#zfaw

@zkfanworkweek - day 1: Hidden Gem “I chose Ember Island because we could get away from everyone else without leaving the Fire Nation. I liked the idea of getting married to you where I first fell in love with you, too,” he said. By now the small smile had grown into a grin. Katara felt the pinpricks of tears at her eyes, overcome with a hurricane of emotions she couldn’t quite name over this unexpected gesture. “You idiot,” she said, her voice watery. “When you said you’d take care of it, I thought you meant hire more wedding planners, not for us to have a secret wedding.” -

Zkfaw Day 6: fluff Friday

Stay Frosty, Royal Milk Tea by @hinaoyamas and @sofileall

This is already late but it's fineeee,,, I got really busy with school stuff akajhsb

This fic is amazing!!! I only recently started reading it and I haven't caught up to it yet but it's already so fluffy and I love it so much! Plus, it's a tea shop au and how could you not love that??

A lil late for ZFAW’s Saturday prompt, sorry about that! Haven’t had any internet over the weekend. But better late than never!

I’m not gonna lie… a lot of these are angsty af. But I promise you they’re not gratuitous angst! They’re well written, beautiful stories that will make you feel like a better person for having read them. These are my favourite all time fics, ones I’ve read more than once and will continue to read (even though I’m taking a week break from fandom and fic).

 Multi-Chaptered Fics

The Sparrowkeet Series by audreyii_fic

To be honest, this story’s summary doesn’t do it justice so I ain’t including it. Originally a one shot, Sparrowkeet is headcanon for me now. Move over canon, this is where it’s at. Audreyii_fic’s characterisation, world building, and writing is exquisite. It’s incredible. She manages to channel the same fun and whimsical energy from the show while allowing the characters to grow and develop to places I wish they had actually been taken.

This one is a fandom Must Read and one I return to regularly.

 Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow by sadladybug

It is not the memorial she deserves, nor the one she would want. But it can't be helped. He owns no property in the other nations, and he needed to keep her close. Closer than she was in life, anyway.

Zuko's reflections on a life lived and a life that could have been.

This is one of the best written fics I’ve ever read. It’s tragic and deep and will hurt you in all the tender places but you would be doing yourself a favour if you read this. There’s a real bittersweet feeling to it and the love between them is just… urg, visceral.

 Lovable by LadyCharity

Zuko knew that he could not save Azula. He could only try to forgive her. Fittingly enough, those two were one in the same.

I love stories that make Zutara their centerpiece but every now but then a story like this comes along. A story where their relationship builds almost incidentally because the plot and character development straight up hijack your emotions. I got so invested in this story. Zuko is amazingly well characterised and his complicated thoughts and feelings around his father and Azula are incredibly well written!

 One Shots

Lunar Ephemerality by @formerlygoldilocks (goldilocks23)

After multiple failed attempts on his life and years of self-set expectations, Fire Lord Zuko is a shell of the man he used to be. But Katara won't turn her back on those who need her.

I really didn’t expect this to hit as hard as it did. This straight up snuck up on me, fly-kicked my feelings, and by the end I had written an 800 word comment that was too big for AO3 and I had to contact the author directly to send it to her. Awkward. I couldn’t help myself. The side to Katara we see here is so good, her empathy and love for her friends are one of the things I love seeing most in AtLA fanfic. I’m a sucker for Zuko having complete breakdowns and having to piece himself back together too. So sue me. I like it when they suffer a lil bit. The writing is absurdly good and I will be keeping an eye out for any new stories by goldilocks23!

 31 Minutes by @ifyouwereamelodymeg

It's quite astounding, really, how quickly she's learned to translate him. They've spent a grand total of zero time together outside of training, and he's hardly big on chat so she knows next to nothing about his life.

But she knows him, probably better than she knows anyone at the moment – with every tap of his fingers, every crook of his lips, every turn in his voice, he just...

He makes sense to her. It's weird.

I’m a sucker for fic writers playing with style to make the story pop and boyo does this fic deliver. This is one of the rare times that I’ve been dumbstruck at the end of a story— I just couldn’t accept the ending. Because I’m a sucker for pain, (and this story will bring The Pain) I loved it. The ease of Zuko and Katara’s growing relationship in this bowls you over, it’s absolutely beautiful and you find yourself nodding along emphatically when Zuko calls himself an idiot for waiting… “Life’s short, kids, live each moment as though it could be your last,” says this fic as it pulls my heart out and dropkicks it off a cliff.

 i count to five (and life passes by) by @markedmage

Five heartbeats.

