Katara always seemed to miss out on the fun things. It made happening upon this– whatever it was –feel like a kind of defeat. Maybe someone had suggested scouting for her and forgot, or more likely, they decided she wouldn’t enjoy it. They wouldn’t have even had to swim far; a simple gathering call would have been enough. That particular sound was known to travel for miles.
As she came upon the crowd, weaving past children, young people, and elders alike, her pity party turned to absolute elation at the sight of who was holding so much community attention.
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A lot of fanart of Katara takes inspiration from Inuit cultural tattooing culture, and that's valid as a concept.
However, there have been some complaints from the ATLA indigenous community that straight up ripping tattoos directly from photos with no cultural understanding or alteration (as the shapes and lines and specific art is very personal and can give information about who or where someone is from) is inappropriate at best.
I decided that, for this AU, as it is very much steeped in the culture of this fictional tribe, that tattoo inspiration needed to be inspiration.
SO
Every tattoo has meaning, and the lines that make it up have not only individual meaning, but also give on-sight information about the person they belong to. The SWT in the Mooneater!AU is a matriarchal society, meaning that the lines are passed down through the mother. Heritage is a key component of Katara and Sokka's story, so in every tattoo, there is a Family Line.
Family Lines are passed down through the mother, always, no matter who the father is. The father will have a different family line, inherited from his own mother, but the child inherits the mother's family line nonetheless. The Family Line is always framing the inner markings, going from the external to create the internal shape. This is because your family and those who shape you from the outside impact your inner self, and the inner self we keep close.
The second line is called a Spirit Line, and this can tell us a lot. In men, it doubles as an indicator of marriage(!). The Spirit Line goes from the internal, the inner self, to form the external half of the forehead shape. This is because the spirit comes from within, and presents externally as who we are as individuals. In opposition but similar function to our Western patriarchal society, the man takes on his wife's Spirit Line (like how wives will take on a husband's last name). Is he still an individual? Yes! And we know because the intersecting shape of both the Family and Spirit Lines will be completely unique (unless two brothers marry two sisters, I suppose).
In case of divorce, the man's Spirit Line through Marriage will have a dividing line put through the center. Needless to say, divorce is rare and remarriage doesn't NOT happen, but it would make for a very unique tattoo.
Daughters inherit their parents' Spirit Line. If her parents are unmarried, which is not taboo and fairly common, she will inherit the Spirit Line of her mother.
The last component of Katara's tattoo as pictured are indicators of Ancestral Leadership. Katara has three Chieftesses in her family. The star on the chin is Kya, immediately predecessing her. Below that is Kanna, and at the heart is Kanna's mother, Kosa, the first Chieftess of their lineage. When Katara becomes Chieftess, she will receive the Chief Star above the Spirit and Family Lines (they make the Mark of the Brave moon shape btw), closest to her hairline and therefore the most inner of her Self and most defining of her identity.
Here is a guide! Kya and Katara have the same lines, except Kya only has the Chief Star on the center of her forehead.
I threw in Sokka's theoretical Lines as an adult if he were to marry Yue or Suki respectively, or marry Yue, divorce, and marry Suki later, for fun and also because visual aids:
Zuko has finally accepted that the Avatar simply doesn't exist. He's been sailing around the world chasing a myth for 8 years, and it's time to concede defeat. ...He will instead sail around the world chasing the next best thing: the mythical Southern Water Tribe, lost for 100 years, and their legendary last defense against the Fire Nation Empire.
Status: Active. Updates on the 5th and 20th of the month.
Zuko experiences baby's first documented existential crisis. Katara is not impressed.
Gleaming mother-of-pearl eyes glinted at him from the inky abyss mere feet away from where he stood, flickering white and red in his torchlight. Instinctually, Zuko took a step back. With an irrational edge, he thought, This environment is all wrong for a jack-guar.
This revolutionary observation was immediately followed by the fun fact that jack-guars, for all their teeth and claws and incredible leaping ability– best suited to the Earth Kingdom’s tropical forests –couldn’t fucking swim in the first place.
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"No one will come looking for me."
He caught a glimpse of his hideous reflection in the glass face of his compass, its frame gleaming gold from his constant worrying fingers. Zuko glared.
"…And everyone will be better off." It was what he deserved, after all, now that Uncle was gone.
Chapters: 2/?
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Characters: Zuko (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Kya (Avatar), Kanna (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Azula (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Slow Burn, Chief Katara (Avatar), Water Tribe Lore (Avatar), Spirit World shenanigans, Mermaids, Sirens, Mooneater!AU, mooneaterzk, yes there is a tumblr about this as well as a fanart collab, Alternate Universe - No Avatar (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Technically ;), Shared Greif Trauma, it's Zutara, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS, Cultural Differences, Gender Roles, Matriarchal Southern Water Tribe, there's no planned smut but i'll update the tags if i change my mindddd
Series: Part 1 of Mooneater
Summary:
Zuko has finally accepted that the Avatar simply doesn't exist. He's been sailing around the world chasing a myth for 8 years, and it's time to concede defeat. ...He will instead sail around the world chasing the next best thing: the mythical Southern Water Tribe, lost for 100 years, and their legendary last defense against the Fire Nation Empire.
Status: Active. Updates on the 5th and 20th of the month.
