#Azula/Kei Lo

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Honey Lemon (Part 7)

Pretty sure that I forgot to post this the other day.

It doesn’t last.

She should have known that it wouldn’t.

She did know–isn’t that why she had been so afraid and weary.

She still remembers it so vividly. As vividly as when it had first happened; Michiaki leaning and and whispering. “I know who you are, princess.” It still makes her shiver. “And I am going to ruin you.”

“For what?” She had asked with more bravado than she ought. 

“For using me. I had a perfectly good career as a Dai Li agent. Until you came about. I liked Long Feng. He was like a dad to me.” The man had said. “But I couldn’t really go against every single other agent. So I had to follow you.”

Azula remembers sniffing and telling him something akin to how he should have grown a pair and stood up for what he believed in. 

“What then?” He had asked. “Would you have let me stay a free man?” 

He knew the answer.

And she did.

“Well now you will know what it’s like.” He had vowed. “You’re going to help me make a name for myself or everyone is going to know your real one.”

Her stomach still lurches. She can’t name any other time when some had–for poetry’s sake–beaten her at her own game. 

He has something to hold over her head. 

He can ruin her.

He will.

With just one messenger hawk she could be deported back to the Fire Nation. Back to whatever her dear brother has in mind for her. He doesn’t even need a messenger hawk, just word of mouth. All he has to do is say her name to the right person. 

Rohime is known to engage in ruthless gossip. It would be him. He and his chatty wife who run the bakery down the block.

She could risk it, claim that Michiaki is delusional and that she has no idea what he is going on about. She is not naive, she knows well that they will take the word of an earthbender over a firebender’s.

And so her stomach sinks and her bright, peaceful world begins to darken just as she knew it would. 

Nobody is looking at her any differently yet. Nobody is glaring at her. Nobody has come to vandalize their shop. So maybe it is safe. Maybe her secret is still safe.

Kei Lo is glum these days; she knows that he blames himself. What’s more is the sense of betrayal. “I feel like an idiot.” He remarks again. “Why don’t you just say it already!?” He is yelling at her and she tries not to take it personally. 

Agni knows how many times she has yelled at him simply because she had been stressed and he had been in her line of sight.

He isn’t angry at her, she repeats to herself. He is angry at the situation, at himself.

At Michiaki.

“Say what?”

“That you were right and I was wrong!” He slaps his palms upon the tabletop. He bunches them into fists and clenches them. “Just say it, already and get it over with!”

“I wasn’t going to.” Azula mumbles. 

“But you want to!” He accuses.

She shakes her head. Truthfully she had been hoping that he would be the one to hand out the ‘told you so’s’. 

“You’re always right and I’m always wrong.” He continues to mutter. “I’m always wrong…everyone always says that.”

“I didn’t.” Azula replies quietly. 

For once in her life she hasn’t said anything to warrant getting scolded. 

“You did! You make me feel stupid all the time.” 

Azula flinches and grits her teeth. She feels sick. “I…how? When?” But there are many moments, in retrospect, that come to mind. Moments she hadn’t thought anything of at the time; when she’d snatched honey harvesting tools out of his hands, when she’d rolled her eyes and told ‘no, this is how you arrange the jars’...she has a way of making people feel dumb even when she isn’t trying to. “I’m doing it right now, aren’t I?” She mumbles. 

“Yes!”

She knows that he isn’t being fair. She doesn’t think that she deserves it this time around. Not entirely. But she lets him lay into her. Maybe that will make him feel better. “I’m going to go to Senlin.”

“You always do that.” He grumbles. “You always run away instead of talking things out and you wonder why you don’t get anywhere?”

She doesn’t want to cry tonight. 

Especially not during an argument.

Usually she is good at keeping it inside; Kei Lo has a special way of coaxing emotions out of her. 

“If we talk things out right now we’ll make them worse.”

Kei Lo sniffs. “That’s the problem–things settle down and then they don’t get brought up again until the next argument.”

So that’s what this is then, every grievance he’d ever had with her coming forth. But she has her own grievances. “Well then I hope that you’re ready to talk about how you’re a hypocrite.” 

“I’m a hypocrite!?”

Azula nods. “You always complain about me taking my stress out on you. You do the same thing. I didn’t say a thing to you about your absolutely terrible decision to let Michiaki into our home.” Her voice is frostier than it has been in quite a long time.

“I knew it! I knew you were going to say it!” He declares. And she realizes that, like a fool, she had walked right into that. It is exactly what he wanted her to say.

This isn’t like any of their other arguments.

Not the more recent ones. 

No. This is more like their old arguments. 

The ones where Kei Lo told her that he hated her.

He had meant it too.

[thena0315]

Plot Twist Idea - Azula and Kei Lo Cross Paths with Each Other in the Future

I get the feeling that Kei Lo left the Royal Capital to avoid running into Mai again in the future

[likeadragonfruit]

Ship Stats for Mai (Updated)

During October, I took a survey of Mai ship stats and promised I would do an update in the new year.  And after weeks of delays work, it’s finally happening. The finalized 2022 ship stats for Mai.

Methods

On January 1, 2023, I took a survey of 24 Mai ships from 01/01/2013 to 12/31/2022: the same 21 ships surveyed previously as well as two ships previously overlooked and one new ship posted after the previous survey.

Data 

This chart is for the totals of the sample surveyed. And the other is a table of the chart’s raw numbers.

This is the chart of the total Mai ship fics broken down by year. It included the top 10 ships (Maiko, MaiLee, Maizula, Maitara, MaiAang, Maikka, Maiyue, Maiki, Jet/Mai and Mai/Kei Lo), the same as in October.

And here’s the table for the both the 10 ships in the chart, as well as one showing all 24 ships in the sample

Then there’s this chart that shows the year to year output of works rather than the total. It features the same 10 ships as the previous chart.

And then the raw data tables for this chart

And finally the annual output by partner gender

Observations

Total sample of works by year

Before 2020, the growth of the sample never exceeded 150 works

2020 was the year where the most Mai ship works were added

As previously predicted, 2022 became the third most productive year, behind 2020 and 2021

Compared to October, over 100 Mai ship works were added. 

2022 saw the addition of two new Mai ships to AO3: Hakoda/Mai and Lu Ten/Mai

Cumulative count by year

in terms of total fic count, maiko has consistently remained the Mai ship with the most works.

MaiLee has been in second place for every year except 2016. That year, Maizula held second place.

In 2013 and 2014, Maitara held third place. In 2015, Maizula took third and in 2016 MaiLee took third place when Maizula was in second place that year. Since 2017, Maizula has held third place.

Annual output by year

Maiko has consistently not only held first place, but each year the majority of Mai ship works were Maiko.

Starting in 2020, Maiko’s majority dipped to 61%, and below 60% since then.

Maiko’s output by percentage for 2022 is the lowest it’s ever been (54%)

MaiLee’s highest output year was 2020, at 32%. This has slightly declined to 27%, but is far and above pre-2020 performance.

The Mai ships who currently have the second and third highest output of works for 2022 are MaiLee and Maizula

Despite appearances based on percentages, MaiAang and Maitara’s 2022 output are behind their 2021 output.

The Mai ships that outperformed their 2021 numbers in 2022 are: Maizula, Jet/Mai, Jin/Mai, Kei Lo/Mai, Mai/Piandao, Maikka and Mai/Toph

Other observations 

Every year, the annual output of M/F Mai works is greater than the output of  to F/F Mai works

Before 2020, the M/F Mai works to F/F Mai works output was usually 80% M/F to 20% F/F

Since 2020, the M/F Mai works to F/F Mai works ratio has hovered between 65% M/F to 35% F/F and 60% M/F to 40% F/F

[melzula]

Smoke and Shadow

part two

pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader

notes: final part is here! hope you guys enjoy and thank you for being patient as always

summary: the group is one step closer to finding the missing children and Azula, but that doesn’t mean all of their problems will be solved

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

“We decided to do some investigating after Zuko kicked Aang out of the throne room,” Suki explains to you as your trio runs after the Avatar and Fire Lord. “We wanted to see if there were any clues left behind from Kiyi’s kidnapping or Azula’s Kemurikage attack on the palace last night.”

