Zuko - High kicks completely over his head regularly. Kicks through metal (with shoes) and a solid wood table (barefoot). Able to balance easily on one foot on a half broken table. Master of dual broadswords. Hops around like its nobodies business. Is practically a ninja.
Zuko… WHY DO YOU RELY SO HEAVILY ON YOUR BENDING?
Maybe the Fire Nation considers firebending the most important form of attack/defense and everything else is inferior, so as Prince of the Fire Nation he has to primarily use firebending as it is the Most Honorable™
(Also Zuko is far too powerful and if he relied on his greatest skills the series would have been over by book 1)
You’re probably right. He was probably taught that it’s all firebending and that makes me MAD.
This boy fucking shattered a likely steel (maybe iron) chain with a single kick and he could have done so much more damage.
ALSO. This puts him kicking Sokka in the head in a whole new perspective. That kick could have absolutely decimated Sokka if Zuko was trying. Like… Sokka hun when you said Zuko was no longer trying to kill you you didn’t even know that the closest you came was within 5 minutes of meeting this boy.
AU where Zuko is just 5% more unhinged
Zuko 5% unhinged could have ended that 100 year war in a few months out of sheer spite.
Zuko 5% more unhinged would’ve become firelord as soon as he recovered from the Agni Kai
Are we talking about his first Agni Kai or the final Agni Kai? Either is funny, especially with Zuko being 13 in one scenario.
I meant the first one. But now that I think about it, how funny would it be if Zuko started dismantling the war after his fight with Zhao? Like this admiral gets his as handed to him by a 16 year old who immediately declares he’s going to end the war. Word doesn’t reach the Firelord until a few days before Zuko bangs on the palace doors demanding a duel for the throne, the only catch is that fire bending is only allowed once during the duel
Actually, him doing this after any of his Agni Kai fights would be hilarious.
13 year old Zuko, now the Fire Lord and dismantling the war effort. No one can stop him. Iroh is giving vague advice and doing nothing to stop this angry tiny teenager. Nothing can be done. He’s threatened over half the generals and most of the nobility for trying to speak against him. (teenagers have no fear, he’d just bulldoze through the council)
16 year old Zuko, just having defeated Zhao and decided he’s done with the war and his father. Word might not reach Ozai until Zuko’s almost at the palace, but you bet the Gaang heard, is on there way and are going to laugh as the Fire Lord is brought down by his angry teenage son. (They may or may not offer him a ride to get him there quicker because they want to witness Ozai fail at fighting off an angsty Zuko.)
16 year old Zuko, just healed after being struck by lightning immediately standing up, walking to the generals and telling them to get their troops the fuck out of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe areas before he challenges them to an Agni Kai. (He knows Katara would flip on anyone dumb enough to take him up on it while injured. He’d still try and fight anyway.)
Zuko deciding after an Agni Kai that he’s just done is now my favorite thing.
Okay look, this is. The best thing. I have ever had the privilege of reading with my own eyes. And I am so tempted to write it out in a short fic.
One, I would love a fic of this and would absolutely read it. Like, would read it so many times.
Two, how dare you leave this in the tags?
#i am so close to actually trying to write out the scenario after the agni kai with Zhao#like I am SO CLOSE#Because just imagins Aang catching wind of it and running to the gaang like#Aang: Zuko’s ending the war#Katara: what? thats crazy we’re ending the war and he’s out enemy#Aang: no. no. he’s already ending the war Katara#Aang: hes almost to the firenation and he’s going to fist fight his dad#Sokka: okay… this I have to see… lets give him a ride#and so they do#they escort him to the fire nation all the while hyping him up#and then they get there and Zuko challenges him#and tells him that by his honor he is only allowed to use firebending once during the dual#and if he uses it again all that honor is gone#Ozai’s just like aight bet#and then loses when Zuko lands a swinging kick to his head and Knocks him out. the bitch is probably close to death at this point#but who the fuck knows?#not that anybody cares#Aang might care for like two seconds#but after that he’s just like#hell yeah wars over time to party
Imagine Sokka’s reaction, he’s all pumped up for the greatest (mostly) non-bending fight of the century and then Zuko nearly kills Ozai with a single kick
The same kick that Zuko used to fling him harmlessly into the snow back at the southern water tribe
Like Sokka just realizes that kick could have decimated him
The part of me that ships Zukka just reminded me that Sokka seems to have a thing for people that can kick his ass and/or are royalty and all I can imagine is Sokka staring at him in realization and in the background.
