#pokidokieships

[zkfanworkweek]

ZFAW Content Creator Interviews: @PokiDokies

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the fourth interview in this cycle, we have up-and-coming artist Lev, aka @pokidokieships - she can also be found at @pokidokies on Instagram and @zk_dokies on twitter!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

Zutara has been a ship that I have loved for a long time, but it wasn’t always that way haha.  When I first watched the show, I was really young and I just went with kataang because it was  canon in the end. When I got a bit older and rewatched the show, I was instantly drawn to  zutara and the incredible wasted potential it held. I discovered tumblr and read tons of well  written meta (because I am a nerd) that explained why their relationship worked so well. I also  noticed what had become of Katara, a character I admired very much growing up, and wasn’t  too happy about that. Zutara portrays such a balanced and dynamic relationship, with mutual  growth on both ends. It is a relationship built on redemption, understanding and sacrifice and I  just think that’s beautiful. It also involves a strong brown female character, and I would have loved to see her in a relationship with someone who treated her as an equal. Someone who was  willing to help her get closure regarding something so traumatic in her life and even risking his  life for her. I’m a Katara stan first and I feel like zutara is a healthy relationship that does not  take away her agency as a character. She is allowed to be angry and hurt, and I liked that we got  to see that side of her and see that Zuko did not judge her in that state, and be there by her  side. We have also seen how Katara is emotionally supportive when Zuko is in doubt. I believe Zuko and Katara deserve the best and that is each other.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The revival of the ATLA fandom made me fall back really deep into this ship. Unfortunately, I  noticed that it was getting a lot of hate and there wasn’t much new content being generated for  this ship. I also noticed a lot of people misunderstanding why people like this ship, stating very  shallow reasons and using it as an excuse to bash people who like it. So, I decided to create the  zutara content that I wanted to see. I like to Katara and Zuko in a really cute and healthy  relationship in my art, because these kids have been through so much. I never expected so  many people to like it though! That was such a pleasant surprise and I could not be more  thankful! I got really involved with the zutara fandom and made so many friends through my art  and mutual love for the ship. This support, along with my love for this ship, inspires me  everyday to make content for the pairing. Happy to announce that there will be a lot more  zutara art to come!

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

To be honest, if anyone wrote fanfiction based on one of my drawings I would be over the moon! Most of my drawings of the pair are scenes that I make up myself or are based on popular zutara headcanons. I would love to see someone write a fic that incorporates those scenes/headcanons and expand on them a little more. If anyone ever decide to do that, let me know

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

My advice would be, no matter how nervous you are, just post it. Just put it out there! I  guarantee that your work would make, at the very least, one person super happy. If you love a fandom/ship/character and create something out of that love, it will show in your work. People  will appreciate that. Another important thing is to make content that YOU want to see! Sometimes, you gotta feed yourself because nobody else caters to your niche interests. Trust  me, it makes everything more fun when you look at it that way.  

5. What is your favorite Zutara-related thing you’ve made and why is it special to you?

My favourite Zutara art that I’ve made is one that I drew for day one of Zutara Week 2020. The  prompt was “Reunion”. I had made a few zutara drawings before this one, but I especially loved  this because I was able to create an expression of utter love on Zuko’s face as he held his arms

out to embrace Katara. I also loved how Katara looks so excited to see him haha. For some  context, Katara and Zuko barely interacted in the comics that came after the show ended (and  we all know why). So, I decided to draw these two in the outfits they wore in the comics! This  was also the first prompt of Zutara Week 2020, so I wanted to make it really special. Realistically, these two would be so busy after the war. They probably write letters to each  other and when they finally reunite, they would be ecstatic. I drew a second picture of them  already embracing as a little treat hehe. The soft colours and the fondness between the two  makes it the favourite drawing I’ve ever done!

6. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven’t gotten around to making?

There’s actually so much that I have planned! One good thing about zutara not being canon is  that the fandom has come up with so many cute headcanons! Zutara is a ship filled with so  much potential so there’s just so much content to make. I haven’t gotten around to designing  their steambabies yet, so I have that planned. Mama Katara and Papa Zuko is a concept that  cann be so personal to me. They would make such good, loving parents. You can definitely look  forward to some cute family drawings in the future. Maybe draw the whole family playing with  some turtle ducks by the pond? Their kids would be so beautiful too I can’t wait to design them!  I have more stuff planned of course, but this is a concept that I have been wanting to do for a  while now hehe.

7. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so, want to give us a hint as to your plans? 👀

I am not sure if I’m going to participate in ZFAW, only because I may be busy with university  projects at the time. However, I may try and do one or two of the prompts if I have the time! I  plan to make everything cute and fluffy as usual, and maybe a little angst too.

[splashtailstar]

[ID: Digital fanart of Katara and Zuko. They are standing back to back and are ready to fight. Katara is smiling to the right and her arms are surrounded in water. Zuko looks forward to the right with a determined expression. A blast of flame is coming from his fist. /End ID] @atladescribed​

On their way to kick ass

[elefaint]

Ok i’m obsessed with this amv/fancam, op captured the little glances between zutara so well?? and all their little moments are cut between lingering shots of the crystal catacombs, when it was then unclear how their relationship would turn out. I’ve had it on repeat and it’s so well done!

If op posted this on tumblr, let me know because I’d love to reblog it here, thanks!

[burst-of-iridescent]

Hello! I just got into the Zutara ship recently and discovered the Tumblr community, and it's really amazing how much content and amazing blogs there are. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for blogs with good meta/fic/fanart just good Zutara content basically!

Thanks! :)

hi anon! welcome to the zk community!

i want to preface this by saying that this community is absolutely overflowing with talent. everyone that i've interacted with has been so lovely and wonderful and i'm constantly stunned by the quality of the content that comes out of this fandom. if i could mention every single zk blog i would, but unfortunately i can't, and it does not mean that anyone i don't mention isn't worthy of following or "less than" or anything of the sort. this fandom wouldn't be the same without every single one of the beautiful people in it.

i strongly recommend that you check out the zk tag and curate your own personal taste from there as well anon, but here are some blogs to start you off with:

meta: @firelxdykatara @sokkastyles @araeph @theotterpenguin @canonspyglass @the-badger-mole @marsreds

fic: @stars-and-darkness @soopersara @thevictorianghost @thebluesunflower44 (i usually find my zk fic on ao3, so if anyone wants to add on writers who are on tumblr please feel free!)

artists: @lotustiled @feeplings @ecaworks @risemaclay @pokidokieships @peartarts @perfectlypanda @pineapple-frenzy

and some of my other favourite people: @legendofnora @juldooz-atla @katara-stan-club @kaligraphy

have fun, anon! we're very happy to have you here <3

[marisdumbdrawings]

Zutara Month Day 17 & 27: Cherry Blossoms🌸 + Flower Language🌼

~click for better quality~

He's giving her a fire lily that symbolizes love and passion ❤

Style inspo: @pokidokies / @pokidokieships their art is amazing and adorable 💖 I love it so much even when it's not atla/Zutara related

[fireladyfae]

–> *Artist Spotlight!* Today’s artist spotlight features @pokidokies !

Pokidokies says…

⚜️When you share my art, please include my art name and tag me!

⚜️If you are unable to be *TAGGED* for any reason, is it still ok to share your artwork? **Yes, as long as my name somewhere in the post.**

⚜️What is your preferred medium & how long have you been working with it? I prefer drawing digitally (medibang or procreate are the programs I use!)

⚜️Do you create art in other mediums? Yes, I do draw traditional art but not often.

⚜️How long have you been creating Zutara art? For a long time but I only started posting them often last year

⚜️Do you have a redbubble or donation site? Sadly no! I never got around to making one yet but maybe in the future?

⚜️Do you take requests or accept commissions? I don’t take requests but I do open up commissions from time to time.

⚜️Do you have any other platforms you would like others to check out? I have a tumblr, pokidokieships and a Twitter, pokidokies.

⚜️What is your country of birth and what is your first language? :) ❤ Country of birth is Malaysia and my first language is English.

👉 Be sure to click her link to give her a follow and check out ALL of the Awesome art there! :D

✨A BIG THANK YOU! To Pokidokies for agreeing to be featured in our Artist Spotlight! Through this questionnaire, we hope to help the fans better understand the artists and how they wish to be respected. ♥ 〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️ 🔥Check out our other posts for even MORE Zutara Goodness! 💕 〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️ #ZutaraForever! 🔥❤💧 #Zutara #Zutara2021 #ZutaraNation #ZutaraArt #ZutaraArtistSpotlight #ZutaraFanArt #DanteBascoIsOurCaptain #MaeWhitmanIsOurFirstLieutenant https://www.instagram.com/p/CRT8FoAFbrn/?utm_medium=tumblr

[fibonaccifandomz]

We're starting today off with my fave Zutara blogs, though again, this is by no means an extensive list.

