#Azula

[earthshaker1217]

That Azula and that Aang fit are supreme.

Atla nation, come get y'all's juice

[thebxghag]

tfw you spot your cousin who's supposed to be DEAD across a crowded marketplace at some random blacksmith shop in the Earth Kingdom.

--

Genuinely can't remember if I already uploaded this here, so...Have this silly doodle.

The aftermath:

Do not reupload my work.

[sillybillylulu]

I tried some new things with my art style that probably aren't even noticeable 😔 vibe or no vibe???

[beifong-brainrot]

One thing I love about tlok more as I age, is that it actively veers away from pitting women against each other.

While atla wasn't awful on this front, Toph and Katara's arguments often took on the flavour of Toph talking down to Katara for her percieved feminine qualities. Pairing this with Toph's insults towards male characters, specifically Aang, often having an emascualting "Don't be such a girl" type of vibe, it paints a good picture of Toph's strained relationship with femininity, and other girls, most likely due to her past, both in her family and in the ring. Katara and Toph's tale in Ba Sing Se was a nice step away from that rule, but the Runaway sorta circled back towards this argument. As much as Toph seems to secretly enjoy "feminine expression" she will still talk down to it in public.

But we can talk about Toph's internalised misogyny later. We see the phenomenon of women tearing each other down elsewhere in atla too, especially in the relations of the Fire Nation girls, like in how Mai and Azula lash out at Ty Lee in the Beach.

And I'm not saying it's bad that atla portrayed these interactions, they're a part of life and many of us are trained to talk down to other fem folks.

But it is so refreshing to see tlok subvert that trope in B1. For all the complaining about the love triangle, I really love the arc it gives Korra, who has probably barely interacted with girls her age.

When she first meets Asami, she's a little intimidated, but falls a little into that 'not like other girls' streak.

With Korra falling into more of a 'tomboy' category, similarly to Toph, it wouldn't be very unexpected for her to be portrayed with a more tumultuous relationship to femininity and people we percive as fitting into it better. This is something a lot of girl, women and fem folks go through irl.

Korra: [To Asami as she swims over to her; somewhat dismayed.] So, what do you have planned for us today? Let me guess, shopping, makeovers ...

We see that Korra has a set idea of what Asami is like based on her presentation and mannerisms, and doesn't think she can find a common language with her. But this expectation is quickly subverted when Korra and Asami race together and we see that they do get along very well.

And I like that Korra not only apologises for writing Asami off, but also attempts to partake in something feminine, makeup, showing that she's become more open to finding a 'common language' with girliness, something she previously saw as alien.

Korra: I gotta admit, I had you pegged wrong. I thought you were kind of ... prissy. [Raises hand; quickly.] Eh-No offense!

And throughout the show, although there is plenty of drama, Asami and Korra stay on relatively good terms, which is a relief. A lot of shows tend to stoke drama between its female leads, but Korra and Asami stay friendly, and more, throughout the show.

Korra: [Chuckles in relief.] Well, whatever happened with Mako, I'm glad it hasn't come between us. I've never had a girlfriend to hang out with and talk to before, except for Naga. This is nice.

And it's not just Korra and Asami's relationship that fosters an air of women supporting each other. Tlok shows us many women of different backgrounds helping each other become stronger, encouraging them to realise their potential, comforting each other in dark times and so forth. I also think it's nice to see so many older women who support and encourage younger women, as atla did not deliver on that front.

And I know it feels like such a low bar, but I think it's so important to highlight in shows, especially shows starring women and female characters.

[lostinthevictorianera]

Zuko and Azula as Cats 🐈‍⬛

Azula started it

[crnbrryy]

I couldn't sleep last night

[pumpkabitch]

Y'all.....did anyone else see this?

[zelfantazy]

🔥the interrogation went wrong👻

www.instagram.com/zelfantazy

[balanceoflightanddark]

sighs

I can forgive this if it were a sign of Zuko relapsing. This was stated to be a problem he deals with in The Promise and arguably does so in the series with "Crossroads of Destiny". This inherently isn't a bad thing by itself.

