Team Korra!

Some character designs for the A:TLA/LoK Swap AU that’s been floating around in my head for awhile now! I’ve brainstormed a lot for both eras of this AU, and I may write fics for both of them someday (once I’m finished with The Avatar and the Fire Prince, of course lol). For now, I’ll give you all a breakdown of each character and their roles in each story.

For context, the order of elements is reversed in this AU, so the cycle of the Avatar is Air, Fire, Earth, Water.

THE KREW:

- Mako and Bolin: ages 14 and 12 respectively. Mako and Bolin grew up on Penquan Island, one of the few remaining Fire Islands that has not been colonized by the Earth Kingdom due to how isolated it is. Their parents Naoki, a Penquan native, and San, a former Earth Kingdom citizen who fled his home country due to his vocal opposition of the War, both died under mysterious circumstances when Mako and Bolin were very young, and since then, they have been raised by Hai Jun, a family friend. Mako, a talented firebender, is being primed to become Sheriff Panzo’s successor, while Bolin must hide his earthbending, as Panzo hates foreigners, especially people of Earth Kingdom descent. Mako is fiercely protective of Bolin and will do whatever he needs to keep his little brother safe.

- Asami Sato: age 14. The daughter of Governor Hiroshi Sato of Natsuo Island, one of the first Fire Islands to be colonized by the Earth Kingdom over a century ago due to its close proximity to the Earth Kingdom mainland and its rich ore. Asami and her father are both of mixed Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation descent, though Hiroshi is loyal to Earth Queen Hou Ting. Hiroshi is also strongly prejudiced against benders due to a firebender breaking into their mansion and killing his wife Yasuko when Asami was young; all benders on the island are prohibited from using their bending for anything other than work in the factories. If anyone is caught bending outside of this context, they can be fined or even jailed. Asami, a kind but somewhat timid and anxious girl, is very lonely, as her father is overly protective of her and her social status alienates her from the other islanders her age. She dreams of a different life, and longs to leave Natsuo Island to explore the world, though she knows her father would never allow it.

- Avatar Korra: age 113 (biologically 13). Korra grew up as the daughter of Chief Tonraq and his wife Senna of the thriving city of Wolf Cove in the Southern Water Tribe. Having already mastered waterbending at age 13, Korra soon discovered she was the Avatar after accidentally firebending for the first time. Korra was excited to travel the world to begin her bending training, but her parents forbade her from leaving Wolf Cove due to rumors of a war brewing. After a heated argument, Korra decided to run away to the Southern Air Temple to start her Avatar training on her own, but got caught in a storm on her sailboat on the way there, and the Avatar State froze both her and Naga in an iceberg. While she was frozen, the Earth Kingdom started the War and massacred the Southern Water Tribe, while the Northern Water Tribe was reduced to a few scattered villages. A century later, Korra’s iceberg drifts far enough north into the Mo Ce Sea that it begins to melt, eventually breaking and releasing a beam of light into the sky that Asami can see from her window, and the following morning, she finds Korra washed up on the shore of Natsuo Island. The Avatar preceding Korra was Earth Avatar Pavi, who failed to prevent her own nation from starting the War, and because of this, the people of the other three nations tend to view the Avatar in a negative light.

- Opal: age 12. Opal is the adopted daughter of Monk Tenzin and his wife Pema, and older sister to Jinora (age 7) and Ikki (age 2). She resides with her family at the Southern Air Temple. While the temple is still populated mostly by males, it is welcoming to people of all genders, especially now that the Air Nomads have been forced to become much less nomadic for their own safety, as they are often attacked by the Earth Kingdom military while traveling. Opal’s real mother is Suyin Beifong, an old friend of Tenzin’s from the Earth Kingdom who secretly opposes the War, and her father was a nonbender Earth Kingdom military general named Baatar who was killed in battle shortly before Opal was born. Suyin currently resides in Gaoling with her sister Lin and her other children, Baatar Jr., Huan, Wei, and Wing. When it was found out that Opal had been mysteriously born with airbending abilities, for her own safety, Suyin decided that it would be best for her to be raised at the Southern Air Temple, and she requested that Tenzin not tell her about her true parentage. Opal is an extremely gifted airbender, but Tenzin is reluctant to let her get her tattoos yet despite her having mastered all tiers.

