"Roku, can I hunt you down in our next life?"

(OAitW AU for short)

Here are my answers to your questions! If you have more, just ask, I'll be delighted to answer!

★Unlike the canon timeline, Aang is conceived sometime before Roku's eightieth birthday, so he's now only about two years older than Azulon.

And yes, just like Yue in canon timeline, Aang is stillborn. Perhaps the universe senses the imbalance wrought on by Roku's miraculous survival and tries to correct its mishap in this cruel way—a warning, a punishment.

However, it doesn't last long.

Yet, unlike Yue's parents, the Air Nomads don't have two Great Spirits turned koi fish swimming in a pond to grant a new life.

Despite that, one has to remember that Air Nomads are highly spiritual people and every(?) child born to them is an Air Bender.

Perhaps Aang's parents pray really hard—or at least enough—that some Great Spirit of the winds answered their pleas with a miracle.

Perhaps Raava finds a way to help the boy that could've been (should've been) hers, pushing a spark of her Light into his all too-still chest, to restart his heart.

There are many possibilities and many unanswered questions.

Roku once catches Wan—the jovial swindler full of kindness and snide remarks—stand over Aang's sleeping body in his glowy spirit form. His eyes are wide and ablaze with such violent hatred, it makes Roku's blood freeze in his veins.

For one reason or another, Wan wants Aang dead.

★I've already mentioned that during Gyatso's travel to the Ember Island, he had to settle down and sleep inside inns for the night—he had coin to pay, so it was alright.

Keep in mind, Sozin had been keeping an eye on Gyatso the moment he set a foot inside his country.

He is well-aware he [Gyatso] used to be a part of Rokrew and was one of Roku's closest friends, as well as Ta Min's pen pal(?).

He suspects Gyatso was in the Fire Nation to inform Ta Min that the Air Nomads finally found their Avatar.

Maybe he [Sozin] hopes that Gyatso carried some form of a letter or a document that could determine from which Temple the child hailed from.

But what his spies bring him instead was... to put it simply... so much better.

(I tried to be a little bit vague-ish, to keep some semblance of mystery.)

★I think that before I can attempt to answer this monster of a question, I have to make a very important point—which is more likely one person's opinion—still:

I don't think Ozai believed in Sozin's imperialistic ideology with his whole heart and mind (unlike Sozin, Azulon and Ozai's children) and simply used his grandfather's propaganda to further solidify his own power and claim to the throne. Ozai used imperialism as a tool to further his own success. I'm sure he was taught to believe in the Fire Nation's eternal reign, considering he was raised in such a system, but that belief was eclipsed by his lust for power, glory and control. And his own image, of course.

Which also leads to another very important distinction between Sozin and Ozai that I believe is very important for this AU:

Sozin, unlike Ozai, isn't wasteful when it comes to the Great Comet's firepower.

In canon timeline, Sozin planned for his grand moment for twelve years—mapping out the battlefields (the Temples) and their exact locations, learning as much as he could about the enemy (Air Nomads) and their culture, so he knew how and when to strike. He studied the Great Comet, the records lf its last appearences, the effects of its power.

Sozin wasn't wasteful when he comitted the genocide. He knew exactly what he was doing, targeting the Temples as he did.

Ozai on the other hand? He wanted to feel the power, the ecstasy of being in total comtrol as he rained pointless terror all over the Earth Kingdom, showing off to his enemies just how powerful he was.

His invasion was a pointless excercise of violence and I don't think (again, simply my own opinion) that it was planned very well.

He wasted the Comet's power to burn it all to the ground when he could focus on destroying the most significant places (from cultural and military standpoint), like Ba Sing Se or Omashu, instead.

Sorry for the rant. Ehm.

As I've already said in my last ask's final point, Roku received a letter with Imperial seal stamped upon it.

The context of this letter will be kept a mystery for know, but I can at least tell you that Roku was incredibly unhappy after reading it.

Roku and Sozin reunite after twelve long years during the night of the Comet.

Sozin, mounted on his blue dragon (whom I like to call Talon, 'cause it's a cute headcanon, I saw others do it too), arrived with a small army of firebenders backing him up, some of them riding dragons too, ready to retrieve their "abducted" Avatar to the safety of the Fire Nation.

Roku finds out only a little bit too late that Sozin's "attack" on the Southern Air Temple was only a distraction, serving for a grander purpouse.

The Air Nomads may have survived that night, for ever changing the course of history, but another nation paid the price.

★For this AU specifically, I have a headcanon thay Azulon's mother died in childbirth—which sort of leads to the popular headcanon for the canon timeline where Fire Lady Ilah died giving birth to Ozai, and that's why Azulon resents him so.

