#Pro mai

[jade-kyo]

Mai truly is for us emotionally repressed girlies like

Her whole character arc is like she’s emotionally repressed and was never allowed to express herself so she puts up all these walls and acts like she doesn’t care about anything and is so closed off.

And then her whole arc culminates with her loudly and proudly declaring the love she feels so deeply for Zuko. she expresses just how deep these emotions go, she is willing to die for him. Because she cares so much. Her emotions, her care, her love are so strong that they overpower her fear. Not just her fear of Azula but her fear of expressing herself, of stepping out of line, of standing for what she believes in. Which at this moment is Zuko- she doesn’t even fully understand what he’s doing, but she knows she trusts him more than anyone else. More than the fire nation propaganda and brainwashing, more than Azula, more than her parents. She knows Zuko has a good heart, she loves him for it, and she trusts it.

And that trust and love empowers her to finally express just how deeply she feels.

I don’t know if I’m articulating this very well but as someone who has always struggled to express myself Mai is just so fucking good and powerful to me.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I'm in my Maiko feels today, and I gotta say: we don't talk enough about the fact that Mai is too shy to say she loves Zuko to his face.

On The Headband she says "I don't hate you." On The Beach she says "I care about you." In the finale she says "I actually... kind of like you." The ONE time she full on says the word LOVE, is at The Boiling Rock, when she's talking to Azula.

She can call him her boyfriend, act flirty, make out at any time, say he ripped her heart out with the break up letter and jokingly "threaten" him to never do it again... but she just can't say "I love you." She literally started blushing when she tried in the finale, and couldn't get the right words out.

It's such a cute little detail. She's not used to expressing how she feels, so she doesn't know how or when she should say it.

She'll 100% just let it slip someday, in some casual conversation. Zuko is gonna stare at her all wide-eyed and happy, and she's just gonna feel her very soul screaming in agony and embarrassement.

[bring-mai-flowers]

“Mai is so bland and expressionless” TO YOU

To me she is hilarious and I understand her perfectly

[tachiha3]

Mai's Crimes :

Being goth

Sighing

EATING

Having a not good childhood

Talking to a male that is not her boyfriend

Being angry at being wrongfully accused of cheating

Not jumping up and down in glee because her boyfriend gifted her something he picked up from the ground

Poking boyfriend in shoulder

Joking with boyfriend

Being angry at being dumped over text

Allegedly having sex with boyfriend

Not unlearning years of propaganda in five minutes

Joking with boyfriend AGAIN

Not liking when boyfriend yells

Throwing a sheet of paper at boyfriend

Sitting in a pallenquin

Asking for stuff from servants

[punkeropercyjackson]

Yeah,no,Zutaras don't care about representation for anyone other than themselves.Because if they did,why do they

Call Aang white because they don't like him while knowing full well he's tibetan and come up with every insult in the book for him because he's a femme boy

Say Mai is a pick me and toxic because of her autistic-coding and trauma responses and dosen't 'deserve' Zuko even though he canonically finds the former attractive and has the latter too

Accuse Zukka shippers of being fujoshis who 'just hate women' for wanting Sokka to be bi and Zuko his boyfriend when most Zukka shippers are queer minors who only started the fandom because Atla got put on Netflix so that's how they found out it then instead of when it came out

And completely disregard Ty Lee as an even potentional love interest for Zuko by calling her 'too much of a bimbo' and 'stereotypically girly' for him when she was written with deconstructing that archetype in mind by giving her real emotions and what it puts girls through by misogynists who want to police how we present even if it's a healing/coping mechanism like in her case?

If moc queer or not love Kataang,they get called dudebros with no basis.If autistic women instead of just 'quirky nerds' love Maiko,they get strawmaned as 'creepy alt girls who're trying too hard'.If gay and trans people love Zukka,they get the classic 'these FILTHY GAYS are RUINING our HETEROSEXUAL SPACE' take.And if autistic queer girls who're femme in ways that aren't palpable to allistics and cishets love Ty Luko,we get told we aren't even worth considering romantic options because we're too 'stupid' and can't 'really have deep connections' that aren't being someone's annoying friend.You wanted Zutara to be canon because you're a woc like Katara and had a crush on Zuko?Cool,i feel the same way about Ty Luko and so do certain Maiko and Zukka shippers with their ships but none of run around cyberbullying school children and causing unnecessary infighting over it!So be quiet,not everything is about you and at this point we've proven we're too good to be near you so leave and don't forget to let door hit you on the way out♡

[leantailean]

the most beautiful couple🖤

[toph-bi-fong]

I will defend these two and their unlikely friendship.

