#so??? is it not even MORE interesting to explore how a person like azula would change???

[aerithisms]

zuko's redemption arc is very good, it is beloved for a reason, but it's also poisoned discussion on redemptions in fandom in such an annoying and exhausting way. people always talk about the idea of "deserving" when it comes to redemption and at least some of this feels like it stems from atla depicting zuko as having originally been a kindhearted child who got corrupted into bad behaviour by abuse. therefore he "deserved" to get redeemed because he was always a good person deep down.

there is obviously nothing wrong with this being the way zuko's character is written but because it's the most beloved redemption arc in all of fandom now everyone thinks every character with a redemption arc has to have secretly been a good person all along. as though arcs about characters seeking redemption aren't actually about exploring people changing, they're just about confirming their inherently good nature. i think this is a very shallow way to think about human beings and a very boring way to write fictional characters!!!

the question of whether it's a good idea to give a character a redemption arc shouldn't be about whether they "deserve" it. the whole point of redemption is that the character starts out a bad person at the beginning of the arc, and we explore what it takes for them to change. it's bizarre that so many people in fandom have taken the stance that people don't really change, they're either bad or they're not, and redemption arcs are only for exposing the goodness that was already inside people.

the question of whether it's a good idea to give a character a redemption arc should be about whether it's the most compelling direction for that character and whether it aligns with the themes of the story. that's all. it's not a question of morality as if the characters are real people, it's a question of what the story is about and is trying to communicate. sometimes this means it would be mean spirited and ill fitting with the themes not to give a character a redemption arc. sometimes it means a character who has yet to show any modicum of remorse or kindheartedness will receive a redemption arc, because the story is interested in how that person could possibly change. and sometimes it means a character who does show signs of goodness may never get to realise that, and will never change their ways. it depends what the story is trying to say and what makes for the most interesting and fitting character journey for that story. because the character is not real and is first and foremost a tool to communicate that story.

[missaccuracy]

What are your thoughts about an AU where Azula is Iroh's daughter? I've seen this idea in the fandom and I'm just curious.

Oh, I'm a bit torn about this. On the one hand, it can be interesting because it has a lot of potential for drama and especially because I find it ironic that the person Iroh clearly disliked turned out to be his daughter. And they really do have a lot in common, whether they like it or not. They both had a strong military spirit and ambition.

I think it also depends on whether Ozai knows about it or not. I think it would be more interesting if he found out somehow. It would absolutely crush him to know that his prodigy daughter is actually his brother's. Ozai already has an inferiority complex about his brother, and this knowledge would make him even angrier.

I wonder how that would change his relationship with Azula. I think he'd be disappointed that she's not his daughter, but at the same time he'd use her to hurt his brother, and would always rub it in in Iroh's face that he missed out on raising Azula, and she'd always be more loyal to him.

The thing that bothers me about this, though, is that I really like the idea that Ursa and Ozai had a good relationship at the beginning of their marriage (which is implied in the canon), so I'm not very fond of the idea that Ursa cheated on Ozai with Iroh. And frankly, I don't like it when it's used to push for Azula's redemption; if anything, I think it'd make Azula even more of a villian, as she'd try even harder to prove herself to Ozai, to convince herself that she's worthy to be by his side, even if she's not his biological daughter.

Overall, while I'd prefer canon, but it's still a very interesting idea for an AU that has a right to be explored.

[reunionatdawn]

Weighing in on ATLA shipping discourse

Iroh: You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good.

Why did Zuko have a fever after decided to let go of his Blue Spirit mask? Well, the imagery suggested that he experienced a Kundalini awakening. A Kundalini awakening is a profound spiritual experience that involves the activation and rising of Kundalini energy, located at the base of the spine. In Hindu and yogic traditions, Kundalini is often depicted as a coiled serpent, symbolizing dormant spiritual potential.

Ida and Pingala are the two energy channels that run alongside the spinal column and correspond to the left and right sides of the body, respectively. Ida is associated with the feminine or yin aspect. It is linked to qualities such as calmness, receptivity, intuition, and nurturing. It is also associated with the moon, coolness, and the element of water.