“And even though we couldn’t find anything, I realized there was something fishy about the way she was able to escape so quickly!” Ty Lee adds with a keen smile. “When we used to play hide-and-seek as kids, she’d always manage to win by hiding in this secret passage way tucked into the palace walls. It must be how the Kemurikage were able to escape so quickly.”

“Good thinking, Ty Lee. Although, I still can’t believe she kidnapped her own sister,” you note with a disgruntled shake of your head. “That’s low even for her.”

“This is Azula we’re talking about,” Suki reminds you, and that in itself is enough of an explanation for her behavior.

You finally skid to a stop after reaching the palace rooftops where Aang and Zuko land. The Avatar carelessly drops your boyfriend on the tile, and you wince on his behalf before offering Zuko your hand to help him back up onto his feet.

“Did you have fun?” You ask with a teasing smile only for the Fire Lord to scowl.

“Don’t ever do that again!” He scolds Aang whilst dusting off his robes.

“Okay, okay, but look!” the boy insists before pressing down on a loose brick that opens up a hidden doorway.

“A secret passageway! So you think this is how Azula and the other Kemurikage escape? How did you figure this out?”

“They searched for clues after you kicked them out of the throne room,” you tell him with a pointed look that has him shrinking guiltily under your gaze. “I think you owe Aang an apology.”

“You’re right,” he murmurs sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I should have been more open to your ideas.”

“Apology accepted!” Aang chirps happily. “Now what’s our next move?”

“Well… Kiyi could be on the other side.”

“Tom-Tom, too. I’m coming along,” Mai interjects firmly, seemingly forgetting Kei Lo’s presence until he corrects her statement with a “We’re coming along.”

Zuko instructs Suki and Ty Lee to stay back and guard the palace, so you bid your friends goodbye before beginning your descent into the narrow passageway. The hallway is cold and claustrophobic, but Aang and Zuko lead the way with their fire bending, cautioning you to watch your step behind them.

You’re quiet for the most part, mulling over your thoughts and insecurities now that you’re given a moment’s silence to think. You’re still feeling a bit insecure about walking in on him with Mai and about his animosity towards Kei Lo, but you haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet. The long distance has been hard on your relationship, and sometimes it’s hard to keep consistent communication when both of you have duties to tend to and entire nations to run, but you never thought it would be a problem. Now, you’re not so sure.

You recall what Azula had told you during your time in the Forgetful Valley, how you and Zuko were an “unnatural” pair that would never work. You hate to admit it or even think it, but what if she’s right? What if you’re just kidding yourself? Maybe Mai really has been the right girl for him all along. After all, she is Fire Nation, and she certainly is more qualified to be dating the Fire Lord than you are. You wish Suki were here to talk to, surely she’d know just what to say and could stop you from spiraling like you are now, but without her it seems it’s just you and your thoughts for now.

“Hey, I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier,” a voice says, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I’m Kei Lo, Mai’s boyfriend.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, everything’s just been so chaotic. I’m y/n, Zuko’s girlfriend.”

“That’s right, Mai told me. Say, aren’t you a Chief? Should I be calling you Chief y/n instead?”

“Just y/n is perfectly fine,” you correct him with an awkward laugh. Unbeknownst to you, Zuko is listening in on every word. He doesn’t trust Kei Lo, not one bit, and he doesn’t want him roping you into any trouble. He doesn’t care if he really isn’t in cahoots with the Safe Nation Society, if Kei Lo so much as looks at you in a way Zuko doesn’t like he’ll be tossed into a cell immediately.

“So how’s a Chief of a water tribe end up dating the Fire Lord?” He asks with a laugh.

“It’s a very long story.”

“Please spare me the details,” Mai says with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, it may not be the best time for that story,” you note with an apprehensive smile.

“You’re probably right. Still, it’s a pretty awkward situation we’ve all found ourselves in.”

“You can say that again.”

After some time group is finally able to reach the end of the passageway, and the only thing standing in your way from the other side is a solid wooden door.

“This must be it,” Zuko announces hopefully. “Behind this door could be Kiyi and Tom-Tom.”

“And Azula,” Aang adds apprehensively before helping the Fire Lord push the heavy wood open. The creak of the old hinges is deafening, echoing in the silent hallway, and you watch with bated breath as the light from the other side slowly begins to seep in. Carefully, you follow the two out the door only to be met with a disappointing site.

There are no missing children and there is no Azula. Instead, you’re faced with a gloomy and desolate graveyard.

“What is this place?” You murmur in awe, your eyes scanning across the expanse of withered headstones. You’ve never seen anything like it.

“I’ve been here before,” Zuko notes thoughtfully, “this is the royal family graveyard.”

“I thought that’s what the Dragonstone catacombs were for,” Aang questions with furrowed brows.

“No, the catacombs are only for Fire Lords. This place is for everyone else. It’s called the Garden of Tranquil Souls.”

“Really? Well, I hate to break it to you, Zuko, but…” the Avatar begins uneasily, and you follow his shifting gaze towards the clouds of smoke that begin to surround the graveyard. Taking a step back, you reach to unclip your water pouch as the dark figures begin to close in on your group. “The souls here don’t seem all that tranquil!”

The group of Kemurikage don’t hesitate to attack, and immediately your group is split apart as you all begin to defend yourselves against their assault. Blasts of fire are shot your way left and right, but you’re able to deflect it every time with your water bending. You manage to take down two of the spirits by encasing them up to their necks in ice, but your progress only seems to make a dent in their ambush. Zuko and Aang are still corned back to back, and Azula has managed to single out Mai and Kei Lo. She holds the boy by the collar of his shirt, eyes full of malice and hand ready to strike him with her blue flames despite Mai’s pleas for her to leave her boyfriend alone.

Before she can harm him, you send a blast of water towards her with an effortful grunt that shoots her across the graveyard and into one of the pillars. The impact is forceful enough to put a crack in the tombstone and disorient Azula momentarily to allow Kei Lo and Mai the chance to escape.

“Are you alright?” You ask him after rushing towards the couple. Mai helps him to his feet before looking to you, her eyes full of gratitude and sincerity.

“Thank you,” she says earnestly, and you give her an appreciative nod in return.

Rising from the ground with a grunt of pain, Azula is filled with rage at your assault on her. How dare you think you can beat her at her own game?

“Helping out your competition? That’s pathetic even for you, dearest,” she insults, irises aflame with fury. “Perhaps you and Zuko are more compatible than I thought.”

“What’s pathetic is the fact that you’re still obsessed with becoming Fire Lord,” you spit back, water cloaking your arms to form tentacle-like limbs for attack.

“Oh, I’m much past that now. I have a new mission,” she notes airily with a passive wave of her hand. Her eyes harden suddenly then and electricity begins to spread across her fingertips. “One that simply won’t work with you in the picture.”

Before she can raise her hands to strike you with her lightening blast, Zuko is quick to send a hail of flames her way to distract her. “Leave her out of this! It’s me you want!”

“Oh, Zuzu, always so dramatic,” she mocks before creating a cloud of smoke to cover her as she runs away.

“You have to go after her!” You exclaim urgently. “I’ll stay back and help Aang handle the rest of the Kemurikage.”

After ensuring you’ll be fine without him, Zuko gives you one final nod before chasing after his sister. You, on the other hand, rush back towards Aang to see if he needs any help. However, it seems he’s been able to manage the assailants just fine on his own.

“Princess! Where’d everybody go?” He asks, perplexed at the sudden disappearance of your group.

“Zuko went after Azula. I’m not sure where Mai and Kei Lo are,” you note as you scan the garden for any sign of them. “What do we do now? We still haven’t found the missing children.”

