History Fanfic / Embers

* {{Xenofiction}}: The CentralTheme is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans - specifically, ''[[TheEvilsOfFreeWill no-one has truly free will]]''. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang(who has [[YouCantFightFate even worse baggage of his very own]]) has some kind of RestrainingBolt, MagicallyBindingContract and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but only their leadership is likely to be fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: The CentralTheme is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans - specifically, ''[[TheEvilsOfFreeWill no-one has truly free will]]''. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang(who has [[YouCantFightFate even worse baggage of his very own]]) has some kind of MagicallyBindingContract and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but only their leadership is likely to be fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: The CentralTheme is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans - specifically, ''[[TheEvilsOfFreeWill no-one has truly free will]]''. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang(who has [[YouCantFightFate even worse baggage of his very own]]) has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but only their leadership is likely to be fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: The CentralTheme(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans - specifically, ''[[TheEvilsOfFreeWill no-one has truly free will]]''. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang(who has [[YouCantFightFate even worse baggage of his very own]]) has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but only their leadership is likely to be fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: The CentralTheme(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans - specifically, ''[[TheEvilsOfFreeWill no-one has truly free will]]''. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but only their leadership is likely to be fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash InTheBlood which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character except Aang has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character has some kind of RestrainingBolt and ExplosiveLeash which gives their respective leadership both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character has some kind of RestrainingBolt capable of both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone ''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character has some kind of RestrainingBolt capable of both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions and thoughts, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone '''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character has some kind of RestrainingBolt capable of both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone '''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

* {{Xenofiction}}: A key plot element(that some would say is shoehorned in as a form of "playing catch with the ConflictBall") is that ''absolutely no-one in the story'' is a human as the reader comprehends humans. In Embers, ''every'' character has some kind of RestainingBolt capable of both subtle and ''lethal'' control over their actions, and ''every'' culture has both a form of MindControl and MoreThanMindControl - and everyone and every culture not only [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat thinks that theirs is normal and any other type is monstrous]], but is rarely fully aware of their own culture's controls. And since they never talk about those secret control functions, a lot of people have no understanding how and why they work - ''even those from the same culture''. A key part of resolving the conflicts Vathara puts in place is everyone '''finally'', '''after aeons of interaction''', gaining widespread understanding - both internally and externally - of those functions so they can avoid setting them off or abusing them in the future. Vathara never really talks about how those mind control functions express themselves in multiracial pairings, either.

During their travels in the Earth Kingdom, Zuko [[ForWantOfANail instead of]] resorting to banditry to survive, reveals a Firebending technique he learned from his mother - Fire-''healing.'' [[spoiler:This draws him into a millennia-old conspiracy spanning both the living and spirit worlds - to wipe out all healing benders, cripple the Avatar by eliminating the yaoren, who were meant to train him in dealing with spirits & combining elements in the same way that his other teachers taught him about the four forms of normal bending, and, eventually wipe out the human race.]] Oh, and there are dragons too.

*** The dragons, including [[spoiler:Shidan]] interpreted the airbender genocide as acting against deserters. In other words, if there had been Embers-verse dragons in America IRL during TheSixties, they would have helped RichardNixon ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings slaughter every protester at Kent State.]]'' If they'd been... [[GodwinsLaw elsewhere]]... a [[WorldWarII couple of decades earlier]]... And in both cases, ''some'' of them ''might'' figure out that they'd committed atrocities ''decades'' later. Let's just say that dragons don't make good neighbors for humans.

* GhostShipping: Ping and Lu Ten seem to be on rather good terms, although it doesn't seem to be anything more than flirting. On a related note, Toph mentions that in the Earth Kingdom people sometimes arrange marriages between ghosts to get families to stop fighting.

* MommyIssues: Par for the course in both Azula's and Katara's canon characterizations. [[spoiler: And Koh has his own issues with his parent: the Avatar Spirit]].

* HilariousInHindsight: At one point, Zuko gets into a shouting match with Roku, screaming that he was ''not'' his great-grandfather (Roku was damning him as the heir to Sozin's legacy at the time. [[spoiler: Later on, we find out that Zuko had been Kuzon in his former life, and who had chosen to be reborn. So, in fact, Zuko ''is'' his great-grandfather!]]

** Possibly ''LiloAndStitch'': "''I'' have ''a family. It's not my tribe. It's small and hidden and broken.''"

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Arguably one of the author's [[RonTheDeathEater reasons]] for Katara's more than slightly questionable behavior during and after the Ba Sing Se arc.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: While more upbeat than most examples of this, one of Embers' main themes is that people will often find themselves in situations where they will have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons, or the right thing for the wrong reasons. While at first it seems that this is a case of GreyAndGreyMorality, or 'messed-up people messing up in a messed-up world', sometimes people just have to die, and what divides the characters {{Vathara}} holds up as examples from those she deconstructs is their willingness to admit it when they've done something unethical or are going to for the sake of what they hold dear, right reasons or not.

