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[golden-primrose]

"There is an argument to be made about how Mai represents the Fire Nation itself and its relationship to Zuko, but that is a topic for another day." This is from your meta about mai. i keep seeing the zvtara's argument that mai is the personification of the fire nation for zuko and the false values ​​that zuko turned to when he returned to fn, and that's why maiko doesn't work and thematically zuko should have ended up with katara (his redemption era) not mai (his mistaken return to fn era). I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts about it.

The quote anon brings up is from my meta about Mai's 'radicalisation', which I posted after we got the teasers for "Ashes of the Academy".

And I think percieving Mai as the personification of "the bad side" of the Fire Nation and presenting her relationship with Zuko as him regressing in a manner of speaking is a very biased way to talk about it. Because atla has put in great effort to humanise and make us sympathise with the Fire Nation and its people. We're shown how the children of the Nation are victims of the system. We cannot place a blanket damnation onto the entire Fire Nation without damning Zuko, Iroh, Jeong Jeong and the like.

You cannot divorce Zuko's character from his care and love for the Fire Nation and its people. Even when he's a child, still indoctrinated in the Fire Nation's values, he is still extremely caring of his people, outraged when learning about the plan to use young soldiers as a distraction and aacrifice, as well as 'rescuing' Mai when she was clearly a bit nervous and uncomfortable with Azula's prank.

[Which I don't think Azula was necessarily trying to be evil here, don't get up in arms in her defence. I think it's probably very normal for children who can control fire to play dangerous games and pranks on each other. Still doesn't negate Mai's clear discomfort]

Even Zuko leaving the Fire Nation to join the Gaang is something he does to help his nation and save it. He not only recognises its wrongdoings, but also the damage it causes to its own people.

Zuko: Stop! This isn't about you. This is about the Fire Nation! Mai : Thanks Zuko, that makes me feel all better. Zuko: Mai, I never wanted to hurt you. But I have to do this to save my country. Mai : Save it? You're betraying your country! Zuko: That's not how I see it.

Now, the reason Mai is seen as the "regressive Fire Nation representative", is likely due to her involvement with Azula, as well as her passive acceptance of the Fire Nation's state. Which is kinda an unfair standard to hold her to, because Zuko straight up had to get banished to see the error of his ways.

As I outlined in the post I linked at the top of thid post, Mai has been forced to do things she didn't want to do, restricted, repressed and used to boost her father's political career. She never had a choice, or an alternative. Whatever rebellion she could concieve was shut down with guilt tripping or threats. And the fact that the boy she had a crush on got violently injured by his own father and banished from the country for speaking out probably didn't help matters.

Mai : I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted... as long as I behaved and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about. Azula : Well, that's it, then. You have a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself.

Much like the children in "the Headband", she hasn't been shown an alternative. Mind you, she's only like 3 years older than the children who didn't know how to dance. And, when Zuko returns, the pair seem to find solace in each other. They're both not fully happy with the lives they're being dealt in the Fire Nation, but cannot yet find an alternative. So they're hating the 💕world together💕. How romantic.

Mai : Orange is such an awful color. Zuko: You're so beautiful when you hate the world. Mai: I don't hate you. Zuko: I don't hate you too. [They kiss, but are interrupted by Azula.]

I think what I appreciate about Mai is that she doesn't know how to comfort people. And I hate that this starts getting turned into "Mai is a bad person and she doesn't love Zuko". This is an expectation particularly placed on women, for them to be automatically emotionally intelligent and exel as caretakers, especially of their male partners.

This is especially rich from the part of the fandom that sees Katara, a character well known for her empathy, so much as express care for her friends or brother and scream "emotional labour someone save this poor girl".

When I don't think it's that Mai doesn't care, it's that she's trying to help Zuko get readjusted to life in the Fire Nation with the coping mechanisms she used. Helping by distracting him, and keeping him from spiralling. It's clear that she cares, and her efforts do succeed multiple times in cheering Zuko up. He also spends a lot of time, including a night at her home when he's stressed. You can see how she is his safe place, even if she struggles to comfort him in the traditional sense.

