TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Atonement (ATLA)

Go To

Atonement (ATLA) (Fanfic)
Mai: I think you want to know how and why I'm here?
Zuko: That would be a good start. We're far away from the Fire Nation. Mai... why did you do that and risk losing everything you have?
Mai: It started at the palace. You remember you promised to spend the afternoon with me? I didn't find you, instead Azula told me that you have to face someone in a duel. And she offered me to accompany her. And I saw...
Zuko: Damn it! She knew! She did that to hurt you!
Iroh: Prince Zuko! Please let young Mai continue and don't break my tea cups! Good. Mai, please continue...
Mai: I know that now... her smirk should have warned me. Zuko, I've never cried before, but that day I was very tempted to do so. Then I realized that the life I led was pretty boring and empty anyway, so I decided that I should go with you.
Zuko: Just like that?
Mai: What, should I've first asked a committee?

Atonement is a Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic by Tribun. It's written in the author's usual style of deconstructing and lampshading plot points of the original, while at the same time creating a believable alternate universe.

It can be found at AO3 here and at Fanfiction.net here.

The story does start in the future of Korra... and yet it is the end of the world. Something horrible called "the Imbalance" has happened and shattered the world utterly, leaving only Korra and Raava as the only survivors. They in the end become desperate enough to set a plan into motion which very well could cause them to be erased forever.

Years earlier. The readers again have to witness the very day Prince Zuko stands up to a general who wants to senselessly sacrifice green troops - and it ends as expected with his father Ozai marking him forever on the face. However, the timeline already has shifted in some ways and this time, Mai is present when it happens to Zuko. Having witnessed first-hand the sheer cruelty done to Zuko, Mai decides to go with him into exile. Thus Zuko's and her own fate change significantly.

Yet, despite the change this is, other wheels have come into motion as well and the fate of the world will be changed forever. Though, despite the war being the pressing problem, at the horizon, the Imbalance still looms.

The author has also written Going Another Way, No Chance for Fate and The Chosen Six.


This fanfic provides examples of:

  • Adaptational Early Appearance: Due to the story starting earlier in the timeline, several characters are introduced way earlier than in canon.
    • Korra being part of this story instead of her own series is perhaps the ultimate example.
    • Shyu appears right in the first chapter, while in canon he is not met until the winter solstice events in the first season.
    • Azula has a speaking role right in the first chapter, while in canon she only had two silent cameos in the first season, her first real role only starting with the second season.
    • Like Azula, Mai appears in the first chapter and she does become a main character, while in canon she was only introduced in season two.
    • The Mechanist and War Minister Qin appear right in the first chapter, while in canon they were only introduced near the end of season one.
    • The Fire Nation protagonists run into Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple years before he would appear in canon.
    • Ty Lee has a scene all to herself in the second chapter, years before the start of the canon series, while in canon she only first appeared at the start of season two.
    • In canon Ursa never appeared in-person in the series - only in flashbacks - and only turned up in the comics. Here, she actually becomes part of the cast over two years before the start of canon.
    • Sokka, Katara and Suki appear years before they would do so in canon, scenes showing how they are faring in the time before canon starts. The same does go for Toph and Yue, who also appear even before the start of canon.
    • Yakone makes his first named appearance (although not confirmed yet, he could easily be the same unnamed Northern Water Tribe boy in Chapter 12 who complains about his parents forcing him to not learn healing) in Chapter 13, decades before his earliest canon appearance in flashbacks in Legend of Korra.
  • Adaptational Upbringing Change: While Zuko is perhaps already too old for it to count, Mai getting away from her parents does already show changes, since without the additional years under their thumb she is less closed-up, though still a reserved girl with a snarky side.
  • Agony of the Feet: Only a minor example, but Toph can't stay outside at the Northern Air Temple for long, since the cold floor is pure agony for her sensible feet.
  • Alternate Universe: Basically the very point of the story, since Korra altering the time stream does have a lot of ripple effects.
