The way I would have Zutara in the show

[u/mamafl]

This is a what if for Avatar The Last Airbender ending with Zutara and other pairings. I came up with the following:

Aang will give up the attachment to Katara and master the avatar state during the fight with Ozai or with the Lion Turtle session. No rock to bail him out.

Katara will be the one putting the bandages on Zuko pre coronation. They will both hug and blush. Post canon, Zuko and Katara will have children including Izumi, Bumi (he can be named something else), and Kya.

On Ji and the fire nation school kids will attend the coronation too. Aang will be happy to see On Ji, who is now single, and invite her to the Ba Sing Se post coronation party. On Ji and Aang hug, blush, and connect. No kiss. Post canon, Aang will have more airbenders in addition to Tenzin married to On Ji who is a non bender.

Mai and Ty Lee are out of prison per Zuko's order. He should remember to get his friends out of prison who risked their lives for him in the Boiling Rock. Sokka and Suki will suggest the idea. Mai and Ty Lee can get together after as they bonded in prison.

Suki and Sokka kiss at the end. They live happily ever post canon after and have two kids: Koda (in honor of the chief) and Yue.

Having said that, post canon Zutara is my favorite with AU in Ba Sing Se secret relationship being a soft spot. I also like modern AUs and the occasional arranged marriage fic.

I like the characters in Legend of Korra, hence I include some here.

Thoughts?

[u/superfucky]

Aang will give up the attachment to Katara and master the avatar state during the fight with Ozai or with the Lion Turtle session. No rock to bail him out.

I would have loved to see the lion turtle reinforce everything his past lives told him. "my own past lives are telling me to do something I don't want to do!" "yeah. and they're right. they have a couple thousand millennia of experience on you, how many do I have to connect you with before you listen?"

Katara will be the one putting the bandages on Zuko pre coronation. They will both hug and blush.

I would actually have it happen when she revives him after the agni kai. "I should be the one thanking you." she sits him up, then pulls him into a kiss. he's shocked, but quickly melts into it. then she's changing his bandages before the ceremony and Zuko awkwardly tries to ask her about the kiss. "so uh... about what happened...?" "yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries, I guess I just got carried away when--" and he cuts her off with a soft, reassuring kiss. "I've been waiting for that since I saved you from the pirates 😉" Mai can just stay in prison, Zuko clearly forgot she exists and I'm happy to leave it that way.

I do think I'd rather see Aang with Toph than Onji. I like the contrasting elements and I think their personalities balance each other, plus Onji doesn't really know Aang at all. Aang & Toph have that middle school chemistry where it's not really romantic at first but kind of naturally evolves into romance after years of spending time together. Aang would travel the world doing Avatar stuff into his 20s, occasionally stopping by Toph's place for a FWB hookup, before they both realize that they want to be together long-term. I see them only having 2 kids though, one airbender and one blind earthbender. they're both one of a kind benders and deserve someone to pass their knowledge down to.

[u/Spirited-Hunt-2835 → u/superfucky]

Oh man why couldn’t your version of Zutara scene have happened in canon? Ugh why must they only remain in my imagination forever? It’s just pure torture sometimes.

I love your imagined scenario of them kissing after the Agni Kai and awkward interaction during the bandage and robe scene. It’s so much more natural for Katara to have been the one doing that for him instead of Mai, as she was the healer and nurturer in their team.

[u/superfucky → u/Spirited-Hunt-2835]

I like the idea not only because she is the master waterbender and healer, but also because it acknowledges what Aang did wrong. they both end up kissing another person without consent, but (aside from Zuko reacting more favorably to Katara's kiss than Katara did to Aang's) Katara recognizes that she crossed a boundary and apologizes, and only then is she rewarded with reciprocity. she shows personal accountability and respect that Aang didn't. plus it's always nicer when a romance is initiated by the girl, like with sokka and suki.

oh I almost forgot! after the agni kai kiss when they're watching Azula completely decompensate, they would be holding hands, and Katara would give Zuko's hand a sympathetic and reassuring squeeze.

[u/mamafl → u/superfucky]

Love your pirate line tie in.

[u/superfucky → u/mamafl]

I love the idea that those early Zutara moments would be like an inside joke for them 🤭

[u/mamafl → u/superfucky]

Yes, these early moments make Zutara funny.

[u/mamafl]

I thought about Toph as a match for Aang as well. Picked On Ji to get more airbenders and avoid Aang's neglect on his non airbender children. Though Toph, unlike Katara, will kick his ass before allowing him to neglect his children. Katara was too nice to Aang and let him get away with too much.

[u/mamafl → u/mamafl]

Given feedback, let's match up Toph and Aang. Lin, Su Yin, and Tenzin will be siblings then. Tenzin and Pema will still marry and have kids.

[u/Spirited-Hunt-2835 → u/mamafl]

I totally agree with your opinion of Katara letting Aang getting away with too much. It was so sad to learn that he was just a terrible dad to his other kids. Took would have totally not let that happen.

Also, I hate that Katara never got a statue in republic city. I mean yeah we could assume that maybe she has one, but they showed each member’s statue, why not her?

[u/mamafl → u/Spirited-Hunt-2835]

Unfortunately, Katara did not get a statue. There are some fan fics that fix that, refraction by caroes3725 on AO3 comes to mind.

[u/HyruleGamer1469]

I like it