#Iroh critical AU

[zuko-always-lies]

What if Iroh cared about Azula instead of Zuko?

This is an AU idea that I've never seen done, probably because it requires looking at Iroh in a certain way, but what if Iroh favored the other fire sibling? He's still a very deeply flawed individual with the same tendency toward favoritism typical in the royal family and he's still basically incapable of caring about more than one kid, but, for whatever reason, the kid he cares about is Azula. Maybe he had a daughter who died young and Azula reminds him of her. Maybe he sees too much of Ozai in Zuko. Maybe Azula reminds himself, in a positive way. Maybe he drank some "respect women" juice. Maybe Iroh is impressed with Azula's ability and intelligence and thinks she's the only leader with the potential to lead the Fire Nation into a new and better age. Maybe Azula reminds Iroh of Lu Ten since she drinks his favored brand of tea. What matters is that Iroh is very deeply attached to Azula and sees Zuko as primarily an obstacle to her.

All of this doesn't mean that Azula is necessarily super nice or respectful of Iroh or anything like that. After all, canon Zuko was often a disrespectful jerk to Iroh, and Iroh didn't care. Likewise, this AU's Iroh is willing to ignore or excuse it when Azula is a jerk to him, along with a lot of her other bad behavior.

This is not a "role-swap" AU between Zuko and Azula. Azula is not getting exiled (unless things go very radically different than canon in unexpected ways). This is not an AU about Iroh accompanying Azula in exile. Zuko might still get exiled, but if he does Iroh would just wish has hands of the situation and stay as close to his beloved Azula as he can. This is an AU about Iroh being as much as a guide and companion and mentor to Azula as he can.

The thing is that, again, Iroh has all of his canonical flaws as an uncle, mentor, and person, he just favors Azula. He's still distracted by his hedonistic desires. He still refuses to seriously confront his brother or to protect Azula and Zuko from him. He's still extremely vague and non-assertive in his guidance for her. He still idealizes her in ways that dehumanize her. Iroh still wishes to live vicariously through her. He still stokes her rivalry with Zuko, when it suits his purposes. He still keeps changing his expectations for Azula without clear communication. He's still unwilling to have a five minute "this is why imperialism is bad" talk. Everything that makes people call canon Iroh "a good uncle" is still present, it's just directed at Azula instead of Zuko.

And yes, this means that Azula, Iroh, and Ozai are probably all hanging around the palace at the same time, and Ozai might have opinions about Iroh's relationship with Azula and even try to disrupt it. On the other hand, Ozai seems like a very lazy parent with zero time for or interest in day to day parenting, so maybe not. Maybe, as long as Iroh knows his place, Ozai's OK with Iroh doing all the hard work of actually raising Azula and crafting her into an ideal heir and weapon, as long as he doesn't pass on too much failure to her.

Thoughts?

[procrastinatingwriting]

Legacy of fire

Zuko breaks. Simple as that. After a few easily avoided assassination atempts and being left alone in the castle by his friends - the war won't stop itself - he just. Breaks. Starts banishing staff from the castle, or imprisoning them for the smallest things, claiming they were with Ozai and wanted to kill him. Mai gives up trying to reason with him, they break up. She writes for the gaang to tell hem what's happening, and sends a search for Iroh.

Azula is being treated in her room, and hears nothing of anyone for a long time. She is still shaky after the breakdown, but doing better. In one night, Zuko invades her room and looks in shock to see her calmly laying on her bed. He babbles about her having to stop going into his room to taunt him. She hadn't been doing that. Azula frowns, and deduces what's happening. She teases him saying if she wanted the throne back she would just challenge him again, but she didn't. Zuko calms down, but is still restless. They bond over being left behind with the crown by who they love.

Things start to get better in the palace, the staff being able to hold their jobs for longer than a week before being sent away for 'attempted treason'. Azula is seen outside often now, either training or spending time with the firelord (aka convincing him that no, those gardeners are not going to use the scissors to try and assassinate him). They feed the turtleducks and talk about mom and dad, and how it wasn't fair. Azula talks about how Iroh leaving Zuko must feel the same as father leaving her in the day of the black sun, and Zuko has a meltdown after finally breaking through denial. Azula admits she accepted that Ozai never loved her after that day, and had the same reaction. They joke that at least he wouldn't be challenged to an agni kai in his own meltdown, and he apologizes.

Azula never allows Mai to tag allong in their bonding moments, but sometimes allows Ty Lee. Mai is livid, but won't admit. Ty Lee is just glad to have her friend back.

It's in the middle of a meeting when Zuko truly breaks down. He panics and attacks his advisors, screaming, breathing and kicking fire. Azula takes him down and when Ty Lee chi blocks him, Zuko goes limp. Azula is crowned as temporary fire lord and follows through with the plan to end the war since she doesn't really minds it anyways. She isn't following orders anymore. She does keeps some of their colonies though, and there comes the issue.

Aang couldn't stop what he was doing to go back at the fire nation because, quote, 'Zuko wasn't feeling well' as per Mai's words, but when the colony issue arrived, he changed his schedule and went to grab his friends to solve the problem. What a surprise when they see it's Azula giving orders, not Zuko. Ty Lee explains the situation and is supported by the Kyoshi warriors, but Aang demands to see Zuko. Katara is tense. Azula too. She denies them claiming her brother being too tired to be visited. Aang finds it fishy and keeps guard at night to try and contact Zuko by breaking in through his window (maybe Azula is holding him prisioner right?). Zuko is not only crazy and terrified, but also hallucinating apparently, and fights Aang until his eventual collapse, and Azula comes out of nowhere to help.

Azula: Can't get him to eat anything. Three of the last 6 attempts involved food, he hasn't had much since.

Aang:

Aang: pardon?

Azula: My brother is weak, avatar, would you leave us alone so he can keep at least a piece of his dignity?

