#pro jinko

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

“Zuko and Katara wanted each other from the beginning” (actual take I’ve seen) MY GUY Zuko didn’t even KNOW Katara’s name he literally only knew Aang’s name after joining the group he would only address someone by name after he heard someone else say their name

Beyond knowing her name or not - WHEN did Zuko ever, ever show he "wanted" Katara?

When he was on a date with Jin? When he had a full on relationship with Mai and was so into her, he'd constantly suck face with her and would get jealous when other guys showed interest?

When he stayed up at night thinking of Aang saying they could have been friends, or when he had a fever dream in which he literally becomes Aang because the obsession was that strong?

(When he had sexual tension with his sister thanks to Grey reading her lines like she was still doing voice-over for literal porn?)

And when did Katara show she "wanted" Zuko?

When she blushed when Haru praised her? When she was literally being swept off her feet by Jet?

When she'd get jealous over other girls paying attention to Aang? Or she asked to him? Or got mad when he said he didn't want to kiss her? Or kissed him back when he kissed her first? Or got all up in his business while "helping him with his waterbending stance"? Or flat out told him "I don't see you as a little brother"? Or the literal DOZENS of times she blushed around him, showed him physical affection? Or the time she THREATENED TO MURDER ZUKO IF HE EVER HURT AANG?

Oh, I know! They showed their Totally Not Fanon mutual attraction when they made disgusted faces and physically slid away from each other at the realization that people assumed they were a couple - that's how people who are into each other act, right?

[lady-iskra]

This on-and-off game between Maiko doesn’t do both characters any justice. If the new A:TLA comic were about how Zuko and Jin run into each other in Ba Sing Se—instead of the new Maiko one—with a premise hinting at a Jinko endgame, I would directly buy that thing as soon as it’s available for pre-order. They both really deserve a chance, as they had a load of chemistry in the few minutes they shared together on-screen. That’s of course while hoping they all stay in character, and it won’t be another one of Bryke’s so beloved relationship dramas.

[high-on-cactus-juice]

Somewhat unpopular shipping opinion but I truly believe jinko should have been endgame. Like these two were way too cute together for Jin to end up being a one episode character!!

Also I do really love Mai but I just don’t believe the MaixZuko pairing is the best one out there, considering that they started dating as a result of being two depressed teens. I’m a sucker for grumpy/sunshine dynamics.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

So you've covered brilliantly why Katara would choose Aang and not Zuko, but there's also the lapse of logic in Zutarians thinking ZUKO would choose KATARA. Even if he didn't already have a girlfriend he loves very much, since when is Katara even his type?

EXACTLY! Like, don't get me wrong, Katara has traits he admires (and vice versa) and everyone in the Gaang ends the show being good friends with each other, but that doesn't mean he's IN LOVE.

He never really thought about Katara until they became friends, and even then he never looked at her the way he looked at Mai. He never tried to act all flirty with her the way he did with Mai. He never started straight out simping for Katara when she told him to shut the fuck up the way he did with Mai on The Beach. He has no problem hugging her (or any of his friends) but he never full on cuddles with her the way he does with his girlfriend.

Hell, even if we look at his date with Jin - sure, he does the "she's not my girlfriend!" thing, but he never said that while literally on a date with her. One was embarrassment of "This is awkward, she's just a friend", the other was him being embarrassed at being CAUGHT. He never tried to impress her/do something romantic the way he did with Jin either.

Much like Katara, Zuko wears his heart on his sleeve. When he's into someone it is PAINFULLY obvious because he cannot hide his emotions to save his fucking life. He doesn't act uninterested in Katara because of "denial" or because it's meant to be "subtext" but because he is genuinely not into her. And once again, the reverse is true.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Jinko shipper who's also cool with Maiko here!

An anti-Maiko/anti-Mai take popped up in the Jinko tag and I was kind of shocked because rarepairs tend to have small, chill followings.

Turns out it was a Zvtarian using Jin and Zuko’s date to prop up an anti-Maiko theory. 😑

That does not surprise me. Like I said, they tend to hide behind rarepairs like Jinko and Ty Luko or Song X Zuko because it allows them to pretend their criticisms of Maiko are TOTALLY fair, after all they like other Zuko pairings that are not Zutara... it just so happens that these pairings are of him with girls that are no "threat" to Katara since they're either very minor characters, or secondary characters that barely even interacted with Zuko.

If Avata had gotten a season 4, Zuko and Mai had broken up, and then he ended up with Jin, Zutarians would 100% attack Jinko the way they did with Maiko, because now Jin is a proper "threat" to their OTP (that never had even the smallest chance of being canon, no matter how much they insist it was "robbed at the last second").