#Ukano and Michi

[the-genius-az]

Azula: Thank you for inviting me to Mai's wedding today, Madam Michi.

Michi: Yes, no problem, dear.

Azula: This is probably a stupid question, but who will Mai marry? I have not seen them?

Ukano: You. You are the fiancée. This is your wedding with Mai.

Azula: Wait, what?

Ukano: There's your officiant. This is your wedding ring. I suggest taking her somewhere far, far away for her honeymoon.

Michi: For a week.

Ukano: Here's some money, make it two.

Mai, entering: Oh, this is beautiful. Who's getting married today?

[purple-astronaut]

Urzai week 2024, day 7: Orders (with Iroh's devils, because i can) @urzaiweekblog

Ozai: We have been given orders to get in, take the sweets, and get out!

Zhao, pointing at Michi and Ursa: Cool. Cool. But... umm, why are they here

Ukano: Yeah. Why?

Ozai: Iroh said we would need backup for this mission

Michi: So what are our jobs!

Ozai: Michi, you're with ukano for guard duty-

Zhao giggles: Duty

Ukano: Focus!

Zhao: serious face activated

Ozai, rolling his eyes: Zhao, you are on distractions, and ursa, you're with me.

Everybody but ozai and ursa: Ooooooo~

Ursa: Knock it off!

Ozai, blushing a little: Go! Now!

[sailorluna15]

fire nation royal family headcanon

I've wrote this in before as an anonymous hc to another blog, but ozai, michi, ukano (mai's parents), and zhao had a rock band that was actually pretty good when they were younger. I say like 14-18. Ozai was the main vocalist, michi played the drums and sung from time to time, ukano played bass guitar while zhao played the electric. I hc that mai's mom was a trad goth back in her teens, ukano was punk, while zhao and ozai were mainly grunge. Their records were popular with people around their age and are now considered lost media that are remembered but can't be found.

[kibutsulove]

This is so outta the blue, but ozai, Michi, and ukano (Mai's parents) 100% had a band and were actually pretty good. I hc that they were in the rock scene heavily. Ozai have a specific label like goth or punk, but he had so many self done piercings and tattoos that look so good.

omg yes…… in the modern au they had a small band where they’d record songs on CDs and have Ukano sneak them into record shops.

Someone found them thirty years later going through things and now the songs are considered lost media with a whole sub-Reddit dedicated to finding who made the songs. And little do they know the singer is actually the current Fire Lord (or whatever it’s called in the modern AU) of the Fire Nation who’s hiding a self-done phoenix tattoo behind his hair.

[waterfire1848]

AU (that makes no sense) - Kya, Hakoda and Gyatso giving “How to not be a horrible parent 101” classes to Ozai, Ursa, Poppy, Lao, Ukano and Michi.

[ask-ozai]

🍜

For you from the finest chef in the Fire nation!

Ukano, you-ugh. I cannot eat the image of a soup, Ukano. You have to send me an actual soup. Just put Michi in charge.

[lydiahosek]

#I gather that in traditional Chinese weddings it's actually the groom's family that's served first #let's just say that the Fire Nation does it differently #or that Zuko and Mai deliberately switch it round #because they know how it's going to be #zuko spends ages choosing the perfect tea for the ceremony #ty lee is there #in the Chief Bridesmaid role of providing and clearing away teacups at each stage #she's so excited #she wishes Zuko and Mai could see their own auras because they're so beautiful #she gets roped into the roughhousing and cuddles too #well she kind of ropes herself in #but no-one minds

Maiko wedding: the tea ceremony

Fire Nation weddings include an elaborate tea ceremony where the newly wed couple serve, in turn, the family of the bride and the family of the groom. Mai’s family includes both her parents, at least one uncle, at least one aunt, probably some grandparents, possibly some cousins, and her little brother.

Zuko’s family… well, he just has Uncle.

Ozai is in prison and is definitely Not Invited. Ursa is missing, presumed – well, Zuko’s not given up hope, but there are no leads. Azula is… recovering, but neither she nor Zuko is really ready to see the other again yet (and her therapist advises against it). Zuko feels incredibly guilty about it, but he and Mai both still feel tense (read: scared) at the prospect of being around her, especially at such a time of heightened emotions. 

They consider delaying the wedding, but (quite aside from any question of ensuring the succession, which is a valid concern) Zuko knows how much Mai needs this expression of commitment and Mai knows how much Zuko needs this expression of acceptance, and they can’t put off moving forward with their lives for the chance that a future time will be better.

