Cloud You Absolute Queen - Tumblr Posts

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:

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