What gets me is that we're supposed to see him as being in the right. That somehow, Azula WAS responsible for making his life a living hell. She never gets to argue in her defense. We see her being demonized as a literal CHILD in the flashback. And this never blows up in Zuko's face. Which is ironic since whenever Zuko tried to pull this on Azula in the series (attacking her at the start of Season 2 in a rage, goading her into redirecting her lightning), it almost always went pear-shaped for him.

No. He's supposed to be in the right here. This is so disgusting and toxic that I don't blame Azula for dumping his ass at the end of the comic.

If he showed any regret for his actions, if he admitted he was talking out of his ass, this would be a different story. And I WANT to believe he'd show some regret since he spent a whole season showing regret for what he did to the Gaang. The fact he doesn't though shows you how much the writer does not understand Zuko.

I was thinking about this part from the terrible comic The Search, and I find myself increasingly confused by it:

Zuko blaming Azula for how his life turned out, as well as for how their relationship is. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Zuko from the cartoon never even hints that he blames Azula for how Ozai treated him. His main issue with her is jealousy. That's it. Like.... How do you look at what Zuko says to Ozai during the day of black sun:

And the takeaway you get from that is "omg Zuko totally blames Azula for everything that happened to him!"??? At no point in time, before or after Zuko defects, does he ever imply that he blames Azula for how his life turned out. He never once says anything like this. The only person he blames is Ozai, as he rightfully should.

[poison4rrowfr0g]

We have to talk about how Bryke have been consistently writing shitty continuations for both ATLA and TLOK and how they should probably retire and just let new writers do their job, because what the actual fuck is this new Avatar series they're planning.

In my opinion, other than both original series, the best "extended universe" content for the Avatar Universe has been created by other writers, such as:

- F. C. Yee and Randy Ribay and their works for the Chronicles of the Avatar books

- Faith Erin Hicks and her work with Imbalance and the standalone comics

- Kiku Hughes and the Mako centered comics (not released yet, but looks very promising)

(Just to name a few, there are other works by other artists, that I didn't have time to catch up.)

Now, we've got the works Bryke created or "supervised" the creation, such as the early ATLA comics + TLOK comics, that included problematic points, just to name a few:

- Azula going insane and kidnapping children (?)

- Roku asking Aang to kill Zuko (??)

- poorly written Kuvira redemption arc

And other aspects of ooc behavior.

About this official synopsis of the new franchise, they truly decided to give all the Korra haters (who mostly blame her for shit she didn't do) the best reason to hate her so far.

And honestly, I think part of the Korra hate comes from how Bryke wrote the show, in the first place (but we can't forget to blame Nickelodeon as well)

For me, at this point, anything "bryke included" is doomed to fail. They have been missing the point for a long time now and I don't think they will get any better.

Yes, thanks for creating this amazing franchise, but I think it's time to move on and let competent people take care of it before it's too late.

[memopmiff]

can u draw Azula like this plaese... ( . _ . )

ตอนแรกคือเราทำผิดเพราะไม่เคยเห็นมีมเลยไปวาดอาซูล่าเป็นตัวหนู5555556555 หวังว่าจะชอบนะคะ ^^

More realistic version below:

She would totally look like 👁️‿👁️ and not in a cute way

[drpoisonoaky]

Azula and Rangi have the same resting face as Lek said “Look at her, boiling away with Firebender rage.”

[jn3m0]

Meyhaps this is a good thing. I won't need to worry about poor writing. I can just choose a well written fic on ao3 and make that my canon.

20 years of atla and still no azula redemption arc

[zuko-always-lies]

Nothing would drive Zuko crazier than Azula disappearing off the face of the earth. He'd always be looking over his shoulder, expecting one of her plots to materialize out of thin air and get him. And even beyond that, he is obsessed with her in a way he doesn't really understand.

