#General Ozai

[the-sky-queen]

Avatar the Last Airbender theories I had that turned out to be false

So unlike literally everyone else, I didn't grow up with ATLA and discovered it sometime when I was in high school. Can't remember exactly when. Because of this, I created a few theories as I was watching for the first time, trying to predict where the show would go. All of these ended up being completely wrong, but they're fun, so I thought I'd share them!

Zhao becomes the Firelord

Sooooo funny story with this one. I actually had two exposures to ATLA before I actually watched it and one of them was THE SERIES FINALE. I didn't see the whole thing, but I did catch a huge chunk of the ending. So before I even started watching officially, I knew Zuko was gonna be a good guy, which is why I never gave up on him. XD This also means that I got to see Ozai's FACE.

Ozai doesn't show his face in book 1, and by the time I started watching, I'd forgotten what Ozai's voice sounded like. I also had very little idea of who I'd seen Aang fighting in the finale was in the first place. So I kinda took one look at Zhao and said "YES. HIM." The theory went like this:

Zhao slowly climbs the ranks of the Fire Nation over the course of the series, growing more and more power hungry as time goes on. Eventually, he gets to the point where he overthrows/assassinates Ozai and becomes the new Firelord. Aang has to fight him in the finale and Zuko has to take the throne that's rightfully his back.

Imagine my disappointment when Zhao got eaten in the book 1 finale. XD I was so convinced of this theory that I didn't even believe he was really gone for a looong time after this.

2. Zuko is a Double-Bender

Remember the Blue Spirit episode? Of course you do. Well, there's this split second clip as Zuko's rescuing Aang where he picks up a bucket of water and splashes it on a guard or something. I completely missed the bucket on my first watch of this episode and concluded that whoever this Blue Spirit guy was, he was a Water Bender. I then proceeded to get my mind absolutely BLOWN when I realized the Blue Spirit was actually Zuko. I started going crazy with theories that Zuko was secretly a Fire Bender AND a Water Bender. Hence, a Double-Bender. I asked a friend about this theory of mind and she sadly debunked it for me. However, this is still my favorite ATLA theory to this day and I have an entire AU centered around it. One day I'll get around to actually writing it.

3. Jet is a major recurring character

So the other time that I got ATLA spoilers before watching it was when I accidentally half-watched most of Jet's introductory episode. The friend I was with at the time groaned in annoyance at Jet, leading me to believe that he showed up A LOT and he was the worst thing this show had to offer. I fully expected Jet to pop up ALL THE TIME and make a nuisance of himself. I was relieved to discover he doesn't come in nearly as much as I thought he would.

4. Ba Sing Se stuff

Rapid fire round! I thought a lot of things about everything that happened in Ba Sing Se:

Team Avatar all get brainwashed by the Dai Lee except for like Sokka or someone, who then becomes wanted by the entire brainwashed city and has to figure out how to reverse all this.

Zuko happily lives out the rest of his days with Uncle Iroh at the tea shop and never runs into Team Avatar again.

5. Azula alone

Team Avatar frees the entire city of the brainwashing. Specifically Joo Dee.

Yeah, I thought all of Ba Sing Se was brainwashed, not just some people.

I was 100% convinced that Mai and Ty Lee were going to betray Azula at some point during book 2 and then join Team Avatar. I guess this kinda happened? Kinda?

Aaaaand this is all I can think of for now. I'll make another post if I think of more theories I had, but this is about it. :)

[izze-art]

GIRLS GENERATION MAKE YOU FEEL THE HEAT 🔥

[jadeazora]

So, what are we thinking, guys? Hearing the main theme got me kinda excited, but I still remember their first attempt with going live-action.

(at least Firebending is shown how it usually is in the series, with them being able to generate it on their own.)

[aquatint-101]

They tell you that you are a god, that thousands of years of unnamed power thrums beneath your veins. Yet your lungs rise and fall as they always have, and you feel just as human as ever-

(Maybe you never have been. Maybe your only reference point is you, and that is where your error is gravest. If you have been a god all along, what would you know of being human?)

