#mooneaterzk

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. But everything changed when the Sea swallowed the Moon. 

As the People became One with their spirits, the walking world perished in the dark.

Siren’s Curse

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. But everything changed when the Sea swallowed the Moon. 

As the People became One with their spirits, the walking world perished in the dark.

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Zuko/Katara   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.

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.

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.

ohoho well I'm glad you asked!

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

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.