#prep zuko

[ash-and-starlight]

The world needs more Yue and Zuko friendship, I squeal just thinking abt the parallels. They deserve a life changing field trip together and if u have abt ideas I’m all ears 👀

Hiii anon this ask fermented in my inbox and in my brain for so long,, so take this??? Post canon yue lives/no war au arts?? Anyway aside from the Parallels and their political position & their duty before hoes grindset I think they could learn a lot from each other. With zuko learning the gift of patience & diplomacy from yue & Yue learning that allowing yourself to feel anger and speaking up can actually be Good.

anyway hypothetical life changing trip outcome: zuko takes an intro gender studies class and yue says fuck

(oh and also must not forget the crush on sokka)

[petricorah]

comic wip: sokka's in art class and needs a muse [id in alt]

edit: completed comic here

[stardust948]

Prep Katara x Punk Zuko picrew

[autistic-zukoao3]

Reading Catcher in the Rye for the first time since high school.

Obviously, I have to listen to Pencey Prep seeing as the kid goes there.

[adriancatrin]

where’s that post about starfish sokka and rls zuko when u need it

[the-badger-mole]

Kindness of Strangers

Please pick up

I'm busy

I know, but this is an emergency

With shaking hands, Zuko found Mai's number and pressed the call button. It rang twice before her voicemail picked up. Zuko groaned and almost started crying.

Mai, pick up Seriously, it's an emergency I don't got out that often zuko. You can't let me have ONE night? Mai I think i need to go to the hospital My stomach. I think it's food poisoning or something Your stomach ache? Seriously? You're a big boy. You can handle an upset tummy Drink some tea

Zuko groaned again. It felt like something solid and hot was burning through his intestine. He tried calling Mai again. This time it only rang once before he was sent to voicemail.

Leave me alone! If you call again, I'm blocking you

Zuko dialed Mai once more. Sure enough, it went right to voicemail this time. She'd done it. Zuko felt bile rising in his throat along with panic. His uncle was out of town. Haru, his only other friend didn't have a car. An ambulance was out of the question. His father had removed him from the family insurance policy, and though his uncle was working on the details to add Zuko to his own insurance, that wouldn't kick in until the following month at least. All Zuko had in the meantime was the student insurance the university provided, and it didn't cover ambulance rides. That left just one option.

The unsteadiness of his legs was a bad sign. As was the way his stomach roiled in protest at the movement. The hospital wasn't far, though, Zuko reasoned. He made it to his door, then he stumbled out into the hall, not even bothering with his shoes. He heard a gasp, and realized his neighbor across the hall was there.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Zuko shook his head. Then, he doubled over and puked onto the tile floor. The neighbor-Zuko recalled he'd heard someone call her Katara.

"My stomach," Zuko groaned, clutching his side. Katara rushed over and tried to help him stand, but the pain wouldn't let him stand upright. He felt a cool hand against his forehead. Then is jerked away with a gasp.

"You need to go to the hospital!" Katara said. She pulled out her phone, but Zuko groaned and tried to stop her.

"No ambulance," he insisted miserably. "Can't afford it." Katara hesitated, and Zuko knew she was debating calling anyway. Finally she sighed and slipped his arm around her shoulders, and helped him into the elevator and into the parking lot.

"Don't you dare throw up in my car," she muttered, strapping him into the passenger seat of a small, blue sedan. She slid into the driver's seat and reached into the back. Zuko was vaguely aware of some rustling, but he didn't know what it meant until Katara passed him an empty plastic bag. She peeled out of the parking lot and raced the two miles to the hospital. The large, white building was in sight when Zuko made good use of the plastic bag. He was still clutching it minutes later when Katara helped him out of the car and into the emergency room.

The next bit was a blur. He was brought back to triage almost immediately where it was discovered he had a ruptured appendix. The words emergency surgery were the last words he heard clearly before he was being stripped, shaved and prepped for the OR. This, he would later decide, was a blessing. He hated hospitals, and this visit would've sent him into an anxiety spiral. As it was, he still had a moment of panic when he woke up attached to an IV and several upsetting sounding monitors, but the panic fizzled into confusion when he realized he wasn't alone in the room. Across from him, in the chair, his neighbor sat curled up under a thin blanket.

She must have felt him staring because she stirred, and then looked up at him. She blinked in confusion, trying to understand where she was and why, Zuko guessed. Then she smiled at him sleepily.

"The doctor said you'd be out a while," she told him. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I...yeah," Zuko said. He was fine, at the moment, though, he could feel the dull ache emanating from his side from where they'd taken his appendix out. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know who to call," Katara explained. "I thought you would probably prefer not to wake up in a hospital room alone. They said it was fine if I stayed."

"Oh..." Zuko eyes fell to his hand, to the needle and tube stuck into his skin. Whatever the IV was delivering seemed to be working. He was already feeling the haze of sleepiness creeping back in. "Thank you."

"No problem." Katara smiled warmly. "Is there someone you want me to call? I have your phone."

"Did..." Zuko swallowed hard. "Did anyone call me?" Katara glanced down at his phone and shook her head.

"No," she said. "You've only been here about three or so hours, though." Zuko sighed and let his head fall back. Mai hadn't called. He was irritated, but also a bit...relieved? That surprised him.

"Can you call my uncle?" he asked. He told Katara his passcode. As he drifted to sleep, he heard her telling his uncle that he was fine, and had already come out of surgery.

The next time he woke, the sun was up, and he was once again not alone. Iroh sat in the chair across from him, worry lines etched deep in his face. His entire body unclenched with relief when he saw Zuko open his eyes. He was, Zuko surmised, thinking of the last time he'd sat in a hospital room with his nephew.

"How are you feeling, Zuko?" he asked. He came up to Zuko's side and placed a hand on his wrist, careful not to disturb the medicine drip.

"Like lukewarm garbage," Zuko sighed. The events of the night before caught up to him and he jolted up, looking around. "Where's...?"

"That lovely young woman who brought you in?" Iroh chuckled. "She offered to stay, but she looked like she could use some rest. Very kind of her to sit with you."

"Yeah," Zuko agreed. Iroh cast him a sly look, one that Zuko was too heavily medicated to take heed of.

"She's very pretty, too," he commented offhandedly. "Even after spending the night sleeping in a hospital chair."

"She's too young for you," Zuko snorted.

"Indeed!" Iroh agreed emphatically. "But...she is just the right age for a handsome young man who happens to be studying at the same school and lives in the same building as her. One who now owes her a nice thank you dinner. One into whose phone I took the liberty of programing her number, and who should definitely call and let her know how he's doing."

"Uncle," Zuko groaned.

"I did tell her you would let her know you're okay," Iroh said. "I'm just saying."

"I'm dating Mai." That brought back the earlier portion of the night. Zuko looked around and grabbed his phone. Surely Mai had called him at some point. There was nothing from her. He tried calling her, but it still went straight to voicemail.

"Something wrong?" Iroh asked. Zuko sighed and shook his head.

"No, uncle. Nothing at all."

Zuko didn't hear from Mai until the following day. He hadn't tried to reach out to her again, so he didn't know when she had unblocked him. Suddenly, his phone started ringing and her name and picture showed up.

"Hello?" Zuko said groggily. He had been taken off the pain medication, but the effects hadn't worn off yet.

"Why is your door unlocked?" Mai asked. "Where are you?" Anger boiled up in Zuko's body, unhindered by the lingering drugs.

"The hospital," he told her dryly. "My appendix ruptured." He had at least the satisfaction of hearing her gasp.

"What hospital are you at?" she asked. "How long have you been there?"

"I've been here since I called you to tell you I needed to go to the hospital," Zuko snapped. Mai let out an irritated huff.

"Well, I would've come if you'd told me it was that serious," she said. "It just sounded like you were overreacting about a stomach flu! Where are you? When are you getting checked out?"

"They're discharging me tomorrow," Zuko told her.

"Do you need a ride home?" Mai asked.

"It's taken care of," he said, shortly. "Uncle's coming to get me, so you don't have to bother about it."

"Why are you being so bratty about this?" Mai demanded. "I said I was sorry!" She hadn't, but Zuko chose not to point that out.

"Where were you?" he asked instead.

"Out with friends." That answered absolutely nothing, but the tone of her voice told Zuko that was all the answer he would get.

"Whatever," he huffed. Mai was silent on the other end for a long moment.

"You want me to bring some food?" she asked. She sounded unusually subdued. "I can bring you something at the hospital, or I can make something for when you get back, tomorrow."