-x-

They start to fear you for the accident of your birth. You try to tell them that you are the same as you have always been. You play all the same games, throw pies off the stony balcony ledge and watch them land and burst open like overripe fruit, gooey cream exploding into the air.

But they stop smiling at your jokes. They stop listening to the songs you've learned to play on your flute. They never say we're not friends anymore, because it's not true, not exactly. Friends are people that can be trusted and you, you are not a person.

There is only one man in the world who thinks otherwise.

-x-

They want to take him away from you. They want to tear you from your home and your family and what little you have left. You have been taught not to be covetous, but this angers you.

So you run, like the wind that has been trapped between the trees. You see the wide, open sky and decide to conquer it, just like your people have for generations. But it's not the storm that swallows you; the waves claims you before the clouds can.

You sink to the ocean's depths, and your grip on the reins starts to falter.

(You are not human, and this keeps you alive. Perhaps it is the elements. Perhaps it is the magic. Perhaps it is something far older than both. Your eyes glow beneath your closed eyelids, and your tattoos burn with impossible light. You are breathing still.)

-x-

They want to ask you how you did it, want you to reach inside the depths of your murky memory and proffer your secrets to them. But you have no answers to give her when she keeps questioning how you forced the turning tides to do your bidding.

The answer is simple. You didn't, the monster did.

See, there is a monster inside of you. Not a god, because gods are never this angry, never this vindictive. The monster wants to rage and destroy everything it sees painted in red, but you will not let it. The monster eats you up when you get scared or angry, and you are never strong enough to make it go away.

She is. She calls out to you and her voice somehow lulls the monster back to sleep. She cradles you in her arms and tells you that you can let go. You think her words are lost on you, because you are not the monster.

-x-

They want to pull the monster out from inside you, and you let them. The monster has laid waste to armies while all you have done is run, run, run. Your people are gone because of you, but the monster saved you. Perhaps it can save them too.

She tells you in plain terms that she does not like this, and you can see the fear in her eyes when she talks about rage and pain and you. You do not know how to respond. Perhaps if you cut enough pieces of yourself away, the monster can finally save you both.

It's okay, you want to say. I'm scared of it too.

All you give her is cold, cold silence.

-x-

They are gone, and you are all that is left of them. They are gone, and it is you, two animals, and a monster that stubbornly claws its way out of you when you are forced to confront this fact. The monster is everything your people would have hated, because it aches for blood and vengeance in a way you never can.

(They are your people, they have to be, and you cannot be this other, this god, that they just raised like a cuckoo in the nest.)

In the desert, as the heat scorches your bare skin, you look at your shaking hands. You do not deserve to be the last of your kind, because now when anyone thinks about your culture of peaceful monks, they will think about the monster inside you.

-x-

They are right to fear the monster, and you are right in wanting to control it. You seek out someone who promises to help you tame it. He wears the saffron of your people but smiles sadly when he says he is not one of them. He tells you about your guilt and your fear, your hope and your longing, and all the things you have to confront.

And it doesn't make sense. This isn't about you, this is about excising the monster inside you.

But as you gulp down the horrible banana onion juice he insists on feeding you, the truth hits you like a falling meteor. There is no monster, no other force inside you that magically appears when you get sad or angry.

There has only ever been you.

-x-

They are disappointed that you cannot summon the monster anymore, but you are just relieved. The anger keeps building inside you, like a roaring flame or a rising tide or a towering mountain or a howling wind. Its pitch and roll keeps you up at night, the names of all you have lost black marks against the inside of your skin.

You try to be as you have always been, but your smiles never reach your eyes, and the notes of your flute always sound out in minor key. They probably notice that something is wrong, but they don't say much except to push you towards your destiny.

Your temples are in ruins, and they think you weak for trying to hold on to them. They think you weak for forgiving, not knowing that the alternative, letting the monster have at them, would have been far worse. But it's okay now, the monster can't hurt anyone ever again. You can't hurt anyone ever again.

-x-

They tell you to kill him, and you want to say no. The voices of your friends, the voices in your head, the voice of the monster, they all scream at you to just end it. But a smaller voice, one that speaks from your heart, just whispers in quiet opposition.

