#she may be doing it because she thinks ozai will approve

[zukosdualdao]

saw a post praising azula for conquering ba sing se when her initial orders were to capture iroh and zuko and at no point did ozai tell her to do that, but she accomplished it anyways…

like, we get this isn’t a #girlboss moment, right? azula successfully taking political control of and conquering a city isn’t feminist, it’s an act of imperialism, and it’s horrific. sure, she’s competent, but the things she’s being competent at are immoral and wrong, so.

it’s also a little funny that some of the same stans who praise her for this also try to justify her actions as a villain by claiming she’s just following ozai’s orders. which is it, then? is she a badass feminist icon because she successfully committed an act of imperalism without anyone telling her to, or is she someone who can’t be blamed for anything ever because she was “just following orders”?

[lovely-p-issues]

I have this fanfiction idea for times when my English will become acceptable: (it was in my drafts for months and tbh if I didn't post it today like this, with mistakes and stupid parts, I wouldn't have posted it at all, so, sorry ig)

Book 1: The war

How it all started

Let's make Azulon not madly-evil, but just regular-size-evil: he didn't plan to kill Zuko, because it's a stupid idea to get rid of your possible heir, he just wanted to take a son from Ozai - so he decided to make Zuko Iroh's heir, de facto making him Iroh's son (let's not focus on formality, just assume that you can switch your fathers if you are highborn enough)

(Zuko's life isn't in danger, so Ursa doesn't kill Azulon and he'll be ruling at least to the end of that book)

It may seem a great idea (especially in comparison with killing Zuko) but we can't forget that Iroh just lost a son and is still in grief, absolutely not ready to take care of another kid. He still needs to learn how to find a new path and calm his spirit and now he needs to do it with Zuko around him.

Iroh decides to take Zuko with him for his journey - Azulon approves this, seeing his son (and heir) needs to learn how to live after losing Lu Ten and thinking that Iroh may finally teach Zuko some actual fire bending

"I do not want to want to leave, Azula. I'm sorry, little sister."

"Whatever, Zuzu. At least you won't be distracting me from my lessons. Finally, something good comes from this whole fuss around you."

(In fact, she's not happy. Not at all)

______

At this point, Iroh is not yet the nice old man you know from ATLA. He's a broken man, trying to find a purpose in his life, triggered by Zuko's alikeness to Lu Ten and tired of being imposed on things like taking care of a teenager.

He's not Ozai, he's not cruel or even just bad, he just can't force himself to care.

They don't really talk, only sometimes to establish a plan for their further journey. The worst moments are when Iroh calls Zuko Lu Ten's name and then suddenly stops, looking at him in shock. After that kind of incidents, they stay silent for days.

Zuko starts to blame himself for being, well, alive, when his much better cousin is dead. He convinces himself it would be better if he died and Lu Ten lived.

Zuko spends most of his time alone. He hates making Iroh sad and upset so he chooses to stay away. He doesn't know what this all thing with White Lotus, he just likes the idea of his uncle/formal-dad having friends.

Yet, they travel all around the world and for the first time in his life Zuko sees what sharing progress and civilization by Fire Nation looks like. And he doesn't like that.

He's still loyal to his family, so he doesn't believe that his grandfather knows what is happening.

He decides that he needs to make a proper report (soul of writer, ya know).

He makes notes and talks with people, even if he hates how awkward it is. He believes that it's necessary to help them.

I think it's a wonderful idea to see Zuko interviewing - I mean, investigating-

Zuko's raport list - random traders complaining about the difficulty of staying afloat, - migrants who are fleeing war or have lost their homes to fighting, prisoners of war (this doesn't go down too well, thank goodness Zuko is still a kid and his passion seems adorable so no one kills him), - strange ladies in nice outfits who are paid by horrible men for no one knows what, - malnourished scarred soldiers of the Fire Nation, - children of the Earth Kingdom who teach him their stupid game (once he understood the rules, it wasn't THAT stupid, but still), - crazy old ladies, who won't stop pinching his cheeks, - a young girl with a scar on her face who didn't want to tell him much, but Zuko knew what accidental burns looked like and this wasn't one of them, - a group of artists whose theatre burned down after they refused to perform plays approved by the Fire Nation authorities, - a mother who asks him if he knows what happened to her son who was an earth bender and one day. .. just didn't come home

But we all know that Zuko always prefered to act than think. Pretty often Sometimes he disappears for a night. With him disappears an old, theatre mask.

Son came home and left with his mom. Someone left some gold for the soldiers to buy food. Someone bought the most useless things from traders. Someone left burn ointment made by someone who must have grown up surrounded by fire, on the doorstep of the poor girl. And many other, strange things happened.

Of course no one suspects anything or anyone. Trust me. Not a single soul.

______

Zuko is still training but can't even be angry enough to make a big fire. He's just frustrated and that makes him choke with smoke more than anything.

But with every other day, he feels worse. He gets letters from Azula who started to receive more attention from their mother since Zuko was away. When Ozai's influence is limited, she becomes a little more normal. She's still sharp as a knife and dangerous, but feeling loved by both her parents (even if Oazi is more focused on trying to control her and transform her into a weapon) decreases her psychopathic behaviour.

"Mom asked me to take care of your stupid turtle ducks, dum dum"

She thinks he will be happy hearing that she spends time with their mom, and Zuko, honestly, is happy. It's just-

"Am I even still her son since I'm Uncle Iroh's heir?"

-where is his place now?

For the first time in days, he feels an actual rage. And just like this, his fire bending becomes hundreds of times better, even unhinged and dangerous.

Iroh sees this while coming back from meditation (or whatever) and in a second feels that something is wrong.

He reaches out to Zuko, offering him some advice and lessons, but Zuko, a 13-year-old, harmfully lonely and practically neglected at this point prince, can't hold back anymore:

"YOU WANT TO TEACH ME AFTER MONTHS OF IGNORING ME? YOU'RE JUST LIKE FATHER, HE LOOKS AT US ONLY WHEN WE ARE ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME WHEN I COULD NOT HOLD A LITTLE FLAME IN MY HANDS? I DON'T NEED YOUR STUPID ADVICE NOW! YOU WEREN'T THAT WISE WHEN YOU LOST BA SING SE AND GOT LU TEN KILLED"

Iroh sters at him calmly for a few seconds.

"You are right. I wasn't. I'm trying to do better. If you change your mind about training, you know where to find me."

Zuko comes to his Uncle by night.

They don't really train. They drink tea instead.

And it becomes a habit.

After a few days, they start to actually train.

They need to breathe a lot. It's too much for Zuko, but Iroh is rather stubborn about this one.

After a few weeks, for the first time in his life, Zuko feels that fire bending is soothing and just pleasant. It feels like home.

It can't last forever. Of course.

______

They stayed for a long time in the Earth Kingdom. One day Zuko sees Ba Sing Se and vast fields of previous battles, trampled, dry land and piles of burnt bodies.

It's not the work of some mad general or bunch of scared soldiers fighting for their lives. It's his chubby nice tea-loving uncle's work. This is not an accident, an accidental casualty of war. They are the pride of the Fire Nation. This is their honour. This is their civilisation and progress.

That's what his family is doing to the world. Purposely.

Something is breaking inside him. Thoughts of mourning for Lu Ten. No one has ever mentioned all those bodies, the people who died here too. His uncle, his good uncle, his father, the pride of his Nation, only cried over his son. He never even hesitated to burn to a crisp anyone who defended his home. Against them.

Zuko isn't very smart, as we know. He screams a lot at Iroh. And then he leaves.

He thinks to himself, that Lu Ten, who actually fought in those battles would understand that it was wrong. But Lu Ten would also know what to do about it.

He wanders for days, trying to avoid people, untill

He crushes into something.

"Why are you running, flame-boy? Your pants are on fire?" *wild laugh*

And this is how Prince Zuko met Lady Toph Beifong.

[marymary-diva17]

A marriage of peace and political (3)

zuko x reader x male mai

The daughter that had been gone for many years had finally come home, arriving back at the nation of her birth. It had been so many years she had laid eyes on her people and they had laid eyes on her. She was no longer the young woman that had been married off for peace, she was a woman,wife, and mother, lady or fire nation and southern water tribe. She had become that is respect and trusted by all of the nation, she had master her skills in bending and ruling a nation as well.

Y/n " ......."

