#roslynwrites

Soft and spicy Zutara, inspired by ‘Incendiary’ by @roslynwrites

Not posting the whole image here because I just honestly don’t know how this site works. Any suggestions?

“I’m lying about liking the sea prune for your benefit,” he burst out, looking both relieved to have said it and rather apprehensive at her reaction. “I’m sorry. I wanted to like it, I really did, but it was just awful.”

Katara finally burst into laughter, so loudly that people glanced over.

Zuko gaped at her and then gradual suspicion stole over his features. “You knew I would hate it?”

“I had a good guess.” She smirked. “I’ve never met a foreigner that likes our sea prunes.”

He blinked rapidly at her a few times. “Seriously?”

She waved the remaining sea prunes under his nose. “Mmm…”

He swatted her away, but his mouth had briefly twitched into a smile. “You’re mean. You know that?”

“You have terrible taste in food.” She dramatically popped another one in her mouth.

He wrinkled his nose. “How can you stand it? It’s like swallowing rubber.”

“Maybe I enjoy rubber, Zuko. Don’t judge.” She held out the last one. “Are you sure you don’t want it?”

He pretended to gag. “Get that away from me.”

She just laughed again, pushing it closer to his face. “Yummy…”

He caught her wrist and held her away. “Don’t,” he warned, though his eyes held that shine of amusement that she realized she quite liked. It reminded her of being with her friends again. Of something normal. And on Zuko it was a very pleasing effect. Maybe because it finally made him look less grumpy.

“Or what?” she taunted. “You’ll scowl me to death?”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Doesn’t it?”

He sighed, but she knew he was feigning his irritation because she could see the way his mouth twitched again, still fighting a smile. “If I eat the last one, will you stop whatever this is?”

She didn’t have a chance to answer.

“What is that thing?” A monotone voice with a hint of disdain spoke from right beside them.

Katara jerked back and away from Zuko—just now realizing that they’d actually been standing quite close, his hand still wrapped around her wrist—as if they’d been caught doing something wrong.

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So, I’m back to drawing fan art of fan fics! Starting with one of my favorite scenes from Incendiary by the very talented Roslynwrites / @roslynwrites

I really love this fic because the arranged marriage trope has been beaten to death in the Zutara-fic universe, but THIS fic does it right somehow, I have a feeling that this is becoming the new Stormbenders.

This particular scene really touches my bitter Zutarian heart. It really captures how these two would begin to connect(I’m a sucker for frenemy-banter), not only in canon, but in the universe of this fic.

i get how you feel because this used to be me! honestly what happened was that i ran out of zk content to read if i wasn't keeping up with new fics, & i started to think that a ton of these really great fics that deserve to be finished have a higher probability of ending up finished if they have readership & engagement while the author is still writing them :)

+ i'm a fanfic author with an unpredictable update schedule and i have some fics i have finished and some i never have and never will, so i'm pretty understanding. i did wish that rather than just disappear and never update again some authors just said what they were going to write as the ending, but well, fanfic is a gift, they're doing it for fun, and i would rather i have read the fic and been emotionally impacted by it than never have read it at all

there's a ton of zk fics, especially the penance series by delectate, that haven't been updated in over a decade...and i would kill to see them updated again. but even if they never do, i'm so happy that i got to read them at all, that the author shared that piece of their writing and soul with the world at all :)

(and sometimes a wild @sugarclot appears and updates the sequel to Tempest in a Teacup after like, fifteen years. never lose hope!)

plus i kinda like reading fics as they update lol. i get super invested in what's going on and it's such a nice treat to wake up/just get that happy little notification & know you're going to get a bit of serotonin that day

My attempts at portraying the dress @roslynwrites put Katara in in Chapter 19 of Incendiary.

The black and gray one was what came first, but when I asked she said she was picturing it in red, so I made the second one. :)

Katara stared at a point over his shoulder. “Wouldn’t you be happier? With Mai back?”

“No.”

Katara let out a disbelieving scoff. “Right.”

“I’m telling you the truth!” Zuko sighed and reached out, taking her hands in his again. “Katara,” he said seriously. “Last night was one of the worst nights of my life. I talk to you about lots of things I don’t normally talk about. Not even with Uncle. Trust me, you are...the furthest thing from replaceable to me.” Hesitantly, he raised their hands and placed a quick kiss on her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers. Katara's stomach dropped, and not unpleasantly; her neck grew hot and she had to look away. “And I’m glad you said all that stuff," Zuko continued, huskier than before. "At the play. I want you to feel like you can talk to me, too.”

That hot pressure was pushing at Katara’s eyes again, and she automatically began to blink very rapidly. “I don’t blame you. For everything I said. It’s all just been so much and sometimes I just can’t—it’s all so—so much and I can’t—“

Before she knew what was happening, Zuko was sliding into the bed and wrapping her up very carefully in his arms. She let out a quiet sob into his shoulder. “I know,” said Zuko, rasp thick again. He started to stroke her hair. “I’m sorry, Katara. I’m sorry.”

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And I give you another scene from the amazing fanfic Incendiary by roslynwrites / @roslynwrites