[beifong-brainrot]

in your opinion, why do you believe Ozai hated Zuko so much? He physically scarred him, while he mentally scarred Azula

Honestly, this is a very layered question, because the life of the Fire Nation royal family seems to be very much filled with intrigue, subterfuge and spite. So much spite. It also depends on how much grace we want to give Ozai, whether we want to percieve him as a character with potential redeeming qualities. Don't get me wrong, all versions of canon compliant Ozai are morally deplorable, but it is possible to interpret him as a character more fleshed out than the cartoon villain he is on the surface level.

The reasoning for Ozai's treatment of Zuko can be traced back to Ozai and Ursa's very volatile relationship. It is plain to see that Ozai was an abusive husband, from the coercion of marriage and sexual relations, holding the abuse of their children over her head to physically grabbing and yanking Ursa.

It's hard to say whether Ozai just got off on the control he had over Ursa, or whether he genuinely wanted some kind of relationship with her. It seems like the family was at least comfortable for some time, and Ozai did appear to want to at least 'act out' romance with Ursa, kissing her on the cheek, and wanting her to call him 'my love'. Whether that be another level of control, or genuine, I can't really tell.

Whatver he wants from this relationship, all that is effectively shattered when Ursa begins sending letters to Ikem. Ozai seems so insecure due to this that he hires an elite assassin just to try and take down his wife's peasant ex boyfriend.

When Ursa lies in her letter, claiming Zuko as Ikem's son, Ozai confronts her. And he seems genuinely hurt, or at least distraught that Ursa wishes Zuko weren't his son. And so it appears he became especially cruel to Zuko to spite Ursa.

I want to highlight that it is difficult to blame Ursa for her actions, as she clearly isn't in a good place mentally due to what is happening to her

Another reason could be Ozai seeing Ursa favour Zuko over Azula. I go into this more here so I don't want to repeat myself. But I believe Ursa, unintentionally, isolated Azula. Now, whether or not Ozai saw this and reacted by favouring Azula and bullying Zuko. Or he saw his daughter was in a vulnerable position, prime for manipulation and control. Again, it depends on how nice we're being to Ozai here.

Azula really is just a more convenient child for Ozai. One of the reasons Ozai cites for perfering Azula is that she is a more talented firebender.

Zuko: You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born.

Azula is also, for all her cunning and glib, more susceptible to manipulation. Unlike Zuko, who has Ursa and Iroh, Azula lacked supportive adults in her life. I talk about how important support systems are in redemption arcs here.

I think Ozais displeasure with Zuko was that, he wasn't as easy to control as Azula. He spoke out of turn and had ideals that went against Ozai. I believe that this is why Ozai became so enraged by Zuko's behaviour and actions. Zuko unintentionally undermined him.

Iroh: Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected.

Ozai, at his core, seems like a deeply insecure man. Most of his acomplishments aren't his own. His wife (who was secured for him by his father btw) is the one who masterminded the assassination of Azulon and Ozai's subsequent coronation. And while Iroh, the one whose titile Ozai essentially stole, was in disfavour for abandoning Ba Sing Se, he is still a decorated war general.

And Ozai isn't stupid, he probably knows he is pathetic. There's a reason he didn't want to share his glory on Sozin's comet with Azula. He's fucken insecure and makes it everyone else's problem.

And to some extent, I don't think Ozai really hates Zuko, at least not pre- Black Sun Day. Zuko tells us that his family was "happy once" and it's implied Ozai had been an at least passable father a t some time.

I simply think Ozai's pride, insecurity and spite towards Ursa took priority over whatever affection he had for his son.

I don't want this to seem like I'm making any excuses for Ozai, his actions towards Zuko and his entire family were deplorable. Him having his own rationale and reasonings doesn't moralise his behaviors. However, I do like to think that he isn't just a one note cartoonish villain and has his own motivations other than being a dick.