Sokka " there have been reports of former fir nation prisoners being released in numbers"

y/n " well yes it had been discussed those how didn't commit crimes that are very bad and make them a danger to the public, have been released and allowed to start over"

sokka " oh"

y/n " yes most of them have started brand new lives in earth kingdom"

katara " you seem to know alot about this"

y/n " I was the on who made the idea and spoke about to the fire nation council, and they have approved of it"

aang " that a wonderful idea y/n giving other a chance in life again"

y/n " yes"

earth king " lady y/n I will like to ask you about trade between the earth kingdom and fire nation, as my nation will like to use more metal in our stuff"

y/n " well your majesty you are in luck there are some companies that will, love to do with you company with a great deal in to them as well"

earth king " we can make that happen"

bato " it seems like thing have been going well for you in the fire nation, four sons and the title of lady y/n"

y/n " yes after the war had ended change had to come it was not easy, and slow at first but we are getting there"

hakoda " if you don't mind me asking how has the former fire lord been after that fight between him and the avatar" there had been uprising because of ozai which ended bad for him in the end, and good for everyone else.

sokka " yes the fire nation had taken him away"

y/n " he been placed under arrest in the nation watched closely, he can no longer bending after aang had taken it away"

aang " sorry about that"

y/n " it okay zuko and azula rule together as one"

toph " wow you think they will be fighting for the crown and title"

y/n " they haven't it seems like they came to terms that their father had used them"

katara " that good"

hakoda " has he meet the boys"

y/n " yes he has under the watch of zuko,azula, and iroh they don't trust him and either do I"

noble man " so the evil fire lord got to see the grandchildren before her own father"

y/n " my dear sir will you like to say that louder"

noble man " oh no I didn't mean it like ..."

y/n " I know how you meant it dear sir"

sokka " sister sorry about that"

y/n " it okay"

squire " excuse me the kyohsi warriors have arrived"

hakoda " that kyohis warriors"

squire " yes chef they ar the guards of your daughter and grandchildren"

sokka " that means suki with them let them in please" soon the door open and soon walked in suki and some of her warriors.

y/n " suki welcome I'm guessing my husbands sent you to come"

suki " y/n hello and yes I and some of the women came to, see you and my nephews where are they"

y/n " being their usual selves like always"

sokka " sukki welcome"

suki " sokka it good to see you are doing well" sukki had given sokka a cold glare.

hakoda " welcome ladies you will be our guests while you are all here guarding my daughter and grandson, I have warriors here if you need help"

kyohsi warrior " where has been for the last couple years oh yes here"

suki " I and my warriors are honored to be here and if we need help we will ask"

sokka " well I think we can call the meeting of day one to an end"

hakoda " yes I hope to have discussions with the fire lords and other fire nation officials"

y/n " you will father I will make sure of it" you had looked at your father and bowed your head in respect to the room and they did the same as well. You soon left the room with the kyoshi warriors following you as well.

suki " we have thought you will need some support against them"

y/n " thank you it going to be a very long time here"

y/n " let go find the boys" you soon started walking down the steps towards the village center.

????? " hey y/n wait up" you had heard your name getting called your siblings and their friends soon showed up, they race to meet you on the finally step.

katara " we were wondering if we can come with you"

y/n " oh"

sokka " well we haven't been with you in so many years we missed so much in your life"

toph " yes snow princess and it seems like sugar queen and boomerang boy have been dying to get to know their nephews, a bit more"

aang " yes we will love to get to now them knowing that I might be their uncle in the future"

katara " yes aang speaks the truth"

suki " i don't thin that a good idea...."

y/n " it okay suki you all can come with us to find the boys" you soon stepped off the finally step along with everyone else, you were trying to see the boys.

kid " hey come on we have to go see this match"

kid 2 " I'm coming I'm coming"

kid 3 " this will be so cool"

sokka " hey what going on here"

kid 4 " there this battle going to take place between some of boys here and some boys that arrived here for the event" you right away knew the other boys are your sons.

katara " we should go see what this is all about"

y/n " I have a feeling" the group of adults made their way to see what was the matter, and soon saw your four boys across from some other kids.

sokka " what going on here"

teen " just a friendly match that all we have been doing it all day while the adults are talking"

sokka " oh my spirts"

hakoda " what with all the chaos here"

sokka " dad it seems like the kids have found a way to keep themselves entertained by some matches"

hakoda " you all wish to battle these boys form fire nation"

crowd " fire nation boys"

hakoda " yes these boys are from very high rank family"

teen 2 " so they are nobility"

Muko " well yes and no"

hakoda " are you boys sure about this match this is way different here as it being snow, you might not be used to the environment"

izo " well I think we will do well"

uze " it seems like a good match as we been watching the rest and study"

man " study my boys here are good benders from our family they can take on anyone"

hakoda " boys are you sure about this"

muko,izo, and uze " yes" the three boys looked at their mother brother who seem, not to care that much about this whole situation.

zoja " I don't care it will be fun to knock down egotistical people down a bit"

teen 3 " you think you are going to beat us"

zoja " maybe"

muko " maybe we enter the battle sir as this is your tribe" hakoda looked at you as you nodded your head.

hakoda " sure"

y/n " boys remember what you father, aunt, uncles, and mother have helped you learn"

the boys " yes lady y/n"

suki " this is going to be interesting" everyone had taken their seats and started watching the battle began.

teen " we will go easy on you four"

zoja " oh we will make sure to go easy on you not wishing to humiliate you all front of everyone watching"

teen " huh ... ahhh" the first teen had soon been pinned against a ice wall by some draggers. These draggers belong to uze who was now smiling at the boy.

izo " lets go" izo and muko soon went after two of the fire bending at them, making the boys lost thier balance and soon fall down a small hole.

zoja " now are you going to give up or do we have to fight"

teen 4 " I will never back down" zoji had tossed some draggers at the boy but he missed it, which was part of zoja plan as the man had ran at him soon hitting his legs soon sending the boy falling to the ground.

teen 4 " hey I can't move what did you do"

zoja " found your pressure points dont worry I will fix it" zoji had undone what he did, the boy could move his legs again but had soon been pinned down a dragger in his shirt sleeve.

muko " mother did we make your proud" everyone was looking at you as the boys looked at you.

y/n " good job"

katara " that was amazing they moved so fast like it was nothing"

sokka " wait so muko and izo can bend fire while uze and zoja are no bender but fight like Mao and ...."

suki " ty lee had taught all the boys here skills of taking down enemies"

katara " those were some water bending moves"

y/n " yes I taught them that"

aang " that amazing"

hakoda " that was amazing boys"

y/n " yes I proud of you all and it seems like iroh has helped you all learn some new moves as well"

zoja " yes and over some tea and wisdom" the boys soon help the other boys up and free from their traps.

muko " good match maybe in our rematch you can beat us"

teen " you have a deal and you taught us a good lesson thank you"

uze " your welcome"

suki "good jobs it seems like you are taking our lessons well"

the boys " aunt suki" the boys had ran to go greet thier aunt happy to see she was here.

sokka " wait so you knew of them this whole time"

suki ' yes as guard to the royal family I got to be there for your sister and them, when you were here helping the world"

uze " aunt suki had helped us learn some combat skills, wait so you are the guy she meet many years ago that was being rude and mad at women had beat him in combat"

sokka " oh you kids have bene told about that"

zoja " yes we have heard many things about you all from our mother and others"

katara " I hope they were all good things"

Muko " oh yes some good thing here and there"

y/n " come on children there is some place I wish to take you all" the kids had nodded their heads, and soon followed you outside form the village and towards some grave sites.

y/n " hello mother and gran gran I have come home it has been so long, since I was here but I haven't come alone I have brought my children as well .... I have a wonderful marriage and wonderful family as well" you had bowed your head toward the two graves and the kids had done the same as well.

katara " mom will be so proud of you sister she will be proud of us all"

y/n " yes she will be proud"

hakoda " yes she will be proud of our family and now we have four new members to add to the family" the boys had looked at each other and soon back at hakoda.

katara " dinner will be served later today will you and the children care to join us"

y/n " kids do you feel like having a family dinner"

muko " we will love that mom"

y/n " well then it agreed on we will love to come"

aang " good there will be meat options and vegetation as well, so there will be many cheese"

izo " thank you for telling us that avatar aang"

aang " you can call me aang boys" the boys had nodded their heads later on family dinner had been served, the boys seem to be having a good time.

katara " y/n are you really happy in your relationship with zuko and Mao, you did marry them after all that happened between the avatar team and them"

y/n " yes I'm happy with them katara and I was there as well during some of the moments of war, I have learned to forgive them and see them in good light"

katara " oh"

y/n " so when we will be expecting another but for you and aang this time around"

katara " we have been talking about marriage but the question hasn't been asked yet"

y/n " don't worry he will ask soon and I know your marriage will be good"

katara " thank you sister and when I get married I will love you and your family to be there as well, and maybe the boys will have cousins to play with in the future"

y/n " yes that will be wonderful"

katara " are you planning to have another kid or this four enough"

y/n " well yes I will love one more kid to added to my family and I have a feeling this time it will be water bender"

katara " that will be amazing to see my sister"

y/n " yes it will be" you had smiled while driving some tea and keeping up conversation with your sister and the others. It was easy to tell there was some unspoken tension between suki and sokka. The feast had come to end and everyone was heading back to their rooms they will be staying.