The monster is you, has been this whole time, but you are not a monster. You are more than a living relic or a god given flesh. You are a person, the last of your kind, and they all live on in you, so for their sakes and yours, you say no.

"I'm not going to end it like this."

[gorey-gorella]

People who say Ozai is Azula's parallel and Iroh is Zuko's only look at the surface level.

Both Azula and Ozai are younger siblings and big bad and a little crazy.

Iroh and Zuko are the older brothers and the good guys who wish they could help there younger siblings.

Yes, this is true, but obvious and surface level.

Ozai is literally meant to be a Zuko of a different generation. He was drawn to look like an older, scarless Zuko.

Ozai is insecure and has a little brother complex, yes, but he is the least favourite. He probably thinks Iroh has it all. He clearly isn't liked by Azulon, he, like Zuko, keeps trying to prove himself and take the throne.

When I learned that Azula actually never really wanted the throne, was content as a Princess, and simply was doing what her father wished, it made me realise more similarities to Iroh. Iroh didn't seem obsessed with being the Firelord and was content in his place, even when he was a War Lord.

A younger Ozai won't go Azula crazy. Azulon has high expectations for him, yes, but not as high as Iroh and Azulon was never proud of him anyways, so why would Ozai go Azula crazy?

Ozai, while stoic and manipulative, he never came across as the actor type of manipulator. Iroh and Azula are good actors though.

Ozai, like Zuko, is desperate for approval, not as much scared of losing their lack of approval as say, Azula. Like yes, they would worry about that too, but not as much as Azula.

If Iroh was more determined to make his father happy and didn't fall into depression and apathy, he would be like Azula, and he would continue the seige.

Ozai and Zuko want to hear, 'Yes, you are worthy, and you are worthy enough to sir on the throne and be the Firelord.'

Azula and Iroh just don't want their fathers to second guess and still want to be in there fathers graces.

Iroh could have easily become almost exactly Azula if he came back from cancelling the seige, and Azulon showed doubt in him subtlety and started letting someone else do some of Iroh's duties. Or, if in Ba Sing Se, he thought of how his father would feel and burnt down the city anyway. But Iroh doesn't have the obsession and stuff Azula has, and he most likely had more emotional support in his life.

Azula was pushed to the breaking point when her father said she would look after the Fire Nation as he will burn Ba Sing Se. While not obvious, Ozai probably felt a distrust when she lied to him about Zuko finishing off the Avatar.

In an age down AU where they are around the same age, Iroh would probably be more likely to go Azula crazy than Ozai, especially if he was just as obsessed with making his own father proud and be in his good grace, because the whole point of Azula's mental breakdown was the role of perfectionism being placed on her and everyone betraying her.

[2stepadmiral]

Okay ngl but the added detail of the Fire Nation unit Zuko spoke up for and was burned and banished for being assigned as his crew is beautiful. Like there are some changes I’m not sure about but Zuko earning their loyalty by having saved them is such a great addition and I teared up when lieutenant Jee announced that OUR PRINCE has returned.

[five-flavor-soup]

The funniest bit of the entire Fire Nation royal family is how stupid some of their decision are, yet somehow they keep working out in their favour?? Like Sozin loses his boyfriend (the Avatar. The one who keeps the balance) by suggesting the Fire Nation goes to war, and then the Fire Nation goes to war anyway. Ozai’s nephew dies in a presumably horrific way and he believes that’s a brilliant moment to ask his dad to make him next in line to the throne, and when that backfires, his wife saves him and their kids and he manages to become Firelord anyway. Iroh decides the best place to lie low and start a life outside of the war is to hide in the city he, personally, laid a 600 day siege on and become a renowned tea maker, and this would’ve worked out had his niece not taken over the city. He also wants tea SO BADLY while on the run that he canonically takes his chances on a potentially incredibly deadly plant (it’s the deadly plant) and he survives. Zuko’s numerous Impulsive and Arguably Bad Decisions that Somehow Work Out Anyway compile into a list so long I’d have to add a readmore to this post. Iroh II proceeds to prove he really is Zuko’s grandson and thinks it a good plan to firepunch a bomb, before deciding to take down a whole squad of airplanes by like, figuring out how to fly one as it’s flying and doing some good firebending to destroy the planes, and he somehow manages to make it work.