- Earth Prince Wu: age 15. Wu was banished by his great aunt, Earth Queen Hou Ting, two years ago and sent on a seemingly fruitless quest to find and capture the long-lost Water Tribe Avatar, who has eluded the Earth Kingdom military for nearly a century. Wu is accompanied by the timid former Grand Secretariat Gun, who secretly cares for the Earth Prince and wants to keep him safe. Deep down, Wu is a kind, gentle, animal-loving dork, but due to being raised by the abusive Hou Ting, he often tries to force himself to emulate his cruel and merciless Auntie (to varying degrees of success). Despite this, his dorky moments still shine through occasionally, especially when he lets his guard down. Neither Wu nor Queen Hou Ting are benders; instead, he utilizes dual broadswords as his weapons. His scars are from his Auntie, who scratched him with the talon-like gold accessories that she wears on her fingers when she struck him for speaking out of turn during a war meeting with the Council of Five. Despite Wu being Hou Ting’s only heir, she despises him and perceives him as weak, and has plans to make General Kuvira—leader of the Council of Five—her new heir.

THE GAANG:

- Sokka and Katara: ages 21 and 20 respectively. Sokka and Katara are natives of Republic City, the capital of the United Nations established by Avatar Korra and Earth King Wu following the end of the Hundred Year War, located on Natsuo Island. They are descendants of some of the few remaining Water Tribespeople that lived in the scattered villages in the North Pole. Their mother was killed by a firebender in a mugging incident when they were both young, and the siblings still live with their father Hakoda, who works at a local factory. They are a tight-knit family, but they are also low income and live in the poorer part of the city. Sokka, a nonbender, works as an a mechanic and inventor in a small shop run by the Mechanist Sai and his son Teo (age 19). Katara works as a waitress during the day, but in the evenings, she fights in pro-bending matches to make extra money for her family. Hakoda disapproves of this, but knows he can’t change his headstrong daughter’s mind. Waterbenders are still somewhat rare after the end of the War compared to other benders, but not nearly as rare as they once were during Korra’s youth.

- Zuko: age 22. Zuko is the son of Fire Lord Ozai, though this is not something he likes to make widely known. After 18 years of living in an abusive household with his sister Azula (age 20) and father, who burned him as a punishment for speaking out of turn at age 13, Zuko decided to leave Hari Bulkan to attend Republic City University. He has been slowly working towards an international business degree due to family expectation, but secretly wishes he could pursue an art degree instead, as he has no interest in ruling the Fire Nation someday. He lives with his uncle Iroh—who abdicated the throne many years ago—in a small apartment above his uncle’s tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon, and also works at the shop part-time when not attending classes. Zuko is quite reserved and appears rather standoffish and irritable on the surface, but once he opens up to those he trusts, he reveals his softer, kinder side. He is fiercely loyal towards his friends and loved ones and isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right when needed, though he still struggles to stand up to his family.

- Avatar Aang: age 18. An outgoing, kind, and charismatic young man who tries to see the good in everyone he meets, Avatar Aang was born and raised at the Southern Air Temple, which is now populated by Air Nomads of all genders along with the other three temples. He first discovered he was the Avatar at age 12, and has now mastered all elements except water. Having been forbidden from leaving to train in the other nations by Abbess Jinora per Avatar Korra’s final wishes, Aang longs to see the world, and makes the decision to sneak away on Appa to fly to Republic City in search of a waterbending master. After arriving in Republic City, he moves to Water Tribe Island, where both Asami and Asami and Korra’s adopted daughter, Yasuko, live. Yasuko is a prolific waterbender of Northern descent who represents the Water Tribes on the city council. She has a personality quite similar to Korra's, and is married to a mild-mannered man from the Foggy Swamp Tribe named Vuong; they have three young waterbender children. Yasuko becomes Aang's waterbending teacher, and they often clash due to Yasuko's strictness and Aang's easygoing attitude.

- Toph Beifong: age 18. Toph is the granddaughter of Baatar Jr. Beifong, who invented the Beifongmobile and founded the company Earthen Fire Industries. She is Katara’s earthbending teammate on her pro-bending team, and the two butt heads often, but are close friends and both hold a great deal of trust and respect for each other. Toph’s wealthy father Lao, the current leader of Earthen Fire Industries, is overly protective of her due to her blindness, and because of this she keeps her pro-bending a secret from him. In the ring, she covers her face and goes by the name “The Blind Bandit” so that her father will not hear her name on the radio. Toph also recently began attending Republic City University, though she does not put effort into her coursework, as she is only there because her father is forcing her to go. This is where she met Zuko, who she is close friends with and visits regularly at The Jasmine Dragon, sometimes with Sokka and Katara.

Big brother Mako’s got it covered!