“Sokka no”
“Katara, I don’t think I get a choice.”
I had to draw it
Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
Sokka is absolutely enamoured and nothing can stop him now.
Now. Imagine: Zuko challenging Ozai to an Agni Kai during the eclipse, tho. Like. Hahah. Yeah. Ozai would die so hard without fire at his beck and call.
This post has only gotten better with time.
I love this post with a passion
Imagine if your a grown and bitter adult and a literal child starts demanding things from you. Repercussions of not listening to Angry Child? A fight you could never hope to win. Angry teenagers are some of the scariest humans. Angry teenagers that can snap metal no problem with a kick are absolutely terrifying. Zuko would be an unstoppable political force.
Zuko just tells Katara and Sokka if they have issues to use him as a threat. He wouldn’t even ask why they’re using him as a threat. He’d show up to the Northern Water Tribe like “What’s up? I’m 16, the Fire Lord, angry, and can break metal with a single kick. Quit making their life harder.”
(Somehow in this universe they still need Toph, she’d love this version of Zuko)
Oh.
Aang finds and wants Toph as his earthbending teacher after Zuko becomes Fire Lord. Her parents won’t let her go. Aang literally pulls the “One of my friends is the actual Fire Lord and he will kick down that wall to help me make a point”. They don’t believe him? They find a busted wall, a delighted Toph, and a vaguely amused Fire Lord.
I really love this, but I was thinking of Azula drilling through the wall. Zuko hook kicks her off and shatters the drill like glass. Zuko and Toph would be the two physically strongest people in the series.
Azula screams like a child who’s toy got broken by their sibling (I mean that is what it would be). I feel like everyone would be staring in horror at Zuko as he just walks off like he didn’t just break it.
Zuko is just so badass but what I really love about him is his gentle nature. Instead of using his strength and ability like Ozai and Azula, he used it to help the nations heal.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Zuko most likely could have beat Team Avatar with Azula by his side if Zuko wasn’t so kind.
It’s sad to think that Azula and Zuko didn’t bond because hey would have been such a badass duo.
Zuko is indeed incredibly gentle by nature. He goes out of his way fairly often to avoid badly harming anyone.
If they had gotten along, it would be a terrifying force of nature.
I’m sobbing because I love this
Okay but think, Azula is three years younger and if she sees her older brother who she saw as weak hop back up after that first Agni Kai at thirteen years old ready to fight god and dismantle the government then it’s game over. Zuko becomes the fire lord and then Azula and Iroh are there as his advisors because sometimes you need a calm and kinds advisor and sometimes you need the embodiment of your anger to tell you it’s okay to punch your asshole general in the face.
The Zukka shipper in me also wants to state that once the war has been dismantled and he is trying to make peace with the other nations there will need to be ambassadors from the other nations. Enter in Aang the last air bender, Sokka son of the chief of the water tribe, and Toph Beifong (self proclaimed badass) a Nobel of the earth kingdom who faught her way into the position.
Toph and Zuko teach the avatar their bending and Sokka invites his sister who has been learning bending to teach Aang (they obvi fall in love). They’re all older and no longer really under the pressure of war even though there’s the occasional assassin after the fire lord. On one of these occasions Zuko is just so shocked he nearly uses a full power kick and puts the assassin in a coma. At this point Sokka is just done for.
Let it be known my contribution came me thinking of Zuko and Azula in the form of this black panther fanart!
Azula just going on board with Zuko becoming Fire Lord and taking over as his advisor that’s always telling him to punch someone is great. Because she would and it would be her way of helping him. He doesn’t like it and suddenly he has two completely different people giving him advice, but sometimes-
Iroh, “Most often it is best to forgive and give a second chance-” Azula, “Fucking kick him in the head” Iroh, “And sometimes it’s best to listen to your sister.”
Zukka entering this and Sokka watching Zuko put someone into a coma only to completely fall in love is amazing because he does quite like it when someone can kick his ass and everyone else’s as well. Zuko dealing with his assassins quickly would also be great.
I love that fanart and Azula being his anger translate is amazing.