  • Angst Coma: Zuko goes through one like in canon, here when finally accepting that he means nothing to Ozai. Unlike in canon however, here it is at the end of Zuko's mental journey and thus he decides to stand with those who care for him and against his father.
  • Arranged Marriage:
    • It's made clear that Zuko and Mai are set to marry once reaching a certain age - though enough also is said that they are not unhappy with that arrangement, seeing it more like a Perfectly Arranged Marriage. While the arrangement is dissolved after Zuko's exile, Mai doesn't care and stays with him anyway, thus making their relationship one entirely of free choice.
    • Unlike with Zuko and Mai, both Toph and Yue are suffering under their arrangements. Toph resents her parents for it, since she knows they see her as a helpless cripple who needs a life-long minder. Yue in turn is starting to become disillusioned how her life is used in political games.
      • For Toph her parents signing an actual contract is the final straw and she leaves home to travel with the group, probably to never return.
  • Artistic License – Economics: Due to the writer having a background in economics, this is actually averted.
    • Mention is made of an education minimum requirement in the Fire Nation, that someone has attend school to the age of fourteen. This is very much required, since the Fire Nation, whose economy and society are developing fast, needs less grunt work and more skilled labor to keep up with the increasing complexity of its economy. Tellingly, finishing school at fourteen already is considered for more "basic jobs".
    • The scene with Ozai at the research facility does reveal that a steady coal supply was one of the war reasons, since the Earth Kingdom holds vast supplies, while the Fire Nation, despite needing lots of it for its industry, has little of it. That is why its replacement with crude oil, which is found in great amounts in the shallow waters of the Fire Nation, and its various products, is so immensely important.
    • It's made clear that winning the war would be catastrophic for the economy of the Fire Nation. A nation that was in a war economy for a long time will inevitably suffer tremendously once the war is over - especially if said nation has won the war. There are many examples throughout history, like the US recession of 1945 - which could have been worse if not for the starting Cold War.
  • Ascended Extra: There are several.
    • Interestingly done with Suki. She already had went through the process in canon. Here, due to Kyoshi Island getting occupied by the Fire Nation she does join the group when they leave the island, thus becoming a protagonist right away.
    • Yue already getting scenes years before the protagonists reach the North Pole hinted her role would be much bigger in this story. Her having a lot of room once the group does arrive underscores this, though the details are not known yet.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: What Azula's blue flames boil down to. Yes, they are much hotter than normal fire, but also much more difficult to control (as Azula learned the hard way) and there is little which can't just as well be accomplished with normal flames. It's telling that Ozai himself - a man who relishes displays of power - still uses normal flames.
  • Battle Couple: Sokka and Suki shape up to be that, with both of them being physical fighters without bending powers and a bond of trust growing between them.
  • Big Brother Mentor: It is mentioned that Lu Ten was this for Zuko. Since no such mention was made in canon, the better relationship could have been a ripple-effect of the changed time stream.
  • Big "NO!":
    • A variation of. Zuko, Mai and Iroh shout a big "NO WAY!" when Pathik asks if they give his banana-onion juice a second chance.
    • Toph lets out an epic one once she realizes that the journey will go to the Northern Water Tribe - a very cold land with no exposed earth.
  • Bi-Wildered: Strongly hinted at. While Sokka being fascinated by Yue is a given (though he wants to stay faithful to Suki), Suki actually noticing Yue that way, while Yue actually does so with both of them hints at the whole thing will be rather complicated for everyone involved.
  • Boring, but Practical: Iroh drills that lesson into Zuko and he does listen. It does show when he duels Zhao. Zuko stays calm and unlike Zhao never uses any flashy moves to defeat him.
  • Bring Me My Brown Pants: Azula wets herself in fear when the Ocean Spirit turns its attention to her.
  • Cargo Concealment Caper: Sort of. Mai does hide in the cargo hold of Zuko's ship for a week to make sure they first are far away from the Fire Nation before revealing herself.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Mention is made of Zhao's men torturing one of Zuko's crew with thumbscrews. The man still lies despite the torture and is later seen with bandaged hands.