Hakoda " y/n I'm really happy you came home it has been to long, since you were here"

y/n " yes it has father"

sokka " maybe when you are here to we can see if you can talk you into staying here a bit longer"

Izo " staying here"

y/n " thank you brother but I will need to have that discussion with my husbands and the kids, before think about a matter of moving and them being the heirs of nation will not be easy"

sokka " yes we understand sister"

suki " we will be taking you back to where you are staying and it not far from us as well"

y/n " thank you good night everyone" you soon bowed your head toward your family and the rest of avatar team, as you had been escorted to where you will be staying with the kids. The boys had bene helped out of their clothes by the servants and soon went off to bed.

suki " what are you doing"

y/n " writing a letter to my husbands, my sister in law, and Iroh giving them an update of what happen today and hoping one of them will come a day sooner"

suki " that a good idea"

y/n " so you and sokka is that still a close scroll or no"

suki " i don't know things didn't end well between me and him, and I still haven't found a way to forgive him"

y/n " I understand suki but thank you for coming here"

suki " anything for my friend I will be retiring for the night but not far away, I also made a route for the guards to switch shifts tonight ... but we also have water tribe guards as well"

y/n " thank you suiki sleep well" suki soon left you had gotten done with the letters and rolled them up, as you walked towards the message hawk and place the rolled up letters into it hold.

y/n " be safe flying back home friend to the fire nation palace" the hawk soon took off into the air leaving the southern water tribe and the freezing north. You had soon got dressed for bed and laid in the bed, praying the rest of the time here will be good. There had been some news you had kept from everyone, that was meant to be shared later on but that might not go to plan after all. Right now your duty was to keep the peace for the two nation, and make sure you children stay safe as well. Just maybe you will be able to rebuild your relationship with your family and tribe, and everything will be god juts mayeb indeed.

[missaccuracy]

Do you agree with this take about Ozai?

https://www.tumblr.com/phoenix-king-ozai/662589960179810304/ozai-did-love-and-care-about-his-family-in-the?source=share

I understand where this comes from, I've seen takes similar to this one a couple of times, however, I only partially agree.

The thing about abusers is that they're humans too, so there can be some good moments and happy memories with them, but that doesn't necessarily mean they genuinely loved you. People point to the flashbacks as a proof that Ozai had complex feelings towards his children, but I think he never really cared about them in a way we understand it.

I think in Ozai's case, he didn't truly love their children, BUT, as a human, he just had some parental instinct towards them, as shown when Ozai saved Zuko.

But to me, Ozai is still a clear case of a narcissistic parent and parents like this never love their children unconditionally. We've seen that later in the show Ozai gives his children only conditional approval.

I think Ozai's early care for Zuko also stemmed from the fact that he wasn't seen by him as a lost cause yet. I think the time when Ozai showed kindness to Zuko, was a time when Ozai still hoped Zuko would prove himself.

His later resentment of Zuko comes from the fact, that, in his eyes Zuko isn't a capable heir. He isn't a prodigy firebender, he's not tactical, he doesn't demonstrate great political skills. Zuko doesn't have any of he skills Ozai values.

Ozai welcomed Zuko back after his banishment, because Zuko has finally become what Ozai always wanted.

Same with Azula. As long as she answered to his expectations, he showed her some resemblance of "care", but after he found out she lied to him, I think he became displeased with her and abandoned her in the end. (But she's still his only heir left, so he gave her the position of the fire lord as a way to "shut her up" and still keep her by his side).

We see that all love Ozai has for his children is conditional. And I believe there was a one more reason as to why Ozai semeed to care for his children in the past, but became cold to them later.

This post correctly points to Ozai and Ursa having a good early relationship in canon. Maybe Ozai hadn't lost his feelings towards Ursa, but when she's gone, there was no one to keep his cruelty in check anymore.

When Ursa was present, Ozai tried to be better and make it all work, but she still couldn't tame his ambitions and after she left, it was like all of his soft feelings he may have towards his family and his children were gone with her.

[aceof-stars]

Azula's Motivations in ATLA

I haven’t been in the ATLA fandom long enough to know how popular this opinion is, but I think at her core, Azula wants to be accepted, to be loved, to belong.

I think you can tell a lot about a character by finding out what breaks them. Looking at goals can be helpful, but a lot of the times goals can mask true desires.

What truly begins to break Azula is the betrayal from Mai and Ty Lee. She's also strangely bothered by the belief that her mother thinks she's a monster. In the scene where she hallucinates her mother, Azula only breaks down and shatters the mirror when her mother says she loves her. As if Azula desperately wants it to be true but can't believe it, so she lashes out.

In the finale when Ozai leaves her behind to go destroy the earth kingdom, she says: “I thought we were going to do this together” and “you can’t treat me like Zuko”. She’s desperate to belong, to be accepted by her father. And even though she’s had his approval for her entire life, she’s immediately afraid of being cast aside.

While she is pretty obsessed with succeeding at everything she does and doing things perfectly (ie “almost isn’t good enough”), I think the real reason she’s so obsessed is because she believes she must earn her worth in order to be accepted.

Azula hasn't had many experiences with healthy relationships as a child so she makes people stay by instilling fear and proving her worth. Power and success aren't what she truly desires. They are more so a means to an end.

I also think in the last Agni Kai, she breaks down not just because she's defeated, but because Zuko and Katara defeat her together. A painful reminder that other people have support they can rely on, but she has no one.

It's also really interesting to compare her to Zuko because I don't think Zuko has the same motivation at his core. Yes Zuko became obsessed with chasing the Avatar to be accepted by his father, but really it was about his honor. Zuko saw acceptance in the Fire Nation as a means to an end for his own worth and honor.

And that's the reason Zuko isn't satisfied when he's back to belonging in the Fire Nation again in season 3. And he's not satisfied in the Earth Kingdom with his uncle's support, nor satisfied being accepted and trusted by Katara in that cave.

I'm not saying Zuko doesn't care about or want acceptance from people, just that there is something deeper motivating him.

When Azula pushes people away, it's defense mechanism. When Zuko pushes people away, he's yearning for something more.

[spacecasehobbit]

Thinking some Azula thoughts today, in particular about her mindset during that final Agni Kai with Zuko and why it wouldn't have been a positive thing for her recovery if Zuko had refused to fight just because she was in a bad mental place.

When Zuko and Katara arrive at the palace, the audience knows that Azula is in the midst of a paranoid breakdown because she is feeling betrayed an abandoned by the people she trusted. We also know that the reason she trusted people like Mai and Ty Lee to stick by her side, the reason she expected people like her ship crew at the start of s2 or her servants in the palace to obey her commands and be loyal to her, is because they fear her.

She expects people to fear her because she's a prodigy who has been treated by Ozai as the golden child who can do no wrong all her life. She expects that fear to motivate loyalty and obedience because she's also been taught by Ozai that strength and power and the use of those things to instill fear are the only way to prove one's value; she's bought into Ozai's view that life can only ever have winners and losers, that the winners deserve absolutely loyalty, that the losers deserve to be hurt and used and tossed aside whenever they're no longer of use, and that up until recently she has unquestionably been a winner.

And now she's seriously questioning that view of herself for the first time.

She brought Zuko home to the palace and Ozai with the belief that she knew how to control him, that she could treat him however she wanted because she was stronger and smarter and better than him. Instead, he kept secrets of his own from her, revealed to Ozai that she'd brought him home on a lie, and ran away to join the Avatar. Then Mai and Ty Lee turned against and refused to let fear keep them loyal to her anymore when she demanded things they weren't willing to do.

Then she tried to go with Ozai to burn the EK down, and he effective tossed her aside the way that losers can be thrown aside and forgotten.

By the time Zuko arrives, Azula is in desperate need of someone she can use to reaffirm her own value by proving the lack of theirs. She's lost, she's spiraling, she's questioning her strength and her intelligence and her right to be treated as better than the people around her because of those things. Then along comes Zuko, the scapegoat, the weak and silly and stupid child, the one who would never catch up to her or earn their father's approval and respect like her.

The one who she could always count on to fail and make her look better in comparison.

To her, this Agni Kai with Zuko is "the showdown that was always meant to be," because it's the showdown that she was never meant to lose. If there was one thing Ozai taught her that she could always count on growing up, it was that she was strong and Zuko was weak. And maybe Zuko surprised her once when he ran off to join the Avatar instead of staying under her thumb at the palace where she wanted him, but that also wasn't a direct fight. If her recent 'failures' to keep people obedient to her through fear can be flukes, moments of weakness that don't make her weak, then Zuko's recent surprising behavior can be a fluke too. They can be moments of unexpected cleverness that still don't make him strong.

