#ask ozai

[sharlmbracta]

if he had kept his glasses Feat. @ask-ozai

[ask-ozai]

Thoughts on Ikea and Kiyi possibly being his child?

If Ursa says the child is Ikea's, then she's definitely not Ikea's. It's the same Ursa who once wrote a letter announcing that Zuko himself also was Ikea's. The same Ursa who spent a week saying that Azula also was Ikea's (somehow) when things started to get difficult between us. That was always her petty way of messing with me.

The girl melted a steel door without any prior training. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

[ask-ozai]

If you were a true Fire Nation citizen you would know that Sozin's reign was so advanced that sages invented computers. You would also know that my father's experts later invented wifi. And now Zuko is trying to be "progressive" and giving a lot of privileges for free, like 'free' wifi in the prisons (that's actually payed with tax money)

Don't blame a more civilized culture if you were born in the retrograde Earth Kingdom, where soap is considered new technology.

Okay but the best Tumblrs in the world are def @ask-ozai @ask-azula and @ask-fire-princess-ursa bc it just. Doesn’t make sense. How do they have computers?

I checked, it was over 200 years between hot air balloons and tumblr where I’m from.

[missaccuracy]

In "Zuko Alone," I noticed that Ursa never calls Azula affectionately, unlike Zuko, whom she calls "darling". At the same time, Ozai calls Azula "my dear," but never calls Zuko that. I think this is interesting and shows which parent is closer to which child. What do you think about that?

Indeed, I've always thought it to be DELIBERATE that we see Ursa using affectionate language with Zuko and Ozai with Azula, but not the other way around.

Ozai calls Azula "my dear", but whenever he addresses Zuko, he almost always calls him "prince Zuko". Ursa also takes a more official tone when addressing Azula, calling her "young lady".

We have no evidence of Ursa calling Azula endearingly on screen, but at the same time, I honestly don't think that she never did that with Azula.

What I personally think happened is that Ursa used to use affectionate language with Azula, when she was younger, just like Ozai used to do with Zuko, but with time, they both stopped, when Ozai started to see the sides of Zuko he didn't like and Ursa started to see the sides of Azula she didn't like.

I think this subtle characterization element in Zuko Alone shows which parent understands which child better. With Ozai, it's obvious that he started to resent Zuko, and with Ursa, I don't think she hated Azula, but she didn't understand her and started to instinctively keep distance from her, paying more attention to Zuko, which unfortunately, contributed to a horrible result for Azula in the end.

[discordiansamba]

something something AU in which Zuko is Ikem's son, but everyone in the royal family (including Zuko) knows about it and the ripple effects that has on the story.

in which Ikem gets married to Ursa, but this does not matter to Azulon at all. He is determined to introduce Roku's bloodline into the royal family, so he simply absolves their marriage and has Ursa marry his second son instead. She has no say in the matter. The only wrinkle is that she is already pregnant. Ursa carries Zuko to term anyways.

he has no royal lineage, but he is still of Avatar Roku's bloodline- and Azulon decides that could still be useful to him. Zuko's fate hinges on whether or not he is a firebender- if he isn't, then Azulon will allow the boy to return to his blood father. if he is... then he will remain at the palace and will be raised as a member of the royal family.

unfortunately for Zuko, he is.

Zuko grows up keenly aware he's the odd one out in the royal family. He's not of Sozin's bloodline- it's just an accident that he ended up as part of the royal family. It's clear his step-father resents his existence, especially once he and his mother have a child of their own. he grows up resenting Azula in turn, because she serves as constant reminder of everything Zuko's not.

(Azula resents him because it could not be more obvious why mother likes her half-brother better.)

everyone knows that Zuko's title of 'prince' is a farce. he has no royal blood. he is simply Fire Lady Ursa's child from her previous marriage. he is expected to learn how to carry himself as one, but he has no duties at the palace. the only thing he is truly expected to do is to be a good firebender, and Zuko's not even really that.