* CainAndAbel: {{Vathara}} notes in author's notes that there's a definite theme of this in Fire Nation Royalty: Zuko and Azula, Ozai vs. Iroh and Ursa, and adds to it by making [[spoiler:Ilah, Azulon's wife, Roku's daughter.]]

* CanonDiscontinuity: The creators of Avatar might have declared that The Great Divide didn't happen after realizing all the UnfortunateImplications. {{Vathara}} isn't letting them get away with it that easy.

* ChekhovsSkill: Didn't you think it was '''weird''' in the series that the Dai Li, sworn to protect Ba Sing Se, ''left'' their city to follow Azula around? Embers explains that certain Firebenders can bend the inner flame, which affects loyalty. Suddenly it all makes sense: Azula presented herself as someone better and more worthy to follow, and used her Inner Fire so they'd follow her. But then, who else has it? What about the other elements? {{Vathara}} takes things to their logical extremes.

* ConflictBall: Some people accuse {{Vathara}} of handing this to Katara. While Katara doesn't like Zuko in canon and does later threaten to kill him (after Aang nearly dies because ''Zuko betrays them''), some think that her antagonism in this fic is so extreme that it's quite clear this trope was used to pad the story out to the desired ending, if not to outright [[RonTheDeathEater vilify her]]. Some see this as a happy return to the Katara that challenged Pakku, and mother issues aside, if the Fire Nation tried to wipe out their people slowly and painfully, who wouldn't be racist against them?

** Rewatched, {{Vathara}} is taking a line from canon and running with it

** Mostly, this Troper feels that everything is mostly IC, on the outer edges of it, but within the bounds of legitimate interpretation. However, there are two that really stick out at me. Both in Chapter 32(?) when {{Vathara}} deliberately makes [[spoiler:Katara argumentative so her protests give Hakoda the wrong impression, that she was bending people on purpose,]] as it could have easily gone the other way. And well, the IC one that [[spoiler:Zuko threw at the Gaang and the Water Tribe Fleet on purpose.]]

* CultureClash: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] and [[{{Anvilicious}} Anvils]] abound here. {{Vathara}}'s biggest reason behind writing the fic seems to be exasperation at the canon Four Nations being {{The Theme Park Version}}s of China, Japan, Tibetan Monks and Inuit Tribes. For example, {{Vathara}} spends almost an entire chapter on the difference between the Nations' different definitions of "truce."

* DiscontinuityNod: Also for The Great Divide. May be considered a MythologyGag by the author, in which the episode did not happen, but the characterization being solid. It is uncertain if {{Vathara}} considers The Great Divide to be {{canon}} or not.

** According to {{Vathara}}, any member of Sozin's line is also considered this to some extent.

* {{Expy}}: [[WordofGod According to]] {{Vathara}}, her method of OC creation is to not do so. Instead, she uses expies of characters from other series. Of course, most of her other fics are crossovers.

** Dai Li agent Shirong: Michael Archangel from ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'', a series {{Vathara}} has written extensively for. And there's speculation that Donghai is based on Dominic Santini from the same series.

** In canon, the Sun Warriors were this: {{Vathara}} has not decided whether or not to include them. Byakko may be a subversion: they're a popular tourist destination due to having one of the few mountains in the Fire Nation high enough to have snow, and they bought the amount of not isolation but insulation from Ozai's power they have by [[spoiler:the rulers giving their daughter Ursa to Ozai, and never even getting to meet their grandchildren, at least not yet]]. They have very good reasons for keeping under the radar: [[spoiler:according to Teruko, they're hiding dragons, who are supposed to be extinct, people on Azulon's 'execute on sight' List, firebenders who haven't sworn loyalty to Ozai since they came into their power after the age at which the Fire Nation stops testing, and given the description of the mountain monks in an earlier chapter and the Air Monk letter in Chapter 31, they may also be hiding airbenders.]] It's not so much hypocrisy and disgust at the world as a deliberate plan [[spoiler:to provide a refuge]], likely by Kuzon. Zuko [[spoiler:seems to have the same idea of creating a place to preserve both Fire Nation traditions and, explicitly, the freedom which is necessary for airbenders to be born.]]