Or, more importantly, that don't make him stronger than Azula.

Refusing to fight wouldn't challenge any of this, for Azula. She could write off any reasoning Zuko gave about her mental state or concern for her wellbeing as Zuko trying to cover up his fear, and she could tell herself that she would have won, if Zuko hadn't been too afraid to fight. Not only that, but she was always taught that Zuko's compassion was what made him weak. Refusing to fight out of compassion for Azula would only confirm that view, in her mind.

On Zuko's side, refusing to fight out of concern for Azula would have been putting compassion for one person - one person who had repeatedly shown themselves to lack compassion and empathy for others, one person who had repeatedly shown themselves willing to use violence as a means to control and dominate those around them - above the needs of the rest of the world (including the rest of the FN) to have a Fire Lord who would be committed to peace with the other nations.

If Zuko can stop Azula and secure the crown for himself through an Agni Kai, then he only has to defeat one person before he can get on with the work of committing the FN to peace, instead of fighting his way through however many guards Azula can throw at him and Katara and still likely wind up fighting Azula afterwards anyway.

He knows that Azula backing down peacefully isn't an option he can reasonably expect or hope for, because he knows Azula. He grew up with Azula, he went through his own phase of trying desperately to mimic the lessons about strength and power that Azula had already been mimicking from Ozai when they were kids. And he knows very well that no matter how much love and compassion and empathy is shown to a hurting, frightened kid who is choosing violence and threats and fear to prove their own value to themself, that kindness alone won't stop that kid from lashing out at those who don't deserve it.

And Azula won't be ready to learn that her value doesn't rest on being 'better' than anyone and everyone else around her, that she can be loved without being feared, until she is forced to face the fact that she isn't strong enough to make the whole world bow to her without ever losing a fight.

[cienie-isengardu]

Lo and Li and their (not) looking after Azula and Zuko in "The Beach"

I have talked a lot about Zuko and Azula lately because “The Beach” episode gives a lot of context for their relationship, but it would be a crime to omit the most funny detail (implication) coming from this episode: the presence of Lo and Li.

Those two older women were introduced into the series as Azula’s teachers (that definitely fueled her unhealthy sense of perfectionism) and some sort of advisors before the princess recruited Ty Lee and Mai on the hunt for Zuko, Iroh and later, the Avatar. The story alone gives little about Lo and Li, but considering their relationship and influences on the princess, we can assume they had, if not outright trust, then at least Ozai’s approval to keep an eye on his “precious”, prodigy daughter. As they were the only adults connected to Fire Lord and at whose house the Royal Siblings and their friends stayed in "The Beach" episode, I thought of them as not really nannies, but more like chaperones.

Zuko and Azula faced Avatar and survived, Mai and Ty Lee proved to be capable of beating down full grown men one on one (or more precisely, one vs many). So fine, ok, Ozai may trust his kids to be able to defend themselves - if the thought about their safety even occurred to him at all. But Zuko and Azula are, and I can’t stress it enough, teenagers sent on vacation and teenagers may do stupid stuff for fun just to taste the little freedom granted them. So it makes sense to me that Lo and Li should supervise the Royal Siblings, because vacation or not, they are still prince and princess, the precious heirs to the throne. And like, Zuko is with his girlfriend (official fiancee?) and you can never be sure what teenagers in love and with buzzing hormones will do, right? Same with Azula, who as we learn through the episode, will happily grab the occasion to flirt with a  handsome, popular boy and the innocent kiss turned out quickly into her passionate rant: “Together, you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world! We will dominate the Earth!”. 

Azula’s mind really jumped from casual fun (no harm done if Ozai won’t learn about it) to the conclusion that boy she knew for what? a few hours at best will be her boyfriend and part of the future (military?) plans and understandable Chen freaked out and ran away. The taste of freedom affected even Azula, our so emotionally composed, clever girl, because again, a teenager, adolescent curiosity, lack of supervision and buzzing hormones are a dangerous mix. 

(I suspect Zuko getting Mai pregnant would be less scandalous than if Azula - the princess - ended with a bastard child at the age of 14/15. If Ozai would even allow the kid to be born.)

And what Lo and Li were doing the whole episode? Either giving some cryptic speech about how Ember Island is a magical place or encourage kids.

“Time to hit the beach!“ they said

while never bothering going with kids there

(or did Lo and Li have fun on their own ignoring the bunch of their temporary wards?).

And when Azula, Zuko and Ty Lee talked about Chen and why Azula didn’t betray their Royal Family status (and presumably of going to the night party)? Again, the two old women did nothing besides giving some more cryptic advice and saying “to the party!”.

Like, they were totally okay that Fire Royal Siblings (in range of age from 14 to 16) planned to stay at house of unknown boy(s) for the whole night. Again, Zuko is 16, at best almost 17, but Azula is 14 (at best 15) and I don’t think this is an appropriate age to let a girl - especially the princess you are responsible for - go to a party with presumably much older boys. 

(Unless this is why Azula demanded Zuko, her older brother, to be invited alongside her? Not like he checked out if she is alright before he was kicked out for the fight with Mai over some guy but I guess, with a sister like Azula it is easy to assume she doesn’t need babysitting, because Azula could and would kick Chen or anyone else’s ass if they pissed her off). 

My point is, Lo and Li could give the girls and Zuko some serious talk or at least ask to be careful or anything the supposed chaperons should say (or like,  outright demand from Zuko to keep an eye on his younger sister and the noble girls as the oldest and you know, the guy). Because Azula is first and foremost a princess, the same as Zuko is the prince and like, the Royal Family does not need any teenage drama and scandal (and from the previous episode we know Azula and Zuko are now the public figures at the capital).

I’m not sure if perceiving Lo and Li as some sort chaperons to the “banished for a weekend” Royal Siblings was author’s intention or not, but there is something incredible funny how those old women introduced as strict teachers criticizing Azula for not perfect hairstyle while she is working on her lighting technique - a skill absolutely amazing to have at the age of 14 - won’t even bother to keep an eye on the same girl and just let the whole bunch of emotionally stunted and traumatized teenagers freely roam on the “magical” beach and go to night party to total strangers. It is pretty hilarious if not a bit sad. Because wow, Ozai did not give much fuck about any of his kids one way or another. 

Aaand this is what I get when rewatching ATLA as an adult lol.

I know this is animations for kids/teenagers, but what if Chen didn’t freak out? Would Azula be curious enough to experience something more than just a kiss? And well, we assume Chen and Ruon-Jian are in age close to Zuko & Azula (as if they were adults they would be enrolled into army, I think?) But there is still a room for them being older than Zuko who himself is two years older than Azula. Also, them inviting Ty Lee & Mai specifically for how they look without bothering to ask for their name and the way a group of boys cornered Ty Lee to the point she needed to chi-blocking all of them kinda gives me the feeling the party was an occasion for them to pick up girl for night or something along the way. Dunno if I read the scene/intention right but it gives that vibe I guess…?

[zuko-always-lies]

What are your thoughts on any ways that Zuko and Azula's relationship could be reconciled post-canon (not including comics)? Because it's really hard to see any scenario - that isn't incredibly convoluted like the comics - where Zuko is willing to make amends/admit his mistakes and blindspots (which would be necessary for gaining her trust), especially considering he has no one pushing him to help Azula considering Iroh's disdain for her and the Gaang's far more rightful disdain for her. And of course even if he was willing to try once or twice Azula's obviously not going to jump at the opportunity to frolic in the gardens with him.

I have to agree. Azula showed tremendous kindness toward Zuko, and he stabbed her in the back and she lost everything because of it. She has zero incentive to try to reconcile again or to trust him again.

Zuko has plenty on his plate with being an unprepared 16 year old Firelord. He also both has massive resentment toward Azula, largely for things she wasn't even responsible for, and zero understanding of her whatsoever. She's so demonized in his mind that I doubt he'd have much desire to try to help her, and even if he wished to help her, he has so little understanding of her experiences that he would probably make things worse. Best case scenario is he that puts Azula in some sort of place he can forget about her in and ignores her. Worst case scenario is that he's actively abusive toward her.

However, I could see several situations which might lead toward reconciliation. One would be that they both grow up. Once Zuko matures a bit, gets more life experience, gets further away from Ozai's abuse, and maybe even his children of his own, he might look at his relationship with Azula in a different light. Azula being able to look back at what happened at a distance of several years might also dull a bit of the pain and the hurt for her.

Another alternative, a very dark one, draws from the fact that Azula is broken and desperate and lonely and isolated at the end of the series. She might latch onto Zuko like she did Ozai and be willing to go to extreme lengths and do anything to earn his approval. Note that this is the "Ehasz arc."