Pingala represents the masculine or yang aspect. It is associated with qualities such as activity, dynamism, alertness, and willpower. It is associated with the sun, warmth, and the element of fire. In the yogic tradition, the balance and harmonization of Ida and Pingala are considered essential for achieving physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Once the two energies combine at the crown chakra, a person's consciousness is supposed to transcend duality. What does that mean, exactly? It means to move beyond the perception of reality as consisting of opposing or dualistic concepts, such as good and bad, light and dark, right and wrong, or self and other. You understand that these apparent opposites are part of the same unified whole and are interconnected in a deeper, more profound way.

"I was head writer of ATLA, and this is exactly how I see it! There was some controversy that Zuko made the "wrong choice" at the end of season 2. A lot of fans were ANGRY! But it had to be this way… we wanted him to get everything he thought he wanted. The triumphant return. His father's respect, and a seat at his right hand. Only then could Zuko truly outgrow these things, and choose to do the right thing in a meaningful way." (Aaron Ehasz)

So, the symbolism definitely favors Zutara in that respect. Katara learned through Zuko that the Fire Nation is not innately evil. Even though he hurt her with his "wrong" decision, part of her character arc was understanding why he did it and being able to forgive him. And because he made that choice, she could trauma-dump onto him and that led to her gaining closure about her mother's death.

"I was head writer of ATLA. Azula and Zuko's relationship was not always well understood, even by the team internally. Azula loved Zuko, more than anyone save her father. She also felt competitive with him for their parents' attention of course, but since she had alienated herself from her mother, she focused her energy on pleasing dad… which of course meant acting in more and more intense and possibly evil ways." "By the end of the series, of course, her loss of her friends shatters the part of her identity that she could somehow control affection and love through intimidation. As a result she spirals… I did however intend to leave a kernel of humanity, and had we made a season 4 Azula would have completely bottomed and we would have explored the possibility of a path to redemption. True story!" (Aaron Ehasz)

But it's not even just Zutara. What I found interesting was that Azula was the blue dragon and Iroh the red dragon. Azula was crazy and needed to go down, right? By siding with his sister, you're meant to think that Zuko chose "evil" instead of "good". But it looks like some of the writers meant for it to be more complicated than that. There was no "good" or "evil" choice. Azula had a softer "yin" side, too.

Zuko wanted to get along with his sister. He did not want to kill her, even though Iroh thought that was the only option. The fact that Azula never got her redemption arc did a massive disservice to Zuko's arc as well. The fact that Azula had good in her is exactly why Zuko's choice in BSS couldn't truly be called "wrong" or "evil".

Azula loved Zuko and that idea wasn't conveyed very well in the cartoon. She was the one person on that beach who actually did understand him. She was jealous that Zuko chose the Avatar over her. And she knew that targeting Katara with her lightning was the best way to hurt Zuko. Katara found a non-lethal way to defeat Azula for Zuko's sake. Because after seeing how hard it was for him to fight her, she finally understood why he made his choice in Ba Sing Se.

"[Azula] had not bottomed in the end of season 3, she had further to go. At the deepest moment in her own abyss she would have found: Zuko. Despite it all, her brother Zuko would be there for her. Believing in her, sticking by her, doing his best to understand and help her hold her pain that she can no longer hold alone. Zuko — patient, forgiving, and unconditionally loving – all strengths he gained from Uncle Iroh." "And I always imagined that after coming out the other side, she would be one of those people who hilariously over-shares her own feelings all the time, and that she would be a bit over-apologetic. Like a Canadian version of Azula." (Aaron Ehasz)

The first episode of Book 3 was called The Awakening. Aang literally awakened to the energy twisted up in the middle of his back. He did not complete his spiritual transformation. The Kundalini energy did not reach his crown chakra. It was still blocked because he had an attachment to Katara that he hadn't worked through yet.

Zuko's awakening was figurative. Mai didn't understand how he felt. Symbolically, when she turned his head to kiss him, it showed the audience the scarred side of his face. When Zuko lied his sister, the unscarred side of his face was shown. I suspect that the writer for the episode, Aaron Ehasz, wanted to hint that Zuko did still feel a connection to Katara and didn't want Azula going after her and Aang.

Zuko in The Crossroads of Destiny was not supposed to be the same Zuko from The Avatar State. Both versions of Zuko still wanted to go home. But 201 Zuko was motivated more by selfish attachment. 220 Zuko was more motivated by love. He loved Azula unconditionally. Even with all of her twisted, ugly, and cruel behavior. His consciousness had transcended the duality of Iroh and Azula being opposites where one is "bad" and the other is "good". During The Beach he was fantasizing about a time when Iroh played with both of them as little kids. Back when they were all a family.

