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* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of the story, she's pregnant with Iroh's child. The closing author's note states that she later gives birth to twin daughters.]]
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* CoverBlowingSuperpower: His bending, healing, swordsmanship, and royal manners all have the potential to put in him some very uncomfortable situations. Even his {{ninja}} skills can come into question if he becomes to difficult to read.
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* CoverBlowingSuperpower: His bending, healing, swordsmanship, and royal manners all have the potential to put in him some very uncomfortable situations. Even his {{ninja}} skills can come into question if he becomes to too difficult to read.
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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup
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Most of this is because [[ForWantOfANail he didn't steal Song's ostrich horse]], skipping one of his most notable displays as a villain. While not quite a full-time anti-hero, he always tries to do the best for his people. Now, 'honor' is less synonymous with 'ticket to Ozai's favor,' and [[BloodOath Loyalty]] has replaced much of his attempt to relive 'when his family was actually happy'.
to:
Most of this is because [[ForWantOfANail [[PointOfDivergence he didn't steal Song's ostrich horse]], skipping one of his most notable displays as a villain. While not quite a full-time anti-hero, he always tries to do the best for his people. Now, 'honor' is less synonymous with 'ticket to Ozai's favor,' and [[BloodOath Loyalty]] has replaced much of his attempt to relive 'when his family was actually happy'.
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Just For Pun cleanup.
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* DemotedToDragon: ''Of'' a [[JustForPun Dragon]]. In canon, it took a ''fully-realized [[TheChosenOne Avatar Aang]] with an EleventhHourSuperpower'' to beat him. [[spoiler: In chapter 89, he receives a DisneyVillainDeath from ''[[BadassNormal Sokka's]] PrecisionGuidedBoomerang'' - in pretty much [[CallBack the same way Sokka nailed Zuko]] in the second canon episode... Which is just a footnote of the battle for Dragon's Wings. His grandmother Makoto is a far greater threat, and ''her'' threat potential was raised only due to several centuries working for [[EldritchAbomination Koh]].]]
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* DemotedToDragon: ''Of'' a [[JustForPun Dragon]]. In canon, it took a ''fully-realized [[TheChosenOne Avatar Aang]] with an EleventhHourSuperpower'' to beat him. [[spoiler: In chapter 89, he receives a DisneyVillainDeath from ''[[BadassNormal Sokka's]] PrecisionGuidedBoomerang'' - in pretty much [[CallBack the same way Sokka nailed Zuko]] in the second canon episode... Which is just a footnote of the battle for Dragon's Wings. His grandmother Makoto is a far greater threat, and ''her'' threat potential was raised only due to several centuries working for [[EldritchAbomination Koh]].]]
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Boobs Of Steel is a disambiguation
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* BoobsOfSteel: A soundly trained fighter (competent even in slight [[DrunkenMaster inebriation]]), and very aware of her sizable [[UnusualEuphemism distractions]].
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Hundred Percent Adoration Rating was renamed Universally Beloved Leader. If an example is removed it probably doesn't fit as written
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* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He's getting there. After laying the smackdown on Wan Shi Tong and his servants, all the Earth Kingdom, including the Fire Nation refugees, ''bowed down'' to him. Also, Azula set herself up as ruler of Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation refugees most likely will NOT stand for this, and may attempt to sabotage her in the future.
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* ParentalAbandonment: Normal for Air Nomads, to the point he sees nothing wrong with it, which the others find disturbing. Chapter 51 shows [[Manga/RurouniKenshin a nun and her ex-Onmitsu lover]] that may be his birth parents.
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* ParentalAbandonment: Normal for Air Nomads, to the point he sees nothing wrong with it, which the others find disturbing. Chapter 51 shows [[Manga/RurouniKenshin a nun and her ex-Onmitsu lover]] that may be his birth parents. [[spoiler:He's shown a vision in Chapter 69 of Gyate and Shih outright tells him that she's his mother, with the implication that he's his father.]]
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misuse
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* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He says himself a lot of heartache could have been avoided if he'd just talked to Aang at the South Pole.
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
to:
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He says himself a lot of heartache could have been avoided if he'd just talked to Aang at the South Pole.
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
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The Chick is no longer a trope.
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%%* TheChick: Likes her looks, her clothes, her poetry...
%%* DishingOutDirt
%%* DishingOutDirt
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%%* TheChick: Likes her looks, her clothes, her poetry...
%%* DishingOutDirtDishingO utDirt
%%* DishingOutDirt
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Poisonous Friend is no longer a trope
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%%* PoisonousFriend: "That's the only way it's fair." Chilling. Though, Ja Aku doesn't seem to be very attached to Aang. His fanaticism with keeping airbenders spiritual, however...
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* MundaneUtility: While Amaya isn't [[SuperEmpowering making]] or [[BroughtDownToNormal breaking]] a bender on a whim (as some authors [[MarySuetopia would have her]]), she has proved it a useful tool for people that have happened upon a [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight hostile kamuiy]].
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* MundaneUtility: While Amaya isn't [[SuperEmpowering making]] or [[BroughtDownToNormal breaking]] a bender on a whim (as some authors [[MarySuetopia would have her]]), her), she has proved it a useful tool for people that have happened upon a [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight hostile kamuiy]].
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Removed Unfortunate Implications
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* OhCrap: Being TheSmartGuy makes him sensitive to the UnfortunateImplications after a CultureClash and to the sheer scope of trouble down the road, if some things don't get fixed right away. The most current example is in Chapter 60 at the end where Sokka figures out that the Fire Nation knows about their plans to invade during the Day of Black Sun, which Shidan confirms.
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* OhCrap: Being TheSmartGuy makes him sensitive to the UnfortunateImplications after a CultureClash and to the sheer scope of trouble down the road, if some things don't get fixed right away. The most current example is in Chapter 60 at the end where Sokka figures out that the Fire Nation knows about their plans to invade during the Day of Black Sun, which Shidan confirms.
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%%* MakingASplash: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready He's a waterbender]].
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%%* MakingASplash: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready He's a waterbender]].waterbender.
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%%* BlowYouAway: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready She's an airbender.]]
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%%* BlowYouAway: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready She's an airbender.]]
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Still the Avatar, Aang is portrayed as a thorn in Zuko's side. He's twelve years old, hyperactive, and naive. His main counsellors aren't much older or more experienced. And it doesn't help that Aang spent the last century tucked away in an iceberg, ignorant of events outside, and after the thaw, has a LOT to catch up on while being unaware of the extent of the changes. Oh, and did we mention [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready he still needs a Firebending teacher?]] And someone who can teach him Fire Nation culture? [[BystanderSyndrome Yeah, not happening anytime soon.]]\\\
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Still the Avatar, Aang is portrayed as a thorn in Zuko's side. He's twelve years old, hyperactive, and naive. His main counsellors aren't much older or more experienced. And it doesn't help that Aang spent the last century tucked away in an iceberg, ignorant of events outside, and after the thaw, has a LOT to catch up on while being unaware of the extent of the changes. Oh, and did we mention [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready he still needs a Firebending teacher?]] teacher? And someone who can teach him Fire Nation culture? [[BystanderSyndrome Yeah, not happening anytime soon.]]\\\
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Nice Hat is now a disambig
Deleted line(s) 458 (click to see context) :
* NiceHat: It was supposedly fire-proof up until Azula's blue fire proved it wrong. Zuko later noted the absence of his hat even ruled out an option for defending against firebending.
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Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
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TeamMom and LoveInterest roles unchanged, Katara gets put through the wringer in ''Embers''. She arguably retains the same personality she had, but in this AlternateTimeline, everything's been TurnedUpToEleven. Nobody's safe from her, not even her own family, and she doesn't even know it until it hits everyone, including her, in the worst possible way. Thankfully, Yue and Toph step in to mitigate it all somewhat, but from what we've seen, Katara's still got a long way to go.
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TeamMom and LoveInterest roles unchanged, Katara gets put through the wringer in ''Embers''. She arguably retains the same personality she had, but in this AlternateTimeline, everything's been TurnedUpToEleven.exaggerated. Nobody's safe from her, not even her own family, and she doesn't even know it until it hits everyone, including her, in the worst possible way. Thankfully, Yue and Toph step in to mitigate it all somewhat, but from what we've seen, Katara's still got a long way to go.
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* BadassNormal: UpToEleven. She survived breaking [[BloodOath Loyalty]] to Azula. And she didn't require a healer, either.
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* BadassNormal: UpToEleven. She survived breaking [[BloodOath Loyalty]] to Azula. And she didn't require a healer, either.
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* NiceHat: It was supposedly fire-proof up until Azula's [[UpToEleven blue fire]] proved it wrong. Zuko later noted the absence of his hat even ruled out an option for defending against firebending.
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* NiceHat: It was supposedly fire-proof up until Azula's [[UpToEleven blue fire]] fire proved it wrong. Zuko later noted the absence of his hat even ruled out an option for defending against firebending.
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Clear wick to old subpage.
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[[HereThereBeDragons Here, there be]] tropes specific to characters from Creator/{{Vathara}}'s ''FanFic/{{Embers}}''. Who may or may not be associated with dragons or, more likely, (at least partially) ''be'' dragons.
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[[HereThereBeDragons Here, there be]] tropes specific to characters from Creator/{{Vathara}}'s ''FanFic/{{Embers}}''.''Embers''. Who may or may not be associated with dragons or, more likely, (at least partially) ''be'' dragons.
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%%
%%
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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%%
[[HereThereBeDragons Here, there be]] tropes specific to characters from Creator/{{Vathara}}'s ''FanFic/{{Embers}}''. Who may or may not be associated with dragons or, more likely, (at least partially) ''be'' dragons.
[[LateArrivalSpoiler For late readers and those recently]] [[FanFicRecommendations recommended this FanFic]]: this page '''contains spoilers'''.
[[foldercontrol]]
!Main Canon Characters
[[folder:Prince Zuko/"Lee"]]
Our protagonist who, thanks to [[AlternateTimeline one alternate decision]] in early Season Two, now finds himself on an entirely different path as to what canon depicted. Among the bigger changes: the capacity to heal with fire, becoming a [[ComboPlatterPowers yaoren]], finding his long-lost remaining grandfather, befriending Dai Li agents and fugitives from the same, and getting an entire Fire Nation ship to defect to his cause.\\\
Most of this is because [[ForWantOfANail he didn't steal Song's ostrich horse]], skipping one of his most notable displays as a villain. While not quite a full-time anti-hero, he always tries to do the best for his people. Now, 'honor' is less synonymous with 'ticket to Ozai's favor,' and [[BloodOath Loyalty]] has replaced much of his attempt to relive 'when his family was actually happy'.
----
%%* AnimalCompanion: Asahi
* BarrierBustingBlow: He shatters a stone cellar door with a shove to get to Jinhai when Min[[note]]He's an earthbender, so he's holding the door down[[/note]] is especially ticked off at his little brother. [[SubvertedTrope And ironically]], it does not tie in to Zuko's reputation as a [[{{Determinator}} fairly]] [[ImplacableMan unstoppable]] [[ScarilyCompetentTracker persecutor]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Twice, has Zuko has been on the bad end of a wish he didn't make. The first [[ProperlyParanoid he saw coming]]. The second time? [[FromBadToWorse He nearly died.]]
%%* BigBrotherMentor
%%* BigDamnHeroes: Pulled off with a ''gondola,'' no less.
* BlessedWithSuck: Counting his horrible luck in balance with his great destiny, perks can endanger him and perils may pay off with greater things. It is a tightrope to walk.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Spirits aren't easily dissuaded by Zuko's lack of acceptance. If anything, they will just turn around something that he is doing to make his actions turn out in Fate's favor.
* ChasteHero: Justified. In dragon-child terms, he's about four years too young to really be interested in anyone romantically.
%%* CombatMedic
%%* TheComicallySerious:
%%--> '''Jia''': So, what do you do for fun?\\
%%'''Lee''': I don't.
* CoolDownHug: Besides a dead obstacle, the only thing that brings him back when he gets especially enraged.
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: His bending, healing, swordsmanship, and royal manners all have the potential to put in him some very uncomfortable situations. Even his {{ninja}} skills can come into question if he becomes to difficult to read.
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Some of Embers' best SugarWiki/FunnyMoments result from this.
%%--> '''Zuko''': [[SarcasmMode What do you want me to do with the witnesses?]]
* DoomMagnet: He's almost the go-to pawn for spirit-world exploits. Thing is, he's not so easy to handle and he's pretty savvy about living with the some of the worst luck in the world. He doesn't even need to watch out for meteors or lightning strikes, since fate will steer [[ShockAndAwe Azula]] and [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill an entire army of]] [[DishingOutDirt Earthbenders]] his way, instead.
%%* DontYouDarePityMe: Doesn't stop people from doing it anyway.
* DoubleConsciousness: Amaya's [[SoulPower technique]] created a 'mask' that takes the patient's spirit and forges an alternate personality fitting a Ba Sing Se refugee.
* DoubleThink: 'Lee' is of the Water Tribe and adept at living in Ba Sing Se; he's there to catch Zuko before he does something in ignorance, and Zuko can depend on him to help deal with Fire Nation [[BloodOath loyalty]] to some degree. He's also heavily affected by [[MoreThanMindControl Katara's Inner Waterbending.]]
%%* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy
* ElementalBaggage: As a firebender, he's aware of his HairTriggerTemper, and has extensively trained to control it. He has broken his "[[MoreThanMindControl ties of fire and spirit" to the Fire Lord.]] Unfortunately, he's not really aware of his "ties of family and community" as a water yaoren - even though he's 1000% aware that his father and sister are evil, he hates that people hate them and want them dead, and [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation subconsciously permits their attackers to jump headfirst into a lethal trap]] because the Water Tribesman inside him doesn't ''care'' that they are.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: Scarce meals have slimmed the imposingly ripped Zuko of before, damping the more obvious flare of his presence. When he arrives as a healer, no one expects the teenaged mass of stern grumpiness.
* FingerSnapLighter: He unintentionally starts to forms fire daggers when angered[[note]]Most times, they are just sparks from between his tense knuckles. Other times, they are obvious, blazing implements that could easily be mistaken for (unrestrained) intent to maim[[/note]].
%%* FlightStrengthHeart
* ElementalPowers (naturally)
** Chi-fueled Bursts of SuperStrength[[note]]References how he casually heel-strikes through metal chains, and when Iroh gently tossed Zhao by the foot after the Agni Kai and Zhao went skidding several meters across the arena.[[/note]] and SuperSpeed[[note]]References how he jumped onto a hovering air-ship while also referencing the aforementioned SuperStrength[[/note]].
** Rock-hard nails that...steel can't cut? Admittedly, they let him [[WallCrawl scale rock like a mountain goat dipped in glue]] and if he ever chose to grow them out, he could sharpen them into [[NaturalWeapon deadly claws]]. [[note]]They are taken from his chase scene in the canon finale, where Aang jumps onto a cliff and Zuko climbs almost as fast as he runs; and from Azula's first in-series fight with him.[[/note]]
%%* GoodIsNotNice
* HalfHumanHybrid: Part of why he has such a bad temper is that he's descended from dragons.
%%* HealItWithFire
%%* HealingHands
* HeroWithAnFInGood: Even worse than canon. Canonically, most if not all of his problems stemmed from confusing his "[[KnightErrant duty]]" with [[WellDoneSonGuy his desire to please his father]]. In ''Embers'', he has a HairTriggerTemper that pushes him towards black-out, burn everything within sight rage on a regular basis, multiple curses, and an inborn compulsion to kill those who challenge his authority. The only thing that keeps him from being exactly as brutal and sadistic as his sister is a similarly inborn protective instinct.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Zuko takes many leaps of cynicism with Aang, even thinking him nearly irreparably stupid and failing to see the psychological reasons behind Aang's actions. He also admits that "I don't ''understand'' people. I try and I try and I ''don't.''"
%%* ImplacableMan:
%%--> '''Sokka:''' ''(to Hakoda)'' Zuko does not give up. He doesn't quit. He doesn't get bored. For all I know, he doesn't even sleep. You can smack him with a boomerang. Freeze him in ice. Dump him in the ocean. Blast him into a wall hard enough to leave little Zuko-shaped dents! And Aang's done that. Lots of times. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis He. Doesn't. Stop.]]
* IncendiaryExponent: [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]]. Zuko can weapon-ize certain things by firebending into them and moving them as he would flame (air heated into plasma), thus passing as a pseudo-bender of other elements.
* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: Zuko's skills aren't limited [[NonLethalKO harmless knockouts]] and [[InverseLawOfSharpnessAndAccuracy deadly strikes that never touch flesh]]. Enemies can and do die in-scene. Zuko ''expects'' nightmares after a kill, though Iroh tells him decreasing regret is a sign of something wrong.
%%* KnightInSourArmor
* LaserGuidedKarma: {{Subverted|Trope}} and [[LoopHoleAbuse perverted]]. His ancestry, position, and goals put an obscenely obvious "Kick Me" sign on Zuko's back.
* LeaveNoWitnesses: In chapter 6, he and Iroh had an entire ambush KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade. [[EntertaininglyWrong The details are interestingly interpreted through an investigation of the aftermath.]] The (charred remains of the) [[AssholeVictim bandits]] are [[IdentificationByDentalRecords only recognized by the leader's teeth]].
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: As in canon, Zuko feels like the world is using him for target practice. But he seems much more resigned to it than in canon, possibly because he deals a lot more in spiritual misery, and is more accepting of having no luck.
--> '''Zuko:''' [[spoiler:Am I dead again? Once was ''enough,'' damnit!]]
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: A key element of his character in canon (one which he canonically ''abandoned'' once he realized cruelty has no constructive purpose), but in Embers he's arguably turned it into ''[[WarriorTherapist Warrior Therapy]]''.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zuko's repeated statements is, "I didn't do this." Even Iroh gets in on the act, insisting that Zuko hasn't really done anything worth hating him for, refusing to acknowledge that Zuko ''would'' [[TheUnfettered do anything]] if he believed his "[[JustFollowingOrders honor]]" required it, which is why most sane people are [[TheDreaded terrified]] of him - especially given that he is capable of '''anything''' except [[TheDeterminator giving up]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He says himself a lot of heartache could have been avoided if he'd just talked to Aang at the South Pole.
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
* PintSizedPowerhouse: While the show [[YourSizeMayVary altered his size]] depending on how imposing he needed to be, here Zuko is always hinted as being rather short. He even grumbles about the men of other nations being built so big, but that doesn't stop him from being the imperially trained, fire-breathing, DualWielding {{ninja}} badass he's always been.
* ProperlyParanoid: Starting plans is easy for Zuko and Iroh; they think of the worst situation possible, then work from there.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Zuko is meant to be Aang's adviser, but doesn't want to be anywhere near the boy.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Of Kuzon, Aang's best friend from the Fire Nation.
* IWillFindYou: Kuzon's promise that he would find Aang, no matter what.
* SuperPoweredEvilSide: When he's particularly angry, his capabilities shoot up, but he loses his grasp of language.
%%* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Towards Aang.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Their particular shade is a sign of a powerful firebender.
%%* TechnicolorFire
* ThisIsADrill: When he needs to get through solid rock and not around it, he can use his Firebending in this manner. As seen at the end of the Beach arc and when killing the Plague Spirit.
* TranquilFury: When he's channeling his usual, explosive anger through Lee especially when he's drawing on Lee's nature as a water tribesman, and more so still, when channeling [[MoreThanMindControl Katara]]'s [[TheCorrupter raw loathing]] and combining it with his more explosive hatred.
%%* WhatWereYouThinking: Just got this from Iroh. Lampshaded several times several chapters back.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Prince General Iroh/"Mushi"]]
Fundamentally unchanged from canon, though WordOfGod says he's less of a LoveMartyr in this timeline. Embers' Iroh is more actively involved with his nephew now that the events of late Season 2 have been averted.
----
* BadassGeneral: He held Ba Sing Se under siege for 600 days, and the city's residents and generals ''still'' freak out to varying degrees on hearing his name.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Iroh has a bad habit of making pleas to the spirits to "help" Zuko, which usually don't turn out very well for Zuko. See, Zuko in ''Embers'' is mostly invisible to spirits -- Iroh isn't, and he thusly acts as a lightning rod for spirit-problems that Zuko would normally be able to evade.
%%* DecemberDecemberRomance: With Amaya.
* ExactWords: Sly as Iroh is, he almost never lies, but instead chooses to use words that let listeners craft their own deception.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Though well-meaning, Iroh's acts of... less than stellar wisdom... tend to just make Zuko's life ever more difficult. For example, it turns out that Zuko becoming a yaoren, and thusly rendering Zuko invalid to inherit the throne and his crazy sister Azula the only legal heir, is all Iroh's fault, as a result of wishing to the spirits.
* NoTimeToExplain: By chapter four, Iroh knows Aang doesn't understand Fire Nation loyalty and customs. While Team Avatar is (grudgingly) willing to listen, he can't divulge his [[MrExposition usual lecture]], lest [[ScarilyCompetentTracker Azula returns to]] [[ShockAndAwe strike]], again[[note]] this is sequentially analogous to the end of the episode ''The Chase'', from canon[[/note]].
%%* OlderAndWiser: Zigzagged. In many ways the failed siege of Ba Sing Se and its aftermath changed Iroh for the better. In others... there's room for improvement.
%%* PapaWolf: [[ShockAndAwe Smites]] [[ColdSniper In Cold]] [[TranquilFury Fury]] - Forgetting this is probably the quickest way to a thundering death. [[ImprobableAimingSkills Don't even try to hide in a crowd]]. Although Iroh claims to have a practical reason for killing General Gang.
%%* RetiredBadass: Until the above happens.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids:
** Zuko, and several others who are in the know, think that Iroh needs to ''stop'' trusting so much in the Avatar and the Spirits to sort things out. Given that every time Iroh invokes the spirits and/or tries to get Zuko to ally with Aang tends to blow up in Zuko's face, they kind of have a point.
** It's gotten to the point that, in chapter 84, Pakku himself all but calls Iroh an idiot for his beliefs and implies that when Zuko figures out just how much of his problems can be attributed to Iroh, things are going to get ''ugly''.
* TemptingFate: The end of chapter 4. Iroh is making some progress with Zuko, bit by grudging bit, when he thinks "At least we haven't seen the bison". Sure enough, Zuko takes another three steps and finds a familiar clump of white fur, on the ground. The events of ''The Chase'' ensue.
-->'''Iroh's Thoughts''': Spirits, you are ''not'' helping.
* WeWantOurJerkBack: When [[SoulPower Amaya creates]] [[DoubleThink spirit-masks]] for Zuko and him, they both worry that actually being their aliases would screw with their familial relationship. They get over it.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/73/Embers chapter 73]], the air/water-bending yaoren Langxue really lets Iroh have it in regards his machinations, idealism and ignorance in roughly equal measure.
** [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/84/Embers Chapter 84]] sees him getting a more level and oblique version of this from Pakku, who has some pointed words to say about Iroh's belief in his own supremely wise elder act and how much authority it gives him over his family.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Avatar Aang]]
Still the Avatar, Aang is portrayed as a thorn in Zuko's side. He's twelve years old, hyperactive, and naive. His main counsellors aren't much older or more experienced. And it doesn't help that Aang spent the last century tucked away in an iceberg, ignorant of events outside, and after the thaw, has a LOT to catch up on while being unaware of the extent of the changes. Oh, and did we mention [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready he still needs a Firebending teacher?]] And someone who can teach him Fire Nation culture? [[BystanderSyndrome Yeah, not happening anytime soon.]]\\\
And then it does. After eighty some odd chapters of 'fic and numerous instances of WhatTheHellHero.
----
%%* AndThatsTerrible
* BewareTheHonestOnes: How Zuko sees him. Fans of him from canon know that Aang will do the Right Thing, no matter the risk, no matter the cost. Zuko just sees him as an immature idiot who is willing to throw himself on the judgement and mercy of {{Kangaroo Court}}s who regularly boil people in oil.
%%* BrilliantButLazy: Canon saw him unprepared right before the comet, and Toph calls him out on it both then and here.
* BrokenPedestal:
** He believes that all Air Nomads were pacifists and didn't have evil people! In chapter 54, Temul shows them how Kuzon was killed...by airbenders, trained by Aang's fellow Temple mate, Ja Aku.
** Eventuality Aang realizes that Monk Gyatso, his beloved teacher, was WRONG about "no one can make you do anything you don't ''want'' to". For him, it's like the sky is falling.
** Might be worse when he realizes that it's an Airbender ExactWords twist; Gyatso was technically correct in his defense of free will, he just failed to mention that, "Some people ''can'' [[MoreThanMindControl make you want what they want]]."
%%* BunnyEarsLawyer
* CultureBlind: Most notably, because the Avatar is supposed to help everyone ''else'' in the world get over such a problem. However, he's also tolerant of cultural differences; Air Monk philosophy is that eating meat is wrong, but he never mentions this to the others until Sokka asks him about it. He shows no surprise or horror at the burial customs of other nations. Respecting other cultures is easy for him; it's finding out what the differences ''are'' that's hard.
%%* CursedWithAwesome[=/=]BlessedWithSuck: Boy, is he ''ever''.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: He is ''implicitly'' [[GoodIsDumb Not Dumb.]] His "problems" are;
** A. Airbenders tend to be flighty (pun intended) and don't sit around to show off their intelligence. Problem solved, big world full of problems, move on to the next one. Not unjustified, as he ''does'' have an entire world to save, and canonically learned his lesson about staying on one place too long back on Kyoshi Island. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite figured out that [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed problems don't necessarily STAY solved]].
** B. Because he is a textbook example of AllLovingHero, he is all but incapable of believing that people can ''choose'' to be destructive and/or ignorant ForTheEvulz, let alone [[MyCountryRightOrWrong willingly choose to OBEY such people]].
* GrandTheftMe: After he gets blasted with lightning, Roku and Yangchen briefly take over his body.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Subverted. He can get the wrong idea of a person, up to the point that they tell [[LivingLieDetector an outright lie]]. As a Master Airbender, he can read spoken words and all their subtexts so long as they are carried on the wind. What throws him off are people like Jet, who mostly believe in their lies, or Long Feng, who twist the truth as they will. There are also instances where the motivation and psychology of the subject are so strange to him that he mis-interprets what he's sensing. For example, it takes him a long time to understand that finding an action to be distasteful or even repugnant will not necessarily stop someone from taking that action. And when a close friend shows a darker side for him to judge, he goes into full-blown denial.