@doodleladi @dumbassdeny @pokidokieships @rideboldlyride @steambend @thinkingaboutzutara @zutara @zutaraweek

[heavensenthearty]

— Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2), Leigh Bardugo.

For @pokidokieships, some Kanej x Zutara love 😘

[pineapple-frenzy]

Zutara accounts to follow?

I mostly follow artists but here are some of my favorite zutara blogs

@firelxdykatara @rllyjohnrlly @starry-nights12 @my-bated-breath @becasart @peartarts @pokidokieships @astrocitosart @avenuecab @sorryevie @wishlaced @antarcticasx @firelord-hotman @jerkbend @zutarawasrobbed @zukos-calming-tea

These are just the ones that I can remember at the top of my head but there are still other really great blogs that weren't included

Hopefully this was helpful tho

[sup-geek]

The art is just adorable and seeing Katara flustered is always a plus! Keep up the good work, @pokidokieships.

This was a completely self- indulgent comic...

I just wanted to draw Katara being the flustered one for once hehe. Also, Toph knows ALL, Toph sees ALL.

[zelzenik]

dear katara

zk fanwork appreciation week day 3: fanart tuesday

my contribution to @zkfanworkweek for today!!

based on art by @pokidokieships here & here!!

"That blue twinkle in her eyes is dangerous, he decides. It almost makes him want to… He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. The road. He has to focus on the road."

In other words, how a troubled punk rocker finds love with the captain of the debate team (through car rides and a letter and a little help from their friends).

click here to read! (other notes down below and on ao3)

happy zk fanwork appreciation week!! i was lowkey oblivious to this event (because i've been drowning in school n my other wips), BUT yesterday at approximately 6pm, i decided that i had to do this and basically grinded this all out until the wee hours of the morning, haha. 6k words in like... record time, lol.

i hope everything makes sense (it's a tol oneshot, and i didn't outline like i normally do before writing).  all of my other wips will be taking a backseat this week as i try to keep up ;)

this fic is for lev/pokidokies on tumblr/instagram!! i've only really been actively involved in the zk fandom for the past two/three months now, but she's created a lot of the zk art that i first really fell in love with! she's unbelievably talented, and i'm a HUGE fan of her work. she’s a straight BLESSING to the zk fandom, n i hope i was able to do her adorable hs universe justice <333

(also yes, i listened to a punk rock playlist while writing most of this, and yes, most of the part names come from punk rock song titles/lyrics, lol).

what a ride. i am exhausted. anddd...back to my derivatives i go, lol. see u soon!

elsie/zel

[heavensenthearty]

I seriously feel your “I’m out post”. That being said do you have any recommendations for atla blogs (not necessarily limited to Zutara) that are just positive and fun? I’m tired of the discourse. So tired. I don’t care if I agree with it or not, it’s taxing for me. Just seeing it now drains me. I just wanna enjoy a show I love not be bombarded with toxicity. I appreciate the blogs that fight against it but that still means I have to see it if I follow them and I can’t deal with it anymore.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this, fandom is supposed to be a place to have fun and not one where your mental health is harmed. I'm afraid I don't really know many discourse-free blogs because, despite everything, I am an opinionated person by nature and I feel naturally drawn to debates — as long as they are open-minded and mentally stimulating. But some of my fave blogs are much about positivity and writing and cute fanarts than what they are about refuting theories. Let's see:

@bidisasterforzutara (best transformative Zutara positivity around)

@pokidokieships

@markedmage

@hayleynfoster

@antarcticasx

@sorryevie

Maybe they can help you to improve your fandom experience! 😉

[ap-kinda-lit]

Aww! Thank you!

@kaligraphy @breakfastatpichus @oooameonna @asongofhopeandjoy @behindheremeraldeyes @hayleynfoster @becasart @pokidokieships @daarlingjuliet @astrocitosart

Tag a quality blog, You’re it! Quality doesn’t mean that you have a lot of followers, or a lot of messages. It means that you’re nice to other people, and you deserve to be happy. If you get this message, someone is telling you that they love you as you are, and they don’t care how many followers you have. Send this to 15 blogs who deserve it. If you break the chain, nothing will happen. But it’s just good to let someone know that you love them. ♥️❤️💛

ok lemme just

@weird-questions-from-an-infp-t @situationallyintelligent @lust-the-patches-ito-simp @always-bi-myself-anxiety @make-things-make-sense @going2hell4everythingbutbeingbi @littlemoondarling @marvelandnothingelse @fluxite @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo @chaoticwitch22 @rxd0nmyledger @i-am-an-abyss-of-gender @10x02 @pond-porridge

i really hope that’s 15 but i have no math skills. but anyway. these are some of the nicest people i’ve ever met. love y'all (/p)

[heavensenthearty]

Zutara blogs to follow?