  • Combat Medic: The problem of the Northern Water Tribe is, that that do not have those due to their enforced gender roles for waterbending. Katara, who does want to become such, lays bare the sheer folly of such restrictions and how it creates nothing but problems.
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Thing is, while Hakoda knows that fighting against the Fire Nation is without alternative, he is full of regrets how many things in the lives of his children he missed due to that decision and wonders how he can make up for it.
  • Darker and Edgier: While not being overly done so, the story is not bound to the same rules as the original series, thus allowing the author to show more of the realistic consequences of such a war - something the series mostly just alluded to.
    • The uprising on the prison rig is explicitly showing that the guards are being killed. And while it's not shown, Tyro returning from confronting the warden with blood-covered hands leaves no doubt he killed the man.
    • Actual deaths are explicitly shown during the attack on the Northern Air Temple, with one of the fighters on gliders being shot down by firebenders.
    • The first phase of the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe is mentioned to have destroyed one of the emergency first aid shelters, killing everyone inside.
  • Death by Adaptation: Due to the Gaang never entering the village since they are recovering from sickness, the volcano does destroy the village of Makapu and kills half of its population. The other half then lynches Aunt Wu, whose predictions had made them unconcerned about the volcano until it was too late.
    • Not confirmed, but since the Gaang also decided to skip over going to the Great Divide, there is a high chance that the characters from that episode would have also fared poorly without their intervention.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: Happens at the very start of the story as well. The Imbalance has devastated the world - living and spirit - so utterly that Korra and Raava are basically the only survivors. Even the planet itself seems close to falling apart by that point. Some details to the process are given as well, though much is still a mystery, as well as why it happened in the first place.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Jet's followers didn't realize the full ramifications that blowing up the dam at Gaipan would have. When confronted with what would have happened if they had succeeded, all of them balk at the thought of killing children like them as well show fear and disgust at Jet's insistance that their actions are justified.
    • Azula, upon learning that Zhao intends to kill the Moon Spirit, also briefly sides against him, knowing that the loss of the moon would also devastate the Fire Nation, which is made up of a chain of islands and thus is heavily dependent on sea travel and the tides. She doesn't stick around for the fight, however.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: This of course happens muliple times, due to the antagonistists being sociopaths.
    • It's hinted that Azula invited Mai to the Agni Kai in order to make sure Mai knows in the most cruel way that any future with Zuko is over. The idea that it could drive Mai to going into exile together with him - due to him being one of the few good things in her life - doesn't even cross her mind.
    • Azula also is incapable of understanding why Mai decided to leave with Zuko rather than stay. Unable to understand Mai's reasoning - that she was miserable and genuinely cares for Zuko and is happier together with him in exile - nor that the girl feels it's worth the the sacrifice. Azula instead settles for seeing it as a "betrayal". She also doesn't get why banishing Mai for good won't bother the girl much.
    • Ozai as a full-blow sociopath is incapable of understanding such things in general or simply sees things as love as a weakness. Him banishing Mai shows how little he understands what motivates others outside of self-interest.
  • Evil Is Petty:
    • Azula takes Mai leaving with Zuko as a personal betrayal, even though Azula was not even on Mai's mind when she made the decision. Azula reacts by making her an Un-person in her personal sphere and Ty Lee learns the hard way she's serious about it.
    • Ozai banishes Mai simply for her having voiced that he is not that smart with his politics and might take a bad end. Though, the prodding from Azula above also is also a factor.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Several of them.
    • Zuko actually allowing his hair to grow back out signals - even though he attributes it to Mai hating his mostly-shaved hairstyle - that he starts to see more in life than just trying to find the Avatar to erase his precieved dishonor.
    • After Zhao's men have blown up their ship, Zuko, Mai, Ursa and Iroh realize that this is the point of no return. Thus they undo their hair (Zuko's phoenix tail, Mai's ox horns and Ursa's and Iroh's top knots) to symbolize that they now effectively are enemies of the Fire Nation.
  • Fangirl: The very term is actually used when the group visits Kyoshi Island. However, Aang after the first confusion does not appreciate them, since they have a crush on the Avatar, not Aang.