I still haven’t forgiven Mage for this one. I think it’s the best thing she’s written to date! I mean, tragic and painful and heart-rending but holy shit is it powerful <3

 The Lake of the Dismal Swamp by @thewhiitelotus

Spook af. Spook (horror) is real hard to do well but thewhiitelotus is coming for your goosebumps and those shivers down your spine. She has a way of balancing beautiful, evocative imagery with action (in this and other stories of her) that just keeps you reading!

 Calloused by @rideboldlyride

Iroh hadn’t been able to watch. The pure horror of a man - a father- burning their child for a slight infraction... He couldn’t do anything to stop it, but he will stop his brother from destroying entirely the kind boy he knew Zuko could be.

This is a painfully underappreciated fic for how great the characterisation is. I know we in the zutara fandom tend to not read stories that aren’t Zuko/Katara centric as often but do yourself the favour of reading this (or listening to it: RideBoldlyRide has done us the gift of recording a podfic for this and it’s stupidly *good*). This story is Iroh confronting Ozai just after he burns Zuko’s face and it kicks.

 four days and three nights by @hinaoyamas (lettersfromnowhere)

Zuko discovers firsthand that nothing is more fleeting than happiness, or more enduring than memory.

Do you like reading stories with a distant, omniscient narrator? The kind that read like a myth from the ancient world? Welp, hit the hyperlink, friend, cause this one’s for you. Not only is the writing exquisite but the characterisation and painful inevitability of the plot is grade A.

 For the Fire Nation by tullyblue12

He falls in love with her for his country before he falls in love with her for himself. A Zuko/Katara AU that explores how love and duty aren’t always mutually exclusive.

There are about 40,000 exquisite lines in this story but here is just one of my favourites: “He falls in love with her for his country first. That’s what his people never understand.” This fic says a lot with so few words, which is something I really look up to! In 2,800 words, tullyblue12 does what some 100,000k fics cant: They make you feel.

 Guide Me Home by Rashaka

To sleep, perchance to dream. Katara and Zuko find a friendship they never expected in a place that seemed impossible.

This is a one shot I will forever wish for a continuation of. The setup is just… so juicy. There’s a real sorrowful innocence to this story that the unique short, dialogue only scenes really punch home. I know some people don’t like dialogue only fics but when done well like in this one, it leaves you with the impression of something deeper than a 1,185 word fic has any right to! 

 Other Favourites!

Hopeless by tullyblue12 — Kids grow up fast when a cruel world awaits them. In times of hopelessness, Katara and Zuko grow together. In times of separation, they hope to see each other again.

Speechless by goldilocks23 — Zuko has a medical condition. Or: Zuko speaks in haiku at inappropriate times.

Don’t Follow Me Down by eleventy7 — Katara is the dread queen of the underworld, ruler of the dead, destined to reign her cold kingdom alone. Until a sun god catches her eye. A Hades/Persephone retelling with incredible writing.

I Don't Speak Meow Language by @botherkupo (Boogum) — In which Zuko adopts a cat and Katara just wonders what spirits she pissed off to deserve this fate.

I have the privilege of being friends with some of these authors (they know who they are) and am in near daily awe and gratitude for the works of free fiction they provide us, the fandom. And not just any old stories: Guys... Really good ones!! Can I ask that if you go check out these fics, can you just drop a kudos or a comment their way? If you’re feeling shy just copy and paste this into the comments box anonymously: “WOW! Loved this! Thank you so much for writing it!”

@zkfanworkweek Day 6: Fluff Friday

She reaches out under the covers for his hand. When she finally finds it she gives it a gentle squeeze. “You can tell me anything, you know.”

There is another long silence, so long that she thinks he might’ve fallen asleep. 

Her eyes begin to drift shut. She suddenly feels so tired.

“I know.” 

She smiles into her pillow.

They fall asleep holding hands.

Based on chapter 10 of In the Same Candlelight by @likeadove (FF, AO3)

be still, my foolish heart, don’t ruin this on me for @pineapple-frenzy 

Summary: Sometimes all it takes is an accidentally posted picture.

I got to write a fic using @pineapple-frenzy‘s art— is this week even for real? I don’t think so. I really don’t think so. I have an extremely soft corner for modern AUs and @pineapple-frenzy’s art gives me all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings. I mean, look at their modern day Zutara. I cry. I cry. I’m sure everyone on Tumblr already knows about @pineapple-frenzy but if you haven’t seen their art, please do. I promise your day will suddenly become a 1000 times better. 

[Link in the reblog]

Quick oneshot written for @zkfanworkweek day 3 inspired by @tihnixx 's art

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27699590

She had lied to him, she already knew the myth of Ursa Major. She had found a scroll about the constellations when they first arrived at the old beach house. But for some reason she wanted to hear him telling the story. 'No, I've never heard about it, could you tell me?', she had said.