Azula appears to be the only one in the family who didn’t get the strong version of the “Make Impulsive and Dumb Plans that can Never Work Out but Do Somehow”-gene (thanks to Ursa’s DNA probably) and she still lost, largely because of elements outside of her control. Imagine being the spawn of the family who fosters all of the ‘best’ traits present in the line (resourceful, highly intelligent, physically powerful) and you still lose to the uncle who thought it brilliant to become popular in a city that hates him and the brother whose plans can all be summed up as “fuck around; find out; success”, because you didn’t plan for something that ended up occurring but you couldn’t ever have expected. I, too, would cry.

[dyingroses]

Couldn't find the original meme so I reused my Boromir & Faramir one

[inbarfink]

[zukosdualdao]

also if i see another “zuko was actually very weak and cowardly for only confronting ozai during the eclipse” post, i am going to explode, actually.

y’all get that you are saying exactly what ozai said, right? you are using the same rhetoric ozai, as an abuser, was using to attempt to manipulate and berate his son.

zuko is protecting himself from ozai here. he has been in physical danger from ozai at least two other times prior to this. (three, i think, if we’re counting comic canon, but i know that’s contentious.) he is taking necessary precautions. acting like that is a bad/weak/immoral thing for him to do is abuse apologism, there’s literally no other word for it.

[nerdypeanuthoagiebanana]

So I was thinking about how ATLA inverted the favored sibling trope -if u can call it a trope-. Like usually in fiction, it's the older sibling that is the favorite and the younger one is kind of the underdog. And then I realized that they didn't only invert it they also subtly executed the classic version of it. It's never said explicitly but in the one scene, where we see Ozai and Azulon interact with each other, it is abundantly clear that Azulon favors Iroh - his older son- and completely dismisses Ozai. Ozai is the one lacking, Ozai can't do anything right in his father's eyes.

And now we go one generation further, Ozai is now an admittedly terrible father to two children. Zuko and Azula, and who does he favor?!

THE YOUNGER ONE

AZULA

Of course he does, Ozai heavily projects on both of his kids. He goes the extreme other way and puts the same abusive pattern on his own children, just reversed.

- Iroh himself btw never has the opportunity to develop that pattern, first of all because he only had one child, and second of all because he was the one who got the at least somewhat "healthier" dynamic with his father and probably his mother, if we go with the theory that Ilah died in childbirth.-

Because he sees the exceptional prodigy of Azula as himself, the second child, who in his narcissism is the better option. Who he can form to be the perfect successor of his legacy.

And in that way of thinking he treats Zuko, his older child with the same neglect and dismissal as he was treated as a child. He himself does not realise it, but he creates in that way in Zuko a kind of distorted mirror image of himself.

With one difference. Zuko has his mother and his uncle to teach him compassion. Not only that but Zuko himself is someone who as a person has a strict honor code he follows. (See 41st division).

Zuko is with that in mind, not just a reflection of Ozai but also a WEAK reflection from his perspective.

Which puts us back to the reason of, why he burned the face.

So in conclusion did ATLA not only invert a trope, it also used it to develop a unhealthy family dynamic and create a realistic picture of the cycle of generational trauma.

[katarasmomsnecklace]

OK so controversial opinion

I haven't see the live action avatar (I'm a Katara stan yall I just can't do it) but going based of reviews and general consensus I can see I'm going against the grain here

I hate that the 41st is Zuko's crew

I've seen so many people say that it was the only change they liked but I cannot get on board with it

My biggest issue and I guess this is on me since it wasn't stated in the show (though heavily implied) was that I and many assumed that the 41st was child soldiers

I know they only state it's new recruits in the og but even as a kid I assumed that meant teens at the very oldest

I thought the 41st would be 14/15 year olds

And I assumed they all died

Leaving the fate of the 41st ambiguous was what made the fire nation terrifying to me as a kid, were they really willing to kill their own children? That's what made Zukos banishment hit so hard for me because if the Fire Lord could maim his own child, what was happening to the other kids in the fire nation?