As if on cue, a shrill voice coming from the passageway calls out for help. You exchange an alarmed glance with Aang before immediately sprinting back into the doorway. A breath of relief leaves you at the sight of Mai’s father with the children in tow, but your ease is short lived at the sight of the two Kemurikage that hold them captive.

“Look!” One of the kids exclaims. “It’s the Avatar and Chief y/n!”

“Hi kids, we’ve been looking all over for you!” Aang says with an overjoyed wave.

“Are you guys alright?!” You call out protectively. “Is anyone hurt?”

“We’re great!” Kiyi calls back prompting you to let out a relieved laugh. You’re so happy to see her and see that she’s okay, but your joyous reunion is quickly cut short by the two spirits who begin to approach the two of you with whips of fire.

“Hang on, kids!” You tell them before beginning to take on the Kemurikage. There’s two of them, so you and Aang each take on one. They’re powerful fighters, but the safety of the children is on the line, so you use all of your might to fight them off as best as you can.

You counter their whip with one of your own, slicing through their weapon each time before it can strike you. While one of your hands controls the water whip, the other sends constant shards of ice hurtling toward the cloaked woman. You can tell she’s beginning to tire, your attacks too much for her to keep up with, but you’re too focused to notice the second figure approaching closely behind you. The Kemurikage’s whip is raised to strike you in the back, but their attack is halted by the blade that slices through the air and pins their hand against the wall.

“What-!” You exhale in surprise, turning just in time to see Mai swoop in and finish the job. The last two spirits have been apprehended, and you’ve been spared a wound that surely could have been fatal.

“Someone had to watch your back,” Mai explains with a faint smile. “You had ours.”

“Thank you,” you utter with a breathless grin. It feels nice to not hate each other for once, and you actually seem to work quite well together.

“Y/n! Y/n!” A voice calls, stealing your attention away from the girl and back to the children. Kiyi sprints towards you with a gleeful smile, and you’re quick to scoop her up into your arms and give her the tightest hug. “You came back!”

“I promised, didn’t I?” You say with a playful smile, carefully pushing back the hair from her face. “I’m so relieved to see you’re okay, and I know Zuko will be too.”

“Guess what? I’m a fire bender now!” She boasts proudly. “I burned a hole through the door so we could escape!”

“That’s incredible!” You praise with a laugh. “Wait until your brother hears this.”

Across the way, Mai cradles her little brother in her arms and watches you speak animatedly with Zuko’s sister. Your interest in Kiyi’s story is completely genuine, and she can see just how much the girl values your opinion. It’s so different from the way Azula used to talk about you, speaking poorly of your character and diminishing you to nothing but a weak Princess. Maybe Mai had judged you too harshly. After all, she might not have been able to get her brother back without your help.

“Thank you again for your help,” she tells you after setting Tom-Tom down to allow him to bid his goodbyes to his new friends. “I was wrong about you, and I shouldn’t have let my resentment cloud my judgement the way I did. I guess I really don’t hate you as much as I thought I did.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” you express with a careful smile. Perhaps things will always be awkward between the two of you, but this is at least a good start.

After making sure all of the children are accounted for, your group exits the passageway just as Zuko emerges from one of the mausoleums. Kiyi is quick to sprint towards her brother, and you watch on with a smile at the way his eyes seem to light up while hugging her close.

“Kiyi! I can’t tell you how worried I was about you.”

“I wasn’t worried at all!” She notes with a grateful smile. “You should’ve seen it, Zuzu! Y/n helped the Avatar take those nasty ladies down!”

“She did, did she?” He asks playfully, glancing over to you with a grateful smile. You simply give him a sheepish shrug in return. “I’ll have to be sure to give her my thanks.”

“And Azula?” You ask him, but his solemn gaze is enough of an answer. “She said she had a new mission, did she tell you what it was?”

“She wasn’t interested in becoming Fire Lord, she was interested in turning me into the type of Fire Lord she would be. The type that rules with fear, ruthlessness. Just like my father. Azula says I can’t escape who I am, and it will only be a matter of time before I’m just like her.”

“You don’t believe that, do you? You’re nothing like Azula,” you say earnestly. “You never will be.”

“I know,” Zuko murmurs softly, but you can see the slightest bit of doubt in his eyes and it saddens to you to know he doesn’t fully believe it to be true. “But either way she escaped. I don’t know where she is or when she’ll return.”

“We’ll be there to help you if she does come back, buddy,” Aang consoles with a comforting hand on the Fire Lord’s shoulder. “For now, let’s just focus on returning these kids back to their families.”

