ATLA finale: bizarro AU ending - brainstorming - SPOILERS

[timepiececlock]

So, here's a thought: what if Katara still won the battle against Azula, but Aang died while fighting Ozai?

That would set up a really *interesting* scenario, if you think about it... Ozai as the Phoenix Lord is busy roasting 1/3 of the Earth Kingdom (let's face it, there's a lot of land to roast), but meanwhile a coup has occurred back home. The heir he left in charge isn't in charge, the other one is. But the war doesn't end.

Iroh: Re-taking Ba Sing Se, securing it for rebel EK forces & the White Lotus.

Ozai: Has control of the bulk FN army, has some airships which survived the gaang's sabotage, is laying waste to the EK landscape. He has an army, but is cut off from the FN and its support.

Zuko: Has control of the capitol, has control of the domestic military forces, is claiming the crown of Fire Lord. May have to defend the city against Ozai's forces.

That's THREE people from the royal family, all with "armies" of their own, all out in force. DUELING! Except, of course, that Iroh and Zuko are allied. But Ozai has most of the military power, right? All the forces still in the colonies and outposts like Omashu are under his control (except those in Ba Sing Se who now are under Iroh's control). In the Fire Nation, all the remaining forces and cities are in a state of flux--some swear loyalty to Zuko immediately, some refuse and swear to the Phoenix Lord instead. The generals split and choose sides, taking their armies & navy[s] with them.

It's freaking CIVIL WAR. How fun would that be to see play out? My brain adores the idea of 3 "princes" of the FN battling across the Earth Kingdom, each with their own armies and spying and traitors and military coups and broken loyalties and such. Meanwhile the EK and WT are like "Must you use OUR LAND to battle out YOUR FUCKING FAMILY PROBLEMS?" The world has become the royal family's chess board, just like Sozin wanted.

And for the others...


Katara: Zuko's new trusted lieutenant; after she gets word that Aang is dead, she is heartbroken, but decides to focus on the problem in front of her: helping Zuko take control of the city and rally the people to fight the Phoenix Lord. Zuko cannot do it alone, and with Iroh in the EK, she is all that Zuko has to rely on. They put Azula in prison. Zuko helps her deal with her grief, and she helps him deal with the clusterfuck that is his country. Her assistance and loyalty to him is very, very visible.

Sokka, Suki, and Toph: They succeed in destroying some of the fleet, but they witness Aang's death. They can't save his body, but they escape and head for Ba Sing Se on a distraught and near-suicidal Appa. Sokka becomes the person Appa relies on, the only one he'll listen to. [Appa *was* with them, right? Who had Appa during the final battle?] They hope to meet the White Lotus and Iroh in BSS and regroup, and plan for the coming civil war.

Mai & Ty Lee: Mai's uncle releases them when he gets news that Zuko has claimed power, and Ty Lee demands that the Kyoshi Warriors be released as well. As a group, they make their way toward the FN capitol. Along the way, they recruit for Zuko's forces, and gather information about the loyalties of the cities and towns. Mai and Ty Lee become closer. Mai gradually realizes that if the war ends, then Tom Tom won't be force into battle when he grows up, and he won't be at risk for dying young. If Tom Tom lives to become heir to their family's wealth, Mai will be free from her mother's control, and won't be forced to marry and have children. Tom Tom will be her freedom.

Hakoda & Co.: Heads to what remains of the Water Tribes, bringing news that the FN is about to have a civil war which could do even MORE damage to the surrounding nations, and that the WT must support Fire Lord Zuko if anyone's going to come out of it alive.


"There witnesses to our fight with Azula, you know that. Those old women--"
"My great-aunts."
"And others too. They keep talking about how you took Azula's lightning for me. They're saying--"
"It doesn't matter."
"But they think--"
"Katara, look at me. Look at me. It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter what they think. What matters is that they recognize my claim, and that they all know beyond any doubt that you're here to support me. They will respect your power; they know that you healed me, and that you were my champion against Azula."
"Zuko..."
"I can't do this by myself, Katara. You helped Aang, before. Please...help me, too. Help us."
"I will help you."
"Thank you."
"It doesn't bother you, what they could be saying?"
'I put it out of my mind. If they want to see...I'm sorry, Katara. It must make you uncomfortable. I know that with--I know it's not easy to hear something like that right now. But I can't let myself think about it, because it doesn't change anything."
"You're right, Zuko. It doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that they know they'll have to get through me to get to you. That's what they need to think about."



I seriously need a map of all the cultures/cities....

Comments

[boosette.livejournal.com]

Good lord, yes PLEASE.

I adore civil war politiking plots of awesome. Because they are fun!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

It's certainly the only fic bunny AT ALL to pop into my head since the finale...I've been totally blocked and uninspired. But I would secretly love to do a Season Noir kind of thing. If I could be consistent and stick with it. Plus it would allow me to have a post-finale scenario where I could pair Mai with Ty Lee and Katara with Zuko, under seriously dramatic circumstances...and Sokka as Appa's new BFF, and general tragedy at the loss of Aang. I'm a sucker for tragedy, and I've never done the obligatory "Aang dies" fic before that it seems everyone else has.