Due to the intense focus on development of the military, science; industrial revolution in A:TLA world, the drill, the air balloons and air ships ect. I believe that some branches like medicin and healthcare were pushed aside in favour of growing a stronger army.

So, at that time, it was rather common—even amongst nobility and royalty—for women to die after intense labour, especially if they weren't given proper medical assistence.

Anyway.

I believe that since the Fire Nation is heavily based on Imperial Japan, and also borrows influences of the likes of China and Korea(?), I can safely place here the headcanon of imperial harem within the royal family, so yeah: Sozin has concubines and consorts, and with few of them managed to produce some children throughout his life—Azulon is the youngest, and the only child he had with his Fire Lady.

(Two concubines and one consort had the misfortune to die in childbed as well.)

Which, is somewhat a stroke of luck, conskdering Roku will be crowned Fire Lady by the Fire Sages shortly after their wedding ceremony.

Sozin would've loathed to arrange an accident for his previous wife; her clan is very influential, so he couldn't have demoted her to a concubine.

Her death in childbed was a mercy in his eyes.

The hierarchy of the harem itself remains largely unchanged, and the alliances with the more powerful clans still hold—these concubines and consorts were naturally selected more for their name and its power/influence wituin the country rather than physical beauty—so the delicate structure hasn't been largely damaged.

However, the concubines and consorts themselves are displeased by this new union, which just happend to be with THE Avatar, nontheless—who, by the way, everyone thought was dead until now.

They fear they're starting to lose Sozin's favour and whatever affection he'd held for them (which is true, he has declined to share their company for some time now.) They know they are being replaced and they don't like it.

However, they believe that they can gain favour of someone far more powerful if they just try hard enough.

Just how hard can it be, hm? Seducing the Avatar.

★Yeah, Roku's family are incredibly unhappy with the news—Oooh, Ta Min is positively furious—but they know that as long as Sozin has Roku in his clutches, there's nothing they can do alone.

Well, Ta Min thinks, now's the best time to catch up with some old friends.

Again, sorry for my grammar and spelling mistakes, I originally wrote this at 2 AM and fell asleep, only sending it just about now. :<

𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖: Avatar: The Last Airbender

𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝙰𝚄 𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜: Roku survives the volcano and makes it the world's problem AU

𝙰𝚄 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜:

(In general) A:TLA canon typical violence, Torture, Deprivation of basic needs, Implied/Referenced child abuse, Xenophobia, War propaganda, Imperialism, World Conquest, War Crimes ect.

(most of these tags will become more relevant in further asks, this is just generalisation of what's going on in this AU)

(For RoZin) Arranged marriage, Captivity, Dubious consent (not—but can, if desired—to be taken in sexual context), Imprisonment—but like—house arrest sort of way, Obsessive and possessive behaviour, Sozin being at his WORST 24/7, Evil Sozin (which is basically canon post!Genocide Sozin), Sozin is his own warning ect.

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: Air Nomad Genocide doesn't happen (but at what cost?), Surviving Air Nomads, Gyatso lives, Fang is this AUs' MVP, Fang is a Good Boy, Fang is the Best Boy, idc I love Fang ♡

★Instead of curling around Roku and accepting their joined demise, Fang, with last vestiges of his draconic strength, picks unconscious Roku up into his maw and tries to make a haste escape from the melting island.

However, during their attempt, Fang and Roku (mainly Roku) are terribly injured by the magma eruption, the toxic gases and flying debris.

Roku suffers three-degree burns all over his body.

The left side of his face resembles Zuko's, but the damage is worse; he actually lost his left ear and eye, and part of his nose, his left shoulder down to his forearm is a scarred mess of red-and-pink blotches, too tender and swollen to touch, most of his back a reddened heap of flesh with torn patches of skin here and there, going as far as his hipbones.

Roku also sprained his ankle on his right foot and due to his innitial inhalation of the toxic fumes suffers hallucinations and his ability to speak is largely compromised, as is his breathing—his windpipes are clogged.

The flying debris pierces the thin and tender membrane of Fang's right wing, which hinders his ability to fly to great extent—shortens the distance of possible travel that he should've been capable of otherwise.

The pouring magma also managed to land a devastating blow around the area of his hind legs and tail—Fang loses two claws on his left hind leg and receives tereible scarring around his lower belly.

Despite the immense pain both he and Roku are undergoing, Fang manages to push himself to his maximum limit and travels all the way to the Southern Air Temple, before dropping out of exhaustion.

