The Zutara Agenda

Zutara again

I really wanted to draw Zuko's face completely

(ID in ALT text)

yue for sure is looking out for us

drawing process (well part of it) under the cut because i needed three runs to get used to it in my last ask ;;;

A post on Reddit showed them to us.

Zutara Week 2021 Day 7: Stories

In my mind there is a very clear connection between the prompt “stories” and my attempt at rewriting part of the AtLA ending, however I’m having a terrible time verbalizing it (sort of “stories belong to their readers” ala John Green vibes?). Instead you get this snippet from a meta I wrote months ago (which I guess I’ll need to post now to have this make sense):

So if someone asks me if a romantic Zutara relationship is “canon” within the context of AtLA, then no it isn’t. But for me, that’s literally the only place where Zuko and Katara aren’t deeply in love and living their best lives together. AtLA is a work of fiction, and fictional characters are just as fictional when a fan thinks about them as when the character’s creator thinks about them. A story is only as real as you make it. And for me? Zutara is real.

Sorry, no kiss, but as I’ve said a few scattered times - my preferred show ending would have had no canon romances except Sukka (although I certainly wouldn’t have been upset if there had been a Zutara ending…). 

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!

Transcript under the read more.

Guess who started re-watching ATLA? (and is entertaining weird AU scenarios)

Zuko opened his eyes as soon as he felt her fingers on him. A familiar sense of coolness underneath the warmth of her skin. Even without seeing her face, he would know her. As an enemy, her hands were deadly and unyielding. But as an ally, they were merciful. 

He often wondered if their souls were intertwined. How else would one explain this sense of connection? Of always meeting each other in every corner of the world, no matter what mask they wear or disguise they don? He closed his eyes then leaned in.  

Zuko knew that he couldn't be selfish. The chaos in the fire court, the inevitable uprisings, and the other nations that will demand reparations; those were what awaited him when he sits on the throne. A constant battle to prove his capability to lead, to prove his worth. He couldn't pull her into it, no matter how much he wanted her. 

"But wait," you ask, "I went to check and I put in Zuko and Katara and pairing and it's only 1.7k?"

WRONG! Remember, SHIT IS OLD, YO. 😭🍿

The "Pairing" checkbox was implemented in the 2010s. All the Zutara fanfic written during the show and in the years immediately after it didn't have that. And it didn't get automatically added.

Back in the day, we old people would select the Characters A and B, then select Genre "Romance". That's where all the good 2000s and 2010s Zutara fanfic lives! I'm talking some stuff that is novel-length, beloved pairing classics, most of which will probably not be posted to AO3 anytime soon.

So if you only search by "Pairing" checkbox, you're going to get about 1.7k Zutara fics. But if you unselect that and choose the "Romance" genre, you'll get more than 7k. And if you include every genre then fanfics with Katara and Zuko as the primary characters is more than 10k.

There's so much more fanfic than you guys realize!! Like y'all probably haven't even read Stormbenders and omg the effect of that story on the shipdom in 2008 was seismic.