Mmmm 🤔🤔...

I guess my answer would be just some of the crowned Zutara blogs around. (I mean, they have earned that crown.)

@zutarawasrobbed is just one of the most passionate people that I know, and they are so brave and kind for confronting all the awful, awful, awful takes about "colonization" and "racism" within the ship. I feel so identified and listened to when they reply defending fans of color, especially brown people like me.

@firelxdykatara is also one of the most opinionated, strongest people that I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure she's one of the pillars that keep this fandom on its feet. And she's unbelievably smart on top of everything!

Speaking about smart, @my-bated-breath has some of the most rational metas around and they are so open-minded they can see so many points for different characters in the same story.

I don't think I can call it too much of a Zutara blog, but @araeph also has some of the most amazing meta, too! Her writing are just classics by this point.

As for the fanarts, my personal favorites are @wishlaced and @pokidokieships, I hope my own drawing will reach their level one day; and @pineapple-frenzy and @sorryevie have such amazing creativity and imagination.

Shout-out to all of them!!

[becasart]

Ahh, tysm for including meeee 💕 adding on some really cool people:

☆@doodleladi @favlie @nymre @beanaroony @owedbetter @wishlaced @soopersara @peartarts @silima @astrocitosart @pokidokieships @avenuecab @akingdreams @dumbassdeny @hayleynfoster

A few of these talented people mostly do general atla content or are in other fandoms as well but wow all of these people's stuff are just so sO SO !!!! *chef's kiss* wowoowowow and aND AND!! *chef's kiss again*

hiii i’m new to tumblr (also i’m a big fan of ur work!!) and i was wondering if u know any blogs to follow 😳😳 preferably zutara, sukka, taang, mailee blogs 😌 i want to get to know the fandom on here :D

hi!! i honestly only really know zutara blogs so i’m just gonna drop a ton of people here aha. also thank you and i hope you have an awesome time here!!

writers: @alwaysprincesszel, @rideboldlyride, @ladyaniko, @ifyouwereamelodymeg, @fictionissocialinquiry, @the-badger-mole, @tonguetidee

takes! @my-bated-breath, @firelxdykatara, @sokkastyles, @whattheheehaw

oh dear god i can’t remember anyone

@pineapple-frenzy, @rllyaangrlly, @becasart, and @merruschka are all amazing zk artists!

@bidisasterforzutara is awesome zk positivity! @babytreehugger is the best and has some spicy takes :D @the-peregrine also has amazing zk content (and artwork omg), bjdvefvefvuq24v I SWEAR I KNOW PEOPLE ok maybe i don’t if anyone has recs for more blogs to follow please drop them my brain is not working hvf3iyvf

some of my amazing friends who are all partly zk blogs because we’re obsessed are @cattaralol, @pidgeonlol, @iloveallmyfandomsequally, @p34rl34rring, @arghmuffin, @disiaster, @b-bellarke (we’re all minors too!)

we are so so so lucky to have you!!! <3

[ap-kinda-lit]

Angels by Owl City

Poison by Rita Ora

Kidnap Me by Cruisr

I Can’t Handle Change by Roar

Now That I Found You by Carly Rae Jepsen

Doyathing by Gorillaz

Autumn Trains With You by City Girl

Love is All Around by Joan Jett

I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen

This Charming Man by The Smiths

@sasusakumyotpforever @pangur-and-grim @zukos-honors @bluelady-atla @konggodzuko @pa-pa-plasma @sakura-spring-blossoms @becasart @pokidokieships

Rules: spell out your url using song titles and tag ten people!!

Tagged by @yellowmagicalgirl :DD

Loyal by ODESZA Us by Keshi Villain by K/DA (ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras) Kiss and Make Up by Dua Lipa ft. Blackpink One for the Money by Escape the Fate Redemption by Besomorph & Coopex (ft. Riell) Right Here by Keshi All the Things She Said by t.A.T.u.

Tagging:

@staycatcher @chrryjin @analyticamethyst @frostyviking @go-setyoursoulonfire @glitterdaniels @isawhisperer @alovesongshewrote @feather-dancer @eclipseismine 

You don’t have to do it if you don’t feel like it!