(Azulon is indifferent. As long as the boy can marry well, his children may one day be of service to the royal family.)

he's an outsider in his own home. his step-father barely acknowledges his existence. fire lord azulon does, occasionally, but it's rare. his mother loves him, and so does his cousin Lu Ten- who doesn't seem to care that they don't share any blood. But then Lu Ten goes off to war- and dies. Then Azulon dies, and his mother disappears.

Zuko is suddenly very, very alone.

he manages to avoid the fallout for three years. he had just started lessons with master piandao, who manages to convince the new fire lord to allow zuko to come and live with him for awhile in order to truly study the way of the sword. those are probably some of the best years of Zuko's life- he thrives there.

(he also learns things there that his tutors at the Caldera would never tell him.)

but he can't avoid the inevitable. he has to return home at some point. ozai never quite strips him of his title of prince- but he's not his heir. azula is the crown princess. zuko is just an extra. he might be a useful pawn for marriage, like his step-grandfather always said. at the same time, it's obvious that ozai is looking for an excuse to get rid of him.

zuko keeps his head down. tries to not give him one.

ozai finds it anyways. zuko is burned and banished- sent to look for the avatar. he knows the task is impossible. lu ten's father- his step-uncle- is there to keep an eye on him. he wonders if maybe there's a fraction of a chance that his step-father might actually see him as worth something if he manages to do the impossible.

then he does. and the avatar is a twelve year old child.

he can't do it. he knows what his step-father and half-sister are like. when the avatar escapes, he doesn't even try that hard to stop him. he lets zhao temporarily detain him. then in the middle of the night, he packs his bags and leaves.

the avatar needs someone to teach him firebending. maybe it should be him.

[wileycap]

Hi! I really want to hear your opinion about Agni Kai in Atla LA and why it's bad thematically. Thank you!

Hi! I've never been asked anything before!

Alright, so - spoilers. Also, sorry that this is so long.

In the original, Zuko does not fight back, and that's so important. It's clear that the Fire Nation has great respect for hierarchy, whether it be elders, leaders or superior officers. Ozai is the ultimate hierarchical superior to Zuko: his father, his superior as a royal, and - of course - the leader of the entire nation.

In the Agni Kai, Ozai repeatedly orders Zuko to fight for his honor, and Zuko refuses. He remains prostrate, and reaffirms his respect for his father. In the context of this hierarchical culture, he is doing everything right in the face of an order that, to him, is the ultimate paradox. And that's what earns him his scar. A disfiguring, dishonoring brand.

He gets burned because he wants so badly to do everything right. He gets burned because he wants to show respect. He gets burned because, in a cultural context, he is behaving as he should. Because his father is cruel.

But it's not just that: it also serves as a shorthand to the audience that the Fire Nation under Ozai and his forefathers is wrong, to the point that Zuko, the dutiful son, literally cannot do right under that system. And you don't need to do a deep dive into what the culture is presented as to get that - it immediately strikes the audience with a profound sense of unfairness. It efficiently communicates that the Fire Nation is rotten, that the system itself has become corrupted and distorted.

And this sets up Zuko's entire arc. He did right, and he got punished. At the end of S2, he does wrong, and he gets rewarded, but the reward isn't fulfilling to him, because everything he could ever earn under that system is tainted and his experiences outside the system have shown him that, even if he can't accept it at first. And it's so narratively satisfying to watch him then defy his father, who tries to punish him again with lightning, only for him to now be able to literally turn it back (with Iroh's technique, Iroh being one of the few sources of unconditional love in his life!). He then redefines his relationship with Firebending itself, going back to the original source of it. He literally rids himself of the corruption of his nation.

It forms such a tight narrative arc, and it sets up so much about the Fire Nation with no need for explanation. Even his interactions with Iroh also tske on a new light: he's intentionally disrespecting his uncle - another elder and superior, as well as a father figure - and Iroh never punishes him for it. Ultimately, that unconditional love and support leads him to reform his nation.

