The Konggodzuko Show

since yall liked it so much last time i brought back the zutara ballet au. eat up >:)

Painted spirit WIP 🌊🔥💃🏽👹

Aang didn't need to kill Ozai. Frankly, don't think it would have been earned, even if Aang didn't have an issue killing him. Aang vs Ozai didn't have any real weight behind it. It was the first time they'd even met, and neither of them had more than an abstract idea of who the other was. Sokka, Toph and Suki's battle was more emotionally fraught, because the crux was them getting each other through the ordeal alive. Zuko and Katara vs Azula was more emotionally heavy because Zuko was facing down his trauma, and then Katara was fighting to keep Zuko alive. The stakes of Aang's battle with Ozai were, ironically, the lowest, narratively, so Aang killing Ozai wouldn't feel like anything.

That said, Ozai should have died. Even without his bending, he is too dangerous to be left alive, which even those horrendous comics illustrate. My ideal ending is Ozai standing trial in front of a global tribunal and being executed for war crimes, but a Disney death would be a good dramatic end for him, too, though. Something ironic, like trying to blast Aang with a fire ball but accidentally dropping a boulder on his own head instead. The...ah...casket would be closed, of course.

In either case, Aang would still have to face the fact that the world is actively celebrating Ozai's death, and that there are very few who would agree that it would have been better to leave him alive. In the case of the trial, he would have been the only one campaigning for a life sentence for Ozai instead. I could see him going to Zuko and Iroh to intercede, only to be shocked by Zuko getting angry at him for suggesting it, and Iroh only giving him a disappointed sigh and a line or two of wisdom about "the needs of the many vs the needs of the few...or the one" (obviously a bit less plagiarizey).

goodbye chiikawa

cause on one hand, since zuko and katara's relationship never explicitly turns romantic, I think it spared their dynamic from the weird pitfalls that the writing suffered from when it came to the canon romances. and what we do get from the canon zk dynamic is a really compelling and cohesive narrative arc: enemies -> resentful co-captives -> empathizing co-captives -> ...mayyyybeee allies? -> ENEMIES 2.0 -> "Mr. Sorry For Betraying You" & "Ms. No Worries I'll Just Kill You Next Time :)" -> Southern Raiders "I fear only one person has ever understood me and I hate the guy" + "the guy" accomplices -> brief spy interlude -> Friends <3 -> synergetic teammates -> Co-Usurpers -> literally laid his life down for her