the way; I just don't know where it's coming from. Sorry if this is random.

Oh I’ve heard that before! From what I’ve seen, it’s based primarily on the visuals we see of the settings. Before leaving to find Yon Rha, everyone is camped out on this island:

It appears to be a small, uninhabited island (which makes sense if they’re in hiding) so clearly not Ember Island.

Then at the end, the final scene begins with Katara here:

This is definitely Zuko’s family home on Ember Island, with Katara sitting alone on the pier. In the second screenshot you can see Appa flying in.

Now here is the interesting part:

Zuko and Aang get off of Appa, and if you squint, it kind of looks like the others are in the saddle too. Based on the conversation that follows, it’s clear that this is the first time Aang has seen Katara since she left to confront Yon Rha.

So the implication here is that Zuko and Katara first went to Ember Island alone, then Zuko flew with Appa by himself to pick up everyone else from the other island. This actually makes a lot of sense logistically, because without Appa, everyone else had no way of getting to Ember Island from wherever they were before.

I really like this theory (and I think based on the evidence it’s pretty much canon) because it shows there are a lot of missing scenes between Zuko and Katara. It makes sense. He was the only one there to comfort her after something so traumatic. I love the idea that he thought to bring her to a place that was special to him, hoping to find her comfort. Then I’m guessing she wanted some alone time and he left her to go get the others.

I think it’s very sweet, to think about that time they spent together and what they talked about ❤️

Father of the Bride

Hakoda swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. He had imagined this day so many times since Katara's birth. The details were different, though. She wasn't marrying a proven warrior from among their people. That was fine. She had spent so much time traveling the world, expanding her horizons, creating her own paths. Hakoda didn't think there were one in a thousand men at home who could keep up with the woman his daughter had become, and he had resigned himself to the fact that she might not end up with a Southern Tribe man years ago.

But he hadn't considered that her marriage might take her so permanently from home. A foolish oversight on his part, he admitted. And at least she would have the means to visit her family a few times a year. Still, he felt a pang. Same one he felt when he left his children behind with Kanna to go fight a war too big for him. Now that pang was tempered with bittersweet happiness as he watched the final preparations being made on Katara's wedding gown-a stunning piece of art even to Hakoda's untrained eye. All silks and linens in shades of blue and silver that recalled the bridal outfits of her homeland. Furs and leathers would be too hot for the climate, but Katara wanted to tell everyone up front how she would bring her own culture to merge with her new people. Her groom-to-be not only supported this decision, but had come to Hakoda and Sokka to ask them how he, too, could incorporate the Southern Water Tribe into the wedding on his end. That had been a long night, with strong drinks and stronger emotions, but at the end of it, Hakoda had decided that despite his initial misgivings about the marriage, he couldn't have picked a better son-in-law than Zuko.

Fire Lord Zuko. Fire Lord Zuko was going to be his son-in-law. Sometimes the thought made Hakoda chuckle. Sometimes it sent a chill down his spine. Not that he was worried about Zuko himself, but Katara's proximity to his throne. The crown. She would be coronated the next night in a ceremony as lavish as the wedding. She would become the Fire Lady. Co-ruler of the country that had spent a hundred years ruining countless lives with a war over something as silly as imperialist pride. Hakoda didn't think they deserved his daughter. If Zuko had earned his trust and respect, the rest of the Fire Nation certainly haven't. Not the nobles, anyway. When he brought them up to Katara, she laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes, which were flint hard and grimly determined. She told him no matter where she went in the world, she would have to fight for any respect she got. At least here she would have Zuko fighting beside her. Hakoda wasn't sure he agreed that was a worthy trade off, but he knew better than to try to talk his daughter out of it.

