Zuko Application: WIP

PLAYER

Name: Darkfeather
Livejournal/Dreamwidth Username: darkfeather
E-mail: blackpidgeot@yahoo.com
AIM/Plurk: AIM: Tails Prower 10, Plurk: BlackPidgeot
Current Characters at Luceti: B'Elanna Torres snapturtle
CHARACTER

Name:Zuko
Canon: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Wing Color: Red with black tips.

Canon Point: After "The Search Part Three"
Canon Point Explanation: This is the most recent point available aside from The Legend of Korra where he's like 80 something and he's not even seen.
History: Avatar Wiki

Personality:

At first glance, Zuko comes across as a very serious, down to earth, maybe even grumpy sort of individual. As Fire Lord, he loves his nation and is highly devoted to his people. Perhaps his biggest priority is restoring the honor of the Fire Nation after 100 years of war in his world, and helping the Avatar keep balance between all the nations. Honor is something he takes very seriously, whether its his own or that of his country. He is fiercely loyal to this cause since he has witnessed first hand what his country did to the world. He once told his father that banishment was the best thing he'd ever done for him. It was because of this that Zuko was able to find himself and his true path.

Despite the lessons he had learned, they did not come easy. He has always had to fight and struggle for what he has. As opposed to his sister, Azula, who had everything handed to her. As his father once said, Azula was born lucky, while Zuko was lucky to be born. For years, particularly after his banishment, Zuko wanted nothing more than to have his father's approval and love. Ozai's animosity towards Zuko started at his birth and continued through out most of his life. That animosity peaked when Zuko was challenged by his father to an Agni Kai duel that left him permanently scarred and resulted in his exile and stripped of his birthright. Not only were the scars outwardly, on his face, but inwardly as well. He was hot headed and obsessed with restoring his honor, which meant capturing the Avatar and bringing him back to Ozai. He's driven, but has a lack of foresight that's gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion. Such as when he did manage to capture Aang but dragged him into a blizzard where he surely would have frozen to death if not rescued by the Avatar and his friends.

After being branded a traitor, Zuko was forced to live the life of a penniless wanderer in the Earth Kingdom. An experience that was very humbling for him. At first he resorted to stealing, even from those that were kind to him, but over time he began to change his ways, becoming more compassionate and kind. Despite this, Zuko was constantly conflicted and had a hard time choosing between what was right and wrong. Between what he thought he wanted, and what his destiny was calling him to do. This led to the betrayal of his Uncle Iroh, something he would end up deeply regretting. He eventually came to realize that his uncle had been more of a father to him than his own true father. Through his uncle's wisdom, and learning the tale of his two great grandfathers, Zuko eventually came to learn what his destiny was. And this called for betraying his nation in order to save it, and joining the Avatar.

Tempered by the flames of experience and hard life lessons, Zuko changed from an angry and ruthless youth, to an idealistic and honorable young man. His time with Aang and his friends helped Zuko to find peace and a new direction in his life. Whereas once his firebending was fueled by rage, he came to learn that fire came from life and energy, as shown to him by the dragons Ran and Shaw. Through hard work and sacrifice, Zuko has come a long way from the bitter person he once was, to the noble Fire Lord he is now.

Family has always been very important to Zuko. He was very close to his mother when he was younger, and has also shown great determination in finding her. In fact his first major act as Fire Lord was to send out search parties for her. On more than one occasion he demanded that Ozai tell him where she was, but with no success. However, with the help of his friends and his sister, he was reunited with her and discovered more about his own past. He is also very close to his Uncle Iroh, who played a more fatherly role in his life than Ozai. Often times Zuko ignored and resented Iroh's sagely advice, except when it suited him, but eventually came to respect it. Even when obsessed with finding the Avatar, Zuko put his uncle's safety first as he once turned away from chasing Aang to instead rescue him. Even after betraying his uncle, Zuko sought out his advice repeatedly and eventually tearfully apologized to him. His relationship with his father has always been complicated, even though his family was happy once when he was a child. Zuko cared deeply about what his father thought about him, and wanted his affection, but eventually realized he would never have it. He even cared about his ruthless sister, despite the two becoming bitter enemies. When Azula appeared to be falling to her death, Zuko expressed regret, which faded when Azula managed to save herself. However, Zuko knows that his sister and father pretty much equate to the worst family ever, and he didn't hesitate in doing his part to bring them down. Still, they are his family and after being inspired during a visit to the Earth Kingdom, he came to realize that his relationship with his family was important to the success of his leadership over the Fire Nation.