Plus, my head kind of adores the idea of 3 "princes" of the FN battling across the Earth Kingdom, each with their own armies and spying and traitors and military coups and broken loyalties and such. Meanwhile the EK and WT are like "Must you use OUR LAND to battle out YOUR FUCKING FAMILY PROBLEMS?" The world has become their chess board, just like Sozin wanted.

[zebeckras.livejournal.com]

Hi spoilers in main post! :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I was pretty sure everyone on my flist had seen the finale by now. Are you still behind? Sorry.

[zebeckras.livejournal.com]

Sorry for previous comment - I am shielding my eyes on the rest of this so I'm not spoiled further but I like, read the first line of the post on autopilot going "NO NO NO! Stop, what are you DOING!" (meaning to ME *lol*) I got the disc in the mail yesterday and didn't get to watch it yet (I think I can watch the first two eps tomorrow and beyond that... I'm not sure, sad sad)

But um, point being, since I haven't seen the final six eps can you spoiler cut this whole post? Please? :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

ah, that answers my question. Sorry! I honestly thought everyone on my flist who watched the show had seen it.

For YOU, I will cut it. Though I can't say that next week from now I will, especially since you just told me you got the disc. I believe in spoiler-cutting for a reasonable amount of time, but there's only so long I can wait. After two weeks I get itchy.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I cut it. With big warning signs. But I won't cut it forever... the novel's information was out for ages and the episodes have been out for nearly 3 weeks. Fair warning to that now.

[shamrockjolnes.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Zuko and Katara used Appa to get to the Fire Nation

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

damn, I was worried about that. Are you sure?

[irrel.livejournal.com]

Yeeeees, this smells like an epic. I like epic stories!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

me too. wish I had the discipline to write them.

[gojira007.livejournal.com]

With each successive description of where the groups stand in the wake of Aang's death, I fell more and more in love with this idea. Then I read that ending quote and I was completely sold. Write this, and I will sing your praises for generations. :D

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Heh. I don't know if I will, but rest assured that if I do, I'll post it so people can read.

I'm glad the ending conversation works well. I can only imagine how much scrutiny Katara and Zuko would be under after they seized power.

[yanocchi.livejournal.com]

DO IT! OMG DO IT PLX! ♥

[murcushio.livejournal.com]

"There witnesses to our fight with Azula, you know that. Those old women--"
"My great-aunts."

Can I just say that, amongst all the other, actually relevant things I should have thought on reading this, foremost in my mind was "Oh, thank GOD. I'm not the only one who operates under the assumption that Lo and Li are the crazy ancient twin daughters of Roku."

I feel SO MUCH better now.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Ha! You know, I always assumed they were aunts, but I never gave a thought to whose side they'd be on. But you're right... it makes sense if they were from Ursa's side, because otherwise they'd be given deference as princesses or something. Though if they were Roku's daughters, you'd think they'd be even older...and less inclined to help the royal family. Unless, I suppose, Ursa brought them in when she married Ozai.

Or perhaps they were illegitimate daughters of Sozin...

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

It's like the best game of risk EVER.

Please write this.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

That should be my summary.

Title: Avatar Season Noir
Summary: Avatar dies; civil war ensues; best game of risk EVER. plus zutata.

[murcushio.livejournal.com]

Okay, real idea feedback instead of just considering Lo and Li in probably too much detail...

This is a pretty cool idea and there's lots of awesomeness herein. My thoughts (for whatever the thoughts of some random guy on LJ you don't know are)...

If you really want to get in depth on a Fire Nation civil war, I'd map out the governing and power structures of the Fire Nation well in advance and hew to them, because they'll be important. Important considerations..

-Who does Zuko need to cut deals with to stay in power? Example: it would appear that the Fire Lords receive legitimacy by being crowned by the Fire Sages. Is the High Sage a political apparatchik who will crown whoever is pointing a flamey fist at him at any given moment, or is he a mover and shaker with his own agenda and his own price for saying 'All Hail Fire Lord Zuko!'

-Politics in the Fire Nation are pretty cutthroat. Who else besides Azula is Zuko going to need to beat down in an Agni Kai, if anyone?

-This is going to be the second major upheaval in the Fire Nation in a little under six years. Something to remember is that Ozai is a very new Fire Lord. For a long time before him, it was going to be Iroh. Iroh is nobodies dummy, and back when he was the Dragon of the West 24/7 he knew how the game was played. Presumably he spent decades maneuvering his own favorites into positions of power in preparation for the day Azulon died. Equally presumably Ozai has spent the last five years getting rid of those people and promoting guys who would go 'Genocide? Sure, we're down.' But he probably hadn't gotten rid of ALL of Iroh's guys. How is that going to affect things?

-How is power centralized in the Fire Nation? Does absolutely everything flow into and out of the Palace, Forbidden City style, and the bureacracy rules everything? Or does Zuko have 'great houses' to contend with, powerful noble families who rule whole swathes of the Fire Nation as their personal fiefs? If the later, a traditional way to control them is with political marriages and family hostages. What does Zuko do if he discovers that the younger sons and daughters of lords of uncertain loyalty are currently residing in the palace and not that eager to stay?