In the Live Action, Ozai orders him to fight back, and he does. He even has a chance to strike Ozai, but doesn't, prompting Ozai to remark that "compassion is a weakness" before he burns Zuko. Which was never the point of Zuko's arc. It waters down his entire primary character conflict, because if his takeaway is that he lost a fight because he was too kind, then the only thing that needs to happen is for him to get some kind of narrative payoff by being kind. Wow, arc over. It becomes this surface level morality tale about how compassion isn't weakness.

In the LA, he also gets multiple chances to speak out at the war meeting. He questions the plan, the general and Ozai lay out actual, sensible reasons for why the plan has to proceed as it is, and then Zuko says that it's a terrible plan anyways. In the original, he speaks out once, and his words even make it clear that he's speaking out because the soldiers "love and defend our nation." His objection is the mildest possible form of objection: he isn't questioning the system, in fact, he's reinforcing it by appealing to the virtue of these soldiers. And he still gets punished.

With all that and Iroh explicitly calling out Ozai multiple times in the LA, we don't get the sense that the Fire Nation culture itself has been warped by imperialism. We just get the sense that the leader is a bad dude. And that's a far less powerful setup, and it will lead to a far less satisfying resolution.

It's an incredibly watered down version of the original, and lacks so much thematic weight.

[the-badger-mole]

I've seen people criticize Zuko for not taking the opportunity to kill Ozai during the eclipse but expecting Aang, a 12 y.o. pacific monk to do that instead. He was called hypocritical for being unsympathetic towards his unwillingness to take a life when he himself couldn't. I do like Zuko and tend to side with him ( post redemption ofc ) over Aang, but that seems like a valid take, I don't think I have a counter-argument to that.What is your opinion on It ? Also, what do you think was the in-universe reason for Zuko to make such a decision? He said that It's not his destiny, do you think there was any other reason for It? Is he not wrong for not doing It just bc of destiny since It's just an abstract concept and the stakes were really high ( plus It's against the show's message about shaping your own destiny) ?

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds like the people criticizing Zuko for not killing Ozai when he had the chance wanted Aang to do it? That doesn't sound like a contradiction, so I'm not sure if that's how you meant it?

Aside from that, I can only speak for myself. I understand why Zuko didn't kill Ozai. I also understand why Aang didn't want to. What my problem with the resolution for that was that it was the first time Aang seems to have even thought about what ending the war would entail. It doesn't make him look noble, or idealistic. It just makes him look stupid. What do you mean? What do you mean that he took this entire journey to get him to master all the elements on a deadline so he can end the war, and he had no idea what ending the war would even look like? He didn't even consider it? It had to be told to him. He really goofed off this entire series and didn't think about his project until the night before it was due. And don't anyone try to use his age to excuse this to me. First of all, Aang isn't a 12 year old. He's a fictional character who was created by writers. Writers who were telling a story. THEY are the ones who didn't consider how Aang would end the war. Second, within the story, Aang's age is never used as an excuse for why he did this. In fact, not only is an excuse not given, it's treated like a virtue on his end and not a lack of forethought on his part. He's rewarded for it.

Listen, I hate the Lionturtle/Rock of Destiny double deus ex machina, and I have made no secret of it. It was a cop out. It cheapened the finale. It made everything Aang was supposed to learn irrelevant, because no, he didn't have to make sacrifices and hard choices for his victory. He won because he was supposed to win (and how's that for shaping your own destiny?). Here's the thing, though. The Lionturtle, at least, could have worked. If Aang had to come up with the solution himself, go find the Lionturtle and ask for help (and maybe have to perform some challenge to earn it), then it would've been a satisfying ending while still not making Aang himself have to shed blood (nevermind that keeping his hands clean was a privilege most of the heroes in this story couldn't have).

I didn't necessarily want Aang to kill Ozai, and definitely didn't want him to kill Ozai just because it would look cool (although...). I would have been fine with a no-kill ending, if it had been set up right. I just think having Aang kill Ozai given the set up of the rest of the story would've been more satisfying than the cop-out ex machina double team. Or someone else could've faced Ozai, because he was never the main villain of the series. Azula was. And that fight was both satisfying and didn't end with her death, either (because it's a kids' show). It wouldn't even have to change. Aang was not the real hero of this story. Katara was the hero of the first half, and Zuko was the hero of the second. Aang was just the McGuffin. He could've sat this one out and been the one to make the "Real Hero" speech instead of Zuko. That would have been a good ending.