Matching his firebending skills, Zuko also has a flaming temper. Despite being far more composed than he use to be, this is a trait that will likely never go away. He has a short fuse, especially when under pressure and frustrated. However, he is determined to never let anger and rage drive his existence anymore. He is also appropriately stubborn and tenacious, something well seen when pursuing the Avatar. He still has these traits as well, but they have been redirected in more constructive and positive ways for the most part. However, Zuko also remains a very conflicted person. Thanks to his upbringing and his heritage, he constantly wars with himself on doing the right thing. Even after becoming Fire Lord, he was deeply troubled about how to handle the matter of the colonies that held citizens of both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. He chose to defend the colonies, even as the Earth Kingdom tried to push them out. A decision that was staunchly fought against, even by his friends, but turned out to be the right one in the end. His worries stemming not from his inability to lead, but his fear of becoming like his father. His sense of morality having come from the very beginning which was attributed to weakness by Ozai and still is by some members of the Fire Nation.

Zuko is not the most socially adept person. When joining Aang and his group, his interactions with them were awkward at first, especially considering that he was once their enemy. This awkwardness revealed a more comical side to his personality, although he's pretty bad at telling jokes and impersonations. However, his loyalty and sincerity won the trust of his friends. His other significant relationship is with Mai, one of Azula's former friends, who had always had a crush on him. Zuko most certainly had feelings for her, but their relationship was often a rocky one as they broke up twice, but came back together. However, Mai again recently decided to leave him after Zuko kept certain secrets from her. He ended up confessing his love for her, but this did not stop her, leaving him heartbroken and alone once more.

Strengths

Physical: Zuko is a master firebender, which means he can essentially make fire and heat. His abilities ranging from creating small fire daggers, to large bursts of flame, and even creating a wall of fire to protect himself. The majority of his firebending was learned from his Uncle Iroh, especially his Fire Breath and the ability to redirect lightning. The later being especially difficult and capable of killing him if not done properly. His skill has been proven several times, such as the defeat of General Zhao in an Agni Kai, and against his own sister and father, all of whom are highly skilled firebenders. As well as countless Fire Nations soldiers, etc, even able to take out multiple foes at one time. Later, after losing his ability to firebend due to his lack of rage, he learned even more techniques from the Sun Warriors and the dragons Ran and Shaw, which also helped expand his understanding of firebending. He is also skilled in the use of swordmanship with double dao blades, with which he was able to hold his own against several Fire Nation soldiers order to rescue the Avatar. As well as against some Earth Kingdom thugs, having learned from one of the best swordsman in the Fire Nation. He typically only uses the swords when he can't bend or needs to disguise himself. He even has some experience with knives. He is also strong, agile, and capable of great physical feats from breaking chain with a single kick to running across walls and even swimming in freezing water while holding his breath for long periods. Also skilled in unarmed combat, he can deflect projectiles, disarm, subdue, and defeat opponents, such as he did with several Earth Kingdom soldiers rapidly and efficiently. He is also very capable in stealth and infiltration as he can sneak into a heavily guarded fortress without being noticed for some time, as he did when disguised as the Blue Spirit. Finally, he is talented with the Tsungi Horn, but often refuses to play.

Mental: Zuko is very clever and intelligent, not to mention resourceful. For instance he was able to fool a celestial calander by reflecting the sun off his dao swords. As Fire Lord he has also demonstrated his abilities in stragtegy, leadership, and organization. This shown as he led the Fire Nation's army to Yu Dao. He also seems to be capable of charisma through inspirational speeches he has made to his own people. His drive and determination make him capable of great accomplishments. He is exceptionally focused on whatever he puts his mind to, and will see it through to the end. Without this, he never would have been capable of regaining the throne and leading his country into a new era of peace. He is courageous and noble to the point he will put himself in harms way to save someone else, as seen when he redirected lightning from hitting Katara, nearly killing himself in the process.

Emotional: Zuko is a very emotionally charged teenager and his feelings often drive him. For instance, his rage use to fuel his firebending until it subsided after joining Aang. He has a great deal of determination and often will not give up when he sets his mind to something. His pursuit of the Avatar is the biggest example of this. He also has a strong sense of loyalty to those he cares for and particularly his nation. These days he strives to do the right thing and as he matures, he continues to grow and is becoming more at peace with himself. No longer bound by what his father thinks of him he has found greater contentment and is more comfortable in his own skin. Deep down he has always been very kind and had a strong since of morals. Though this was mostly hidden by anger and bitterness after his banishment, but now he expresses it more freely. He strives for justice and peace and thus is doing his part in restoring harmony to the world. Even against his enemies he will show mercy, such as he did with Zhao and his own sister despite their cruelty toward him.