Also it takes away a level of cruelty from Ozai, even if the 41st is alive is he really going to let Zuko know that, is going to let Zuko see the people he saved?

Plus I think it really sours Iroh telling the crew about Zuko's compassion and love of his nation and its people; instead it sounds more like "stop complaining that he's disrespectful he saved your lives"

I just can't see how it adds to the story and I think it actually makes Zuko's arc with his crew worse.

In my opinion, it messed with the untold story telling, we didn't need to know what happened to the 41st. Why not let the audience draw their own conclusions instead of dumbing it down

I just really really hate that change

[fuzzykidney]

Little thought process and personal belief on the ages of Iroh and Ozai.

Some people are under the impression that Ozai is like 15 years younger than Iroh. I don’t personally think that because:

-grey hair doesn’t mean much. In the flash back of the siege of ba sing se Iroh has black hair. But then Lu Ten dies and Iroh’s world falls apart. He loses himself and his respect and everything. That easily could have taken a big enough toll on his body to turn his hair grey early.

-flashback and portraits of him in the canon book “legacy of the fire nation “ show black hair. He only stopped being a general like what? Five years before the story we see?

-I wouldn’t doubt someone like Ozai would just ignore hair dye lol. He wants to look his best.

-the live action actors prove a point somewhat as well. The actors are only 4 years apart, and Ozai’s is actually the older one.

However I do think the timeline for avatar is whack in many instances. So this is just one thing I try to grasp.

Side note: Sozins age and kids are just whack. Tenzin’s age difference from Pema was unnecessary. And why couldn’t Iroh the second be younger???

ANYWAY. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THNX.

Edit: I remembered this picture from the series. Lu Ten and Iroh with zuko. Best I can do is guess that zuko is maybe a year and Lu ten could be around 8. So 8 years is the max I can concede to lmao. But also makes sense. It’s still a sizeable gap.

[krimsonrose]

I find it interesting that the Royal Fire Fam’s lightning all looks different from each other.

Iroh’s lightning has thin barely jagged lines, kind of wispy as well and colored in a very very light shade of blue.

Azula’s actually looks like real lightning. Bright blue with the correct jagged lines you’d expect to see.

And then you have this loser lord. Ozai is out here with just pure anime lightning, with it being filled with thin super jagged lines in white. Makes me think of Raiden from (the 1995 movie) Mortal Kombat’s lightning.

Do you think the way they are generating the lightning makes it look different? As in their state of mind as well as the style of firebending? I just want an actual in-universe answer for this besides being told it’s a stylized choice like with Azula’s blue fire.

[blluespirit]

Zuko's official defection post-DOBS

I made a post about this here, but I NEED to talk about Zuko defecting more, so here's a deeper dive into Zuko's desertion post-the Day of Black Sun and the crazy impact it could have had on the narrative if only we'd had more time:

In the series before the day of black sun, Zuko had been labeled a traitor, even if he'd not fully committed to the cause yet, but the reason that this is so different and should have had far reaching consequences is because of two things:

Zuko returned home. He was a great propaganda story for Ozai to use in his continued campaign. Despite years banished, ordered to do the impossible, Zuko actually did it. He 'killed' the Avatar and returned home to take his rightful place at his father's side. It's a version of a 'rags to riches' story (except riches to rags to riches and all of it is a lie lol).

The uhhhh... incredibly suspicious circumstances of Zuko leaving. To the outside it looks like this: Zuko 'kills' the Avatar and returns home a hero. Then, when his nation is at it's weakest, the Avatar reveals himself to be alive and leads an invasion right into the capital. Zuko escapes at the same time the Avatar and his companions do. So... Zuko obviously didn't kill the Avatar, and mysteriously disappeared before any consequences could befall him. So, there are several burning questions that people would be desperate to know: What did Zuko do to convince Azula of all people that he really did kill the Avatar? How much did Azula know? Did Aang and Zuko plan for this so they'd have an inside party during the invasion? Did Zuko come home always intending to defect? Regardless of it being true or false would quickly become redundant. The point is that people will talk and react according to what they hear if they see him; most likely it won't be a positive reception with few exceptions.