The roughest time in Zuko and Mai's relationship is during "the Beach" when Zuko is feeling insecure about his role back in the Fire Nation, angry and restless. This affects his relationship with Mai, as he is insecure in this as well, becoming very jealous with her.

Zuko: He thinks he's so great. Well, what do you think of him? Mai: I don't have any opinion about him. I hardly know him. Zuko: You like him, don't you? [Mai sighs and walks away.]

[...]

Mai : Zuko, what is wrong with you? Zuko: What's wrong with me? Mai : Your temper is out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient and hotheaded and angry! Zuko: Well, at least I feel something, as opposed to you. You have no passion for anything! You're just a big blah! Mai : It's over, Zuko. We're done.

I think this is another point in favour of Mai not being exactly representative of the Fire Nation's 'false values', as we see a trend of possessiveness in Fire Nation men, as well as an endorsement of settling disputes through anger and violence. Mai chastises Zuko when he engaged in these actions, clearly disapproving.

How some of y'all will still insist that the fire nation is a feminist utopia is beyond me. Anyway. Wellfare check on On-Ji. Blink twice if you need help girlie

Zuko: For so long I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. I'm back home now, my dad talks to me. Ha! He even thinks I'm a hero. Everything should be perfect, right? I should be happy now, but I'm not. I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why!

[...]

Zuko: I'm angry at myself! [Slamming down with his clenched fists he causes the camp fire to turn into a pillar of fire, the girls recoil from the flames. Cut to close-up view from above of Zuko. Cut to a wide-view of the entire campsite as the flame dies down. Zuko turns away.] Azula: Why? Zuko: Because I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore. Azula: You're pathetic. Mai : I know one thing I care about. I care about you.

 [They kiss.]

But once Zuko is forthright about the root of his issues, Mai reaffirms her care for him. She loves him, after all, but they're both incredibly damaged people struggling with commuinicating. Despite what people may want you to believe, Mai loves Zuko, not the Fire Prince.

Nothing proves the trust and love Mai has for Zuko than the fact that she sacrificed herself to save him and his friends. Remember, it was only due to Ty Lee's intervention that Azula didn't kill her, and Azula herself stated that Mai "knew the consequences". Essentially, Mai knowningly risks execution to save "the jerk who dumped her". This is, frankly one of my favourite moments in the show, and the reason Mai is such a special character to me. I could rant about it for ages.

Mai has, as I've pointed out in other posts, had her moments of quiet rebellion, especially in inaction. I want to reiterate that I don't think it's because she secretly dissaproves of the war effort on an ideological level. She just doesn't want to participate in it, and she's rebelling how she can, especially against Azula.

I don't think Zuko managed to convince Mai to turn on the Fire Nation during their shorty conversation. However, he showed her his sincerity and his firm belief that what he was doing was for the benefit of the Fire Nation. And Mai trusts and loves Zuko enought to believe that he believes what he is doing is right. That's why she saves him, at the risk of her own life.

And as I've said before, she unintentionally picks which of Ozai's heirs she trusts more to lead her nation. She rejects Azula's rule by fear, and chooses to take a gamble on Zuko's hope to save the nation.

It's a moment when a character who has been condidtioned to be passive and easy to manage rebels because someone they trust and love has showed them an alternative to a life of biting back complaints and complying with the system that hurts you.

To cut to the chase, Mai is the part of the Fire Nation that Zuko loves and fights for. Someone who loved him and trusted him, within the nation that had scorned him when he fought for it.

Sokka: I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard. Zuko: It wasn't that hard. Sokka: Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about? Zuko: Well, I did have a girlfriend. Mai. Sokka: [Smiles and looks at Zuko with interest.] That gloomy girl who sighs a lot? Zuko: [Smiles.] Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it.