%%* HowDoIShotWeb: [[WhoYouGonnaCall Shamanism]].
* HumanityIsInfectious: The Avatar Spirit incarnates as humans so that it can understand humanity and acquire human traits.
* IdiotHero: Mostly due to ignorance about the spirits and interrupted training by Gyatso. If not that, Aang doesn't stick around his worst fans to prove them wrong. Otherwise, he'd just rather play than think, provided there's nothing urgent going on.
%%* IJustWantToBeNormal: Poor, poor kid.
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Almost willfully so, in earlier chapters. Although he's trying to fix that, with Tao and Toph aiding him, it's slowly going. ''Very'' slowly.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Deconstructed. In the DarkerAndEdgier world of ''Embers'', he needs to be corrupted with some realism/lose his faith in the world before he gets eaten alive. Although his idealism and faith are also necessary to prevent atrocities; it's a balancing act. Iroh sums it up:
-->And he pictured that kind, young boy, facing the Face-Stealer with the best of intentions, to set right that ancient spirit's wrong.\\
''...I do not think I will be sleeping well tonight.''
%%* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: And how! It's bad enough in canon, but since ''Embers'' thinks about the ''consequences'' of everything that's happened to him?
%%* KickTheDog: With Boots. (Boots was not exactly blameless toward Aang, but given the power differential... )
* KidWithTheLeash: To the Avatar Spirit. Since the Avatar Spirit is the Avatar of the entire planet, he's supposed to be this to the entire world. Koh, the Fire Nation... he'd have better luck herding cats.
* LastOfHisKind: Partially averted. In ''Embers'', while there are survivors of several Air Nomad groups still out there, Aang is still the last remaining Air ''Monk'', and the only one left who holds to (what he knows of) their ways. All the others would ''much'' rather see those ways die out. In fact, a character in chapter 59 all but implied that until Aang gives up the Temple ways, the only way to be rid of all traces of the Temples is to wait for Aang to die.
* LivingLieDetector: Being an Airbending master, he can easily see through lies. So easily, he knew Zuko wasn't using lethal force the ''entire'' time he'd been chasing the Avatar. This turns out to be not as reliable as Aang thought, as ''he doesn't want to use lethal force'' is not the same thing as ''he won't use lethal force''.
* MotherNature: Technically, as he's the avatar of the (female) planet. Sadly, [[WrongGenreSavvy this is no]] GreenAesop.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He doesn't want to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, between dealing with three different alien value systems, chronic lack of patience and insane powers, a lot of the characters who meet him see him this way.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dousing the flames keeping a murderous zombie army from swarming a colony that has '''just''' only finished dealing with Fong is generally '''not''' the best response to a worldview altering decision.
* ParentalAbandonment: Normal for Air Nomads, to the point he sees nothing wrong with it, which the others find disturbing. Chapter 51 shows [[Manga/RurouniKenshin a nun and her ex-Onmitsu lover]] that may be his birth parents.
%%* ThePollyanna
%%* StupidGood: His blindly following Air Monk doctrine.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Zuko's thoughts reveal this when he is thinking about how Aang ran away from the Southern Air Temple and, thus, from the Elders' decision to brainwash him:
-->Aang might have the attention span of a flutter-hornet on a honey high, but that impulsive decision might just have saved the world.
%%* SuperpoweredEvilSide: The Avatar State, or at least the inconsiderate GaiasVengeance side.
* TimeTravel: Sort of. It took a one-way trip into the future courtesy of an iceberg; it's taking him a while to catch up with the cultural changes.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Aang, you are the Avatar. In canon, he was already clinging to his identity as just a normal kid/air nomad. In ''Embers'', he's been forced to face the fact that he is, to whatever degree, Kyoshi and Roku, among others, and responsible for their screw-ups. With the focus Embers is placing on spirits and politics, the fact that the Avatar is the Avatar of the world-spirit is likely to play a larger role. Aang just isn't a normal kid who can have a normal life.
%%* TheTrickster: Deconstructed to hell and back.
* ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer:
** Played with. Aang is unwilling to take a life, but quick to use his bending, which often does more damage than he notices. While mostly played for laughs in canon, in Embers this comes back to bite Aang, ''badly''. Also, because of the war, those closest to Aang want him to temporarily let go of his ThouShaltNotKill policy – before this was explicitly stated to him, Aang believed that his allies ''shared his pacifism''. After said confrontation, he is deeply upset and confused by the knowledge that they don't, even as he grapples with understanding the why's.
** Subverted quite thoroughly in the climax of the fic. Unlike in canon, in ''Embers'' Aang decides that Violence Isn't The Answer and ''sticks to it''. All the way down to how he deals with the fic's ManBehindTheMan, Koh the Face-Stealer. And it is ''awesome''.
%%* WideEyedIdealist
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Katara]]
TeamMom and LoveInterest roles unchanged, Katara gets put through the wringer in ''Embers''. She arguably retains the same personality she had, but in this AlternateTimeline, everything's been TurnedUpToEleven. Nobody's safe from her, not even her own family, and she doesn't even know it until it hits everyone, including her, in the worst possible way. Thankfully, Yue and Toph step in to mitigate it all somewhat, but from what we've seen, Katara's still got a long way to go.
----
* AngstComa: Zuko gave her a choice between her TrueCompanions and her Tribe and [[YourMindMakesItReal it tore more than just her attention]].
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Vathara agrees with canon that Katara is this. She is also an avowed opponent of this trope;
-->Katara is not honest. Katara is sweetness and confidence and "we're going to help Aang save the world!" Until she runs into [[BerserkButton something she doesn't like]], at which point the Sugar Queen cracks, and a lot of nastiness oozes out. ...Yeah. That relationship is going to end ''[[SarcasmMode so well]]''. I think I'll take my chances with Azula....
%%* TheChiefsDaughter
* CloseToHome: Deconstructed and Justified. Why did Katara go on the defensive when Zuko wasn't actually attacking her or doing anything terrible? Because he ''was.'' On top of being the symbol of what killed her mother, by trying to get through to Katara he was attacking the idea of herself that she'd built up in order to function. In other words, he was [[FatalFlaw attacking her psychological weak point.]] What happened when her SanityMeter went to zero? She went into an AngstComa ''and nearly died.'' In a world with ''Embers''' laws of metaphysics, he was essentially coming at her with a knife ([[HanlonsRazor not that he knew this]]), no one would help her or believe her (a double whammy) and her subconscious reacted accordingly.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Most likely averted, by WordOfGod. Katara has a wound to her spirit and could become a yaoren, but Katara is such a self-reliant person that she's almost certain to never ask the world in general or a Great Spirit of another element for help, giving them an opening.
* ExtremeDoormat: A normal person's response to nearly being killed should not be "''We'' betrayed ''him.''" It's this tendency towards just taking it from her loved ones and saying that it's not the other person's fault because they were hurting (that reasons are not excuses and don't make it right is a major theme of the fic) that got her into this mess.
* GenreBlindness: She (along with Aang), genuinely believes that she's doing the right thing, which doesn't always match with the changed world of ''Embers'' (which has gradually grown from [[ForWantOfANail divergence]] to full-on [=AU=]); her actions have both more realistic implications and more supernatural consequences.
%%* TheHeart: She remains this in Embers. Lampshaded by Toph in Chapter 37: "Katara keeps us together."
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Her abilities allow her to pull on others' emotions. The bad part about this is that she was not taught to control it very well, thanks to Pakku. Hakoda and Sokka are wary about her pulling on their hearts. This power is extrapolated from Katara's canonical moments of managing to spark emotional resurgences in others, such as her pep-talking the imprisoned Earthbenders into a successful revolt in Episode 6.
* HeroInsurance: Invoked. Katara is disturbed when she is prevented from trying to heal someone while they were sleeping. She's the Avatar's teacher. Why does ''she'' need consent to fix somebody? She's the good guy!
* HonorBeforeReason: Both a positive trait and a negative trait. Zuko praises her for being willing to do the right thing, even when it's hard, but ''Embers'' puts a lot of importance on ''thinking''. In addition to that, since 'people judge normal by themselves' and Katara actually doesn't think that she's a very good person, anyone ''less'' honorable than her (which is actually setting the bar ''really'' high) must obviously be a terrible person. It's also Water Tribe honor. For instance, there's nothing dishonorable about stealing from others, especially bad people, if your people need it, to a culture where it's traditional to raid your enemies (on top of piracy).
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Though this seems more of a side-effect of her MoralMyopia. Anyone who doesn't side with her or Aang (Xiu, for instance) isn't a friend, especially if they happen to like Zuko. She's especially this around those of the Fire Nation.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Much of her hard-edged choices have to do with growing up in a culture with the {{Wendigo}} and [[ShootTheDog having to deal with it]] [[SanitySlippage before it becomes]] [[ImAHumanitarian a problem]].
%%* InnocentBlueEyes
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Katara often needs Toph to help put things into perspective for her.
* KidWithTheLeash: She canonically has this power over the Avatar State via {{Cooldown Hug}}s. Except she's on somewhat shaky ground with Aang ever since Zuko's blood-contract-guided psychic attack on her in Chapter 31. If Aang goes ballistic again and the Avatar Spirit wants to re-enact Kyoshi's hurricane, it's possible that Katara won't be able to calm him down. ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero And it would be Zuko's fault.]]'' Confirmed in Chapter 80; Aang goes off (albeit due to being possessed), and burns Katara's back as badly as Zuko's ''face.''
%%* LectureAsExposition: She gets one from Tingzhe Wen.
* {{Lunacy}}: The moon augments a waterbender's power.
* MamaBear: Towards Aang. When her own mother was murdered in front of her. In an attack by the Fire Nation. [[OhCrap The Fire Nation Zuko represents.]] Comes to a head in the Beach Arc.
* MoralMyopia: Every character is biased to some degree, but [[AuthorTract Katara doesn't even give a convincing argument]], having grown up with the impression that she is supposed to be a strong pillar to hold up her tribe. It's the darker half of her TeamMom tendencies.
* MoreThanMindControl: Waterbenders can heavily spur the emotions of their tribesmen. Very good for morale. [[TheCorrupter Not so good when you're an angry wreck on the inside and haven't been trained to control this ability.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the most current chapter, she realizes that she sold out Shidan to one of the Onmitsu, who is going to report Byakko's treachery to the Fire Lord.
%%* RedOniBlueOni: With Zuko, and the colors flipped.
%%* {{Revenge}}: Her motives still remain the same from her canon self.
* StepfordSmiler: Resulting from being forced into the TeamMom position ''for her own family'' after her mother was killed protecting her. As her grandmother points out in the show, Katara was also the symbol of hope for the Southern Water Tribe not for herself, but because she was a waterbender. No one wanted to deal with the fact the person they needed to cheer them up was not a very happy person, so she grew up convinced that if she showed her true self with the pain of losing her mother, her resentment of being put into this position and her hatred of the Fire Nation, no one would love the real her. For a waterbender, with their emphasis on community, this is explicitly just as bad as what Ozai did to Zuko.
%%* TeamMom: The problems with trying to be this while coping with the loss of her own mother are brought up.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Not only did Katara not have one, as a waterbender she was expected to ''be'' that much-needed therapist. Even Kanna was understanding about the fact that Katara couldn't have prevented all those deaths without training, but Katara still blamed herself.
%%* VisionQuest: Only non-yaoren to have one, so far (Aang's canon one was cut short).
* WrongGenreSavvy: Things that would fix problems in a more idealistic world actually ''start'' problems in Embers. Contrast this with Zuko, now the Protagonist, who has had to learn to calm down before he can't think, lest he get [[AnthropicPrinciple himself and Iroh killed]], when they were on the run.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sokka]]
His core personality hasn't changed, though his experiences have. Sokka stands the middle ground - while he is firmly on Aang and Katara's side, his maturity and innate sense allow him to see things as they really are. This talent helps save the day during the Beach Arc; when Katara's rampant emotional turmoil and unawareness of her MoreThanMindControl talents threaten the truce, Sokka consciously makes the effort to overcome his prejudices and try to understand where the other guys are coming from. (Even if it ''does'' break his brain.) As such, while Zuko would love to set Aang and Katara on fire, he can tolerate Sokka.
----
%%* BadassNormal: Same as in canon.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Averted. All Sokka really gets from Temul is some much needed indepth knowledge about the Fire Nation and its culture. Otherwise, Temul kicks his ass during their sword training.
* FacePalm: He does this in ch. 37 when he hears how Aang and Katara put their address on the posters they posted of Appa while staying in Ba Sing Se.
* HeadDesk: Forgoing his [[FacePalm palm]], Sokka smacks himself with the blunt end of Boomerang when Aang reveals he knew of Zuko's non-lethal intentions the whole time.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: [[ConversedTrope Conversed]]. Zuko, informing him about the chi and bending, points out that the usage of chi extends beyond the elements, into relatively mundane skills, such as nailing a target with a boomerang just right.
* OhCrap: Being TheSmartGuy makes him sensitive to the UnfortunateImplications after a CultureClash and to the sheer scope of trouble down the road, if some things don't get fixed right away. The most current example is in Chapter 60 at the end where Sokka figures out that the Fire Nation knows about their plans to invade during the Day of Black Sun, which Shidan confirms.
%%* TheSmartGuy
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toph Bei Fong]]
[[MemeticBadass The Greatest Earthbender in the World]], and damn proud of it, Toph is the most grounded of the Gaang, both literally and figuratively. While the others base their opinions on preconceived - and sometimes unfounded - notions and run with it, she withholds her judgement, actually taking the time to learn what the truth of the matter is before coming to any decision. It's because of this she agreed to aid Zuko in the jailbreak that freed Appa (Jet, Smellerbee and Longshot were a bonus). Solid, patient, and nurturing, to a far greater extent than in canon, Toph personifies all the best attributes of her element, and Zuko couldn't ask for a better ally in a tight spot.
----
* BloodOath: She has an Earth Kingdom Contract with Aang, to help him defeat the Fire Lord. As with Fire Nation Loyalty, it could kill her if she backs out of it, even if she has no reason in the world to do so.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Subverted. Zuko gives her advice on how she might be able to swim, but she doesn't take to it nearly as easily as metal and molten glass. Although, it has lead to the pleasant surprise that bending smoke lead to quasi-Airbending.
* CastFromHitPoints: After healing a bruise, she says she's come out of entire tournaments with less exhaustion. Considering Toph's power and skill, its hard to distinguish between an exhaustion of strength or a strain of prowess.
* CombatMedic: Emphasis on 'combat'. She's quickly picked up on Earth-Healing, but states that she'd rather deal damage than fix it, only when Zuko or Katara are absent would she try it.
* DishingOutDirt: As in canon, she's an Earthbender. At one point she learnes how to do [[BlowYouAway quasi-Airbending]] by manipulating ash particles in smoke after Zuko tries giving her advice on how to swim.
%%* ExtraOreDinary: Duh.
* FacePalm: Several times. Particularly when Aang talks about putting up more Appa posters.
* GeniusBruiser: Toph is fully aware of the implications of her Metal-bending; if "no one" is supposed to bend metal, then how many ''other'' "impossible" techniques can she get away with? She's experimenting with the use of salt in seawater, and even bent the ''ashes in smoke''.
* HeadDesk: Discovering the sheer scope of [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage difference between nations]] in the definition of 'truce', Toph [[DishingOutDirt bashes a rock with her head]].
* HealingHands: Only in an emergency; she says after doing it that it takes more out of her than a [[ProfessionalWrestling Rumble]], and she'll leave it to the professionals otherwise.
* OnlySaneMan: Amongst everyone else's not so sane moments, Toph's the only one keeping a level head and looks at the situation objectively, especially with regards to the Fire Nation. She's the only one who can.
* SecretKeeper: She knows that Zuko, Iroh and the Fire Nation have draconic ancestry. She also knows that Zuko can waterbend, too, but she doesn't tell Aang, Sokka or Katara.
%%* StealthHiBye: Her favorite greeting.
%%* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Much more so than Aang.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Princess Azula]]
Fire Princess and DaddysGirl, Azula personifies all the worst that one of her ancestry can claim - and she, along with Zuko, has more draconian ancestry than most. All Fire Nation citizens have dragon's blood to some degree (it's practically required to firebend in the prescribed form), and a few have dragons for recent ancestors (Teruko). Azula and Zuko? Out of their 8 great-grandparents, ''three'' were dragons, Sozin was a [[HalfHumanHybrid dragon child]] (someone whose parent was a dragon), and Roku was the Avatar. It's a recipe for disaster, and while Zuko thankfully has chosen a different path under Iroh's guidance, Azula was raised by Ozai. As a result, she's running headlong down the Dark Dragon road of carnage, death, and utter destruction. It's all in the name of her father, for the glory of the Fire Lord and her Nation... And she won't let ''anyone'' get in her way. As of chapter 81, not even her own father -- said Fire Lord. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Congratulations, Ozai.]]
----
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Azula engages in this in-universe, and concludes that [[spoiler:Zuko isn't even ''remotely'' the idiot she thought he was for years, but someone who saw a disaster coming that ''nobody else saw'', tried to head it off, and couldn't due to his inability to deal with politics.]] Once she runs through this train of thought, she gains a great deal more respect for him.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Zuko has learned to make himself scarce when she utters the phrase 'Little Zuzu'. [[note]]Now that they are older, he is still probably boned if she is in a creative mood and distant by a several dozen miles.[[/note]]
* BloodOath: Such is Loyalty, where just thinking the wrong way spells trouble. She owes Loyalty to Ozai and she can press others into yielding it to her.
* BreakTheHaughty: At the end of the Invasion of the caldera, Azula is betrayed by one of Ty Lee's clan. Not only this, but Mai implies that the Fire Lord does ''not'' appreciate her changes in his plans, and may mean that she is just as disposable as her brother is. It is thought by some readers that Mai herself may have deceived Azula to make her feel as every bit betrayed as Mai felt when she found out about Azula's own treachery in pairing her with Zuko. By chapter 81, readers find out that, no, Ozai really is that dismissive of ''both'' his children.
* ConsummateLiar: A staple of dark dragons, who can lie through a PsychicLink. How good is she? In Chapter 48, Vathara {{Retcon}}ned Azulon's punishment from the canonical "know the pain of losing a first-born son" into "know the pain of losing a ''most favored child''" ''Azula.'' Azula actually retconned it ''right back'', conning Ursa into believing that Zuko was the sacrifice.
-->'''Shidan''': ''You saw a threat. And you acted. All it cost you was your mother... and your brother's nightmares.''
* EnfanteTerrible: In a nutshell, Azula has been terrorizing everyone since she was old enough to walk.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: She just does not understand how people can be so easily compelled by emotion to do drastic things. To her, there has to be an ulterior motive and hidden agenda; after all, that's why ''she'' would be openly passionate.
%%* IShallTauntYou
* KarmaHoudini: See the rest of Azula's entry? In Chapter 88, ''she becomes the new Fire Lord'' (the spiritual authority of that position, though, was dissolved by Aang). Even Ursa, whose family has been in silent rebellion against the rule of the Fire Lords since the war began, and herself acknowledged that her daughter is a monster, shows up to show support for Azula's rule.
* KickTheDog: As a child, she would torture animals to death.
%%* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming
%%* MoreThanMindControl: Her 'Inner Fire'.
%%* MindRape: Unsurprisingly, being the psychopathic genius she is. Poor Min.
* MindManipulation: Whether of hesitating followers or resistant prisoners, Azula will herd undesirable emotions.
* PetTheDog: Chapter 66. Lets Aang go during the invasion trying to fulfill a promise to Zuko. In a surprising move (for her), when Aang decides to charge straight into the Caldera anyway, her reaction can be summed up as ''I tried''.
* TheSociopath: Azula is condemned to be a sociopath by [[ItRunsInTheFamily genetics]] and [[DaddysLittleVillain upbringing]]. After some spiritbending mind healing, some of the worst of the sociopathy is walled off and Azula gets more freedom of choice in her actions. Of course, she still CHOOSES to do evil things (like trying to kill Zuko), but now she's a bit more rational about it. It remains to be seen if this is an example of NiceJobBreakingItHero.
* WellDoneSonGuy: She strives for Ozai's attentions and constantly proclaims and reaffirms her loyalty to her father. [[TheStarscream Until she doesn't]]. "Sorry Daddy, but... What you ''want'' isn't what your people ''need''. Looks like it's my turn up to bat. Hey Zuzu, wish me luck!"
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mai]]
Daughter of Governor Tsumami and the Lady Niji, Mai is still the dour girl we met in canon. But she makes her HeelFaceTurn a lot sooner, once it become clear just how long Azula's been lying to her - and just how deep her deception went. It's one thing to date someone. It's another to be ''related'' to said person, in a way and to the degree of consanguinity that the laws clearly state are prohibited. (In Embers, she is descended from Roku's daughter, Momiji, the sister of Ilah, who was the wife of Azulon.) The worst part is Azula knew the entire damn time, and had incorporated the expected side effects into several plans.
----
%%* ActionGirlfriend: To Min, much to his distress. She plans to go back to the Fire Nation.
* BadassNormal: UpToEleven. She survived breaking [[BloodOath Loyalty]] to Azula. And she didn't require a healer, either.
%%* BlueOni: To Ty Lee, as true in canon.
* CombatPragmatist: She knows how to choose her battles most shrewdly. This comes from being the daughter of a noble close to the Fire Lord's family, and as well as dealing with Azula.
%%* DefrostingIceQueen: More so in Embers.
%%* HeelFaceTurn
* NervesOfSteel: She displays a cool head in the face of [[MagnificentBastard Azula]], who in ch. 34, suspects her of treachery, and is right when Mai does her HeelFaceTurn.
%%* PairTheSpares: With Min Wen.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ty Lee]]
Still our ditzy, bubbly, bouncing acrobat, Ty Lee becomes much more than that in Embers. Descendant of the Duo Qang, one of many Airbender tribes that used to roam the winds, Ty Lee's people were decimated during the era of Avatar Yangchen, and those who weren't killed outright in that period were later kidnapped to the temples and brainwashed into becoming monks and nuns. The survivors who escaped both fates ended up settling in the Fire Nation and ultimately pledged their services to the Fire Lord. Since those services tend to include chi-blocking and the arts of stealth, it's no wonder that the Duo Quang are now known as the ''onmitsu'' - Ozai's own army of ninjas and assassins. Ty Lee knows about her family history, and will do what it takes to stop Aang - last of the Temple Monks - from what she and her people believe will be a second Holocaust.
----
* AntiVillain: She helps Azula because she wants her clan to live. She actually doesn't want Aang to know what the Temples did.
* AuraVision: Fully functional, rather than being a glorified horoscope (and ambiguously connected to her [[TheParalyzer chi-blocking]]).
%%* BadassAdorable
* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Getting this off screen from Azula saves her life! Turns out when Air Nomads come to the realization that their teachers were Wrong [[spoiler: they stop breathing!]]
* LesCollaborateurs: Her clan, the Fire Nation-allied Onmitsu, descendants of the Duo Qang.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Her vs. Makoto. She did have the Dai Li help her, but her actions led to Makoto flying away.
%%* TheEmpath
%%* GenkiGirl: The same as she is in canon.
%%* HighlyVisibleNinja
%%* LivingLieDetector
%%* ObliviouslyEvil
%%* RedOni: To Mai.
* RememberedICouldFly: Almost [[BlowYouAway literally]], as [[PowerLimiter her airbending]] and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia some memories]] had been sealed away by her clan.
* SadlyMythtaken:
** The stories she was told about Kuzon, known to her as [[FalseFriend the Great Betrayer]]. Ty Lee, and the onmitsu as a whole, [[KidnappedByAnAlly know Kuzon hid away other Airbender survivors, but don't know where.]] The Duo Qang are unaware of the existence of any other surviving Airbender groups outside the Fire Nation, and Kuzon made sure they stayed ignorant of that fact for good reason - [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance no need to add ''more'' kidnapped brainwashed ninjas to the Fire Lord's ranks.]]
** She's also this about Aang, too. Despite being a Temple Monk, Aang would NOT condone any of what Xiangchen or his followers did, and never would Aang do this to her or any of the other Air Nomad survivors.
** There's also Zuko. In chapter 42 she says that Zuko is too nice. She's in for a surprise when she sees him again...
* TomatoInTheMirror: While telling Azula about what the Temple Monks did to her ancestors, Ty Lee doesn't know that her Elders have her and her family [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood in Harmonious Accord]]. Subverted in that Ty Lee, post chapter 38, told Azula that she remembered certain things, as revealed in chapter 42.
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist
[[/folder]]
!Minor Canon Characters
[[folder:Grand Secretariat Long Feng]]
Essentially unchanged from canon, Long Feng takes much the same path as he did on the show. The only difference is the end: after imprisoning Azula, he attempts to double-cross her, using Ty Lee as leverage. Azula does not take kindly to Long Feng's treatment, killing him with a well-placed lightning strike. His old responsibilities are divided afterwards, with leadership of the Dai Li falling to Agent Chan, while Agents Quan and Bon becomes Kuei's new advisers.
----
%%* TheChessmaster: Pity Azula plays one better.
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: This version of Long Feng was unambiguously the hero of a mass invasion fo kamuiy the night previous Earth King's family was assissinated. Both saving the four year old Kuei and rallying the Dai Li to beat back a horde of malevolent killer spirits.
%%* KilledOffForReal: Rather than ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.
%%* SmugSnake: Oh boy, is he ever.
%%* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Until the Fire Nation invades.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Earth King Kuei]]
The 24-year-old royal gets a major fleshing out in Embers. For starters, Kuei never leaves Ba Sing Se, but instead retreats underground (quite literally) to strike back at the Fire Nation forces occupying his city. It gets better. Turns out the Earth Kings were and are still considered the spiritual heart of the Earth Kingdom for a damn good reason - they descend from ancient shamans and have power over the spirits in their domain that's second only to a fully realised Avatar. How powerful is Kuei? He evicts Wan Shi Tong, the knowledge owl, and all his servants, out of the Earth Kingdom. Permanently. Yikes.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He's getting there. After laying the smackdown on Wan Shi Tong and his servants, all the Earth Kingdom, including the Fire Nation refugees, ''bowed down'' to him. Also, Azula set herself up as ruler of Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation refugees most likely will NOT stand for this, and may attempt to sabotage her in the future.
