Been Feeding Myself Inspirations From Detroit: Become Human For Zukaang Sci-fi Fanwork (which Actually

been feeding myself inspirations from detroit: become human for zukaang sci-fi fanwork (which actually works but i forgot not to dwelve too deeply again because the detroit fandom is mesmerizing) and i think i'll finally release the last one big fanart of cinematic modern au of zukaang this july. it's the month of my birthday, after all. from there, it's zukaang week and the fanfiction illustration project.

i miss you guys in tumblr.

i'll get to dms and notifs later once i can be more relaxed to interact again.

here irl, since may this year, many more people are affected by more loss due to covid. it's hard to watch many of my mutuals on sns sharing bad news after bad news of their deceased－forever be dearly missed－loved ones, buried under soils and flowers.

it's so surreal to acknowledge several things, like how some of my cliques are now fatherless or motherless. me and my core family lives in a relatively safe and remote green zone away from the virus, thankfully, but we still have jobs that demands us to travel to yellow, red, and black zone areas.

paranoia is something we'll always wake up to. it's mentally exhausting to survive and knowing you can collapse at any second. take care, please, my babies ♡ i'm gonna dive into zukaang tags again in my birthday to cheer my soon to be 25 yo brain up uwu

Oh tidakkk ternyata sepuhhh 🙏 sungkem dulu saya hehe

aaak wkwkwk sesepuh itukah 27 tahun :') tenang diriku masih ngikutin dari mulai jaman candy candy 1977 sampai jujutsu kaisen 2020, jiwanya masih muda 😉 also glad to know there's fellow female naruto enthusiast kayak kamu beb soalnya jaranggg bgtt ♡ よろしくお願い いたします!

now we all know @the-cloud-whisperer is a gem in a:tla fandom but this fanfiction is simply the masterpiece because i had to pause after every paragraph to catch my breath and contemplate my entire life. there's too much reasons, but these are what absolutely will keep me awake at night and day;

1. aang as zhao feiyan

aang really becoming like this in her fanfiction.

we all know aang is the icon of unisexuality, and cloud just has to slap me that reminder for making our boy playing this role by shang xirui: in pink dress, pearls, feathers, ribbons, and twirling fabric above the drum. simply celestial. like, damn, my brain won't shut up on praising cloud's galactical brain!

(this intricate figurine is produced as a tribute to winter begonia's zhao feiyan role! it tops the original design worn by yin zheng (the actor) that he legit preordered nine of it. everything about winter begonia is just that majestic and aesthetic－this drama is the talk of the century. male dan peking opera players simply are winners.)

this pic will never really leave my mind ever since the show flooded my aunt's timeline on weibo. this role is just that legendary that my favorite figurine studio, myethos, done a manufacture project for her.

i just... i can't simply read cloud's fanfiction without this imagery of aang out of my head, knowing that such beauty exists. no, i can't, your honor.

2. multiple theatrical roles of zukaang

aang and zuko. avatar and fire lord. kuzon and lee. zhao feiyan and yu meiren.

their inherited identities, their disguises, and their roles in legendary stories.

so many names and titles they carry for each other in the stages of their journey. what is life, if not a mere stage for our acts, after all? it's not enough that zukaang has countless parallels in a:tla universe. cloud really put one more impactful role for them, all wonderful women. it puts omashu tale to shame.

peking opera is a huge topic since zhang yixing's music video and winter begonia, so to read zukaang involved in it, with her writing, feels like entering nirvana for me. one cycle of samsara feels enough for me knowing i do live to read this. i performed many theatrical play for my major during college which defaultly makes this fanfiction pure treasure.

3. better plot and dialogues than canonverse

cloud always does that. this story has beautiful dialogues just like in her works titled seven bowls of tea and qixi festival. in heavy plotted stories, she makes every characters actually communicates as people raised by war through differences in caste and norms, with authentic cultural references.

and here, in to know the sound of his voice, it gives more depth, impact and better fate to every major character involved (zuko, aang, iroh, jet) just by having them bound through/after opera in a city.

unlike in the canon show, the ember island player is greatly entertaining but the aftermath of it is like a comic relief level of effect before the serious plot is back at the pace. almost does not hold multilayered significance except actually showing the toxicity of mysogynistic view in fire nation.

what happens between zukaang in cloud's fic is poetic. through becoming the performer and the spectator, forming allegories within legendary stories that they watch/perform and enjoy together, their decisions after every encounter within each other's disguise: those literally are what will shape the world. the conclusion of the war. the growth of everyone surrounding them.

i wanna gush more but it would spoil everyone. just. it's one click away to reading a masterpiece. i wasn't ready (i never am when it comes to her story), but i'm glad i am still alive to read her grandiose works.

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Aang/Zuko (Avatar) Series: Part 18 of Cloud’s Zukaang Fics

Notes: IT’S DONE! @zukaangweek

Warnings: aftermath of medical trauma / life-threatening burns (no character death)

Chapter Summary:

“你知道什麽是知音嗎？” “Do you understand what it means to know the sound of one’s voice?”