Aang becomes number one member of the "let's give azula a chance" club. They all realize that it was deffinetly NOT a good choice to leave Zuko alone in the palace, and that Azula shouldn't be burdened with it either (and maybe, just MAYBE, they were a little too rough in the judgement of her). He calls Bumi and Azula agrees to let him help keep things in order until they decide what to do, but declines to have her position revoked.

I remember I had a vision with this but it was too long ago and I am currently working on another AU. I might come back for this one latter, though.

[biconickyoshi]

Okay y’all… I was very critical of eps 3 & 4 (especially 4) of NAtLA. Then all of a sudden eps 5 & 6 kinda slapped me in the face with how much better the show suddenly got.

Spoiler-free thoughts first:

Zuko, Iroh, and Aang have cemented themselves as the best parts about this adaptation - which is really funny considering I’m currently writing a longfic AU where Zuko and Iroh discover Aang in the iceberg right after Zuko is banished at age 13 and end up becoming the first members of the Gaang (albeit reluctantly at first lol). Episode 6: “Masks” (the Blue Spirit adaptation) was so good, I’d venture to say that it actually improved and fleshed out some things from the original series.

Episode 5: “Spirited Away”, while not as good as E6, was not as bad as I heard people say it was going to be. I think that the changes they did make didn’t bother me nearly as much as the changes they made in the last episode, and it was actually entertaining.

There were several scenes that made me cry in both of these episodes (moreso in episode 6, which I’ll get into further down in the spoiler section). These are the scenes that I feel like really tapped into the heart of the original show rather than feeling like a soulless remake.

Now for my in-depth thoughts (INCLUDES SPOILERS):

EP 5: “Spirited Away”

- Staring out, I was bummed because I had just rewatched the first two eps of the original animated series lol.

- It was an interesting choice to have all three members of the Gaang get stuck in the Spirit World, but I think it worked.

- Wan Shi Tong just showing up randomly was a bit unnecessary, but I suppose it will be kinda interesting to see him again in S2 since he’s already met the Gaang

- Hei Bai plays a much smaller role in these eps, but I strangely didn’t mind that either?

- Seeing Katara’s last memory with her mom was devastating, especially the fact that she had to witness her death and hide in the igloo with Kya’s charred body :(( she definitely has severe PTSD.

- Even Sokka’s memory made me tear up a bit

- Koh being the villain and a soul-eater or whatever was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess I can see why they did it. I do prefer him just being an asshole who steals ppl’s faces lol

- Appreciated the Fog of Lost Souls reference from the LoK lore

- Aang reuniting with Gyatso made me cry. I know some people didn’t like him being in the Spirit World, but I really liked it. Also, the fact that Gyatso was the first person to tell Aang that it wasn’t his fault the Air Nomads died, and that if he had been there he would have died too? THANK YOU! My poor boy has been berated enough for “abandoning” the world.

- We got some interesting lore about the afterlife for humans from Gyatso and Aang’s convo, which we’ve never gotten in AtLA media before. Idk if it’s just for Air Nomads, but Aang mentions that Gyatso stayed behind instead of “seeking enlightenment”. I know that the end goal in Buddhism is to reincarnate until you eventually achieve nirvana, so I wonder if that’s what they were alluding to (I’m not an expert on religions so pls correct me if I’m wrong)

- Oh yeah, I forgot June is here lmao. As a queer person I loved her (bc beautiful goth woman) but I didn’t like the weird choice to make her hit on Iroh - I guess to contrast the Iroh being creepy towards her thing in the OG series. I wish they would have just had them interact normally tbh, no weird “flirting”

EP 6: “Masks”

- Here we go y’all. The best episode in the show so far and probably the best the show is gonna get this season. I’m still pretty shocked at how good this one was.

- I think the decision to include flashbacks to Zuko’s Agni Kai was a good decision here. It felt like an appropriate episode for them and the flashbacks were very well done.

- In general, Dallas is doing a phenomenal job at portraying a Zuko who is angry and aggressive, yes, but also so very sweet and compassionate at his core. I love when little inklings of his true self shine through.

- Roku was… not what I expected. He was very much more of a lighthearted and jokey person… I didn’t hate it, it was just unexpected lol. I wonder if they did that to contrast him with Kyoshi. Which, speaking of, I’m glad Roku clarified that Aang doesn’t just need to be a merciless warrior (and that he didn’t berate Aang for “abandoning” the world like she did). But I still am annoyed about the mischaracterization of Kyoshi in general.

- RIP Shyu :/

- Thought it was kind of strange how June captures Aang at Roku’s temple lol. Like how did she get on and off the island??

- Zhao continues to feel like a completely different character to me lmao. I think this version is pretty funny, but it’s so weird to see Zhao being portrayed as so goofy and incompetent when he was such an intimidating force and the main villain of Book 1 in the OG series. Just a weird direction they went with his character.

- The Yuyan archers look cool as fuck. 10/10 no notes

- Still not sure how I feel about Azula already being this insecure and jealous of Zuko. I think it makes her feel a bit more realistically like a child, but the whole point of Azula’s character is that she is really good at maintaining this cool and calm persona on the surface, which she uses to scare and manipulate people. I can see her maybe getting to a point later on to where she hardens herself into that though. We’ll see.

- Baby Zuko asking Iroh how he looks and his little smile 😭😭😭😭 I had a physical “aww” reaction to that. THAT’S MY SON (me and Iroh shouting in unison)

- War Room scene was handled very well. No complaints. I like how Ozai tried to test Zuko with battle strategies.

- Blue Spirit break out scene was extremely close to the original, and it was really good. They adapted it almost shot for shot with all the important parts.

