Avatar Fanfiction recomendations
- Thread starter zerohour
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Blame it on the internet.
Here's another fic that zeebee won't like.
SunChild
Genderbent AU series. When Princess yes, princess Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation, she was pregnant- now she must travel the world with a child in tow, seeking the Avatar as the key to her redemption- and her daughter's. Rated for later chapters.
Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: T - English - General/Family - Chapters: 14 - Words: 17,906 - Reviews: 8 - Updated: 12-22-09 - Published: 12-14-09 - Zuko
Here's another fic that zeebee won't like.
SunChild
Genderbent AU series. When Princess yes, princess Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation, she was pregnant- now she must travel the world with a child in tow, seeking the Avatar as the key to her redemption- and her daughter's. Rated for later chapters.
Avatar: Last Airbender - Rated: T - English - General/Family - Chapters: 14 - Words: 17,906 - Reviews: 8 - Updated: 12-22-09 - Published: 12-14-09 - Zuko
Embers has updated http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/23/Embers#
I'm sorry to say I'm not sure if I'll be reading it from now on.
Just read the reviews this fic has got to be one of the most effective ways of making a fan base hate the hero since SD.net made it ok to support the Nazis analogue Empire
I'm sorry to say I'm not sure if I'll be reading it from now on.
Just read the reviews this fic has got to be one of the most effective ways of making a fan base hate the hero since SD.net made it ok to support the Nazis analogue Empire
Not really. There are a lot of Katara/Zuko fics. There are also plenty of stories with Zuko and Sokka working together, and then there are all the future fics where Zuko gets to deal with the problems of peace, or to track down his mother. All of these are often centred on Zuko, and show him in a very good light, but they generally show the rest of the gang in the same positive light too.
I liked Embers at first. But then it just seemed that Zuko was a mary-sue. I can deal with him getting some odd powers, but why is it that everyone seems to love him? Except for Katara, everyone sings his praises all day and night. Hell even Toph was.
It might have been only me, but his character seemed to degrade as well. The prince I know is an arrogant, youthful young man who is searching for an end to his quest. Not this sissy who always seems to be nervous around people. I'm probably not explaining myself right, but that's the best I can do lol.
It might have been only me, but his character seemed to degrade as well. The prince I know is an arrogant, youthful young man who is searching for an end to his quest. Not this sissy who always seems to be nervous around people. I'm probably not explaining myself right, but that's the best I can do lol.
First: Merry Christmas everyone.
Regarding Embers; I agree with you all that Zuko is getting a bit sueish and that team Avatar are getting a pretty rough deal but somehow I still like the fic, probably because of the world building.
I love the idea that Zuko is utterly terrified of the Avatar after the North Pole incident and that someone is questioning this whole 'four nations' dealy given that the colonies have been around for the better part of a century now or the idea that the avatar is going to be any better than Ozai if he's going to be channelling vengeful spirits right and left.
(Unfair to Aang but its not like anyone who thinks that really has the whole picture)
I like the idea that the Fire nation royal family might have dragon ancestry; sure its dangerously close to sueish if not actually crossing the line but it explains how the whole family is so freaking powerful and fixes some of the time discrepancies regarding lifespans while affirming that the Avatar world is heavily dualistic; they KNOW the spirits are their, real and powerful, the royal family having an especially strong connection to their nations 'spirit animal' works.
I like the idea that Zuko's scar actually fucked him up even more than the show let on; in a world of spirits and chi I like the idea that such an injury, inflicted with 'hot energy' could actually unbalance the way your own chi works, it provides a believable reason for some of Zuko's more boneheaded stunts while staying pretty close to the show and I can accept that Zuko is a bit out of character; its pretty clearly stated that his mental 'energy' has been flip flopping all over the place and only got worse in Ba-sing-say, something which is only just starting to settle down.
The author just using this as a big binary switch labelled 'lazy character development' is a touch annoying but not a deal breaker.
I especially like the exploration of different cultural ideas and reactions with Katara; she grew up on a freaking ice-plain populated by less than five hundred people, the idea that she'd understand what drives Zuko, much less react like us to danger or an aggressor is absurd and this is the first fic I've seen that actually sits down and explores the differences in the way the main characters work because of their violently different upbringings.