With all of that, the Gaang must navigate the Fire Nation: the place that hates Zuko the most right now... which says a lot, considering he's the son of the man trying to destroy the world.

Building on what I said in point 1; the smear campaign against would have been dialled up to a thousand. The literal Crown Prince of the Fire Nation defected. You cannot get a more high-profile defector than that. Jeong Jeong's leaving was a big deal, now lets take that and make it so much worse. Ozai would understand that such an event is undoubtably going to stir conversation and thought; and he wants that conversation to be directed in a very particular way. He and his council/generals would know they need to squash any potential rebellion before it can breathe and use Zuko's actions as a reason to become even more patriotic. They'd be doing everything they can to stir up anger, to make them out as the victim - Zuko was corrupted by the Earth Kingdom people since he spent time living among them, eating their roof, wearing their clothes, sleeping in their beds. He can no longer be seen as Fire. Truth would become redundant. Zuko has committed the ultimate betrayal. (I think to Zuko and Mai's interaction at the Boiling Rock prison;

MAI: The warden's my uncle, you idiot. [Zuko facepalms and sighs; Mai shows him a letter.] The truth is, I guess I don't know you. All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart. ZUKO: I didn't mean to - MAI: You didn't mean to? [Reading the letter.] "Dear Mai, I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving." ZUKO: Stop! This isn't about you. This is about the Fire Nation! MAI: [Sarcastically.] Thanks Zuko, that makes me feel all better. [Throws the letter at him.] ZUKO: [Stands up.] 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.

Mai's complicated and misguided feelings are all tied up in Zuko, because she's right. She doesn't know him. She thinks he's betraying them all; Zuko is trying to save them all. She fundamentally does not know who he is. When they last knew each other, they were just little children. They're older now, and there's an abyss of experience between them; one of them staying in comfortable familiarity of the Fire Nation, the other falling further and further out of that sphere until eventually he realises the truth. Mai doesn't really love Zuko - she can't, because she doesn't know he is (and vice versa).

Rant aside, I think this energy can be placed to many civilians in the Fire Nation. Although only gone for three years, he was so young when he left, it's unlikely anyone had much of a conceptualisation of him. Now, all people know is this: Zuko was banished for disrespect, he's lack of honour. He 'killed' the Avatar and returned home, only to disappear soon after the Avatar appeared, leading an invasion. That's not much to base an opinion on, and when your surrounded by propaganda, it might be impossible to see through the lies.

We can also some healthy inferencing here to how the Fire Nation would feel about Zuko's action as well by remembering what Iroh and Zuko's first wanted poster read: “Permission is granted to kill them on sight" and that was in Book 1, when Zuko's in-denial treason was pretty tame compared to this. I'd wager the bounty on Zuko's head would be... large. Whether he'd be worth more alive or dead is up to you. I can see the lines falling either way (he's committed an egregious act against his nation: there's either np other option but to kill him, or they want him alive as a big power-play).

Regardless, a bounty on his head makes him a target and not just any target, he's the target. What is he wanted for? Treason of the highest order, that is consistent. The details? Well that depends who you talk to and what poster you read. The point is that each detail creates fear and loathing until only two things are certain, capturing/killing the traitor prince will reward you with a lot of money; helping the traitor will cost you your life.

Lastly; Zuko was the crown prince. Now, he's the traitorous ex-prince allying with the Avatar to overthrow his own country. He's dangerous in a whole new way. Even though Ozai would remove him from the line of succession, it would be clear what the Avatar's ploy here is. Zuko is not just his Firebending teacher, but who he intends to sit on the thrown after he disposes of Ozai

All of this to say, navigating the Fire Nation should have been harder and navigating it with a newly traitorous Zuko should have been terrifying.

[marsconer]

i hope someone thinks about iroh and ozai as much as i do. because what if your brother was evil and what if he was still your brother?