“Good point, Aang. Now,” you say, looking to the children who stare up at you with tired eyes that immediately brighten when you ask, “who’s ready to go home?”

~~~

Peace has been restored in the Fire Nation; the children have been returned safely to their parents, and Zuko has earned the forgiveness of his people for his mishandling of the situation. Everything is almost perfect.

You lean against the balcony of your room for the night and stare up contemplatively at the moon. Yue shines beautifully as always, and you find comfort in her light as you battle against the darkness clouding your thoughts. Your doubts about your relationship still rage on, and you haven’t been able to fight them off no matter how hard you try. You haven’t mentioned anything to Zuko, not wanting to distract him from his duty to his people, but the suffering in silence act you’ve been pulling all day hasn’t been helping your state of mind. Suki had urged you to talk to him, stating you had nothing to worry about because she’s seen firsthand how much he misses you when you’re away, but you were too anxious to follow through. What if you won’t like what you hear when you finally speak to Zuko?

You’re too engrossed in your thoughts to hear your door open or the quiet footsteps that head towards you, and it isn’t until he’s right beside you that you finally feel the familiar warmth that constantly emanates from his body. You don’t have to look to know that it’s Zuko.

“Suki said I should come to talk to you,” he says softly, golden eyes looking to you inquisitively. “Is everything alright?”

“I… I’m not sure,” you admit quietly, nervously fidgeting with your fingers and refusing to meet his gaze.

“What is it?”

His hand sneaks its way in between your own to halt your fidgeting and reassure that he’s right there with you and ready to listen to whatever it is you have to say. Sighing, you finally look to him with uncertainty swimming in your eyes.

“Do you have feelings for Mai?”

He’s stunned to stay the least, eyes widening slightly in surprise at your question. It’s certainly the last thing he expected you to ask him.

“Is this what you were trying to talk to me about earlier?” He presses gently, frowning at the way you slowly nod your head. “I see…”

“Just be honest with me, Zuko,” you plead desperately. “We promised we’d never keep secret from each other anymore, so if there’s something to tell then tell me. I can handle it.”

“I can’t stand here and tell you that it didn’t look bad when you walked in on Mai and I,” Zuko admits with a sigh. “But I can tell you that nothing was going on.”

“I heard you say you care about her.”

“It was out of context. I was trying to make things right for the sake of finding the children- she was obviously still upset over what went down between us, and I was trying to keep the peace so that we could work together to find our siblings. I’ve known her since we were kids, and if it weren’t for her I never would have been able to escape Boiling Rock and come back to you. So in a way I guess I do care for her, but it’s nothing compared to how much I care for you.”

“What about your animosity towards Kei Lo? You seemed… jealous of him.”

“I wasn’t jealous, I just didn’t trust him. I still don’t,” Zuko says adamantly. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to release him because I didn’t want him to try and pull anything. I didn’t want Mai getting hurt, and I especially didn’t want him putting you in any danger.”

“So… so you don’t have feelings for her?” You ask meekly, the slightest bit of doubt still present in your voice.

“I’ve never had feelings for her,” Zuko says earnestly before gently taking your hands in his own. “You’re the only girl for me, y/n. I was stupid enough to let you go once, but I’m never making that mistake again.”

You can’t help but smile at his admission, tears beginning to well in your eyes as you throw your arms around him in a tight embrace that he immediately returns. It feels like a weight has finally been lifted off your shoulders, and all the worry and self doubt you had is finally beginning to melt away.

“I never want you to feel doubtful or insecure about our relationship ever again. I’m going to do everything in my power to do better,” he professes earnestly. “I love you more than you know, and you don’t ever have to worry about someone coming between us again.”

“I love you, Zuko.”

He pulls you in for a kiss, and with the moonlight shining down upon you both, everything is almost perfect.

For neither of you notice the pair of golden eyes that stare down at you from the rooftops with disdain and disgust before disappearing into the shadows.

“Pathetic.”

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303

| zuko tags: @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @taeeemin

| fire lilies tags: @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @xapham @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch

[samtamdan]

Maizulee headcanon

Azula got insomnia after the war, Ty Lee usually sings her songs of "Trustfully in Love" to let her sleep

One time, when they were still kids, Mai confessed her feelings to Azula but she thought she was talking about Zuko

Meanwhile they were on the Earth kingdom Mai and Ty Lee take turns to help Azula with her hair

Mai is actually a really good cook, she can do something that could compete against the palace food, and she enjoys being able to use her abilities with knives on something that gives happiness to her girls; Ty Lee likes baking cute things like cookies and muffins, she can do other stuff but she didn't enjoy making them; Azula is banned from the kitchen

When they were kids Azula watched Mai as her big sister, Azula can barely remember that but Mai remembers the little Azula called her big sister CLEARLY

Before Ty Lee leaves to the circus she and Mai both know that the other has a crush on Azula, they try to fight each other for her for a while but they start growing a crush on each other too

takes too much time for Azula to trust Mai and Ty Lee again but she loves them too much to be resentful forever

The first time Mai notices her crush on Azula is when she defends her love for throw-knife against her mother

After the war neither Mai nor Ty Lee wanted to see Azula, both were too angry to see her, they even started to distance each other, Ty Lee got all of herself on her new friends on the Kyoshi warriors, Mai just tried to keep her mind busy to don't think about her, she even date kei lo for a couple of months before Azula escape the asylum.

When they heard about Azula's new little group of mascaraed terrorist friends (?), they couldn't avoid the feeling of being replaced

[phoenix-king-ozai]

You gotta wonder what comic Ozai was thinking when his dad just goes up to him and basically says he has to marry some girl he's never met for the sake of the bloodline and have children with her even though he won't get the throne anyway.

I think it depends on certain factors. According to the ATLA comics, Ozai is at least a decade Ursa's senior. It is possible that Ozai already had a lover who was closer to his age and possibly had to abandon that relationship due to the Fire Sage's prophecy and Fire Lord Azulon's demand. Regardless of Ozai’s own wishes and desires regarding his own marriage and love life.

However, the comics try to make Ozai an irredeemable monster and caricature of a villain. So this interpretation is too sympathetic. Even though the original ATLA creators and OG ATLA Wiki on Nickelodeon stated that Ursa was raised as royalty and was the perfect betrothed and possible wife for Fire Prince Ozai.

However, Zuko’s flashbacks showed that Ozai did make an effort to try to be a good father and husband to Ursa and their children. The good memories of the Fire Nation Royal Family on Ember Island hurt Zuko and Azula during the Beach episode. This is why Zuko desired Ozai's love, respect, and admiration from him. If Ozai was only a cruel bastard to his family and son why would Zuko want to go back to his father and homeland to be abused again?

The Search Comics by Yang just took the most stereotypical, uninteresting, and non-complex lazy route regarding the Urzai relationship. Ursa is a good woman! Ozai is a bad man! She must have been kidnapped and physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually abused! This is why Yang goes out of his way to demonize Ozai and bastardize his characteristics for his own personal fanfic OOC named Ikem. Yang has a horrible habit of adding new uninteresting characters into other established characters' lives. Yang destroyed Urzai with Ikem and also Maiko with Kei Lo.

Even though I don't think Ozai was Prince Charming regarding Ursa initially due to her being the granddaughter of Avatar Roku and possibly being a non-bender. Ursa possibly could have been seen as a blood traitor by the royal court and Fire Nation nobility and royalty due to Avatar Roku attacking and stopping Fire Lord Sozin during his early stages of imperial conquest until he died on Ember Island giving Sozin the chance to end the Avatar Cycle by killing the Air Nomads. However, I do believe that Ozai eventually warmed up to Ursa and bonded with her by the time they had Zuko and Azula. We even see Ozai be quiet and somber regarding her favorite spot by the Turtleduck pond after her banishment and disappearance.

[julianblackthornlawyer3]

Sooo, I was thinking about Mai and Zuko from atla and why some people don't like them together, but before a disclaimer:

I'm not against shipping whatever you like 'cause shipping is supposed to be fun and you can ship whatever you want, myself included I love all type of ships in atla because I can see why people ship them and it's FUN.