★Roku and Fang are first discovered by children playing Air Ball, and immediately tell Gyatso and other members of the Elders' Council upon watching the massive red dragon fall like a meteorite from the sky.

They are immediately taken in and tended to, both the dragon and his rider in near-death state. Their wounds are slowly patched and treated with herbal ointments and healing balms from the Watter Tribes and bandages bought from the Earth Kingdom.

Gyatso stays by his best friend's side for the entirity of the first few days, sleeping by his bedside, keeping the unconscious man company.

It is only two weeks after their surprise arrival that the Southern Air Temple receives the news of the Avatars passing, a mournful letter from Fire Lord Sozin himself.

★The Elders' Council have no knowledge of Sozin's ploy, but Gyatso is no fool; he knows all too well that he is dangerous (but the sheer scope escapes him still) and so he pleads with the council to halt the news of the Avatar's survival, at least until he's better, physically and emotionally.

The Elders' Council agrees, reluctantly, but it's a yes.

They only exchange few cryptic letters with the other Councils from their sister and brother Temples, informing their respective Elders that the Avatar yet lives on.

For how long, it is hard to say.

★It took a better part of the year till' Roku and Fang were in their (somewhat) tip-top conditions, although most of their injuries were too deep to properly heal; Roku's face and Fang's tail and lower belly.

Roku's ability to firebend is also severly damaged by the PTSD he suffers due to the volcano injuries and his lack of breath control due to his permanently damaged lungs (something similiar to Korra, haven't figured this bit out yet).

He has nightmares about the volcano (and Sozin), and has hard time staying near open flames, gets flashbacks otherwise.

(This is rooted in his book!canon childhood phobia of water after his twin brother drowns in a lake, but wanted to explore this with his native element.)

This, however, eases him into more casual usage of waterbending which becomes his 2nd most comfort element after air; with his thorough studying of various waterbending forms through scrolls he finds in the Temple's library, Roku unlocks the ability to heal after one of the monk injured himself whilst cooking.

★Year after Roku's and Fang's arrival, Roku tries to persuade the Council (especially Gyatso) to allow him to fly into the Fire Nation and search for his family; to tell them he's alive and well and that he's safe.

Gyatso argues that the Fire Nation isn't what it used to be and that if Sozin managed to get a a whisper of a rumour that Roku's demise might not have been as permanent as he hoped for, he'll be gunning for Roku's head. And Ta Min's and Rina's.

They'll be in danger because of him. Besides, Sozin keeps a tab on Ta Min after he mysterious disappearence from the inner court and Sozin's service.

There's nothing Roku can do, but Gyatso promises him that during the next pilgrimage to the Fire Nation, he'll ask for her and tell her the wonderful news.

Roku can only nod and hope.

★There aren't many joys left in this lifetime.

Gyatso—his company, his friendship, his laughter, his jests, his bitter tea, his rigged pai sho games and his pranks—being one of them.

Fang—his warmth, the certainty of his being, the tug of his will against Roku's, his broad scaly back and the beat of his wings as they sail through the sky—being the other.

The children are sweet, witty and laughing as they play and chase after one another through the courtyard.

The monks are stern, but not unkind, and they offer comfort and hospitality as freely as the grass blades bend beneath gentle breeze.

But worry gnaws on Roku's mind. He remembers Sozin's words (they haunt his nightmares as well as his waking thoughts).

"Without you all my plans are suddenly possible."

The look on Sozin's face. The gleam in his eye. The way shadows danced around his form, creating a shade of something diabolical.

Without anyone—even Gyatso—knowing, Roku keeps a tab on the happenings from within his homeland. Categorizes every rumour, cataloges every clip of news that traveled into the outer world.

Militarization.

Trading pacts are ignored, resources taken without the other nation's consent.

Expansion of the Earth Kingdom Colonies proceed with more ferocity than anyone has ever seen.

Borders are closing off.

Treaties are being broken.

War, brewing in the horizon like the oncoming storm.

Roku warns the Elders' Council who take in his words with small suspicion.

For now, it is enough.

★The next pilgrimage into the Fire Nation happens four years after the volcano, but the Fire Nation's population, or most of it anyway, is already warry and distrustful of the Air Nomads, or any non-Fire Nation folk in general.

They are cold, inhospitable, judgemntal and generally unpleasant to be around.

This doesn't deter Gyatso as he searches for Ta Min and her family, asking familiar faces for directions and their whereabouts.

Most of the time, he's met with cold shoulder or a sneer, but some are quite helpful and show him the way; the Ember Island, a vacation home of the Avatar's family, now a shelter for his last remaining relatives.