* AdaptationalBadass: In canon, he was a sheltered and useless puppet ruler who is easily manipulated by Long Feng. Here, he's a naive and sheltered yet intelligent FisherKing with spiritual powers, as his bloodline can be traced back to ancient shamans who are just below the Avatar in terms of raw power. Once Long Feng is out of the picture, he starts showing his true capabilities and pulling his weight as ruler of Ba Sing Se.
%%* AscendedFanboy: This line says it all:
%%--> '''Earth King Kuei:''' Does that sword still mean you're a healer?" Kuei blurted out. "Some of the scrolls I have - here, let me show you...
* ArrangedMarriage: Most Earth Kings get this. Kuei just got his due to Agents Bon and Quan saying "It'd take a miracle to find spriritually strong women in the middle of a Fire Nation invasion-", and also because the Touzaikaze were impressed with Kuei enough to send their own special women as prospective brides.
* BadassBookworm: He's got a personal library ''full'' of powerful information yet unknown to the rest of the world, and he's a powerful enough spiritbender to kick ''Wan Shi Tong'' out of the Earth Kingdom.
* BerserkButton: Unknown to ''anyone,'' maybe not even Kuei himself, but you do ''not'' harm his people without good reason. One of Wan Shi Tong's foxes did this, and Kuei ''kicked the Owl and every one of his servants completely out of the Earth Kingdom.'' He didn't even know he ''had'' shamanistic powers until that moment.
* CulturedBadass: Thanks to reading unknown amounts of scrolls in his library, Kuei is one of the first to know about yaoren, and had a dissenting opinion about the all-powerful Avatar. He's read up about his ancestors, his own people, and even the Air Nomads, whom no one really knows anything about (other than the Air Monks). He forms an alliance with Zuko, the exiled former Prince of the Fire Nation, knowing and understanding how important it was to have a place where anyone can be themselves, as well as a buffer-zone between Earth and Air. And ''now'' he's just taken it upon himself to have a [[CombatMedic swordswoman-slash-healer]] for his Queen.
%%* CompellingVoice: Just being in the Earth Kingdom puts one under his supernatural jurisdiction.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Kuei delivers this sentence in chapter 29 to the fox servant of Wan Shi Tong:
--> '''Earth King Kuei:''' [[RoyalWe We]] find you and your master, Wan Shi Tong, have behaved with contempt to us, and to our people! We find that you have done us harm; willfully, pettily, and with full knowledge of our desperation, beset by enemies! We find that you have cast aside the virtues of civilized creatures. And so, we render our judgment! You, your master, and all his servants are hereby banished from our lands. Your master may petition Oma and Shu. Should they decide his punishment is enough, we shall revisit our judgment. Until that day - begone!
%%* FisherKing
* GoodIsNotDumb: Long Feng had it so that the Earth King was seen as a naive, harmless, puppet-king bookworm who needed to be protected. Sure, he's ignorant of many things, including what's been going on within his city. However, he has had years and ''years'' and YEARS of reading the scrolls in his [[TowerOfBabel personal library]], so he knows things the Dai Li and the rest of the cast do not. He's also a fairly competent commander, since he lacks the usual Earth compunctions against tearing up your own streets to get at the enemy.
* TheHeart: Literally. All Earth Kings are the heart of Ba Sing Se.
* LetsGetDangerous: Both taking on spirits, and taking over the resistance.
* NonActionGuy: He has protection in his Dai Li, as well as Eshe and Amisi.
* ParentalAbandonment: Kuei's parents were killed 20 years before Embers starts. The assassins were said to have been from Taku.
* LaResistance: He's running it, and rather more effectively than the military. A Fire Nation guard in Chapter 45 muses that an Earth Kingdom general would ''never'' dig pit traps in the streets of his own city. Kuei is not fighting like traditional Earth generals.
* RousingSpeech: After one of Wan Shi Tong's fox servants is captured, Shirong gives him a small one to try motivate him in stepping up as Earth King and performing his royal duties as the [[FisherKing spiritual heart]] of Ba Sing Se. Kuei then performs admirably.
--> '''Shirong:''' ''(to Earth King Kuei)'' You've been trained for this your majesty. You are the guardian of the spirits of Ba Sing Se, both of your people and the city itself. And this spirit [...] has walked where it was not invited, and delivered harm upon one of your loyal subjects.
* RoyalWe: In Chapter 29, he refers to himself as "we" during his royal judgement of Wan Shi Tong and his fox servant that was captured.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He's become this. Granted, Bon and Quan are carrying out his orders, but with Long Feng dead, he's heading towards being a competent and capable ruler.
* SoulPower: He has authority over the spirits of Ba Sing Se. Also noted to become one of the best spirit-benders out there.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Wan Shi Tong apparently did not remember that he lives in the Earth Kingdom and the Earth King has power over the spirits there, including himself. And now, one of the {{Big Bad}}s, the Dragon Makoto aka Fire Lady Tejina even says how he has messed up her spy network.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Wan Shi Tong]]
The giant owl spirit who, pissed off at humanity, sank his library in the desert and nearly took the GAang with him. They escaped, after Sokka whacked him over the head with a book and Toph stopped the library's descent long enough for them to get out. In Embers, Wan Shi Tong is out for revenge.
----
* AsianFoxSpirit: His servants and information gatherers are shapeshifting foxes. One of them decided to [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer take on Professor Tingzhe's form]]. This led to an angry Kuei deciding to spiritually kick out both Wan Shi Tong and his fox servants as punishment with a royal command for what they had done to his subjects.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: He really shouldn't have messed with the subjects of Earth King Kuei, who at the time had just taken on his duties as a ruler now with Long Feng gone. An angered Kuei effectively uses his spiritual heritage to banish Wan Shi Tong and his fox servants out of Ba Sing Se as punishment, [[SpannerInTheworks This has long-term ramifications within the story, as the black dragon Makoto notes that Kuei has messed up her spy network]].
* TheExile: His actions end up biting him when Kuei, having fully stepped into his responsibilities as the Earth King, officially banishes him and his fox servants entirely from Ba Sing Se. As Kuei himself put it, there's the option to appeal to [[ThereIsNoHigherCourt Oma and Shu]], but the odds are ''not'' that good.
* MagicLibrarian: An owl spirit that collects books.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Wan Shi Tong's arrogance, shown through his kitsune's actions in Ba Sing Se, hammer down ''hard'' on Kuei's BerserkButton. To be fair, it surprised ''everyone'' that Kuei even had such a button, but in doing do, Kuei realized his own power, banishing the Owl and all who served him from the Earth Kingdom. Doing so not only cut into Makoto's information network, of which Wan Shi Tong was a major part, but freed up the Sand tribes' Earth- and Airbenders to come to the aid of the Earth Kingdom.
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: He figures since Sokka pulled off one on him, that he can now return the favour.
* TheUnseen: Referenced plenty throughout Embers, and drives part of the plot, but never actually appears in person.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Kuzon of Byakko]]
In canon, Aang's pre-war Fire Nation buddy, briefly mentioned, seen only in one of the side comics, and not much else is known. In Embers, Kuzon of Byakko was not only Aang's friend, but found out about the planned Air Nomad massacre and tried to warn Gyatso beforehand. Failing to stop the killing outright, Kuzon saved those he could, hiding them away in places only he knew where. He never stopped searching for Aang, over his long life becoming Lord of Byakko, Azulon's intelligence agent (and later assassination victim), Ursa's grandfather, and thus Zuko and Azula's great-grandfather. Also, after his death, he accepts an offer from Agni himself to finish the job he started, as Aang never reappeared in his lifetime. Kuzon ultimately ends up being reincarnated as his own descendant: Zuko.
----
* BackFromTheDead: Zig-zagged. He died "in his sleep" roughly 17-18 years before Aang thawed out of his iceberg and reincatnates just aren't the same person.
* BackupFromOtherworld: Sometimes Zuko unconsciously uses Kuzon's old speech patterns and memories. Then Yangchen comes along poking holes in the already thin barrier between him & his last life.
* DefiantToTheEnd: To the consternation and fury of his killers.
%%* DualWielding
* PosthumousCharacter: For the most part.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Before Sozin started the war, Kuzon wasn't expected to become Lord of Byakko. Loyalty sickness claimed everyone ahead of him, after Clan Byakko refused the Fire Lord's orders to kill. Kuzon only survived thanks to Shidan's fire healing.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Lord Ozai]]
His core personality is unchanged, though his background has been fleshed out. Ozai is considered a dragon child, and a dark dragon, to boot. With Azulon's heritage (three-quarters dragon, one-quarter human) and Ilah's (Avatar Roku's daughter), it's lucky Iroh and Lu Ten turned out as well as they did. Ozai, on the other hand, personifies all the worst that a human with too much dragon blood can become - and he's [[DaddysLittleVillain trained Azula]] to be [[OhCrap just like him]].
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: More so than Zhao, and the consequences are bound to be worse.
* DemotedToDragon: ''Of'' a [[JustForPun Dragon]]. In canon, it took a ''fully-realized [[TheChosenOne Avatar Aang]] with an EleventhHourSuperpower'' to beat him. [[spoiler: In chapter 89, he receives a DisneyVillainDeath from ''[[BadassNormal Sokka's]] PrecisionGuidedBoomerang'' - in pretty much [[CallBack the same way Sokka nailed Zuko]] in the second canon episode... Which is just a footnote of the battle for Dragon's Wings. His grandmother Makoto is a far greater threat, and ''her'' threat potential was raised only due to several centuries working for [[EldritchAbomination Koh]].]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Azulon trained him as such, to complement Iroh's rule when the time came.
* VillainRespect: Of a sort, towards [[spoiler: ''Sokka'' during their fight. He acknowledges Sokka's raw talent and remarks that with a few more years experience he might have been a "dangerous opponent" before preparing to finish him. [[KarmaticDeath Them comes the boomerang]].]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lady Ursa]]
Like her husband, retains her characterization, though Vathara has tweaked her genealogy in Embers. Here Ursa is no longer Roku's descendant (that honour goes to Ilah, Azulon's wife), but rather the daughter of Lady Kotone of Byakko and her husband Shidan. After Azulon put on the pressure, Ursa was sent to marry Ozai mostly to put Clan Byakko in line. All is not what it seems - Lady Kotone's father was Kuzon of Byakko, and Shidan was his dragon companion before their marriage. Byakko always plays to stay ahead of the game, and Ursa knows to do whatever she must for her family and her clan.
----
* ActionGirl: She was mentioned to have been good with swords.
* ArrangedMarriage: The reasons in Embers are such that Byakko's rulers needed to buy protection from Azulon, and also for {{Revenge}}.
* BrokenBird: On top of years living with her gaslighting husband? Yeah, spirits don't like it when you kill someone supposedly carrying the Avatar's Will.
* HalfHumanHybrid: She's the daughter of a dragon and a human woman.
* HealItWithFire: How she kept Zuko alive when he was just born.
* MissingMom: She's still around... somewhere... Found as of Chapter 88 when she shows up in the Fire Nation Capital to support Azula's coup.
* {{Revenge}}: It's assumed she was sent to kill Azulon from the beginging, but as her father points out: the best revenge is not killing. The revenge they hoped for was that her children would reverse everything Azulon worked towards. [[spoiler: It worked.]]
%%* YamatoNadeshiko: Her core personality remains the same as in canon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Jee]]
Last seen in canon being transferred to Zhao's command, just before Zuko's ship blew up, Jee survived the resulting deluge at the Siege of the North. In Embers he's since been promoted to Captain (more due to lack of experienced officers than anything else) and he and his crew now deal with the scores of newcomers onboard the ship.
----
* TheCaptain: Only now he actually holds the rank, instead of acting as such under another's command.
* FightingForAHomeland: Zuko plans to create a new domain. Jee plans to make sure he survives long enough to make that happen.
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Even when they've been declared traitors to your own nation.
%%* ReassignedToAntarctica: The entire crew, not just Jee.
* {{Revenge}}: Initially, he wants justice for Zuko's death onboard the ''Wani'' when she blew. Averted, as Zuko's alive and Zhao's... [[FateWorseThanDeath Yeah.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jet]]
While all events in the show occurred, Ember's Jet is spared the fate of his canon self - he doesn't die in the Dai Li catacombs, instead getting a free pass out of the city. [[TooDumbToLive This despite trying to attack the Blue Spirit in the middle of a battle with Dai Li agents.]] Later shows up attempting to "free" the same town he targeted earlier, this time by [[PowderKegCrowd instigating a riot]]. Enter Zuko and the crew of ''Suzuran'', and the shit hits the fan. ''Again.''
----
%%* AxCrazy
%%* MoralMyopia: More like Moral Blindness, which he has in spades.
* PutOnABus: Get sent to a convent and is never seen again.
* NoodleIncident: Exits in a throughly ridiculous one, culminating in an OffscreenMomentofAwesome by [[UnexpectedCharacter The nuns who nursed Bato back to health]], who are apparently accomplished spirit fighters.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Jet will drop defending himself from an opposing horde to kill a Firebender. He'll even drop his friends.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Averted from canon; when Toph and the Blue Spirit bust Appa out of the Dai Li headquarters, Jet and his crew go along for the ride. Too bad Jet's too damn obsessed to stay out of trouble.
%%* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: He ''personifies'' this trope, even in canon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Smellerbee]]
Part of Jet's gang, who sometimes shows more sense than her leader. Pity common sense isn't too common, as Jet's words and actions are liable to get them all killed. Although part of her ''knows'' that what he's doing is wrong, she remains loyal nonetheless.
----
%%* ActionGirl
* SamusIsAGirl: If a character's perception of her gender isn't outright wrong, it's usually gender neutral or leaning toward 'Likely a girl, but let someone else say it, first'.
%%* [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hell, Jet?]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Longshot]]
The other member of Jet's gang who stuck by his leader, Longshot might be having second thoughts about that decision.
----
%%* TheQuietOne
* OnlySaneMan: He's looking to be this, since Jet is losing his shit over the Fire Nation.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Piandao]]
The lord of Shu Jing, a gray-eyed swordsman adopted by Temul, who was present at Kuzon's death. He was chosen by Temul to become her successor as Lord of Shu Jing. Piandao was only a Major when he met Kuzon and Temul, and presumably retired from the Fire Nation Army soon afterward.
----
* AncientTradition: A member of the White Lotus ''and'' aware of what Kuzon was up to.
%%* BadassNormal
* ColorCodedEyes: Gray eyes tend to indicate air nomad ancestry. Since it's confirmed that he is still the non-bender son of Firebenders, or at least ''thinks'' he is, he [[WildMassGuessing may or may not]] have anything to do with the rescued children. Apparently people in the Fire Nation assume that gray eyes mean someone has an ancestor who was a ChildByRape of the Air Nomad armies.
* ParentalAbandonment: Piandao thinks his birth parents were firebenders who orphaned him because he couldn't bend.
* RagsToRiches: If you count being "adopted" by a cranky old woman's ghost into being the Lord of her old domian such.
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Sage Shiyu]]
The Fire Sage who helped Aang back in canon, sent to the Boiling Rock for treachery.
----
%%* CoolOldGuy
%%* TheMentor: currently being rescued to teach Aang firebending.
%%* OhCrap
* OldMaster: As a member of the White Lotus
* PoorCommunicationKills[[spoiler: Because he had no knowledge of what reason she could possibly have to kill Azulon he lept to the conclusion Urusa was a "dark dragon". Further jumping to the conclusion that both her children fruit of a poison tree and a danger to the Fire Nation.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: He gets one from Zuko for leaving the ''giant killer Kanaloa'' that lives in Boiling Rock off the map. [[spoiler: and then he gets a second one when Sokka helps put together that it was part of an elaborate trap to kill Zuko and Azula! Read: this plan was meant to go off when Zuko was 13 (recently scarred and traumatized) and Azula was 11. He was ''specifically'' aiming for Azula.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Chief Hakoda]]
Sokka and Katara's father, and Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. He's been waging naval warfare against the Fire Nation for years, and in this story he winds up coming onto the scene during a tense standoff with some surprisingly non-hostile Fire Nation troops, just in time to see Katara's [[CursedWithAwesome downward spiral]] of[[spoiler: [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Emotion Bending]]]] come to a head.\\\
In the aftermath, he helps the Avatar party by becoming one of the stabilizing influences Aang and Katara desperately needed, and helps Tao, Sokka, and Toph find enough common ground to look at the bigger-picture problems of the war.
----
* CultureClash: He has a difficult time wrapping his head around why the Fire Nation have waged war for nearly a hundred years without stop, let alone the rest of their cultural nuances. It goes both ways, since all the other characters had a hard time understanding his worst case scenario for [[TheNeedsOfTheMany dealing]] with an unstable Katara.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: When Zuko first interacts with him, Hakoda plays up his status as a Chief of a BarbarianTribe ignorant to Honor and the like, just to needle Zuko into more honest reactions and to gain information. Then he reveals that he's been studying Fire Nation culture for years to understand their tactics and cultural motivations.
* PapaWolf: And how. He cares deeply for his children, and this extends to their young friends as well, he's willing to go to bat for them physically and emotionally. Though this doesn't stop him from calling many of them out on their personal issues and behavior when he thinks they need it.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Being from a culture that deals with scant supplies, long nights, and {{Wendigo}}, he sometimes has to make [[SadisticChoice horrible decisions]] for the sake of the Tribe as a whole.
* WhatTheHellHero: It's him calling her out on it that finally allows Katara to reign in her [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart Bending.]]
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Ba Sing Se
[[folder:Agent Shirong]]
Veteran member of the Dai Li after twenty years, Shirong is unusual in that unlike most of his fellow agents, [[DoomMagnet he works alone]]. This is due to an encounter that left him so scarred spiritually that partners simply didn't last long. Instead, Long Feng has him working as a recruiter, which allows Shirong to play to his strengths and has would-be recruits undergoing (usually survivable) spirit encounters that test their mettle. All goes well until he meets "Lee", a Fire Nation colonial who's also a waterbender. Shirong tries to recruit him, and ends up getting dragged into the spirits' grand plan, becoming the second yaoren.
----
%%* {{Ambadassador}}
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Shirong prayed to Agni, asking for aid in helping Zuko. Agni responded by having Shirong become the next yaoren.
%%* BreastAttack
* ConflictingLoyalty: As a Dai Li, Shirong is supposed to be a loyal subject of the Earth King. After meeting Zuko and becoming an Earth-Fire yaoren, that loyalty shifts over to Zuko. This becomes heartbreaking when he realizes that Kuei, whom he's faithfully served for over half his life, isn't his king.
** TakeAThirdOption: Luckily for Shirong, Kuei invokes this, sending Shirong to act as the Dai Li's emissary with Dragon's Wings. Shirong is therefore able to follow his king by birth....by following his king by choice.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Almost happened twenty years ago, and the reason behind his spirit wounds and really bad luck.
%%* DishingOutDirt
* DoomMagnet: Until Zuko, nobody else Shirong had met had worse luck than he did.
%%* {{Expy}}: of [[Series/{{Airwolf}} Michael Archangel]]
* HappilyAdopted: Into the Wen family, as Tingzhe and Meixiang's younger brother.
%%* HowDoIShotWeb: With Fire.
* OneGoodCop: For a while there, the only member of the Dai Li to heed Zuko's warning and not follow Long Feng.
* NiceHat: It was supposedly fire-proof up until Azula's [[UpToEleven blue fire]] proved it wrong. Zuko later noted the absence of his hat even ruled out an option for defending against firebending.
%%* WouldHitAGirl: Seen in the train battle out of Ba Sing Se.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Captain An Lu-Shan]]
Head of the local detachment of Ba Sing Se's lower ring City Guard, Lu-Shan's job consisted of watching over his men, making sure chaos and anarchy didn't rule the streets, dealing with troublemakers, and when things got too much for them to handle, [[WhoYouGonnaCall call in the Dai Li]]. Then the Avatar arrives. [[FromBadTOWorse And the Fire Nation invades.]] Oh, and one guy in his department's [[SerialEscalation really a Fire Nation refugee]], who's disappeared along with his family and everyone else who's like them. Now Lu-Shan's got to work with the Fire Nation to keep order and peace in his city, and it's not as bad as he thought it would be. So far.
----
%%* CityGuards: Obviously.
* EnemyMine: Ba Sing Se's street scum and would-be avengers are a nuisance to both the well being of the Lower Ring and the Fire Nation occupants. Common sense dictates calling a truce, even if it makes his skin crawl.
* AFatherToHisMen: Felt deeply betrayed when Huojin "disappeared".
%%* GoodCopBadCop: Good cop/Captain counterpart to the Fire Nation's Master Sergeant Yakume.
* InterserviceRivalry: City Guards and the Dai Li, to the point where no news on the latter is bad news. Justified, considering what the Dai Li was up to before (mindbending, involuntary disappearing acts), and what's been implied that they're up to now. Seems Kuei's new advisors are continuing Long Feng's practice of keeping their king in the dark, despite Kuei's leadership in LaResistance and the expectations of full disclosure. Bon? Quan? Not a smart idea, guys.
* UrbanSegregation: Due to the vastness and social strata of Ba Sing Se, tends to stay in the Lower Ring, unless making reports.
* UrbanWarfare: Has to deal with this, both against his people and the invasion forces. Lu-Shan is even less happy about it than the above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Huojin]]
The first of Amaya's many hidden Fire Nation refugees in Ba Sing Se, Huojin was six years old when his parents disappeared, taken by the Dai Li. Amaya took him in, and he's been loyal to her ever since. Husband to Luli and father to Daiyu and Lim, Huojin's lived in Ba Sing Se for thirty years. He's made a good life for himself, joining the City Guard, and is indistinguishable from other Ba Sing Se residents, what with the queue of hair, the eyes, and his speech. His temper, though, is pure Fire Nation, but nobody really takes note of that. He'd be happy to live out his days in the city, with his family... Then two firebender refugees show up, and Huojin's life is no longer as stable as once was.
----
* BecomingTheMask: 'Huojin' was the alternate persona [[SoulPower wrought from his spirit by Amaya]], when he was six. He now doesn't even remember who he was before then, except for his birth name.
* ButtMonkey: To top the mockingly unfortunate events that seem to follow him, he was once nearly strangled to death by an ''umbrella''.
%%* CityGuards: Until recently.
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Commisioner Gordon]]
%%* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: To the point that "Umbrella" has become a sort of nickname for him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Luli]]
Huojin's loving wife and mother to his daughters, Luli works as an Earth Kingdom jade carver, making ornaments and jewellery for the city's residents. Toph takes a shine to her, as even though Luli can't bend, she knows her craft well and is eager to share her experiences with a willing audience. Luli is one of many Earth Kingdom residents who opts to leave in the mass exodus from Ba Sing Se, as she would never be separated from her husband and children.
----
* FamilyVersusCareer: Works as a jade carver in addition to raising her kids.
* {{Housewife}}: As her profession allows her to work from home.
* OpenMindedParent: She freely associates with Fire Nation, Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom alike.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Professor Tingzhe Wen]]
Teacher of history at Ba Sing Se University, Tingzhe comes from a long line of Earthbenders. He's come under the Dai Li's radar for supposedly subversive, anti-regime commentary hidden in his lectures. Married to Meixiang, a Fire Nation refugee, and has four children. Aids both Zuko and the Gaang when the situation calls for it, and assisted in the later evacuation of Ba Sing Se. After much trouble, undergoes a ceremony and is made head of the new Clan Wen, to solidify and protect his family.
Tropes associated with Tingzhe include:
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Subverted and played straight. He just acts that way to throw the Dai Li off his trail. But sometimes.... When his son, Jinhai, was born, his students had to go and fish him out of the Airbender section of the library stacks.
%%* BadassBookworm
%%* DishingOutDirt
%%* {{Expy}}: of [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Doctor Henry Jones Senior]]
* AFatherToHisMen: He cares for his students, so one of them disappearing for digging too deeply into the wrong subjects was a bad blow.
* LectureAsExposition: He notably gave one to Katara, in the hopes that she might learn something. It didn't work. [[https://www.deviantart.com/mallorn85/art/Lecture-179116351 As seen here.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Meixiang Wen]]
Fled the Fire Nation's Home Islands years ago on the orders of her family lord, Meixiang was the only one of her immediate family to reach the haven of Ba Sing Se. She fell in love with and married Professor Wen, gaining respectability and a step up the social ladder to living in the city's Middle Ring. Due to the mixed marriage, the family in divided - her older two children are solid Earthbenders, while the younger two are more Fire. To help ease the way and bring harmony, Meixiang performs a ritual that creates a new clan, one outside the Fire Nation's complicated web of loyalties and intrigues. Such an act is unfortunately considered treason in the Fire Nation, punishable by death, and Azula is resolved to see that all traitors suffer the consequences of their actions. Even the children.
----
* CountryCousin: Her great-great-grandfather was Avatar Roku, making Meixiang and her children kin to Zuko and the royal family. Zuko is unaware of this until much later on.
%%* MamaBear: Do not threaten her kids. Just don't.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Min Wen]]
Eldest child of the Wen family, Min is a stubborn Earthbender who knows his family's irregularities, were they to become known, could mean their doom. He's desperate to ensure that they're safe, and looks to joining the Dai Li as a means to that end. Regrettably, the city falls, and then Azula takes interest in him - and his recent Fire Nation ancestry does nothing to help matters.
----
* BigBrotherBully: To Jinhan. Min's terrified of, among other things, his little brother's Firebending and their family's Fire Nation ancestry, rightfully believing it's going to get everyone in the Wen household killed. This manifests in his bad attitude and he isn't afraid to show it.
%%* {{Jerkass}}: Towards Zuko, and not without reason, of course, but still. Although he ''does'' get better eventually.
%%* PairTheSpares: With Mai.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jia Wen]]
She's the perfect, pretty professor's daughter. She has all the right clothes and makeup, and the right manners. She participates in the right activities, like poetry, and would nver do anything so unladylike as Earthbending or (gasp!) fighting. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Jia, she's perfectly normal, and by extension, so is the rest of her family. Right? Wrong. Turns out Jia is as scared as Min about the wellbeing of the family, but instead of lashing out with words and actions like her brother, Jia hides everything and plays her part behind a courtly mask - and hopes to all the spirits no one will suspect to look behind it.