Comeback about why people don't like maiko or to be more clear why a lot of people don't like Mai, and while I was reading the comics after the end of the og atla series I realized why: They don't developed Mai (as a individual character) and her relationship with zuko. Her personality is not the problem here (for me her and zuko are very much similar) but everything is so rushed when it comes to them, we don't have time to see them grow up as a couple, and more important they do Mai dirty, the creators made Mai betrayed Azula and say she love zuko more than her fear for her psychotic friend for absolutely impact value but after they made Mai put all weight of the relationship on zuko back while he is trying with aang rebalence the nations in the comics. For me, it made sense why they break up and come back together after 3 years, but what doesn't make sense is the reason why Mai break things off (saying zuko has to many secrets) to later on keep secrets about the truth about her father being the leader of a society who wants zuko, you know 💀☠️. Everything that have with Mai they rush, her character development, her friendship with Ty Lee, her thing with zuko, her family in general, her thing with that boy Kei Lo (I think thats his name) to later on break things with him out of nowhere and we never see him again, like this boy really said to zuko that Mai chose him (Kei lo) over zuko and zuko needs to get his jealous ass and move on, for later Mai break things off like what was the point to put my girl over all this??? that make no sense.

I like Maiko and a ship them but I just wish they put more effort in make them more developed. I don't know is just my opinion after de comics.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

“Everything must be about zutara for them” you have no idea, HOW right you are!

Like, there were some posts I saw translated to my mother tongue with titles like “what would Katara/Zuko/Mai/Aang gain from zutara” (really, these last two will be sooooooo happy losing their loved ones, suuuuuure). You can imagine what kind of nonsense they are even without reading them. Just one example: according to them, Mai will gain “a boyfriend who really likes her” – Kei Lo from the comics. Setting aside that the comics are trash, even in them Mai explicitly said that she does not love Kei Lo, so I suppose it doesn’t really matter for her if he loves her or not. She doesn’t even need this “price” that zutarians are pushing down her throat.

After seeing these for the first time, I giggled internally about “where are posts about what Momo/Mechanist/June/the cook/Sparky-Sparky-Boom Man/avatar Kyoshi/Lu Ten/the herbalist/Bosco/Smellerbee gain from zutara” and forgot about it. And recently I came across the post on tumblr where one person seriously asked what will Hakoda gain from zutara, and the other person seriously replied with about ten points of garbage. There are also posts about Kya (two, actually – about Katara’s mother and Katara’s daughter), Suki, Sokka, Toph, Iroh, Azula, Koh, Ozai, the cabbage merchant, Appa and Momo and maybe someone else too. And no, they aren’t joking (well, aside from Koh and the cabbage merchant – I’ll be generous here), people suggest the characters for the posts, like and repost this plenty. And yes, this all is complete bullshit – to say the least, most of the things spoken of the characters can gain just fine without any zutara, and the rest they either have already or don’t care about or don’t want at all. And so, so many characters Katara is supposed to look after and care about… but her caring about Aang is horrible for her, don’t you ever forget it.

They are really doing this, spirits, they are. I only checked it for fun, I did not really want any of it!

Okay, I’m running to get some popcorn and throw up a little. Can’t be late for a “Sparky-Sparky-Boom Man gain” post.

God, I HATE those kinds of posts, not just from Zutarians, but even for some ships I like. Very few ships do genuinely, single-handedly, improve a narrative as a whole AND THAT'S OKAY!

A ship can just be "I think they look good together" or "Their interactions are fun, if they date they're gonna interact more, so I want them together." A ship can make sense narratively AND not be 100% necessary for said narrative to be good and coherent by itself.

And, obviously, as I have said many times, I do genuinely believe Zutara would have made the show worse if it had happened because:

1 - Zuko and Katara are clearly incompatible, so their romance would feel like a waste of time to me, even if it wasn't endgame.

2 - Legend Of Korra more than proved Bryke CANNOT write love triangles well. We really dodged a bullet when they decided "You know what, lets make Toph a badass blind girl instead of a buff dude and cut the love triangle with her, Katara and Aang completely", let's not put ourselves in front of the gun willingly, please.

[natlacentral]

Dallas Liu & Elizabeth Yu

On Fire Nation siblings reborn: from animation to live-action

A familiar chime resonates, followed by the words, “water, earth, fire, air”—it's the unmistakable precursor to the iconic opening of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender. When the beloved animated series was released, my brother and I, like countless others, eagerly awaited each new episode, immersing ourselves in the epic saga week after week. We witnessed the characters grow up alongside us, and well into our adulthood, we've revisited the series time and time again. Now, with Netflix's highly anticipated live-action adaptation set to premiere on February 22nd, it's a chance to revisit the beloved characters and stories we've cherished for years, brought to life in a new format.

Sitting side by side, Dallas Liu and Elizabeth Yu warmly greet me over Zoom the day after the premiere event in Los Angeles. With anticipation for the live-action adaptation reaching a fever pitch, Liu and Yu sit down with Timid to delve into their roles as the dynamic Fire Nation siblings, Zuko and Azula. Their excitement is palpable as they reflect on the journey of bringing these beloved characters to life and the profound impact the series has had on their lives and careers.

With my curiosity piqued, I inquire about their personal connections to the show. Without hesitation, Liu fondly discusses his childhood introduction to the series, recalling Zuko's training on the boat with Uncle Iroh as the moment he fell in love with the character. "The show has been a big inspiration to me, influencing my decision to pursue martial arts. So, it was a dream come true, getting to incorporate both acting and martial arts into a childhood series that I loved.”

Yu shares a different reflection and responds, “Avatar was my first introduction to this style of animation. So, it was really cool to see faces inspired by our own in an animated style and in a positive way.” Reflecting on their responses, it becomes clear that for both Liu and Yu, as well as countless fans, Avatar: The Last Airbender holds a special place in their hearts, serving as a source of inspiration and connection.

The deep impact of the show has cultivated a dedicated fan base, and as members themselves, Liu and Yu were beyond excited to play Zuko and Azula. Their eyes light up as they recall key moments, such as joining the cast, and express their gratitude for being part of such an iconic series. "Every single cast member, writer, producer, director, and even our transportation and craft teams deeply loved the series," Yu says, emphasizing the collective passion driving the project. Liu expands on this sentiment, saying, “It’s special! The fans will really appreciate that there's a new level to the story, which is really interesting to watch.”

Amidst the excitement, the duo acknowledges the weight of fan expectations and the responsibility of honoring the beloved characters. “I grew up with a lot of friends whose whole personality is this show, because they love it so much. They grew up with it. So, you definitely don't want to mess it up. You want to do it right,” Yu shares. Liu nods in agreement, recognizing the monumental task of filling the shoes of beloved characters like Zuko, voiced by Dante Basco in the animated series. Despite the pressure, Liu and Yu remain committed to capturing the essence of their characters authentically. Liu describes their approach as taking a “grounded route in our performance, rather than trying to impersonate cartoon characters.”

While watching the show, it became increasingly apparent that while the characters' progression retained a comforting familiarity, there were also instances where the actors infused their own unique essence into their performances. Some moments paid homage to the original, but others showcased the actors' individual interpretations, breathing fresh life into the characters.

In the animated series, Zuko emerges as a dynamic and complex character, navigating his identity as Prince of the Fire Nation while grappling with his personal journey towards redemption and self-discovery. When portraying Zuko in the live-action adaptation, Liu aimed to convey the character's depth and inner turmoil. He explains, “I wanted to make this a real-life person that has experienced real-life trauma. Someone that people could relate to.” 

One scene in particular that stood out to me while I was watching the show was when Zuko returned to his boat and was met with an unexpected welcome from his crew. In that scene, upon Zuko’s face, you could see his inner conflict come into play. Now, as I share with Liu that I got emotional during this scene, he, too, said that it was pretty emotional for him as well. Liu reflects, “In that scene, without dialogue, you can see how much it affects Zuko. You can feel it in your heart.”

For Yu, the slight retelling of Azula’s story in the adaptation provided her with the freedom to explore the nuances of her character. Azula, a formidable antagonist with a complex persona, embarks on her own journey of self-discovery. Yu explains, “I'm not even in the first season of the original series, so my whole character arc in the first season is new, which is cool to see because it adds so much more of a grounding point for the character later on.”

As Avatar: The Last Airbender unfolds, Azula’s complex relationship with her father, Lord Ozai, portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim, begins to unravel as she asserts her dominance in the Fire Nation. Yu’s portrayal delves deeper into Azula's psyche, offering viewers an enriched understanding of the character's evolution. Both Yu and Liu note the distinction between the original series, initially intended for a younger audience, and the live adaptation, which delves into the darker aspects of their characters' pasts and the realities of growing up in the Fire Nation. “We get to see the gravity of their situation,” Liu says. “Neither of our characters are truly evil. They experienced trauma that not everyone goes through.” This is especially true as you see both Zuko’s and Azula’s interaction with Lord Ozai.