"It's fine," Zuko sighed. "I'm staying with Uncle for a few days."

"Are you going to be all mopey about this?" Mai demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko turned his head to scowl at his phone.

"You're doing that woe-is-me, kicked puppy voice you do," Mai said. "I'm sorry I didn't rush over when you called, but I had been drinking, so it's not like I would've been able to take you anyway."

"So instead of saying that, you blocked me?" Zuko's grip on the phone tightened, and he resisted the urge to hurl it across the room. Surely it shouldn't be this hard being in a relationship. Surely it shouldn't be a battle to get his girlfriend to be sympathetic to him after he almost died and needed emergency surgery. The machine monitoring his heartrate started making an alarmed beeping noise, and Zuko forced himself to take a deep breath.

"You know what?" Mai said quietly. "I'm going to let you go. Clearly you need some rest."

"Mai-"

"See you later, Zuko."

The call dropped. Mai had hung up on him again. Zuko's heartrate dropped to it's normal pace.

Mai didn't call again after that, and Zuko didn't call either. She sent him a few texts during the time that he was at his uncle's house recovering. He sent her very short responses. He was fine. He would be home after his stiches were removed.

A day or two into his stay, another message came through.

Hey Just wanted to see how you were doing This is Katara, by the way. Your neighbor Your uncle gave me your number Hope that's ok

Zuko was fine with it, it turned out. More fine than a man with a girlfriend should be, maybe.

When he finally returned to his apartment, his first call was to let Mai know hie was home. She didn't live far, and she wasn't busy. Fifteen minutes later, she was at his door, looking sullen and bored.

"Glad to see you're okay," she said.

"Yeah." Zuko led her into the apartment and sat at the table. Uncle had left him with cookies, among other assorted reheatable dishes. He offered one to Mai. She declined. Then there was nothing else to stall with.

"Why did you block me?" he asked Mai. There was no heat in his voice, no anger. He genuinely wanted to know. Mai scowled at him.

"Seriously? You're not over that yet?"

"I just want to know why," Zuko pressed.

"You were bugging me," Mai shrugged carelessly. "I was out with friends, and I thought you were just trying to get me to leave early."

"When have I ever done that to you?" Indignation flashed through Zuko, hot and bright. Mai just shrugged again. She sat back in her seat and folded her arms.

"I'm sorry, alright?" she huffed. "Can you just drop it now?" Zuko leaned back and studied Mai. He had been with her for five years. She was his first ever high school girlfriend. Had she always been so dismissive?

"I needed you," he said. That made Mai roll her eyes skyward.

"I promise it won't happen again," she said. Zuko shut his eyes and shook his head.

He had other questions. Lots of them. For one thing it occurred to him that she might be cheating, and the reason she refused to answer or come to him when he called was because she was busy with some other guy. It wouldn't have been the first time. He could ask and give her a chance to lie about it. He could even pretend to believe her. Or she might be telling the truth and he was wrong about her cheating. It didn't matter, he realized suddenly. Her answer didn't matter, so he wouldn't ask.

"It won't happen again," he agreed at last. "Mai... I think we should break up."

Zuko's next call was to Katara. The day after his messy break up with Mai, having cleaned up the remains of his cookies and the plate they were on, Zuko dialed Katara's number.

"Hello?" she said, sounding uncertain.

"Hey...um...Zuko here." Zuko's face flushed hotly when he heard her giggle on the other end.

"I know," she said. "I have your number, remember? How are you doing? Are you back?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'm back. I'm feeling a lot better. A little sore, but I can get around."

"I'm glad to hear it." And she sounded genuinely glad. "You didn't have to do all that to meet me, though. You could've just knocked on my door and said hi."

"And waste an opener like puking my guts and almost dying in your car?" Zuko was rewarded with another giggle. She had a nice laugh, he thought. It was so easy to talk to her.

"It was a memorable opener, I'll give you that," she said, laughing again.

"Yeah." Zuko swallowed hard against his suddenly dry mouth. "I was actually calling to thank you. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't been here."

"Don't worry about it," Katara said. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

"Yes, well..." Zuko chided himself for being such a coward, and he forced his next words out. "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me. To thank you! To say thanks for saving my life."

"Zuko, you don't owe me anything," Katara said gently. Zuko's heart fell into his stomach.