  • Fascist, but Inefficient: It's strongly implied that things in the Fire Nation are not good due to Ozai being apathetic towards domestic policies, seeing it as a waste of his time. That means it's left to a bunch of bootlickers, who are running the country into the ground to cozy up to Ozai.
  • First Kiss:
    • We witness Zuko and Mai sharing theirs. Mai is, considering who she is, surprisingly shy about it.
    • Sokka and Suki share theirs shortly after Crescent Isle.
    • Yue has hers with Sokka... and then both her and Suki share their very first kiss with another girl.
  • Foil: Toph and Yue are set up as such in the chapter they first appear in. Both are girls from high-level backgrounds who loathe their upcoming arranged marriages. That however is where the similarities end and both girls are very different. Yue does have supportive parents who take her feelings into account, the betrothal being something her father was overruled about. Yue actually does enjoy being feminine and acts accordingly. Toph on the other hand has parents who don't understand her at all and are actively trying to force an arranged marriage onto her. Toph in turn is highly rebellious and couldn't care less about feminine traits.
  • Foreign Culture Fetish: What Aang at first thinks of the new inhabitants of the Northern Air Temple for using the idea of gliders from the Air Nomads. He later realizes his folly, especially due to said culture having been reduced to one person and being effectively dead.
  • Foreshadowing: Done several times.
    • Pathik and Gyatso being connected to white lotus tiles as a side mention lays the groundwork for the Order of the White Lotus.
    • Iroh telling Zuko to treat fire with respect and that it is about living in symbiosis with it hints at him actually having learned those truths from the Sun Warriors.
    • Ursa mentiones to Iroh she has kept an item safe and they later give it to Shyu for safekeeping, stating it's important for Zuko's future. Well versed fans of course already knew it's about the Crown Prince headpiece, which had stayed in Roku's family.
  • From Bad to Worse: Very much Sokka's reaction when after Toph and Suki, Katara gets sick as well. He does suffer a slow meltdown from it.
  • Girl-on-Girl is Hot: Sokka has that exact realization when watching Suki and Yue kiss after they have admitted their feelings and he already had kissed both girls.
  • Have a Gay Old Time: Alluded to. Bumi does make Aang aware of the fact that language has moved on in a century and that he should work on the issue, since right now he has the speech patterns of man of Bumi's generation (which he technically is).
  • Heroic BSoD: Toph suffers a bad one after realizing how she had used her earthbending to kill the guards on the prison rig.
  • Hidden Depths: Showcased by Sokka when he really is in his element in the Mechnist's workshop. However, Suki had noticed that side of his much earlier, speculating now that the monotenous surroundings at the South Pole had hampered Sokka's enthsiasm for building and inventing things.
  • How They Treat the Help: This is used to show how different Zuko and Azula are. Zuko treats the servants with respect and they in turn clearly like to work for him. Azula on the other hand thinks it should be reward enough that the servants are even allowed to serve them. Zuko even quotes the trope, which makes Azula dismiss it as drivel from Iroh.
  • Humiliation Conga:
    • The events at Pohuai Stronghold and the aftermath are really not good for Zhao. First Aang does manage to escape confinement, then Aang does manage to escape entirely together with his helpers, Zhao not even getting the consolation prize of a kill. Next he is called before the Fire Lord and the war cabinet and is grilled by them while learning that Ozai is losing patience with him. To top it off, he then gets Azula acting as his minder.
    • Zhao's humiliation continues at the North Pole. First, he finds out his plan to kill Zuko, Mai, Ursa and Iroh had failed. Then he fails to kill the Moon Spirit, causing the Ocean Spirit to chase off his fleet. This is followed by being defeated by Mai and Zuko in a duel and the Ocean Spirit crippling his bending to a minimum, allowing him to be captured by the Northern Water Tribe. Finally, Azula, who didn't know about the plan and vigorously opposed the plan when she found out about it at the spirit oasis, is now going to have her father strip Zhao of his rank and have him declared a traitor for endangering the Fire Nation with his stupid scheme (the Fire Nation is an archipelago, meaning thousands would've been killed by the tides from a sudden loss of the moon.), meaning he's going to remain in prison for the rest of the war, if not executed as soon as the Water Tribes learn that Ozai doesn't want him back.