She's the only thing he cites as having been hard to leave behind. She's his safe haven and support when he is struggling readjusting with his return to the Fire Nation. She's the first member of the Fire Nation to fight for the reformed, peaceful Fire Nation he hopes to foster, even if she didn't believe in it herself.

And he shows there that there is hope for a better life, and that it's worth fighting for, it's worth having the will to change.

I don't think Maiko is a perfect relationship, I don't think they should be. I like their flaws, and that they both have something to work towards. Flawed characters are fun characters. But I think they work thematically, because Zuko isn't abandoning the Fire Nation. On the contrary, he is trying to save and reform it. It makes sense to have a character like Mai, who acts as a physical manifestation of the aspects of the nation he loves and sees worth fighting for. Even if these virtues are dormant and suppressed, as represented by Mai notedly struggling with self expression.

The notion that anon outlined also places Katara in the "the opressed are responsible for reforming their opressors" trope. We tend to place the responsibility on the opressed to prove to us that they shouldn't be opressed and be rewarded by them when we give them the bare minimum. Katara being posited as a reward or marker for Zuko's redemption also completely undercuts the character with arcs and characterisations that she herself has.

Plus, indigenous woman × (sometines reformed) coloniser is a widespread and rightfully critiqued trope, and I just don't see why Katara should serve Zuko's arc like that.

Very satisfying gif here ❤️ get his ass queen

I don't think you're in the wrong just by shipping zutara by default, but I just find the hate maiko and specifically Mai herself get in extremely poor taste. Liking a ship is fine, but it can exist in fanon and be just as valid. Trying to impose it over clearly outlined storylines and interconnected arcs and insist that "this is how it's supposed to be" is kinda cringe.

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“The Southern Air Temple”:

Zuko: (With a cry of indignation, launches himself to his feet, bringing his face within inches of Zhao’s.) Maybe you’d like one to match! Zhao: Is that a challenge? Zuko: An agni kai. At sunset. Zhao: Very well. It’s a shame your father won’t be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do. (Zhao turns and walks back out of the tent. The camera cuts to show a close-up of the left side of Zuko’s face. Iroh visible in the background as the camera pans quickly to the right.) Iroh: Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master? Zuko: I will never forget.

“Nightmares and Daydreams”:

Mai: Zuko, it’s just a dumb meeting. Who cares? Zuko: I don’t. (Close up shot of Mai talking to Zuko, while Zuko still looks out into the distance.) Mai: Well good. You shouldn’t. Why would you even want to go? (Cut to shot of Zuko and Mai standing in the window, the Fire Nation Palace before them. Mai puts her arm around Zuko) Just think about how things went to the last war meeting you went to. Zuko: (sighs)I know.

I just though there was an interesting parallel between both Iroh and Mai not being 100% diplomatic when they bring up the Zuko-Ozai Agni Kai to Zuko.

[golden-primrose]

Blocking should be a tool for safety, not a declaration of war. People use it to protect their peace, set boundaries, and curate their space—and that’s valid. Responding with guilt trips, sulking, or nastiness only proves why the block was needed in the first place. Everyone deserves to feel safe online, even if that means they choose not to engage with you.

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If all you do when discussing Azula's abuse is simply mention it happening, only to then immediately deflect to how she was mean to Zuko when she was a kid, then you don't really care about Azula being abused.

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my headcanons on how Maiko would be after they starting dating (post ashes to the academy)

mai decides to stay back at the academy cuz surprisingly she likes kids and they like her back.

at first they keep it a secret cuz the s parents of the students mai teach may think that when kiyi achieves something it’s cuz of Mai’s relationship with zuko

they keep it a secret aside from close friends and family (excluding kiyi cuz she’s a bigmouth) and they were all so happy and supportive and sokka even offerred to give "free relationship therapy with wang fire"

zuko and mai make a pact to always find time for each other no matter what considering what went down their last breakup.

zuko shows up at the academy occassionally to "inspect things" and "check if things are going smooth" finding small sneaky windows for him and mai to hang out

he sometimes sit in mai's class to, again "inspect things", he sits in an empty seat and asks questions like the children so he can stay longer and use the excuse "checking if curriculum is being followed.

he waits till the end of the day and picks up kiyi and he and mai with kiyi holding their hands walks home.

