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Apr 29, 2008 02:19

APPEARANCE: Zuko's most striking feature is the flame-shaped scar that covers the upper left side of his face, including his eye. The eyebrow on that side of his face is no longer there, nor are eyelashes present, and it almost seems as if he is constantly squinting with that eye as a result of the damage it sustained. His left ear is also mangled, smaller than his right, discolored, and misshapen. His eyes are gold, something that helps distinguish him as a firebender, and slightly slanted, like those of Asian ethnic backgrounds. He has pale skin and his dark brown hair is shaggy, nearly touching his shoulders at some points.
(examples: general appearance, hair, left ear/scar, eyes/scar)

• ECONTRA!UPDATE → Zuko's hair is now well past his shoulders. He normally wears it up in a topknot or Fire Navy-style ponytail.

PERSONALITY: At the point in the series in which I intend to play Zuko, his personality is a lot more...calm than he was in the previous books/seasons. Originally, he was very angry and extremely driven in his quest to capture the Avatar. After many revelations on his part, his mannerisms change and he becomes more willing to listen to logic, think before he acts, and no longer responds in automatic--many times unneeded--anger. He is, however, a bit socially awkward, something that is painfully obvious if he is put in a situation in which he has no past experience, ie: girls, trying to join the Avatar's group, etc.

ABILITIES/STRENGTHS: Zuko is skilled in the art of swordsmanship and fights with a pair of twin dao. He is also a firebender, which means that he has the ability to create and control fire. He can also redirect lightning, but this is an ability that he has only successfully displayed once.

NOTABLE POSSESSIONS: A pair of twin dao and his great-grandfather's crown, both arrived with him from his world.

• ECONTRA!UPDATE → A pair of twin katana, a gift from Azula for his 18th birthday.

WEAKNESSES: He has a short temper and is rather easy to anger, something that can be used to distract him in battle. He also has a bad habit of acting before thinking things through, which often leaves him stuck between a rock and a hard place and usually blows up in his face. Zuko is also very sensitive towards things like his mother and his scar. And of course, being that he is a firebender, water weakens his attacks.

HISTORY: Zuko is the first-born and only son of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa. He was a rather tame child and was very much a momma's boy. His mother was his world. However, his world was shattered when his mother was taken away from him. Zuko, along with the rest of the Fire Nation, believed her to be dead--something Zuko later finds out might be a lie, as his father claims to have banished her. The absence of his mother threw Zuko for a loop. His father never cared much for him and Zuko went out of his way to maintain his father's adoration. When he was thirteen, he sat in on a war meeting and spoke out against one of the generals' plans. Ozai did not react well to such an outburst and challenged his son to an Agni Kai (formal fire duel). Zuko does not want to fight his own father and surrenders. Disgusted by such weakness, Ozai scars the left side of Zuko's face, takes away his titles, and banishes him from the Fire Nation. He can return only after he has captured the elusive Avatar.

He is taken under the wing of his uncle, Iroh, and begins to search the globe for the Avatar. Three years later, he locates the Avatar at the South Pole, but the young boy and his two companions get away. Zuko follows them. He eventually takes up the guise of the Blue Spirit in order to work around Admiral Zhao, who also seeks the Avatar. Zhao, however, discovers the Blue Spirit's identity and tries to kill him. Zuko then hides on the admiral's ship as his fleet invades the North Pole. He manages to capture the Avatar, but is soon found by the boy's friends, who in turn, capture him. He manages to escape and after the Avatar thwarts the invasion efforts, Zuko leaves the North Pole with his uncle.

Azula, Zuko's little sister, later appears and tricks her brother into thinking that their father has changed his mind and wants him to come home. Blinded by his desire for acceptance, Zuko fails to heed his uncle's warnings and neglects to see that it's all a trap. After Azula turns on them and reveals that she was attempting to take them as her prisoners, Zuko and Iroh flee. They are now fugitives of the Fire Nation and result to start new lives for themselves within the great Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se. Zuko takes on the guise of Lee and works in the tea shop his uncle opens up. He continues to search for the Avatar, but is convinced by his uncle to let it go. Soon after, however, Zuko is captured by his sister and tossed into the Crystal Catacombs by the Dai Li, the city's unjust police force (technically, the "cultural enforcers" of the city). He finds himself trapped with Katara, one of the Avatar's companions, who offers to heal his scar for him. He doesn't get a chance to take her up on the offer, however, as the Avatar and his uncle soon arrive to save them. Azula show up, however, and tricks Zuko into turning against Katara and his uncle. Azula nearly kills the Avatar, but Katara manages to make it out of the caves with him and the Dai Li take Iroh prisoner.

Zuko is later tricked once more into returning home with her, where he is welcomed back a hero for helping defeat the Avatar. He soon learns, however, that Azula lied to their father and told him that he was the one who took the Avatar down. He realizes that Azula must suspect what he does--that the Avatar survived--and doesn't want to deal with the shame should he reappear. Just in case, Zuko sends an assassin out to finish the job. Zuko tries hard to adjust to life back at home and even starts dating Mai, one of his sister's friends. His attempts are futile, however, as he finds himself growing increasingly miserable with each day's passing. He uncle later reveals to him that his great-grandfather on his mother's side is Avatar Roku and presents him with the crown that was given to the Avatar by Fire Lord Sozin (his great-grandfather on his father's side). This knowledge, combined with the sage advice of his uncle, helps convince Zuko to abandon the Fire Nation and join the Avatar.

The Avatar and his friends are reluctant to have him, though--Katara, especially--and shoot down his initial attempt to join their ranks. After he helps save them from the assassin he sent after them, they give him a chance to properly explain himself and the Avatar takes him up on his offer to teach him firebending. These series of events, however, trigger a change in Zuko that diminishes the anger he previously felt. Without his rage to fuel his efforts, Zuko is unable to bend properly and has to travel with Aang (the Avatar) to the city once inhabited by the ancient Sun Warriors. They discover that the Sun Warriors still exist and he re-learns firebending from the dragons, the original firebenders. Zuko bonds with the Avatar, something that will hopefully help with the boy's firebending lessons.

It is shortly after this that Zuko is pulled into Econtra.

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