  • Hypocrite: Iroh feels his brother is that when it comes to Azula's blue flames. Ozai constantly drives her to perfect them (despite how impractical they are), while he himself still uses normal flames.
  • It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: While it already was a plot point in canon, Aang's problems with it are even more pronounced here. Thankfully, he also has lots of help to come to terms with it, including good advice from good adults like Bumi and Shyu.
  • Jerkass Realization: Aang has one entirely on his own where he realizes how much of a jerk he had been towards the Mechanist for making the best out of an impossible situation. After the battle, Aang still feels like he had bullied them into this confrontation, despite knowing it would have happened sooner or later anyway.
  • Letting Her Hair Down: Played for Drama. After Zhao destroys their ship, Zuko, Mai, Ursa, and Iroh all collectively untie their hair, to show they are officially no longer part of the Fire Nation.
  • Man Bites Man: Toph did that to the warden of the prison rig, biting in deep enough to leave bloody teeth marks.
  • Morton's Fork: Ozai actually smells one in regards to Ursa. Regardless if he tries to smear her or tries to permanently get rid of her, it would make people question him. He decides instead to do nothing, explaining to Azula that soon enough people will put their attention elsewhere.
  • Mythology Gag: The story has several
    • The lesson in school which Ty Lee gives little attention to is about Fire Lord Zoryu, Avatar Kyoshi and the changes this caused to the Fire Nation.
    • The scene where Zhao invites Zuko and companions for dinner on his ship, only to then humiliate him in front of everyone, was taken from the terrible The Last Airbender and adapted accordingly.
    • The Ty sisters, in their names and personalities, are directly based upon the comic story Sisters, the only place where they all appear.
    • Zuko creating a journal where he writes down everything he did learn about the Avatar is taken from the the live-action series.
    • While he technically did appear in canon, Avatar Szeto's role in Fire Nation history in this story is based upon what is later revealed in the novels.
    • The caves with artifacts to lure in Air Nomads that had escaped the genocide are based upon the comic story Relics.
    • Aang's adventure with Kuzon to the nestling lady dragon is based upon the comic story Dragon Days.
    • It's confirmed that the Yakone who is happy that he can learn healing now is the same on as seen in flashbacks in The Legend of Korra, before his life took a dark turn (and now won't).
    • Mai complaining that men mistook her spiked choker for an betrothal necklace plays upon the necklace that Eska forces upon Bolin in The Legend of Korra.
  • Nice Hat: Aang does get one for free at the exhibition of Yu's school. Though, he later gets embarrassed by it and tosses it away.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: The warden of the prison rig has Toph dumped down into the coal storage after she's bitten hard into his arm. That of course turns out to be a major error, since it gives Toph access to a lot of bendable material and things end badly for the guards.
  • Nobody Poops: Very much averted.
    • Right at the start Korra glances to a hole in the floor which is used for "body functions better left unmentioned".
    • Mai is disgusted how for a week she had to use a bucket to do her business while hiding away on Zuko's ship. It very much made her appreciate proper bathrooms.
    • Hinted at when Suki talks about pitstops to take care of their "other needs". There are also vague hints how complicated and embarrassing that becomes when they travel over the open sea with no land in sight.
    • Suki is mentioned at their camp site emerging from behind some bushes after having done her morning toilet there.
  • No Periods, Period: Averted hard.
    • Mai is complaining about hers, openly stating it's one of times she really dislikes being a girl. Ursa actually brews medicine for her which helps her with the symptoms.
    • Toph does have her very first period shortly after Crescent Isle, and things only get worse from there when it turns out her parents neglected to explain such things to her. After she did learn all she needs to know, she does need to buy certain hygiene products.
  • Not What It Looks Like: While training, Suki falls onto Sokka in a way that makes it look like they are making out heaviily. Naturally, one of the warriors enters that moment and Suki says it's not what it looks like. The warrior does not believe her of course and Suki knows that moment the girl will spread the gossip all over the village in no time flat.
  • Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When Pakku is asked if he would teach Aang if he was a girl, he says that he wouldn't before realising what he just said and the implications.
  • Order Versus Chaos: Hinted at, but the greater ramifications of this are as of yet to be seen.
  • Original Character: As with his other stories, Tribun tries to keep those at a minimum. The first major one (though she did not yet appear in person) is Astria, Mai's "replacement" as selected by Azula.
  • Perfectly Arranged Marriage: That is what Zuko and Mai think about their arranged future marriage, since they genuinely like each other.
  • Pink Elephants: Not connected to alcoholism. While Suki is sick, she does imagine seeing white mice and laughs at their antics.
  • Plausible Deniability: When Zhao's troops prepare to blow of Zuko's ship in an attempt to murder him and those close to him, Zhao wonders why Azula isn't watching. Azula claims this trope as the reason, though it probably also is due to a part of her not wanting to observe her brother die.
  • Polyamory: One is forming between Sokka, Suki and Yue. They have admitted their feelings for each other, but also know that not only is such a relationship very muich not normally tolerated, but two girls having a sexual realtionship is highly frowned upon.
  • The Power of Love: Ursa does use the "warmth of love" to power her firebending. She thinks it's humble, but its true power shows when she overcomes her psychological block for a moment to open the door of the temple sanctuary.
  • Properly Paranoid: Surprisingly, Ozai. While he does read the reports about the progress of the army, he still attends all and any war councils in order to hear it in person. It actually works, since he has multiple times thus caught things that had been left out of the reports.
  • Psychosomatic Superpower Outage: It happens to Zuko far earlier, during the first year of his banishment, due to actually learning his mother's story and being surrounded by people how do care about him.
  • Puppet King: This is shown to be the reason Yue is betrothed to Hahn, the tribes elders see him has an easy face to rule over the tribe while they make all of the desisions.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Interestingly enough, that goes for everyone on Zuko's ship.
    • Of course, Iroh, Zuko, Mai and Ursa are all horrible misfits for royalty and nobility in the Fire Nation.
    • The crew itself to a man are misfits as well. Lt. Jee's loyalty to Iroh and his ideals made him dead in the eyes of the army, the doctor treated prisoners of war, the navigator freed children his last captain had held as pleasure slaves... They even call themselves the Loser's Club.
  • Relax-o-Vision: When the Freedom Fighters attack Zuko's group, the fight itself is not shown. Instead the beautiful flower-covered curtain of silence is lowered for a moment to hide how badly that goes for the attackers, which also is a shout-out (see there for details).
  • Rule of Symbolism: Sokka does continue to use battle fans, them being Suki's spare pair and she has gifted them to him, even though he does get a sword as well. The symbolism is not yet pointed out, but it symbolizes Sokka opening up to the world and Suki's trust in him.
  • Running Gag:
    • Zuko being annoyed about Iroh and Pai Sho is shaping up to be that, which is extra funny due to Iroh's connection to the White Lotus.
    • Mai and getting sick on the ship, then often "sacrificing to the sea".
    • Momo getting wary of Aang's training due to mishaps, and thus trying to avoid it, shapes up to being a recurring joke.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Korra altering the time stream is basically that. Though, considering the Bad Future she is in, her doing that is understandable.
  • Ship Tease: Between Hakoda and Ursa.
  • The Sociopath: Of course, considering the source material...
    • Ozai is a canon sociopath and he right away shows it in the fateful Agni Kai. However, even at Zuko's birth the signs were already openly visible, since he was perfectly willing to get rid of Zuko, since the baby was not right away following his insane idea that someone should show signs of firebending right after birth.
    • Azula inviting Mai to witness the Agni Kai is her wanting to do something to hurt Mai and it's hinted she also does it to underscore to Mai that she no longer will have Zuko. It does backfire on her, since it actually makes Mai determined to stay with Zuko, since he's one of the few good things in her life.
