fresh-shoes - Tumblr blog

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i can’t stop drawing ATLA 🫣

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sokka: i have feelings for you.

zuko: what? why? what's wrong with you? are you sure you're okay? did you hit your head?

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Zuko's Actor Can't BELIEVE Sozin Fucked That Old Man

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idk how the zukkas did it but "prison break" is a major genre in zukka fics and the big ones are nowhere near The Boiling Rock.

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pretty sure both photos are from dallas’s ig (the first one definitely is, don’t remember where the second one’s from)

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Alone Time 🌿🎑

Team Avatar had been travelling through the Earth Kingdom for weeks, in search of adventure. Zuko and Sokka had faced many challenges together, and now they walked through the dense forest, feeling a sense of peace wash over them finally. As they hiked, they approached a small stream flowing through the woods, and they let themselves be guided by the dancing leaves that raced ahead of them until they stumbled upon a secluded hot spring nestled among the trees.

The steam rose around them, and they shared a knowing smile before slowly undressing weeks of adventure, their soft gazes never leaving each other.

The warmth of the water embraced them, and they felt their bodies relax with each other's soothing touch. Sokka reached out and tenderly ran his fingers through Zuko's ebony hair, feeling the warmth of the spring mingling with the heat of their exposed intimacy like fuel to a fire. Zuko leaned into the gentle touch, his eyes closing briefly as he savoured the closeness of the moment and allowed himself to sink. They moved closer together, their bodies fitting perfectly, sharing soft, slow kisses, the water embracing them like a cocoon of love.

They bided their time,

In the quiet of the forest, surrounded only by the beauty of nature, Zuko and Sokka let go of the worries of the world, basking in the simple joy of being alone together. With each touch and whispered word, their connection deepened, binding them together in a love that transcended time and space. As they lost themselves in each other's embrace, they knew that at this moment, they were exactly where they wanted to be – together.

The sound of the forest and the gentle touch of the water made them feel like they were in a world of their own, where nothing else mattered. They felt their hearts beating in unison, and they knew that they had found something special in each other. It was a moment that they would never forget, a moment that would stay with them forever.

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Jet from atla is so funny bc like, he's fighting zuko and taunting him being like "bet you wanna use some fire instead of those swords, dont u fireboy" which is a funny thing to say to a guy who is clearly very eager to fight using swords

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Water, Earth, Fire, Air... AND BOOMERANG!! tsuyonpu market reopens tomorrow!! And this will be a brand new special print I'll have available!! I'm so excited, drawing this was so challenging but also fun!

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Honestly it's giving my Serbian ass and Bosnians😭🙏

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i colored in the dragon babies its mimis time for them 🐉💤

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Does anyone ever think about how the Blue Spirit was a pre-established character before Zuko?

Like, the headlines in the fire nation would have basically read, "Phantom of the Opera breaks recently captured Al Capone out of jail."

That must have been a weird day.

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Saw someone make this incorrect quote so I had to draw them

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sokka: crushes are the worst. whenever i'm near mine, i start acting stupid. zuko: you always act stupid. sokka: haha don't think about that too hard! [runs away] zuko: zuko: wAIT-

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Hello there! I was wondering if you had any plans to make a sequel to Fire and Water? No pressure! Just curious.

Definitely! Unfortunately, I've been pretty stuck on the beginning of the next part, but I can share a bit of it? This book is going to be more about Earth and Air, while last one was Fire and Water (thus the titles.... 😅), so we're starting to explore the mythos around the Spirits of Earth. I have a lotta vague plans, but not a lot solid on that, so should be interesting to see how it shakes out.

I hate tumblr formatting with my whole heart, so I'm just gonna stick this under a cut. Warning: it is not very long, sorry.

The mood in Atuat was upbeat and fond as the dance party that had overtaken the settlement finished their last move, led by the Fire Prince and the Avatar. Said Fire Prince was still blushing over all the attention, but he was also smiling when his crew approached him. 

“So, where are you headed next, sir?” Crewman Taka asked.

“We’re going to Omashu to ask the King if he’ll teach the Avatar earthbending,” Zuko said. “Should be interesting.”

“Are you… going in disguise?” Ensign Sana asked, concern in her voice even as she leaned into her husband’s side.

“Hmm. Good question,” Zuko responded, not actually having thought that far ahead. “Probably? I mean, it’s the Earth Kingdom.”

“Well, good thing you’re Water Tribe now, then,” Sokka said. “You can just be Kala, it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Zuko shrugged. 

“We can tell Bumi, though,” Aang said, confidence in his voice. 

“You sure about that?” Katara asked, something dubious in her voice. “I mean, I guess he didn’t seem particularly anti-Fire Nation, but hasn’t Omashu been fighting off the Fire Nation for like a hundred years?”

“Yeah,” Zuko agreed. “Pretty notoriously.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Aang said, that same confidence still in his voice. “Bumi won’t care. Me and him and Kuzon were inseparable a hundred years ago!”

Zuko frowned. That name was familiar. And not just because it was a pretty common one in the Fire Nation. No, Aang had mentioned that name to him before, when talking about–

“Kuzon was your friend in the Fire Nation a hundred years ago?”

