#atfap

[thetpot]

zukaang blue spirit oneshot is done! it’ll be up in the next few days along with the final chapter of after the flame, a pause to celebrate the end of the first longform fic i’ve written in 11 years :)

[thetpot]

chapter 10 of after the flame, a pause is up!

Zuko's pause extended for a few seconds and Ursa interrupted the silence with a polite clearing of her throat. "There now, that seems like an amiable offering."

"Mom," Zuko bit out.

"If one doesn't have anything polite to say, darling, it's appropriate to let the discussion end at an agreeable point. An offer of help seems like just that. Wouldn't you agree, Suki?"

Suki, whose face was turning red as she held back a horrified laugh, recovered enough to say, "Yes, Lady Ursa. Well said."

Ursa's smile was pleased as she drew Aang back into the conversation with a hand against his. "Suki is very good at skewing the odds in my favor. Feel free to cast your vote, Aang."

But Aang was looking only at Zuko, whose gaze seemed very far away just then. "That's alright, Lady Ursa. We'll leave Zuko a fighting chance."

"Very diplomatic," Ursa said warmly.

Suki slung an arm around Zuko's shoulder and squeezed him close. "Lighten up, Fire Lord Doom and Gloom. The savior of the world is right here, and look how good he looks. He's positively glowing! The sea air is doing wonders for you, Aang," she said with a lazy, self-assured smile.

Aang's cheeks warmed at the abrupt change in Suki's tact. If there had been any doubt about her knowing, it was thoroughly dispelled now. "Um, thanks, Suki."

"Yes, thank you for that very relevant observation, Suki," Zuko bit out, but he didn't make any move to extricate himself from her grip, and almost inexorably, his gaze rose to meet Aang's, a similar pinkness in his cheeks.

"There we go," Ursa said. "Much better."

[thetpot]

final chapter of after the flame, a pause is up!

no excerpts for this one because we’re in spoiler town, babey. but in summary, i am tired, i am emosh. most of all, i am thrilled that it’s done and very content with its final form. this fic has been on my mind in some way, shape or form since august of last year. and yes, i have a habit of time-tracking everything i work on ever since uni. and yes, this fic took 98 and a half hours to end up in its current form. is that a bizarrely long time? i have no idea. what i do know is that my brain is full of zukaang oneshots to help me transition out of the headspace of writing this fic and i am so excited to share them, starting with the blue spirit oneshot coming this week. 

[thetpot]

chapter 9 of after the flame, a pause is up!

In the length of time it took Suki to settle next to Zuko, Aang realized that he'd invited Suki to a breakfast that hadn't arrived yet. He paused by the door, scratching his head, but Zuko seemed to understand and said, "It'll be here in a bit. Aang and I were just discussing Zhang Wei."

Suki responded with a mighty yawn. They waited in amused silence for her to settle before she finally said, "I didn't ask what you two were doing. I'm a little disappointed that I barged in here though. I only did it because I thought you actually had food," Suki said. Zuko glared at her and she smiled back, undeterred. "You're just upset I can always tell when you're lying."

"Yes, I am, Suki. I'm also upset that you're awake so early," Zuko intoned.

"I'm always awake this early. The only difference today is that I caught you in Aang's room at sun-up in yesterday's clothes with your crown piece askew."

Aang was glad there was no food just then because he was certain he would have gracelessly choked. As it was, he'd barely registered Suki's words before Zuko bit out, "It's called a sleepover, Suki. I'm sure you and your warriors have plenty of them."

[thetpot]

chapter 8 of after the flame, a pause is up!

Zuko's voice cut through the roar of Aang's thoughts. "I should have invited you to my meetings these past two days," he said haltingly. "I broke with tradition and I shouldn't have. Things are… different now."

"Your people think I'm an Earth Kingdom agent?" Aang said with a humorless laugh.

"Some probably do."

Aang searched for the joke in Zuko's delivery and didn't find it. "If we're talking about breaking with tradition, I sort of broke it first by not visiting for a year."

Zuko's smile came easier as he said, "There is no tradition of the Avatar visiting the Fire Nation in anyone's living memory. Tradition is what we've made it in the past ten years. Maybe the Avatar just takes a year off every ten years. There's a new tradition."