  • Shown Their Work: Tribun did change some aspects of the world to mesh better with its status as an equivalent to 19th century Earth in the age of industrialization.
    • An education minimum in the Fire Nation is mentioned in passing. This does fit with industralial nations of the late 19th century, which worked hard to bring more education to the masses, due to more skilled labor being needed for their increasing complex econiomies.
    • Mention is made of trams on rails drawn by ostrich horses which are becoming more and more common in the Fire Nation and colonies. Horse-drawn trams were indeed very common in the 19th and early 20th century before all tram services switched to electical operations.
    • Mention of the cities in the Fire Nation and colonies paving their streets also is important, since it was only in the 19th century that paved streets in cities did become the standard.
    • The scene with Ozai at the military research facility actually shows several such instances.
      • The discovery of how to use and break down crude oil into other products did indeed hapen during the 19th century, as does the beginning of wide-spread drilling for oil.
      • Whale oil-powered lamps are mentioned, which also is historical, just as are the difficulties with a steady supply, thus why the switch in the story and reality to kerosene lamps.
      • The development of artillery guns, which were first used on ships, also dates back to the 19th century.
    • Bumi telling Aang how the Earth Kingdom is organized in a rather decentralized manner - which now is causing it to fall apart - does mirror real-world old China, on which the Earth Kingdom is based upon.
    • Mention is made of inheritance laws in the Fire Nation which cause farmland to be split between siblings, in the past, land of siblings didn't leave descendants behind before passing would merge back into the land of the surviving siblings, but advances in medical and agricultural techniques means a lot more people are able to live longer and have children, causing the land to keep spliting until the parcels are too small to be economical. This is based among other things upon the historical custom of Realteilung.
  • Someone to Remember Him By: Not in the most dramatic sense, but when the men of the Southern Water Tribe leave to fight in the war, mention is made how a lot of the women staying behind in the village are now pregnant.
  • Story Arc: The story is divided into several books.
    • Book I—A Boy, a Girl and the World (chapters 1-4; which covers Zuko's initial banishment and the various journeys around the world)
    • Book II—The Waves of Change (chapters 5-ongoing; which covers the seaon of winter and the adaption of the show's first season)
  • Swallowed a Fly: Like in canon that happens to Katara while using a glider. She worries she could throw up due to it and Aang telling her she can digest it without trouble is not helping her disgust, either.
  • Take That!: The author is not shy to call out some of the more questionable storylines of canon and the comics.
    • Ursa not doing the whole changing her face and forgetting the past thing was also born out of Tribun's great dislike of The Search, since it severely damages Ursa's character.
    • Suki's scene in Chapter 3 does lampshade how absurd the plot of the comic book Suki Alone is, showcasing how a village valuing isolationism over not starving to death in a famine will logically lead to the death of a village.
    • The Great Divide is skipped on Sokka's suggestion, and when Aang complains it could have been interesting, Toph snarks that to her it's just a big hole in the ground. That mirrors how unpopular and pointless the episode is.
    • Clearly Tribun has a dislike for The Fortuneteller and Aunt Wu in particular, as without the Gaang being there, the town is destroyed by the volcano and Aunt Wu is lynched by the angry survivors.
  • The Talk: Katara and Suki are forced to give it to Toph when she's got her first period and it turns out her parents never explained any of that to her. Lots of horrified shouting from Toph follows when hearing the details while Sokka and Aang do the wise thing and stay far away until it's over. We also hear how Aang, Sokka and Katara got their talks.
  • A Taste of the Lash: Happens to Katara. Her attempts to motivate the prisoners on the rig to rise up backfire and result in her being cruelly flogged by the guards. A few faint scars on her back do reimain and she sees them as a warning to not let her idealism override her common sense.
  • Technician Versus Performer: Taken over from the show and being explored more. With Katara having more experience with actual waterbending techniques, it becomes apparant very fast that while Aang does hold tremendous power, it does not come with the needed skill. His power is great but his control sucks. That's also why Katara has an inate understanding of healing due to her disciplined self-training while Aang has serious trouble with healing and won't get far without a proper teacher there.
