in middle school my friend would cope with the death of her mother by always replying to a yo mama joke with “my mom’s dead actually” and it was both hilarious and awful enjoy!
Story time: When I was at university in Japan I lived in an international dorm with all of the other foreign exchange students, and my best friend at the uni was a French girl who lived directly across the hall from me. Nausicaa, and we taught each other slang from our native languages.
One of the first things she taught me was to respond like this when someone’s looking for something, so like “où sont mes clés?” (where are my keys?) “dans ton cul” (in your ass), which can then be followed up with “comme ma bite” (like my dick)
Fast forward 8 years and Nausicaa comes to visit London from Lyon with her boyfriend, who I’ve never met before, and at one point he says “ou est mon tabac?” (where’s my tobacco?), and of course I say “dans ton cul”, and the boyfriend looks at me like “what the fuck English person” and then when the follow up of “comme ma bite” comes, he laughs so hard I think he’s gonna break a rib, and Nausicaa is just there with this shit eating grin and is like “I taught them that”
She told me later that day that of all the things she taught me and we learned together, she was so proud that saying “up your ass, like my dick” was what stuck
It had started with garden walks. Zuko had needed an excuse to get away from ruling a nation and Katara had needed time away from ambassador duties. And they both needed a friend. So they’d walk the palace gardens together for an hour or so a few times a week and talk about anything but politics or war.
The thing about palaces, however, was that privacy was a hard thing to come by. There were too many people, too many eyes and ears casually waiting about, even in the flower gardens, that it was hard to feel relaxed. So Zuko and Katara would go slightly farther afield. As it turned out, the palace vegetable and herb gardens were much less populated during certain times of day, particularly the lavender field.
Katara loved lavender. Loved the comforting smell, the bright yet subtle colors, the many medicines and foods it could be added to. And she loved having a special, private spot on palace grounds that was just for her and Zuko to share.
As years went by they would walk the rows of the lavender field together as often as they could. It was there where Zuko finally got annoyed at his own uncertainty and actually asked Katara if he could officially court her. He’d been so determined to make himself go through with it that he sounded more angry than hopeful. It was a sign of just how well Katara knew him now that she was able to see through him. After she had stopped laughing, she kissed him squarely on the lips in a way that left no doubt of her answer.
The first time they said “I love you” was in the lavender field at sunset. The scent of lavender seemed to cling stronger than usual that night when sleep was hard to find.
After they eventually married they still tried to walk together in the field. As an anniversary gift Zuko had erected a small gazebo there, just big enough for two, where no one else was allowed. However running a nation was a lot of work, even when it was flourishing in a non-colonial way, and it was often hard to spend much quality time together even outside the lavender field. They both preferred to be busy and useful rather than be idle for very long, but there were times when the long days took a toll on them.
During the hard times it wouldn’t be uncommon for a small clipping of lavender to be found somehow rolled up in the pile of documents needed to be read that day. Or for lavender tea to be brought unrequested. Little unexpected gestures that to any onlooker might seem cute, but to Zuko and Katara were silent declarations of love. Katara would wear lavender in her hair to a meeting and Zuko would be itching to kiss her, his mood instantly improved. Zuko would secretly stuff Katara’s gloves with dried lavender when he’s unable to join her on her visits home and Katara would sleep with them at night, breathing in their shared memories.
But more often than not, the little gestures would be unnecessary. Because the Fire Lord and Lady would clear an hour or so from their schedule and walk together in their field, talking about anything but politics or war.
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Wheee! That’s it for my two contributions to this year’s ZK Week! Now I get to sit back and enjoy the influx of Zutara creations! Thank you to the mods for being so dedicated and amazing for the Zutara community! <3
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AVATAR: The Last Airbender belongs to Viacom & NICKELODEON, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino. Distorted Reality the fanfiction and comic are fanworks unaffiliated with the official series.
drawn for #zkweek2021 - day 5: "Mend". my fave niche fanfic trope is zuko doing extra chores when he joins the group.
katara has been the gaang's designated Caretaker™ for 3 seasons. and now all of a sudden this jerk shows up and he washes the dishes without being asked?? she's relieved but also Suspicious because /obviously/ he has an ulterior motive, right?
(basically... in that nebulous period of time between "The Western Air Temple" and "The Southern Raiders" katara really, Really wants to hate zuko, but it's becoming increasingly difficult.)
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