* HumansAreBastards: [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped What makes someone a good person is being honest about their own flaws and trying to minimize the damage]]; {{Vathara}} seems to be arguing that this is the true nature of heroism, since [[GenreBlindness claiming that everyone is fundamentally good]] and [[KnightTemplar forcing them to act that way]] when they can't is stupid and likely to make things worse at best and leads to fearsomeness at worst.

* IdiotBall: Detractors accuse {{Vathara}} of handing this to the Gaang.

* JigsawPuzzlePlot: {{Vathara}} treats canon as this, fitting in bits of Real Life history to fill in the gaps. The metaphor is used by Ty Lee and Azula in Ch. 36.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: [[spoiler:They were the ancient symbol of airbending, and both foreshadowing and the way {{Vathara}} characterizes airbenders hints that she'll be giving the show's depiction of them her usual levels in badass.]] As of Ch. 36, she has.

** Airbenders tend to [[spoiler:not to regard lying as a big deal, despite being aware that the people of other nations, unlike themselves, can be lied to. This hits berserk buttons, particularily among dragon-descended firebenders. This is less firebenders being lie detectors and {{Vathara}} extrapolating from the fact that in canon Dragons seem to be telepaths or empaths of one sort of another.]] See BerserkButton.

-->{{Vathara}}: Canon leaves one big plothole... well, one short, somewhat rotund, awesome firebending plothole.

* {{Shonen}}: Embers could be summed up as 'what if Avatar was a shonen series starring Zuko?' The most obvious influence is Rurouni Kenshin, which {{Vathara}} has also written for (some characters introduced in 31 may be expies from it, according to some), what with the retired badass who is still badass (Iroh) and the Fire Nation being made that way with good intentions but ending up an expansionist and racist dictatorship (like the Meiji government).

* ShoutOut: There's more than just what's listed – {{Vathara}} is a crossover author, after all.

** If anything, Embers slides it so far over to the cynical side that it ends up being incredibly idealistic and hopeful. {{Vathara}} is showing that normally the Avatar universe's methods of preventing racism and war actually do work, (unlike the actual show, which implies people like Ozai and Chin are allowed to get that far and plunge the world into war all the time) and that it's possible for people to overcome all the ignorance and hatred shown in the fic. The fact that she shows how dangerous and deeply ingrained in even the best of us racism and anger actually are just makes the triumph over it more impressive.

* TrueCompanions: A major theme in all of {{Vathara}}'s works is that people need people: we're fundamentally a pack/tribe species, and if we don't have people we trust enough to be honest with even about our flaws, people we know would be willing to die to protect us, and vice versa, we subconsciously find that terrifying and start to go quietly insane. [[spoiler:This is the reason for the huge disconnect in the fic between how Katara is described and shown in her inner monologue, a nice person who wants to help others and will do the honorable thing, and how she treats Zuko.]]

* {{Wendigo}}: Discussed as part of the ShownTheirWork about why [[DeliberateValuesDissonance Katara is acting as a responsible adult]] and doing the right thing when [[WrongGenreSavvy she suspects that Zuko is driving the others crazy and needs to die under Ba Sing Se.]] Or rather, [[CultureClash she would be if this were the Water Tribes.]] {{Vathara}} seems to enjoy breaking brains and conventional definitions of right and wrong by pointing out the scary bits of how the human psyche works.

* TheWisePrince: Zuko. Not only has {{Vathara}} [[spoiler:made it impossible for him to assume the throne of the Fire Nation the way he did in canon,]] one of the main arguments against him being a CanonSue is how much fun the author is clearly having torturing him. The title itself references his ability to hang on despite things that should have crushed him (see the TraumaCongaLine page quote), and it's clearly a major plot mechanic.

''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/1/Embers Embers]]'' is a popular, though [[LoveItOrHateIt controversial]], ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fic by {{Vathara}} that [[DeconstructorFleet deconstructs]] the standard story of a [[FiveManBand group]] of [[IdiotHero kids]] [[BlackAndWhiteMorality saving]] the world from TheEmpire, with copious amounts of FridgeLogic and FridgeHorror. Moving the WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender universe on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism (characters had best not try to invoke HeroInsurance, for example), causes the good guys to [[HanlonsRazor seem]] less good and the bad guys to range from AntiHero to pure evil. It also explores things that the TV show had to gloss over for kids, like [[ChildByRape the horrors of war]], [[EldritchAbomination dangerous]] spirits and [[MindRape Azula]].

* ShipSinking: [[spoiler: Zuko/Mai and Aang/Katara]] are no more in this fic.