Mai: You know what will make you feel better? Ordering some servants around. I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts. And maybe a little palanquin ride around town. Double time.

I don't dislike Mai. I think she is an interesting character who was not a bad person or anything. I just thought she served a very specific narrative purpose. She was there to show how Zuko wasn't compatible with his old lifestyle anymore.

Mai wanted a typical socialite boyfriend. They really didn't get along too well or have much to say to each other during The Beach. She didn't like him when he started talking about his trauma and showed his uglier side. Zuko was insecure and jealous because he was not even sure if she really liked him. And she didn't even know the person he was after his banishment, only the person he was as a child. When he turned his head away from her, his unscarred side was shown.

Zuko: When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me. My father had saved me a seat. He wanted me next to him. I was literally at his right hand. Mai: Zuko, that's wonderful! You must be happy. Zuko: During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. The son my father wanted. But I wasn't me.

He walked out of that war meeting with the scarred side showing. Mai didn't love Zuko. She loved the perfect prince. The fantasy she built up in her head and the role Zuko was acting out at the start of the episode when he was ordering her the fancy fruit tarts.

Mai: I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.

Mai stood up to Azula to save Zuko, and she genuinely believed she loved him. But he left her behind to be with his new companions. If not for Ty Lee, she would have died. That should have been the end of that relationship. I thought it was very weird that they got back together. The NATLA writers should definitely find a different way to conclude Mai and Ty Lee's character arcs. Especially Mai. She deserved a more dignified ending than being left in prison and then threatening her ex-boyfriend to take her back.

"I love that even though Aang is sort of not in this story very much, to me, he's-his presence is in all of these scenes 'cause you know he's like the little angel on her shoulder [...]" (Bryan Konietzko)

The main reason I think the shipping discourse in the ATLA fandom is so toxic is because the creators Mike and Bryan saw the narrative differently than the other writers. They seemed to have a completely different vision for the story and characters compared to the head writer. So, there were two conflicting visions and fans who liked one over the other could argue their side indefinitely. Bryke saw things as more black-and-white and good vs. evil. You can see it in some of the interviews and commentary, particularly with Bryan.

IMO, there really was no "good" and "evil" side in The Southern Raiders. There was no "angel" or "devil" sitting on Katara's shoulders. To Katatra, what Aang said must have sounded like nothing more than a trite platitude. It's true that in the end, she didn't choose violence. But I don't think Aang's words were very pertinent to her decision-making when she finally faced Yon Rha, LOL.

It's understandable why Aang would come off as preachy, though. He was just a child coping with his own grief. The Air Nomads' philosophy was one of the only things he had left of them, after all. Such a teaching was no doubt his own personal coping mechanism.

Aang was right in the sense that Katara didn't need to resort to violence in the end. But ya know, maybe she would have if she didn't have someone by her side who understood her inner darkness and accepted her even if she had chosen violence. Just like how Aang might have killed the sanbenders if Katara hadn't been there. And Katara would not have condemned him if he had done so.

"Zuko and Katara might have shared some sparks, but sometimes there are people along your 'journey of love' who are there to teach you about yourself and what you really need, but don't necessarily end up being your partner. Come on, kids! 'Zutara' never would have lasted! It was just dark and intriguing." (Bryan Konietzko)

Zuko was a character of duality. Yin and Yang. Light and shadow. His two sides were represented by the scarred side and non-scarred sides of his face. I think Bryan viewed Zutara as a "dark" ship because a big part of Zutara was about Katara's shadow side.

Just like Mai did with Zuko, Aang built up a fantasy version of Katara in his head. The perfect, well, "waifu," I guess. The endlessly patient feminine maternal figure. The sweet beautiful girl with such manageable hair. But that's only half of who she was. There was another side to her that he never saw. One that used bloodbending. Angry, hateful. Yes, even ugly. And that's not a bad thing. It's human.

[linkspooky]

In your fanfic, will we anticipate to see more of a darker side of katara?

This question is about my avatar fanfic Burn this City Down, which you should all go read.