A turning point arises when Azula confronts her father, showcasing her capability to follow in his footsteps. Yu describes how she prepared for that scene, saying, “As a fan of the show, I was living vicariously through all of it. We were waiting for that switch, when does she turn into Azula that we all know and love? What shifted inside of her. That scene shows that switch, and you also see what makes her different from Zuko.”

Throughout the first season, there are glimpses of the characters' motivations, shedding light on their intricate bond. Yu offers insight into their dynamic, stating, “They want the same thing at the end of the day, but the way they go about it is different because of who they are.” These motivations are evident, particularly in the characters' quest for their father’s approval and love. However, alongside this desire, there exists a palpable sibling rivalry. This dynamic even extends beyond the screen, as Liu jests about Yu, “She did a great job at being the conniving younger sibling, but as the series continues Azula is like, ‘Oh, this is my dumb older brother.’”

This banter continues as I pose a playful question to both of them, asking, “What type of bender would you consider each other as?” Their eyes met, and with a smile, Liu responds, “She wants me to say water, but when you’re talking about her ambition for Azula and their similarities, it’s fire. For example, her approach to Azula was eye opening because she really cared about the performances that we're giving rather than just stick to the original. I gained respect for her as an artist and it was super sick to see.” Yu laughs and chimes in, “I want to be a water bender so bad, but everyone keeps saying fire.”

For Liu, Yu chooses earth bending. “I feel like you’re an earth bender,” she says to an immediate response of “What makes you think I’m an earth bender?” Yu explains her reason, noting Liu's grounded approach to various aspects of life, coupled with his passion and perseverance, akin to the characteristics of an earth bender.

In the realm of storytelling, Avatar: The Last Airbender has captivated audiences around the world. Dedication permeates every aspect of the first season, from the committed production team to the powerful performances. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the world of bending, the live adaptation offers a fresh perspective while staying true to the essence of the beloved series. "It is fanmade," Yu passionately declares when asked about the message she hopes viewers will glean from the first season.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Honey Lemon (Part 6)

Here’s a link to the fic since it’s been a while.

Azula sits in the garden letting the bees swarm about. They buzz past her head, sometimes they land upon her. She lets them crawl until they lose interest. And she watches them make work of the nearest flowers that they can find. The day is as peaceful and mundane as ever. And that is precisely the problem. 

Things have been going well, very well.

It makes her so jittery and anxious. 

Truthfully she has been waiting for the moment when everything would just come undone. All of the peace she has found for herself, all of the hard work, effort, and love that she has put into her bees, their honey, and the glass jars. It was bound to fall apart eventually just like everything else that she has ever worked for. 

Her downfall has a shape and that shape is human. 

Her downfall has a name and that name is Michiaki.

That man, that Michiaki,  whoever he is, has been lingering about for way too long. He is nothing but smiles and sunshine and Kei Lo likes him. He likes Michiaki and that is the first thread that fringes. All Michiaki has to do is pull and things will begin to come undone. Really, he doesn’t even have to pull. Azula is doing a good job of tugging for herself. 

“I just don’t understand why you won’t let me talk to him!” 

“I…I never said that you couldn’t.” Azula frowns. 

“No. But you always make it some big thing when I do.” Kei Lo huffs. 

“I don’t!”

“Oh? You don’t? Then why do I always see eye rolls and hear sighs whenever I let him browse our shop?”

“You can talk to who you want to converse with.” Azula sighs. Even if it makes her skin crawl and her stomach flutter with dread that she can’t seem to put into words that Kei Lo understands. 

“Yeah? Well I don’t feel like I can.” 

Azula grimaces. “You can talk to Michiaki. I don’t care.” Maybe if she repeats it to herself enough she can convince herself that the man is as harmless as he makes himself out to be. Maybe she can convince herself that she doesn’t think that Michiaki is trying to sabotage things between she and Kei Lo.

Kei Lo who gives her a sigh. “I can see it in your eyes that you’re not okay with it?” 

She rubs her hands over her face. “Then listen to my mouth, not my eyes! What do you want me to do, Kei Lo?” Apparently she can’t even pretend to be comfortable with him getting close to Michiaki. “I don’t have to like your stupid friends and you don’t have to like mine.” Not that she really has any. “You can talk to him, go on outings with him–I don’t care.”

“But, let me guess, you just don’t want me to talk to him around you.” 

“I’m going to visit Dao-Yan, I haven’t been to Senlin in over two weeks now. I want to show her some of my newer jars.”

Kei Lo groans. “So you’re just going to walk away and…”

“And you should let me. I’ll be back for dinner if you still want to have it with me.”

.oOo.

Of course he does. Of course he wants to have dinner with her. “Azula, wait!” But it is no good, he has already angered her…upset her? Sometimes it is hard to tell with her. But no, not this time. This time he knows that she is upset. 

Not just upset. 

Hurt. 

She has gotten so good at it, if he did say so himself, that sometimes he forgets that she struggles with people. With emotions. He is probably confusing the poor woman; he can’t force her to trust Michiaki.

He should have just settled for her tolerance. Right now it is the best she can do. 

He certainly wouldn’t appreciate it if she pretended to like Michiaki to his face only to harbor some secret resentment.

To sink back into a habit of passive-aggressive lies and a string of manipulations even if her intentions aren’t a sinister as they had been in the past. 

He had asked for her honesty and he has it in all of its bluntness. 

She doesn’t like Michiaki, she thinks that he is rude and invasive and she isn’t pretending otherwise. 

And he is fighting with her. 

His stomach sinks. They haven’t had a good fight in ages. Truth be told, he can’t remember the last time. And maybe that is why this petty bickering feels like an all out war. Maybe this is why the slam of the door sounds so explosive. 

They will have dinner and he will make sure that it is a nice one. 

.oOo.

The dinner table is set up when she arrives. Two plates and two sets of silverware with a cluster of pillar candles at the center with a sprinkle of daisies and clovers to make it all pretty. Kei Lo is no chef but his effort is worth something. 

She isn’t particularly the type to fawn over these sorts of things. And maybe she can chalk it up to today’s mood; to feeling like she has taken something perfectly good and made a mess of it with baseless suspicion and her usual high strung nature. 

She had been the one to walk away. 

Yet he is here waiting for her. And he meets her with vegetable soup from their own garden, a loaf of honey bread, and spiced komodo chicken meat. 

And she can’t quite fathom the why’s.

The truth of the matter is that they don’t fight. Not about profound, meaningful things anyhow and not often enough for her to be secure in that he won’t leave her over a disagreement when they do have a serious one.

And yet here he is sitting at the table, grinning and pleased with his work. He gestures for her to sit and she joins him at the table. Very quietly, but still she joins. Mostly he watches her jab at the chicken with her fork.

“Did I do a good job? I added extra spice just for you.”

Azula manages a smile. “It’s very good, Kei Lo.” And she would miss it very much if she let some silly disagreement come between them. 

“Great.” He smiles.

She clears. “So you don’t want to talk about this morning?” 

He shrugs. “There’s not much to talk about.”

“Our conversation went unfinished.” 

“I know that you don’t like leaving things that way.” He rubs the back of his head. “I know that I can’t force you to like Michiaki. But it would be great if you could pretend to, at least while he’s around.”

“I’m not going to pretend to like someone just to make them comfortable.”

He laughs. “I know. I guess that what I mean is, can you be cordial with him?”

“I am cordial!” 

“You told him that you were going to toss him into a vat of uncomfortably hot honey and toss him into our bee garden.” And for greater clarity he reminds her that this was because he had said that his honey tasted better than theirs ever could. 

“I just don’t understand how you can befriend a man who doesn’t even like our honey.”

“He didn’t say that it tasted bad, just that he thought that his honey is better.” Kei Lo shrugs. “Maybe he’s offended that you think that ours is better.” 

“It is.” Azula folds her arms across her chest. “Objectively so. The crowds we draw speak for themselves. He is still limited to selling from a cart.” 

Again Kei Lo chuckles. “And where did we start at? Correct me if I’m wrong but we just bought this shop.”

Azula simply sniffs and takes a bite from her slice of bread.  Rather she is about to when there comes a knock at the door. 

“I got it.” Kei Lo says. 

“It’s Michiaki.” Azula grumbles.

“I haven’t even answered the door.” 

“I am Michiaki!” Shouts the voice on the other side of said door. 

“Was I being loud or do we need to soundproof our house better?” Azula whispers. 

“I think that we should probably consider some soundproofing.” He squeezes her shoulder as he passes. “What can we help you with, Michia?”

“Oh you cute little nicknames now…” Azula mutters. 

“We do indeed, honeysuckle.” He kisses the top of her head as he returns to his seat and her cheeks flare. She distinctly recalls telling him never to call her anything but her false name, Hinayoko, when people are around. And never anything but Azula when they are in the company of people she used to know–not that she has to fret over that.

“This is the first time that you’ve called me honeysuckle and it will be the last.” 

He reaches across the table and ruffles her hair. “Trust me, Michiaki, she’s not so bad once you get to know her. “Anyways, what do you need?”