So it’s just Uncle, for Zuko’s family. And Zuko loves having tea with his Uncle, these days, but thinking about the contrast with Mai’s big family makes Zuko lonely.

Zuko wonders if he can, should, could, invite Aang. He is his great-grandfather, kind of. But Mai counters by suggesting they invite the whole of Team Avatar to take part in the tea ceremony as Zuko’s family. Zuko is hesitant – will they really want to? Would they really want him? He stumblingly checks with Uncle first, afraid he’d be offended, but Uncle is fond of them all as well and is nothing but happy to welcome them as family. 

Of course when he does ask, they all accept with joyous glee.

On the day of the wedding, they have a very formal tea ceremony with Mai’s family first. It’s awkward. Mai’s mother’s attempts at currying favour with the Fire Lord are embarrassing, and she’s definitely judging Mai. They’re supposed to be avoiding politics, but Mai’s father crassly drops hints anyway, ‘if you need my advice’. It’s awkward with Mai’s uncle because of the whole Boiling Rock thing. The only family members they are at all comfortable with are Mai’s Aunt Mura and Tom-Tom. 

Zuko has to pull out his Lee-from-the-tea-shop persona to get through it, topping them up quietly and efficiently and trying to stay in the background. He only notices that’s what he’s doing when he has to stop himself from asking ‘Can I get you anything else?’ after the third cup.

But then they repeat the ceremony with Uncle and the Gaang and it couldn’t be more of a contrast. 

It starts in the traditional ritual manner, even if the participants aren’t so traditional. Mai and Zuko serve Uncle in the role of Zuko’s parent, and then Aang as Zuko’s esteemed great-grandfather. Zuko has tears in his eyes as he and Mai address Sokka as ‘brother’ and Suki, Katara and Toph as ‘sister’. 

The tea is drunk and appreciated; Zuko is pretty good at making tea these days. But the formal ceremony quickly degenerates into joshing and teasing and putting people into headlocks and massive cuddle piles. Uncle watches with a smile and suspiciously damp eyes. It all feels warm and loving and companionable and… safe. 

It feels like family. 

[beifong-brainrot]

I am definetly in the minority here, but I was always so deeply touched by Mai's confession during that scene.

There's just something about Mai's confession that makes me feel so unbearably sad. I think the first thing that hits me is just how... empty she seems in this situation compared to the rest of the Firesome Foursome. Zuko is angry™️ and lashing out, Ty Lee is sad and concerned and Azula is posturing. But Mai is just so devoid of even sadness around her chidlhood trauma.

It's sort of like she shut down emotionally to some extent, (even more than usual) especially after her fight with Zuko.

This is quite a common reaction to arguments from someone who was raised to be obedient and non-confrontational, so I'm not surprised she was acting like this.

Analysing Mai's behaviour on the beach is interesting.

She seems to try to reach out to Zuko in her own, tepid little way by greeting him, but clams back up when he asks her where "her new boyfriend" was. This leads to her smacking his hand away when he tries to reach out to her by asking if she's cold. They're both trying to mend the bridge, but end up escalating the conflict further.

She remains silent for a good while, but does speak up in order to defend Ty Lee from Zuko lashing out. Despite this, when Zuko persists, Mai doesn't push the issue, perhaps due to her upbringing to be placid.

Due to this, I find it intriguing when Mai mocks Ty Lee for attention seeking, since she had attempted to defend Ty Lee from Zuko's ridicule. But perhaps its due to jealousy or frustration by Ty Lee's freely expressed sorrow and trauma that made Mai lash out in her own way.

Or it's just because the writers didn't know how to jump from Ty Lee's traumadump to Mai's lol

This is where we get into the meat and potatoes of Mai's confession.

Ty Lee bites back at Mai and parrots Zuko's opinion of Mai being "a big blah" as he said.

Ty Lee : Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for fifteen years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray ... Mai : I don't believe in auras. Zuko: Yeah, you don't believe in anything. Mai : Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you. Zuko: I'm sorry, too. I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside. She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that?

I think what's interesting here is that while Ty Lee saw Mai as recieving the attention Ty Lee had craved, Mai seemed to receive less loving, parental attention, and more scrutiny. Mai's parents also seem to be actually rather neglectful emotionally towards Mai and them just leaving Tom Tom unsupervised behind a screen in Omashu leaves me questioning if they actually cared that much.