A more attractive alternative is that a third party mediates between Zuko and Azula in a way that ultimately improves their relationship. That would be very difficult in itself but more realistic than any other alternative. The most suitable candidates I can think of for this are Ursa and Mai, both who are highly incentivized to do what they can to have the Fire siblings get along. The Gaang wouldn't be the best choice here, as they're only children themselves and don't know Azula well. Ty Lee also wouldn't be great in this role, since Zuko doesn't respect her and won't listen to her.

[balanceoflightanddark]

One of the great misconceptions about Azula is the notion is that she's self-serving. That everything she does is to further her own gains, and she'll backstab everyone else in the process whether it be family or friends. Something that's supported by Bryan himself in the Season 2 commentary:

“Yeah, unfortunately in real history, there are people like Azula, who are just so charismatic, but sort of soulless that they’re… You know, but they’re able to climb to positions of influence. Same with, uh, people like Long Feng, unfortunately throughout history. People who are willing to sell out their own–own countrymen, just for their own, uh, security, you know, their own job security.”

And in many ways, that's how it's framed. Azula bringing her brother back to the country is always framed by everyone as using him as leverage in case the Avatar was somehow alive. We see her brutal recruiting of Ty Lee. We don't see a whole lot that suggests that Azula is doing this for anything other than personal gain. After all it's a trait that's pretty endemic to the Fire Nation, especially with her fellow main antagonists Ozai and Zhao.

The thing is though...Azula's problem wasn't that she was selfish.

Her problem was that she was selfless.

Let's wheel around to when she brought Zuko back home. Mainly, there was no way in hell she could have known about the spirit water. She only learned of the possibility when Zuko indirectly brought it up, and that's when she starts to think up of the leverage angle. Plus, it's been said a thousand times before that Azula didn't necessarily need Zuko to secure Ba Sing Se. And even if she did, she could've easily backstabbed and captured him with the Dai Li if she wanted to secure her path to the throne while also taking the glory of slaying the Avatar.

She didn't. Instead, she allowed Zuko to take the glory and return home in honor with no strings attached. Even when her initial orders were to capture Zuko to begin with. And in doing so, damaged her own claim to the throne since the "rightful" heir returned with a tad bit more glory than her.

And we all know how that eventually ended.

This wasn't exclusive to Zuko. Arguably her biggest Achilles' heel was her unwavering devotion to Ozai, something that she was carefully groomed to do once Zuko proved to be an embarrassment to her father's name. Almost everything she did was to get in his good graces and his acceptance. And she didn't except any reward for it either outside of approval. She was initially stunned when Ozai wanted her to be the Fire Lord, clearly not expecting him to bestow such honor upon her.

Course that was spoiled a bit when Ozai proceeded to throw her to the side. All that work, all that devotion, years of trying to be the perfect servant...wasted.

Mind you, Zuko and Ozai are probably the only two family members in the series to have shown her something regarding affection. Her relationship with Iroh was strained and more formal than anything, while Ursa made her feel like a monster. Even her friendship with Ty Lee and Mai was poisoned because her belief that she was a weapon and thus expendable warped her genuine affection into something more akin to a military unit. Again, all to prove she was as ruthless and heartless as her father.

Azula's problem wasn't that she was power hungry, cause she never expected to get power. Her problem was that everything she did, she did for somebody else. Think about it. She wanted Zuko home so she sacrificed her path to the throne. She wanted Ozai's approval so she became something she hated. Azula was desperate for some kind of acceptance, otherwise her mother's rejection wouldn't have shaken her so bad.

It's not like we have don't examples of selfish and egocentric behavior from the series. Zhao was willing to put the entire world at risk by killing the moon just to stroke his own ego. Ozai was willing to burn down the Earth Kingdom (killing who knows how many innocent lives) and proclaim himself as Phoenix King just because he could. Even Zuko was willing to put the safety of the world and backstab his own allies just for a chance to return home and claim his birthright.

Azula...doesn't come even close to those levels of narcissism and self-interest. Cause she based herself around pleasing others and wouldn't stand up for herself when she was crossed, both from personal experience and a low sense of self-worth. In many ways she was like Zuko in trying to please her father.

It's just unlike him, she wasn't presented with a way out.

[ariihen]

some thoughts on netflix's adaptation of atla:

kiawentiio was done dirty cause she has so much of katara's bite and sass in her interviews

u can really tell the writing is the series' weakest point because the actors have what it takes to bring those characters to life but they'll only be able to do so much with the script and direction they're given

the wigs are SO ugly. yue had it the worst imo. she deserved better

suki was perfect

LET SOKKA WEAR DRAG U COWARDS

why the fuck are ppl just bending without bending forms and stances. why is aang able to fly without needing to lose his earthly tethers

why are they randomly cutting and pasting scenes in weird places

why is the swamp scene combined with the spirit world????? that was important in setting up toph's introduction????

the fact that the writers knew it made no sense for katara and sokka to end up in the spirit world with aang so even the characters said it and they just handwaved it bc plot lol

so much exposition. clearly the mark of a good story is when the character have to TELL u everything that's happening 🫠

the writers are such big kyoshi stans

like why is she taking other characters' roles

why is gran gran doing katara's intro

iroh and zuko are cute

zuko's choreo is so good

zhao is still a dumbass

his death is unsatisfying. what happened to getting fucked by the spirit world if u fuck with it. where's the ocean spirit dragging his ass to its demise. why is iroh providing his sentence

mai and ty lee are doing nothing but have terrible wigs and give exposition on ozai's motives that they somehow knoe about

aang: *gets told there's no easy way out in being the avatar*

also aang: *gets told everything he needs to know*

badgermoles are empaths now????

bumi they nerfed u

aang they nerfed u

gyatso u deserved a cooler fight to the death they really nerfed u

it's so fucking stupid that aang has to be in shrines to talk to his past lives

kinda cool they go into more detail of the past avatars' lives ig. even if only slightly

katara vs pakku was so lackluster

these bending fights are so lackluster unless ur zuko ig

no srsly how are some ppl just bending without forms. like sozin in episode 1 roasting that dude by just holding him

jun exists only to flirt w the dragon of the west and good on her, me too girl

what's the point of sokka getting suki's fan if he's not even gonna use it...

there's no stronger relationship than sokka x momo

oma and shu are gay i think. love that for them

why tf did aang spend this entire story not even trying to pick up another element. katara literally offers to learn with him a few times and he just didn't feel like it lol

OG azula was impressive and scary. netflix azula feels more like the eldest asian daughter trying rly hard to get her parents' approval. idk she's just alright

so much expositions

ok sure let's have time sensitive plot A not conclude in one episode, have it stretch to the next episode, and still only rush in concluding it at the very end in the backburner of plot B. let's just handwave the fact that those people definitely should've died in like the three days it takes them to resolve plot B

the cabbage merchant is cabbage merchanting

effects are good

[timur-pannonicus]

Zuko and Azula had no reference for what a normal or healthy sibling relationship is like

To address the always present argument about whether their relationship was abusive and who abused who. People point out that being mean and competitive, sometimes to the point of being hurtful, is not unusual for siblings.

I agree. But my point here is that Zuko and Azula don't know that.

Neither is either of them in their early to mid adulthood where the majority of people who had siblings they never got along with start understanding and forgiving.

Azula and Zuko most likely think that their rivalry is NOT a common thing. They lack examples from others in their lives.

I know bringing up the comics is justifiably frowned upon but in the Search, Zuko is absolutely bewildered by Sokka's and Katara's behavior towards each other, which was nothing more than fun bickering. But let's look what can be concluded or assumed from the show.

Iroh and Ozai were both well into adulthood when Zuko and Azula were born and they sadly did not reconcile their differences. They most likely behaved very icy to one another but the demands of court probably required them to act in a very civil and respectful seeming way. In Zuko Alone we can conclude Ozai didn't say anything nice, warm or funny about Iroh to Azula as seen by her attitude to her uncle and Iroh likely didn't tell any fun anecdotes either due to either being away at war or because he didn't want to risk a fight with his brother.

Ursa might have had siblings and cousins but nothing in the show confirms that and the comics clearly say she did not.

Mai didn't get a brother until she was 14.

Ty Lee has six sisters but it's quite possible that each of them had a "pair" in their matched set and Ty Lee was the only one left out, made worse by the fact that her parents seemed to barely acknowledge her. It's possible that only her friendship with Azula made her stand out at all, which likely contributed to her desire for uniqueness and independence too. In any case she likely didn't have much interaction with her biological sisters.

There seems to have been no other kids in the palace with whom Azula and Zuko could interact, limiting their scope of experience and insight.

