Has Ozai ever partaken in the Gladiator league, or contemplated doing so? What kind of Gladiator would he pick if he decided to do so now? I feel as if his choice might change depending on when in the story this hypothetical would take place seeing as his observations of Sokka and his daughter might cause him to choose a non-bender if only for the novelty, whereas early fic Ozai would pick a strong Firebender. I know Ozai think all that stuff beneath him, but I'm still curious.
Well, he hasnāt contemplated it so far, but I contemplated it for him ages ago (?) His ideal gladiator wouldāve been Seethus, of course :ā) perfect partner for him.
I can answer this so promptly because I pondered, some time ago, featuring a single-day tournament, an event held once the Gladiator League reached its 10th anniversary (in-story). Itād have taken place in the Palaceās Agni Kai Arena, promoted by Ozai, who would have had a gladiator for a day just to partake in this celebration. Buuuut... while as a concept it sounded good, the logic of it never really clicked in my head. The plan was for Seethus to masquerade as a non-bending fighter, and for Sokka to defeat him in the final fight (leading to further nasty side-eyes from General Shaofeng at Azula). But I couldnāt really make it fit in the story without forcing it, it wasnāt really going to offer us anything important as far as characterization or plot went... it was, in the end, just a distracting possibility that wasnāt going to move the story along in any direction itās not already moving towards. So thatās one story arc idea thatās been removed from the ficās plotline altogether.
So... yeah. Curiously, your guess wasnāt that far from the idea I had back then, though Seethus isnāt really a non-bender but I still wanted him to pass as one xD And yeah, Iād imagine Ozai wouldnāt have thought twice about getting a superpowered firebender to tear everyone a new one if he were in the ranking since the story began. He probably would be sponsoring Combustion Man himself, if he cared to.