Mai deflects, not adressing Ty Lee's question, but rather focusing on the nebulous concept of auras instead. When Zuko butts in, trying to rile her up, Mai gives a sarcastic apology. I find it very interesting that she sets hereself so aside from the others in terms of her not being "high strung and crazy", because it really shows the difference in Mai's upbringing and that of her companions. Azula and Zuko were raised to be leaders and fighters, and their "firebender instincts" were encouraged, while Ty Lee persumably had to compete for attention with her siblings. While Mai was raised with the :be seen and not heard" mentality.

Now is also a good time to mention that I think Mai has almost comically obvious signs of depression, which wouldn't be a stretch.

Zuko calling Mai out for not getting angry over Ty Lee insulting her aura leads me to my next point. Persumably, being a child raised by parents like Michi and Ukano, Mai wasn't allowed to voice her discomfort, offence or upset. Hell we see this in Omashu when Mai complains about being bored and Michi basically shuts her down and tells her to enjoy it.

I mean look at the expression Michi gives Mai when she starts complaining about being bored, a very normal teenager thing to do.

And when Mai finally does speak her mind, it is no less heartwrenching.

Mai : What do you want from me? You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted... as long as I behaved and sat still, and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my dad's political career to think about.

The first thing that jumps out at us is how Mai presents her trauma. She doesn't explicitly express any pain or sadness, despite it being rather obvious to us. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the group. Ty Lee and Zuko are both very open about their negative emotions, hell, even Azula admits that Ursa's actions hurt her.

But Mai? Mai kneecaps her complaint. This can also be seen as an effect of her upbringing. No complaining, no making herself inconvenient for mom and dad.

We also see the theme of conditional love, an implied idea that Michi and Ukano would only give Mai affection or gifts if she acted the way they wanted her to. Now conditional love from people who are meant to raise you will fuck you up.

The comics also add that Michi actively told Mai scary stories about the Kemurimage to keep her in line. Now, telling kids stories about magical beings to get them to behave isn't anything new, but it appears to be so bad that Mai had nightmares over it. Also we're in a world where spirits actually exist, evil chidnapper spirits don't seem too far out the realm of possibility.

Also as someone who got raised by a heavily Catholic mother who made me believe I would burn in hell for an eternity if I even mildly displeased her, I do sympathise

Azula: Well, that's it, then. You have a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them, you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself. Mai : You want me to express myself? [Stands up and yells.] Leave me alone! Zuko: I like it when you express yourself. [Approaching, attempting to put a hand on her shoulder.] Mai : Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you. Zuko: My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai. Mai: Whatever. That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting.

I love when Mai yells at Azula for frying to psychoanalyse her. Like Azula was right, but it understandably upset Mai, and it's a good thing she expressed that. It means she's growing.

I also do adore that Mai does not let Zuko get away with acting out, particularly towards her. I like that the writer's didn't just have Mai give Zuko a free pass because he had a shitty life and she actively called him out on his actions. It's probably my favourite part of their relationship. And Mai expressing so much anger and upset is a perfect crescendo to her little scene.

I don't know why but Mai confession scene just holds so much weight and emotion for me, I can't help but feel something whenever I watch it.

Also, side note, I find it an interesting detail that Azula's confession only came after the fire was extinguished. Perhaps it wasn't intentional but it kinda feels like its symbolising that the light "went out" for Azula (at least narrativewise) and that while Zuko, Ty Lee and Mai would be able to get out of their shitty situations and from under the Fire Nation's influence, she would not.

[seetangus]

I love Azula!!! Could you do one where the Reader is part of her little gang and when they go to Omashu for Mai, Azula reacts to R taking care of Tom-Tom. Like she doesn’t understand that it’s heartwarming to see R being good with kids and she knows she’s not, but she still has a random thought in the back of her mind of a “what if this would be what it’s like if we have a family together.”So, she’ll watch as R makes him laugh and even sings him a little lullaby when he starts crying, and, for a second, her calculating and ruthless demeanor changes into a sweet look at the scene and at the thought of a domestic life with R.

Dreaming of Tomorrow - Azula x reader

[Masterlist]

Azula x gn reader, no warnings

1.065 words, this was very fun to write, enjoy! ^^

You arrived in Omashu. Azula, Ty Lee and you went there to find Mai, the last member of the squad Azula wanted to assemble to track down Iroh and Zuko.