"Oh...I just thought I'd offer." He tried to keep his tone even and friendly as he hit his forehead with his other hand. Stupid. This was a stupid, stupid idea. "If you're not interested, I understand."

"I didn't say I wasn't interested," Katara said quietly. "Just that you don't owe me. I-I wouldn't mind having dinner with you. Just...you know, not as an obligation you think you owe me."

"Oh..."

Oh!

"What if it's not an obligation?" Zuko asked. "What if-I'm asking because I think you're kind and pretty and I'd like to get to know you better?"

Katara went silent for what felt like a nerve-wrackingly long time, but was likely just a few short seconds. Then she said the three sweetest words Zuko thought he'd ever heard.

"It's a date."

[punkeropercyjackson]

Punk culture is fundamentally misunderstood in fandoms because the most popular modern Atla headcanons are that Zuko would be a teenage dirtbag who's an outcast because he's a rebel against society,Aang would be an everyday boys boy and Katara would be a perfect traditionally feminine prep who's snooty and has no time for 'losers' but in the actual show Zuko's the son of the most politically powerful man alive that he did everything to please with the point of his redemption arc being learning TO rebel for what's right,Aang's a cutesy soft uwu ray of sunshine who only represses his femininity because he's gotten made fun of for it and it hurts his feelings and Katara is an instigator who breaks laws to help out struggling communities,refuses to fit into the box of what femininity is 'supposed to be' to reclaim her girlyness for herself and commits anti-imperialist war crimes nonstop starting at the age of 14

[allgremlinart]

listen. I know early s3 topknot Zuko is him at his most prep and, extremely arguably, his most frustrating, but. I'm also putting this on my underrated Zuko hair list. it was his stressed out daddy's boy hair and I don't think that should be overlooked !! is all

[theoriginalobsessed]

Been rewatching ATLA in prep for the new Netflix show, and I’ve just realized something

Bending lightning is described as creating an imbalance between positive and negative energy from uncle iron

That’s why Zuko could never bend lightning.

He’s destined to bring balance in his 2 negative and positive sides, and in the world, not imbalance

P.S. he’s good at redirecting lightning, like how he redirects his families negative impact on the world and turns it into something positive

[fabdante]

Smells Like Teen Spiri-

I'm so excited I can finally share the pieces I worked on for the @zutaracoloringbook !! This project was so fun and I got to break out my markers for the first time in a long time, which was really great.

For both of my pieces I wanted to play with the idea of the alt/prep, so first up is alt Zuko!

[earfgoddesss]

Honestly, I do headcanon Zuko to be a crossdresser, beginning in his early 20s. I like the idea of him choosing to present himself in a masculine as another attempt to gain his father's approval during his villain era. Before his redemption, he wanted his father to see him as a strong, ruthless man. In reality, he is selfless and does the right thing when given the choice, which aren't exclusively feminine traits,

After he fully deprograms himself and realizes how terrible his sperm donor was, his natural desire to appear more feminine really intensifies as a subconscious way to dismiss Ozai. Perhaps wearing makeup or a traditionally female hairstyle also helps when he looks in the mirror and sees a face similar to his abuser.

And aside from Ozai, I think that the identity he built for himself during his banishment (callous loner who has had to suffer to get anything he wants) also demanded him to present as this threatening swordsman, someone other soldiers or benders would see and know they have to keep themselves on guard.

I imagine in his twenties is when he realized that when he is picking out clothes to wear, there is a quick reflexive decision he has to make about what would make him look the most threatening vs. what he actually wants to wear, and he finally chooses what he wants. He is more confident in both his identity and his ability to kick ass.

Anyways, on a happier note, I really imagine him like a Chinese o Japanese empress. And then he has the swords on too so don't fuck with him. See under for examples of how I'd imagine he'd dress:

Historically accurate Japanese dress:

I don't know how accurate these are but they're really pretty and closer to how I imagine:

I will draw him this way soon! but I am real busy with zukaang week + AX prep :( sooooon

[klainelynch]

Hey friend! So I’ve been listening to a bunch of your Royai podfics lately and I just love them. Its the best way to get my fic fix while also being a productive adult lol. I’m blown away with how professional and polished your stuff is! You definitely could be recording full blown audiobooks, if you aren’t already! (And if you are, I’d love to know where to find those!)