[ilikepjo24]

Lol another dumb take on reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterRant/s/ER8SmBToSm

WOW! There are so many things to unpack here...

"Iroh, the most-" Iroh!? IROH!? THE Iroh!? The "redeemed" warlord that only gave a fuck about being a warlord after it affected him personally? That Iroh? The Iroh that left a child to bare the weight of a nation just bc he, the mature responsible adult, wanted to sit on his ass instead of being mature and responsible? THAT Iroh? It seems awful like both those actions appear to be those of a selfish and unempathetic person. And let's not forget that even after his "redemption" he assaulted June. So how exactly is he the most understanding and kind person in the show, exactly?

Would you like to know who actually is the most understanding and kind person in the show? AANG.

The boy who found it in himself to forgive and learn to have affection for the dude that chased him around the world and almost hurt/killed him and his friends multiple times. The boy who found it in himself to forgive the nation that genocided his people enough to want to help them, teach them their old ways and bring them back to the light. The boy that found it in himself to spare Ozai, a sadistic, manipulative, abusive warlord that wanted to watch the world burn in an attempt to satisfy his narcissism. And may the record note that Iroh did not extended his own brother the same mercy. He believed Ozai needed to die, when Aang didn't. So Aang is more empathetic, understanding and kind that Iroh.

And do you know what Aang has to say about Azula?

That he believes in her ability to do good and be good. That he trusts her to do so. He could have had her executed. He didn't. He could have taken away her bending. He didn't. He could have said she's born evil and a bad egg. He didn't. He put in a good word for her. He said she did something good. That can be good. THAT'S what the actual most understanding and kind person in the whole franchise has to say about Azula.

"She smiles when-" So did everyone else and so does everyone ever alive when justice is served. Because for the audience, the event was unfair and traumatizing. But for the people of the Fire Nation it was justice. And it's only normal for people to be happy when justice is served. When a groomer goes to jail you don't think "oh, that poor groomer", you think "good, this piece of shit definitely deserved it". Similarly, in the Fire Nation, an imperialistic dictatorship, when someone disrespects their Firelord, which they worship as almost a god (if not more, bc we see them worship their Firelord more often than Agni), and that person gets punished they don't think "oh, that like boy", they think "good, this piece of shit definitely deserved it". That's not called "being a bad egg", that's called propaganda and borderline mass brainwashing.

"She mocks-" She's repeating what she heard from adults in her life. That's not being a bad egg, that's bad parenting.

"She tortures-" Not cannon in any way. We've heard that she threw bread at them. Not only was that told from Zuko's pov, who's known to be a biased narrator when it comes to Azula, but it's also not even that freaking bad. It's bread, when it hits the water it becomes soft. No one ever died because they got hit by a loaf of bread. And she doesn't burn them with.

"Her mother's comments-" Oh, you mean the "what is wrong with that child"? That comment? That comment that was thrown at a child after doing a very normal childlike thing? I used to to play execution with my Barbie dolls and beheading them by pulling off their heads and my least favourites would always be the ones that got executed. Kids break toys they don't value and/or like. Azula is not obligated to like or value a gift that wasn't for her. The doll was a gift for every little girl. It wasn't personal. It wasn't hers. She doesn't have to like or value it. She doesn't have to not break it. The only reason that she chose fire instead of execution is because she had fire handy. That comment Ursa made was absolutely not justified.

"She's never given an excuse-" Not only is this take proof that media literacy is dead, it's flat out anti-intellectualism. We see that Fire Nation schools brainwash kids by shoving propaganda in their faces and we know Azula went in a Fire Nation school. All that's left to do is put 2 and 2 together. It's 4. It's fucking 4. Azula was brainwashed in the Fire Nation school that she went to that brainwashes Fire Nation kids. Canon fact. Use your brain.