You had never met Mai as you only knew Azula since a short time, but you knew she was the daughter of Omashu’s new Governour.

Having arrived in the palace, you were escorted to the private rooms of Mai’s family by guards. Once you were inside and the doors were closed, Azula didn’t wait for any formalities and quickly introduced everyone; you greeted Mai and her parents, the Governour Ukano and his wife Michi, who was holding Mai’s infant brother, Tom-Tom.

You immediately liked them; it was rare but all the more nice to see a happy family in such a high political position.

Michi sat Tom-Tom down in a chair and excused herself and her husband, she said they needed to prepare something.

After they had left, Azula shot a glare at Ty Lee, who immediately began talking to Mai and trying to convince her to join the gang. Azula had instructed Ty Lee that she should try first because Azula knew very well that her usual ways of convincing people might not work on someone like Mai and she expected Ty Lee to have better chances.

You sat down too, not knowing what else to do with Ty Lee talking to Mai and Azula observing them. You looked around the room and noticed Tom-Tom sitting on his chair. He seemed to have noticed you too and looked at you with interested, big eyes. You smiled and waved at him, making him laugh. He stood up and began walking towards you with small, clumsy steps.

When he reached you he lifted his arms up, pointing to you. You picked him up very gently and lifted him up to your lap. He seemed to be very happy and you played with each other for a bit, and somehow it was so nice even for you!

Azula watched Ty Lee and Mai impatiently. Why did this take so long? Couldn’t Ty Lee just say what she wanted to say and convince Mai to come with her? Did she always have to be so sickeningly sweet and first talk about unimportant things like Mai’s family, her health and what her life was like? Azula could not wrap her head around how other people actually enjoyed talking about that kind of stuff. To her, it was torture, but if ‘being nice’ really, like Ty Lee said, would make it more likely to get Mai to agree, she would endure the wait.

She looked around the room to distract herself and her eyes locked on you. Were you holding that infant brother of Mai? What was his name again, Dum-Dum? Tom-Tom? Something like that. Not that she would care about some insignificant baby.

She kept looking at you though. Tom-Tom seemed to be quite happy around you. She had never realised you were so good with kids. That was probably because she had never seen you around kids. Still, something was calming about watching you and Tom-Tom. It was almost heartwarming, and she felt as if she wished she was there with you and the baby…

But why would she want to? She was confused at her thoughts. She was Azula. She was a fighter and not interested in things like babies; all they did was cry and be not useful. Playing with babies was for those weak people who valued shallow ideas like a “loving family” over strength. Her father Ozai was the only one who knew how to handle a baby! That was of course why she was the only baby that had turned into a strong human. Her mother on the other hand… well, she made Zuko. And more or less all people were like that, raising their children to be weak.

That was what she thought. However, watching you care for Tom-Tom…

Her thoughts were interrupted as Tom-Tom, whom you had put on the floor again because he wanted to walk, stumbled and fell! He started crying and you rushed to him, picking him up and rocking him gently. You wiped his tears and started humming a lullaby you remembered from when your parents sang it to you.

After a while, Tom-Tom went silent, and soon after he was already as happy as sunshine again! Ty Lee and Mai had some time ago left the room to talk about something different, but Azula was still looking at Tom-Tom and you, somehow enchanted by what she was witnessing. Her heart felt lighter when watching you and Tom-Tom play.

She had always thought badly of typical families with (loving) weak parents and (happy) spoiled children, but you made it look like a dream… was this what having a family is like? Was this what having a family with you is like? Azula felt strange at the thought. Her heartbeat got a little bit faster. This scene she watched, you playing with Tom-Tom, was something she had never seen before and she suddenly felt like there was more to life than she had thought up until this point. And she felt that she wanted to experience it herself; the joy of parents and children! A different joy than the perfectionist and pressured one she had with her father; she wanted to feel real joy, even if it was this time as a parent and not as a child. But was that even possible for her?

You cared for Tom-Tom so well…you could surely be a good parent if you had children. But could she be one too? Azula looked away, her heart becoming heavy and slow again. She could not. Obviously she couldn’t. When she walked through the streets, peasant parents shielded their children from her. They were all afraid, even the children themselves. She could never be a good parent. maybe she should just stop thinking about it. All these thoughts were making her weak. She shouldn't have considered it in the first place.