- Here’s probably my favorite part of the episode: Zuko and Aang’s talk inside the abandoned house after they escape from Pohuai!!!!!! Gahhhh I could gush about this scene all day. I love how they expanded it to be an actual friendly conversation between Aang and Zuko. Like we get to see Zuko’s true self coming through - the sweet, kind boy we know he is. Zuko and Aang just have such great chemistry as well, wayyy more than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara. Like I adored them bonding over painting and caligraphy!!! I think this is the best acting we’ve seen from Gordon so far, and Dallas did a phenomenal job switching back to that hurt, angry version of himself (of course a trauma response). And the fact that Aang said “sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” when he blocked Zuko’s firebending attack??? My sweet boy 😭

- The final flashback to the Agni Kai was really well done too. I’d already heard Zuko fights back, which I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I actually didn’t mind it. I really liked that they showed Zuko’s hesitation whenever he did actually have an opening, and that was what angered Ozai the most - Zuko showing compassion, “weakness”. Daniel Dae Kim is of course doing a phenomenal job (no surprises there), and I really liked that Iroh actually attempted to stop Ozai at one point. It also looked like young Azula had tears in her eyes, which I again actually liked because it humanizes her.

- I loved that Aang was still there when Zuko woke up on the boat 😭 he wanted to make sure he was okay!! I full on started crying when we got the “do you think we could have been friends too?” lines from him. Again, Gordon killed it. I love how you can tell that Aang knows Zuko has been hurt and that’s why he acts the way he does. He doesn’t blame him for any of it. 10/10

- the last flashback to Zuko in his bed recovering from the burn… god the tears just kept flowing. I really liked the choice to have Ozai almost give Zuko a chance to like… idk understand why he did what he did, and how compassion is “weak”?? And then Zuko’s response to give people a chance 😭😭😭 as if I couldn’t love him any more!!! And then of course Ozai gets pissed. But seeing baby Zuko just cry in his bed UGH I’m dehydrated at this point

- Of course I can’t finish this review without mentioning the 41st division. What an incredible way to expand upon the source material by making them Zuko’s crew!!! It shows just how much Zuko truly cares about others and it moved me so much (once again to tears).

I don’t have high hopes for the last two episodes, but honestly, if this is what the live action can be, it gives me a bit of hope (at least for future seasons). I really think that Dallas, Gordon, Paul, and Daniel were the stars of this ep and are a big part of what made it so good.

[prying-pandora666]

“The Search” Rewrites, Book 4: Air, Leaks, and A Call for Help from the Fandom

I’ve talked a little about the Book 4: Air restoration project @book4air. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! Three full episodes are already out and episode 4 is going to cover Zuko’s early days right after his banishment, exploring his relationship with Iroh and the world as Zuko understands it as a lost boy rapidly coming into manhood.

Wait until you hear the VA’s performance with music and everything! It’ll break your heart.

But I want to talk a little bit about what comes after these next few episodes: our adaptation of “The Search”.

If you’ve seen our adaptation of “The Promise”, you’ll know it was quite faithful. This won’t be the case for “The Search”. For the purposes of the overarching story we are telling, this story is getting overhauled. (Please still support the original release if you’d like to see the canon version).

The biggest change that’s been announced is the addition of Toph. The team felt that a story about family, identity, and faces could benefit from including Toph’s perspective as she comes from a unique but toxic family situation, has a strong conflict between the performance expected of her versus who she really is, and is completely blind and so faces don’t even register for her.

Here is the sample scene we released:

But I want to talk a little bit about what we are changing about Zuko and Azula’s roles in the story. While the set up is virtually unchanged, there is one small alteration that makes a big difference.

(Sorry for the poor quality, this is technically unreleased content and I’m being kinda risky leaking it.)

Ursa’s letters are now a diary. This means that rather than get random flashbacks, the narrative framing now becomes Zuko and Azula reading these entries together. As a result, they get to discuss their discoveries about their family, and even share each other’s perspectives.

What that means is that when things like Zuko dangling Azula over the cliff happen, now we actually are forced to address it. The characters have to talk about how they treat each other and the reasons why. They have to confront the toxic family dynamic they’ve been forced and groomed into since childhood. Zuko has to realize his mentally ill little sister isn’t the monster here and in fact he’s the one with all the power now, and Azula has to realize that Zuko can be trusted if she can let go of her fear long enough to talk to him about her vulnerabilities.

We also address issues like this:

Many people criticize this for being OOC, but I think there’s a way this could easily not be. Sokka has been known to be juvenile and reactionary as a first response, the difference is that he always eventually apologizes and learns from his mistakes. Without even needing to be asked.

Threatening a mentally ill person who has just been removed from an asylum—even as a joke—is not okay. It would be questionable even if they’d been friends before this, but considering their prior relationship it really does seem like an boneheaded lack of awareness or compassion for how triggering this could be.

So rather than remove this interaction, we addressed it. And I am really taking a risk posting this here, but here is a brand new script page:

Sokka isn’t just comic relief. Sokka is smart, Sokka is compassionate, Sokka is brave, and Sokka knows when it’s time to apologize and reach out versus when it’s time to fight.

Safe to say, there are several things that stay the same and we tried to keep faithful to the spirit of the story, but there’s a lot we wanted to do for the Gaang and for the Fire Sibs, and I hope you’ll join us on this adventure, whether you’re a diehard fan of the comics and just looking for a fun AU, or you hate the comics and would like a rewrite, or even if you’ve never read them and would just love to return to the world of ATLA.

The only trouble is, we can’t do it alone. The project is very expensive and time consuming to produce. Our team pays for everything out of pocket and some of us don’t even have reliable housing, so it’s been a hard time.

If you can help in any way, even only by spreading the word so YouTube will stop burying us in the algorithm, that would be huge!

If you can afford to help, we have a Patreon where you can get all sorts of early goodies.

Reblogs and comments greatly appreciated! As the head writer and voice of Azula, this project is very near and dear to me. Avatar was my first pro-writing gig when I was just a homeless 19 year old, and it’s here for me again as I struggle to rebuild my life and health that COVID destroyed.

I love this series and the community that has helped me through the hardest times in my life. I can’t wait to make something beautiful with you all!

[stardust948]

Frenemies AU angst

(I found this in my drafts and decided to post it. Based off this post.)