Still it really remains to be seen how the author will treat Aang now that he's becoming a major player, if he actually shows some of that backbone he had in the show all well and good but if he just rolls over and proves Zuko 100% correct than it pretty much stops being Aang and becomes a cardboard cutout used to show how awesome and 'mature' Zuko is.
Long rant short: okay so far, interesting ideas, skirting Sueishness but could still be saved.
As for an actual recommendation:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3862054/1/Sokk...the_Black_Sword
Sokka centred story told in the first person, may turn people off but the world building in this is EPIC building on hints and shadows within the show to create something utterly awesome.
Pairings: Aaang/Katara, Zuko/Mai and Sokka/Toph
It seems to have stalled, if not died, but what's there is well worth a look.
Regarding Embers; I agree with you all that Zuko is getting a bit sueish and that team Avatar are getting a pretty rough deal but somehow I still like the fic, probably because of the world building.
I love the idea that Zuko is utterly terrified of the Avatar after the North Pole incident and that someone is questioning this whole 'four nations' dealy given that the colonies have been around for the better part of a century now or the idea that the avatar is going to be any better than Ozai if he's going to be channelling vengeful spirits right and left.
(Unfair to Aang but its not like anyone who thinks that really has the whole picture)
I like the idea that the Fire nation royal family might have dragon ancestry; sure its dangerously close to sueish if not actually crossing the line but it explains how the whole family is so freaking powerful and fixes some of the time discrepancies regarding lifespans while affirming that the Avatar world is heavily dualistic; they KNOW the spirits are their, real and powerful, the royal family having an especially strong connection to their nations 'spirit animal' works.
I like the idea that Zuko's scar actually fucked him up even more than the show let on; in a world of spirits and chi I like the idea that such an injury, inflicted with 'hot energy' could actually unbalance the way your own chi works, it provides a believable reason for some of Zuko's more boneheaded stunts while staying pretty close to the show and I can accept that Zuko is a bit out of character; its pretty clearly stated that his mental 'energy' has been flip flopping all over the place and only got worse in Ba-sing-say, something which is only just starting to settle down.
The author just using this as a big binary switch labelled 'lazy character development' is a touch annoying but not a deal breaker.
I especially like the exploration of different cultural ideas and reactions with Katara; she grew up on a freaking ice-plain populated by less than five hundred people, the idea that she'd understand what drives Zuko, much less react like us to danger or an aggressor is absurd and this is the first fic I've seen that actually sits down and explores the differences in the way the main characters work because of their violently different upbringings.
Still it really remains to be seen how the author will treat Aang now that he's becoming a major player, if he actually shows some of that backbone he had in the show all well and good but if he just rolls over and proves Zuko 100% correct than it pretty much stops being Aang and becomes a cardboard cutout used to show how awesome and 'mature' Zuko is.
Long rant short: okay so far, interesting ideas, skirting Sueishness but could still be saved.
As for an actual recommendation:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3862054/1/Sokk...the_Black_Sword
Sokka centred story told in the first person, may turn people off but the world building in this is EPIC building on hints and shadows within the show to create something utterly awesome.
Pairings: Aaang/Katara, Zuko/Mai and Sokka/Toph
It seems to have stalled, if not died, but what's there is well worth a look.
So I'd say that the author of Embers has spent so much time writing this one story, building her own mythos, that she's lost perspective on the original source material.
I guess one thing I'll mention is, you notice how the author spends all this time taking about mystical dragon powers in the text, and then describes the water tribe's various actions with analogies to the anthropology of the Inuet?
I think that's the double standard going on here. She's thinking of Zuko+Iroh+OCs as "us" and the Gaang as "them," and even if she's trying to explain their behavior it really sounds more like justification.
Yeah, I think the problem is the author has picked sides.
I guess one thing I'll mention is, you notice how the author spends all this time taking about mystical dragon powers in the text, and then describes the water tribe's various actions with analogies to the anthropology of the Inuet?
I think that's the double standard going on here. She's thinking of Zuko+Iroh+OCs as "us" and the Gaang as "them," and even if she's trying to explain their behavior it really sounds more like justification.