  • These Hands Have Killed: A variant of in "these feet have killed". After killing several guards on the prison rig with her earthbending, Toph does get a good feel of the dead and mangled corpses with her seismic sense. Not having been exposed to death before and realizing how she has killed with her earthbending, Toph suffers a Heroic BSoD.
  • Tongue on the Flagpole: Yue did that as a child on an ice wall, with predictable results. Thankfully, Yagoda was nearby to free her with waterbending. Yagoda, even after years, enjoys reminding the princess of that embarrassing moment.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Despite her sacrifice, in canon Yue very much is mostly a damsel. Here, Yue no longer accepts how that's all for her in life and does start to learn how to fight, though it's a long way and Yue does have the training bruises to show for it.
  • A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: A reoccuring theme.
    • Sokka accuses Katara of being impulsive when she stole the waterbending scroll from the pirates, thus getting them into serious trouble. After what happened at the rig, Katara actually does realize her brother has a point and tries to control herself better in the future.
    • Aang being impulsive when the others are sick, as in canon, leads to him being imprisoned by Zhao at Pohuai Stronghold. Unlike in canon, others remind him how stupid that had been of him and implore him to learn from it to better think things through in the future.
  • Traumatic Haircut: Barely avoided. When Zuko pulls of his dagger to cut off his phoenix tail, Mai tells him outright to not even think about massacring his hair. Following her example, Zuko then simply unties his hair.
  • Undying Loyalty: What Zuko's crew becomes over the years. By the time Aang emerges they not only help Zuko in his decision to support Aang, but their loyalty is so great that even when a crewman is tortured by Zhao's men with thumbscrews, he lies to them to protect Zuko and those close to him.
  • Unishment: While Ozai sees banning Mai from the Fire Nation as a serious punishment, Mai is not that bothered about it, since her life in the Fire Nation had been miserable and being with Zuko allows her to be herself.
  • Uplifted Animal: Something clearly has happened with Momo, especially due to Gyatso hinting at something. But the details as of now are unknown.
  • Vomit Discretion Shot: Mai seems to be prone to vomiting, though it's always censored.
    • After eating some oysters which had gone bad, she is seen hanging over the ship's railing, "sacrificing to the sea".
    • She again is seen "sacrificing" plenty in the same place after a stormy night on the ship.
    • Once more when she gets sick repeatedly during a storm, only this time into a bucket.
  • War Is Hell: The story is not bound by the restrictions of a cartoon show.
    • The earliest sign is how bloody the uprising on the prison rig gets and the battle at the Northern Air Temple is a horrible wake-up call to Aang about the realities of war.
    • The attack on the Northern Water Tribe shows how utterly destructive such a siege and bombardment turly is, especially when it comes to the death toll.
  • Wham Shot: The very last moment of Chapter 2, where where Zuko suddenly finds his mother Ursa in the Earth Kingdom.
  • What If?: Due to the changes to the time stream, this is a theme in the story.
    • The first big change visible is that Mai actually witnessed the Agni Kai in which Ozai difigured Zuko. That actually convinces her she would rather go into exile together with Zuko than to suffer the purgatory that is her life without him, as he is one of the few good things in her life.
    • A change that happened years before Zuko got banished is Ursa simply not running into the disguised Ikem in her home town, thus that whole plot never happened and she ends up in the Earth Kingdom instead.
    • A massive change happens due to it being Zhao who invades Kyoshi Island, since he has a whole army come along to occupy the island. Considering those circumstances, Suki does join the group right away, becoming one of the protagonists.
    • In another change, Zhao hunting them causes the group to have to go off-course and end up in Goaling, thus meeting Toph months earlier. Toph's situation also detoriates at the same time, resulting in her joining the group way earlier than in canon.
    • In canon for a strange reason nothing about the impending doom was ever mentioned to Bato. Not so much here, where he learns about it. That does lead to the realization that they no longer can mess around, or it would be game over, and Bato will carry the message to Hakoda, that he is needed at the North Pole to form an alliance with the North for the upcoming final confrontation.

Top