I’m intrigued by your whole process: how you pick stories, record, edit, etc. Choosing when and where to use tone inflection, pacing, all that. You can fully nerd out if you feel like it! I’m so curious. ☺️❤️

Ahhhh what a wonderful message to find in my inbox!! 🥰🥰🥰 I'm so happy that my podfics have become something that you listen to in your daily routine! I don't record audiobooks or do this in any kind of a professional sense, but I do try to emulate what I love of different audiobooks/professional productions and other peoples' podfics, so your compliment means the world to me!

I started with a very stream-of-consciousness response and have tried to cohere it into something readable. You said I could fully nerd out, so here's over 2k of me taking you up on that xD

Choosing a fic:

I tend to gravitate towards fics that have more narration as opposed to dialogue. I love being in a character's head and fully living in their world and the way they experience it. When I am reading dialogue, I don't try to sound exactly like the voice actor (if it's from a tv show or movie) or adopt their accent, but I do try to embody the character in my voice, if that makes sense. If there are too many characters with dialogue, this gets difficult for me, which is why many of my solo podfics have two or fewer characters who speak, or why I create multivoice podfics with fellow podficcers.

In my podfic spreadsheet, there are several pages dedicated to fics that I'd like to record someday. Most of them are under 1k, though I do have a few that are around 3k (which would be on the longer side for me). I jot notes to remember what each fic is/what I would like to do with it—some examples of what those sound like with fics I haven't recorded yet: Zuko asks how Iroh survived when Lu Ten died because of Izumi feels; Al reflecting on Royai rebuilding Isvhal, no dialogue; Roy takes Riza out on a date (cover art would be a theatre program); good angsty Edwin moment after the boys come home (could have thunder in background); Ghost!Roy as Riza carried on, will need to build to this level of angst; Abbott Elementary book fair *chef's kiss*; Roy announces he’s engaged to some mystery woman but PSYCHE HE’S ALREADY MARRIED TO RIZA.

I used to have a pretty even split of recording fics with blanket permission versus asking authors for permission, but these days, I tend to be too lazy to ask lol. Not saying that I won't do it, but when the mood strikes me to record, I need to know pretty quickly if I can complete the project, and a bp statement really helps with that!

Prep work:

When I first began podficcing, I would put the entire fic into a google doc. This let me annotate the script for every little thing (highlighting dialogue, typing out phonetic pronunciations of difficult names/words, and putting spaces in between sections of text to help with breath control being the most common). The more I podficced, the less I had to annotate, until all I would do with my scripts was put in the spaces. I want my breath to be consistent/unnoticeable, so I read with that in mind. Often you can use the punctuation as your guide, but sometimes there are long stretches with no punctuation, and I have to figure out how a sentence should be cut up to make its meaning clear.

I didn't make these scripts for any of my solo podfics during Voiceteam this past May, and I still felt comfortable recording, so I think I may be past needing this tool for the most part. I just need to read through the fic a few times and look up any potential pronunciation issues right before I record.

Recording the podfic:

My early podfics were recorded with the microphone attached to my earbuds, and you can definitely hear it in the quality 🙈🙉 I did at least use a makeshift pop filter, so that helped with my plosives from the beginning.

After a few months, I got a blue snowball mic, which makes the quality so much clearer, and even more so once I got a computer that can run Audacity (more on why I love this program later).

I currently record in my closet, which is a long wide shape, so the doors don't close all the way when I'm inside of it. I shut them as best as I can to prevent outside noises, and I stand as I record. I used to sit at my desk with a soundproofing box around my mic, but I found it hard to get good breaths for long periods of time, so now I stand. The tradeoff is that I have to be wearing good shoes if I'm recording more than thirty-ish minutes (which could happen if the podfic is ultimately longer than twelve or so minutes because…)

My raw audio is usually at least twice as long as the final product. I often record several takes for lines, sometimes if I mess up, but usually if I don't think I captured the emotional quality that I can hear in my head when I read the line with my eyes. Sometimes it takes up to ten times for a line to feel right; other times, an early take ends up being the best one.