But still, the thought of being with you…

She decided to just get out of the room and wait for you. But when she sent a last, longing glance at you and Tom-Tom, she saw you smiling at her, making her heart skip a beat:

“Azula, wanna come over and play with us?”

[balanceoflightanddark]

Mai headcanon time.

I think Mai knows about the asylum Azula went to. Not necessarily the details, but enough to know that it is a very bad place. Ukano and Michi probably told her that's where she would get sent if she acted up. After all, they're the reasons she bottled up all of her emotions and was unable to express herself. So it's not that big of a stretch if the place's reputation for troubled Fire Nation girls is well known to people like Azula.

All the more reason for Mai to clam up and be as stoic as she is. After all, being quiet and sitting still is good behavior. And Azula in the Spirit Temple is pretty blatant about what happens to girls that don't show good behavior...

[swan2swan]

My headcanon is that the house actually belongs to Mai's uncle, the Warden of the Boiling Rock. However, since he's pretty much always at his workplace, he let his sister and her up-and-coming husband live there. This gave him easier access to the political field, a nice place for his sister to raise her family, and easy access for his niece to attend the Royal Academy (for which he wrote a glowing endorsement).

Location: Mai’s house

Located directly across from the Royal Palace, Mai’s house is one of the many fancy homes inhabited by important Fire Nation citizens. Since her family is now in Omashu, Mai has the place all to herself.

[calliopieces]

Michi and Ukano headcanons

Yes, you've read that correctly lol. I guess this doubles as a sneak peek for the new fic I'm working on?

I tried making up a background story for Mai's family (by pinpointing the source of their generational wealth). Because you don't really get to enter the Princess and Prince's inner circle and grow up with them if your family isn't powerful, yeah?

Michi:

According to the ATLA cookbook, nurturing the Fire Nation chili plants is a revered practice. I imagine that her family owns huge chili plantations. (Aunt Mura expanded the business by adding flowers to the mix)

I like to think that Mai being good at weapon-wielding came from her side of the family. It's a recurring theme in fanfics that her uncle (the Boiling Rock Warden, Michi's brother) was the one who first supported her interest in knives.

So aside from being the leading supplier of an important crop in Fire Nation culture, they're also a famous clan of nonbenders/weapons experts. (This is something I mentioned in passing in my Maiko childhood sparring partners fic)

Ukano:

Before he got into politics, his family was already pretty prominent. Their most famous ancestor is a key figure in history who strengthened the nation's maritime trade network.

But when the Hundred Year War raged on, their clan shifted their focus on manufacturing warships.

[purple-astronaut]

Iroh's devils and teenage urzai, because these videos live rent-free in my head (memes are not mine)

Ozai: Well, you're dumb!

Ursa: I don’t like your hair!

Michi and Zhao: dramatic gasp

Zhao: She went there

Ukano, in shock

#############################

Ozai: You have exactly three seconds to explain why you just woke me up

Iroh: Because it's morning, and you should be awake

Ozai: Oh, interesting. I didn't know you wanted to die today!

Iroh: Ozai, you can't kill me

Ozai: It's too late. I've already decided how

#############################

Michi: I really like Eminem

Zhao: I perfer skittles

Michi: No- like the rapper

Zhao: WHY WOULD YOU EAT THE WRAPPER!

#############################

Ozai: What you're not coming to my tea party?! URSA I MADE BISCUITS!

Zhao, ukano, and Michi sip tea 🍵

[zuko-always-lies]

Fire Teens and their in-groups

Zuko's in-group seems to be Iroh, Mai, Ursa, and maybe Ozai (but Ozai is in some ways more like a god to Zuko; he's beyond his in-group). Zuko later extends his in-group to include the Gaang. He also sometimes temporarily expands his boundaries to include people like Lee and his family and maybe even Zuko's crew. Note that Zuko never truly considers Azula or Ty Lee part of his in-group.

Azula's in-group is Ozai, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Ursa. Iroh and Azulon are not part of it.

Mai's in-group is Zuko, Azula, and Ty Lee. Note that Mai's family(Ukano, Michi, Tom-Tom) never seems to be part of Mai's in-group.

Ty Lee's in-group is Azula, Mai, and Zuko. It's not clear if Ty Lee's family is part of it. Given that Ty Lee seems to try to stay as far away from her family as possible, it seems likely that it is not.