Weaknesses

Physical: Like all other firebenders, Zuko's power relies heavily on the sun. While he's stronger during the day, at night his bending is weaker. Or during an eclipse, he is unable to bend at all. While he is a master, he was never blessed with the talent his sister has. In fact, when he was born, no one was sure that he was even a bender at all because he lacked the spark in his eyes that firebenders typically have. This was what started his father's rejection. Even though he was found to be a bender, as he grew up, he was obviously not nearly as good as Azula. It wasn't until his uncle started teaching him in his teens that he started to improve. He had to work hard at it instead of being naturally gifted, and was thus essentially a late bloomer. Even though he has improved significantly he will easily admit that he's still not as good as his sister. In fact, he has never shown the ability to generate lightning. When he tried to learn Zuko lacked the peace of mind and his attempts would backfire. Even though he's since gained the peace of mind he needs, and could possibly learn, he hasn't.

Mental: While intelligent he is impulsive, reckless, and sometimes lacking a bit in common sense and foresight. All of which he has been trying to improve upon with some varying degrees of success. He is still very young and as such is still lacking in some maturity, though he has come a long way. He still doubts himself and struggles with doing the right thing and trying to determine what is right. His stubborn nature has also gotten him in trouble and he prefers to keep things to himself, even when he needs help the most. Insisting that he doesn't need the help, even though he desperately does. And thus this has led him to make some rather poor choices, such as going to his father for advice and then keeping it from his girlfriend. He is quite prideful and sometimes it takes a bit of humbling to make him realize what he really needs. Having grown up in a royal family that was highly dysfunctional, he's a bit selfish and socially awkward. In fact his own selfishness often conflicts with his desire to do what's good for others, even when it comes to those closest to him. He's also kinda bad at making jokes, like when he could only remember the punchline for one of his uncles tea jokes. He's also not all that exceptional at giving advice or passing on wisdom as shown through his "silver sandwich" metaphor, and ends up just sounding comical.

Emotional: His past has left him with deep mental and emotional scars that still plague him to this day. At one point his emotional struggles were so great that it left him physically ill for several days. Despite the fact that he seems confident, he does struggle with feelings of self worth. Even though he's come to control his feelings of anger for the most part, there are still times where he lashes out. Recent examples being where several attempts had been made on his life. When under stress, anger is usually his way of dealing with it. His temper can be rather explosive, resulting in yelling and insults. Zuko also tends to let things get to him too easily sometimes, and will take failures rather hard. Often times blaming himself and taking particular burdens on his own shoulders. He's very conflicted, and when not in control, will wear his emotions on his sleeve. Moments of content and happiness are somewhat rare for him as he is constantly under pressure. Especially now that he's Fire Lord and often doesn't get the chance to just be a teenager. He's lonely, and really he's mostly the cause for that as he tends to push people away rather than let them get close. As with many teenagers he is also capable of great angst and drama and makes things harder for himself than they need to be.

Anything else?: Nope

SAMPLES

First Person: Q&A please!

Third Person:

"For the last time, I don't want any tea!"

The shout could probably be heard out in the street before Zuko came bursting through the door and slammed it behind him. The young man stalking through the street in a fit of irritation and frustration as he sought to put some distance between himself and his uncle, and to be alone for awhile.

It wasn't Iroh's fault that this had happened, and he felt a prick of guilt in the back of his mind for yelling at him. However, his arrival to this place had obviously not gone over well and he was still processing it. Still coming to terms with the reality of his predicament.

How could everyone just sit around and take this? Being held captive and even experimented on? It was crazy! But even he had to admit, he didn't know what to do about it. Still, that didn't mean he was going to be happy, which was evident as he stomped his way out of town and towards the forest.

Eventually finding a suitable clearing that was far enough away, Zuko vented his frustration in the form of firebending. A swinging kick and a couple jabs producing a few short bursts of flame. He scowled at the results.

So it was true, this place did weaken his bending. With a heavy sigh, Zuko sat himself on a small boulder and put his head in his hands. It was here he would sit for several hours in thought, eventually making a fire as it got dark.

After some sulking he pulled out his journal and looked it over. Seeing some of the entries inside, he closed it again and set it aside.

Again he sat in silence, staring at the flames. Being out here like this, it reminded him of his time in the Earth Kingdom, when he and his uncle were exiles. That felt like a life time ago. He was a far different man then.