----
* {{Ambadassador}}: Zuko plans to send her along with an older assistant to the Fire court. Jia is perfect for the role due to her ability to keep up a courtly mask and her demonstrated courage against Azula ought to earn her the new Fire Lord's respect.
* AscendedExtra: From canon. Jia is one of the girls seen in the poetry club Sokka crashes in Season Two. [[http://images.wikia.com/avatar/images/e/ef/5-7-5_Society.png She's on the bottom left.]]
%%* TheChick: Likes her looks, her clothes, her poetry...
%%* DishingOutDirt
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Cordelia]] [[Series/{{Angel}} Chase]].
* LadyOfWar: Briefly, when up against Azula. Perfectly capable of asskicking (she's a competent Earthbender) and healing.
%%* ObfuscatingStupidity: Smarter than the facade she presents.
* SilkHidingSteel: Especially evident when she gets the drop on Azula despite being frightened half to death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Suyin Wen]]
Thirteen years old and staunch defender of her little brother, Suyin is the only one of her siblings who has no bending ability whatsoever. Despite this, she plans to learn as much as she can to protect him from any threats, even posing as a firebender if it means keeping him safe.
----
* BadassNormal: With her mother and Mai to look up to, she's in good company.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Gender-inverted in a way that shows she's more attuned to Fire, though not as much as Jinhai.
* DecoyGetaway: Plans to become this, to divert Jet.
%%* {{Expy}}: According to WordOfGod, she's a genderflipped [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Rupert Giles]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jinhai Wen]]
The youngest child and son of the Wen family, Jinhai is a six year old with a familiar problem that Zuko helps with. ([[PlayingWithFire It's not the boy's temper]].) Jinhai was born during Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se, which, along with his mother's genes, may have influenced his abilities.
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Min. His sisters are a lot more tolerant.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Partially subverted, in that while Jinhai does know what's going on, his parents and siblings are trying to shield him from the worst. Especially Jet.
* ForYourOwnGood: Zuko pulls this one on Jinhai. It's a harsh lesson, but one Jinhai does take to heart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Agent Bon]]
Another Dai Li agent, he first shows up when hunting a man-eating spirit loose in Ba Sing Se. During an interrogation session, said man-eating spirit arrives, possesses Amaya and proceeds to freeze him over. While two of his fellow agents are killed, Bon manages to hold on long enough for Zuko to save him. The methods Zuko uses, however, unwittingly give Bon the strength to break free of Azula's inner fire when she takes over. During the Fire Nation occupation, Bon acts as one of two advisors to the Earth King, concentrating mostly on the civilians and helping Kuei adjust to his rule.
----
* ButtMonkey: Has quite a few of these, usually in conjunction with Kuei. How ''does'' one explain the birds and bees to one's king? Though not always...
--> '''Quan:''' How's Operation Fainting Maid going?\\
'''Bon:''' ... I hate you, sir.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: At one point, he wondered where there might be appropriately qualified bridal candidates for his king. The next moment... [[OhCrap Well.]]
* {{Headdesk}}: He bashes his head against the wall repeatedly, again thanks to Kuei.
* TheMatchmaker: For a brief period of time, much to Quan's amusement, Bon's extreme dismay, and Kuei's obliviousness. It's harder than usual, not just because she'll be a future ''royal consort'', but as the girl must also meet certain spiritual requirements rarely found outside the Dai Li's own (male-only) ranks. The Touzaikaze solve that problem - and create a few new ones - when they send in two of their own women as potential brides.
-->''"We give up everything for our city. Can't it give us something back?"''
%%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Agent Quan, after being promoted to royal advisors.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Agent Quan]]
Formerly Long Feng's second in command, Quan finds himself promoted when Azula executes her coup. Unlike most of the other Dai Li, Quan's dealt with "Lee" before, and this encounter leaves him with just enough to resist Azula's will - and release the horrors the Dai Li kept contained in order to try and bring her down. The deed meant Quan having to break his Dai Li oaths - an act fatal to Earthbenders - and has him accepting death, believe he has nothing else to live for now that Long Feng is dead and Azula is now his master. Kuei has other ideas, and Quan is quickly made the king's advisor alongside Bon, carrying out Kuei's plans to resist the Fire Nation occupation.
----
* ConflictingLoyalty: On the one hand, he swore to protect the city. On the other, Long Feng was his boss and leader and Quan wants revenge. He subverts [[TakeAThirdOption the third option]] - no way in hell is he following Azula, and he can't understand why [[LesCollaborateurs his fellow Dai Li would.]]
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Quan gets a long overdue one from none other than the Earth King himself.
* LaResistance: Kuei runs it, but Quan is the one who enacts his king's strategies.
%%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Bon.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Nobody was expecting Long Feng to go the way he did, least of all Quan. Made worse by Quan being present when Long Feng was killed quite literally before his eyes.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: After attempting to strike out at Azula, the Dai Li under her give him this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Healer Amaya]]
Born in the Northern Water Tribe, Amaya was a girl, a bender, and not the Avatar. As such, her family planned to marry her off to the first strong Waterbender who offered (Pakku was even a candidate). Sick of the politics and unwilling to marry anyone, Amaya took a page out of Kanna's book and bailed. She made it as far south as Ba Sing Se, and having been trained according to the North's customs, meant her skills as Healer were a valuable asset to the city. Soon after her arrival, she met and adopted Huojin, an action that would lead to three decades of hiding other Fire Nation refugees within Ba Sing Se's walls. Then Lee and Mushi came along...
----
%%* DecemberDecemberRomance: With Iroh/Mushi.
%%* {{Expy}}: Of a [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Jedi Healer from the Extended Universe]].
%%* LoveInterest[=/=]MagicalGirlfriend: To Iroh.
%%* MamaBear: To her hidden folk.
%%* TheMedic[=/=]HealingHands: Obviously.
* TheMentor: She gets Zuko started on healing.
* MundaneUtility: While Amaya isn't [[SuperEmpowering making]] or [[BroughtDownToNormal breaking]] a bender on a whim (as some authors [[MarySuetopia would have her]]), she has proved it a useful tool for people that have happened upon a [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight hostile kamuiy]].
* SoulPower: She learned Energybending (Spirit-healing/bending, in ''Embers''), from the Lion Turtle.
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Fire Nation
[[folder:Master Sergeant Yakume]]
One of many Fire Nation soldiers tasked with occupying Ba Sing Se and attached to Huojin's old Guard detachment, Yakume hails from the Fire Nation domain of Onsenzakura. He does not like the Earth Kingdom, its people, or its ways. At all. That said, he's well aware that Ba Sing Se feels the same way towards him. His job is to keep the peace, and if it means working with the people who not too long ago would have speared him through and/or bury him alive (and might still do it given a chance), well, so be it.
----
* BoobyTrap: Got caught in one, along with his men. Four went in, only two came out again.
* CulturedWarrior: Knows a lot about the Earth Kingdom for a Fire Nation soldier. Justified, in that it makes his job easier.
* DangerousWorkplace: Occupying a city's bad enough. Occupying the capital of your enemy is worse. And then there's the booby traps. Yeesh.
* MountedCombat: Was assigned a Komodo Rhino, the standard animal mount for Fire Nation ground forces.
* OldSoldier[=/=]ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Served under the Dragon of the West during Ba Sing Se. One of the few decent soldiers from that era still serving.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Averted; while he might feel that way, this isn't Yakume's first such stint, and it won't be last, because he knows that ''someone's'' got to do it. And if it not him, then someone worse like the kind of soldier who's become all too commonplace under Ozai's rule
* UrbanWarfare: It's getting there. He's lost the men and got the marks to prove it. The Dai Li left in the city aren't sitting just around...
* WarIsHell: Well aware of this. It's why he tries to work with the locals - the alternative is worse.
* WonTheWarLostThePeace: Yes, Azula captured Ba Sing Se, finally putting the city under Fire Nation rule. Yes, the Dai Li are (mostly) under her command, and yes, the Earth Army leadership has been taken out. All of it means absolutely ''nothing'' when LaResistance fights back.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: Holds himself, the City Guards and the occupying forces to that standard. Anyone who doesn't, Yakume promises to deal with personally.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Sadao]]
The second-in-command aboard Jee's ship ''Suzuran'' with an almost terminal case of nerves, leading to quite literally explosive results and constant transfers as his commanding officers got sick of the antics. It's partly due to Sadao's paranoia, and partly because his natural talents, like Zuko's, lie more in wave-style Firebending. Since being introduced to fire-healing, Sadao's incidents have notably decreased.
----
* TheApprentice: To Jee. Assuming Sadao lasts long enough to learn about command.
* ButtMonkey: His previous commanders got so sick of Sadao's "antics" they usually ended up throwing him overboard. Except when Sadao saved them the trouble by preemptively jumping ship. Good thing he can swim.
* DoomedDefeatist: Subverted, in that he's still around, but he definitely had the defeatist attitude down pat in his earlier appearances. He got better once Zuko got him starting on healing.
* EnsignNewbie: Double-subverted. While not new to the Navy (it's implied he's been in the service for a while now) Sadao ''is'' new to the whole command thing.
%%* HealingHands
* HealItWithFire: His strange affinity for ''external'' Firebending is great for changing a destructive flame into its healing form.
* HealingShiv: Other marines are less successful, as Imperial Firebending is taught around ''creating'' fire and letting its destructive nature pan out; not for ''handling'' anything (beyond extinguishing the unnecessary).
* TheKlutz[=/=]HavingABlast: He's no Combustion Man, but he has a "special" talent of accidentally blowing up things no one thinks actually could. This has wrecked his nerves for much of his life and the patience of most of his family. Before he could usher (further) havoc on his family's glass-blowing business, he was shipped off to war. In the wrong military branch. He was supposed to be headed for the Army, but ended up in the Marines, a place with less breathing room, making him more nervous and making his nervous detonations a concentrated problem.
* NervesOfSteel: Despite being a paranoid DoomedDefeatist expecting the worst at all times, Sadao's actually ''very'' good at keeping calm during a firefight. In his own words, it's because combat is the worst thing that could happen to you ''happening'' to you, so why bother worrying anymore?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Teruko]]
28 years old and the female commander of the ''Suzuran'''s Marine contingent, Teruko is one of the few women in the Fire Nation military who ''isn't'' in the HomeGuard. She hails from Byakko, Kuzon's former domain, and like Zuko, has draconian ancestry. She takes over teaching Jinhai and Shirong Firebending after the exodus from Ba Sing Se, Zuko being preoccupied with the bigger plan at the moment.
----
* DopeSlap: Pulls one on Sokka. He then realises she's a girl.
* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod says she's Series/{{JAG}}'s [[Characters/{{JAG}} Sarah Mackenzie]].
* LadyOfWar: Surprisingly, for a Marine. Then again, she ''is'' an officer.
* SamusIsAGirl: Many (non-Fire Nation) characters are surprised to hear a woman's voice emerge from the [[FacelessMooks skull mask everyone is so familiar with]].
* SemperFi: If the above didn't make it clear, the quote below will.
-->"I," Teruko said in a voice that surfaced from the faceplate like magma, "am not a ''girl''. I am not ''woman''. I am not ''missy''. I am not your little sweetheart who cuts up seal meat in the igloo kitchen, iceboy! I, am a ''Fire Navy marine''."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sergeant Kyo]]
Ranking non-commissioned officer of his squad, he does his job well. A widower of some years, he and his squad are the best Teruko's got.
----
* DopeSlap: He can do it without even seeming to move.
* {{Expy}}: of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs]].
* NervesOfSteel: Steady as a rock among rapids.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Against the Earth Kingdom bandits who killed his family. It not only got him reassigned, but the rest of his squad too.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Private Fushi]]
%%Private Fushi is among the younger marines onboard ''Suzuran'', and aside from her CO Teruko, is the only other female Firebender stationed there. Hails from the capital, and is considered more "modern" compared to shipmates from places such as Byakko or Shu Jing. Despite this, she does seem to know more about the old Fire Nation customs and history than her fellow privates.
%%----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* TheCutie
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Abby Sciuto]]. Which naturally leads us to...
%%* PerkyGoth
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Private Rikiya]]
Hinted to come from a family of some standing, Rikiya's posting on the ''Suzuran'' seems to be as much escape as it is punishment detail.
----
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Tony [=DiNozzo=]]].
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: his first bit of characterization is turning something Teruko said into an innuendo.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Private Sukekuni]]
%%The only one of the Marines who'd served on the ''Wani'' prior to his posting on the ''Suzuran'', Sukekuni is familiar with Zuko's habits and has the grace to forewarn his teammates.
%%----
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Series/{{NCIS}} Tim McGee]].
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Corporal Shoni]]
The only non-bending combat Marine on Kyo's squad, Shoni makes up for it with his knifework.
----
* BadassNormal: Despite being one of two non-benders in Kyo's squad, he makes up for it by being really good with knives.
%%* DeadpanSnarker
%%* {{Expy}}: In a genderflipped example, [[Series/{{NCIS}} Ziva David]].
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Corporal Moriaki]]
%%The other non-bender on Kyo's squad, is a gray-haired man with a gentle disposition.
%%----
%%* CombatMedic
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Series/{{NCIS}} Donald 'Ducky' Mallard]].
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shidan of Byakko]]
Well over a hundred years old, Shidan was once Kuzon's dragon companion, and knew Aang before the war. Later on, during the genocide of the dragons, he opted to take human form and in this guise married Kuzon's daughter Kotone, becoming Ursa's father. He has, for many years, acted on behalf on Byakko's interests; he holds no loyalties to anyone in the Fire Nation outside that of his wife, which is useful when helping one's grandson rebel against the Fire Lord.
----
* TheChessmaster: He's been working to overthrow Koh's faction for at least the last century. Longterm plans, indeed.
%%* OurDragonsAreDifferent
%%* TheEmpath: Inverted, unless with another dragon.
%%* ExpositionBeam: The story of the dragon-human lovers.
%%* AFormYouAreComfortableWith
* HumanityIsInfectious: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. He hasn't ''quite'' lost the dragon-like presence ''or'' the teeth. His speech mannerisms betray his struggling mastery of words and when Saoluan asks why the Fire Nation has to be filled with homicidal maniacs:
-->'''Shidan''': So you do understand. Good.
* NaturalWeapon: His piercingly sharp, rock-hard claws.
%%* NeuralImplanting
* PsychicLink: He senses Zuko becoming yaoren. He knows that Ursa is wounded. A staple of all dragons.
* ShapeshiftingLover: He became human to marry Kotone, [[ShapeshifterModeLock but cannot revert back until she dies]].
%%* ToBecomeHuman
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Temul]]
In life, Temul was a contemporary of Kyoshi. She survived the Avatar's hurricane that decimated her people and later tried to bring back the wave styles that had been lost. After her death, she remained as a ghost, allying herself with Kuzon and assisting in his plans. She wasn't privy to everything, though. The onmitsu found that out the hard way. Lived in Shu Jing, the same town Piandao calls home. Both were present at Kuzon's passing. After Piandao retired, he tried to help the area. Apparently, he succeeded well enough for Temul to adopt him. In chapter 54, she also adopts Sokka, as a form of were-gild from the Avatar for Kuzon's and her own deaths.
----
* BerserkButton: The Avatar. Any Avatar. With Kyoshi's actions and Roku maintaining the status quo, Aang had better watch out...
** Disrespect
** Air Nomads. Aang's going to get his ass kicked...
** Fire Lord Sozin
** [[MamaBear Threats to her people.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Openly hates the Air Nomad elders and tells Aang straight to his face that if Sozin had ''only'' wanted their lives, she'd have been the first one to sign up for it. [[spoiler: Still dies protecting the secret of where she had hidden the surviving Air Nomad children, purely and simply because it was the right thing to do, personal feelings be damned.]]
--> '''Temul:''' Innocent children are going to be killed. ''Not while I'm alive.''
%%* OurGhostsAreDifferent
* PosthumousCharacter: She's a ghost.
%%* ShockAndAwe: And ''how!!''
* WhatTheHellHero: To Kyoshi, for what she did to the Fire Nation.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Makoto]]
Sozin's dragon companion, and later wife, she is grandmother to Iroh and Ozai, and great-grandmother to Zuko and Azula. A dark dragon and longtime ally of Koh, she is also the last known surviving dragon of the clan that once guarded the supervolcano Asagitatsu, the location of which was lost for generations. It was because there was no one able or willing to pacify the volcano that it last erupted, killing Avatar Yangchen and her yaoren in the initial blast, and countless others with the resulting ash fall. (A similar eruption took place 2000 years ago, according to archaeological findings; Asagitatsu's explosive eruptions tend to occur once every 1000 years, and the latest is presently a century overdue.) Like Shirotora, who has Clan Byakko to control it, Makoto's clan once served the same purpose for Asagitatsu - until they vanished for reasons unknown. Asagitatsu is discovered to be the volcano neighbouring the Northern Air Temple that Zuko plans to set up his colony of last resort, and luckily for the would-be settlers, two of Makoto's blood are there to make peace with the long-abandoned volcano. Whether they can succeed, or whether Makoto will allow it, remains to be seen.
----
* AscendedExtra: Sozin's unnamed dragon companion in canon.
%%* BigBadDuumvirate: With Koh.
* DeathFakedForYou[=/=]FakingTheDead: The first by claiming Makoto was killed, starting the tradition of dragon hunting, when in fact Makoto had taken the ShapeshiftingLover route to become Sozin's wife as Fire Lady Tejina. The latter happened after Sozin's death and the ShapeshifterModeLock on her human form ended - a badly charred human body was found in Tejina's chambers. A positive identification was never made, but everyone assumed Tejina had died. Seeing as how Makoto's still around, it's a good bet that the corpse was really that of a particularly unfortunate palace servant-turned-decoy.
%%* TheDragon to Koh and likely Sozin.
%%* DragonLady: A literal one.
%%* EvilMatriarch: Pretty much.
* ItsPersonal: Said to be her reaction to a member of Clan Byakko killing her son Azulon. They were already enemies on general principles (all dragons want dark dragons dead).
* MayflyDecemberRomance: She was easily a thousand years older than Sozin when they married, and she's still alive and killing... Somewhere.
%%* OurDragonsAreDifferent
* ToughLove: She does this to Azula to see if she is worthy of Sozin's and her (Asagitatsu's) line. Azula is ''not'' amused in the least. While Azula may not realize who she is (yet), it is highly doubted now that Azula will ever take her side.
%%* UnholyMatrimony: With Sozin.
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Other
[[folder:Langxue]]
An orphaned Water-tribe boy from Kyoshi island. He is 13 years of age, short, wields a katana, and after Yue steps in, he becomes the third yaoren (of Air and Water). Unlike Shirong and Zuko, Langxue was also a yaoren in previous lives.
----
%%* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor
%%* BlessedWithSuck
%%* CursedWithAwesome
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro]]. And he's [[ShoutOut even called Little Captain]] by Saoluan.
* HeroicSacrifice: To save his surrogate older sister from the Unagi, he prays for more speed, and Tengri made him into the third yaoren.
%%* AnIcePerson
* KatanasAreJustBetter: DoubleSubverted. [[AncestralWeapon It was his mother's]], so he holds it dear, despite others deriding it as ill-fitting.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: An encounter with a spirit ended in his hair having a touch of white.
* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: He's the one who [[spoiler: finishes off Makoto. We only see him winding up his opening salvo, then receive confirmation later that he pulled it off.]]
%%* PowerDegeneration
* RazorWind: It then turns out to be the traditional blade of Airbenders.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Of Hyourin, one of Avatar Yangchen's yaoren friends. This isn't the first past life that Hyourin has had, however.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Saoluan]]
One of the older Kyoshi Warriors, and currently the longest-serving. Most of the Kyoshi Warriors are Suki's age because those who were Saoluan's died en masse fighting a giant leech some six years past. She acts as a sister/surrogate mother to Langxue, no one else wanting to take him in. Later accompanies him on his quest to find the other yaoren.
----
* BoobsOfSteel: A soundly trained fighter (competent even in slight [[DrunkenMaster inebriation]]), and very aware of her sizable [[UnusualEuphemism distractions]].
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Vice-Captian Matsumoto Rangiku]]
%%* HardDrinkingPartyGirl
* KatanasAreJustBetter: The swords are part of a Kyoshi Warrior's arsenal, alongside the golden metal fans.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Asahi]]
A black, female ostritch-horse whom Zuko healed. She has a nasty set of claws and an even worse temper. Previously belonged to '''[[PosthumousCharacter Ping]]''', who was first the victim of [[RapePillageAndBurn a Fire Nation raid]], and then, when the repercussions of that [[ChildByRape became obvious]], was [[HonorRelatedAbuse murdered by her father and brothers.]] Her death unleashed the plague spirit that brings Zuko and Iroh to the ranch, who in turn get Asahi and bring her family's crimes to light.
----
%%* [[CoolHorse Cool]] [[HorseOfADifferentColor Ostritch-Horse]]
* FeatheredFiend: 'Damned Bitch Hen' has risen over a bloodied, collective panic at least twice, in the story.
* MoralityPet: Played with. As effective as she is in getting Zuko on his good side, it's usually Zuko that has to keep ''Asahi'' from mauling just about everyone.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Literally. For a few chapters, her name was written as Asashi.
%%* TeamPet: to Zuko's company.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Xiu]]
A tall silk weaver who hires Zuko to treat her grandmother's headache. Later, when 'Lee' manages to anger the older woman, Xiu thanks him for distracting her grandmother from complaining about her boyfriend. Both she and the aforementioned boyfriend return about 3 arcs later and play important roles as exposition bait and plot boosters, respectively.
----
%%* ChekhovsGunman
* MyEyesAreUpHere: With Zuko, who opens the door to glare at whoever's on the other side. It takes Zuko a second to realize that he's looking at breasts before he looks up, to see a wry look on Xiu's face.
%%* StatuesqueStunner
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Boots]]
A ghostly pair of boots (known as a Beto Beto) that walks behind people to creep them out, trip or kicks people when he's especially rowdy, and [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking always wants to play fetch]] (kick-the-can style) with rocks or shamans.
----
* MeaningfulName: Toph named him... Which, given the rest of the Gaang (Sokka in particular), was probably for the best, since spirits tend to reflect how spirits regard him. So, if Sokka sarcastically called him Doom Greeves: The Conquerer, Boots might have actually ''changed'' to fit that name. But that didn't happen, and chapters later (56), Sokka himself provides insight into Toph's naming of the spirit:
--> '''Sokka''': You like her because she's trouble," Sokka decided, eying the faint swirl of ashes above the sound of tapping toes. "Because she's loud and stubborn and she shakes the ground - and that scares people. Which is what you live to do. Aang thinks you're her friend, but - it's more of a partner in crime, isn't it?
%%* TeamPet
%%* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tao]]
Aang's spiritualist teacher, Tao hails from the Earth Kingdom from the village of Taku. He sets out to teach Aang what he can about the spirits.
----
* AbandonedWarChild: The child of an Earth Kingdom woman and a Fire Nation soldier who raped her during the initial invasion of the city of Taku. As a result, he ''loathes'' his father (whom he never met), the Fire Nation, and everything associated with it.
* ChildByRape: Tao was the result after his mother was caught in the Fire Nation's initial invasion/attack of the Earth Kingdom city of Taku. Ping wasn't the only one; such atrocities have been ongoing since Sozin's time.
%%* DishingOutDirt: Is an Earthbender in addition to being a shaman.
%%* MeaningfulName: Tao/Dao means 'The Way'.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Faces this after attempting to teach a naive Aang about the realities of war and the times they live in, Aang's reaction, and Hakoda having to set Tao straight that Aang really was that sheltered and knew absolutely nothing at all about how [[HumansAreBastards life is]] - [[TheTalk for everyone]].
%%* OldMaster
%%* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really A Hundred-Thirty Years Old]]
%%* SadlyMythtaken: About yaoren.
%%* WhoYouGonnaCall: To teach the Avatar about sprits?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eshe]]
A young woman of the surviving Air Nomad tribe, the Touzaikaze. She is an air-healer. She heals Tennen, and goes with Amisi to meet Kuei. Due to Kuei's banishment of Wan Shi Tong, the Touzaikaze offer her and Amisi as potential brides to the Earth King.
----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* ArrangedMarriage: Her relationship with Kuei, if he chooses her.
%%* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage
%%* BlowYouAway: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready She's an airbender.]]
%%* CombatMedic
%%* KatanasAreJustBetter: Obviously.
* {{Ninja}}: She and Amisi infiltrate Kuei's hiding place through the air shafts. Bon and Quan don't notice until the girls are ''right there in front of them''.
* WhatBeautifulEyes: Understatement. Kuei has to think very hard on an appropriate metaphor before settling for something brief.
--> Sometimes, Kuei was really glad he wore glasses. If he'd stared right into those earnest gray eyes without any shield... well, he wasn't sure what he would have done. She was just - well - pretty didn't fit, not really. The noble ladies of Ba Sing Se were pretty. Looking at Eshe was like sneaking to a palace window to watch a thunderstorm roll in. Tasting the wind, and knowing it came from somewhere else. Seeing the gray slant of a downpour far across the city, long before the rain could dampen palace stone... "Your eyes are like the rain."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Amisi]]
A female sandbender of the Touzaikaze. She helps Yakume and Lu-shan get Tennen out of a rock-slide and later, goes with Eshe to meet Kuei. She and Eshe are sent from their tribe to offer alliance with the Earth King.
----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* DishingOutDirt
* {{Ninja}}: She and her cousin infiltrate Kuei's hiding place ''through the air-shafts''. Bon and Quan don't notice until the girls are ''right in front of them''.
* PairTheSpares: [[ShipTease Possibly with Bon.]] Although Kuei ''could'' marry her as well as Eshe, he's noticed that Amisi and Bon might be falling in love, and he has no intention of marrying Amisi if it would make her miserable.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Runihura]]
%%One of the adult male members of the Touzaikaze. He is uncle to Amisi and Eshe.
%%----
%%[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Haqikah]]
%%One of the male members of the Touzaikaze. He is cousins with Amisi and Eshe.
%%----
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shih]]
An [[{{Ninja}} ex-Onmitsu]] known as the Demon of Taku who deserted Sozin's forces & was hiding out in the Western Air Temple shortly before Sozin's attack on the air nomads.
----
* DeathSeeker: Either a case of ForgivenessRequiresDeath or he's just a bit [[HeroicSelfDeprecation too]] [[HeroicSacrifice selfless]], but Shih's first impulse is to die to save the Elder Nuns who hate everything he represents.