Iroh is a senior in military school or already in the military. The parents gaang is junior year in HS so around 16 and 17

Ozai still lives with Azulon but Azulon is hardly at home bc of work. When he is there or when Ozai knows he’s coming soon, he just doesn’t come back until he leaves again. Either stays with Ursa in her RV or roams around town in his car. Later stays with Hakoda and Bato when they become closer friends.

Azulon blames Ozai for Ilah’s death since she died during childbirth. He’s always been emotionally and verbally abusive to Ozai but it didn’t get physical until Iroh left for military boarding school. Ozai was 8-10ish. Mainly involved being burned or tased, which left less of physical scars.

There was a big fight between the two when Ozai announced he wanted to go to Republic Arts high school and pursue a career as a musician. Azulon wanted Ozai to follow his footsteps and go to military school like Iroh. But he backed off after Iroh vouched for his brother. Still, he refused to pay for the school but Ozai earned a scholarship and Iroh covered the rest. Ozai swore up and down he’d pay him back but Iroh just told him to give him free backstage access to his concerts and they’re even. Azulon and Ozai avoided each other after that; strangers in the same home. They physical abuse ended but the threat was still there and the mental scars lasting.

After the incident at the contest, Ursa finds Ozai sitting in his car at the school’s parking lot. She knows better to ask if he’s alright or what was wrong. Instead, she tells him to get into her car and they go back to her RV. There, they spend the rest of the night watching movies and cuddling. Ozai’s feeling somewhat better in the morning; able to speak some but not back to his usual loveable a-hole self. Though he is confused to receive a text from Hakoda of all people checking on him.

Hakoda: Hey man, you good?

Ozai: Are you seriously asking me if I’m good after burning a layer of my skin off?

Hakoda: You kinda just left after without a word.

Ozai: Because I burned a layer of my skin off.

Hakoda: Ozai, I’ve seen you explode over someone using your special pen without permission but you just shut down after burning your hand. Are you sure you’re okay?

Ozai: Who won?

Hakoda: Poppy.

Ozai: We’re going to be hearing about that for all next week.

Hakoda: She was pretty worried about you. We all were. You know, you can talk to me if you want.

Ozai: I just wanted to know who won. Now stop bothering me or I’m blocking you.  

Ozai closed his phone. Just then Ursa stuck her head through the door.

“Hey, my mom made pancakes. You want any?”

Ozai shook his head.

“Alright honey. Keep an eye on my children. I’ll be right back.”

Ozai smiled some as he rolled his eyes. Ursa always referred to her hoard of plants and succulents as her children. Still exhausted, he laid back down and pulled the cover over his head. Out of curiosity, he check his phone one last time.

Hakoda: Ok. See at school.

Ozai powered down his phone. He didn’t have the energy to be annoyed. He ran a hand along the bandages before drifting back to sleep.

///

The conversation they had in the janitor’s closet came flooding back. Hakoda’s seen Ozai fly off the rail many times, but that was the first time he looked guenically hurt. Hakoda’s clumsy joke about Dads also didn’t help. Hakoda cringed at the memory.

His mind drifted to the events after. The dark play Ozai wrote about the little boy slowly dying in the burning building wishing only to see his father again. Finally meeting Ozai’s father with his cold exterior and calculating eyes that made even the brash self-confident Ozai shrink back. And to top it off, Ozai saying he’d never seen his father look happier.

Hakoda didn’t know what to think at the time. He just assumed Azulon was like his father, criticizing his every move and lamenting how he wasn’t good enough.

///

Ozai refuses to bring it up despites Ursa’s suggestions of seeking professional help, even after he and Ursa wed and had children. Not until he lost his temper with Zuko and almost burned him like Azulon. Zuko’s horrified scream snapped Ozai out of it last second. Falling back onto old habits, Ozai took shelter in his car for the night and wept bitterly. Ursa finds him and directly tells him to get help which he finally relents.

It's very slow going but beneficial in the long run. Most importantly, his children never saw that side of Ozai again.

@waterfire1848

[thelastranger]

A, E, L, S and U for the fandom asks!

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

Ingvar/Lydia. It's been that way for like a decade (it's been a decade 😭) and it's not changing any time soon

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

I mean, half the stuff that I make at the point is crack or ridiculous aus, but the two most iconic (in my mind) are of course the tax evasion marriage series and Karina Haltsex. Blonde Lydia was also cursed but really funny

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Stefan is pretty hilarious and as I get older, I appreciate his and Jesper's "hater" vibes more. Should get more page time to flesh him out.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Edvin was sort of a miracle baby born to older parents and lived in a multi-generational home for most of his life, helping take care of his grandparents and learning from them. So he's a lot more comfortable with adults and seniors than most of his peers. Edvin's grandmother teaches him a little bit about medicinal herbs but dies before she can impart most of her wisdom. RIP

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

1. Aqualad (Young Justice)

2. Mathias (Six of Crows)

3. Fjord or Keyleth (Critical Role)

4. Abigail Pent (The Locked Tomb)

5. Uncle Iroh (ATLA)

[rainbow18]

I saw a lot of people praising Zuko for helping Katara get revenge while criticizing Aang for disagreeing because he wanted to honor his deceased elders rules. (At least some of them highly exaggerated Aang’s behavior)

However we can see that Zuko doesn’t actually believe People should get revenge or justice when it comes to him and his loved ones. (If he did, Zuko wouldn’t be convinced that Katara’s anger at him was projection)

These Earth Kingdom soldiers were in a nearly identical position during the winter solstice. They came across Iroh and one of them recognized him as The Dragon of The West. They were originally planning to have him face proper justice but He attempted to escape, causing them to change their minds because they might not be able to take him to Ba Sing Se.

The Dragon of The West had done the following.

Led a 600 day siege and only stopped because Lu Ten died in it. Had Azulon decided that he didn’t want 2 Heirs to leave, Iroh would have continued the siege until he either won or got defeated.

In a letter, He implied that his gifts to Zuko and Azula were stolen.

Following on that, The siege of Ba Sing Se is unlikely to be the only Siege he did.

In the present, He doesn’t acknowledge his wrongdoings/mistakes if he can avoid it.