“Yep! I mean, not my only one – I knew a lotta people in the Fire Nation! But me and Kuzon and Bumi, we were best friends, you know? All three of us.” Aang smiled softly, eyes distant. Then he shook himself. “So Bumi would never hold being Fire Nation against anyone!”

Zuko shared a doubtful look with Sokka. “I mean,” Sokka started hesitantly, “that was a hundred years ago, before the war.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Aang said firmly. 

“Actually,” Uncle cleared his throat, “Aang is correct. King Bumi is… eccentric, certainly. But I do not believe he would take offense at your bloodline, Prince Zuko.”

“You… know him?” Zuko asked in surprise.

“I do. Bumi is a member of the Order of the White Lotus,” Uncle said quietly. “He has been for many, many years. In fact…” he trailed off, glancing around them at the many, many listening ears.

Zuko, who didn’t much care about the Order of the White Lotus’ secrecy, arched an eyebrow in demand.

Uncle sighed heavily. “It was Pakku who brought me into the fold,” he said, keeping his voice quiet. “But it is thanks to Bumi that I am where I am today.”

Zuko’s crew, who may not have actually known about the Order of the White Lotus, mostly just looked confused. 

“And where is that?” Sokka asked, head cocked in curiosity. 

“Ah.” Uncle coughed. “I am the Grand Lotus.”

Zuko blinked. “What does that mean?”

Ku – the construction waterbender who’d initially revealed the Order of the White Lotus to Zuko and the others leading the refugees from the Northern Water Tribe who had ultimately settled Atuat under Chief Yue’s leadership – cleared his throat. “The Grand Lotus leads the Order,” he said delicately.

Zuko blinked again. “Wait. What!?”

“I joined the Order under the leadership of the last Grand Lotus,” Uncle said softly. “They weren’t delighted by who I was, but I was accepted as an initiate. Then…”

“Then Grand Lotus Zexian died,” Ku filled in. “Everyone expected that King Bumi would be the next Grand Lotus. But then King Bumi nominated…”

“Me,” Uncle finished. “It was a difficult transition, but Bumi’s word and confidence counts for a lot. Not just as King of Omashu, but as… well, Bumi.”

Zuko frowned. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of Uncle being the leader of his stupid Pai Sho club full of gossips. 

“It’s still weird to think of Bumi as King,” Aang said quietly. “When I knew him, he was just a kid living in Omashu, you know? Except, well. Bumi never had a family or a house or anything. He would say that all of Omashu was his home.”

“King Bumi was homeless?” Zuko repeated, surprised.

“He didn’t live anywhere, he would say. He lived everywhere.” Aang shrugged. “He was always really good at taking care of himself. And when we were all together, Monk Gyatso would take care of us.” He curled in on himself, grief on his face. “I miss that.”

“So,” Sokka coughed. “What happened to Kuzon?”

“He spoke out against the Genocide of the Air Nomads,” Uncle said, voice solemn. “Then he left the Fire Nation and joined Bumi. Together, they’ve ruled Omashu for almost a century and successfully fought back the Fire Nation advance.”

“Whaaaat?” Sokka frowned. “There was no old Fire Nation guy in Omashu when we were there!”

“He was traveling,” Aang whispered. “Bumi told me. I hope maybe he’s back. I wanna see him again.”

No one quite knew what to say to that.

“So, you’re going to Omashu to see if this King Bumi can teach the Avatar earthbending?” Crewman Saizu asked eventually.

“Yeah,” Zuko agreed. “The King of Omashu is supposed to be the best earthbender in the world.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“So… what do you actually know about the Earth Kingdom?” asked Aimeru, one of the leaders of the troops that had defied the invasion. 

“What do you mean?”

She let out an ‘I dunno’ noise. “Never been there. Always preferred the threat of drowning to getting my limbs crushed.”

Zuko winced, but from the murmuring around them, she was far from the only one to feel that way. He himself had been around the Earth Kingdom a little bit – but he’d hardly been doing cultural research during that time. Which meant their best sources for information were Aang, who had traveled the whole world a hundred years ago, and Uncle, who had led the Fire Nation’s advance across the Earth Kingdom and held their capital under siege for 600 days.

“The Earth Kingdom is quite varied,” Uncle said slowly. “By sheer territory, it is the largest nation there is. However, the Earth King is not so centrally followed, as in the Fire Nation. Indeed, it is said that outside of Ba Sing Se, the Earth King’s power is quite limited, ever since they withdrew all military support from most of the continent. Their defenses are concentrated around Ba Sing Se – but that means that places like Omashu are more or less completely sovereign.”

“I dunno about any of that,” Aang said, “but even a hundred years ago, Omashu was kinda separate. I remember people there used to be mixed about the idea of following a distant Earth King, when their King was supposed to be the most powerful. But Oma and Shu bequeathed the line of the Earth Kings with power over the whole continent, including Omashu.”

“Really? Why?”

Aang shrugged. When they all turned to Uncle, he shrugged too. 

“If that knowledge was ever known, it has now been lost,” Uncle said solemnly.

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tfw you’ve been tasked to murder the prince of the northern water tribe but he’s really majestic

(they make a compromise)

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sokka: are we fighting or flirting?

zuko: i'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-

sokka: your point?

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Director's cut of Pu-on Tim's The Boy in the Iceberg before Zuko banned the play indefinitely