%%* DefectorFromDecadence
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/RurouniKenshin Kenshin]].
%%* HeelFaceTurn:
* LukeIAmYourFather: May have been Aang's (and/or Piandao's) father.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Gyate]]
An air nun from the time of Sozin.
----
%%* {{Expy}}: Probably of [[Manga/RurouniKenshin Kaoru Kamiya]].
* LukeIAmYourFather: She's somewhat subtly revealed to be Aang's mother.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ja Aku]]
One of Aang's fellow monks at the Southern Air Temple. His name is mentioned in chapter 37 by Kuzon. In chapter 54, his name is mentioned again, via Temul's flashback, and is confirmed by Aang himself to have trained the Onmitsu, the airbenders who killed Kuzon.
-----
* AscendedExtra: He was the one monk during the canon episode "The Storm" who told Aang that because he was the Avatar, it would be unfair for him to play on any team.
%%* BlowYouAway: Duh.
%%* LesCollaborateurs: With Fire Lord Azulon.
* EvilMentor: He had something to do with the incident in Shu Jing where the onmitsu, trained by Ja Aku, whom Aang said himself had trained them, turned on Kuzon and killed him.
%%* PoisonousFriend: "That's the only way it's fair." Chilling. Though, Ja Aku doesn't seem to be very attached to Aang. His fanaticism with keeping airbenders spiritual, however...
* PosthumousCharacter: Kuzon was pretty old when he mentioned Ja Aku, so it's safe to say that he may be dead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hitomi]]
A merchant for Byakko under Shidan's orders. She's one of the prisoners that Hama captured. Toph breaks her and the rest of the prisoners out. With Toph's Earthsense, we learn that she is one of the members of the Yamabushi, the mountain sages living in the Fire Nation.
----
* BadassNormal: She works for Shidan. Going undercover like that takes guts. Especially when getting captured by Hama.
* BlowYouAway: Averted. She's an Air Nomad, but not an ''airbender''. She's a descendant of one, perhaps.
* NoTimeToExplain: Her fear of Avatar Aang the "Temple child" is palpable, and tells Toph why she can't meet Aang:
-->"So long as Monk Aang lives, the Temple lives. The Elders were talking to Monk Gyatso before... before the war. But his apprentice wasn't old enough to find his Way. We aren't to speak of the morning wind until he is."\\
"His way?" Toph frowned.\\
"It's... important," Hitomi said carefully. "When you're old enough to ask questions. And think of your own answers."
* WarriorMonk: She's part of the yamabushi's order, but she's moonlighting as a spy for Shidan.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Karasu]]
%%One of Lituya Bay's inhabitants. Shidan's youngest child, and a firebender like her elder sister, Ursa. She helps Zuko to his feet in the latest chapter.
%%----
%%* CountryCousin: Through Ursa, she is Zuko's (and Azula's) aunt.
%%* InterracialCouple: With Amak.
%%* OddCouple
%%* PlayingWithFire
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Amak]]
A male waterbender of Lituya Bay, formerly of the Southern Water Tribe. Unable to return home knowing he would spread a HatePlague, he and the few prisoners who survived Hama's breakout ended up in Lituya Bay. There, he met his wife, Karasu of Byakko, and had four children with her.
----
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Or at least unable to associate with Water Tribals. Even decades later, he and every other escapee has to watch their tempers around Hakoda and the other sheltering Tribesmen or they'll infect them with the HatePlague they contracted in Azulon's waterbender prison.
%%* HatePlague: He and all other survivors of the waterbender prison are carriers.
%%* InterracialCouple: With Karasu.
%%* MakingASplash: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready He's a waterbender]].
%%* OddCouple: Married a firebender, of all people.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Along with the rest of the survivors of Hama's Waterbender prison, he can't without infecting the Tribes with a HatePlague. And as only ''Fire Nationals'' have the ability to resist it, a '''lot''' of of the survivors who reached Byakko killed themselves upon learning that despite escaping, the Fire Nation '''''still''''' got the last laugh in that not only could they never return home, but could only safely associate with Fire Nationals. Amak only accepted his situation(and Karasu's courtship) after Azulon assassinated Kuzon, which led him to realize that the Fire Lords were just as merciless and cruel to their own people as they were to the rest of the world.
[[/folder]]
----
%%
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
%%
%%
[[HereThereBeDragons Here, there be]] tropes specific to characters from Creator/{{Vathara}}'s ''FanFic/{{Embers}}''. Who may or may not be associated with dragons or, more likely, (at least partially) ''be'' dragons.
[[LateArrivalSpoiler For late readers and those recently]] [[FanFicRecommendations recommended this FanFic]]: this page '''contains spoilers'''.
[[foldercontrol]]
!Main Canon Characters
[[folder:Prince Zuko/"Lee"]]
Our protagonist who, thanks to [[AlternateTimeline one alternate decision]] in early Season Two, now finds himself on an entirely different path as to what canon depicted. Among the bigger changes: the capacity to heal with fire, becoming a [[ComboPlatterPowers yaoren]], finding his long-lost remaining grandfather, befriending Dai Li agents and fugitives from the same, and getting an entire Fire Nation ship to defect to his cause.\\\
Most of this is because [[ForWantOfANail he didn't steal Song's ostrich horse]], skipping one of his most notable displays as a villain. While not quite a full-time anti-hero, he always tries to do the best for his people. Now, 'honor' is less synonymous with 'ticket to Ozai's favor,' and [[BloodOath Loyalty]] has replaced much of his attempt to relive 'when his family was actually happy'.
----
%%* AnimalCompanion: Asahi
* BarrierBustingBlow: He shatters a stone cellar door with a shove to get to Jinhai when Min[[note]]He's an earthbender, so he's holding the door down[[/note]] is especially ticked off at his little brother. [[SubvertedTrope And ironically]], it does not tie in to Zuko's reputation as a [[{{Determinator}} fairly]] [[ImplacableMan unstoppable]] [[ScarilyCompetentTracker persecutor]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Twice, has Zuko has been on the bad end of a wish he didn't make. The first [[ProperlyParanoid he saw coming]]. The second time? [[FromBadToWorse He nearly died.]]
%%* BigBrotherMentor
%%* BigDamnHeroes: Pulled off with a ''gondola,'' no less.
* BlessedWithSuck: Counting his horrible luck in balance with his great destiny, perks can endanger him and perils may pay off with greater things. It is a tightrope to walk.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Spirits aren't easily dissuaded by Zuko's lack of acceptance. If anything, they will just turn around something that he is doing to make his actions turn out in Fate's favor.
* ChasteHero: Justified. In dragon-child terms, he's about four years too young to really be interested in anyone romantically.
%%* CombatMedic
%%* TheComicallySerious:
%%--> '''Jia''': So, what do you do for fun?\\
%%'''Lee''': I don't.
* CoolDownHug: Besides a dead obstacle, the only thing that brings him back when he gets especially enraged.
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: His bending, healing, swordsmanship, and royal manners all have the potential to put in him some very uncomfortable situations. Even his {{ninja}} skills can come into question if he becomes to difficult to read.
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Some of Embers' best SugarWiki/FunnyMoments result from this.
%%--> '''Zuko''': [[SarcasmMode What do you want me to do with the witnesses?]]
* DoomMagnet: He's almost the go-to pawn for spirit-world exploits. Thing is, he's not so easy to handle and he's pretty savvy about living with the some of the worst luck in the world. He doesn't even need to watch out for meteors or lightning strikes, since fate will steer [[ShockAndAwe Azula]] and [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill an entire army of]] [[DishingOutDirt Earthbenders]] his way, instead.
%%* DontYouDarePityMe: Doesn't stop people from doing it anyway.
* DoubleConsciousness: Amaya's [[SoulPower technique]] created a 'mask' that takes the patient's spirit and forges an alternate personality fitting a Ba Sing Se refugee.
* DoubleThink: 'Lee' is of the Water Tribe and adept at living in Ba Sing Se; he's there to catch Zuko before he does something in ignorance, and Zuko can depend on him to help deal with Fire Nation [[BloodOath loyalty]] to some degree. He's also heavily affected by [[MoreThanMindControl Katara's Inner Waterbending.]]
%%* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy
* ElementalBaggage: As a firebender, he's aware of his HairTriggerTemper, and has extensively trained to control it. He has broken his "[[MoreThanMindControl ties of fire and spirit" to the Fire Lord.]] Unfortunately, he's not really aware of his "ties of family and community" as a water yaoren - even though he's 1000% aware that his father and sister are evil, he hates that people hate them and want them dead, and [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation subconsciously permits their attackers to jump headfirst into a lethal trap]] because the Water Tribesman inside him doesn't ''care'' that they are.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: Scarce meals have slimmed the imposingly ripped Zuko of before, damping the more obvious flare of his presence. When he arrives as a healer, no one expects the teenaged mass of stern grumpiness.
* FingerSnapLighter: He unintentionally starts to forms fire daggers when angered[[note]]Most times, they are just sparks from between his tense knuckles. Other times, they are obvious, blazing implements that could easily be mistaken for (unrestrained) intent to maim[[/note]].
%%* FlightStrengthHeart
* ElementalPowers (naturally)
** Chi-fueled Bursts of SuperStrength[[note]]References how he casually heel-strikes through metal chains, and when Iroh gently tossed Zhao by the foot after the Agni Kai and Zhao went skidding several meters across the arena.[[/note]] and SuperSpeed[[note]]References how he jumped onto a hovering air-ship while also referencing the aforementioned SuperStrength[[/note]].
** Rock-hard nails that...steel can't cut? Admittedly, they let him [[WallCrawl scale rock like a mountain goat dipped in glue]] and if he ever chose to grow them out, he could sharpen them into [[NaturalWeapon deadly claws]]. [[note]]They are taken from his chase scene in the canon finale, where Aang jumps onto a cliff and Zuko climbs almost as fast as he runs; and from Azula's first in-series fight with him.[[/note]]
%%* GoodIsNotNice
* HalfHumanHybrid: Part of why he has such a bad temper is that he's descended from dragons.
%%* HealItWithFire
%%* HealingHands
* HeroWithAnFInGood: Even worse than canon. Canonically, most if not all of his problems stemmed from confusing his "[[KnightErrant duty]]" with [[WellDoneSonGuy his desire to please his father]]. In ''Embers'', he has a HairTriggerTemper that pushes him towards black-out, burn everything within sight rage on a regular basis, multiple curses, and an inborn compulsion to kill those who challenge his authority. The only thing that keeps him from being exactly as brutal and sadistic as his sister is a similarly inborn protective instinct.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Zuko takes many leaps of cynicism with Aang, even thinking him nearly irreparably stupid and failing to see the psychological reasons behind Aang's actions. He also admits that "I don't ''understand'' people. I try and I try and I ''don't.''"
%%* ImplacableMan:
%%--> '''Sokka:''' ''(to Hakoda)'' Zuko does not give up. He doesn't quit. He doesn't get bored. For all I know, he doesn't even sleep. You can smack him with a boomerang. Freeze him in ice. Dump him in the ocean. Blast him into a wall hard enough to leave little Zuko-shaped dents! And Aang's done that. Lots of times. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis He. Doesn't. Stop.]]
* IncendiaryExponent: [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]]. Zuko can weapon-ize certain things by firebending into them and moving them as he would flame (air heated into plasma), thus passing as a pseudo-bender of other elements.
* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: Zuko's skills aren't limited [[NonLethalKO harmless knockouts]] and [[InverseLawOfSharpnessAndAccuracy deadly strikes that never touch flesh]]. Enemies can and do die in-scene. Zuko ''expects'' nightmares after a kill, though Iroh tells him decreasing regret is a sign of something wrong.
%%* KnightInSourArmor
* LaserGuidedKarma: {{Subverted|Trope}} and [[LoopHoleAbuse perverted]]. His ancestry, position, and goals put an obscenely obvious "Kick Me" sign on Zuko's back.
* LeaveNoWitnesses: In chapter 6, he and Iroh had an entire ambush KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade. [[EntertaininglyWrong The details are interestingly interpreted through an investigation of the aftermath.]] The (charred remains of the) [[AssholeVictim bandits]] are [[IdentificationByDentalRecords only recognized by the leader's teeth]].
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: As in canon, Zuko feels like the world is using him for target practice. But he seems much more resigned to it than in canon, possibly because he deals a lot more in spiritual misery, and is more accepting of having no luck.
--> '''Zuko:''' [[spoiler:Am I dead again? Once was ''enough,'' damnit!]]
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: A key element of his character in canon (one which he canonically ''abandoned'' once he realized cruelty has no constructive purpose), but in Embers he's arguably turned it into ''[[WarriorTherapist Warrior Therapy]]''.
* NeverMyFault: One of Zuko's repeated statements is, "I didn't do this." Even Iroh gets in on the act, insisting that Zuko hasn't really done anything worth hating him for, refusing to acknowledge that Zuko ''would'' [[TheUnfettered do anything]] if he believed his "[[JustFollowingOrders honor]]" required it, which is why most sane people are [[TheDreaded terrified]] of him - especially given that he is capable of '''anything''' except [[TheDeterminator giving up]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He says himself a lot of heartache could have been avoided if he'd just talked to Aang at the South Pole.
* NotGoodWithPeople: When the gates of war don't hinge on his courtly manners. Otherwise he's pretty good with:
** Asahi, his ostrich-horse companion.
** Toph, who also knows courtly manners, but might as well be a talking badger-mole, otherwise.
** Shidan, the very draconian husband to the Lady of Byakko who is literally a dragon. Being Zuko's grandpa also helps. He's under standing orders from his wife to ''never'' go to court: he controls his temper by avoiding people that make him want to [[ImAHumanitarian eat them]].
* PintSizedPowerhouse: While the show [[YourSizeMayVary altered his size]] depending on how imposing he needed to be, here Zuko is always hinted as being rather short. He even grumbles about the men of other nations being built so big, but that doesn't stop him from being the imperially trained, fire-breathing, DualWielding {{ninja}} badass he's always been.
* ProperlyParanoid: Starting plans is easy for Zuko and Iroh; they think of the worst situation possible, then work from there.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Zuko is meant to be Aang's adviser, but doesn't want to be anywhere near the boy.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Of Kuzon, Aang's best friend from the Fire Nation.
* IWillFindYou: Kuzon's promise that he would find Aang, no matter what.
* SuperPoweredEvilSide: When he's particularly angry, his capabilities shoot up, but he loses his grasp of language.
%%* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Towards Aang.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Their particular shade is a sign of a powerful firebender.
%%* TechnicolorFire
* ThisIsADrill: When he needs to get through solid rock and not around it, he can use his Firebending in this manner. As seen at the end of the Beach arc and when killing the Plague Spirit.
* TranquilFury: When he's channeling his usual, explosive anger through Lee especially when he's drawing on Lee's nature as a water tribesman, and more so still, when channeling [[MoreThanMindControl Katara]]'s [[TheCorrupter raw loathing]] and combining it with his more explosive hatred.
%%* WhatWereYouThinking: Just got this from Iroh. Lampshaded several times several chapters back.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Prince General Iroh/"Mushi"]]
Fundamentally unchanged from canon, though WordOfGod says he's less of a LoveMartyr in this timeline. Embers' Iroh is more actively involved with his nephew now that the events of late Season 2 have been averted.
----
* BadassGeneral: He held Ba Sing Se under siege for 600 days, and the city's residents and generals ''still'' freak out to varying degrees on hearing his name.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Iroh has a bad habit of making pleas to the spirits to "help" Zuko, which usually don't turn out very well for Zuko. See, Zuko in ''Embers'' is mostly invisible to spirits -- Iroh isn't, and he thusly acts as a lightning rod for spirit-problems that Zuko would normally be able to evade.
%%* DecemberDecemberRomance: With Amaya.
* ExactWords: Sly as Iroh is, he almost never lies, but instead chooses to use words that let listeners craft their own deception.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Though well-meaning, Iroh's acts of... less than stellar wisdom... tend to just make Zuko's life ever more difficult. For example, it turns out that Zuko becoming a yaoren, and thusly rendering Zuko invalid to inherit the throne and his crazy sister Azula the only legal heir, is all Iroh's fault, as a result of wishing to the spirits.
* NoTimeToExplain: By chapter four, Iroh knows Aang doesn't understand Fire Nation loyalty and customs. While Team Avatar is (grudgingly) willing to listen, he can't divulge his [[MrExposition usual lecture]], lest [[ScarilyCompetentTracker Azula returns to]] [[ShockAndAwe strike]], again[[note]] this is sequentially analogous to the end of the episode ''The Chase'', from canon[[/note]].
%%* OlderAndWiser: Zigzagged. In many ways the failed siege of Ba Sing Se and its aftermath changed Iroh for the better. In others... there's room for improvement.
%%* PapaWolf: [[ShockAndAwe Smites]] [[ColdSniper In Cold]] [[TranquilFury Fury]] - Forgetting this is probably the quickest way to a thundering death. [[ImprobableAimingSkills Don't even try to hide in a crowd]]. Although Iroh claims to have a practical reason for killing General Gang.
%%* RetiredBadass: Until the above happens.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids:
** Zuko, and several others who are in the know, think that Iroh needs to ''stop'' trusting so much in the Avatar and the Spirits to sort things out. Given that every time Iroh invokes the spirits and/or tries to get Zuko to ally with Aang tends to blow up in Zuko's face, they kind of have a point.
** It's gotten to the point that, in chapter 84, Pakku himself all but calls Iroh an idiot for his beliefs and implies that when Zuko figures out just how much of his problems can be attributed to Iroh, things are going to get ''ugly''.
* TemptingFate: The end of chapter 4. Iroh is making some progress with Zuko, bit by grudging bit, when he thinks "At least we haven't seen the bison". Sure enough, Zuko takes another three steps and finds a familiar clump of white fur, on the ground. The events of ''The Chase'' ensue.
-->'''Iroh's Thoughts''': Spirits, you are ''not'' helping.
* WeWantOurJerkBack: When [[SoulPower Amaya creates]] [[DoubleThink spirit-masks]] for Zuko and him, they both worry that actually being their aliases would screw with their familial relationship. They get over it.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/73/Embers chapter 73]], the air/water-bending yaoren Langxue really lets Iroh have it in regards his machinations, idealism and ignorance in roughly equal measure.
** [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/84/Embers Chapter 84]] sees him getting a more level and oblique version of this from Pakku, who has some pointed words to say about Iroh's belief in his own supremely wise elder act and how much authority it gives him over his family.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Avatar Aang]]
Still the Avatar, Aang is portrayed as a thorn in Zuko's side. He's twelve years old, hyperactive, and naive. His main counsellors aren't much older or more experienced. And it doesn't help that Aang spent the last century tucked away in an iceberg, ignorant of events outside, and after the thaw, has a LOT to catch up on while being unaware of the extent of the changes. Oh, and did we mention [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready he still needs a Firebending teacher?]] And someone who can teach him Fire Nation culture? [[BystanderSyndrome Yeah, not happening anytime soon.]]\\\
And then it does. After eighty some odd chapters of 'fic and numerous instances of WhatTheHellHero.
----
%%* AndThatsTerrible
* BewareTheHonestOnes: How Zuko sees him. Fans of him from canon know that Aang will do the Right Thing, no matter the risk, no matter the cost. Zuko just sees him as an immature idiot who is willing to throw himself on the judgement and mercy of {{Kangaroo Court}}s who regularly boil people in oil.
%%* BrilliantButLazy: Canon saw him unprepared right before the comet, and Toph calls him out on it both then and here.
* BrokenPedestal:
** He believes that all Air Nomads were pacifists and didn't have evil people! In chapter 54, Temul shows them how Kuzon was killed...by airbenders, trained by Aang's fellow Temple mate, Ja Aku.
** Eventuality Aang realizes that Monk Gyatso, his beloved teacher, was WRONG about "no one can make you do anything you don't ''want'' to". For him, it's like the sky is falling.
** Might be worse when he realizes that it's an Airbender ExactWords twist; Gyatso was technically correct in his defense of free will, he just failed to mention that, "Some people ''can'' [[MoreThanMindControl make you want what they want]]."
%%* BunnyEarsLawyer
* CultureBlind: Most notably, because the Avatar is supposed to help everyone ''else'' in the world get over such a problem. However, he's also tolerant of cultural differences; Air Monk philosophy is that eating meat is wrong, but he never mentions this to the others until Sokka asks him about it. He shows no surprise or horror at the burial customs of other nations. Respecting other cultures is easy for him; it's finding out what the differences ''are'' that's hard.
%%* CursedWithAwesome[=/=]BlessedWithSuck: Boy, is he ''ever''.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: He is ''implicitly'' [[GoodIsDumb Not Dumb.]] His "problems" are;
** A. Airbenders tend to be flighty (pun intended) and don't sit around to show off their intelligence. Problem solved, big world full of problems, move on to the next one. Not unjustified, as he ''does'' have an entire world to save, and canonically learned his lesson about staying on one place too long back on Kyoshi Island. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite figured out that [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed problems don't necessarily STAY solved]].
** B. Because he is a textbook example of AllLovingHero, he is all but incapable of believing that people can ''choose'' to be destructive and/or ignorant ForTheEvulz, let alone [[MyCountryRightOrWrong willingly choose to OBEY such people]].
* GrandTheftMe: After he gets blasted with lightning, Roku and Yangchen briefly take over his body.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Subverted. He can get the wrong idea of a person, up to the point that they tell [[LivingLieDetector an outright lie]]. As a Master Airbender, he can read spoken words and all their subtexts so long as they are carried on the wind. What throws him off are people like Jet, who mostly believe in their lies, or Long Feng, who twist the truth as they will. There are also instances where the motivation and psychology of the subject are so strange to him that he mis-interprets what he's sensing. For example, it takes him a long time to understand that finding an action to be distasteful or even repugnant will not necessarily stop someone from taking that action. And when a close friend shows a darker side for him to judge, he goes into full-blown denial.
%%* HowDoIShotWeb: [[WhoYouGonnaCall Shamanism]].
* HumanityIsInfectious: The Avatar Spirit incarnates as humans so that it can understand humanity and acquire human traits.
* IdiotHero: Mostly due to ignorance about the spirits and interrupted training by Gyatso. If not that, Aang doesn't stick around his worst fans to prove them wrong. Otherwise, he'd just rather play than think, provided there's nothing urgent going on.
%%* IJustWantToBeNormal: Poor, poor kid.
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Almost willfully so, in earlier chapters. Although he's trying to fix that, with Tao and Toph aiding him, it's slowly going. ''Very'' slowly.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Deconstructed. In the DarkerAndEdgier world of ''Embers'', he needs to be corrupted with some realism/lose his faith in the world before he gets eaten alive. Although his idealism and faith are also necessary to prevent atrocities; it's a balancing act. Iroh sums it up:
-->And he pictured that kind, young boy, facing the Face-Stealer with the best of intentions, to set right that ancient spirit's wrong.\\
''...I do not think I will be sleeping well tonight.''
%%* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: And how! It's bad enough in canon, but since ''Embers'' thinks about the ''consequences'' of everything that's happened to him?
%%* KickTheDog: With Boots. (Boots was not exactly blameless toward Aang, but given the power differential... )
* KidWithTheLeash: To the Avatar Spirit. Since the Avatar Spirit is the Avatar of the entire planet, he's supposed to be this to the entire world. Koh, the Fire Nation... he'd have better luck herding cats.
* LastOfHisKind: Partially averted. In ''Embers'', while there are survivors of several Air Nomad groups still out there, Aang is still the last remaining Air ''Monk'', and the only one left who holds to (what he knows of) their ways. All the others would ''much'' rather see those ways die out. In fact, a character in chapter 59 all but implied that until Aang gives up the Temple ways, the only way to be rid of all traces of the Temples is to wait for Aang to die.
* LivingLieDetector: Being an Airbending master, he can easily see through lies. So easily, he knew Zuko wasn't using lethal force the ''entire'' time he'd been chasing the Avatar. This turns out to be not as reliable as Aang thought, as ''he doesn't want to use lethal force'' is not the same thing as ''he won't use lethal force''.
* MotherNature: Technically, as he's the avatar of the (female) planet. Sadly, [[WrongGenreSavvy this is no]] GreenAesop.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He doesn't want to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, between dealing with three different alien value systems, chronic lack of patience and insane powers, a lot of the characters who meet him see him this way.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dousing the flames keeping a murderous zombie army from swarming a colony that has '''just''' only finished dealing with Fong is generally '''not''' the best response to a worldview altering decision.
* ParentalAbandonment: Normal for Air Nomads, to the point he sees nothing wrong with it, which the others find disturbing. Chapter 51 shows [[Manga/RurouniKenshin a nun and her ex-Onmitsu lover]] that may be his birth parents.
%%* ThePollyanna
%%* StupidGood: His blindly following Air Monk doctrine.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Zuko's thoughts reveal this when he is thinking about how Aang ran away from the Southern Air Temple and, thus, from the Elders' decision to brainwash him:
-->Aang might have the attention span of a flutter-hornet on a honey high, but that impulsive decision might just have saved the world.
%%* SuperpoweredEvilSide: The Avatar State, or at least the inconsiderate GaiasVengeance side.
* TimeTravel: Sort of. It took a one-way trip into the future courtesy of an iceberg; it's taking him a while to catch up with the cultural changes.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Aang, you are the Avatar. In canon, he was already clinging to his identity as just a normal kid/air nomad. In ''Embers'', he's been forced to face the fact that he is, to whatever degree, Kyoshi and Roku, among others, and responsible for their screw-ups. With the focus Embers is placing on spirits and politics, the fact that the Avatar is the Avatar of the world-spirit is likely to play a larger role. Aang just isn't a normal kid who can have a normal life.
%%* TheTrickster: Deconstructed to hell and back.
* ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer:
** Played with. Aang is unwilling to take a life, but quick to use his bending, which often does more damage than he notices. While mostly played for laughs in canon, in Embers this comes back to bite Aang, ''badly''. Also, because of the war, those closest to Aang want him to temporarily let go of his ThouShaltNotKill policy – before this was explicitly stated to him, Aang believed that his allies ''shared his pacifism''. After said confrontation, he is deeply upset and confused by the knowledge that they don't, even as he grapples with understanding the why's.