“Well, actually I was just hoping to join the two of you for dinner.” 

“We’re already in the middle of…”

“It’s fine.” Azula says with an exaggerated sigh. “He can join them for dinner. I’ll…deal with it.” She grits her teeth. 

“Are you sure?” Kei Lo asks.

She nods. “I haven’t really eaten much yet anyhow.”

“I could have sworn that you hated me?”

Azula shrugs. “I did.” She furrows her brows. “I do? Rather, I don’t trust you. But I suppose that I should give you a chance.”

The flood of joy and relief on Kei Lo’s face makes her own discomfort at least a little worthwhile. 

“You’re the best, Hina!”

Agni’s blood, the man even has a nickname for her disguise name. 

“Hina?” Michiaki asks. “That’s an Earth Kingdom name, isn’t it?”

“Hinayoko.” Azula replies. “Yoko is a Fire Nation name.” She clears her throat. “Plenty of Fire Nationals take an Earth Kingdom name when moving here.”

“I’m aware.” Michiaki states. “You just didn’t strike me as the type of person who would. You’re very, headstrong.” 

“And you’re very nosy.” She rebuttals. 

“Hina’s a reserved kind of person.” Kei Lo cuts in. “She likes to keep to herself, she doesn’t mean to be so prickly.”

“It’s actually rather intentional.”

“I can tell.” Michiaki helps himself to a slice of bread. 

Azula helps herself to a very drawn inhale. This is much less than comfortable but Kei Lo seems absolutely delighted. And she realizes that this is the first person who has ever shared a dinner with them. Sure, Yoi is a friend but they have never actually had company before. Not at their house anyhow. 

No wonder Kei Lo has taken so well to Michiaki; he is a lot more social than she. He probably gets lonely when she is off with Dao-Yan.

The two of them jest and laugh over a bowl of vegetable soup and she is content to simply listen to the conversation. Perhaps she doesn’t like Michiaki, but she can’t deny that hosting a guest doesn’t make her feel as though she might truly belong here in Miwu.

[3xamenace]

Lo and behold, it's me being low-key called a pedo after trying to be nice. And yeah, I'll not waste my time covering the dumbass' username.

If one of us is a pedo, it's not the one who knows fictional characters aren't real. I mean, sure, I'm a pedo for knowing that Azula is a not a real person and not you for having a crush on her?

[ilikepjo24]

For the character thing, can you do Mai?

It took me so long to find the last time I did this game to find the questions 😭

Sexually headcanon

Zukoromantic lesbian.

(Dates girls and Zuko)

Otp

Maiko!! They are soulmates in my mind, I absolutely adore them!!

Notp

I can't say I really have a notp for Mai. For me, notp means a ship o actively dislike and if I found it in the tags of a fic, it'd be a deal breaker and I wouldn't read that fic. For Mai, while there are a lot of ships I'm indifferent to, I can't say there are any I actively dislike and would ruin a fic for me.

First headcanon that pops into my brain

Mai and Azula shared a summer thing together while Zuko was banished. They were each other's gay awakening, and Azula is one of the only people Mai can talk about her feelings to, because the princess makes her feel comfortable.

Favourite line from this character

The line itself. The delivery. The attitude. Calling Zuko a jerk. Saving Zuko despite him being a jerk because their love is so strong. Everything about this was chef's kiss. 🤌

One way in which I relate to this character

Knife collection!

Thing that gives me second hand embarassment about this character.

Dating that Justin Bieber looking bitch, Kei Lo. Like I believe their break up was necessary and that Zuko needed a reality check on all the ways you can't treat your girlfriend, Kei Lo's design is blander than vanilla.

Cinnamon roll or problematic fave

I have to say problematic fave. She was willing to go on a manhunt and hurt people only out of sheer boredom.

[ao3feed-zukka]

Prince Zuko

Read now on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/JCpu1Lt by xox099 Sokka got hired to become The Prince's bodyguard until he gets married and crowned firelord by his arranged marriage of Lady Mai, but soon to figure out that they never loved each other that its all a show to please his father, they loved each other platonically and not like that at all. Sokka started feeling these strange feelings towards him, like a crush? But he's only ever crushed on women in the past why all of a sudden is he falling for a man? Espectually a future firelord to the firenation, the prince isn't suppose to date and love a man spectually a man that wasn't even from the Firenation and from the Southern Watertribe, what should he do? Words: 19005, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M, M/M Characters: Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Zuko's Crew (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Azula (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Kei Lo (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Kanna (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar) Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Kei Lo/Mai (Avatar) Additional Tags: Gay, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Slow Burn, Slow Romance, There Is No War In Ba Sing Se, Alternate Universe - No War, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Angst, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, Sokka Loves Zuko (Avatar), bi sokka, Loss of Virginity, No Smut, Mommy Issues, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Princes & Princesses, Prince Zuko - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Mai/Zuko - Freeform Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/JCpu1Lt

[ministrationz]

azula's psychosis

now that azula in the spirit temple's release is coming soon, i thought i'd talk a little about my thoughts on azula's psychotic break in the show and how it's handled in the comics.

although we aren't given any indication as to whether or not azula had been struggling with psychotic symptoms before the events leading to azula's coronation, let's just assume that this started only when it was made visible to the audience.

although azula does treat her friends very poorly at times, these issues stem from her believing her mother never loved her and her father never truly loving her. ozai controls everyone through fear, even his children. while this doesn't excuse azula's treatment of ty lee and mai, i think it shows that azula doesn't have a good understanding of what a healthy relationship is like. when azula's friends stop following her every word and through their betrayal show that they aren't afraid of her, azula's view of herself and of her relationships collapses and she loses the only people in her life that aren't ozai. i think this was the beginning of her starting to lose her grip on reality, because her core understanding of how both her relationships and the world works had been completely undermined.

when ozai chooses to leave her in the fire nation while he goes to essentially wipe out the earth kingdom, another chip (and perhaps the final one) in azula's confidence and sense of identity is created. although i would not argue that all of azula's actions throughout the show are driven by a desire to please ozai (i think azula enjoys feeling like she has control and that she's winning. she was also deceitful to her father whens he said zuko killed the avatar and raises her voice at him whens he leaves her in the fire nation), i think azula definitely values his opinion of her, and she put in all the work throughout the show envisioning a specific outcome for herself. azula constantly strives for perfection, and her father leaving her behind fundamentally goes against her idea of what the perfect outcome was. furthermore, her father choosing to leave azula with the lackluster excuse that she would be "fire lord" in his stead demonstrates to her that not only did ozai never really care enough about azula to grant her the "honor" of finally concluding the 100 year war with him, but it shows that all her efforts were not been enough to secure ozai's "love". the perfection she strives for so desperately, a key part of her identity, is ripped from her grasp at the last moment.

we see more evidence of azula's struggles with feeling loved and understand what love is during azula's psychotic break, when she sees her mother in her room. her hallucination of ursa tells her that she shouldn't control people through fear, and azula questions what choice she truly has. when ursa asserts that she doesn't fear azula, she loves her, azula reacts in anger. azula doesn't understand how to love people, and she doesn't feel like people can love her. this sense of repressed isolation, caused by both her mother's favoritism for zuko as a child and by her father's generally bad parenting, has haunted her for most of her life, and is finally culminating when she feels that she's completely alone. her mother, her father, her brother, and her two best friends have abandoned her.

azula's sense of identity is completely shattered. cutting her hair is symbolic of her failing to achieve perfection, and of her losing control on both herself and her situation. her deep-rooted feelings of being unlovable reach a boiling point, and the overwhelming sense of isolation causes a break from reality. loneliness and isolation both increase the risk of psychosis and aggravate the symptoms of psychosis even further. we see these symptoms culminate before azula even hallucinates her mother, when she becomes increasingly paranoid of her servants, and li, and lo, and starts banishing them over the most minor of issues. it isn't surprising that once she's pushed essentially everyone around her out of her life that she finally starts having hallucinations.

based on what happens in the search, we can see that these hallucinations continue for years after they start. zuko locks her in an asylum (which clearly only makes her worse) and she starts believing that her mother is collaborating with everyone around her to ruin her life. although i won't go into zuko's decision to put her in the asylum because i think it goes beyond the scope of this post, it's clear that the isolation has not helped her at all. it isn't until azula is actually able to confront ursa in person that her state of mind improves, because someone else (her mother) acknowledges that she didn't feel loved enough.