Considering his Crimes, Iroh likely caused at least a few deaths. (Edit. The Rough Rhinos worked under Iroh when they killed Jet’s family. Which means iroh did canonically cause deaths of innocents since it’s unlikely that they would do it without the approval of their superior.)

He doesn’t understand consent.

It easily could’ve been Iroh who murdered Kya and/or ordered her death.

So Here’s a interesting au. What would’ve happened if it WAS Iroh who was responsible?

Would Zuko be willing to tell Katara that it was His Uncle?

Would Zuko let Katara get revenge?

Would Zuko still criticize Aang’s deceased culture, whose beliefs would have caused them to leave Iroh be?

Would Zuko call murdering Iroh justice?

[the-violet-galaxy]

Heyo :D For the wip game, Fire Nomad Avatar Zuko (or, Avatar Zuko: The Last Fire Nomad)?

Hey thanks!

This fic is a complete AU of the Avatar World. The four nations have all had their roles swapped, and so have the characters. There are the Fire Nomads, the Air Tribes, the Water Kingdom, and the Earth Nation.

Zuko is the Avatar, born to the Fire Nomads.

As per tradition, no one was supposed to tell Zuko he was the Avatar until he turned 16. But Ozai, for reasons unknown to those around him, took Zuko aside and revealed this to him when he was only 8 years old. Of course Zuko was excited when he was still so young........ but the fic itself starts when Zuko is 12; he's starting to realize what being the Avatar really entails, and he’s filled with insecurities and resentments. The pressure to live up to the legacy of the AVATAR is one that no child can take without breaking. And it's tenfold worse for Zuko, because his predecessor is Kyoshi, considered the greatest Avatar in modern record, who is revered and venerated by the world. Zuko looks to her great image, and when he looks back to himself, he doesn't compare to her at all.

He tries so hard to live up to her. But his failings are right in front of him: his own younger sister, Azula, outmatches him at EVERYTHING he ever tries to do; she is the prodigy Firebender, she is the one who can get people to do what she wants. Ozai praises her, and has nothing but criticism for Zuko. This instills within Zuko a toxic mindset about what he should do, and what an Avatar should be.

And things can get a lot worse... because we know what happened to the Air Nomads in canon…

-

The Earth Nation attacks the world. Their ideology is essentially this: When you move the Earth, you move everything else with it. To your will you can shape rivers, mountains, nature, human civilization; at their greatest cooperation, they can even cause tsunamis or make volcanoes erupt. In this way, even if they can’t BEND them, they believe they can “artificially control” Water and Fire as well. (The only element they can’t “artificially control” is Air….. Which becomes very important for Zuko.) The goal of the Earth Nation is to conquer all other people, so that they may shape the world to their desire.

-

The next stop on Zuko’s journey, he comes to one of the Air Tribes and meets Aang, who takes him back to his village where he starts learning Airbending with Gyatso. Zuko is a terrible Airbender because his only emotion is "anger." He also doesn't get that his reckless actions could harm people other than himself, which is a flaw he has to overcome. His character development and ability to Airbend are linked.

Aang becomes the first of Zuko’s Team Avatar. (Katara and Sokka come in muuuch much later.)

-

Being an Avatar, Zuko needs someone to incessantly try to capture him. That person is Toph. (And Toph has a really kooky old guy to serve as her Iroh.) Toph’s story is this: she grew up in the corrupted court, and was treated as a dainty waif due to her blindness. But Toph is one of the strongest Earthbenders in the world, and she wants to be treated as competently as anyone else; she wished to be useful as a soldier in the war. When she learns there is a chance the Avatar can be found, she intentionally runs away from home to go on a journey to capture him herself; if she succeeds, she believes, then surely, her parents will see her worth and change their mind about her! (…Except no, because, though Toph doesn’t know it yet, the main villains had plans involving her, and her running away was THE LAST THING THEY WOULD *EVER POSSIBLY* WANT HER TO DO…)

(All this is for Book 1)

-

The WIP is 80,000 words already, but I haven’t posted any of it yet, because I wanted Book 1 to be finished (or close to finished) before I started posting.

I already have a TON of worldbuilding for all the nations and characters, but this would get too long, so I’ll leave it there with the bones of the story.

[masterghandalf]

MG Reads Embers: Theft Absolute

So, as I mentioned in the second part of my Embers review, I did a full chapter by chapter reread and commentary on the fic this past fall and winter over on my Dreamwidth account; since I just put up the second part of my review, I thought I'd transfer this over here as well. It starts with the oneshot "Theft Absolute" and then goes through all ninety-one chapters of the fic proper (following TVTropes' lead, sorted into twelve arcs for easier reference); each post includes a brief(ish) summary of the chapter, and then an overview of my thoughts on it. For fair warning, I'm more critical of the fic than not, but I do try to give credit where credit is due and point out things I like as well.

Theft Absolute NOTE: While not part of Embers proper, this one-shot is the first installment of the Embers continuity, marking the major point of divergence (sort of; we’ll get back to this idea later) from the show’s canon and setting up some plot points and character beats that will continue across the later fic.

The one-shot opens with a brief AN from Vathara: Nothing Avatar-related belongs to me. AU bit of "The Cave of Two Lovers". Because robbery is one thing, but horse-stealing is just wrong. We begin the story right at the point of the canon episode where Zuko is preparing to steal Song’s family’s ostrich-horse; Iroh tells him the family showed them kindness, and Zuko responds that they’re about to show them a little more kindness. He has a brief flashback to the night Ursa disappeared, regretting that he never even got to say goodbye to her, and then tells Iroh that Azula is after them and it will be best for Song’s family if they’re far away when she catches up to them. Iroh points out that news of an ostrich-horse theft would likely reach Azula’s ears faster than news of two refugees. Zuko takes a moment to reflect that “Azula always lies” and that he needs to think of her as an obstacle, not as his sister; he also remembers how Iroh redirected her lightning the last time they met.