"Her vision of what she wants is twisted-" What, exactly, is twisted about wanting to be acknowledged by your family that is proud of you, being loved by your family that is supposed to love you anyway, and completing the mission you've been brainwashed into thinking is the right thing all your life? What is twisted about reaching expectations and having a happy family? I'll wait.

"We're supposed to sympathize with the spi- No, we're not. The spirit is very obviously a liar and a manipulator as we've seen throughout the whole damn comic. And it wants to eat her. The spirit is the villain of the story that has been continuously twisting reality to weaken Azula's ambition and will to fight back, so that it could kill her. By the end of the comic we're supposed to know that the spirit is a full of shit and we shouldn't trust what it says, since all it has said throughout the whole comic is lies. Not sympathize with it.

"Rationalizations of her behavior are believe yet unprovable and based on subtext." It's almost like she's not the main character. The show isn't going to take time diving into her background. They are going to only give us subtext and we have to use our critical thinking skills and come to a believable conclusion, as we do. Zuko loving Ursa isn't outright stated at the show at any point, but we know it's a fact because we see it in the way they interact. We know his mother matters to him because he thinks of her and misses her. That's subtext. And we know Azula is not to blame for the person she was bought up to be because Fire Nation schools canonically brainwash their students. That's subtext. You can't selectively decide that this subtext is enough to prove this point, but that subtext doesn't prove that point because it's not outright stated. That's called double standards.

"The show portrays her as being inherently evi-" The show? You mean the same show that didn't even portray the genocider, treacherous dictator (Sozin) and the abusive, manipulative dictator (Ozai) as inherently evil went out of its way to portray the manipulated, abused, brainwashed child as a bad egg? ...Sure. That's what happened.

"Mai and Ty Lee do the same stuff but are portrayed differ-" No, they are not. Mai is portrayed as somebody who abused the power they have over others, since she views ordering servants around as a fun activity, and as somebody who has no empathy towards their family, as she didn't hesitate to agree that her brother has less worth than a king. Ty Lee is portrayed as sadistic, since she's animated to smirk and sneer while taking down soldiers defending their homes. I think she even goes as far as to mock them at sons point, but take that with a pinch of salt. They are portrayed to be classist, sadistic, unempathetic people that only give a fuck about the select few and mystery everybody else. Y'all just refuse to see it because Ty Lee is cute and is constantly infantilized because of it and because Mai protected your lord and savior, Zuko, right after she was done being classist and unempathetic. They are not portrayed as better, you just go out of your way to portray Azula as worst.

"Even in LoK-" Azula is given Freudian Excuse. You just refuse to see it because, as opposed to Legend of Korra, the creators do not chew your food up and spit it in your mouth for you to swallow. You have to put the pieces of the puzzle together and make realization. Which can understandably be hard for people that have a brain the size of a peanut, like yourself.

"It feels weird for a show like Avatar to imply somebody was evil from birt-" It feels weird because it is weird and it is weird because it's something they would never do which is why they didn't do it. You literally just created this narrative inside of your head while understanding that it goes completely against the philosophy of the show. And now it's weird to you that it doesn't align with the show? Make it make sense.

This isn't asking for an Azula redemption arc (although "this fourteen-year-old who was acting under orders of a tyrannical fire lord can't be redeemed" seems incredibly harsh), this is just me wondering why the writers consistently, across mediums, refuse to suggest that she's even the slightest bit a product of her environment? But Zuko gets a pass for pretty much everything more or less? Alright then lol.

This is close to being the smartest thing you have said during this post. Unfortunately it is easy to notice that some of the creators just don't like Azula. That's it. That's the reason why. They don't like her and they don't want her to have a happy ending. So it's good that somebody else is riding this show now. Faith Erin Hicks, as we see from her comic, is not afraid to treat Azula as the victim she is, and is not afraid to lay the blame on the adults that failed her. As opposed to previous creators, she seems to be willing to apply the general philosophy of the show in Azula's character as well. Which is something she's able to do because Azula is not, in fact, inherently evil. She's a victim of abuse and a manipulated child that has done some very fucked up things but has all her life ahead of her to grow up and be better.