** Subverted quite thoroughly in the climax of the fic. Unlike in canon, in ''Embers'' Aang decides that Violence Isn't The Answer and ''sticks to it''. All the way down to how he deals with the fic's ManBehindTheMan, Koh the Face-Stealer. And it is ''awesome''.
%%* WideEyedIdealist
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Katara]]
TeamMom and LoveInterest roles unchanged, Katara gets put through the wringer in ''Embers''. She arguably retains the same personality she had, but in this AlternateTimeline, everything's been TurnedUpToEleven. Nobody's safe from her, not even her own family, and she doesn't even know it until it hits everyone, including her, in the worst possible way. Thankfully, Yue and Toph step in to mitigate it all somewhat, but from what we've seen, Katara's still got a long way to go.
----
* AngstComa: Zuko gave her a choice between her TrueCompanions and her Tribe and [[YourMindMakesItReal it tore more than just her attention]].
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Vathara agrees with canon that Katara is this. She is also an avowed opponent of this trope;
-->Katara is not honest. Katara is sweetness and confidence and "we're going to help Aang save the world!" Until she runs into [[BerserkButton something she doesn't like]], at which point the Sugar Queen cracks, and a lot of nastiness oozes out. ...Yeah. That relationship is going to end ''[[SarcasmMode so well]]''. I think I'll take my chances with Azula....
%%* TheChiefsDaughter
* CloseToHome: Deconstructed and Justified. Why did Katara go on the defensive when Zuko wasn't actually attacking her or doing anything terrible? Because he ''was.'' On top of being the symbol of what killed her mother, by trying to get through to Katara he was attacking the idea of herself that she'd built up in order to function. In other words, he was [[FatalFlaw attacking her psychological weak point.]] What happened when her SanityMeter went to zero? She went into an AngstComa ''and nearly died.'' In a world with ''Embers''' laws of metaphysics, he was essentially coming at her with a knife ([[HanlonsRazor not that he knew this]]), no one would help her or believe her (a double whammy) and her subconscious reacted accordingly.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Most likely averted, by WordOfGod. Katara has a wound to her spirit and could become a yaoren, but Katara is such a self-reliant person that she's almost certain to never ask the world in general or a Great Spirit of another element for help, giving them an opening.
* ExtremeDoormat: A normal person's response to nearly being killed should not be "''We'' betrayed ''him.''" It's this tendency towards just taking it from her loved ones and saying that it's not the other person's fault because they were hurting (that reasons are not excuses and don't make it right is a major theme of the fic) that got her into this mess.
* GenreBlindness: She (along with Aang), genuinely believes that she's doing the right thing, which doesn't always match with the changed world of ''Embers'' (which has gradually grown from [[ForWantOfANail divergence]] to full-on [=AU=]); her actions have both more realistic implications and more supernatural consequences.
%%* TheHeart: She remains this in Embers. Lampshaded by Toph in Chapter 37: "Katara keeps us together."
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Her abilities allow her to pull on others' emotions. The bad part about this is that she was not taught to control it very well, thanks to Pakku. Hakoda and Sokka are wary about her pulling on their hearts. This power is extrapolated from Katara's canonical moments of managing to spark emotional resurgences in others, such as her pep-talking the imprisoned Earthbenders into a successful revolt in Episode 6.
* HeroInsurance: Invoked. Katara is disturbed when she is prevented from trying to heal someone while they were sleeping. She's the Avatar's teacher. Why does ''she'' need consent to fix somebody? She's the good guy!
* HonorBeforeReason: Both a positive trait and a negative trait. Zuko praises her for being willing to do the right thing, even when it's hard, but ''Embers'' puts a lot of importance on ''thinking''. In addition to that, since 'people judge normal by themselves' and Katara actually doesn't think that she's a very good person, anyone ''less'' honorable than her (which is actually setting the bar ''really'' high) must obviously be a terrible person. It's also Water Tribe honor. For instance, there's nothing dishonorable about stealing from others, especially bad people, if your people need it, to a culture where it's traditional to raid your enemies (on top of piracy).
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Though this seems more of a side-effect of her MoralMyopia. Anyone who doesn't side with her or Aang (Xiu, for instance) isn't a friend, especially if they happen to like Zuko. She's especially this around those of the Fire Nation.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Much of her hard-edged choices have to do with growing up in a culture with the {{Wendigo}} and [[ShootTheDog having to deal with it]] [[SanitySlippage before it becomes]] [[ImAHumanitarian a problem]].
%%* InnocentBlueEyes
* IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance: Katara often needs Toph to help put things into perspective for her.
* KidWithTheLeash: She canonically has this power over the Avatar State via {{Cooldown Hug}}s. Except she's on somewhat shaky ground with Aang ever since Zuko's blood-contract-guided psychic attack on her in Chapter 31. If Aang goes ballistic again and the Avatar Spirit wants to re-enact Kyoshi's hurricane, it's possible that Katara won't be able to calm him down. ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero And it would be Zuko's fault.]]'' Confirmed in Chapter 80; Aang goes off (albeit due to being possessed), and burns Katara's back as badly as Zuko's ''face.''
%%* LectureAsExposition: She gets one from Tingzhe Wen.
* {{Lunacy}}: The moon augments a waterbender's power.
* MamaBear: Towards Aang. When her own mother was murdered in front of her. In an attack by the Fire Nation. [[OhCrap The Fire Nation Zuko represents.]] Comes to a head in the Beach Arc.
* MoralMyopia: Every character is biased to some degree, but [[AuthorTract Katara doesn't even give a convincing argument]], having grown up with the impression that she is supposed to be a strong pillar to hold up her tribe. It's the darker half of her TeamMom tendencies.
* MoreThanMindControl: Waterbenders can heavily spur the emotions of their tribesmen. Very good for morale. [[TheCorrupter Not so good when you're an angry wreck on the inside and haven't been trained to control this ability.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the most current chapter, she realizes that she sold out Shidan to one of the Onmitsu, who is going to report Byakko's treachery to the Fire Lord.
%%* RedOniBlueOni: With Zuko, and the colors flipped.
%%* {{Revenge}}: Her motives still remain the same from her canon self.
* StepfordSmiler: Resulting from being forced into the TeamMom position ''for her own family'' after her mother was killed protecting her. As her grandmother points out in the show, Katara was also the symbol of hope for the Southern Water Tribe not for herself, but because she was a waterbender. No one wanted to deal with the fact the person they needed to cheer them up was not a very happy person, so she grew up convinced that if she showed her true self with the pain of losing her mother, her resentment of being put into this position and her hatred of the Fire Nation, no one would love the real her. For a waterbender, with their emphasis on community, this is explicitly just as bad as what Ozai did to Zuko.
%%* TeamMom: The problems with trying to be this while coping with the loss of her own mother are brought up.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Not only did Katara not have one, as a waterbender she was expected to ''be'' that much-needed therapist. Even Kanna was understanding about the fact that Katara couldn't have prevented all those deaths without training, but Katara still blamed herself.
%%* VisionQuest: Only non-yaoren to have one, so far (Aang's canon one was cut short).
* WrongGenreSavvy: Things that would fix problems in a more idealistic world actually ''start'' problems in Embers. Contrast this with Zuko, now the Protagonist, who has had to learn to calm down before he can't think, lest he get [[AnthropicPrinciple himself and Iroh killed]], when they were on the run.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sokka]]
His core personality hasn't changed, though his experiences have. Sokka stands the middle ground - while he is firmly on Aang and Katara's side, his maturity and innate sense allow him to see things as they really are. This talent helps save the day during the Beach Arc; when Katara's rampant emotional turmoil and unawareness of her MoreThanMindControl talents threaten the truce, Sokka consciously makes the effort to overcome his prejudices and try to understand where the other guys are coming from. (Even if it ''does'' break his brain.) As such, while Zuko would love to set Aang and Katara on fire, he can tolerate Sokka.
----
%%* BadassNormal: Same as in canon.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Averted. All Sokka really gets from Temul is some much needed indepth knowledge about the Fire Nation and its culture. Otherwise, Temul kicks his ass during their sword training.
* FacePalm: He does this in ch. 37 when he hears how Aang and Katara put their address on the posters they posted of Appa while staying in Ba Sing Se.
* HeadDesk: Forgoing his [[FacePalm palm]], Sokka smacks himself with the blunt end of Boomerang when Aang reveals he knew of Zuko's non-lethal intentions the whole time.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: [[ConversedTrope Conversed]]. Zuko, informing him about the chi and bending, points out that the usage of chi extends beyond the elements, into relatively mundane skills, such as nailing a target with a boomerang just right.
* OhCrap: Being TheSmartGuy makes him sensitive to the UnfortunateImplications after a CultureClash and to the sheer scope of trouble down the road, if some things don't get fixed right away. The most current example is in Chapter 60 at the end where Sokka figures out that the Fire Nation knows about their plans to invade during the Day of Black Sun, which Shidan confirms.
%%* TheSmartGuy
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toph Bei Fong]]
[[MemeticBadass The Greatest Earthbender in the World]], and damn proud of it, Toph is the most grounded of the Gaang, both literally and figuratively. While the others base their opinions on preconceived - and sometimes unfounded - notions and run with it, she withholds her judgement, actually taking the time to learn what the truth of the matter is before coming to any decision. It's because of this she agreed to aid Zuko in the jailbreak that freed Appa (Jet, Smellerbee and Longshot were a bonus). Solid, patient, and nurturing, to a far greater extent than in canon, Toph personifies all the best attributes of her element, and Zuko couldn't ask for a better ally in a tight spot.
----
* BloodOath: She has an Earth Kingdom Contract with Aang, to help him defeat the Fire Lord. As with Fire Nation Loyalty, it could kill her if she backs out of it, even if she has no reason in the world to do so.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Subverted. Zuko gives her advice on how she might be able to swim, but she doesn't take to it nearly as easily as metal and molten glass. Although, it has lead to the pleasant surprise that bending smoke lead to quasi-Airbending.
* CastFromHitPoints: After healing a bruise, she says she's come out of entire tournaments with less exhaustion. Considering Toph's power and skill, its hard to distinguish between an exhaustion of strength or a strain of prowess.
* CombatMedic: Emphasis on 'combat'. She's quickly picked up on Earth-Healing, but states that she'd rather deal damage than fix it, only when Zuko or Katara are absent would she try it.
* DishingOutDirt: As in canon, she's an Earthbender. At one point she learnes how to do [[BlowYouAway quasi-Airbending]] by manipulating ash particles in smoke after Zuko tries giving her advice on how to swim.
%%* ExtraOreDinary: Duh.
* FacePalm: Several times. Particularly when Aang talks about putting up more Appa posters.
* GeniusBruiser: Toph is fully aware of the implications of her Metal-bending; if "no one" is supposed to bend metal, then how many ''other'' "impossible" techniques can she get away with? She's experimenting with the use of salt in seawater, and even bent the ''ashes in smoke''.
* HeadDesk: Discovering the sheer scope of [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage difference between nations]] in the definition of 'truce', Toph [[DishingOutDirt bashes a rock with her head]].
* HealingHands: Only in an emergency; she says after doing it that it takes more out of her than a [[ProfessionalWrestling Rumble]], and she'll leave it to the professionals otherwise.
* OnlySaneMan: Amongst everyone else's not so sane moments, Toph's the only one keeping a level head and looks at the situation objectively, especially with regards to the Fire Nation. She's the only one who can.
* SecretKeeper: She knows that Zuko, Iroh and the Fire Nation have draconic ancestry. She also knows that Zuko can waterbend, too, but she doesn't tell Aang, Sokka or Katara.
%%* StealthHiBye: Her favorite greeting.
%%* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Much more so than Aang.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Princess Azula]]
Fire Princess and DaddysGirl, Azula personifies all the worst that one of her ancestry can claim - and she, along with Zuko, has more draconian ancestry than most. All Fire Nation citizens have dragon's blood to some degree (it's practically required to firebend in the prescribed form), and a few have dragons for recent ancestors (Teruko). Azula and Zuko? Out of their 8 great-grandparents, ''three'' were dragons, Sozin was a [[HalfHumanHybrid dragon child]] (someone whose parent was a dragon), and Roku was the Avatar. It's a recipe for disaster, and while Zuko thankfully has chosen a different path under Iroh's guidance, Azula was raised by Ozai. As a result, she's running headlong down the Dark Dragon road of carnage, death, and utter destruction. It's all in the name of her father, for the glory of the Fire Lord and her Nation... And she won't let ''anyone'' get in her way. As of chapter 81, not even her own father -- said Fire Lord. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Congratulations, Ozai.]]
----
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Azula engages in this in-universe, and concludes that [[spoiler:Zuko isn't even ''remotely'' the idiot she thought he was for years, but someone who saw a disaster coming that ''nobody else saw'', tried to head it off, and couldn't due to his inability to deal with politics.]] Once she runs through this train of thought, she gains a great deal more respect for him.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Zuko has learned to make himself scarce when she utters the phrase 'Little Zuzu'. [[note]]Now that they are older, he is still probably boned if she is in a creative mood and distant by a several dozen miles.[[/note]]
* BloodOath: Such is Loyalty, where just thinking the wrong way spells trouble. She owes Loyalty to Ozai and she can press others into yielding it to her.
* BreakTheHaughty: At the end of the Invasion of the caldera, Azula is betrayed by one of Ty Lee's clan. Not only this, but Mai implies that the Fire Lord does ''not'' appreciate her changes in his plans, and may mean that she is just as disposable as her brother is. It is thought by some readers that Mai herself may have deceived Azula to make her feel as every bit betrayed as Mai felt when she found out about Azula's own treachery in pairing her with Zuko. By chapter 81, readers find out that, no, Ozai really is that dismissive of ''both'' his children.
* ConsummateLiar: A staple of dark dragons, who can lie through a PsychicLink. How good is she? In Chapter 48, Vathara {{Retcon}}ned Azulon's punishment from the canonical "know the pain of losing a first-born son" into "know the pain of losing a ''most favored child''" ''Azula.'' Azula actually retconned it ''right back'', conning Ursa into believing that Zuko was the sacrifice.
-->'''Shidan''': ''You saw a threat. And you acted. All it cost you was your mother... and your brother's nightmares.''
* EnfanteTerrible: In a nutshell, Azula has been terrorizing everyone since she was old enough to walk.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: She just does not understand how people can be so easily compelled by emotion to do drastic things. To her, there has to be an ulterior motive and hidden agenda; after all, that's why ''she'' would be openly passionate.
%%* IShallTauntYou
* KarmaHoudini: See the rest of Azula's entry? In Chapter 88, ''she becomes the new Fire Lord'' (the spiritual authority of that position, though, was dissolved by Aang). Even Ursa, whose family has been in silent rebellion against the rule of the Fire Lords since the war began, and herself acknowledged that her daughter is a monster, shows up to show support for Azula's rule.
* KickTheDog: As a child, she would torture animals to death.
%%* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming
%%* MoreThanMindControl: Her 'Inner Fire'.
%%* MindRape: Unsurprisingly, being the psychopathic genius she is. Poor Min.
* MindManipulation: Whether of hesitating followers or resistant prisoners, Azula will herd undesirable emotions.
* PetTheDog: Chapter 66. Lets Aang go during the invasion trying to fulfill a promise to Zuko. In a surprising move (for her), when Aang decides to charge straight into the Caldera anyway, her reaction can be summed up as ''I tried''.
* TheSociopath: Azula is condemned to be a sociopath by [[ItRunsInTheFamily genetics]] and [[DaddysLittleVillain upbringing]]. After some spiritbending mind healing, some of the worst of the sociopathy is walled off and Azula gets more freedom of choice in her actions. Of course, she still CHOOSES to do evil things (like trying to kill Zuko), but now she's a bit more rational about it. It remains to be seen if this is an example of NiceJobBreakingItHero.
* WellDoneSonGuy: She strives for Ozai's attentions and constantly proclaims and reaffirms her loyalty to her father. [[TheStarscream Until she doesn't]]. "Sorry Daddy, but... What you ''want'' isn't what your people ''need''. Looks like it's my turn up to bat. Hey Zuzu, wish me luck!"
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mai]]
Daughter of Governor Tsumami and the Lady Niji, Mai is still the dour girl we met in canon. But she makes her HeelFaceTurn a lot sooner, once it become clear just how long Azula's been lying to her - and just how deep her deception went. It's one thing to date someone. It's another to be ''related'' to said person, in a way and to the degree of consanguinity that the laws clearly state are prohibited. (In Embers, she is descended from Roku's daughter, Momiji, the sister of Ilah, who was the wife of Azulon.) The worst part is Azula knew the entire damn time, and had incorporated the expected side effects into several plans.
----
%%* ActionGirlfriend: To Min, much to his distress. She plans to go back to the Fire Nation.
* BadassNormal: UpToEleven. She survived breaking [[BloodOath Loyalty]] to Azula. And she didn't require a healer, either.
%%* BlueOni: To Ty Lee, as true in canon.
* CombatPragmatist: She knows how to choose her battles most shrewdly. This comes from being the daughter of a noble close to the Fire Lord's family, and as well as dealing with Azula.
%%* DefrostingIceQueen: More so in Embers.
%%* HeelFaceTurn
* NervesOfSteel: She displays a cool head in the face of [[MagnificentBastard Azula]], who in ch. 34, suspects her of treachery, and is right when Mai does her HeelFaceTurn.
%%* PairTheSpares: With Min Wen.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ty Lee]]
Still our ditzy, bubbly, bouncing acrobat, Ty Lee becomes much more than that in Embers. Descendant of the Duo Qang, one of many Airbender tribes that used to roam the winds, Ty Lee's people were decimated during the era of Avatar Yangchen, and those who weren't killed outright in that period were later kidnapped to the temples and brainwashed into becoming monks and nuns. The survivors who escaped both fates ended up settling in the Fire Nation and ultimately pledged their services to the Fire Lord. Since those services tend to include chi-blocking and the arts of stealth, it's no wonder that the Duo Quang are now known as the ''onmitsu'' - Ozai's own army of ninjas and assassins. Ty Lee knows about her family history, and will do what it takes to stop Aang - last of the Temple Monks - from what she and her people believe will be a second Holocaust.
----
* AntiVillain: She helps Azula because she wants her clan to live. She actually doesn't want Aang to know what the Temples did.
* AuraVision: Fully functional, rather than being a glorified horoscope (and ambiguously connected to her [[TheParalyzer chi-blocking]]).
%%* BadassAdorable
* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Getting this off screen from Azula saves her life! Turns out when Air Nomads come to the realization that their teachers were Wrong [[spoiler: they stop breathing!]]
* LesCollaborateurs: Her clan, the Fire Nation-allied Onmitsu, descendants of the Duo Qang.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Her vs. Makoto. She did have the Dai Li help her, but her actions led to Makoto flying away.
%%* TheEmpath
%%* GenkiGirl: The same as she is in canon.
%%* HighlyVisibleNinja
%%* LivingLieDetector
%%* ObliviouslyEvil
%%* RedOni: To Mai.
* RememberedICouldFly: Almost [[BlowYouAway literally]], as [[PowerLimiter her airbending]] and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia some memories]] had been sealed away by her clan.
* SadlyMythtaken:
** The stories she was told about Kuzon, known to her as [[FalseFriend the Great Betrayer]]. Ty Lee, and the onmitsu as a whole, [[KidnappedByAnAlly know Kuzon hid away other Airbender survivors, but don't know where.]] The Duo Qang are unaware of the existence of any other surviving Airbender groups outside the Fire Nation, and Kuzon made sure they stayed ignorant of that fact for good reason - [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance no need to add ''more'' kidnapped brainwashed ninjas to the Fire Lord's ranks.]]
** She's also this about Aang, too. Despite being a Temple Monk, Aang would NOT condone any of what Xiangchen or his followers did, and never would Aang do this to her or any of the other Air Nomad survivors.
** There's also Zuko. In chapter 42 she says that Zuko is too nice. She's in for a surprise when she sees him again...
* TomatoInTheMirror: While telling Azula about what the Temple Monks did to her ancestors, Ty Lee doesn't know that her Elders have her and her family [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood in Harmonious Accord]]. Subverted in that Ty Lee, post chapter 38, told Azula that she remembered certain things, as revealed in chapter 42.
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist
[[/folder]]
!Minor Canon Characters
[[folder:Grand Secretariat Long Feng]]
Essentially unchanged from canon, Long Feng takes much the same path as he did on the show. The only difference is the end: after imprisoning Azula, he attempts to double-cross her, using Ty Lee as leverage. Azula does not take kindly to Long Feng's treatment, killing him with a well-placed lightning strike. His old responsibilities are divided afterwards, with leadership of the Dai Li falling to Agent Chan, while Agents Quan and Bon becomes Kuei's new advisers.
----
%%* TheChessmaster: Pity Azula plays one better.
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: This version of Long Feng was unambiguously the hero of a mass invasion fo kamuiy the night previous Earth King's family was assissinated. Both saving the four year old Kuei and rallying the Dai Li to beat back a horde of malevolent killer spirits.
%%* KilledOffForReal: Rather than ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.
%%* SmugSnake: Oh boy, is he ever.
%%* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Until the Fire Nation invades.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Earth King Kuei]]
The 24-year-old royal gets a major fleshing out in Embers. For starters, Kuei never leaves Ba Sing Se, but instead retreats underground (quite literally) to strike back at the Fire Nation forces occupying his city. It gets better. Turns out the Earth Kings were and are still considered the spiritual heart of the Earth Kingdom for a damn good reason - they descend from ancient shamans and have power over the spirits in their domain that's second only to a fully realised Avatar. How powerful is Kuei? He evicts Wan Shi Tong, the knowledge owl, and all his servants, out of the Earth Kingdom. Permanently. Yikes.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He's getting there. After laying the smackdown on Wan Shi Tong and his servants, all the Earth Kingdom, including the Fire Nation refugees, ''bowed down'' to him. Also, Azula set herself up as ruler of Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation refugees most likely will NOT stand for this, and may attempt to sabotage her in the future.
* AdaptationalBadass: In canon, he was a sheltered and useless puppet ruler who is easily manipulated by Long Feng. Here, he's a naive and sheltered yet intelligent FisherKing with spiritual powers, as his bloodline can be traced back to ancient shamans who are just below the Avatar in terms of raw power. Once Long Feng is out of the picture, he starts showing his true capabilities and pulling his weight as ruler of Ba Sing Se.
%%* AscendedFanboy: This line says it all:
%%--> '''Earth King Kuei:''' Does that sword still mean you're a healer?" Kuei blurted out. "Some of the scrolls I have - here, let me show you...
* ArrangedMarriage: Most Earth Kings get this. Kuei just got his due to Agents Bon and Quan saying "It'd take a miracle to find spriritually strong women in the middle of a Fire Nation invasion-", and also because the Touzaikaze were impressed with Kuei enough to send their own special women as prospective brides.
* BadassBookworm: He's got a personal library ''full'' of powerful information yet unknown to the rest of the world, and he's a powerful enough spiritbender to kick ''Wan Shi Tong'' out of the Earth Kingdom.
* BerserkButton: Unknown to ''anyone,'' maybe not even Kuei himself, but you do ''not'' harm his people without good reason. One of Wan Shi Tong's foxes did this, and Kuei ''kicked the Owl and every one of his servants completely out of the Earth Kingdom.'' He didn't even know he ''had'' shamanistic powers until that moment.
* CulturedBadass: Thanks to reading unknown amounts of scrolls in his library, Kuei is one of the first to know about yaoren, and had a dissenting opinion about the all-powerful Avatar. He's read up about his ancestors, his own people, and even the Air Nomads, whom no one really knows anything about (other than the Air Monks). He forms an alliance with Zuko, the exiled former Prince of the Fire Nation, knowing and understanding how important it was to have a place where anyone can be themselves, as well as a buffer-zone between Earth and Air. And ''now'' he's just taken it upon himself to have a [[CombatMedic swordswoman-slash-healer]] for his Queen.
%%* CompellingVoice: Just being in the Earth Kingdom puts one under his supernatural jurisdiction.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Kuei delivers this sentence in chapter 29 to the fox servant of Wan Shi Tong:
--> '''Earth King Kuei:''' [[RoyalWe We]] find you and your master, Wan Shi Tong, have behaved with contempt to us, and to our people! We find that you have done us harm; willfully, pettily, and with full knowledge of our desperation, beset by enemies! We find that you have cast aside the virtues of civilized creatures. And so, we render our judgment! You, your master, and all his servants are hereby banished from our lands. Your master may petition Oma and Shu. Should they decide his punishment is enough, we shall revisit our judgment. Until that day - begone!
%%* FisherKing
* GoodIsNotDumb: Long Feng had it so that the Earth King was seen as a naive, harmless, puppet-king bookworm who needed to be protected. Sure, he's ignorant of many things, including what's been going on within his city. However, he has had years and ''years'' and YEARS of reading the scrolls in his [[TowerOfBabel personal library]], so he knows things the Dai Li and the rest of the cast do not. He's also a fairly competent commander, since he lacks the usual Earth compunctions against tearing up your own streets to get at the enemy.
* TheHeart: Literally. All Earth Kings are the heart of Ba Sing Se.
* LetsGetDangerous: Both taking on spirits, and taking over the resistance.
* NonActionGuy: He has protection in his Dai Li, as well as Eshe and Amisi.
* ParentalAbandonment: Kuei's parents were killed 20 years before Embers starts. The assassins were said to have been from Taku.
* LaResistance: He's running it, and rather more effectively than the military. A Fire Nation guard in Chapter 45 muses that an Earth Kingdom general would ''never'' dig pit traps in the streets of his own city. Kuei is not fighting like traditional Earth generals.
* RousingSpeech: After one of Wan Shi Tong's fox servants is captured, Shirong gives him a small one to try motivate him in stepping up as Earth King and performing his royal duties as the [[FisherKing spiritual heart]] of Ba Sing Se. Kuei then performs admirably.
--> '''Shirong:''' ''(to Earth King Kuei)'' You've been trained for this your majesty. You are the guardian of the spirits of Ba Sing Se, both of your people and the city itself. And this spirit [...] has walked where it was not invited, and delivered harm upon one of your loyal subjects.
* RoyalWe: In Chapter 29, he refers to himself as "we" during his royal judgement of Wan Shi Tong and his fox servant that was captured.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He's become this. Granted, Bon and Quan are carrying out his orders, but with Long Feng dead, he's heading towards being a competent and capable ruler.