although i still think azula is struggling with many of the same issues in smoke and shadows (and most likely will continue to struggle with them in azula in the spirit temple), i think it's safe to say the worst of her psychosis is mostly gone. she has people in her life again, although we haven't seen enough of her interactions with them to see whether or not her patterns of behavior have changed. i have a feeling azula's redemption (if it happens) will require her acknowledging and trying to move past the issues that led to her psychotic breakdown.

i think a lot of people disliked how azula was treated in the comics (the asylum), which is understandable. imagery like straightjackets can be very upsetting to some, and for good reason. i personally did not have much of an issue with it because i felt like it was framed as a negative thing that happened to azula and the wrong decision by zuko. regardless, i do find azula's psychosis overall to be very relatable in almost every way, so i may be a bit biased, but i think it's one of the better representations of psychosis in media. the sympathetic lens azula is framed through definitely helps. there's a lot of issues in the fanbase with people calling her "crazy" or boiling her down to just her breakdown, but given that azula was a secondary villain, mental illness is overall poorly understood, and azula is a woman, this is unfortunately bound to happen.

overall i think her psychosis was a necessary step in her character to humanize her and to hopefully lead to her redemption. let me know if you have any other thoughts!

[loopy777]

How do you think Mai would handle being The Bachelorette? Her bachelors are Zuko, Kei Lo, Ruon Jian, and Sokka. Who would get her final rose? 

To begin with, let's note that I have never see an episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette and I have no idea what the competition involves. Dating-like activities, I guess? But do they all go as a group while the men try to discreetly (or discretely) murder each other, or does the Bachelorette just run through the same date multiple times and the last guy on the list really needs to being his A-game to keep her from getting bored? At least with Mai, every guy will have to work hard to keep her from getting bored, so that's a bit more fair.

But before we get too deep into the game itself, I think we have to take a moment and explore something critical. Why is Mai picking a husband on a reality show? That makes so little sense there has to be an agenda at work.

Is she being put up to it by her parents? Is it some kind of ironic comedic performance on her part? Is Azula torturing her? Did she swap bodies with Ty Lee in a zany magical adventure again?

The explanation we pick is going to heavily affect who she chooses as her Reality TV Husband, so we have to be responsible about it. We can't just come up with an explanation that will allow Sokka to win, even though that's the objectively correct choice. Mai's clearly not in it to actually find a long-term romantic partner. You don't have to be as cynical as Mai to know that these Reality TV Romances don't last a week beyond the airing of the final episode, if that. And a quick search on my part turned up that The Bachelorette does not award prize money to the winning couple, so it can't be that she needs the cash.

In the end, I think we should stick with the classics- the most common reason for going on Reality TV.

Mai wants the attention, for some reason. And since most of the contestants are from the Fire Nation, it's specifically that nation's attention which she wants.

The fandom can't seem to settle on what the Fire Nation thinks of Mai, and sadly the comics have not really elaborated on the situation. Sometimes it's convenient to make her reviled, either for betraying the Fire Nation or for sticking her tongue in Zuko's mouth or not sticking her tongue in Zuko's mouth or not being Ty Lee or her strange lack of affinity for just-bear-bears. Other times, she's popular for her support of Zuko and/or being the coolest girl in the cast with the knives and the dour sarcasm and whatever is going on with her hair. Her reception amongst the Evil Factions isn't any more consistent, what with her complicated relationship with her father and her father's complicated relationship with being a villain. Even her temporary terrorist boyfriend couldn't decide which side he was on, thanks to her.

So I would personally avoid the question of whether Mai is loved or reviled. Instead, let's once again go on the most well-trod road of the Reality TV Star: she just wants everyone to know her name so she can get a better job later. This mandates that Mai does not start as a famous figure, despite how notable her life has been. But then, Upper Class Fire Nation Teenagers one island over from the capital didn't recognize Zuko's face, arguably the most famous face in the entire world, so obviously if you're not a Reality TV Star, the Fire Nation doesn't care about you.

All right, so we know why Mai is doing this. She wants to be famous. Now, what do the guys want?

The most simple of them is Zuko; he just wants Mai. Even the comics agree on this point.

Kei Lo also wants Mai. We know he doesn't have any other friends, and he seems to really like her, so I can see him being willing to debase himself on Reality TV just so that the girl he likes will consider pretending to date him until a week after the finale airs.

Ruon Jian, from what little we saw of him, seems to be honesty interested in Mai, perhaps even fully attracted to her. She helped wreck and burn down his best friend's beach house, but perhaps he found that amusing. Perhaps he likes dangerous girls. Perhaps he was always looking for the same kind of excitement as she was, and before he met her, he could never really admit it. So he's on the show to give wooing her a go, sure, but also to discover his best, true life.

Sokka is here as part of a scam. Disappointing, I know, but he's too much like Mai -- too perfect as a potential romantic partner -- for him to take Reality TV seriously, either. I can see him annoying Katara, who loves both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, by insisting that these things are scripted. So he has to have ulterior motives. Perhaps Mai is even in on it with him, helping him out while she's pursuing her own agenda. She probably thinks it's funny.

So with that established, how does the elimination go?

Kei Lo goes out first. I have nothing against the guy, but when he's not being a terrorist, there's nothing interesting about him. The most amount of spice he can bring is offering to pick a lock, and let's face it, he's no charismatic criminal gentleman. In contrast, Zuko lights things on fire and struts around like he owns the place (never mind all that delicious backstory on him), and Sokka is a strange foreign hero who even other foreigners think is compellingly odd. And Ruon Jian calls everyone else a loser while preening for the camera, so he's a natural Reality TV star and will probably be recruited for Survivor next season.

In the next episode, sadly, Sokka is out. He managed to use one of the dates as a cover to sneak his way into Ruon Jian's rooms and find evidence of Lord Ruon (Ruon Jian's father, of course) defrauding his international trading partners. Mai smirks, tells Sokka to hit the road, and he happily does so after giving her a peck on the cheek and asking how much prize money he gets for lasting two episodes. He walks away in a slump when he's informed the only prize is Mai.

In the final episode, it's down to Zuko and Ruon Jian. There's tension in the air on every activity. The boys spend more time insulting each other, sometimes even brawling, than paying attention to Mai. Despite this, neither one is stopped by any of the pitfalls prepared by the show's producers. Neither notices Ty Lee trying to seduce them. They sabotage Azula's attempt to assassinate Mai without even realizing she's there. When they get trapped together in the Spirit World, they manage to work together long enough to defeat the Reality TV Spirit (it's a giant glowing gross bug, formed from the tortured energies of all the gross bugs people have eaten on Reality TV for attention) and get back home. They even manage not to burn the mansion down (I think this franchise takes place in a mansion?) when doing the baking challenge, although Sokka proclaims neither one's bean pastries are sweet enough. (Oh yeah, the producers bring Sokka back for the finale as a surprise guest because he's so popular with audiences. He enjoys judging the baking competition but doesn't understand why the producers insist he not wear a shirt.) At last we come to the final scene, where Mai has to award her rose.

Mai tells Zuko that she's loved him since the day she met him, since before she even knew what love is, and that no one will ever be more suited for her.

Mai tells Ruon Jian that he's kind of good-looking when the lights are low and not quite as boring as most other people, even though she can't remember his name.

Then she gives Ruon Jian her rose.

There's scandal in the Fire Nation! No one can believe Mai picked this random dude over the Fire Lord! Everyone is talking about it. Zuko's fangirls are torn between being relieved and being offended on his behalf. Mai becomes a celebrity world-wide for her individualism and standing up to the weird culture of the Fire Nation that has people compete on Reality TV for love, instead of competing on Reality TV for money and singing contracts like normal people.

Mai becomes the most famous woman in the Fire Nation. Everyone wants her at their parties, even if they hate her. She cuts celebrity endorsement deals and appears at every big social event. She even gets to host the Tonys, which suits her fine because no one watches the Tonys. Mai becomes rich and everyone does what she says. Mission accomplished, she and her family never have to work a day in their lives again!

She also breaks up with Ruon Jian a week after the finale airs, without ever having gone on a real date with him.

She's seen going out with Zuko a month later, but by then everyone is more concerned with how Sokka has managed to get through eight episodes of his The Bachelor season without eliminating a single girl. It's a happy ending for everyone, except maybe Kei Lo but that's okay because he ends up on Celebrity Big Brother a few years later and wins when no one notices that he's been living there the whole time.

That's reality for you.