Give us a scene of Ozai molding her into the cruel person she is

Supporting and praising bad behavior is enabling it. A good parent would say "I understand that you were upset at feeling as though you were underestimated when you got efficient results, but it's important to keep your cool and respect your instructors since they have more experience than you. If you feel as though the inability of this instructor to stray from traditional paterns is holding you back, communicate that problem with me, and I'll find you a new teacher if it's necessary." Does Ozai do that? No. What does he do? Praise her. What will Azula do in response? Repeat the same behavior to receive praise again. What is that called? Nursing cruel/bad behavior.

Give us a scene of Azula being at least a normal child at some point.

Stealing sweets at a sleepover and recreating scenes from a movie/play with your sibling? I recall doing both those things as a child. We're talking about universal normal child experiences.

Don't vindicate her mother being cruel.

The narrative itself is not excusing Ursa. Azula herself goes to lengths to hold her accountable, actually. The only ones excusing Ursa's actions are Zuko, who's looking at her through rose colored glasses, because she's one of the first people to show him love, and he wants to sing the best of her, and the fandom, for the same exact reason.

Have Iroh say something slightly more insightful than "she's a crazy bitch leave her alone"

Personally, I don't value Iroh's opinion at all. I think he has to work through the issues that he obviously has with himself, instead of projecting those issues onto Azula, which is what he's doing. But since you care about his opinion so much, here's him saying Azula has the capability to find peace.

Here's an easy one: instead of smiling when Zuko got burnt, Azula looks visually horrified. That tiny, tiny change would've made her far more nuanced! It wouldn't be much, but not only would it make the fire lord's actions seem even worse, it shows us that deep down, she does--or at least, did--care! This is more in line with the show's themes and far more interesting than "she's just gonna be super evil hehe".

Here's the thing. Azula doesn't smile because she's just so "evil hehe". She's smiling because Zuko is receiving a just punishment for his actions. At least as far as she's concerned.

Think about it, in the Fire Nation they treat their King as a god. They pray/say an anthem/swear loyalty to the Firelord and the crown every single day. It should be needless to point out that nobody would question the actions of the Firelord. They would just assume that this is the correct course of action because this is what the Firelord is doing.

Azula not only is a subject of that Firelord but she is the daughter of her father. She was 11 when the Agni Kai. At that age, kids do not question their parents. The think things are right because the parents do it. If Dad is upset with Zuko, then Zuko must have done something wrong, because Dad can't be wrong, he's Dad, he's never wrong.

So both as his daughter and as his subject, Azula has been conditioned from the day she was born to think that he's always right. So when he decides to punish Zuko, that's just another instance where he's right. So why would Azula be upset with him for being right? Especially considering that if she were upset with him, it's possible that you would also receive a punishment for disagreeing with his methods.

So imagine you are Azula. You see your dad, who is always right, and is also your king, who is also always right do something. Anything. Do you think to yourself "Why would he do that? That's bad!" or do you think "He's right for doing what he does because he's always right."? She's under the impression that he's a just ruler and father, so why wouldn't she be satisfied at the sight of him rendering justice to the foolish subject that disobeyed? Especially when having a different opinion can result to being in danger?

Do we get anything from the answer to her personality being "bad egg"?

No, we don't. Which is why this isn't what they did. You just have a false idea of pretty much everything regarding Azula's character and how it was handled.

Thus proven.

[marsconer]

this one has a little kick !!!!

[aangarchy]

Ngl if ozai killed himself while in prison that would solve the debacle

I'm assuming you're referencing the debate on whether or not Ozai should have been killed in the finale? Because no it would not, the debate within the fandom (or at least that side of the fandom) is that Aang specifically should have killed Ozai. If Ozai killed himself, those people would still not be satisfied with this ending bc they'd still call Aang a coward.

It's just funny that these people watch a kid's cartoon that's rated PG6 and aired on Nickelodeon of all places and then expect the main character to brutally murder a man on screen.