[prying-pandora666]

Being Pro Mai but Anti-Maiko Is So Frustrating

Seriously, I can’t stand Maiko. I’ve never liked it as a ship at all. I think Zuko is too controlling and that’s not good for Mai who has a traumatic past of being controlled by her parents for their political benefit. I think Mai is too emotionally repressed and disinterested in politics and Zuko needs someone who can emotionally support him as he dedicates his life to the reconstruction of his nation.

AND YET!

I don’t know why people can’t just be normal and say “I don’t like this ship”. Why does it always have to turn into “Mai is abusive, evil, manipulative, sociopathic, etc”???

I find myself defending a ship I don’t even like, at all, because the sexist accusations against a fictional teen girl are just that insane.

I’ll take a Maiko shipper who can respect my dislike of the ship over a Mai basher any day!

[atla-confessions]

In the beach episode Mai told Zuko that he shouldn't use his past to justify being toxic and violent and taking out his aggression and vitriol and anger on people who haven't hurt him while also expecting them to automatically excuse and forgive it because of said past.

And people call Mai abusive for that.

That's so wild. She's just correct. At this point they're just mad because Mai holds Zuko accountable and wants him to grow as a person because she loves him and knows he can be better. And then they blame Mai for somehow forcing Zuko to do the bad things she explicitly put her foot down to call him out on?

X

[hello-nichya-here]

Hello, whats your opinion on this as a mai fan

I think this person is either misremembering the show or deliberately mischaracterizing what Mai, because what they're claiming she revealed on The Beach is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what she actually said.

She doesn't say "My parents used me as a pawn in their game to get close to royals" or "My parents never wanted me to learn anything about combat." She tells us that her parents will let her do whatever she likes - as long as she BEHAVES. As long as she's invisible. Out of sight, out of mind. They don't care what she does, as long as it doesn't affect them, as long as she's quiet. And that's what she says in an attempt to DOWNPLAY how bad her relationship with them actually is and how it affected her emotionally.

When Mai is complaining that she doesn't like Omashu because there's nothing for her to do, her mom doesn't try to talk to her about activities that could keep her busy/entertained, or show any concern about how she's adapting to moving to a whole new country, to a city where she doesn't know anyone. Instead, she ignores her daughter's attempts to talk about her feelings by reminding her that this is important for her father. There's no attempt to make this situation benefitial for her as well, it's all about how she needs to be grateful that someone else is happy about it.

Yes, when Tom-Tom is "kidnaped", they won't stop panicking, and are overjoyed when he's brought back safely. But there's not a word on them being concerned over Mai's well-being when she's leaving in a potentially dangerous mission. They don't show up to congratulate her at any point after she helps the Fire Nation conquer Ba Sing Se, even though that is a legendary feat. Favoritism much?

In book 3, literally the only adults we see in her home are servants, and considering one needs an airship to go to the island where the boiling rock is, it's pretty safe to say her uncle can't be dropping by too often. They let their 15-year-old daughter live in a different country, without any adult acting as her guardian - that's how much they don't care about her.

And speaking of her uncle, yes, he is doing a good job of being an attentive family member (is aware of her situation with Zuko, immediately lets her out of prison the second he knows he can get away with it) - but using that to claim "Thefore her family life is fine" is absurd because, again, that's her UNCLE, not her parents. By that logic, Zuko shouldn't be complaining about his family either, after all he has Iroh and somehow that is supposed to cancel out being raised by freaking Ozai, riiiiiiight?

And speaking of Zuko, there's a reason why, in a finale where everyone is being reunited with their family and friends, even when the travel time doesn't make any goddamn sense, Mai's happy ending involves a heartwarming reuining with him, and he's delighted to see her - but there's still nothing about her parents. Their daughter was sent to prison for life, then her boyfriend became Fire Lord giving them THE perfect chance to come rescue her, and they STILL are nowhere to be found.

For fuck's sake, AZULA showed more love for Mai than her parents did. Girl was clearly happy to see her again, and even gave her a "hug" that wasn't that touchy because Mai doesn't like it. In "The Lost Adventures" we find out that she was also the one who pushed for her and Zuko to get together (though that also ties into her knowing that was the only way to make Zuko come home despite his guilt over what he did to Iroh). Even on The Beach, she's the one who first connects the dots and realizes that Mai is always so aloof because she's used to being told to shut up when she says something inconvenient.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying her parents had no political ambitions (the Yang comics leaning into that was one of the few good things about his writting). Obviously they were happy that their daughter was best friends with the princess and dating the heir to the throne, and I'm sure Mai didn't appreciate being treated more as asset than as a daughter.