* SoulPower: He has authority over the spirits of Ba Sing Se. Also noted to become one of the best spirit-benders out there.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Wan Shi Tong apparently did not remember that he lives in the Earth Kingdom and the Earth King has power over the spirits there, including himself. And now, one of the {{Big Bad}}s, the Dragon Makoto aka Fire Lady Tejina even says how he has messed up her spy network.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Wan Shi Tong]]
The giant owl spirit who, pissed off at humanity, sank his library in the desert and nearly took the GAang with him. They escaped, after Sokka whacked him over the head with a book and Toph stopped the library's descent long enough for them to get out. In Embers, Wan Shi Tong is out for revenge.
----
* AsianFoxSpirit: His servants and information gatherers are shapeshifting foxes. One of them decided to [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer take on Professor Tingzhe's form]]. This led to an angry Kuei deciding to spiritually kick out both Wan Shi Tong and his fox servants as punishment with a royal command for what they had done to his subjects.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: He really shouldn't have messed with the subjects of Earth King Kuei, who at the time had just taken on his duties as a ruler now with Long Feng gone. An angered Kuei effectively uses his spiritual heritage to banish Wan Shi Tong and his fox servants out of Ba Sing Se as punishment, [[SpannerInTheworks This has long-term ramifications within the story, as the black dragon Makoto notes that Kuei has messed up her spy network]].
* TheExile: His actions end up biting him when Kuei, having fully stepped into his responsibilities as the Earth King, officially banishes him and his fox servants entirely from Ba Sing Se. As Kuei himself put it, there's the option to appeal to [[ThereIsNoHigherCourt Oma and Shu]], but the odds are ''not'' that good.
* MagicLibrarian: An owl spirit that collects books.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Wan Shi Tong's arrogance, shown through his kitsune's actions in Ba Sing Se, hammer down ''hard'' on Kuei's BerserkButton. To be fair, it surprised ''everyone'' that Kuei even had such a button, but in doing do, Kuei realized his own power, banishing the Owl and all who served him from the Earth Kingdom. Doing so not only cut into Makoto's information network, of which Wan Shi Tong was a major part, but freed up the Sand tribes' Earth- and Airbenders to come to the aid of the Earth Kingdom.
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: He figures since Sokka pulled off one on him, that he can now return the favour.
* TheUnseen: Referenced plenty throughout Embers, and drives part of the plot, but never actually appears in person.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Kuzon of Byakko]]
In canon, Aang's pre-war Fire Nation buddy, briefly mentioned, seen only in one of the side comics, and not much else is known. In Embers, Kuzon of Byakko was not only Aang's friend, but found out about the planned Air Nomad massacre and tried to warn Gyatso beforehand. Failing to stop the killing outright, Kuzon saved those he could, hiding them away in places only he knew where. He never stopped searching for Aang, over his long life becoming Lord of Byakko, Azulon's intelligence agent (and later assassination victim), Ursa's grandfather, and thus Zuko and Azula's great-grandfather. Also, after his death, he accepts an offer from Agni himself to finish the job he started, as Aang never reappeared in his lifetime. Kuzon ultimately ends up being reincarnated as his own descendant: Zuko.
----
* BackFromTheDead: Zig-zagged. He died "in his sleep" roughly 17-18 years before Aang thawed out of his iceberg and reincatnates just aren't the same person.
* BackupFromOtherworld: Sometimes Zuko unconsciously uses Kuzon's old speech patterns and memories. Then Yangchen comes along poking holes in the already thin barrier between him & his last life.
* DefiantToTheEnd: To the consternation and fury of his killers.
%%* DualWielding
* PosthumousCharacter: For the most part.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Before Sozin started the war, Kuzon wasn't expected to become Lord of Byakko. Loyalty sickness claimed everyone ahead of him, after Clan Byakko refused the Fire Lord's orders to kill. Kuzon only survived thanks to Shidan's fire healing.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Lord Ozai]]
His core personality is unchanged, though his background has been fleshed out. Ozai is considered a dragon child, and a dark dragon, to boot. With Azulon's heritage (three-quarters dragon, one-quarter human) and Ilah's (Avatar Roku's daughter), it's lucky Iroh and Lu Ten turned out as well as they did. Ozai, on the other hand, personifies all the worst that a human with too much dragon blood can become - and he's [[DaddysLittleVillain trained Azula]] to be [[OhCrap just like him]].
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: More so than Zhao, and the consequences are bound to be worse.
* DemotedToDragon: ''Of'' a [[JustForPun Dragon]]. In canon, it took a ''fully-realized [[TheChosenOne Avatar Aang]] with an EleventhHourSuperpower'' to beat him. [[spoiler: In chapter 89, he receives a DisneyVillainDeath from ''[[BadassNormal Sokka's]] PrecisionGuidedBoomerang'' - in pretty much [[CallBack the same way Sokka nailed Zuko]] in the second canon episode... Which is just a footnote of the battle for Dragon's Wings. His grandmother Makoto is a far greater threat, and ''her'' threat potential was raised only due to several centuries working for [[EldritchAbomination Koh]].]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Azulon trained him as such, to complement Iroh's rule when the time came.
* VillainRespect: Of a sort, towards [[spoiler: ''Sokka'' during their fight. He acknowledges Sokka's raw talent and remarks that with a few more years experience he might have been a "dangerous opponent" before preparing to finish him. [[KarmaticDeath Them comes the boomerang]].]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lady Ursa]]
Like her husband, retains her characterization, though Vathara has tweaked her genealogy in Embers. Here Ursa is no longer Roku's descendant (that honour goes to Ilah, Azulon's wife), but rather the daughter of Lady Kotone of Byakko and her husband Shidan. After Azulon put on the pressure, Ursa was sent to marry Ozai mostly to put Clan Byakko in line. All is not what it seems - Lady Kotone's father was Kuzon of Byakko, and Shidan was his dragon companion before their marriage. Byakko always plays to stay ahead of the game, and Ursa knows to do whatever she must for her family and her clan.
----
* ActionGirl: She was mentioned to have been good with swords.
* ArrangedMarriage: The reasons in Embers are such that Byakko's rulers needed to buy protection from Azulon, and also for {{Revenge}}.
* BrokenBird: On top of years living with her gaslighting husband? Yeah, spirits don't like it when you kill someone supposedly carrying the Avatar's Will.
* HalfHumanHybrid: She's the daughter of a dragon and a human woman.
* HealItWithFire: How she kept Zuko alive when he was just born.
* MissingMom: She's still around... somewhere... Found as of Chapter 88 when she shows up in the Fire Nation Capital to support Azula's coup.
* {{Revenge}}: It's assumed she was sent to kill Azulon from the beginging, but as her father points out: the best revenge is not killing. The revenge they hoped for was that her children would reverse everything Azulon worked towards. [[spoiler: It worked.]]
%%* YamatoNadeshiko: Her core personality remains the same as in canon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Jee]]
Last seen in canon being transferred to Zhao's command, just before Zuko's ship blew up, Jee survived the resulting deluge at the Siege of the North. In Embers he's since been promoted to Captain (more due to lack of experienced officers than anything else) and he and his crew now deal with the scores of newcomers onboard the ship.
----
* TheCaptain: Only now he actually holds the rank, instead of acting as such under another's command.
* FightingForAHomeland: Zuko plans to create a new domain. Jee plans to make sure he survives long enough to make that happen.
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Even when they've been declared traitors to your own nation.
%%* ReassignedToAntarctica: The entire crew, not just Jee.
* {{Revenge}}: Initially, he wants justice for Zuko's death onboard the ''Wani'' when she blew. Averted, as Zuko's alive and Zhao's... [[FateWorseThanDeath Yeah.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jet]]
While all events in the show occurred, Ember's Jet is spared the fate of his canon self - he doesn't die in the Dai Li catacombs, instead getting a free pass out of the city. [[TooDumbToLive This despite trying to attack the Blue Spirit in the middle of a battle with Dai Li agents.]] Later shows up attempting to "free" the same town he targeted earlier, this time by [[PowderKegCrowd instigating a riot]]. Enter Zuko and the crew of ''Suzuran'', and the shit hits the fan. ''Again.''
----
%%* AxCrazy
%%* MoralMyopia: More like Moral Blindness, which he has in spades.
* PutOnABus: Get sent to a convent and is never seen again.
* NoodleIncident: Exits in a throughly ridiculous one, culminating in an OffscreenMomentofAwesome by [[UnexpectedCharacter The nuns who nursed Bato back to health]], who are apparently accomplished spirit fighters.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Jet will drop defending himself from an opposing horde to kill a Firebender. He'll even drop his friends.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Averted from canon; when Toph and the Blue Spirit bust Appa out of the Dai Li headquarters, Jet and his crew go along for the ride. Too bad Jet's too damn obsessed to stay out of trouble.
%%* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: He ''personifies'' this trope, even in canon.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Smellerbee]]
Part of Jet's gang, who sometimes shows more sense than her leader. Pity common sense isn't too common, as Jet's words and actions are liable to get them all killed. Although part of her ''knows'' that what he's doing is wrong, she remains loyal nonetheless.
----
%%* ActionGirl
* SamusIsAGirl: If a character's perception of her gender isn't outright wrong, it's usually gender neutral or leaning toward 'Likely a girl, but let someone else say it, first'.
%%* [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hell, Jet?]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Longshot]]
The other member of Jet's gang who stuck by his leader, Longshot might be having second thoughts about that decision.
----
%%* TheQuietOne
* OnlySaneMan: He's looking to be this, since Jet is losing his shit over the Fire Nation.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Piandao]]
The lord of Shu Jing, a gray-eyed swordsman adopted by Temul, who was present at Kuzon's death. He was chosen by Temul to become her successor as Lord of Shu Jing. Piandao was only a Major when he met Kuzon and Temul, and presumably retired from the Fire Nation Army soon afterward.
----
* AncientTradition: A member of the White Lotus ''and'' aware of what Kuzon was up to.
%%* BadassNormal
* ColorCodedEyes: Gray eyes tend to indicate air nomad ancestry. Since it's confirmed that he is still the non-bender son of Firebenders, or at least ''thinks'' he is, he [[WildMassGuessing may or may not]] have anything to do with the rescued children. Apparently people in the Fire Nation assume that gray eyes mean someone has an ancestor who was a ChildByRape of the Air Nomad armies.
* ParentalAbandonment: Piandao thinks his birth parents were firebenders who orphaned him because he couldn't bend.
* RagsToRiches: If you count being "adopted" by a cranky old woman's ghost into being the Lord of her old domian such.
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fire Sage Shiyu]]
The Fire Sage who helped Aang back in canon, sent to the Boiling Rock for treachery.
----
%%* CoolOldGuy
%%* TheMentor: currently being rescued to teach Aang firebending.
%%* OhCrap
* OldMaster: As a member of the White Lotus
* PoorCommunicationKills[[spoiler: Because he had no knowledge of what reason she could possibly have to kill Azulon he lept to the conclusion Urusa was a "dark dragon". Further jumping to the conclusion that both her children fruit of a poison tree and a danger to the Fire Nation.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: He gets one from Zuko for leaving the ''giant killer Kanaloa'' that lives in Boiling Rock off the map. [[spoiler: and then he gets a second one when Sokka helps put together that it was part of an elaborate trap to kill Zuko and Azula! Read: this plan was meant to go off when Zuko was 13 (recently scarred and traumatized) and Azula was 11. He was ''specifically'' aiming for Azula.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Chief Hakoda]]
Sokka and Katara's father, and Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. He's been waging naval warfare against the Fire Nation for years, and in this story he winds up coming onto the scene during a tense standoff with some surprisingly non-hostile Fire Nation troops, just in time to see Katara's [[CursedWithAwesome downward spiral]] of[[spoiler: [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Emotion Bending]]]] come to a head.\\\
In the aftermath, he helps the Avatar party by becoming one of the stabilizing influences Aang and Katara desperately needed, and helps Tao, Sokka, and Toph find enough common ground to look at the bigger-picture problems of the war.
----
* CultureClash: He has a difficult time wrapping his head around why the Fire Nation have waged war for nearly a hundred years without stop, let alone the rest of their cultural nuances. It goes both ways, since all the other characters had a hard time understanding his worst case scenario for [[TheNeedsOfTheMany dealing]] with an unstable Katara.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: When Zuko first interacts with him, Hakoda plays up his status as a Chief of a BarbarianTribe ignorant to Honor and the like, just to needle Zuko into more honest reactions and to gain information. Then he reveals that he's been studying Fire Nation culture for years to understand their tactics and cultural motivations.
* PapaWolf: And how. He cares deeply for his children, and this extends to their young friends as well, he's willing to go to bat for them physically and emotionally. Though this doesn't stop him from calling many of them out on their personal issues and behavior when he thinks they need it.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Being from a culture that deals with scant supplies, long nights, and {{Wendigo}}, he sometimes has to make [[SadisticChoice horrible decisions]] for the sake of the Tribe as a whole.
* WhatTheHellHero: It's him calling her out on it that finally allows Katara to reign in her [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart Bending.]]
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Ba Sing Se
[[folder:Agent Shirong]]
Veteran member of the Dai Li after twenty years, Shirong is unusual in that unlike most of his fellow agents, [[DoomMagnet he works alone]]. This is due to an encounter that left him so scarred spiritually that partners simply didn't last long. Instead, Long Feng has him working as a recruiter, which allows Shirong to play to his strengths and has would-be recruits undergoing (usually survivable) spirit encounters that test their mettle. All goes well until he meets "Lee", a Fire Nation colonial who's also a waterbender. Shirong tries to recruit him, and ends up getting dragged into the spirits' grand plan, becoming the second yaoren.
----
%%* {{Ambadassador}}
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Shirong prayed to Agni, asking for aid in helping Zuko. Agni responded by having Shirong become the next yaoren.
%%* BreastAttack
* ConflictingLoyalty: As a Dai Li, Shirong is supposed to be a loyal subject of the Earth King. After meeting Zuko and becoming an Earth-Fire yaoren, that loyalty shifts over to Zuko. This becomes heartbreaking when he realizes that Kuei, whom he's faithfully served for over half his life, isn't his king.
** TakeAThirdOption: Luckily for Shirong, Kuei invokes this, sending Shirong to act as the Dai Li's emissary with Dragon's Wings. Shirong is therefore able to follow his king by birth....by following his king by choice.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Almost happened twenty years ago, and the reason behind his spirit wounds and really bad luck.
%%* DishingOutDirt
* DoomMagnet: Until Zuko, nobody else Shirong had met had worse luck than he did.
%%* {{Expy}}: of [[Series/{{Airwolf}} Michael Archangel]]
* HappilyAdopted: Into the Wen family, as Tingzhe and Meixiang's younger brother.
%%* HowDoIShotWeb: With Fire.
* OneGoodCop: For a while there, the only member of the Dai Li to heed Zuko's warning and not follow Long Feng.
* NiceHat: It was supposedly fire-proof up until Azula's [[UpToEleven blue fire]] proved it wrong. Zuko later noted the absence of his hat even ruled out an option for defending against firebending.
%%* WouldHitAGirl: Seen in the train battle out of Ba Sing Se.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Captain An Lu-Shan]]
Head of the local detachment of Ba Sing Se's lower ring City Guard, Lu-Shan's job consisted of watching over his men, making sure chaos and anarchy didn't rule the streets, dealing with troublemakers, and when things got too much for them to handle, [[WhoYouGonnaCall call in the Dai Li]]. Then the Avatar arrives. [[FromBadTOWorse And the Fire Nation invades.]] Oh, and one guy in his department's [[SerialEscalation really a Fire Nation refugee]], who's disappeared along with his family and everyone else who's like them. Now Lu-Shan's got to work with the Fire Nation to keep order and peace in his city, and it's not as bad as he thought it would be. So far.
----
%%* CityGuards: Obviously.
* EnemyMine: Ba Sing Se's street scum and would-be avengers are a nuisance to both the well being of the Lower Ring and the Fire Nation occupants. Common sense dictates calling a truce, even if it makes his skin crawl.
* AFatherToHisMen: Felt deeply betrayed when Huojin "disappeared".
%%* GoodCopBadCop: Good cop/Captain counterpart to the Fire Nation's Master Sergeant Yakume.
* InterserviceRivalry: City Guards and the Dai Li, to the point where no news on the latter is bad news. Justified, considering what the Dai Li was up to before (mindbending, involuntary disappearing acts), and what's been implied that they're up to now. Seems Kuei's new advisors are continuing Long Feng's practice of keeping their king in the dark, despite Kuei's leadership in LaResistance and the expectations of full disclosure. Bon? Quan? Not a smart idea, guys.
* UrbanSegregation: Due to the vastness and social strata of Ba Sing Se, tends to stay in the Lower Ring, unless making reports.
* UrbanWarfare: Has to deal with this, both against his people and the invasion forces. Lu-Shan is even less happy about it than the above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Huojin]]
The first of Amaya's many hidden Fire Nation refugees in Ba Sing Se, Huojin was six years old when his parents disappeared, taken by the Dai Li. Amaya took him in, and he's been loyal to her ever since. Husband to Luli and father to Daiyu and Lim, Huojin's lived in Ba Sing Se for thirty years. He's made a good life for himself, joining the City Guard, and is indistinguishable from other Ba Sing Se residents, what with the queue of hair, the eyes, and his speech. His temper, though, is pure Fire Nation, but nobody really takes note of that. He'd be happy to live out his days in the city, with his family... Then two firebender refugees show up, and Huojin's life is no longer as stable as once was.
----
* BecomingTheMask: 'Huojin' was the alternate persona [[SoulPower wrought from his spirit by Amaya]], when he was six. He now doesn't even remember who he was before then, except for his birth name.
* ButtMonkey: To top the mockingly unfortunate events that seem to follow him, he was once nearly strangled to death by an ''umbrella''.
%%* CityGuards: Until recently.
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Commisioner Gordon]]
%%* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: To the point that "Umbrella" has become a sort of nickname for him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Luli]]
Huojin's loving wife and mother to his daughters, Luli works as an Earth Kingdom jade carver, making ornaments and jewellery for the city's residents. Toph takes a shine to her, as even though Luli can't bend, she knows her craft well and is eager to share her experiences with a willing audience. Luli is one of many Earth Kingdom residents who opts to leave in the mass exodus from Ba Sing Se, as she would never be separated from her husband and children.
----
* FamilyVersusCareer: Works as a jade carver in addition to raising her kids.
* {{Housewife}}: As her profession allows her to work from home.
* OpenMindedParent: She freely associates with Fire Nation, Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom alike.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Professor Tingzhe Wen]]
Teacher of history at Ba Sing Se University, Tingzhe comes from a long line of Earthbenders. He's come under the Dai Li's radar for supposedly subversive, anti-regime commentary hidden in his lectures. Married to Meixiang, a Fire Nation refugee, and has four children. Aids both Zuko and the Gaang when the situation calls for it, and assisted in the later evacuation of Ba Sing Se. After much trouble, undergoes a ceremony and is made head of the new Clan Wen, to solidify and protect his family.
Tropes associated with Tingzhe include:
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Subverted and played straight. He just acts that way to throw the Dai Li off his trail. But sometimes.... When his son, Jinhai, was born, his students had to go and fish him out of the Airbender section of the library stacks.
%%* BadassBookworm
%%* DishingOutDirt
%%* {{Expy}}: of [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Doctor Henry Jones Senior]]
* AFatherToHisMen: He cares for his students, so one of them disappearing for digging too deeply into the wrong subjects was a bad blow.
* LectureAsExposition: He notably gave one to Katara, in the hopes that she might learn something. It didn't work. [[https://www.deviantart.com/mallorn85/art/Lecture-179116351 As seen here.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Meixiang Wen]]
Fled the Fire Nation's Home Islands years ago on the orders of her family lord, Meixiang was the only one of her immediate family to reach the haven of Ba Sing Se. She fell in love with and married Professor Wen, gaining respectability and a step up the social ladder to living in the city's Middle Ring. Due to the mixed marriage, the family in divided - her older two children are solid Earthbenders, while the younger two are more Fire. To help ease the way and bring harmony, Meixiang performs a ritual that creates a new clan, one outside the Fire Nation's complicated web of loyalties and intrigues. Such an act is unfortunately considered treason in the Fire Nation, punishable by death, and Azula is resolved to see that all traitors suffer the consequences of their actions. Even the children.
----
* CountryCousin: Her great-great-grandfather was Avatar Roku, making Meixiang and her children kin to Zuko and the royal family. Zuko is unaware of this until much later on.
%%* MamaBear: Do not threaten her kids. Just don't.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Min Wen]]
Eldest child of the Wen family, Min is a stubborn Earthbender who knows his family's irregularities, were they to become known, could mean their doom. He's desperate to ensure that they're safe, and looks to joining the Dai Li as a means to that end. Regrettably, the city falls, and then Azula takes interest in him - and his recent Fire Nation ancestry does nothing to help matters.
----
* BigBrotherBully: To Jinhan. Min's terrified of, among other things, his little brother's Firebending and their family's Fire Nation ancestry, rightfully believing it's going to get everyone in the Wen household killed. This manifests in his bad attitude and he isn't afraid to show it.
%%* {{Jerkass}}: Towards Zuko, and not without reason, of course, but still. Although he ''does'' get better eventually.
%%* PairTheSpares: With Mai.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jia Wen]]
She's the perfect, pretty professor's daughter. She has all the right clothes and makeup, and the right manners. She participates in the right activities, like poetry, and would nver do anything so unladylike as Earthbending or (gasp!) fighting. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Jia, she's perfectly normal, and by extension, so is the rest of her family. Right? Wrong. Turns out Jia is as scared as Min about the wellbeing of the family, but instead of lashing out with words and actions like her brother, Jia hides everything and plays her part behind a courtly mask - and hopes to all the spirits no one will suspect to look behind it.
----
* {{Ambadassador}}: Zuko plans to send her along with an older assistant to the Fire court. Jia is perfect for the role due to her ability to keep up a courtly mask and her demonstrated courage against Azula ought to earn her the new Fire Lord's respect.
* AscendedExtra: From canon. Jia is one of the girls seen in the poetry club Sokka crashes in Season Two. [[http://images.wikia.com/avatar/images/e/ef/5-7-5_Society.png She's on the bottom left.]]
%%* TheChick: Likes her looks, her clothes, her poetry...
%%* DishingOutDirt
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Cordelia]] [[Series/{{Angel}} Chase]].
* LadyOfWar: Briefly, when up against Azula. Perfectly capable of asskicking (she's a competent Earthbender) and healing.
%%* ObfuscatingStupidity: Smarter than the facade she presents.
* SilkHidingSteel: Especially evident when she gets the drop on Azula despite being frightened half to death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Suyin Wen]]
Thirteen years old and staunch defender of her little brother, Suyin is the only one of her siblings who has no bending ability whatsoever. Despite this, she plans to learn as much as she can to protect him from any threats, even posing as a firebender if it means keeping him safe.
----
* BadassNormal: With her mother and Mai to look up to, she's in good company.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Gender-inverted in a way that shows she's more attuned to Fire, though not as much as Jinhai.
* DecoyGetaway: Plans to become this, to divert Jet.
%%* {{Expy}}: According to WordOfGod, she's a genderflipped [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Rupert Giles]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Jinhai Wen]]
The youngest child and son of the Wen family, Jinhai is a six year old with a familiar problem that Zuko helps with. ([[PlayingWithFire It's not the boy's temper]].) Jinhai was born during Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se, which, along with his mother's genes, may have influenced his abilities.
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: To Min. His sisters are a lot more tolerant.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Partially subverted, in that while Jinhai does know what's going on, his parents and siblings are trying to shield him from the worst. Especially Jet.
* ForYourOwnGood: Zuko pulls this one on Jinhai. It's a harsh lesson, but one Jinhai does take to heart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Agent Bon]]
Another Dai Li agent, he first shows up when hunting a man-eating spirit loose in Ba Sing Se. During an interrogation session, said man-eating spirit arrives, possesses Amaya and proceeds to freeze him over. While two of his fellow agents are killed, Bon manages to hold on long enough for Zuko to save him. The methods Zuko uses, however, unwittingly give Bon the strength to break free of Azula's inner fire when she takes over. During the Fire Nation occupation, Bon acts as one of two advisors to the Earth King, concentrating mostly on the civilians and helping Kuei adjust to his rule.
----
* ButtMonkey: Has quite a few of these, usually in conjunction with Kuei. How ''does'' one explain the birds and bees to one's king? Though not always...
--> '''Quan:''' How's Operation Fainting Maid going?\\
'''Bon:''' ... I hate you, sir.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: At one point, he wondered where there might be appropriately qualified bridal candidates for his king. The next moment... [[OhCrap Well.]]
* {{Headdesk}}: He bashes his head against the wall repeatedly, again thanks to Kuei.
* TheMatchmaker: For a brief period of time, much to Quan's amusement, Bon's extreme dismay, and Kuei's obliviousness. It's harder than usual, not just because she'll be a future ''royal consort'', but as the girl must also meet certain spiritual requirements rarely found outside the Dai Li's own (male-only) ranks. The Touzaikaze solve that problem - and create a few new ones - when they send in two of their own women as potential brides.
-->''"We give up everything for our city. Can't it give us something back?"''
%%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Agent Quan, after being promoted to royal advisors.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Agent Quan]]
Formerly Long Feng's second in command, Quan finds himself promoted when Azula executes her coup. Unlike most of the other Dai Li, Quan's dealt with "Lee" before, and this encounter leaves him with just enough to resist Azula's will - and release the horrors the Dai Li kept contained in order to try and bring her down. The deed meant Quan having to break his Dai Li oaths - an act fatal to Earthbenders - and has him accepting death, believe he has nothing else to live for now that Long Feng is dead and Azula is now his master. Kuei has other ideas, and Quan is quickly made the king's advisor alongside Bon, carrying out Kuei's plans to resist the Fire Nation occupation.
----
* ConflictingLoyalty: On the one hand, he swore to protect the city. On the other, Long Feng was his boss and leader and Quan wants revenge. He subverts [[TakeAThirdOption the third option]] - no way in hell is he following Azula, and he can't understand why [[LesCollaborateurs his fellow Dai Li would.]]
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Quan gets a long overdue one from none other than the Earth King himself.
* LaResistance: Kuei runs it, but Quan is the one who enacts his king's strategies.
