pirate zuko, bc i'm re-reading "Honor & Vengeance On The High Seas".
notttt:
two fully rendered pieces posted in a row, had to throw in a fuck ass sketch. i love sailor!zuko, whether it's pirate or regular sea farer. i'm always so sad thinking of his crew because on one hand, i would hate the little fucker too, because he was insufferable, but on the other, zuko wasn't a bad leader. i was making an edit the other day and so i was rewatching the last episode and the speech he gives before being crowned? the "media" training had been DONE. the only thing stopping him from being an actually tolerable captain was the task he was appointed, because he put it above the safety and comfort of everyone, including himself. and others, obviously, didn't (and good for them lol).
anyways, i have NO idea what is he wearing as a belt, i just really needed something to bring the design together. i think that pirate zuko would ditch the fire nation armor for convenience to get easier access to wares in ports (and because THAT SHIT IS HEAVY, one man overboard and he sinks like a rock), but only if he found a replacement cheap and fast. because while i like the idea of him completely rejecting the "evil bad fire nation" by throwing all his related stuff away, zuko was actually deeply connected to his nation and condemned the ideals by which it was lead, not his people. so i don't think he would try to erase his connections to it. also, no speed running the character development, or cutting his hair until something drastic happens (like them becoming fugitives in canon). and since most character development of zuko was in reaction to the things happening around him (until his confrontation with ozai), i think it would be very gradual and slow-going, were it to happen at sea, on his ship.
i know a lot of the fandom head-canons the crew as out-casts of the fire nation, but i don't think we ever get a confirmation of that in canon. so, we can assume they all more or less share the ideals the fire nation spreads, obviously on a tamer level, since like most foot-soldiers in wars they probably aren't fanatics. zuko wouldn't really get any wake-up calls from them (or iroh? that's a tough one) in regards to the war. to ozai and his treatment of him?? maybe, but that would require the crew to talk to a prince about his fire lord-father. pirate zuko would probably also never actually call himself a pirate either lmao