But her complaint was not about that. It was about how her parents are simply not part of her life at all. She's an outsider looking in. She can stand next to them and do as she's told, or she can leave. What she can't do is actually engage with them, mean anything to them, expect anything from them, rely on them at all.

Mai's parents are neglectful to a degree that, in the real world, could potentially have them lose custody of her because she consistently has to turn to literally anyone else instead of them whenever she needs anything.

Is it really any wonder she had a soft-spot for Zuko, aka the boy that is always disregarded by his father, to the point of literally being kicked out of his home, and is actually openly pissed off about it and will let everyone know it?

[loveontherocks]

clownery transcends decades…

[jade-kyo]

They could never make me hate Maiko when Mai was willing to die for him and Zuko looks like a dopey puppy every time she is involved and Mai will let her walls down around him and Zuko is the only one who can earnestly make her laugh and Mai threw mud at him when they were kids and Zuko was so ready to jump to her defense when Azula lit a apple on fire on her head and Mai can touch his scar like it’s not even there and Zuko thinks she’s so beautiful when she hates the world and Mai trusts him so implicitly that she’d betray her nation, friends, and family for him and Zukos only regret when leaving the fire nation was also leaving her and Mai tries her hardest to work past her own issues to support him in his struggles and Zuko genuinely loves it when she expresses herself and Mai who doesn’t like hugs will be so cuddly and touchy only with him and Zuko knows she doesn’t need anyone to protect her and Mai loves him more than she fears Azula…

Maiko the ship that you are… they could never make me hate you

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Why is Zuko romantically interested in Mai? What does he like about her as a person? Does he understand her personal desires and struggles?

"Why is Zuko romantically interested in Mai?"

He's a moody, angsty, grumpy teenage boy, she's a moody, angsty, grumpy teenage girl. She hates everything, but she doesn't hate him, and he appreciates that. He practically brags to a guard at the boiling rock that his (ex) girlfriend doesn't need anyone to protect her because she can handle herself.

They find each other physically attractive, enjoy making out and bitching about things they don't like, and they genuinely have a lot in common (troubled family life, struggling with the idea of who they should be VS who they actually are, don't like it when people try to control them, want a comfortable life where they are free to do whatever they want, and experts at using cool weapons that they're not allowed to kill people with because it's a kid's show).

Also Mai knows how to be understanding, caring and supportive without babying him, something Zuko desperately needs and actively seems to want in his life. And while her "aloof", more detached personality sometimes clashes with his need to shout about every single emotion he feels, it sometimes has the very healthy effect of making him chill a bit (and makes her come out of her shell a bit more).

"What does he like about her as a person?"

Like I said, he likes that she genuinely cares for him, but doesn't put with his bullshit, AND he likes that's just as much as an angsty teen as he is. He literally makes a move on her when she finally had enough with their friend group and yells at everyone, including him, to leave her alone. He looks like a lovesick fool when thinking back to "that gloomy girl that sighs a lot." Boy literally said "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" and was being 1000% sincere.

He likes how bold she can be, how she doesn't put on an act for him and how he doesn't have to put on an act for her, and how she literally risked it all to save him and is willing to be by his side now that he's about to start a new era for their nation even though she didn't fully understand why he changed sides.

Mai is, before anything, her own damn self and won't let anyone dictate her life for her, and Zuko really admires her for it because he can relate to that - which leads us to:

"Does he understand her personal desires and struggles?"

Does Zuko, the banished prince that rebelled against his abusive father, his nation's cruel and violent ways, and even against the father figure that he loved dearly but that wasn't listening when he said he wanted more in life than just a job and a roof over his head, understand what's like to only get conditional affection, be told that he needs to shut up and let himself be bossed around if he wants literally anything in life/not to be harmed, to not be listened to even by well-meaning people that just don't get it, and eventually risking everything to carve his own path in life with people he believes actually vallue and understand him?

I'd say yes.

[iminaworldofpureimagination]

this is a 100 percent.. mai haters how ya gonna be calling girl a toxic gf when she goes out of her way to save her mans life? makes no sense

[punkeropercyjackson]

'I want a goth gf🥺'You guys couldn't even handle Mai from Atla

[leantailean]

Mai and Zuko

I just think a lot about how much comfort and joy they bring to each other.