“我知道。我一直都在聼。” “I do. I’ve been listening all along.”

Zuko and Aang come to an understanding.

–

Work Summary: Written for Zukaang Week 2021 Day 4: Ba Sing Se AU, and Masks (SFW). In which Azula doesn’t overcome the Kyoshi warriors and infiltrate Ba Sing Se from the inside; Jet doesn’t attack Zuko at the tea shop until later; and so the whole latter half of season 2 doesn’t happen as planned. Instead, Zuko gets to live a somewhat okay life as a tea server and Fire prince in exile. Meanwhile, in between searching for Appa, building a zoo, and making Joo Dee question her career choice, Aang stumbles into a role as an opera singer in the Upper Ring, and Zuko is captivated by his performance. Heavily influenced by Beijing opera and specifically the 2020 Chinese drama Winter Begonia.

💖: my Zukaang master post

💛: my AO3

💚: my Ko-Fi

Read the full chapter under the cut or on AO3:

Keep reading

THE TALENT???????????????????? LITERALLY STEP ON ME

NAAAH QUEEN HOW ABOUT YOU STEP ON ME INSTEAD ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*

ky you can c h o k e me with your writings and i'd still thank ya for making me a puddle of heated mess. lets keep divin togetha in this pool of dommy zuzu and subby aangie that im always thirsty of (in which you always delivered purrfectly) !!!

omg when was this ask ashajajk this also got buried pls pardon my pathetic and mortal soul, love 😭

zukaang | rajamandala | राजमण्डल | 羅闍曼荼羅 devdas, chigo, lengger lanang and layla-majnun inspired tale

the day zukō was born, agni bestowed him with a single eternal flame, everlastingly alight inside the gentur lamp which he would carry along with him everywhere he went. no one could extinguish and light it back at will except the one who’s destined to guide his fate, as prophesied at naloni mitoni.

after his genpuku as the successor of ōzai tennō, zukō accompanied azhura in attending durga puja and seren taun, hosted by baginda bhumi at the central port of canggu. the siblings then reunited with maiko and tài linh, who became patrons of entertainment in northern manjung.

their seventh generation of tawaifs featured the esteemed amrapali, whose swara and abhinaya effortlessly enamored kaldera royals. as she danced, not only did she take everyone's breath away, but also the life of every kindled flame in the room. then, when she lit them back with gentle sway of her hands, zukō knew that she's the one.

realizing that his son had set his eyes on a mere yìjì, ōzai warned the prince that he might be deceived by outlanders witchery, but zukō insisted that he trusted agni's sacred will. he continued to chase the tawaif in unquenchable desire to know about her more, unaware that the fate he would thread on was to become a madman, lost in utterly blind love which turned into the purest form of devotion.

because amrapali was, in fact, not merely a dancer and disciple of buddha. she was bodhisattva kannon in her avatar form－a man named āng, awakened in rana pota lake as the only living sky dweller. his kin were mercilessly wiped from existence milennium ago by zukō's ancestor, souzan tenshi, who begun the conquest of rajamandala.

āng's crimson henna, drawn by performers of tide drifters; adinda katara and kakanda saka, covered his distinguished irezumi, while his voice was trained to move even the most hardened heart by paduka běifāng and a hia haru, the stone wielders. together with his beloved shrivijayans, the avatar would liberate the victims of war under ōzai's tyrant rule.

however, it was out of āng's prior knowledge that he would possess karmic ties with the very son of his own enemy through vortex of conflicted, mortal feelings. willingly bestow thousands of blessings to zukō's thousands of prayers, he would, but even as the emanation of god, āng still could not simply pull the strings of fate as he selfishly pleased.

by the will of sang hyang widhi, āng was destined to succeed in ending the misdeeds of fire breather’s forefathers, but at the cost of his heart falling forever in unfulfilled love. for he knew, that even though zuko took the role of mirabai to krishna, their wish to be united would be granted only in death like that of layla and majnun.

for @zukaangweek third day prompt: sacred/possesive

anastasia au / アナスタシアバージョン zukaang week 2021 day four | ba sing se season 2 au / 平行宇宙

aang woke up under the control of dai li, while zuko and iroh lived in ba sing se three years after banishment. set as canon divergent version before crossroads of destiny. more of this story below the cut!

excuse my fuzzy brain for incoming plotholes maybe hehe yeah wow i love impulsiveness. anyway yeah sozin comet ain't comin until like, 120 AG-ish

zuko and iroh stopped searching for the avatar and peacefully worked under quon's patronage at ba sing se.

fortunately, due to their successful tea business, they found better access to knowledge of the avatar, as well as various air nomad's relics and textual informations. they decided to keep everything at their secret warehouse, hiring bands of thugs to keep it safe.

unbeknownst to iroh and zuko, four years before they lived as refugees, dai li was the first one to find aang in his iceberg state near eastern air temple.