And I know what some of you are gonna say: "tHeY ShOweD jET gEt KiLLed" no they did not, they didn't show him get hit by Long Feng, they only showed the aftermath. "AaNg PrObabLy KiLLed bEFoRe dUrINg a FigHt" yeah probably, but there is a difference between dealing out potentially lethal blows during fights for self defense and going into a fight to intentionally murder someone. There's a reason there's different charges for manslaughter and murder guys. Aang potentially killing people during fights for self defense would be manslaughter, but killing Ozai would have been murder.

For all of the people with this opinion: maybe look inward a bit and think good and hard about why you want to see a 12yr old child turn into a murderer on screen. Or why you want to see that type of violence in a kid's show. Genuinely it's weird.

[stardust948]

hello! can you please say more about the kiyi is ozai's daughter theory? I'm kind of obsessed with it

#1. The math

Zuko was banished around 13 and crowned Firelord at 16. The Search takes place a year later which makes four years in total. Ursa was banished before Zuko, so let's say that happened about a year or so before the Agni Kai, which makes five years at minimum.

When we meet Kiyi in The Search, she's about 5 years old.

Ursa could have been in the very early stages of pregnancy when she was banished. The earliest you can tell is two weeks after conception.

#2. Firebending

Neither Ursa nor Ikem are firebenders. But at five years old, Kiyi can already melt through steel doors.

I know this could be written off as "She's Avatar Roku's great-granddaughter that's why she's so powerful" but Roku is not the only powerful firebender. it's heavily implied on the show that Ozai is the most powerful firebender even without Sozin's Comet.

#3. Genetics

Zuko and Kiyi look nearly identical to each other. And which parent does Zuko resemble the most?

(Ozai and Zuko parallels image is from Cansu @azulabeloved on Twitter. Other images are from the comics, show, and official art. )

In conclusion, I think it's highly plausible that Kiyi is Ozai's daughter. This gives all of the family a more interesting dynamic.

Ursa having just escaped her abusive husband, now has a child that looks identical to him. But this time, she can raise her without his toxic influence.

Zuko and Azula receive a glimpse of what could have been if they had a normal family. This would be particularly hard on Azula.

Ozai has another daughter he didn't know about and may never met.

And Kiyi who is at the age to start questioning what happened to her father. This ties Kiyi to the story more instead of being the "perfect replacement" child. She may even be the one to sneak to Ozai's cell to get answers instead of Zuko. But now we're getting into fanfic territory.

So yeah, 100% believe Kiyi is Ozai's daughter.

[akiizayoi4869]

I don't understand why people make excuses for Ursa. It is true that she got into a bad situation with a bad husband. That doesn't excuse her. She is still a bad mother to both Azula and Zuko. Her actions in the comic led Ozai to deliberately start treating Zuko worse. Ursa decided to hide behind the baby just to see if the pet tyrant was reading her mail. She just took advantage of the child for her own gain. Just like Ozai. Ursa's favouritism was bad for Zuko and distanced him from his sister. Ursa's indifference led Azula to Ozai

They make excuses for Ursa because she was in an abusive/arranged marriage, and they think that she had zero agency or control over anything. Which isn't entirely true. Because if that was the case? Her relationship with Zuko wouldn't have been what it was. She could still make choices in how she raised her children. And sadly a lot of her choices weren't great. Like you and plenty of other people have said, anon, her favoritism towards Zuko screwed up Azula. It also didn't do any favors for Zuko either. You aren't supposed to favor one kid over the other one, I don't care how "difficult" you think the other child is. And it's crazy because we see how favoritism is like a curse in this family. We are told by the narrative that playing favorites with your children is a bad thing (unless you favor Zuko apparently, then it's all fine and dandy🙄) and that you shouldn't do it. But you see what I just said in the parenthesis? That's where the problem is. We're shown/told that the favoritism is wrong.....unless the favoritism is towards Zuko. Both Ursa and Iroh, two adults that were considered "good" in comparison to Ozai, favored Zuko over Azula. And this is shown not as a bad thing, but as somethings that's fine and accepted because he is the "good" child, and that he acted in the perfect way an abuse victim is supposed to act in society's eyes, while Azula wasn't. Therefore she wasn't deserving of anyone's love like Zuko. Which is an extremely fucked up thing to do to a child who had no control in anything. I mean seriously, the fact that Ursa had Azula thinking this?