* ShipSinking: {{Vathara}} closed what she considered plot holes in the canon couple of [[spoiler:Zuko/Mai]] by explaining it as [[spoiler: a {{plan}} on Azula's part.]] Then she set her sights higher by smacking [[spoiler:Katara's devotion to her family]] right up against [[spoiler:Aang's cavalier acceptance that no Air Nomad ''ever'' raises their own children.]] And both facts are ''canon''. What's the reader equivalent of a PlayerPunch?
** That's a very deliberate misreading of the facts. Aang is the only Air Nomad left. And Air Nomads raise their own. So what would happen if Katara gave birth to an Airbender? Aang would raise it, because there's no one else.
*** Are we ''sure'' Aang is the only Air Nomad left? As of chapter 31, and ''especially'' Chapter 36, he's definitely [[spoiler:no longer the last airbender.]]
**** [[spoiler:The Yamabushi are all but confirmed air monks, but they also rebelled against the main temples for some reason. They might not exactly be Aang's kind of Air Nomad.]]
*** And what happens to her grandchildren and great grandchildren? She's a bender, she can expect to live healthily for more than a hundred years if she survives all this. Aang would be putting the no family ideas into their heads.
*** Of course, the foreshadowing in the fic is that [[spoiler:the Air Nomads will be reformed, probably meaning an end to that custom]], meaning they will be able to hook up without having to decide between their love and their families/people.
*** Not all the Air Nomads. Perhaps Aang's Air Monk doctrine [[spoiler:and the Onmitsu, sure, but as for the other fringe groups out there (Yamabushi, Touzaikaze, and the others still waiting to be introduced later), their ways are still yet unknown to us, but since they've escaped the Temples' grasp, it's safe to say they're not mindbent.]]
**** ''Not'' the onmitsu. [[spoiler:Ty Lee's]] guiding principle is the will of her family, and being taken from them is the horror that sets her against Aang and [[spoiler:has ''Azula'' promising sincerely to protect her.]] Who knows by blood, but culturally they're fire as well as air.
**** How can the onmitsu not change? [[spoiler:The Onmitsu are the only Air group that still practice mindbending. Aang, luckily, is not, but ought to change the old Air Monk rules. Once the day of the Invasion happens, more than one brain is going to break. If Aang and Ty Lee happen to meet Langxue (and maybe the Yamabushi, if Aang can get allies), there's no way they'll leave that fight without dying from curiousity. Those Air Nomads over there? They're not the ones that Aang and Ty Lee know about, which sets the question of "Where in the world are the rest of the surviving Air Nomads? Who are they, and why are they so different?" It may just lead to Ty Lee questioning her upbringing, which may cause her to be dragged back to the Onmitsu elders to be reprogrammed, if her thoughts run heretical. Not that Azula's willing to let them get ''that'' far, of course...]]

*** Air Nomads are bound by the Teachings of their mentors.

* PhysicalGod: The Avatar Spirit is the closest thing to a western god, and thus by extension [[TheMessiah its human incarnations]] are this. In a very CrystalDragonJesus way, the Avatars mediate between the human world and the spirits, allowing [[BlueAndOrangeMorality the Avatar Spirit to understand man]]. A lot of the consequences of this trope are examined in Embers:

* TheMessiah: The Avatar, with much attention paid to what this implies. For instance, originally the Fire Sages, who were the priests of Agni, served the Avatar, as the voice of Agni on earth. This meant that [[spoiler:Kyoshi's decree]] carried the force of a divine commandment and, given the mechanics of Fire Nation loyalty, [[spoiler:for a Firebender to turn against the Fire Lord would require foreswearing their loyalty to them, the Avatar, and Agni, the source of firebending himself.]] So it is, in a sense, a very good thing for Aang that modern firebenders don't like him, much less have loyalty to him or regard him as The Messiah in the first place. It's likely that the Fire Sage who helped Aang in canon either [[spoiler:nurtured loyalty to Agni in place of Ozai in order to survive loyalty sickness before Aang came along, since all (known) firebenders are required to swear loyalty to him, or was able to hold it off long enough to help Aang, as Zuko did, and then died offscreen.]]

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified: Played with. While Embers calls for the complete destruction of the Fire Nation government, Zuko acknowledges that [[spoiler:by creating a hidden refuge he's basically going to be sitting back and allowing the rest of the Fire Nation to be massacred, if not egging it on]], although he and Iroh both agree that it deserves it for a certain value of deserves. On the other hand, it's implied that that the Avatar's actions at the North Pole are deliberately being kept secret by Water Tribe elders and Earth Kingdom officials in order to prevent him from being seen as other than TheMessiah (and prompting the Fire Nation to try it with a Fire Spirit) [[spoiler:even though the massed bad karma has already started to kill innocent bystanders; some kind of warning would certainly lower the body count.]]