The previous point touches on how I handle putting inflection into my voice. The other part of it is thinking through how the speaker would say a particular word/phrase. If it's narration, I've emotionally been with that speaker for the entire fic, so I lean into that; if it's dialogue, it might be someone new, so I have to switch my brain. Either way, I have to (consciously or unconsciously) think through: 1. how would I personally say this? 2. how would the character say this? 3. how would the audience want to hear this? 4. how would the meaning be most effectively heard? Often there is overlap in these questions, but not always. If there's a conflict between these, I try to remember that my audience is probably just listening with their ears, not simultaneously reading with their eyes, so I need to prioritize their being able to understand what is happening and why. That's why I try to affect my voice in different ways and not literally mumble or shout, even if the fic has the character doing that.

Since you mentioned my Royai podfics, I will mention one way I distinguish their voices depending on who the narrator is. When Roy is the narrator, any of his dialogue is in my normal voice, and Riza's dialogue becomes slightly higher and slower; when Riza is the narrator, her dialogue is in my normal voice, and Roy's dialogue becomes slightly lower and faster.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to nail the first and especially the last line of a fic, so I will record a good number of takes for those. It's only happened once that I loved the first take I did of a final line. Sometimes I annoy myself at how many takes I record, but I'm thankful for the choices when I'm editing, so this is simply how I do things!

The hardest part of recording for me is keeping my voice quality consistent. I drink a lot of water throughout the day, but even so, I get dry mouth as I record, and once you're at that point, drinking more water doesn't really help. Tricks like chewing gum or brushing my teeth right before recording help me out.

Editing the podfic:

This has actually become my favorite part of the process! It feels like a puzzle and a treasure hunt, trying to find the best ways to pick out the best parts of my performance and turn it into a final product.

When I started podficcing, I had a chromebook, so the only audio editing software available was free online websites. I don't even remember the ones I used, but they did most of the things I wanted, and they let me get my foot in the door. The problem was that they were limited in tools, such as…

Noise reduction is my favorite feature of Audacity, which is the software I currently use. If you go back and listen to my podfics chronologically, you can clearly tell when I started using it because the general crackle in the background disappears. I have no plans to delete old pods, but it is as painful for me to listen to them for this reason as it is to reread fics I wrote in high school lol

The first round of edits is picking out the best takes for each line. Sometimes that means listening to several takes over and over before I choose my favorite; occasionally, I splice together the first half of one take and the second half of another. I'm very proud when I can do this with a single word and you can't tell the difference at all. I laugh when it sounds like I've done this with a word, but actually I just read it weird and I have no other take to substitute it with xD

Something else I do in the first edits is take out excessive space between sentences and paragraphs. I basically reset my breath/voice after every segment (could be a sentence or part of a sentence) so there's always extra space. I tend to edit down to one to two seconds between sentences, two to three seconds between paragraphs, and four to five seconds between entire sections of a fic. Of course, there are always exceptions (a character feeling very emotional, especially angry or excited, will have faster sentences; dialogue is formatted in paragraphs but it is inflection rather than time that indicates to the audience that a new paragraph/speaker has begun; an emotional line might require more space to let the audience process it).

Once I have all of the words edited together, I will do a second round of edits for tightening up the pacing. I listen to the edit without looking at the text, keeping my hands busy with a video game or coloring. As I'm listening, if something feels too fast or too slow, I'll make edits in real time, back it up, and listen again. The reason I can't read and listen during this pass is because my eyes are expecting too much and I can't properly hear what the audience will hear. When I began podficcing, I thought I had enough space in between words and sentences, but when I would listen back, I realized that I had cut too much out and the podfic's speed was faster than I liked. Now I leave more space in during the first edit and do this pacing pass.

Once I'm happy with the narration, I save it as a narration only file. I love adding in music and effects when I can, but I'm sure there are some who would rather only listen to the narration, so I make this available for accessibility and preference reasons.

I will usually make a final version with music and/or sound effects. This is one area where I'm specifically trying to emulate professional audiobooks and how they use music under the opening credits before fading out as the story begins.

Finding music is its own kind of scavenger hunt. I prefer to use public domain or creative commons music because it feels more true to the collaborative/transformative spirit that podfics have for me, and the idea of a podfic being taken down for copyright reasons does make me nervous. ccmixter and Purple Planet have a lot of songs that I've used in the past. The former has literally thousands of songs, which can overwhelm me if I'm working on a deadline, so I will sometimes just listen to random tracks and download anything that might be helpful in the future. That being said, if a fic uses a song lyric as a title or the author mentions a song as inspiration, I will try to use that song as the music if possible. I'm especially proud of how I used "Wait for It" at the end of An Endless Uphill Climb.