After three days of traveling—he stops to dine and sleep in couple of inns—Gyatso finds her, and it's a sweet reunion.

Ta Min looks older, still as beautiful as ever, certainly, but there's a veil of sadness shrouding her person that makes her fire feel... contained. Small. Barely a spark.

Her grey eyes no longer burn with wild light of mirth and life, her smiles no longer bring Gyatso the soothing comfort they once did. Even her hands are cold and stiff.

The letters change everything.

Five of them (five? No. There were six in his baglast time Gyatso has checkd.), all personally handwritten by Roku's shaky hand, the paper faintly smelling of ash and his cologne. The characters are wobbly, but if one looks closer, one can immediately recognizes the particular shape of line and flick of a wrist.

By the end of his visit, Ta Min looks just as radiant and as happy as the day of hers and Roku's wedding.

She writes couple of letters herself and makes Gyatso swear to deliver them to Roku without delay.

Gyatso laughs, but his eyes are solemn as he swears on his honour.

★For the next couple of years, Ta Min and Roku keep on exchanging coded letters mostly via Ta Min's Fire Hawks, but they also continue to use Mr. Monk Gyatso's Flying Post™ if he happens to be free.

The letters are delivered right on time and without much delay, complete and perfect, usually bearing gifts (flowers, trinkets, small sea shells ect.) as a token.

Roku keeps them neatly stacked and hidden in a small wooden box, a gift for his 80. birthday from Gyatso, smelling faintly of lavender and fire flakes.

Sometimes, the letters are delayed by large margin (weeks, even months).

The weather is oftentimes harsh and uncompromising during winter, especially since the Southern Air Temple is this close to the South Pole.

The storms are great and terrible and the air is cold and terrible for flight and warm-blooded creatures like Fire Hawks.

...However. Few letters that do arrive are... odd.

Not quite right.

The text is too plain, the strokes behind some characters nearly mechanical, as if the life behind those intimate words has been sapped away by the frost and rain.

The paper is too thin, too cheap. Even the scent of it is off. A whiff of dying embers and office hands.

There are no charms. No charms at all. The letters are hollow and void of any emotion.

Roku doesn't understand.

Neither does Gyatso.

Letters from Ta Min stop arriving alltogether few months after Gyatso injures himself whilst playing Airball with his students.

The next letter that arrives shortly after Roku's 81. birthday bears the red-and-gold seal of the Imperial family.

I had to write this idea in this fanfiction-y form because otherwise I'd be lost and my thoughts would be jumbled asf.

So sorry about that. (and my shit that is my grammar)

ANYWAY.

This AU has been stewing in by brain for over a month now and I wanted to tell you so baaad, aaah!!!

(I... sort of wanted to write some Rozin smut at the end, but found it inappropriate. Ughhh, I'm no better than that homewrecking asshole. :( )

I hope you like it.

And I also hope you have maaaany questions :3

I'll answer all of them if I can.

(⁠づ⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠づ

I love that you gave Roku a scar to parallel Zuko because Zuko is basically what Rozin would be like if they had a son (at least physically)

Old Sozin + Old Roku = Old Zuko, the math is mathing

YES Fang and Gyatso are the best. We need more appreciation especially for Fang he's a beautiful giant fire-breathing lizard 🦎

😲 I have so many questions

Like, Roku didn't reincarnate as Aang, but... Aang's mother would be pregnant anyway in this AU. So like Aang was born without being the Avatar and is just a normal kid, or he was born like Yue... you know... dead?

Second, 6th letter. I know you'll probably clarify this later but man 😫 the possibilities. Either someone stole it from the Fire Nation or the Air Temple, which is interesting since one of the card games confirms that there were nomads willing to betray their own for the Fire Nation.

I'm curious about the genocide issue because yeah, they're not going to hunt the Avatar among the Air Nomads, but Ozai tried to burn the Earth Kingdom because... he wanted, so I don't know. Maybe Roku is so op even when wounded and manages to stop him, made a deal with him marriage or Gyatso managed to convince the other nations to adopt the technique of "if you attack one of us, all the nations will fight back"

I will always question whether Sozin has children or a wife because if he does have a wife, and that's where Azulon came from, then imagine her seeing her husband bring the avatar home and saying, "This is my new husband, but he is not yours, ONLY mine". And if he doesn't have a wife, then the fire sages are watching the elderly, childless firelord marry a man who is already married, and they're just left 🫪

Oh my God, the Roku family is going to be in chaos when they find out that Roku was forced to marry Sozin. Because, like, what are they going to do??? Who's going to believe that the Firelord decided to marry someone who he hasn't spoken to in DECADES???? And THE avatar, really???