So now she smiled as he told her all about it. She has been smiling a lot around him these days. Later, she would try to understand why. For now, she was focused on wondering what was it about being there, outside, laying only a few inches beside him while the rest of their friends were already asleep, that made the stars above her sparkle a bit brighter and the grass beneath her tickle a bit too much.

"I remember one night, when Azula was still a baby, my mother told her: 'And there's Ursa Minor. Just like you and I, mother and daughter, they'll always be together'", he chuckled, "I got so jealous that I chose a constellation for me so I could be in the stars with them".

"That's sweet."

"That's silly."

"Those things can coexist", she let out a chuckle of her own and tilted her head to look at him. Suddenly not only the grass but even the air around her and the strand of her own hair that brushed her cheek seemed to tickle. "Which one did you choose?"

"That one", he pointed to the sky and her gaze followed the invisible line that extended from the tip of his finger. "It's called Draco."

"The dragon? That's suitable", she giggled softly and even though she was facing upwards, she could swear she saw his irises wandering in her direction for a second and the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. "I liked your idea, I want to pick one for me too."

You can have them all. Did he really think that? What was it with him and his thoughts these days? "From my sky or from yours?"

"From both, even though they're the same."

Yes, they are. It doesn't matter if they are watched by different stars, the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation sleep under the same sky. It brought him some strange comfort to remind that, some strange, unsettling peace.

"From mine, I'll go with The Great Fish. It has one the brightest stars. From here, do you have any suggestion?"

He remained silent for a heartbeat. "Lyra", he once more pointed to the night, "those five stars", he drew them in the air.

"Why?"

It's right beside mine. "Do you remember that street musician we passed by on our way to that ridiculous play, that one you gave almost all of our coins to?" His voice got softer at that. "He was playing the Lyra."

"Do you want one too?"

"What? A lyra?" He looked at her and raised his brow.

"No, Zuko", she laughed. He realized his choice didn't do her justice, her laughter sounded sweeter than a lyra. "Do you want a constellation, from the south?"

"Oh, sure. Do you have one in mind?"

''I do, actually. The Fire Eagle. Long ago it was called The Sea Eagle. But once, a Water Tribe merchant got lost in a Fire Nation desert. He had already run out of water and thought he didn't have much time left. So he prayed, asked every water spirit to help him or send help. Then he saw an eagle with its wings made of fire. He followed it and it led him towards the city he was trying to get to. When he returned home he told everyone his story and then people started calling it The Fire Eagle. Some believe that The Sea Eagle and The Fire Eagle are the same spirit, a shapeshifter that adjusts itself to the environment it's in so it can help people from all around the world."

"I'm honored", he smiled but avoided her eyes. Was that pink on his cheeks?

There was another reason why she had chosen that one for him, a reason that she didn't want to tell him, it was stupid: The Fire Eagle is very close to The Great Fish.

"It's going to be nice". Why did she start saying this? "Once we win this war, once we're apart, each in our own home, I'll be able to look at the sky and know you're somehow there, near". She cursed her lips when she heard her own voice pronouncing those absurd words she didn't mean to let out.

"I'll do the same."

She's going to be in the sky, in our shared sky. He smiled to himself. She's already everywhere, in everything. She's in the blue hydrangeas and in every body of water. There's a bit of her in every poem he's ever heard. And now, as if she weren't already in the moon, she's going to be in the stars.

She's in the stars.

Or maybe it's the opposite, maybe they are in her, he thinks when he allows his gaze to fall to the side and sees the entire night reflected on her. Why bother looking at the sky when all the stars are in her eyes?

Something stronger than the tides and gentler than the ocean breeze pulled his hand to rest on top of hers. It couldn't have been himself to do it, why would he do it? Maybe the grass started to move and accidently carried his hand. Yes, it must have been the grass. He had found it to be tickling a lot that night, after all. Maybe it had been already trying to move.

When the grass moves again, this time controlling her hand and causing her to intertwin their fingers, he thanks it. He refuses to admit it to himself but he hopes that, with this touch, there's going to be a bit of her in him.

Pairing: Zutara

Rating: T

Summary: He smells like fire and feels like home. She smells like rain and feels like love.

Notes: Hi guys- I know it’s been ages since I’ve really show much activity on here lately, but I’ve risen from the dead to give you all my submission for Fanart Tuesday, for ZFAW. This fic is for the lovely @hayleynfoster, who’s animated storyboards for ZK week 2020 have utterly wrecked me in all the best ways possible. Those videos are stunning and gorgeous and breathtaking, and I feel so so so honored to have the opportunity to immortalize them into fics. Hayley, thank you so much for allowing me to express my love for you and your works, and thank you again for giving me this opportunity. I hope you enjoy it. 

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27638455

(excerpt below the cut)

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!

5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?

I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  

6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?