The Fire Nation had already benefited from her presence. As a foreign advisor, she had fostered trade and exchange agreements between the Fire Nation and all of the Water Tribes, Omashu and Gaoling. As an ambassador, she'd helped negotiate reparation packages that have helped the parts of the world hit hardest by the war recover. As one of Zuko's most trusted counselors, she'd helped him work the Fire Nation's budget so the government could provide for education, health and services for returning soldiers. The same kinds of programs she'd helped Hakoda and Sokka build in the Southern Water Tribe. It suddenly struck Hakoda that she had been acting as Fire Lady for a long time. Before she and Zuko had even realized they were in love, maybe. Today and tomorrow would just make it official. Hakoda still didn't think the Fire Nation deserved a Katara, but any chance he had of talking her out of it had long since slipped by him. And he now he wasn't sure he would talk her out of it, even if he did have the chance.

The final touches were done. The maids stepped back in a flurry of excited chatter. Kanna stepped forward, moving stiffly in her old age, smiling up at her granddaughter through tears. She had had this moment with Kya years ago, and Kya should be standing in her place now. Kanna reached out and ran her fingertips over the necklace she had passed to her daughter, and her daughter had passed on to Katara. Kya was here, Kanna assured herself. And Kya would be here with Katara as she made these next steps, first as a wife, then as a queen, then someday as a mother and grandmother herself.

"She would be so proud," Kanna told Katara. The two women embraced. Then Katara stood up, head high and looking as regal as any queen in any nation ever had, and turned to Hakoda.

"Are you ready, Dad?" she asked. Hakoda shook his head.

"I was never going to be ready for this," he confessed. "But it doesn't matter. You are ready."

no bc where in between the tension did people get “katara is the little sister zuko never had” from?

take the zutara NOW🥰

Katara: We can't lose. Because we have this. *points to her chest*

Zuko: We have heart?

Katara: Heart? No, me. I'm pointing at myself. I'm going to win this for us.

Every time I think about The Southern Raiders when Katara bloodbends now I imagine Zuko getting flustered and thinking something along the lines "she REALLY could end me if she wanted" and spending days trying to figure out why he thought it was hot.

He eventually told that to Sokka after they defeated Ozai and Sokka was just like "lol yeah same, Suki whooped my ass when we met and I fell in love"

What are some of your Zutara head cannons???

I love the idea of Katara making the first move bc Zuko is convinced she couldn’t possibly like him back (even though it’s so obvious that she does). And if when they do get together he’s very much “I can’t believe she likes me” even after an entire life time together but at the same time he knows she’d go to hell and back for him.

They’d make the perfect slow burn after the Agni Kai imo. Because of course they’re inseparable after something like that

Awkward Zuko and Toph/Iroh/Suki playing matchmaker are also some personal favorites 😂

ok ok ok but hear me out -

Zuko with glasses.

that's all

跪き祈りの歌を

ああ こんなに麗しい

ああ いつしか腐りゆく

跡形も無く消えてゆく Romance.

(Ah, beautiful like this, my song of prayer as I kneel

Ah, rotting away before we know it; disappearing and leaving nothing behind- Romance)

Zutara headcanons?

- katara found out how zuko got his scar while he was sleeping and compared the shape to her hand

- they never actually got together, even in my most delusional hcs :3 theyre like lovers that will always love each other but it was right person wrong time

- they feed the turtle ducks together 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

- katara feels sad when she looks at zuko's lighting scar. zuko also feels sad looking at aang's scar but it isnt the same, zuko feels ashamed and angry at himself.

- zuko dotes on katara when she visits the fire nation, he does that sm people think he will propose to her

- zuko likes coffee better than tea and for that katara has gotten into fights w him lmao

- he will ALWAYS get his ass handed to him if theyre training

- he nearly killed nobles while trying to do politics so he could pass katara's projects

- katara likes leaning on zuko's shoulder everywhere but especially when theyre out at the garden

- katara likes to squish zuko's cheeks

- artist zuko is one of my fav hcs so him drawing katara desperately and never liking anything bc nothing is beautiful like her will always be *chef kiss*