Zuko not realizing that little siblings tend to be annoying and mean and do pranks has been discussed in detail by others and I don't think I have to add anything.

But, AZULA did not realize some things about older siblings either. They can be entitled, patronizing, attention hogging, dismissive, rude and even cold. Countless older siblings have told the younger ones that they were adopted or found in the trash or said and done even worse things.

One way to simplify the rivalry between Zuko and Azula is to say each was jealous of the attention the other was receiving from a parent.

However, sadly for them their parent's relationship was strained either from the start or after a while, to put it lightly.

Add the fact that they were sheltered and secluded royalty and what they learned about what siblings should be like most likely comes from official ceremonies and rituals, state approved stories and plays, idealized versions that don't correspond with reality.

Plus due to the Fire Nation being a blend of East Asian cultures it's likely they have some form of Confucian ethics. According to those the younger sibling owes obedience to the older and the older is bound to protect the younger. I think it's not too much of a stretch to believe both Zuko and Azula felt wronged in that regard by the other but both were too stubborn to give.

I can't blame Zuko too much for not realizing Azula was trying to help him a few times. Boy was brought up to believe that little sisters SHOULD be very kind, nice and demure. Even if he had acknowledged her efforts he'd still be inwardly pushed to believe she was doing it wrong.

So yeah, both could use a very long life changing field trip with Katara and Sokka, who were both allowed to develop their relationship naturally.

I think I've said enough for now. This is how I see things AT THE TIME OF WRITING.

I tried, really tried to be as fair to Zuko as possible and not harp the poor Azula harp. But if anyone wants to scream at me and be rude over my obviously wrong opinion on either fire sibling, don't expect a response from me.

[peony-pearl]

I think the most tragic thing that drove that wedge between Azula with Zuko and Iroh?

Simple circumstances.

We don’t know how long Iroh has been back from his spirit journey, and by now he sees that Azula is fairly confident and competent in her role as the princess.

But when Zuko is banished, would it be fair to this kid, this 13 year old boy, even if he didn’t listen to Iroh, to go off on this fruitless search alone? He was essentially being thrust out into the world with no real expectations to return.

And Iroh, who’d allowed Zuko into that war room, who’d already lost a child because of his own blindness - could he really just look away from it?

And as far as leaving Azula, the more ‘successful’ child; there’s a lot of complication there. Iroh and Azula have a lot of parallels; so even though she, like him, is the golden child, and he knows what that stress is like, Azula has been shown to not have a lot of sympathy for Iroh after he abandoned the siege, and she’s steadfast in her admiration for her father, who praises her every move.

But does Iroh belong in the Fire Nation right now? He has no crown, no children, his reputation is soiled - and for Zuko to be remiss of any trusted helping hand during his time away? Iroh could choose to remain near his brother, who only respected Iroh on a surface level and his niece with whom he didn’t have much of a relationship, or he could give attention to his nephew, who at least spoke to his uncle like a family member and had been scarred and thrown away by his own father.

Iroh thinks about Lu Ten, and how Ozai’s actions shook him to his core; how Iroh would do anything to have his son back, and how Ozai just incinerated one of his beautiful children without a second thought.

Beyond that is the 3 years out at sea. We, as the audience, don’t even know Zuko has a sister until the end of the second season. It’s plausible to assume that letters are never exchanged, which probably adds to Zuko’s less than amicable feelings towards Azula when he sees her again (and vise versa). We don’t see what happens between his scarring and banishment (I’ve heard there’s at least one piece of media that depicts Azula getting Zuko’s ship), and I’ve wondered if The Avatar State is the first time Azula has seen Zuko’s healed scar.

Azula shows up, out of nowhere, ready and willing to take her brother and uncle in chains via orders from her father. She never stops to hear their sides; but she has orders from THE Fire Lord so it’s not like she can say no; and she taunts Zuko once he learns she’s not there to take him home the way he’s hoped for for the past 3 years. Zuko was scarred, humiliated, shorn of his hair, and shipped out with little hope for three years - and then he’s ordered to come home in chains by his own father with his perfect younger sister carrying out the order with a smile on her face.

Iroh, of course, prevents this from happening - adding another set of negative circumstances when he pushes Azula off of the boat in order to save Zuko and so they can escape from her and her soldiers.

And another round of being alone must begin. With no soldiers around, no allies, no home, no food, they’re in enemy territory with only each other.

Despite Zuko’s continued want to go home, their differences, their squabbles, their setbacks - they remain by each other’s sides. Family sticks together.

And ultimately, Iroh accepts a new life away from his home nation, but Zuko doesn’t. Iroh is willing to see the Avatar succeed, but Zuko is desperate for his father’s approval.

And as Zuko helps Azula strike Aang down, Iroh goes a different route - and is put in those chains he’d once defended Zuko from being taken home in at the start of the season.

Zuko goes to see Iroh. Azula never does. He’s a traitor, and Zuko needs to stay away from him if he knows what’s good.

But Zuko and Iroh have been in circumstances Azula hasn’t experienced. Sure, she’s traveled the Earth Kingdom with Mai and Ty Lee, but they’ve had resources and Ozai’s blessing behind them. Zuko and Iroh been at the edge of despair together, all each other has had at one point. There’s a tether there that has been built without Zuko’s knowledge, and when he realizes his father has no room for him in his heart, he sees Iroh does, and he’s had it all along.

But Azula, even for all of her perfection and Ozai’s blessing, doesn’t have this. She doesn’t have Ozai’s love; and she doesn’t realize it. What she has is the knowledge that she can have everything she could ever want so long as she remains perfect and powerful and deadly.

But when Zuko forsakes the help she gave him in returning home and he leaves, and then her friends betray her, and then her father himself declares himself a god and leaves her behind to seek his own glory?

Circumstances build, and she begins to break, while Zuko and Iroh reunite and reconcile. And when Azula’s reign must end before it begins in order to prevent her from carrying out any of her father’s legacy?

The circumstances break her. Everything she was taught, everything she lived up to, every bit of perfection had to be cracked so the world could be relieved of her family’s reign; brought down by a girl, a waterbender the same age as her, whose family was broken by the Fire Nation, who fought tooth and nail to master her own element when other waterbenders had been captured or killed. Whose tribe’s hope had already been long-burned to the ground. The Waterbender who watched Avatar fall when Azula struck him.

Katara’s circumstances finally allow her to help end this part of the war.

Azula’s circumstances lead to her being ostracized from her family and nation - the ones she was raised to give everything for.

Just like her father, who failed at godhood.

Just like her Uncle, who decided to play a part in freeing the world from his Nation.

Just like her brother, who now bears the crown with the blessing of The Avatar as he stops the hundred years of glorious conquest.

[nashidakyouko]

No, I do not think that liking a problematic or even evil character means you're a bad person.

I'm not condoning the character's actions—often not even in the context of the show. And certainly, I'm not approving those actions in the real world.

But it's a story. The world won't end if someone likes a character. Sometimes they are just well-written characters (obviously not all are well-written, but that's not the point of this mini-essay). Even if they are pure evil, if that is the purpose, then good! Achieved! (i.e. Lion King's Scar, Fullmetal Alchemist's King Bradley, Buffy's Glory, Avatar's Ozai, and many more) (then some characters who are not pure evil, but treated as irredeemable or just scum, i.e. She-Ra's Catra, Princess Mononoke's Eboshi, Buffy's Faith Lehane, etc.)

I can appreciate them for what they are while still not touching them with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole if they were real.

This goes double for characters that could reasonably have redemption arcs (or who have redemption [with varying degrees of success], but for half the fans it isn't ever good enough [sometimes even for me, I admit]—because apparently bad actions make a bad, unchangeable person, forever. But that's another post).

Evil exists in every world. Only shaming it when it's convenient (such as attacking fans of a thing), does very little to help any real victims.

Instead of screaming about an evil character, consider putting that energy into helping real people, real victims, and trying to stop problems (i.e. assault, genocide, misogyny, war, official/unofficial slave labor, hate groups, etc.) in whatever little ways you can. Find a good charity and donate. Give food and money to shelters and victims. Listen to their stories. Some of them might even tell you that the fiction you are so opposed to actually helped them feel less alone. Or any number of things that might have made the story cathartic for them, making it so they like the bad guy as a bad guy. Or, hey, just ignore the people who are bugging you and enjoy whatever media you want. Put your energy there instead unless the truth isn't that you don't care about victims, and you're just virtue-signalling.

*This is not about actual victims who are being upset or triggered. The only thing I have to say there is that you can go to a different media. Be safe, but don't tell OTHER POSSIBLE VICTIMS that the way they cope is inherently bad.

