History Fanfic / FracturesATLA

* ImagineSpot: When Sokka first learns about Zuko's existence from Iroh, he tries to picture in his head what Azula's older brother would look like. He ends up with mental image of a gender-bent Azula with a more muscular body.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20063656/chapters/47516917 Fractures]]'' is an AlternateUniverse FanFic of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvieNyx/pseuds/EvieNyx EvieNyx]][[note]]formerly known as good_eviening[[/note]].

** Chapter 30 is about Aang and shows his thoughts as he recaps everything that has happened since the day Katara and Sokka freed him from the iceberg.
* Chapter 37 is about Piandao recounting his entire life up until the present, from when he was abandoned by his parents, to eventually being taken under the wing of a swordsmaster, to having students of his own and the events of the show, to [[spoiler:him, Toph, and Azula finally making it to the Fire Nation to meet with Zuko]].

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Iroh has this regarding Zuko. During his trip to the Spirit World, Koh the Face Stealer took Iroh's memories regarding Zuko.]]

* WhatIf:
** Since Zuko was imprisoned, Zhao ends up being the one to discover the Avatar is still alive and chase the group throughout the fic's version of Book 1.
** Because Zuko never met the Gaang, Sokka never learned where his father was being kept prisoner. As a result, Hakoda and Suki remain imprisoned at the Boiling Rock for the entirety of the war.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: The canon tragic backstories apply, with Zuko going through [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade so much more hell.

* WhatIf:
** Since Zuko was imprisoned, Zhao ends up being the one to discover the Avatar is still alive and chase the group throughout the fic's version of Book 1.
** Because Zuko never met the Gaang, Sokka never learned where his father was being kept prisoner. As a result, Hakoda and Suki remain imprisoned at the Boiling Rock for the entirety of the war.

* ForWantOfANail:

* HearingVoice: Aang starts hearing twisted versions of his past lives urging him to enter the Avatar State after he depowers Ozai.

Rather than desperately chase for the approval of his father, [[ForWantOfANail Zuko realizes his destiny much earlier]] than in canon. As in, immediately after he wakes up in the palace with a half-burnt face following his Agni Kai, only to be told he is banished until he can succeed on a SnipeHunt. Zuko decides to confront Ozai right then and there with the bold claim that he ''will'' find the Avatar and he ''will'' help them overthrow him. This unfortunately leads to a change of plans.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20063656/chapters/47516917 Fractures]]'' is an AlternateUniverse FanFic of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn by fledgling author [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvieNyx/pseuds/EvieNyx EvieNyx]][[note]]formerly known as good_eviening[[/note]].

Rather than desperately chase for the approval of his father, [[ForWantOfANail Zuko realizes his destiny much earlier]] than in canon. As in, immediately after he wakes up in the palace following his Agni Kai and was told he is banished. Zuko decides to confront Ozai right then and there with the bold claim that he ''will'' find the Avatar and he ''will'' help them overthrow him. This unfortunately leads to a change of plans.

As far as the world is concerned, Prince Zuko spent the next three years hidden away to be trained in secret, assuming that they know or remember that Fire Lord Ozai even had a son. In reality, Zuko has been locked away and prisoned, never seeing sunlight and having barely any human contact outside of a few select guards. That is, until one day those guards happily open his cell door to let a Fire Sage in to address him with the first good news he's heard in a long, long time: his father has been defeated by the Avatar, so he is now the new Fire Lord. It's time to make up for his nation's many sins.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: Iroh isn’t a ParentalSubstitute to Zuko and in fact barely knows him because he’s been out of contact with the royal family since the Siege of Ba Sing Se. [[spoiler: Although it's revealed that Koh actually stole Iroh's memories of Zuko, which is why he can't feel close to his nephew.]]

* BreakTheCutie: Zuko, primarily. The canon broken cuties also count to a lesser extent (Aang, Katara and Sokka).

* DarkAndTroubledPast: The canon tragic backstories apply, with the exception of Zuko though ([[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade who goes through so much more hell here]]).

** When the Gaang first learns about Zuko, they assume that he’s evil like his father. Iroh even dismisses Toph's suggestion that Zuko could still the king boy that he remembered him as, stating that Zuko is likely already corrupted by Ozai. Of course, the very premise of the story stems from Zuko refusing to be anything like his father.
** The White Lotus theorizes that Zuko was being privately trained by Ozai and worry that Zuko is comparable in strength to his father by this point.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Upon hearing that Zuko is scarred, wheelchair-bound, and frighteningly thin, the Gaang and White Lotus assume it's an ObfuscatingDisability.

* FromBadToWorse: [[spoiler:After Kya helps Zuko recover from an assassination attempt, the end of the chapter reveals that Jet and the Freedom Fighters are headed to the Fire Nation to kill him. Then two chapters later, Zhao is also revealed to be alive and is planning on using the knowledge from the Spirit Library to restore Ozai’s bending. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Zuko then gets poisoned during dinner.]]

* InternalReveal: Downplayed. In Chapter 15, [[spoiler:Kya, Hakoda, Suki, Mai and Ty Lee]] all become privy to just how damaged Zuko's body is. Chapter 17 sees Zuko finally explain the full story about the previous three years to [[spoiler:Kya, Ty Lee and Mai]], which is the first time the reader also gets the complete details beyond the fic's synopsis.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Iroh has this regarding Zuko. During his trip to the Spirit World, Koh the Face Stealer took Iroh's memories regarding Zuko.]]

** [[spoiler:Kya gave herself up for her daughter, as in canon, but was actually literally taken away by the Southern Raiders and imprisoned, rather than killed. Upon being freed, she deduces Zuko's predicament through a few simple questions and is well on her way to becoming a surrogate mother for him, even going so far as to scold Hakoda for being too harsh and judgmental with the boy]].