hundred years ago, aang briefly fought against fire nation army at the temple alongside pathik, gyatso, the nuns, and several young monks. he was saved by pathik from dire situation by getting thrown into the ocean.

long feng planned to raise the boy as their secret weapon so earth kingdom could rise, taking down the fire nation.

upon woken up, aang was hypnotized, and could only remember that he's an orphan named liu jun, born as earthbender.

he was told that the markings on his skin was a curse since birth by angered spirits, and to never let other people see it or they'll be facing the consequences of his misfortune.

he lived like a bird in a cage under long feng's watch and the head of dai li's tutelage. for six years long, he felt horribly stressed.

one day, aang finally found a way to get out of his residence by tricking the caretakers, sneaking and riding on earth kingdom's logistic vehicles.

once he's out of the food supply cart, he found and saved momo from being sold by black market thugs in the lower ring. there, he stumbled upon zuko and iroh's secret warehouse.

zuko was mad for the intrusion, but quickly realized something about the boy's appearance. iroh, however, noticed that this liu jun has upper class upbringing, and concluded that he's one of the rebel child who wanted the taste of outer walls.

zuko just blatantly state the obvious; "kid, you really, really look like the avatar in that painting," but aang was like, "who's avatar?" and ended up being educated about hundred years war history.

aang felt shocked by the tattoos he saw on the painting. still, he quickly dismissed the idea that he might be a living airbender, since their tattoo was supposed to be a sign of mastery, not a curse like long feng said. he didn't tell this to iroh and zuko, yet.

"aish, you must be mad for ever thinking i'm the avatar. he should be an old man by now! i'm afraid of being near fire or under the water for too long, and i dislike being in cramped spaces with damp air. how am i supposed to bend those elements?" (those are also the mental issues resulted by long feng's braingwashing, ofc)

either way, he needed to hide from long feng. aang quickly sealed the deal to iroh's offer who gave him the chance to help their tea shop in the meantime. well, anything but being under dai li's supervision works.

for a week of working together, zuko had noticed a lot of strange things in aang; like how he could easily play kangling (air nomad's bone flute), how his footsteps were so light he almost can never be heard walking, and how he never want to bathe and get dressed with other people nearby.

in the hunt for aang, long feng sent royal guards to every corner of earth kingdom territory. finally, they found aang at the warehouse. chaotic pursuit ensues. iroh and zuko managed to save him—at the price of being labeled as criminals.

with the help of june, iroh and zuko found their way to their old ship and crews. they brought aang there, and asked who he actually was since he's so important for the dai li.

from zuko and iroh's research, the only living people who could confirm the avatar's identity was bumi, who's in omashu, and the temple sages. too much risk for those, ofc, so they opted to go to the empty eastern air temple for more hints.

there, they met pathik, who went, "monkey feathers! aang, is that you?" to which aang replied, "nah, i'm liu jun." and pathik's like, "but i can sense your avatar spirit! and-and your tattoos, let me look at it!" but aang was so, so afraid of showing it.

then, by nudging his inner ki, pathik managed to trigger the avatar state out of aang, causing him to remember everything, including his airbending ability.

zuko and iroh be like, "well, shit, he's really the avatar," and their journey went rather hellish from that, with both zhao's fleet and the dai li on their tail.

after being informed by pathik that he had bonded with an air bison named appa, aang wished he could find him, since appa's the only family that might remain alive with him in this world. zuko promised that they would find appa.

under the pretense of companionship, zuko secretly plotted to give aang to ozai, while he and iroh helped the boy to master four elements by travelling around the world.

feelings were hindering him on the way, though. months of travelling together did that. "i think we could be good friends, even in another lifetime, if not a hundred years ago." oof, aang.

just like dimitri and anastasia, zukaang had deep bonding session at the boat with their dancing dragon and firebending lessons. iroh did smile knowingly at them.

betrayal slapped hard when aang found out about zuko's actual plan during their fight against zhao at north pole, who revealed with, "you befriend this dishonored prince, avatar? all he wanted to do was to send you to the fire lord as a nicely wrapped gift! this was all a ploy to earn your trust, to take you down by knowing your exact blind spots! you are merely a tool for him to regain his former identity!"

ouch. they got separated from there. aang then teamed up with the eventually formed gaang at the other side of the world, while zuko getting scolded by iroh, "you don't only lose someone that you care about, but the hope of the whole world! your hope! hadn't the past three years taught you something? hunger for power only bring despair to you!"

both once separated parties then reunited with the crossroads episode. aang ended up dead, katara swore to finish the fire siblings off, and zuko went absolutely mad, drowned in grief.

it's up to zuko now, to actually fulfill his promises; from finding appa to saving the world from his father—all without knowing that katara could revive aang. angst angst angst, final boss, zukaang banging then everyone lived happily ever after ♥

the musical scores would be:

a rumour in ba sing se

once upon an agrahāyana

caldera holds the key to your heart

learn to wield it

learn to wield it (dancing dragon reprise)

in the dark of the moonless night

feels great to finally manifest this draft of zukaang anastasia au for @zukaangweek uwu