100% shows that she was a bad parent, plain and simple. Like I'm sorry but if the impression that I gave my child is that I feared them and thought that they were a monster, I'm not patting myself on the back and accepting the mother of the year award. Being in an abusive marriage does not absolve you from doing shitty things to other people, and I'm so tired of this fandom acting like it does. What I find to be so ironic about this though, is that these are the same people who, when we point out that Azula is a victim of abuse and that's why she is the way that she is in the show, they'll say "so what, that still doesn't excuse her. She could have changed but she chose not to." Say this to them about Zuko and Ursa though, and suddenly they start singing a different tune. Funny how that works.

[ask-ozai]

"My way of showing Azula acceptation has always been putting her in charge of military strategies and she turned out alright"

Actually, about that...

Azula is fine. I was exactly like her when I was young and there was nothing wrong with me either. Zuko has manipulated the population into believing she is insane because how else is he going to keep the throne? Zuko is the kind of person that has to sabotage everyone else to feel better about his own incompetence.

[waterfire1848]

I like the idea if Zuko and Azula were twins they'd be swapping clothes and until puberty hits you probably would struggle telling them apart by appearance. Ursa probably could tell but Ozai..yeah he's gonna be looking at them sideways.

Hello, @deadlyangelofpurity !!!

😂😂😂

If they were born twins, I can see them doing this! They know they look practically identical (only their mother can really tell them apart) so they would do what any kids would do and switch clothes to try and fool people. I’d bet that if they did this they probably also tried to sneak into each other’s schools and would have competitions to see who could go the longest disguised as the other person.

And Ozai not being able to tell who’s who is perfect. Ursa can tell with a single look but Ozai is ten seconds away from writing their names on their foreheads.

[missaccuracy]

Taking those awful comics into account, I have zero clue why Ozai simply didn't kill Zuko after Ursa left. It's clear at this point Zuko is a 'disappointment' and Azula is passing expectations with flying colors. If anything Ozai should've been looking at Zuko sideways when he realized Zuko isn't catching up like he wants and trying to get rid of him so Azula can take his spot as she is more useful. Just wait a few months when Azulon's death dies down, let Zuko have a totally not staged 'accident' and boom, Azula is heir, problem child out of the way, Ozai gets what he wants with zero drawback.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense for a comics Ozai to keep Zuko alive, other than that Ozai probably still wanted to keep his only male heir.

In the show, though, there are more explanations to this.

The thing is, this would be a logical thing to do IF Ozai wanted to get rid of Zuko. Interestingly, though, in the show, Ozai actually wanted to make Zuko his heir. Yes, Zuko didn't meet his expectations, but when Ozai found out that Zuko supposedly killed the avatar and helped Azula take Ba Sing Se, he immediately accepted him as his heir and during the meeting, Zuko was at Ozai's right hand.

Ozai hated Zuko, because he wasn't a capable heir in his eyes, but deep down, he wanted Zuko to be one. And as soon as Zuko "became" the prince Ozai would approve of, Ozai instantly gave him his approval and support, even if it was purely conditional.

Azula was likely a last resort for Ozai, if Zuko would prove himself as completely untrustworthy. And it shows, given that he named Azula Fire Lord only after Zuko betrayed the FN and Azula herself is rather surprised that Ozai gave her this title.

Also, another reason why I think Ozai didn't kill Zuko in the show, is that it was hinted that Ursa and Ozai had a good early relationship. He didn't kill Zuko after she left, bacause he had likely promised Ursa that Zuko won't die and maybe he kept this promise out of some feelings he still had left for Ursa.

[die-auster]

17!! Favorite slash pairing :3?

Hakoda/Ozai.

They are both too hot to not ship them. If you like this pairing too, check out "A Deal With The Devil" by WenchicusThoticus. It is painful, emotional and hard.

If you feel like it you can support me on Ko-fi.