Zuko reflects on how he and his uncle are fugitives now, but so long as the Avatar is still out there, their mission isn’t done. He thinks about how to turn the situation to their advantage; he knows that Azula is smarter than he is and a better hand-to-hand combatant, but she doesn’t know Zuko has learned how to use a sword, like a commoner. This makes him decide to embrace the identity of a refugee as a cover, though he can’t help but wonder about the fate of Lieutenant Jee and his crew, and if they died during the battle at the North Pole. Finally, remembering Ursa’s words – never forget who you are – he dismounts and helps Iroh return the ostrich-horse to the pen. Zuko asks if Iroh knows where they can find a port, to inquire about the sailors’ fates; Iroh tells him they’ll have a long walk ahead of them, and Zuko agrees. He has one final request, though – Iroh is never to try gathering tea leaves himself again! The one-shot ends with another AN. Pre English conquest, the gravest of all crimes in Welsh law was not murder, but theft. And while armed robbery was considered excusable under some circumstances, theft by stealth - theft absolute - could be a capital crime. Stealing from your own host, who'd taken you in and given you shelter… well. Very bad. This story wouldn't have to change canon events much; Zuko could always have bought another mount with stolen funds later. Or then again, it might change quite a bit, down the road….

MG’s Thoughts In general, “Theft Absolute” is a pretty innocuous little one-shot, barely longer than a drabble, and looking back at it, it’s kind of amazing to see that this is what would, in a few months, end up spawning a 91-chapter epic. It’s a decent character study of Zuko, exploring his thought process during the ostrich-horse theft from canon and also what might have pushed him to change his mind about going through with it. That said, I do have a few quibbles with it, mostly related to things which are minor in “Theft Absolute” but will, IMO, go on to become bigger problems in Embers. The first is Vathara’s seeming determination to sand off a lot of Zuko’s rougher edges to make him a more conventionally heroic protagonist (the Embers-verse basically reverses Aang and Zuko’s canonical positions, making Zuko the protagonist and Aang the deuteragonist and foil instead of the other way around). Not going through with the theft is the big one (in canon, IMO, it’s a very important “kick the dog” moment that proves that, sympathetic as Zuko is, he’s not a good guy yet and still has a long ways to go), but also having him show a much greater level of concern for his men and interest in their fate than he ever did in canon. Embers will continue more in this vein. The aside about swords being a commoner’s weapon is a bit odd, since historically, a sword was more often an elite weapon, due to the amount of training and practice it takes to master it, which commoners generally didn’t have (the spear was more often a commoner’s weapon) nor is the idea that benders especially look down on weapons much supported by canon (several bending styles incorporate weapons, after all, and even Azula will use melee weapons at need, though she usually doesn’t need them). This will also be a recurring element in the fic, generally presented as proof that Zuko is more flexible than most benders and more willing to look outside the box.

Finally, I’m a bit iffy on the one-shot being based on, and named after, a Welsh law. Sacred hospitality was a thing across almost all of the world, after all, and A:TLA is based on Asian cultures, not European ones. It’s just an odd detail that bugs me, and makes me think that while Vathara did her homework, she’s somewhat spotty and inconsistent about applying it, which will, IMO, continue to be a trend across the fic (at least, as far as my own areas of research interest go). Now, all of these comments are pretty nitpicky, I’ll admit, and certainly none of them are dealbreakers in the context of this particular one-shot, which again I mostly do like… but I do think they point to what will become bigger issues in Embers itself down the line.

[ilre-writes]

WIPS

everything I've yet to post/currently posted but incomplete as of 21-Sep-24

A:TLA

Third installment of The Raft AU - 25% done roughly

Dishonor on Ozai's Cow - Arc 2 synopsis is 60% done (it's a meaty arc okay)

Iroh time travel - unreleased (no snippets posted), inactive

"GOD DAMN THE SUN" - unreleased, concept stage

something inspired by the zuko friendfish AU - concept stage (barely)

azula recovery fic - unreleased, inactive

ship of fools - 35% done

I only say morning - only the posted part exists

Good Omens

a critical dissonance - active, 2nd installment 20% done

samael theory fic - unreleased, inactive

reverse AU - unreleased, inactive

unnamed fic on crowley's identity based on s2 - unreleased, inactive

deranged s2 fic with parallels with jesus/judas - unreleased, inactive

drabble on the coffee - unreleased, ready for posting

"the crowfur disaster" - unreleased, 10% done

ouroboros fic - unreleased, 40% done, inactive

PJO

titans win AU - 15%, inactive

there's a mean storm comin' (roman percy au) - 20%, inactive

various attempts to explore apotheosis - unreleased, inactive

fic speedrun - 30%, inactive

rachel pov fic - 15%, active

tumblr fic - 3 chapters done, unreleased, active [I don't think there's a way to measure doneness for this one]

Ace Attorney

in the line - 35%

the stronghart-vz swap AU - 20%, inactive

(mainline) 2-4 AU - 60%, inactive

o'er the waves of the starless sea - unreleased, concept, inactive

untitled baroryuu - unreleased (but previously vagued about), 5%, inactive

[zuko-always-lies]

Iroh trying to use Azula as a weapon for his own agenda would be perfectly consistent with how the royal family operates.

[balsa-margarita]

A snippet from Azula’s confrontation with Iroh

“You don’t even know.” Lightning cracked in the background, sharp and menacing, but she ignored it. “You have absolutely no idea who I am - you never did, and yet you pretended that I was some monster that you could bargain with as it benefited you.” She did not move her gaze - it was a challenge, that much she knew, and fully intended. “Look at me and tell me that wasn’t what you thought, Iroh - that that’s not what you think. Look at me.”

This should be out later today. Hope this is enough of a sneak peek.

[casualdadnomad]

because im procrastinating finishing my toph comic: have this au i thought of on my 12 hr road trip

MODERN GAANG ROAD TRIP AU!!!!

• sokka is driving. he complains constantly but wont let anyone take the wheel because Katara and Aang are anxious drivers, Suki and Zuko succumb to road rage easily, and Toph is, well, Toph.

