#she's my child

[not-aurii]

Rewatching ATLA and I think that one scene when Azula shows up to blow them off the Air Temple they were staying at (forgot which one, sorry), is already a tell that she's losing her mind a bit.

Because, this is right after Mai and Ty Lee betray her. And in The Day of Black Sun episode, when asked if she wanted to follow the gaang, all she says is:

"There's no point. They'll be back soon." And she was right, they would be back soon.

So why did she suddenly decide to get an entire squad of airships, just to blow up her brother and the Avatar?

Even when Zuko asks her, she doesn't give him a proper answer, just saying she's "celebrating becoming an only child".

I think this was her way of trying to feel better about herself with a win. Any win would do.

Because this attack is so weird for Azula, out of character even. An entire fleet of warships? Not just a small group to be inconspicuous? Of course, Mai and Ty Lee are no longer an option, but... why not just take the Dai Li?

Why the need for this sudden show of force, when just her presence alone is more than enough to make anyone cower in fear? Why does she feel the need to remind them that she is That powerful?

Because she's already suffering the consequences of Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal. Because she's already starting to doubt just how much power she actually has over people. Because she's already losing sight of herself, little by little.

This is also why I love the way Azula and Zuko's fight ends:

They're both falling from the sky, seemingly to their deaths with no way out, but the gaang grabs Zuko at the last minute, making sure he's safe. His connection to people, his choices to help and redeem himself, were what saved him in the end.

Azula is all alone.

She saves herself, but barely so. Even Zuko has a split second of "she might actually die" and then goes "Of course she didn't". Like it's expected. Like it's a law of the universe that Azula would be all alone and able to save herself, and that's nothing grand or anything else. It's just how it is. Azula has always been by herself, always been alone, always keeping herself safe the only way she knew how: fear.

And then that fails her too. So what is she supposed to do now?

She's falling. No one is going to grab her, keep her safe. And the only way she knew how to do that by herself, for herself, is gone.

Fear wasn't enough.

But what else is there for her to grab on to?

[evgar]

Ellie; acrylic on wood, 2023

prints

[will80sbyers]

El Hopper Byers & anger

[iamamatus]

My two loves

[mysticarts]

Silly little Carmen Drawing

Carmen has pretty long hair so she usually puts it in a ponytail or a bun for work!

(Fun fact!: Carmen is half Greek! Her father is Greek while her mother grew up in Louisiana. So, Carmen might cuss with Greek words or talk sh!t about them, knowing others won't understand what she sayings)

Feel free to ask questions!

[al3x-likes-les-miserables]

[candewlsy]

SOMEONE JUST CALLED ME THEIR KUROMIZU I'M GONNA BAWL MY FUCKING EYES OUT, DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[dudamarrafon]

i like to think that, while Murky still lived on that train cart, she would go out walking for picking herbs and always ended up sitting near some herb brides just to watch them dance

[guiron]

Not only did Flemethe fall 120 feet and break one of her horns off, She ALSO survived to kill a sphinx and get a cool new sword to feed to her current one.

[crow-caller]

as a child there's nothing cooler than a kid who gets subjected to evil experiments and gains special abilities. it's even cooler if these abilities also cause unfathomable suffering to use/against others. children love stories like this.

[autistic-demon]

last thing you see before you die

[not-aurii]

Azula is such a Girlboss, I can't

Ozai sends her away from the capital to go and find her brother and uncle, that's the only reason she's not in the palace all this time.

On the way to do that, she decides to gather up the girlies and go hunt down the Avatar, as a fun little side quest.

And then the Avatar is in Ba Sing Se - the one city the Fire Nation hasn't conquered yet - so, oh well, might as well just conquer the Earth Kingdom too, while we're at it. We don't want to let the trip go to waste, after all.

Oh! Zuzu is also in the city! How perfect, shall bring him home too, and the traitor uncle.

Not only did she fulfill the first mission Ozai had sent her to do (also, notice how she only goes back home after she manages to find a way to bring Zuko and Iroh back, not a second earlier. that was her one goal all along), she also "killed" the Avatar AND did the one thing no other Fire Nation royalty had managed to do in 100 year's war.

She's the definition of a Girlboss.

[virtualplushy]

i love re-consuming media i used to love when i was younger. like wow! child me still is in me i am holding her hand and keeping her safe and doing her favorite things with her!!!!

[thatrandomblogsays]

Annabeth: I, a child, had to earn Thalia’s love, that’s how the world works! I have to earn my moms love. Love is transactional, you gotta be worthy of it first silly :)

Percy, listening to this on the train

[artkaninchenbau]

Crocodile finds a strange stray cat an 11-year old Nico Robin (AU where they met 13 years earlier. Robin's been on the run from the World Government for 3 years. Crocodile's 27 and has not set up base in Alabasta yet)

It seems like I have become possessed. By some sort of demon.

Bonus:

[tadaxii-i]

They never talk about the youngest siblings who grew up faster than their older siblings, who had to help them and teach them stuff and joke about them being younger even when it wasn't true, and how they relate to the older siblings of the world but could never tell because they were born later but their soul, their soul was there much before. No one talks about them