* ManipulativeBastard: Ozai is an absolute master of manipulating others into doing what he wants. With just a single sentence, he tricks Iroh and the Gaang into believing that Zuko is loyal to him and turns them against his son. He also allowed a rumor to go around that Zuko was being privately mentored by him, causing Azula to get jealous of her father's "favoritism" towards her brother and making her into an even bigger WellDoneDaughterGal than in canon.
* MundaneLuxury: PlayedForDrama. After spending three years in a dungeon, Zuko can't comfortably sleep on a bed nor eat most foods as his body has long since adjusted to making do without.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:In the Toph Interlude, Toph and Piandao break Azula out of prison to get her the psychiatric help she so obviously and desperately needs]].

** To many a reader's surprise and elation, [[spoiler:Lu Ten and Kya are revealed to be alive. Lu Ten survived the assassination attempt ordered by Ozai, and Kya was imprisoned in the Fire Nation prison for waterbenders.]]
** As of Chapter 17, [[spoiler:Jet is revealed to have survived the events of the show as well]].
** [[spoiler: Chapter 19 reveals that somehow Admiral Zhao survived the Siege of the North. WordOfGod says that he was dragged by La into the Spirit World and escaped through unknown means.]]

* TailorMadePrison: The Fire Nation prison for waterbenders, named "The Water's Wail". Zuko is disturbed by the name, and even more disturbed to find [[spoiler:Kya as the sole prisoner inside]].
* TaughtByExperience: Zuko's servants are often able to help him with his trauma due to experience with somewhat similar cases, such as helping him sleep by singing to him like their children or recognizing that Zuko likely won't speak all day due to a former soldier friend who used to do the same.

* WarIsHell: Hammered home effectively each chapter with descriptions of how each character feels and has been affected by the war.

-->''Toph knew that she should be thinking the way her friends were, that this was the right choice, that this kept people safe, but she couldn’t help but think about how…\\She couldn’t help but think about how Azula was only ''fourteen years old''.''

Rather than desperately chase for the approval of his father, [[ForWantOfANail Zuko realizes his destiny much earlier]] than in canon. As in, immediately after he wakes up in the palace following his Agni Kai and was told he is banished. Unfortunately, he's never been a patient one, and decides to confront his father right then and there about what he's going to do. As far as the world is concerned, Prince Zuko would spend the next three years hidden away to be trained in secret, assuming that they remember Ozai even had a son. In reality, the young man has been locked away and prisoned, never seeing sunlight and having barely any human contact outside of a few select guards. That is, until one day those guards happily open his cell door to let a Fire Sage in to address him: with Ozai defeated, Zuko is now the new Fire Lord. A Fire Lord who, with some help, is very eager to make good on his dream to make up for his nation's many sins.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: [[spoiler:In regards to removing Azula's bending, Iroh was correct in his observation that it would only be a matter of time before Azula was able to escape from her prison and she had already injured around two hundred guards by that point. That being said, Toph later notes that taking away Azula's bending only made her mental deterioration worse.]]

* BroughtDownToNormal: Zuko lost his firebending at some point during his imprisonment, seemingly from being cut off from the sun for so long. Aang takes away Ozai's [[spoiler:and Azula's]] bending.

* ClosestThingWeGot: Ozai took the palace doctors with him during the end of his campaign, meaning that [[spoiler:Kya]] closest they have on hand to a professional healer.
* CompositeCharacter: Zhao takes on some of canon Zuko's role in Season 1 as the one who discovers the Avatar had returned and burns down Kyoshi Island.

** Chapter 22 is told from Toph's POV as she grows uncomfortable with Aang [[spoiler:removing Azula's bending]] and believes Iroh and her friends are wrong to assume Zuko is evil like his father. [[spoiler:This culminates in her choice to break Azula free from prison and go on the run with Piandao.]]

* DramaticIrony: When the Gaang first learns about Zuko from Ozai and Iroh, they assume that he’s evil like his father.
** When Toph brings up the possibility that Zuko is still the kind boy that Iroh remembered him as, Iroh sadly dismisses that idea and states that Zuko is likely already corrupted by Ozai.

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:Because Zuko never met the Gaang, Sokka never learned where his father was being kept prisoner. As a result, Hakoda and Suki remained imprisoned at the Boiling Rock for the entirety of the war.]]

* InternalReveal: [[spoiler:While tending to Zuko's stab injury in Chapter 15, Kya, Hakoda, Suki, Mai and Ty Lee finally find out just how badly Zuko has been damaged, and Kya, Ty Lee and Mai hear the story of where he had been for three years.]]

* MamaBear: [[spoiler:Kya gave herself up for her daughter, as in canon, but was actually literally taken away by the Southern Raiders and imprisoned, rather than killed. But upon being freed, she deduces Zuko's predicament through a few simple questions and is well on her way to becoming a surrogate mother for him.]]
** Chapter 14 has [[spoiler:Kya scolding Hakoda for being too harsh and judgmental with Zuko]].

* SympathyForTheDevil: Toph spends her interlude realizing how mentally screwed up Azula is and that being imprisoned [[spoiler:and depowered]] is only making her worse.

The premise is that Zuko realizes his destiny much earlier. As in, as soon as he wakes up in the palace after his Agni Kai and is told he is banished. Unfortunately, he's never been a patient one. So he storms right up to Ozai and tells him what he's going to do. And gets locked up for over three years. Then, one day, he's being pulled out and told he's the new Fire Lord.

AdaptationalJobChange: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with Zhao. In canon, he was introduced as a commander of the Fire Navy before later being promoted to admiral by Ozai. Here, he was already an admiral by the time Aang awoke from the iceberg.