**ABSOLUTELY you can dislike characters or whatever. You can entirely judge them as evil and immoral. I am not saying you have to go along with every single thing. ABSOLUTELY you should not have to engage with things that you hate or make you uncomfortable or even triggered! None of this was meant to undermine any of that. I mostly just mean that everyone has their own experience AND fiction follows different rules, usually for the sake of telling a story. You do NOT have to engage or fake being comfortable. You CAN say you have issues with something. You should say! But your experience is not EVERYONE'S experience, so everyone—on both sides of this—needs to be more mindful of that.

***writing essays about the evils of characters and even how they may reflect or affect the real world is totally a different thing than screaming endlessly about it online. No problem there.

[limeade-l3sbian]

i was going to leave it at just the shipping discussion at first, but i decided this bothered me too much, and i need to vent it out. i've had this on my mind for quite some time but i don't know many people into atla who are radfem or adjacent, and i absolutely do not trust anyone outside of radfem circles to not have the most status quo, heteronormative, male-centric, "things are exactly as i first imagined" / "i cannot imagine right or wrong or natural outside of the literal text given to me by the original writers" views on this topic (based on my own experiences with trying to talk about atla with others).

the show would have been far better if zuko were a (gnc) girl and azula were a boy. i know you may be resistant to this because i know you had at least some level of a formative crush on azula, but i'm begging you to hear me out on this one.

aside from the fact it would give a hero role to a fully gnc girl (as opposed to partial, like suki or toph), it just makes sense. zuko not being able to get approval from ozai no matter what, while azula is favored at every stop turns into a matter of familial misogyny, rather than "azula is just naturally better at being evil" (which takes a vaguely eugenicist angle when considering the comics, which say that zuko is probably not ozai's kid, but azula is). it doesn't matter that zuko is older, it wouldn't matter if she were more cutthroat, it wouldn't matter if she were better at bending, it wouldn't even matter if she caught the avatar. a patriarchal dictator like ozai would always favor a son over a daughter.

second, it would make all of the fire nation characters' situations more realistic and more poignant, in general. aside from the aforementioned favoritism towards a son over a daughter, it would make azula's characterization as a violent narcissist who believes (s)he deserves ownership and control over the world make more sense, it would change the context of mai and ty lee standing against azula for the sake of zuko (and each other) into a vaguely anti-feminist situation to a wholly feminist one (i don't ship mai and zuko at all, so the context of being a romantic couple here doesn't really matter to me; it could be motivated by romantic love or platonic love and solidarity imo), it would make zuko and katara's relationship and growth stronger (both of them would have a history of facing near-constant misogyny that served as barricades in the way of the direction they want to take in life), and it would almost completely erase the uneasiness of the fact that zuko was entirely redeemed and azula wasn't redeemed at all (even in the comics), because the real life context of violence and perpetuation of harmful cycles committed by women vs men supports that women can very frequently recover and be redeemed, and men recovering and being redeemable is much less common (because they don't want to).

this is just one aspect of the series i could talk on and on about, by the way, but this post is already too long. as a bonus, though: i believe this minor change would give so much more potential for better lesbian ships than whatever was happening in lok (which i hate for a number of reasons; mainly that it completely destroyed previous worldbuilding and i felt that the plot was just outright stupid in comparison to the original series, and the shipping stuff in that show was sooo...ugh. as i said, a completely different topic i could go on and on about).

OKAY WAIT ANON BECAUSE - AUGH YES WAIT!

It is true that I had a crush on Azula, but I'm almost CERTAIN I would've come out much earlier if Zuko had been the female GNC sibling LMAO.

I think the decision to make Azula the evil one and all that was based on making a good, long term female villain. I think the creators were trying to break a few barriers (which, in many respects, they absolutely did!). But what you're saying would have played so much deeper and allowed so much more insight (canon or otherwise) into this world. I imagine having a GNC daughter would also foster some resentment from Ozai compared to Iroh who has shown in canon time and time again that he's not going to get pressed about a bender's sex (I avoided the rhyme on purpose).

I haven't read the comics so correct me. But to me, Ozai always appeared to be a traditionalist where it benefited him. The topic of gender bias in the series isn't nearly as touched on as they could've gone. And in a way, I understand because it is technically a kid's show and as far as I'm aware, they were constantly on thin ice with Nickelodeon. But goddamn would this have made the whole show just that extra layer of *chef's kiss*.

My basis for Zuko and Katara were the usual points made. But what you said just AUGH ANON YES 😭😭 it would've been amazing! 😭

Talk as much as you want! Leave a whole essay for me to read idc when you're this based. 🫶🏾

[4denthusiast]

I know I'm late to the party, but I watched the live-action Avatar adaptation, then re-watched the original, and I have thoughts. (Plenty of spoilers ahead.)

Live-action Azula feels less compelling than the original. For one, she's less distinct from Zuko. Possibly they could do something interesting with the parallels between them, but it feels like it's setting up for more "I must capture the avatar to gain my father's approval." with Azula too this time. With Ozai's approval now completely impossible to reach (not "You just need to be better like your sister.", but "You must be completely unattainably flawless and more."), how will Zuko's return to the fire nation work? Why would Azula give up the credit for killing the avatar if she's also desperate for approval? Azula's fall into insanity at the end of the original show as she pushes everyone away was great, and I just don't think it will fit properly with live-action Azula who was never so confident to begin with.

Live-action Iroh contributes way more directly to capturing Aang, while the original much more successfully balances supporting Zuko while not supporting his evil goal. When Iroh starts pushing harder against Zuko's quest for Aang later on, it's going to look pretty hypocritical of him, or at least like he only really cares about Zuko, not the world beyond the Fire Nation. The live-action version puts way more emphasis on Iroh having lost his son, so it would make sense for him to be more disillusioned about the Fire Nation's goals, but apparently he's quite happy to go along with doing the wrong thing if Zuko wants it enough.

Live-action Aang has unambiguously already killed a bunch of people. Original Aang may also have killed people plenty of times, but there's always at least plausible deniability, and with a little cartoon logic and suspension of disbelief, it makes sense that he has been following his code of honour the whole time and feels super conflicted about everyone saying he has to kill Ozai. If the live-action version keeps the same ending where Aang puts in lots of effort and puts everyone at risk to spare Ozai, it'd be an awful double standard. If they remove that element and just have Aang kill Ozai (or perhaps be forced by circumstances to spare him), which seems pretty likely, they'll be detracting from Aang's characterisation.

There are a bunch more things too (that shoulder spikes line, new more sinister Bumi, the secret tunnel), but those were the things that stood out most in my memory. There are a lot of things where it actually could be good, depending on where they go next, and maybe I'm just biased because it's not like the original version, but I don't trust them to do a good job with the things they've set up differently.

[blueburningcup]

Coconut Pineapple

And the Valentine’s day one shot that y’all voted for! Gonna try to work on the Ruby/Regina one.

Summary: Seicho takes Azula to the beach to do some chocolate tasting. Azula tries to shake away doubts that Ozai and Fire Nation high class society have instilled within her.

The sun is still high. It casts vivid rays through the windows of Seicho’s bedroom. It is a small dwelling, but it is very cozy. As fate would have it, she owns the same seashell bedspread that Lo and Li do.

She also owns a lot of clutter. Ships in bottles and bottled sand are scattered throughout the room amid piles of seashells and dried starfish. The ceiling is home to many replica sea animals that hang on strings. Seicho had mentioned that she is terribly uncomfortable with people drying out real sea critters for decoration and Azula supposes that she can see how the other woman would find the practice unsettling. Her floor is covered in mis-matching and colorful rugs that would make Mai hurl. And her wall is covered in paintings and wooden masks that just don’t go together. 

Admittedly, the first time that she’d set foot in this room it had made her head ache trying put the disjointed pieces together. 

She has long since given that up. Seicho seems to acquire new treasures at a rate much faster than she could ever hope to organize things. 

As much as she hates to admit it, she has grown used to the clutter. Frankly, she thinks that she would be more uncomfortable if she stepped into this room to find it suddenly spotless. Not that she isn’t uncomfortable right now.

“You know that it’s not like it was a few years ago. Honestly, Ember Island was never really shy about this kind of thing. And you shouldn’t be either.”

“I’m not shy. I just…I know what’s expected of me.” She pauses. “And what isn’t.” She takes another glance in the mirror. Her hair falls over her shoulders in waves. She had let Seicho fix small seashells into the stands. Really, the swimsuit isn’t all that showy. More so than the one she had worn on her last trip to Ember Island but nothing as brave as what Ty-Lee had worn. 

But then, father hadn’t approved of her first swimsuit either. 

“What are you trying to do?” He had asked. “Do you want people to think that we’re a nation full of harlots?”

“Mai and TyLee…”

She remembers the look on his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“TyLee, that girl was always floozy, her parents should have raised her better. She’s going to end up pregnant and disgrace her family like Chan’s sister. Is that what you want to do?” 