Yeah, I think the problem is the author has picked sides.
Thats because most Fire Benders are in the Fire Lord's Armed forces.
All the way back in season one we have civilian fire benders in "The Deserter". There was a festival performer who used animated fire to amuse crowds for tips. He seemed like a nice guy.
The show doesn't say Fire Benders are chaotic evil. What it does show is that from Sozin to Azula the Fire Lord was simple put Evil and ordered their armed forces to do evil things. Those who obeyed evil or I guess it would be better to say illegal orders are guilty committing evil acts. So while its true most fire benders we see in the show were in uniform and acting as much like the Wehrmacht in France as one could get away with on Nickelodeon, they weren't ALL Chaotic Evil ether
All the way back in season one we have civilian fire benders in "The Deserter". There was a festival performer who used animated fire to amuse crowds for tips. He seemed like a nice guy.
The show doesn't say Fire Benders are chaotic evil. What it does show is that from Sozin to Azula the Fire Lord was simple put Evil and ordered their armed forces to do evil things. Those who obeyed evil or I guess it would be better to say illegal orders are guilty committing evil acts. So while its true most fire benders we see in the show were in uniform and acting as much like the Wehrmacht in France as one could get away with on Nickelodeon, they weren't ALL Chaotic Evil ether
crazyfoxdemon said:
drakensis said:
Taste?
When did I ever claim to have taste?
Besides, I warned you up front you wouldn't like it. What more can I reasonably do?
When did I ever claim to have taste?
Besides, I warned you up front you wouldn't like it. What more can I reasonably do?
If I only recommended fics that I was absolutely sure everyone would like, I'd never recommend anything.
I'll grant you it's less coherent than the other genderbent Zuko fic I like ( Behind the prince's armor ) but it also has a more differentiated Zuko rather than just changing the wedding tackle.
If any one here wants to discuss Embers I've started a thread over on Spacebattles forum here http://forums.spacebattles.com/showthread.php?t=159127
The addition of dual-bending characters (really, just one character, and that under extraordinary circumstances) didn't bother me at all, because it fits in the story. I mean, if bending comes from the Spirit World, and some elements in the Spirit World are proactive and interact with humanity, why would the Avatar be the only person in the world with more than one element in incredibly unusual times?
And I don't even mind Zuko doing lots of noble things, either-I'm just sick of hearing other characters say aloud or think to themselves - usually swearing by one of their various cultural deities - at how strange, sad, and marvelous it is everything Zuko has gone through.
And I don't even mind Zuko doing lots of noble things, either-I'm just sick of hearing other characters say aloud or think to themselves - usually swearing by one of their various cultural deities - at how strange, sad, and marvelous it is everything Zuko has gone through.
Umm, arent they doing it because it's you know, an emotional event? I actually like the way the invoke their deities, it feels far more natural than using our version of swear words.
Honestly though, my main thing about the story, and the thing that seems to go over a lot of peoples heads is that it's a story about perspectives. Its about different viewpoints and unreliable narrators, and about the fact that everyone looks at the world differently.
Honestly though, my main thing about the story, and the thing that seems to go over a lot of peoples heads is that it's a story about perspectives. Its about different viewpoints and unreliable narrators, and about the fact that everyone looks at the world differently.
Lost Star, you're quite right that their reactions make sense. The problem is, there really aren't many reactions good, reasonably objective people would have when hearing Zuko's story as told in Embers. Those reactions pretty much span the range of the reactions we've seen in the story.
As a reader, though, the difficulty is that those reactions seem to happen a lot. It's gotten repetitive. I'm not sure how it could be avoided, but it's irritating because it feels like I'm getting hit over the head with, "Ohhh *swoon* Zuko is so noble!"
And I don't really think the differing perspectives angle has gone over people's heads, Lost Star-that's pretty fundamental to the story after all.
As a reader, though, the difficulty is that those reactions seem to happen a lot. It's gotten repetitive. I'm not sure how it could be avoided, but it's irritating because it feels like I'm getting hit over the head with, "Ohhh *swoon* Zuko is so noble!"
And I don't really think the differing perspectives angle has gone over people's heads, Lost Star-that's pretty fundamental to the story after all.