• "driver picks the music" was vetoed because sokka kept blasting disney soundtracks and katara hated it

• they're taking aang's car because he drives a Honda Odyssey and has the most seats

• Zuko was riding shotgun the first hour or so but then was banished (haha) to the very back seats for criticizing sokka's driving

• Katara has a bag of all the car snacks, and every time someone requests anything she tries to convince them to try her seaweed chips. "they're healthy!"

• Suki and Toph made a game of throwing Cheerios at other cars, so Katara sent them to the very back, shifting everyone's seat around.

• Aang ended up sitting shotgun, and panicked when given the aux, so now they're listening to dynamite by Taio Cruz

• "man, i accidentally ran that stop sign" "you mean this stop sign?" "TOPH PUT THAT BACK"

• Aang then decides to yell "STOP" at every stop sign as a helpful reminder for Sokka

• "Aang. We can't pick up hitchhikers." "But he looks so nice!" "HE IS HOLDING A KNIFE, AANG."

• Sokka does the dad hand reach behind the seat thing whenever someone has a snack

• Suki has airpods in the entire time but still manages to hear everything everyone says

• Whenever they go by mountains Katara gives everyone gum so their ears don't hurt

• Zuko falls asleep for fifteen minutes and wakes up to a heated discussion about whether or not he's alive

• "Jet just texted me." "ooo, entertainment!" "sokka i swear to the spirits--"

• Suki takes videos to put on her snap story, mostly of Katara and Toph trying to throw cheese puffs into a sleeping Zuko's mouth.

• When they stop for lunch at Wendy's, Sokka takes everyone's order while the others go to the bathroom

• "what do you want aang? a lettuce leaf?" "you know i can still eat fries right?" "lettuce leaf it is."

• Once cabin fever sets in, Toph threatens to metal bend the car into a double decker bus to get away from Katara's constant toe tapping.

• Zuko, Sokka, and Aang debate about the best sitcom tv show. (Sokka says Brooklyn 99, Aang says Parks and Rec, and Zuko claims iCarly counts as a legitimate sitcom)

• Suki gets bored and decides to antagonize everyone by saying The Office

• This commences a screaming match mediated by Katara facetiming Iroh to tell all four of them to shut up

• When they finally reach their destination, Sokka gets all the luggage out because he "has a system"

[captainkirkk]

Currently thinking about an atla au where almost everything is the same except it takes place in the modern world

Just the sheer chaos of blurry photos of the gaang being snapped across the globe. The cabbage merchant has uploaded the most of them and they’re all captioned with full caps, no grammar, boomer-style

Appa must be faster than cars, but what about planes? What the fuck are the gaang going to do against PLANES? The fear of an aerial assault might actually slow their journey down a lot

Also the thought of Aang emerging from the iceberg and not only finding century-old skeletons, but photos from the days/years following the massacre.... Photography was relatively new, so the images are blurred and uncoloured but still fairly clear. Do you think anyone photographed the aftermath? The generals celebrating the defeat. The pillagers ravaging the temples.

A less morbid thought: there would be hundreds if not thousands of forum boards speculating about the Avatar’s disappearance and Zuko would be on ALL of them. His username is well-known on the boards, though no one knows who this weirdly aggressive but well-traveled dude is

The White Lotus probably has a group chat/fb page disguised as a pai sho fan club where they trade information via coded discussions about the game. Bumi communicates almost entirely in gifs.

Information control is already a huge thing in atla, but in a modern au? Ba Sing Se would have insane media control and online filters. Any posts about the war are taken down and the culprit tracked. If there was a rebellion in Ba Sing Se, it would be from the tech savy population who can get around the censorship

Speaking of media: can you imagine the media attention on the royal family in the Fire Nation? The media would adore Iroh and Lu Ten and either ignore or occasionally criticize Ozai - until Lu Ten died, then the press tears Iroh to pieces and becomes Fire Lord Ozai’s unofficial fanclub overnight.

Azula is the media darling of the Fire Nation. Zuko is praised as often as he is criticized. In canon, the pressure already fucked with these kids, but can you imagine if they had tabloids and a 24-hour news cycle? Zuko’s banishment is warped and vague, and yet covered extensively. Photos of the banished prince sold to tabloids for a fortune in the weeks after his exile - until Ozai shuts that down, then he vanishes from the public’s eyes until Aang returns, then Zuko goes through periods of blind, worshipful praise by the press and intense negativity and hate, swinging wildly between the two extremes. The media will always be extremely polarised around him, until he eventually retires and hands the crown to Izumi. Only then will the press drop their hostility and talk about him as if he has always been the Fire Nation’s darling

Also he looks painfully awkward in every single photo the press take of him. His PR person has tried to coach him on body language with limited success

After Book 2, Azula gets a very similar treatment to Zuko. But while Zuko grew up criticised and hated and learnt to ignore it, Azula has always been adored. So when the press starts documenting her downward spiral, starts questioning her perfection, she loses it

Years later, when she’s an adult, she learns how to bait and play the press like a cat toying with a mouse, laughing at every negative article posted about her or Zuko. But for now, she’s fourteen and never been anything other than perfect and the pressure is killing her

Momo has his own insta. It’s wildly popular. Most of the canon characters are following it, including Zuko and Iroh - the former for any possible hints on the Avatar’s location, the latter because he thinks Momo is very cute

He has a twitter too. For some reason. It has 5x the amount of followers as Sokka’s twitter account and Sokka is SO bitter about it

Ty Lee is a very successful influencer

Do you think there’s a “#ty lee is over party” when it’s revealed she committed Actual Real-Life War Crimes?? I’m losing my mind

[flameohotwife]

Unspoken, Undeniable Chapter 5

Story summary: Slight AU where Aang and Katara never kiss on the submarine or at EIP, and don't get together on Iroh's balcony after the war. They remain close--best--friends, though, and when Aang reaches adulthood and leaders and nobles try to pressure him into a relationship, he seeks out Katara's help in avoiding them.

