Distorted Reality

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Distorted Reality is a Fanfic of Avatar: The Last Airbender by Orgo. It begins two years after Aang failed to defeat Ozai, and he travels to the spirit world to reactivate the avatar state.

However, the previous Avatars decide Aang needs to learn a lesson, and they send him into a Mirror Universe. Aang is also sent back in time to the start of the series, with all of his memories intact but his body and powers are reset to what he had then. Aang must come to terms with fighting alongside his former enemies against his old friends.

Unfortunately, the author has discontinued the fic, but was kind enough to post the remaining plot in the last chapter.

Tropes used in Distorted Reality include:


  • Amazon Brigade: Roku's Warriors
  • Breath Weapon: Aang improvises one by holding a flame in front of his mouth and blowing with airbending, similar to how a flamethrower works.
  • Character Rerailment: Thanks to the two worlds fusing, the characters from Aang's world are influencing their mirror counterparts, bringing them closer to their canon personalities whether they like it or not.
  • Conflict Ball: Despite knowing that Zhao is in Bato's role and thus a good guy now, Aang is openly hostile to him.
    • OTOH, just as Bato was marginally more courageous (but still a dick) in the DR universe, Zhao wasn't as nice as canon-Bato. Even so, Aang should have known better.
  • Crapsack World: Aang's world after Sozin's Comet and the new world thanks to the enviromental-damaging warfare of the Water Nation.
  • Face Palm: Aang does this around Dock/Xu/Bushi.
  • Five-Man Band: Classified by the author for Book Fire
  • Genre Savvy: Azula correctly guesses half of the premise of this fic. She notices how Aang seems to know whats going to happen before it does and guesses that Aang is a time traveler.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: All the previous avatars wanted to do was teach Aang a lesson. They accidentally unbalance the spirit world, which causes Aang's world to begin fusing with this one, which could destroy them both.
  • He Is Not My Boyfriend: Azula regarding Aang.
  • Heroic BSOD: Aang completely shuts down when he finally sees Katara in Azula's role.
  • I Hate Past Me: Aang gets frustrated with how weak his twelve year old body is.
  • Instant Expert: When Aang is shown how to do a new bending move it removes a mental block, letting him use that move as if he had never forgotten how to do it in the first place.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: The Kokkan Samurai who are the Water Nation equilavent to the Yu Yan Archers use Katanas instead of bows and arrows.
  • The Multiverse: Roku shows Aang several other parallel universes, including one that is a Shout-Out to another fanfic.
  • Never Mess with Granny: Kanna quickly defeats Ty Lee at one encounter.
  • Razor Wind: Aang accomplishes this by combining airbending with a sword. It's powerful enough to make him wonder why air nomads never used swords before.
  • Screw Destiny: Aang refuses to let Ty Lee die. He takes a third option.
  • Spanner in the Works: Ty Lee joining the Gaang completely ruins Sokka's plans to capture Aang.
  • What Could Have Been: How it would have ended
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Aang for stealing Master Piandao's sword and not releasing Sokka after meeting Kanna in the Earth Kingdom.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Aang fears this trope is in effect when he fails to stop The Painted Lady from taking Azula.