Iroh's in-group is Zuko, Lu Ten, Azulon, and just maybe Ozai. Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and even Ursa don't seem to be part.

Note: For my purposes, "in-group membership" equals "would character go out of their way to do something nice for x person. It's my assessment that Azula would never go out of her way to do something nice for Iroh, and that Zuko would not go out of his way to do something nice for either Azula or Ty Lee.

[the-badger-mole]

Mai's mom was so nice in the spider woman story! A little OOC, but I liked it

I don't think it was OOC (I mean...we don't get a ton of Mai's parents in the show, so grain of salt, I guess). I've never bought the idea that Mai's parents were cruel to her. I know what she said at the beach, but it was so at odds to everything else we saw of Mai. We only got to see her parents the one time, but they didn't seem to be overly restrictive. In fact they didn't raise so much as a fuss when Mai ran off with the guards after the rebels tried to attack them. That's not the behavior of parents who wanted their perfect seen but never heard daughter as described by Mai after the fact. Until that point, there's no indication that Mai had ever been denied anything she wanted by them.

The show knows how to set up a repressed child/repressive parent dynamic- they did it really well with Toph- so the fact that they didn't even hint at that being part of Mai's story until they needed to set up her switching sides makes me think that wasn't the original intention, and Mai was just supposed to be unhappy that she had to move for her father's promotion.

Don't get me wrong. I have no doubt Mai's parents were awful people, after all, they were the heads of a colonial government forced on the people of Omashu, but that doesn't necessarily mean they were awful parents, you get me? It's possible for terrible people to be loving parents, and that was the impression I got of Ukano and Michi from the one time we get to see them on screen. I think that makes them more interesting, too.

[ask-ozai]

You seem like you're jealous of Ukano because Michi married him and not you

Jealous of Ukano? It was me who told Ukano that he should marry Michi.

Despite all his shortcomings, Ukano always had an innate passion for geography. He memorized the names of all the cities in all the regions not only in the Fire Nation, but the whole world. Knowing that my father had never been very good at geography, Iroh made him my private instructor when I was 12, so that I would be an expert in geography. He showed me where all the cities were, even the ones full of stinky theater-loving peasants like Hira'a. (Why did not any of our enemies ever try to destroy Hira'a? It's a sacrifice I was willing to make). He is not very bright, but he was wealthy and patient, so Iroh must have thought he wouldn't be smart enough to be intimidated by me.

Then, at the Academy, when Zhao and I were fifteen, Michi was nearly expelled because her father had lost all of his family's money. Her older sister, Mura, fell ill shortly after. The youngest brother had to leave the Academy to go work as a guard at the Boiling Rock. But Michi managed to graduate because her obsession with her perfectionism caused her to have the highest grades in the class. Her family was still broke, however, and her older sister was still ill, so instead of pursuing the political career she wanted, I recruited her and Zhao to join me on my expedition to search for the Avatar. (I still had not realized that 'searching for the Avatar' actually meant 'your father thinks you're useless and wants you out of his sight' in our family). Being a teammate of the royal prince is one of the nation's highest honors. Her older sister could get the best healer, and I ensured her efficiency and obsessive perfectionism for my purposes. From then on Michi was always loyal to me. I heard many times in court that she is too strict and cold (I think Azula once mentioned that even her daughter Mai thinks so) (Azula gossiped too much when we washed our hair at the spa, I wish I knew less about Mai and Ty Lemon's teenage drama), but actually her weakness was always her complete terror of poverty. A pretty basic weakness, it was always evident.

When we returned from the expedition, Ukano was looking for a wife, because his previous fiancée had left him for 'incomprehensible reasons', so it occurred to me to suggest him to court Michi. It was a master move. She would not have to worry about money anymore, and would always be in debt with me. I would have her loyalty for the rest of her life.

So no, I'm not jealous of Ukano. He was useful and fulfilled his function. I won't say that the possibility of courting my former teammate never crossed my mind, but I decided against it because marriage, even one of convenience, was never compatible with my ambitions: winning the war. To be recognized as the most powerful firebender in the world. And then when Lu Ten passed away, being the Firelord. I deserved it more than Iroh. Iroh and my father dragged out the war for decades, and I nearly won it in just three years.

A good Firelord needs efficient people, to be his tools by which he wields his power. And I always knew how to distinguish between the best tools, and those that needed to go on a trip for a couple of years to look for the Avatar.