Rating: T | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Kiss

By the time they entered the ballroom, many of the invited nobles and dignitaries were already arriving. The air was quickly filling with excitement and chatter and the sound of clacking shoes on marble floors. Katara wove her arm through Aang’s at some point as they made their way through, and she kept admiring the muscle there, stroking his bicep with her hand again. It was no mistake that the robes she’d commissioned resembled his postwar, one-shoulder style more than his official yellow monk’s robes. She purposely positioned herself on the arm that wasn’t draped in yellow and orange and almost melted into a puddle when she realized that the heat she kept feeling was radiating off of his bare chest.

They greeted many various officials and leaders as they wove their way through the growing crowd and towards their seats at the front of the room, Katara’s heart fluttering every time he called her his “girlfriend.” There was a long table set for the Avatar, his closest friends, and King Kuei (and Bosco, of course). Many of the people they greeted on their way did not seem surprised to see the two of them together, although they often looked disappointed. Several people even looked disgusted.

“Oh,” one Earth Kingdom noblewoman said when Aang introduced Katara as his girlfriend. “That’s…an interesting choice.” She looked Katara up and down with her nose pointed in the air and her face scrunched as if she had tasted something very bitter. “You had so many far prettier girls willing to convert to Air Acolytes, you know. Maybe you try one of them, next.”

She gestured at her own daughter—who looked absolutely mortified—before taking her leave. Katara was too shocked to even respond, but the daughter leaned over as she walked past them, the decorative tassels in her hair falling in her face as she whispered, “I am so sorry. If it’s any consolation, I’m very happy for the two of you—congratulations!”

Katara stared after the girl as she scurried away with her parents. She realized her mouth was still hanging open and quickly closed it. Despite the girl’s encouragement, and despite fully expecting this sort of criticism, she could feel her confidence waning. Aang really did deserve someone better, she thought. Someone who would be able to adopt his whole culture and be everything he needed. After all, he had lost everything. She was being selfish to think she could keep him to herself.

Read more on ao3 or ffn

[stardust948]

Urzai adopts the Gaang AU

More ideas for this AU because the thread was getting too long.

The main story takes place over 3 years; 1 year for each season.

Urzai didn't really know how to relate to the Fire sibling in their care bc they didn't spend much time with them. For example, Ursa gets Azula a Fire Nation doll thinking she just hated the EK one but Azula still burns it. And Ozai gets Zuko some firebending scrolls because that the only thing he saw Zuko reading at the palace. But Zuko thinks Ozai’s telling him that his bending still sucks and gets even more depressed. Likewise Zuko and Azula kept asking about the other parent the first couple of months. Things were pretty rough but they eventually work it out. Azula and Ursa bond over sparing and herbology and Ozai and Zuko over criticizing reviewing street plays.

Ozai feels guilty for Zuko scar since Zuko took the hit meant for him. Also because Ozai didn't know how to treat it properly so he thinks the scarring could have been prevented. Of course, Ozai has no idea how to express this to Zuko so he thinks Ozai’s ashamed of his weakness. This doesn't get resolved until after The Boiling Rock when they finally have a heart to heart.

The family unlearn the FN propaganda while hiding amongst the villages. Witness and experience first hand that the FN is not spreading prosperity through the nations. Just the opposite actually.

Azula's 1st friend (who wasn't required to play with her like Mai and Ty Lee) was Suki. While Ursa was in Kyoshi Warrior training, the two would rough house. Suki wasn't afraid to shove the young ex-princess back. Azula was annoyed at first but grew to enjoy the rivalry. (Sokka and Suki never hears the end of it when Azula finds out they like each other)

Iroh gives Lu Ten a cushy job to keep him safe but Lu Ten wants to redeem himself. Sets off on a self appointed mission to track down his ex-family and recuse his cousins. Jee goes with him and reteaches him firebending for battle.

Ozai and Ursa keep barely missing each other during Book 2. What's even more aggravating is they have no idea.

The Fire Family being back together after 6 years apart was awkward at first. Not until the Gaang each found an excuse to leave them alone did they finally hash things out and get back into the swing of things.

Ursa and Katara get into a big fight when Katara trains with Hama. Ursa doesn't trust her but Katara really wants to learn SWT waterbending and thinks Ursa’s holding her back. Katara yells at Ursa to stop telling her what to do and she's not actually her mom. Which was very traumatic for both of them but they make up at end after Katara stops Hama from trying to kill Ursa.

Urzai stay behind with the other adults during DOTBS. Ursa is taken to FN palace dungeon and Ozai and Hakoda to The Boiling Rock. Meanwhile Lu Ten talks to Ursa in the dungeons and learns the truth about the coup. He confronts Iroh but Iroh tries to arrest him for "his own protection". Lu Ten escapes and sets off to find the Gaang.

Iroh plans to execute Ursa and use Sozin’s Comet to wipe out BSS. Reference to "If we don't burn it down first" in his letter. The gaang go to stop Iroh and free Ursa. Ozai fights Iroh as they waited for Aang’s return.

Fun ideas:

Katara, Azula, and Toph’s girls night out as they rob from rich FN ppl and blow up factories.

Many "that's not what they did 100 years ago Aang we think your friend was messing with you" conversations

Appa has final authority over everyone.

A family that fights together stays together TM

The Gaang out voted Urzai for Aang’s secret dance party. Urzai has to wear disguises bc they can't leave the kids alone after the incident (accidently got high off cactus juice)

Ozai: Why did you shove your boomerang into the beard???

Sokka: To give it character.

Ursa: At least you don't have a pillow stuffed down your shirt.

Ozai and Hakoda bond in The Boiling Rock. (Nothing says fun bonding experience like doing time in a cruel abusive prison full of ppl who want to kill you)

Suki assumes Sokka's from a community compound like Kyoshi Island and doesn't question the multiple parents arrangement. (The more the merrier! It takes a community after all)

Lu Ten is very confused. He thought he had 2 little cousins not 6.