Aang laughed. "That's generous."

"I have a meeting with Zhang Wei tomorrow. You should join us," Zuko said.

The question rose unbidden to Aang's tongue. "Are you doing this because Ursa asked you to?"

Alarm spread over Zuko's face before a flush of embarrassment rose to join it. "Has she been talking to you too?"

"No, I just… heard some things."

"Suki," Zuko said matter-of-factly and didn't wait for confirmation before pushing on. "No, it's not just because of my mother. It's the right thing to do. I was angry, maybe I still am, but…" He sighed and glanced up at Aang, as if for help.

"It's a step in the right direction," Aang said.

[thetpot]

seven sentences game

rules: post the last 7 sentences you wrote and tag 7 people

thanks for the tag, @the-cloud-whisperer! this came at a good time. luckily, the last 7 sentences i wrote don’t contain any major spoilers for after the flame, a pause, only a suggestion of where the story is headed - but if you’d like to avoid knowing anything at all, feel free to scroll on by. this is from chapter 11. 

Zuko caught only a few moments with Suki before her days were consumed by meetings with the palace guard. All over the city, unnoticed except by those who knew what to look for, security measures tightened. The days ticked past and the palace guard in Suki's meetings were replaced by the Fire Nation's elite spies; whatever security discussions happened there had her returning with shadowed eyes. Zuko didn't ask, and she didn't tell.

The Earth King's delegation, led by Shen, arrived and was welcomed with a banquet. The Avatar's absence was a point carefully skirted past by all parties involved. The dinner concluded with the intention of commencing negotiations the following day and Zuko was numb with exhaustion, too tired to feel worry, too tired to feel surprise, when he returned to his chambers to find Aang perched on his bed.

i’m tagging @praetorqueenreyna, @lady-tortilla-chip, @thinkingisadangerouspastime, @slpytea, @foxy-knowledgeseeker, @irresistible-revolution, @richardcampbellganseytheiiird. feel free to ignore :)

[thetpot]

oh please talk abt any headcanons or director’s cut for atfap i would love to know anything u didn’t include. also, ur writing is beautiful especially how u write zukaang i have been eagerly waiting each new ch of aftap i’ll be so sad when it’s over 😭

oh MAN, i’ll be so sad when it’s over too. 😭

vague spoilers for after the flame, a pause below

the two major changes in atfap from initial draft to final draft were in chapters 8 and 10.

chapter 8 initially was just aang and zuko talking on the floor of his room and it ended with zuko cutting himself off as he says he's tired of making mistakes, aang not comforting him and zuko heading to bed. at that time, my intention was for aang to confess his feelings after zhang wei's revelation in chapter 9.

on re-evaluating the scene, it was nonsensical to me to do it that way because of how intimate their conversation in chapter 8 was. with the way the scene actually turned out on paper, them not admitting it to one another in chapter 8 didn't make sense anymore.

in chapter 10 after the dinner, in the initial draft, zuko goes back to his room and the first thing he does is apologize to aang. it ended up sapping all the momentum from the conflict between them. in the final draft, that friction plays out for a little while longer and aang has to actively resolve the issue between them because it's clear that if he waits for zuko, it will be too late - both personally and politically. it also allows final-draft-zuko the opportunity to make more narratively interesting mistakes.

there was also a sparring scene between aang and zuko in chapter 9 that i ended up cutting. i removed it to make the transition from idyllic morning to things kicking off in the meeting with zhang wei a little bit snappier. it's a shame because i really love that scene but it didn't fit anymore at that point of the timeline. i'm going to end up writing it as a companion one-shot to atfap, set at a different point in the story.

when it comes to the nsfw elements, my hc is that zuko has been awed by aang's power from afar for so long that given the chance to experience it in an intimate setting, he wants aang to overwhelm him - hence the pinning of the hands, the hair pulling, the temperature play and the bruise from the desk. zuko wants aang to hurt him, and aang knows it, hence the reference to the 'push and pull' aang notices in the bath.

thanks for the ask and your kind words, anon! :) i’m so glad you’re enjoying the fic <3