I use sound effects far less frequently than music, but they are fun when there is a natural place for them. I love the Star Wars audiobooks, and they often use sound effects and music in a way that heightens the emotions in the listener. That is always my guiding star, though I will admit to sometimes using effects just because they make me happy!

Cover art:

Like music/sound effects, this part is totally optional, but I usually do it because I have a lot of fun with it! I make everything in Canva, and again, I try to use public domain or creative commons images. Openverse is my go-to search engine because they make it really easy to tell which images I'm allowed to use in what ways. Sometimes I have a vision and try to find images to match; other times I have no idea and just see what I can find, or I can't find what I had in mind and have to switch gears.

Random facts that I couldn't find a spot for:

I learned how to read for an audience by being a lector at mass (reading either something from the Old Testament or something from the New Testament, other than the Gospels) in a church with lots of marble, which explains why I read on the slow side. Had to leave room for the echo before I started speaking the next line!

I've actually found that my own fic writing became easier to read aloud once I started podficcing. That doesn't make it better or worse—there are beautiful passages in literature/fic that are easier to read with the eyes than with the ears. But it is definitely a thing.

.

Thank you again for sending this ask! I hope this peek behind the curtain was interesting to you, even if it was probably far more than you were asking for xD And another thank you for listening to my podfics—it really does mean so much to me that something I've made can brighten up your day 💖

[petricorah]

hello, i love your art so much! can you do 11C with zuko?

i went a little extra with this one (thanks for the sweet ask!)

[ID: a comic featuring Azula, Zuko, Suki, Sokka, and Haru from Avatar the Last Airbender. In the first panel, Azula glares at Zuko and asks: "Brother, what are you looking at? Are you even listening?"

Zuko stares dreamily ahead, with a blush on his cheeks.

A closeup of Azula's eyes as she sees what Zuko is admiring. "Oh."

Suki, Sokka, and Haru are shown, and there is a brightness and focus on Sokka. They are dressed in athletic gear, and Sokka is grinning and gesturing as the other two smile and watch on.

"You're a fool, Zuzu," Azula finishes. /End ID.]

[stardust948]

Zutara being dorks

[mysticwolfshadows]

Taken - Zutara - Part 34

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They get as far from Gao Ling as they can, as quickly as they can. It's hard, since Toph definitely isn't taking well to flying. They have to stop a few times just so she can have a few minutes out of the saddle.

When they stop for the night, Toph flops to the ground, hugging the dirt, and pulling an Earth tent around herself. Katara frowned, seeing the younger girl not helping set up camp. She would normally refuse to feed such a freeloader, but Toph had a rough day.

"Here," Katara says, moving to sit by the entrance of Toph's tent. "I made you a bowl. But tomorrow, you'll need to help out."

"Help out?" Toph scoffs, even as she took the bowl from Katara. "What, your brother needs help unloading his weird smelling sleeping bag? I pull my own weight."

Katara's eye twitches, but she forces a smile even if Toph can't see it. "If you're going to pull your weight, then we won't have a problem."

Toph didn't stop Katara from walking away. Sokka, trying to convince Zuko to let him take seconds, took one look at his sister's face and fled. Aang made nervous laughter, and got up to 'find Momo', who was definitely in Appa's saddle. It was only Zuko who didn't flee, still at his spot by the cooking pot, using firebending to keep the pot warm without over cooking.

"Food or water?" Zuko asked, even as he ladled out a bowl for her.

"I'll meditate later," Katara grit out, though without as much bite as it would have been, and took her bowl. "I'm starving."

Zuko nodded, only serving himself once Katara had her own food. It was a show of respect, Katara had realized, a few days into their journey. Zuko had seen how she did all the cooking, and then only got what was left after making sure everyone else ate, so he made sure that Katara was never the last to be served.

"It looks like the bison might be shedding," Zuko said, conversationally. "When we have a moment, I think we should wash him. We don't want to leave a trail."

Nodding, Katara felt herself relax, and fell into easy conversation as they ate. She'd deal with Toph in the morning.

Except, she found that Toph was extremely stubborn.