-The Fire Nation is a fiercely nationalistic place that indoctrinates its citizens into the idea of their greatness and manifest destiny from a young age. The fact that Zuko whomped his sisters ass and is looking to get rid of the old man is likely to be viewed with equnamity; that's how they roll in the Fire Nation. The fact that if he wins Zuko is likely to abandon huge swathes of Fire Nation colonized line is less likely to be viewed as acceptable behaviour to a man looking to sit on the big flamey chair. Zuko won't have the Avatar on hand to bust heads, and he and Katara have to sleep SOMETIME.

-Speaking of said colonies, Ozai probably controls them. What's their industrial base like? Can Ozai make more airships and re-constitute his fleet? (One imagines that the Fire Navy is still frenetically rebuilding after getting what had to be a very large percentage of their total force thoroughly spanked at the Siege of the North.) Zuko, by contrast, probably has all the ironworks he could want, but whether or not he has the trained men to run'em and guys to crew what they make is open to debate.

I have more thoughts, but these will do for now...

Holy shit dude!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

That's...really pretty helpful. :g:

I'll definitely think about these things. But just seeing them all listed out is almost enough to make me run away from the idea in a panic. Epics take so much research! When all I really want is to get to the end where one guy goes "Ha! I smote thee!" and everyone applauds.

[faoiltiamatani.livejournal.com]

That entire idea makes me very happy.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Your icon makes me happy.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

YES!

[zebeckras.livejournal.com]

Just to let you know, I finished the finale (in a day, actually; I went through it all on Thursday night) so no more spoiler worries. So now I got to read your AU idea and be intrigued. *G* But yeah, you may put any concerns out of your head for me because NOW I CAN READ IT ALL!! Mwahahahaha!

The worst part is really having to come to terms with the fact that I just am NOT going to have the time to make the post I want to make about it. *sigh* I don't think anyone could be more awesome than they were. (I was a teensy smidge underwhelmed by the final, like, minute. Thirty seconds. I don't know how long it was exactly, I guess everything after Zuko's coronation. I didn't dislike it, I just thought it was almost *too* quiet after the previous fantastic... everything.)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

My reactions here. I wasn't as thrilled by the last couple minutes after the coronation either... I get they all had a happy afternoon together in celebration, but I don't get why they went on vacation in the Earth Kingdom. And the kiss was nicely done but a little weird because I kept thinking how young they were, Aang especially.

I hope you do make a post!

And my concerns are free and clear as of now! I'm glad you got to see it. DID YOU LOVE THE MUSIC IN THE AZULA FIGHT?

[ryanitenebrae.livejournal.com]

I apologize for responding to this months after it was posted, but this is an exceedingly fascinating idea, and something I always wished had happened.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I enjoyed reviewing the idea when it up in my inbox, anyway.

[miribai.livejournal.com]

I'm smelling Stormbender-like epic potential here.

DO EET!

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

My first reaction is to wonder what kind of scramble there is to identify the brand new baby Avatar and take control of him/her. This is someone who could be a huge asset to anyone playing the long game. Would Ozai attempt a Herod-ian purge of the water tribe children, a mass kidnapping, or just planting spies? Or just ignore the issue until some years have passed?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

That's a really good question--assuming Aang has mastered the Avatar State so that his death isn't permanent. That's something that could build in little bits and then become a significant issue near the end of the story, a tipping point issue.


Would Ozai attempt a Herod-ian purge of the water tribe children, a mass kidnapping, or just planting spies? Or just ignore the issue until some years have passed?

The way I've thought of this so far, Ozai would be too busy in the EK in a land war, with Zuko trying to steal/recruit his Navy, to re-invade the North Pole. He could brutalize the South Pole again, but he wouldn't be able to touch the North. So spies would be much more feasible at this point.

Hm... I like the child being born in the Swamp tribes. They're relatively sheltered, and might be able to keep it a secret for a while. Until Ozai discovers them in his invasion...

I seriously need a map of all the cultures/cities....

[auroranq.livejournal.com]

This sounds absolutely fascinating.

I like to think Appa was at the back of the Airships taking um down! Sokka, Suki nd Toph had an airship that wasn't too damaged at the end, I suppose lolz, so they could join him then boot it outta the way of the Phoenix King *rolls eyes*

All this intrigue, battles, strategy, machiavellan attitudes, political issues, and such would be delightful! *I'm such a history geek* XD

...I probably made it sound even more of a challenge but tis SUCH an awesome idea! You should definately do it *nods frantically*

[auroranq.livejournal.com]

Oh and I found a map with cities etc.

Map of Nations (http://s77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/gtgoten/Avatar%20Revisited/Show%20pics/?action=view&current=WorldMap.jpg)

[oyster-district.livejournal.com]

Doooo ittt....

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I want to. It's just so big... but I want to...

must make outlines must make outline must make outline