%%* ThoseTwoGuys: With Bon.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: Nobody was expecting Long Feng to go the way he did, least of all Quan. Made worse by Quan being present when Long Feng was killed quite literally before his eyes.
* WelcomeBackTraitor: After attempting to strike out at Azula, the Dai Li under her give him this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Healer Amaya]]
Born in the Northern Water Tribe, Amaya was a girl, a bender, and not the Avatar. As such, her family planned to marry her off to the first strong Waterbender who offered (Pakku was even a candidate). Sick of the politics and unwilling to marry anyone, Amaya took a page out of Kanna's book and bailed. She made it as far south as Ba Sing Se, and having been trained according to the North's customs, meant her skills as Healer were a valuable asset to the city. Soon after her arrival, she met and adopted Huojin, an action that would lead to three decades of hiding other Fire Nation refugees within Ba Sing Se's walls. Then Lee and Mushi came along...
----
%%* DecemberDecemberRomance: With Iroh/Mushi.
%%* {{Expy}}: Of a [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Jedi Healer from the Extended Universe]].
%%* LoveInterest[=/=]MagicalGirlfriend: To Iroh.
%%* MamaBear: To her hidden folk.
%%* TheMedic[=/=]HealingHands: Obviously.
* TheMentor: She gets Zuko started on healing.
* MundaneUtility: While Amaya isn't [[SuperEmpowering making]] or [[BroughtDownToNormal breaking]] a bender on a whim (as some authors [[MarySuetopia would have her]]), she has proved it a useful tool for people that have happened upon a [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight hostile kamuiy]].
* SoulPower: She learned Energybending (Spirit-healing/bending, in ''Embers''), from the Lion Turtle.
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Fire Nation
[[folder:Master Sergeant Yakume]]
One of many Fire Nation soldiers tasked with occupying Ba Sing Se and attached to Huojin's old Guard detachment, Yakume hails from the Fire Nation domain of Onsenzakura. He does not like the Earth Kingdom, its people, or its ways. At all. That said, he's well aware that Ba Sing Se feels the same way towards him. His job is to keep the peace, and if it means working with the people who not too long ago would have speared him through and/or bury him alive (and might still do it given a chance), well, so be it.
----
* BoobyTrap: Got caught in one, along with his men. Four went in, only two came out again.
* CulturedWarrior: Knows a lot about the Earth Kingdom for a Fire Nation soldier. Justified, in that it makes his job easier.
* DangerousWorkplace: Occupying a city's bad enough. Occupying the capital of your enemy is worse. And then there's the booby traps. Yeesh.
* MountedCombat: Was assigned a Komodo Rhino, the standard animal mount for Fire Nation ground forces.
* OldSoldier[=/=]ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Served under the Dragon of the West during Ba Sing Se. One of the few decent soldiers from that era still serving.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Averted; while he might feel that way, this isn't Yakume's first such stint, and it won't be last, because he knows that ''someone's'' got to do it. And if it not him, then someone worse like the kind of soldier who's become all too commonplace under Ozai's rule
* UrbanWarfare: It's getting there. He's lost the men and got the marks to prove it. The Dai Li left in the city aren't sitting just around...
* WarIsHell: Well aware of this. It's why he tries to work with the locals - the alternative is worse.
* WonTheWarLostThePeace: Yes, Azula captured Ba Sing Se, finally putting the city under Fire Nation rule. Yes, the Dai Li are (mostly) under her command, and yes, the Earth Army leadership has been taken out. All of it means absolutely ''nothing'' when LaResistance fights back.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: Holds himself, the City Guards and the occupying forces to that standard. Anyone who doesn't, Yakume promises to deal with personally.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Sadao]]
The second-in-command aboard Jee's ship ''Suzuran'' with an almost terminal case of nerves, leading to quite literally explosive results and constant transfers as his commanding officers got sick of the antics. It's partly due to Sadao's paranoia, and partly because his natural talents, like Zuko's, lie more in wave-style Firebending. Since being introduced to fire-healing, Sadao's incidents have notably decreased.
----
* TheApprentice: To Jee. Assuming Sadao lasts long enough to learn about command.
* ButtMonkey: His previous commanders got so sick of Sadao's "antics" they usually ended up throwing him overboard. Except when Sadao saved them the trouble by preemptively jumping ship. Good thing he can swim.
* DoomedDefeatist: Subverted, in that he's still around, but he definitely had the defeatist attitude down pat in his earlier appearances. He got better once Zuko got him starting on healing.
* EnsignNewbie: Double-subverted. While not new to the Navy (it's implied he's been in the service for a while now) Sadao ''is'' new to the whole command thing.
%%* HealingHands
* HealItWithFire: His strange affinity for ''external'' Firebending is great for changing a destructive flame into its healing form.
* HealingShiv: Other marines are less successful, as Imperial Firebending is taught around ''creating'' fire and letting its destructive nature pan out; not for ''handling'' anything (beyond extinguishing the unnecessary).
* TheKlutz[=/=]HavingABlast: He's no Combustion Man, but he has a "special" talent of accidentally blowing up things no one thinks actually could. This has wrecked his nerves for much of his life and the patience of most of his family. Before he could usher (further) havoc on his family's glass-blowing business, he was shipped off to war. In the wrong military branch. He was supposed to be headed for the Army, but ended up in the Marines, a place with less breathing room, making him more nervous and making his nervous detonations a concentrated problem.
* NervesOfSteel: Despite being a paranoid DoomedDefeatist expecting the worst at all times, Sadao's actually ''very'' good at keeping calm during a firefight. In his own words, it's because combat is the worst thing that could happen to you ''happening'' to you, so why bother worrying anymore?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lieutenant Teruko]]
28 years old and the female commander of the ''Suzuran'''s Marine contingent, Teruko is one of the few women in the Fire Nation military who ''isn't'' in the HomeGuard. She hails from Byakko, Kuzon's former domain, and like Zuko, has draconian ancestry. She takes over teaching Jinhai and Shirong Firebending after the exodus from Ba Sing Se, Zuko being preoccupied with the bigger plan at the moment.
----
* DopeSlap: Pulls one on Sokka. He then realises she's a girl.
* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod says she's Series/{{JAG}}'s [[Characters/{{JAG}} Sarah Mackenzie]].
* LadyOfWar: Surprisingly, for a Marine. Then again, she ''is'' an officer.
* SamusIsAGirl: Many (non-Fire Nation) characters are surprised to hear a woman's voice emerge from the [[FacelessMooks skull mask everyone is so familiar with]].
* SemperFi: If the above didn't make it clear, the quote below will.
-->"I," Teruko said in a voice that surfaced from the faceplate like magma, "am not a ''girl''. I am not ''woman''. I am not ''missy''. I am not your little sweetheart who cuts up seal meat in the igloo kitchen, iceboy! I, am a ''Fire Navy marine''."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sergeant Kyo]]
Ranking non-commissioned officer of his squad, he does his job well. A widower of some years, he and his squad are the best Teruko's got.
----
* DopeSlap: He can do it without even seeming to move.
* {{Expy}}: of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs]].
* NervesOfSteel: Steady as a rock among rapids.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Against the Earth Kingdom bandits who killed his family. It not only got him reassigned, but the rest of his squad too.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Private Fushi]]
%%Private Fushi is among the younger marines onboard ''Suzuran'', and aside from her CO Teruko, is the only other female Firebender stationed there. Hails from the capital, and is considered more "modern" compared to shipmates from places such as Byakko or Shu Jing. Despite this, she does seem to know more about the old Fire Nation customs and history than her fellow privates.
%%----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* TheCutie
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Abby Sciuto]]. Which naturally leads us to...
%%* PerkyGoth
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Private Rikiya]]
Hinted to come from a family of some standing, Rikiya's posting on the ''Suzuran'' seems to be as much escape as it is punishment detail.
----
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Series/{{NCIS}} Tony [=DiNozzo=]]].
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: his first bit of characterization is turning something Teruko said into an innuendo.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Private Sukekuni]]
%%The only one of the Marines who'd served on the ''Wani'' prior to his posting on the ''Suzuran'', Sukekuni is familiar with Zuko's habits and has the grace to forewarn his teammates.
%%----
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Series/{{NCIS}} Tim McGee]].
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Corporal Shoni]]
The only non-bending combat Marine on Kyo's squad, Shoni makes up for it with his knifework.
----
* BadassNormal: Despite being one of two non-benders in Kyo's squad, he makes up for it by being really good with knives.
%%* DeadpanSnarker
%%* {{Expy}}: In a genderflipped example, [[Series/{{NCIS}} Ziva David]].
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Corporal Moriaki]]
%%The other non-bender on Kyo's squad, is a gray-haired man with a gentle disposition.
%%----
%%* CombatMedic
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Series/{{NCIS}} Donald 'Ducky' Mallard]].
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shidan of Byakko]]
Well over a hundred years old, Shidan was once Kuzon's dragon companion, and knew Aang before the war. Later on, during the genocide of the dragons, he opted to take human form and in this guise married Kuzon's daughter Kotone, becoming Ursa's father. He has, for many years, acted on behalf on Byakko's interests; he holds no loyalties to anyone in the Fire Nation outside that of his wife, which is useful when helping one's grandson rebel against the Fire Lord.
----
* TheChessmaster: He's been working to overthrow Koh's faction for at least the last century. Longterm plans, indeed.
%%* OurDragonsAreDifferent
%%* TheEmpath: Inverted, unless with another dragon.
%%* ExpositionBeam: The story of the dragon-human lovers.
%%* AFormYouAreComfortableWith
* HumanityIsInfectious: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. He hasn't ''quite'' lost the dragon-like presence ''or'' the teeth. His speech mannerisms betray his struggling mastery of words and when Saoluan asks why the Fire Nation has to be filled with homicidal maniacs:
-->'''Shidan''': So you do understand. Good.
* NaturalWeapon: His piercingly sharp, rock-hard claws.
%%* NeuralImplanting
* PsychicLink: He senses Zuko becoming yaoren. He knows that Ursa is wounded. A staple of all dragons.
* ShapeshiftingLover: He became human to marry Kotone, [[ShapeshifterModeLock but cannot revert back until she dies]].
%%* ToBecomeHuman
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Temul]]
In life, Temul was a contemporary of Kyoshi. She survived the Avatar's hurricane that decimated her people and later tried to bring back the wave styles that had been lost. After her death, she remained as a ghost, allying herself with Kuzon and assisting in his plans. She wasn't privy to everything, though. The onmitsu found that out the hard way. Lived in Shu Jing, the same town Piandao calls home. Both were present at Kuzon's passing. After Piandao retired, he tried to help the area. Apparently, he succeeded well enough for Temul to adopt him. In chapter 54, she also adopts Sokka, as a form of were-gild from the Avatar for Kuzon's and her own deaths.
----
* BerserkButton: The Avatar. Any Avatar. With Kyoshi's actions and Roku maintaining the status quo, Aang had better watch out...
** Disrespect
** Air Nomads. Aang's going to get his ass kicked...
** Fire Lord Sozin
** [[MamaBear Threats to her people.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Openly hates the Air Nomad elders and tells Aang straight to his face that if Sozin had ''only'' wanted their lives, she'd have been the first one to sign up for it. [[spoiler: Still dies protecting the secret of where she had hidden the surviving Air Nomad children, purely and simply because it was the right thing to do, personal feelings be damned.]]
--> '''Temul:''' Innocent children are going to be killed. ''Not while I'm alive.''
%%* OurGhostsAreDifferent
* PosthumousCharacter: She's a ghost.
%%* ShockAndAwe: And ''how!!''
* WhatTheHellHero: To Kyoshi, for what she did to the Fire Nation.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Makoto]]
Sozin's dragon companion, and later wife, she is grandmother to Iroh and Ozai, and great-grandmother to Zuko and Azula. A dark dragon and longtime ally of Koh, she is also the last known surviving dragon of the clan that once guarded the supervolcano Asagitatsu, the location of which was lost for generations. It was because there was no one able or willing to pacify the volcano that it last erupted, killing Avatar Yangchen and her yaoren in the initial blast, and countless others with the resulting ash fall. (A similar eruption took place 2000 years ago, according to archaeological findings; Asagitatsu's explosive eruptions tend to occur once every 1000 years, and the latest is presently a century overdue.) Like Shirotora, who has Clan Byakko to control it, Makoto's clan once served the same purpose for Asagitatsu - until they vanished for reasons unknown. Asagitatsu is discovered to be the volcano neighbouring the Northern Air Temple that Zuko plans to set up his colony of last resort, and luckily for the would-be settlers, two of Makoto's blood are there to make peace with the long-abandoned volcano. Whether they can succeed, or whether Makoto will allow it, remains to be seen.
----
* AscendedExtra: Sozin's unnamed dragon companion in canon.
%%* BigBadDuumvirate: With Koh.
* DeathFakedForYou[=/=]FakingTheDead: The first by claiming Makoto was killed, starting the tradition of dragon hunting, when in fact Makoto had taken the ShapeshiftingLover route to become Sozin's wife as Fire Lady Tejina. The latter happened after Sozin's death and the ShapeshifterModeLock on her human form ended - a badly charred human body was found in Tejina's chambers. A positive identification was never made, but everyone assumed Tejina had died. Seeing as how Makoto's still around, it's a good bet that the corpse was really that of a particularly unfortunate palace servant-turned-decoy.
%%* TheDragon to Koh and likely Sozin.
%%* DragonLady: A literal one.
%%* EvilMatriarch: Pretty much.
* ItsPersonal: Said to be her reaction to a member of Clan Byakko killing her son Azulon. They were already enemies on general principles (all dragons want dark dragons dead).
* MayflyDecemberRomance: She was easily a thousand years older than Sozin when they married, and she's still alive and killing... Somewhere.
%%* OurDragonsAreDifferent
* ToughLove: She does this to Azula to see if she is worthy of Sozin's and her (Asagitatsu's) line. Azula is ''not'' amused in the least. While Azula may not realize who she is (yet), it is highly doubted now that Azula will ever take her side.
%%* UnholyMatrimony: With Sozin.
[[/folder]]
!Original Characters - Other
[[folder:Langxue]]
An orphaned Water-tribe boy from Kyoshi island. He is 13 years of age, short, wields a katana, and after Yue steps in, he becomes the third yaoren (of Air and Water). Unlike Shirong and Zuko, Langxue was also a yaoren in previous lives.
----
%%* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor
%%* BlessedWithSuck
%%* CursedWithAwesome
%%* {{Expy}}: [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro]]. And he's [[ShoutOut even called Little Captain]] by Saoluan.
* HeroicSacrifice: To save his surrogate older sister from the Unagi, he prays for more speed, and Tengri made him into the third yaoren.
%%* AnIcePerson
* KatanasAreJustBetter: DoubleSubverted. [[AncestralWeapon It was his mother's]], so he holds it dear, despite others deriding it as ill-fitting.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: An encounter with a spirit ended in his hair having a touch of white.
* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: He's the one who [[spoiler: finishes off Makoto. We only see him winding up his opening salvo, then receive confirmation later that he pulled it off.]]
%%* PowerDegeneration
* RazorWind: It then turns out to be the traditional blade of Airbenders.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Of Hyourin, one of Avatar Yangchen's yaoren friends. This isn't the first past life that Hyourin has had, however.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Saoluan]]
One of the older Kyoshi Warriors, and currently the longest-serving. Most of the Kyoshi Warriors are Suki's age because those who were Saoluan's died en masse fighting a giant leech some six years past. She acts as a sister/surrogate mother to Langxue, no one else wanting to take him in. Later accompanies him on his quest to find the other yaoren.
----
* BoobsOfSteel: A soundly trained fighter (competent even in slight [[DrunkenMaster inebriation]]), and very aware of her sizable [[UnusualEuphemism distractions]].
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Vice-Captian Matsumoto Rangiku]]
%%* HardDrinkingPartyGirl
* KatanasAreJustBetter: The swords are part of a Kyoshi Warrior's arsenal, alongside the golden metal fans.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Asahi]]
A black, female ostritch-horse whom Zuko healed. She has a nasty set of claws and an even worse temper. Previously belonged to '''[[PosthumousCharacter Ping]]''', who was first the victim of [[RapePillageAndBurn a Fire Nation raid]], and then, when the repercussions of that [[ChildByRape became obvious]], was [[HonorRelatedAbuse murdered by her father and brothers.]] Her death unleashed the plague spirit that brings Zuko and Iroh to the ranch, who in turn get Asahi and bring her family's crimes to light.
----
%%* [[CoolHorse Cool]] [[HorseOfADifferentColor Ostritch-Horse]]
* FeatheredFiend: 'Damned Bitch Hen' has risen over a bloodied, collective panic at least twice, in the story.
* MoralityPet: Played with. As effective as she is in getting Zuko on his good side, it's usually Zuko that has to keep ''Asahi'' from mauling just about everyone.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Literally. For a few chapters, her name was written as Asashi.
%%* TeamPet: to Zuko's company.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Xiu]]
A tall silk weaver who hires Zuko to treat her grandmother's headache. Later, when 'Lee' manages to anger the older woman, Xiu thanks him for distracting her grandmother from complaining about her boyfriend. Both she and the aforementioned boyfriend return about 3 arcs later and play important roles as exposition bait and plot boosters, respectively.
----
%%* ChekhovsGunman
* MyEyesAreUpHere: With Zuko, who opens the door to glare at whoever's on the other side. It takes Zuko a second to realize that he's looking at breasts before he looks up, to see a wry look on Xiu's face.
%%* StatuesqueStunner
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Boots]]
A ghostly pair of boots (known as a Beto Beto) that walks behind people to creep them out, trip or kicks people when he's especially rowdy, and [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking always wants to play fetch]] (kick-the-can style) with rocks or shamans.
----
* MeaningfulName: Toph named him... Which, given the rest of the Gaang (Sokka in particular), was probably for the best, since spirits tend to reflect how spirits regard him. So, if Sokka sarcastically called him Doom Greeves: The Conquerer, Boots might have actually ''changed'' to fit that name. But that didn't happen, and chapters later (56), Sokka himself provides insight into Toph's naming of the spirit:
--> '''Sokka''': You like her because she's trouble," Sokka decided, eying the faint swirl of ashes above the sound of tapping toes. "Because she's loud and stubborn and she shakes the ground - and that scares people. Which is what you live to do. Aang thinks you're her friend, but - it's more of a partner in crime, isn't it?
%%* TeamPet
%%* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tao]]
Aang's spiritualist teacher, Tao hails from the Earth Kingdom from the village of Taku. He sets out to teach Aang what he can about the spirits.
----
* AbandonedWarChild: The child of an Earth Kingdom woman and a Fire Nation soldier who raped her during the initial invasion of the city of Taku. As a result, he ''loathes'' his father (whom he never met), the Fire Nation, and everything associated with it.
* ChildByRape: Tao was the result after his mother was caught in the Fire Nation's initial invasion/attack of the Earth Kingdom city of Taku. Ping wasn't the only one; such atrocities have been ongoing since Sozin's time.
%%* DishingOutDirt: Is an Earthbender in addition to being a shaman.
%%* MeaningfulName: Tao/Dao means 'The Way'.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Faces this after attempting to teach a naive Aang about the realities of war and the times they live in, Aang's reaction, and Hakoda having to set Tao straight that Aang really was that sheltered and knew absolutely nothing at all about how [[HumansAreBastards life is]] - [[TheTalk for everyone]].
%%* OldMaster
%%* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really A Hundred-Thirty Years Old]]
%%* SadlyMythtaken: About yaoren.
%%* WhoYouGonnaCall: To teach the Avatar about sprits?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eshe]]
A young woman of the surviving Air Nomad tribe, the Touzaikaze. She is an air-healer. She heals Tennen, and goes with Amisi to meet Kuei. Due to Kuei's banishment of Wan Shi Tong, the Touzaikaze offer her and Amisi as potential brides to the Earth King.
----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* ArrangedMarriage: Her relationship with Kuei, if he chooses her.
%%* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage
%%* BlowYouAway: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready She's an airbender.]]
%%* CombatMedic
%%* KatanasAreJustBetter: Obviously.
* {{Ninja}}: She and Amisi infiltrate Kuei's hiding place through the air shafts. Bon and Quan don't notice until the girls are ''right there in front of them''.
* WhatBeautifulEyes: Understatement. Kuei has to think very hard on an appropriate metaphor before settling for something brief.
--> Sometimes, Kuei was really glad he wore glasses. If he'd stared right into those earnest gray eyes without any shield... well, he wasn't sure what he would have done. She was just - well - pretty didn't fit, not really. The noble ladies of Ba Sing Se were pretty. Looking at Eshe was like sneaking to a palace window to watch a thunderstorm roll in. Tasting the wind, and knowing it came from somewhere else. Seeing the gray slant of a downpour far across the city, long before the rain could dampen palace stone... "Your eyes are like the rain."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Amisi]]
A female sandbender of the Touzaikaze. She helps Yakume and Lu-shan get Tennen out of a rock-slide and later, goes with Eshe to meet Kuei. She and Eshe are sent from their tribe to offer alliance with the Earth King.
----
%%* ActionGirl
%%* DishingOutDirt
* {{Ninja}}: She and her cousin infiltrate Kuei's hiding place ''through the air-shafts''. Bon and Quan don't notice until the girls are ''right in front of them''.
* PairTheSpares: [[ShipTease Possibly with Bon.]] Although Kuei ''could'' marry her as well as Eshe, he's noticed that Amisi and Bon might be falling in love, and he has no intention of marrying Amisi if it would make her miserable.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Runihura]]
%%One of the adult male members of the Touzaikaze. He is uncle to Amisi and Eshe.
%%----
%%[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Haqikah]]
%%One of the male members of the Touzaikaze. He is cousins with Amisi and Eshe.
%%----
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shih]]
An [[{{Ninja}} ex-Onmitsu]] known as the Demon of Taku who deserted Sozin's forces & was hiding out in the Western Air Temple shortly before Sozin's attack on the air nomads.
----
* DeathSeeker: Either a case of ForgivenessRequiresDeath or he's just a bit [[HeroicSelfDeprecation too]] [[HeroicSacrifice selfless]], but Shih's first impulse is to die to save the Elder Nuns who hate everything he represents.
%%* DefectorFromDecadence
%%* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/RurouniKenshin Kenshin]].
%%* HeelFaceTurn:
* LukeIAmYourFather: May have been Aang's (and/or Piandao's) father.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Gyate]]
An air nun from the time of Sozin.
----
%%* {{Expy}}: Probably of [[Manga/RurouniKenshin Kaoru Kamiya]].
* LukeIAmYourFather: She's somewhat subtly revealed to be Aang's mother.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ja Aku]]
One of Aang's fellow monks at the Southern Air Temple. His name is mentioned in chapter 37 by Kuzon. In chapter 54, his name is mentioned again, via Temul's flashback, and is confirmed by Aang himself to have trained the Onmitsu, the airbenders who killed Kuzon.
-----
* AscendedExtra: He was the one monk during the canon episode "The Storm" who told Aang that because he was the Avatar, it would be unfair for him to play on any team.
%%* BlowYouAway: Duh.
%%* LesCollaborateurs: With Fire Lord Azulon.
* EvilMentor: He had something to do with the incident in Shu Jing where the onmitsu, trained by Ja Aku, whom Aang said himself had trained them, turned on Kuzon and killed him.
%%* PoisonousFriend: "That's the only way it's fair." Chilling. Though, Ja Aku doesn't seem to be very attached to Aang. His fanaticism with keeping airbenders spiritual, however...
* PosthumousCharacter: Kuzon was pretty old when he mentioned Ja Aku, so it's safe to say that he may be dead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Hitomi]]
A merchant for Byakko under Shidan's orders. She's one of the prisoners that Hama captured. Toph breaks her and the rest of the prisoners out. With Toph's Earthsense, we learn that she is one of the members of the Yamabushi, the mountain sages living in the Fire Nation.
----
* BadassNormal: She works for Shidan. Going undercover like that takes guts. Especially when getting captured by Hama.
* BlowYouAway: Averted. She's an Air Nomad, but not an ''airbender''. She's a descendant of one, perhaps.
* NoTimeToExplain: Her fear of Avatar Aang the "Temple child" is palpable, and tells Toph why she can't meet Aang:
-->"So long as Monk Aang lives, the Temple lives. The Elders were talking to Monk Gyatso before... before the war. But his apprentice wasn't old enough to find his Way. We aren't to speak of the morning wind until he is."\\
"His way?" Toph frowned.\\
"It's... important," Hitomi said carefully. "When you're old enough to ask questions. And think of your own answers."
* WarriorMonk: She's part of the yamabushi's order, but she's moonlighting as a spy for Shidan.
[[/folder]]
%%[[folder:Karasu]]
%%One of Lituya Bay's inhabitants. Shidan's youngest child, and a firebender like her elder sister, Ursa. She helps Zuko to his feet in the latest chapter.
%%----
%%* CountryCousin: Through Ursa, she is Zuko's (and Azula's) aunt.
%%* InterracialCouple: With Amak.
%%* OddCouple
%%* PlayingWithFire
%%[[/folder]]
[[folder:Amak]]
A male waterbender of Lituya Bay, formerly of the Southern Water Tribe. Unable to return home knowing he would spread a HatePlague, he and the few prisoners who survived Hama's breakout ended up in Lituya Bay. There, he met his wife, Karasu of Byakko, and had four children with her.
----
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Or at least unable to associate with Water Tribals. Even decades later, he and every other escapee has to watch their tempers around Hakoda and the other sheltering Tribesmen or they'll infect them with the HatePlague they contracted in Azulon's waterbender prison.
%%* HatePlague: He and all other survivors of the waterbender prison are carriers.
%%* InterracialCouple: With Karasu.
%%* MakingASplash: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready He's a waterbender]].
%%* OddCouple: Married a firebender, of all people.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Along with the rest of the survivors of Hama's Waterbender prison, he can't without infecting the Tribes with a HatePlague. And as only ''Fire Nationals'' have the ability to resist it, a '''lot''' of of the survivors who reached Byakko killed themselves upon learning that despite escaping, the Fire Nation '''''still''''' got the last laugh in that not only could they never return home, but could only safely associate with Fire Nationals. Amak only accepted his situation(and Karasu's courtship) after Azulon assassinated Kuzon, which led him to realize that the Fire Lords were just as merciless and cruel to their own people as they were to the rest of the world.
[[/folder]]
----