When morning came, everyone set about to do their morning chores. Aang and Sokka would pack up camp now, at least most of it, while Zuko helped Katara with cooking. Toph, despite being asked to help move supplies, ignored every. "Not my stuff, not my problem."

And then, they started dishing out food. Aang and Sokka got their share, Katara got hers, and finally, Zuko got his. They doused the cooking fire, and set about eating.

"Hey!" Toph said. "Where's mine?"

"Your what?" Katara asked, eating.

"My breakfast."

Katara hummed, taking a bite of her food. "Sorry, but... Zuko and Sokka hunted for meat in it last night. Aang gathered the vegetables. And I made the food with Zuko's help. And... you didn't contribute."

Toph was gaping like a fish. "What, so you aren't going to leave any for me?"

"No, Toph. If you don't pull your weight, you don't eat. There's exceptions for when training Aang during meal prep, but... Aang wasn't training this morning. He was clearing camp so we can leave once we're done."

Toph fumed, but rather than cave and try to do something now, she huffed a whatever and plopped down on the ground turned away from them. When Sokka and Aang finished, they washed their dishes, and set to washing the cooking pots. When Zuko and Katara finished, they gave Sokka and Aang their bowls to wash, and started loading the cooking supplies onto Appa.

They climbed on, and Toph joined them, refusing to talk to anyone.

When they got off, Toph was clearly starving, eager to eat, but got a repeat of that morning. Aang unloaded Appa and set up tents, while Zuko and Sokka went hunting and gathering. Katara was busy prepping dinner, rinsing plates and setting up rice, and making sure that no meat touched anything Aang would want to eat.

And Toph did nothing to help. So she got nothing that was a team effort. She could slam dirt walls up as much as she wanted, but Katara wouldn't feed her.

It was much later, when Katara was laying down in her sleeping roll, tucked into one end of her tent, that she heard it. Zuko, walking across their campsite. She heard him plop down onto the ground, around where Toph's dirt tent was.

"What do you want?" Toph's grumpy voice asked.

Katara heard Zuko hum. "Just to talk."

"I don't want a lecture."

"Even it means I give you some food?"

Katara grit her teeth. Zuko knew what she said. How dare he decide to ignore her?

"Katara mentioned you said you would pull your own weight," Zuko started, then quickly said, "Just listen for a second." He took an audible breath and pressed on. "I understand pulling your own weight when you're alone. I'm sure you could. But we're part of a team. We need to help each other, so everyone is ready for what could come next, and so camp can run smoothly. If you're fine with a dirt tent, that's fine, but there's other things to do besides setting up tents. There's cooking, hunting, washing, unloading gear so Appa can rest. There's so much that needs doing, and we all benefit when it gets done."

"Except Queen Prissy won't let me eat. So I'm not benefiting from any of that."

"Did you cook?"

"No?"

"Did you hunt?"

"No..."

"Then why should you benefit from our work?"

"Because! I'm part of-" Toph cut herself off.

Zuko, sounding satisfied, replied, "You're part of the team?"

Toph didn't respond, but Zuko must have been finished. Katara heard him stand, and heard something touch the ground. "Here. Thanks for talking with me."

She listened as Zuko returned to his tent, the one next to hers, and then the camp was quiet.

In the morning, as Katara and Zuko are cooking breakfast, Toph uses Earthbending to lift supplies and Sokka, so the boy could toss bags into the saddle. When everyone comes back to eat, Katara makes a bowl for Toph, who scarfs the food down. Katara catches Zuko smiling, and she knows there won't be any more problems.

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[adriancatrin]

a day late but it’s Modern AU and Family Drama (sorta) for @zukkaweek !!!

sokka brings zuko home to meet the family, forgetting they’re the most embarrassing people ever

[image ID: bato, hakoda, sokka, zuko, and katara stand behind a countertop or table with food on it, as though they were prepping food. they are all in modern attire. bato says, “remember when sokka interrupted our meeting with the elders to ask if he “wiped good?” hakoda says, “and when he hid all the dirty laundry under katara’s bed and said he’d done it?” sokka, grimacing and blushing with his face in his hand, says to zuko “PLEASE don’t listen to them.” his hand is on zuko’s shoulder. katara is standing with her arms crossed and a smirk, with a little “heh.” zuko, lastly, asks sokka “but DID you wipe good?” / end ID]