I imagine mai's last day at the academy being a very emotional one, I'd say she worked there for around 3-4 years being they decided to get married.

The children made hand made gifts and even letters with their wobbly handwritting and send them with mai, the day the bell rang for the last time she was there as a teacher, she walked out the gates and walked in hands with zuko, away from the short yet happy experience he gave her and into the long experience they'll have together

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✧ "Can you stop? This look took me over an hour!" "...why are you even up already?" ✧

entry for an ATLA themed challenge. I decided to combine it with my long-harbored plan of making Mai x Zuko fan art. originally, I wanted to create something elaborate and beautiful, painted with water color. as always, my procrastinating a*s only got around to work on this one day before the deadline, though, so I had to rush and went for the exact opposite. [the pose reference was made by Kim_Gilgyu on X <3]

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Maiko moodboard

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The Zutara fandom as a whole doesn't seem to understand ATLA's "The Guru" episode, and a lot of points made in that fandom come from that fundamental misunderstanding.

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The argument that Mai and Zuko can't be together because "Mai doesn't know that the Fire Nation is wrong" has always struck me as silly because it treats Mai's belief in Fire Nation Ideology as a personal, relationship compatability issue, when in reality it's a cultural and ideological issue that would need to be solved regardless of who she's with. It's almost as if people would be fine with Mai being a fascist if she wasn't paired with Zuko at the end.

Plus, it doesn't apply anymore.

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Reblog if you think it’s okay to platonically say “I Love You” to your friends

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Zuko does try to use his childhood trauma to excuse his actions once... but Mai shuts it down

And many of his stans use his trauma to excuse his actions all the time, unfortunately.

Zuko: *overcomes the fascist brainwashing of his father to become a fierce advocate for love and peace*

Zuko antis: HES A SELFISH EVIL COLONIZER!!!!!!!

Zuko: *is a victim of severe child abuse but never once uses it to excuse his actions*

Zuko antis: HES SO PRIVILEGED AND ALWAYS MAKES OTHER PEOPLE DEAL WITH HIS PROBLEMS!!!!!!

Zuko: *gets everything he wants and leaves it behind anyway to protect innocent lives*

Zuko antis: SELFISH!!!! ENTITLED!!!!! HE NEVER THINKS OF OTHER PEOPLE!!!!!!

Zuko: *is canonically a supportive father and lives a long and peaceful life*

Zuko antis: HES ANGRY AND TOXIC AND WILL RUIN ALL OF HIS RELATIONSHIPS!!!!!!!!

X

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@maikoweek day 2: ba sing se university (yuri)

How to talk to hot girls: casually hang around them while they're on a smoke break

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the same corner in the fandom that insist katara should have kept the scars from aang accidentally burning her hands don't insist that toph should have kept the scars from zuko accidentally burning her feet, i wonder why?

They also don't seem to want Katara to get any lasting physical consequences after Zuko hit her so hard she passed out. Or for Aang to fail to put out the fire Zuko started at Suki's village, therefore leading to people being hurt and homeless because of Zuko.

Somehow things only need to be serious and permanent in this cartoon when it'd make AANG look bad.

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/65888866/chapters/169732621

Nuevo fic de Avatar el último maestro aire.

Maikoweek 2025.

Nuevas enseñanzas en la Academia.

Una clase de Mai en la Academia Real de Fuego.

Personajes: Mai, Zuko, Kiyi.

New Avatar: The Last Airbender fic.

Maikoweek 2025.

New lessons at the Academy.

A Mai class at the Royal Fire Academy.

Characters: Mai, Zuko, Kiyi.

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Maiko Week 2025 - Day 1: Teacher Mai

Zuko can't help but check up on Mai, not because he's worried about her, but because he loves to see how passionate she is about being a Teacher at the academy~

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atla meme    [2/3] pairings