“We were on the beach…”

It was a logical enough thing to say but father had made it seem senseless and stupid. Like she was a lost cause for doing what? Chancing a quick swim? But spirits it was effective because she feels so very exposed.  

“You look great.” Seicho promises. 

And that’s exactly the problem. She will draw looks, the kind that father has always warned her about. The kind that he would get angry with her for even if she had done everything she could to avoid getting those looks. The ones that make her feel queasy.

“I’d like to put my armor back on.”

Seicho quirks a brow. “You want to wear armor to a chocolate tasting?” She pauses. “On the beach?”

Azula bites the inside of her lip.

“I thought that you were a fan of being practical.”

“I am.”

“Well then, let’s be practical. Beach, sunny. Sun, hot. Armor? Sweltering. I don’t want to have to carry you home because you passed out. I especially don’t want to have to carry you if you’re wearing like fifty pounds of armor.” 

“It’s not that heavy.” She mumbles. 

“My point is, no one wears armor to the beach and you know it.” 

Azula shrugs. 

“This is perfect.” She insists. “You do like it don’t you?” 

Azula nods. The fabric feels very comfortable. The skirt is quite long but so is the v slit. Long enough to show off her whole leg. She likes the gold belt that sits on her hips with its seashell charms and its gold coins. The top suits her nicely, it is sleeveless–held up by a zipper in the back and a chain to match the one at her hips. Embroidered along the bottom of the bikini top are golden flames and one small dragon. There is another chain fixed to the bottom of that bikini top is one more chain. One that dangles down to her belly with a collection of rubies and sunstones. 

It is flashy.

Eye catching. 

She doesn’t want eyes to be caught.

She adores how it looks but she doesn’t love the idea of wearing it in public. She is perfectly content having captured only one pair of eyes. 

“You’re dad was wrong, you know that don’t you?” She pauses.

“He’s not the only one who thinks like that.”

“He’s not the only person with wrong opinions. The Fire Nation always talks about being so brave and amazing. And yet they’re all so scared of a little skin.”

“They’re afraid of change.” Azula mumbles. “Which is strange. I’ve read about Fire Nation fashion as part of cultural and historical research, of course.”

“Of course.” Seicho rolls her eyes. 

Azula opts to ignore the doubt in her voice. “Fire Nation culture has roots in Sun Warrior culture and their clothing style much more closely resembles modern Ember Island fashion trends.” She pauses. “The shift happened during the war.” 

“Yeah, because they want to stifle creativity…or something. Come on.” Seicho hooks Azula by the elbow and begins leading her to the door. “You’re putting so much thought into this, all we’re going to do is go down to the beach and have some chocolate. And a good time, we are going to have a good time.”

Azula certainly hopes so.

She is, afterall, the princess. Now that father isn’t here to demean her she supposes that there isn’t much anyone can do to stop her from having a nice time, from feeling comfortable. 

She can stop herself though.

She is very good at that.

.oOo.

“Well, which do you prefer?”

Azula hums, “I’m not sure, they both taste good enough.” 

Seicho pops another piece of chocolate into her mouth and then a second sample of chocolate type four. 

Both truly are amazing. Type three is a touch bitter, it is rich in the same way that dark silks and woodsy colognes are. Type three is rich like warm blankets, cream, and the glow of a beach bonfire.

“The caramel one.” Azula decides. 

“Yeah, I think that I prefer that one too.” Seicho agrees. “It kind of just melts on your tongue.” 

Seicho links their hands and leads her along to the next stall. The beach is so lively and crowded. For once, Azula is comforted by the massive gathering. Everyone just breezes by her, each person–individual or couple–is invested in their own doings. Their own romances or personal delights. 

Whether that thing is the chocolate sampling breaking away from the crowd to watch the twinkle of lantern lights reflecting in the water. The fireworks will begin soon. 

“Oh! Try this one!” Seicho offers her another chocolate. This one of the white variety. It has been carefully molded and dyed to bare likeness to a firelily. It certainly looks appetizing. 

She plucks it from Seicho’s hand. “It’s got a touch of…peach?”

“I think that it might be mango, or orange?”

“Those are two completely different flavors!” She exclaims. “And they’re both incorrect guesses. It is definitely a hint of peach.” 

“No way, taste it again!” She insists. 

“Seicho, I don’t know how much more chocolate I can handle.” Regardless she lets Seicho give her another piece. “Last one and then I’d like to walk by the water.” 

Seicho exhales through her nose. “Fine, I guess. But I would like to taste Mikahara’s chocolate first. I heard that she’s got some kind of coconut-pineapple chocolate that sounds tasty.”

“Alright, Mikahara’s chocolate and then some quiet time.” Away from people, away from the occasional glances. The ones that linger too long for her comfort. 

She lets Seicho lead her along. They weave through a lively crowd. Everyone looks so comfortable and at ease with hibiscus in their hair and drinks in their hands. No one seems troubled in the slightest. Azula inhales and drinks in the smell of chocolate and fruity drinks. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Sheicho squeezes her hand. “You’re doing great. We can pass on the Mikahara’s…”

She shakes her head. “No! We can go get it.” She has to get herself comfortable. Has to take back what father and years of ridiculous expectations have taken from her. “I’m fine, I always finish things that I start.” 

“Technically I started it.” 

“I want to enjoy tonight, all of tonight.” Every list scent, taste, and sight. Every emotion that she had, in the past, tried to keep herself from. She wants to be alive. Truly alive.

And tonight is the perfect night to do that. 

To reclaim parts of herself.

To make new parts of herself.

Parts that she can cherish the way Seicho cherishes her. The way she cherishes Seicho. 

“Hello!” Greets a woman with shaved hair and a pearl in one ear. 

“You must be Mikahara.” Azula guesses. 

“I am.” She confirms. 

“From the sound of it, you’ve made quite an impression tonight.” 

Mikahara smiles. “See for yourself, princess.” She hands Azula a box of chocolates. “I heard that you might be here so I saved a little something special for the both of you.”

Seicho’s eyes twinkle. “Oh this is a treasure trove of chocolate!” The woman’s mouth is practically watering. 

“Thank you.” Azula replies.

“Of course, princess. I wouldn’t have had this opportunity if not for tonight’s festivities. And we would be having them if not for you.” 

Azula nods and slips her a gold coin or two. “We can share this by the water.”

“That sounds great, Azula.” Seicho smiles. 

.oOo.

It is quiet here at the shoreline. She has led Seicho a good distance from the jubilant energy of the chocolate tasting stalls and the couples straggling on the sand that is still relatively close to the festivities. 

This portion of the beach is, until the sunrises, desolate. Charmingly so. The music and chatter are close enough to be heard but distant enough to be little more than pleasant white noise. 

“Tell me the truth, how was it?”

“It was…it was really wonderful, Seicho.” It was nerve-wracking but sublime in its own right. There is a certain charm, a sense of exhilaration and freedom in stepping out of her comfort zone and into something new. Something that is probably better.

Something liberating. 

All in all, father had been completely off.

Most people hadn’t even noticed her at all.

And if they had, they opted to give her, her space. 

She certainly doesn’t feel like a harlot. Neither does she feel like she has had herself a scandalous evening. She had simply had an evening. Had put on an outfit sewn, very lovingly, by her girlfriend’s mother, and went to a party. 

“It is going to be nice to go back to the palace and not get a lecture about carelessness and wasting time.” 

“Would he really tell you that today?” 

Azula nods. “He would.” She looks out at the open ocean, at those rolling, twinkling waves and clears her throat. “Can we talk about something else or eat some of that chocolate.”

Seicho quirks a brow. “I thought that you said you were full.”

“Mikahara did make that special for me though, it would be a shame to not try it.”

Seicho chuckles. 

“It would also make father really unhappy if I were to go visit him in prison and tell him that I spent a whole night eating chocolate and wearing sleeveless outfits…”

“Chocolates and no sleeves? On the beach!? Oh we’re getting really wild and daring now!” 

Azula gives a humored sniff and holds a piece of chocolate out to Seicho.

“Very good.” The woman gives a thumbs up. “Try it for yourself.”

Azula cups the woman’s face and brings their lips together. She can indeed taste the lingering chocolate on them. And indeed there is a hint of coconut and pineapple. She holds her face a few inches from Seicho’s, their lips still nearly touch. 

“Oh this is an adventurous night.” 

“It ought to be.” Azula replies quietly. She needs that so badly. She has needed it for a long time. And she promises herself that this will be only the beginning. That her life is going to be hers from now on. Starting with the way she views herself and her body.

Ending with discovering and following her own hopes and dreams.

“Happy birthday, by the way.” Seicho nudges her. 

“I suppose it is.” Azula smiles.