Role swap au where Zuko was the Avatar who got frozen for a hundred years, so when he’s rescued from the ice instead of a goofy twelve year old Katara catches this mysterious teenager with long hair and a cool scar and a fucking DRAGON
Katara: BOY???? HOT BOY?????? HOT TEENAGE BOY?????????
Zuko: *speaks*
Katara: nevermind I hate him
How does Aang factor into this? I ask because the more I think about it the more I want him to somehow be trying to capture the Avatar.
Aang is 112 years old, decided he was going to be Zuko’s airbending teacher, and refuses to take no for an answer
Aang: Aw, the new Avatar doesn’t want me. Aang: *gets out a weighted net* Time for Plan B then.
JDJSHJABDBFJSH
Look, you know how you keep a net from falling on you? YOU AIRBEND IT, SUCKA. Air comes right after fire in the cycle so it’s not like the guy has any other options. Do you want a flaming net falling on you? No? Then learn to airbend. Or this tiny old man will cart you away like a trussed turkey and lecture you about the power of laughter, going with the flow, opening your chakras, and other hippie shit.
Sokka, slouching against a fence, not moving: Oh nooooooo, that creepy old man stole the Avataaaaaaaaaar. Sokka, sitting down on the ground: We should dooooo something. Sokka, pulling out his lunch: Otherwise he might actually learn something. That would be teeeerrible. Katara, indignant rage coursing through her body: Sokka!!!!!!!! We have to go look for him!!!! Sokka: Might! Actually! Learn! Something! Katara! Katara: *wavers* Katara, also sitting down: We have to go look for him…. *gets out her own sandwich* But, maybe after lunch.
I love that this transforms Aang’s role in the full Team Avatar familial situation from the baby of the family to the Grandpa with weird hobbies
My brain, immediately after the “Aang won’t take no for an answer” post:
Aang: I’m gonna ride him! *jumps on Zuko’s shoulders*
Actually, I thought a bit more about this: If Aang is “grandpa figure who won’t fucking stop teaching Zuko to be a better and more spiritually fulfilled person,” then what is Iroh doing?
And then it hit me.
Iroh: *sitting in a teahouse at a paisho table* Iroh, deadpan: I must capture the last airbender. Iroh: It is the only way to make sure the powe rof the Avatar won’t be turned on the Fire Nation. Iroh: Only then will I be redeemed in the eyes of the Fire Lord for my failure at Ba Sing Se. Iroh: … Iroh: Anyway, it’s your turn.
About half of the B plots are just Iroh finding new ways to feign incompetence and bad luck so that his political watchdog can’t prove that he’s letting Aang - and by extension Zuko - get away.
Sometimes Iroh plays paisho with Aang, whose entire disguise during these games consists of a painfully fake mustache.
AANG WAS THE OTHER PLAYER IN THAT SCENE OF COURSE IT’S PERFECT (the moustache is just a bit of Appa’s fur tied in a string)
i think about this post all the time and if i may, i would like to suggest keeping the banished royalty angle for zuko.
he was the eldest son of fire lord sozin, who knew the avatar was the greatest threat to the fire nation, but also knew the new one would be a firebender and he couldn’t exactly merc his own people, now could he? but he always planned to order a convenient little assassination on whoever the new avatar turned out to be and in the meantime took out the air temples so that avatar couldn’t learn the next element in the cycle. of course, when it turns out to be his son, sozin, stellar dad that he is, thinks “if you want something done right” and shoots a fire blast at his firstborn.
zuko enters the avatar state, blows up half the palace, etc etc as one does, gets a nasty scar for his trouble, and escapes, hence why he was hanging out far enough south to necessitate katara and sokka cracking open a cold boy a century later.
all this is to say 1. i think it’s a good way to maintain zuko’s background and characterization in an au like this and 2. it leads to a secret second roleswap
because this makes zuko iroh’s uncle.
Imagining Iroh’s voice saying “uncle zuko” I’ll be busy laughing for the next few hours.
au where instead of dual swords, Zuko/the blue spirit just swings a razor scooter around. He rides it until he needs it, when he jumps off and spins it around like a madman.
Ozai, during the eclipse: You will obey me or this defiant breath will be your last
Zuko, whipping out a razor scooter: think again
Zhao, looking at the Beast Kick Scooter on Zuko’s wall: I didn’t know you were proficient with razor scooters.
Zuko, already sweating: It’s an antique.
If it pleases the court… I needed to see what it looked like. ♀️
[ID: An edited cover image of the book The Rise of Kyoshi. The original image has Kyoshi in her daofei clothing, one arm extended backwards and the other forwards. Her hand in the back holds an open fan. Her hand in the front is spread open. There is an edited bowl of rice on top of it. End ID.]
iroh: don’t be afraid to accept help from people who love you
pakku: work hard at your craft and you’ll go far
bumi: listen and wait for the right moment to act
piandao: creativity and intelligence are just as important as skill and strength
jeong jeong:
[ID: A screenshot of Michael from season 2 of The Good Place. He is a white man with white hair. He’s wearing a light blue button down shirt and a white suit jacket. He’s holding a martini glass and has dark framed sun glasses on his face. It’s night outside and there are Edison bulb string lights in the background. The subtitles have been edited to say, “Fire is a curse and destiny is a prison.”]
was king bumi a prince back when he and aang were kids and just never told aang, or did he big brain his way into being adopted by royalty and put in line for the throne
Bumi, screaming as he zips down Omashu’s delivery shoot:
