#mai ;

[umbrum77]

Azula and katara sitting in the garden, laughing and holding hands.

Tylee watches from a distance.

Mai: you ok?

Tylee: I'm happy for azula but how could she chose katara over me?! I should have told her how I felt.

Mai: meh fuck them both.

Tylee: oh! Good idea! (Runs over to them)

Mai: that's not what I meant...oh you're already starting wow.

[radaverse]

Only ogs remember this one 😏

[yukaro353]

🔥The palace was huge, enough to hide the hell that broke loose when the doors were closed.

The lord of fire could forget all his commitments and duties and immerse himself in the honey of paradise🪭

Extra:

🎪🗡️

I've never really gotten into how I see the dynamic in this version of my head where obviously Zuko and Suki are something, well, I remembered it while drawing

I will go into this in more depth later in a separate post.

[the-genius-az]

Azula: *Gets down on one knee*

Mai: Oh my god, it's finally happening.

Azula: *Falls over*

Mai: The poison is kicking in.

[sirenalpha]

Maybe it's just me, but I never even read Mai as not feminine or not feminine enough or unpalatable

atla came out in 2005-2008 and that was when goth and emo were still popular and prevalent subcultures

Mai is a "cool girl" but for one of those subcultures so to me her lack of expression is not so much genuine for her as it is something she as a teen girl put on to fit in her subculture as Ty Lee's bubbliness is for hers as they both use that to protect themselves from Azula

and remember, I watched the show as it was coming out so there was a long time between Mai's introduction where her parents were played as normies dealing with a goth daughter vs the beach episode where she acts like they were strict and oppressive with her so the intro formed my opinion of her and her character

she had the freedom to pick a subculture and a weapon and follow Azula and she picked goth/emo but she was still just as feminine as Azula and Ty Lee

She also wore make up and feminine clothes and had long hair and styled that hair, and she acted as much like a teen girl if not more than Katara did since Katara had more responsibility within the group than her, Mai just had an affect from a different subculture but she was still feminine

So yeah I saw the misogynistic mudslinging between ships but I never read it as Mai being an undesireable or going against patriarchy for how she expressed her femininity like what are you talking about

Most people thought Mai was cool since she's designed to be with her goth/emo styling and her fancy ninja knives, but she's not nice to Zuko and an inconsistently written side character that's a much bigger issue than her subcultural affect when it comes to favoring Maiko v Zutara

My current thoughts on Maiko and Zutara as a former hardcore Maiko shipper.

In retrospect, the reason I felt so strongly about Maiko is that Mai goes against patriarchal ideas of what makes “a good woman,” yet Zuko accepted her for who she is.

My former frustration with Zutara wasn’t about Zutara itself- it was about demonizing Mai as an undesirable woman because how she expresses her femininity isn’t palatable.

Mai doesn’t force herself to be bright and cheery. She knows it isn’t her responsibility to manage other people’s emotions. She speaks her mind unapologetically. She despises the way her individuality and agency are stripped away in the name of upholding societal norms of what a nobleman’s daughter should be like. Her character emphasizes the importance of individualism.

In contrast, while Katara is very much a feminist, she does fit into the classical idea of femininity much more than Mai does.

Katara is motherly and nurturing. She will go to lengths to protect others’ feelings even at her own expense. She is expressive, outwardly affectionate, and sentimental. Her character is more focused on her relationships with others and her community.

And so, I always saw Maiko vs Zutara as “this character who does not fit the traditional mold of what makes a good woman is a bad love interest. This other female character who does fit that mold deserves the male interest so much more.”

Maiko drives home the point that it’s others who should try to understand these women who deviate from societal expectations instead of pressuring those women to mold themselves into someone they’re not.

Criticizing Maiko by saying Mai is too dour and bland for Zuko sounded awfully close to “you would be prettier if you smiled more” comments. Especially because Mai was raised in a strict household obsessed with image- I can picture Michi telling her “Mai, if you want to attract a good suitor you have to act this way!”

I was never anti-Zutara, I was anti-Mai slander. So, while I still enjoy Maiko, I now causally ship Zutara in the sense of “I think their dynamic is cool and they had potential”

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

[sofiialyt]

the last but no the least alta power couple, completing the series ~

love them all 💚💙🧡

[nanamis-username]

non-bending baddies !!! 😜😜😎🤺🔥🔥🪭😝💅🏼🤸‍♀️😋🤭🔪✨💕 (-> pt. 1)

[goldenvulpine]

I want to clear up a mistake people make with Azula and Ursa.

Ursa didn’t play favorites.

Ursa didn’t think Azula was a monster.

Ursa simply, unequivocally, just didn’t enable Azula’s worst traits like Ozai did.

Ozai’s favorite child was Azula, but Ursa still loved her more.

Because enabling isn’t love.

What did Ozai’s enabling do? It made Azula into the type of person to never have any loyal friends. It made the type of person that Mai and Tai Lee would betray at the risk of their own lives.

Ursa pushed Azula to be with her friends. To be with Zuko. Ozai pushed Ursa away, and both kids suffered for it. Azula became a sadist, enjoying seeing her brother get burned—while Zuko was pushed away because he cared for his people.

Azula thought her mom hated her because her mom was the only one who cared enough to tell her no.

[0hpotato]

old atla fanart from 2020 hihi

💫 Prints | Tip  

[mayskalih]

on wednesdays we wear pink

[umbrum77]

Katara and azula sitting in the garden. Laughing talking, holding hands.

Tylee watches them from a distance.

Mai: you ok?

Tylee: I care about azula and I'm happy she is finally happy.

Mai: you know you can talk to me.

Tylee: and it should have been me. I will never forgive myself for it not being me. I should be holding her hand, I should be laughing with her. I'm mad at katara. It's not fair. But it's true.

Mai: feel better getting that off your chest?

Tylee: actually I feel really dumb and petty now that I hear it out loud. I will work through it. I am happy azula is happy.

Mai: does she know that?

Tylee: I...don't think so. I've been angry to even tell her. I should do that. I think it will help. Thank you Mai.

Mai: whatever I don't care.

Tylee(hugs Mai): whatever you say.

[radaverse]

GUYS IT'S REAL

COMIC DUBSSS YESSS!!!

Jack - Sam164

Mai - Felix_the_shape

Original comic!

The Discord!

[adzowski]

My lovelies~ Yet another Avatar fanart from a while back <3

[the-genius-az]

Zuko (running towards Mai with open arms):

Mai (moves out of the way):

Zuko: Hey, why'd you move?!

Mai: I thought you were going to attack me.

Zuko: I was going to hug you!

Mai: Why would you hug me?

Zuko: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?

Azula: Try to touch her again and you'll be the one attacked, Zuko.