Sorry for the late reply, but I wasn't sure how to answer this question at first. In general I tend to take characters to dark places in my fan fiction. My interpretation of Maki and Mai Zen'in for instance, is far darker than most of the fandom's.

However, there is a specific type of avatar fanfic that usually gets tagged "Dark Katara" on Ao3 where she basically acts the way she did in Southern Raiders. While I do like that episode and the side of Katara it brought out, I'm not only interested in Katara's dark side.

You could call this "exploring Katara's dark side", but I think what's most important is writing Katara in a way where the narrative is hard and unforgiving on her flaws, in order to push her to grow and develop. Katara has flaws just like everyone else, she's equally as capable of hurting and harming someone and it really depends on what the circumstances push her to do. I like to write stories where characters are challenged really hard. Stories where even the heroes under the right circumstances, can be pushed to do bad things because they are just as human as the villains. Stories where characters aren't internally good or internally bad, but learn to be better by trying to be better.

I guess the question is will I have Katara do bad things - and yes, I like it when the good guys do bad things. I think it's more interesting when the protagonists are morally fallible because the more flawed they are the more room they have to grow. Again I'm not sure if I'd called this a darker Katara though, because that's just how I tend to write characters I come down hard on their flaws. Look at the way I talk about Gojo in any of my Jujutsu Kaisen posts. No one ever believes that he's my favorite character because I'm constantly criticizing him like I'm his disappointed and impossible to please mother.

There is one thing I like to avoid when writing women though and that's the dreaded madonna whore complex. Seriously, it's everywhere, we can't let Freud keep winning like this.

Katara and Azula are character foils both in ATLA itself and in my fan fiction, and in comparing them Azula is a lot more flawed than Katara. However, I don't want to end the comparison on one of them is good and one of them is bad because that's BORING. The point in comparing them would be to point out they are both equally human, struggling with their own flaws as teenagers growing up in a messed up world.

@zuko-always-lies and I were talking about this in general and ATLA's approach to writing Katara's character, and while Katara is a character with a lot of depth she doesn't really have an arc constructed around her character flaws. Katara is a good woman so she doesn't really need to be challenged in any way by the narrative to grow, she's busy serving the role of the group's heart and an example of goodness. If I were to change one thing about Katara I wouldn't necessarily write a darker Katara, just construct a narrative around her that calls out her flaws and really pushes her to her limits so she has to grow as a person. Even characters who are totally goody two shoes like Aang can have severe personality flaws and an arc based around challenging those flaws - it's why he's my second favorite character.

[zuko-always-lies]

hello, it seems like this page is dominated by Azula x girl ships, which is totally cool, I personally could see her with Ty Lee the most, but I was wondering if there are any thoughts on Azula x Sokka? Seeing as Sokka’s positive experiences with family could help Azula’s family trauma, and they are both incredibly smart and witty… just a thought. Please disregard me if you wish.

This is a question which deserves to be dealt with broadly. There actually aren't many reasonably prominent boys around Azula's age she can even potentially be shipped with. it's really only Haru, Teo, Jet, Zuko (note: I do not approve of Azula/Zuko, but I'll get back to that), Sokka, and Aang.

Teo and Haru do have significant appearances, but they receive almost no characterization, so there's not a strong reason to ship them with Azula.

Jet potentially makes a very interesting ship partner for Azula, simply because they have almost nothing in common yet perhaps share a certain drive and determination. However, it's a bit hard to imagine how they would even become lovers, and it's simply not a very popular ship.

For Zuko, even if we ignore the issue of incest, which is not a small issue at all, it's not a very attractive ship for me even from a theoretical perspective. Azula is a way more interesting character than Zuko, but one problem that she has is the everyone (the creators, the series, fanfic writers, fans, etc.) makes everything about her revolve around Zuko. Azula/Zuko as a ship perpetuates this tendency. Also, it involves Azula becoming emotionally dependent on another toxic guy from her family, which is something you'd hope she would grow out of. So yeah, I don't like Azula/Zuko due to the incest, but even ignoring that it doesn't seem particularly compelling to me.

Aang potentially makes a very interesting partner for Azula. They share so much. They're duty-driven prodigies who had an immense weight of expectations placed on them, they both love making mischief, they're both deeply ethical individuals, even if they're ethic systems are completely different, and Azula is even arguably one of the characters least inclined to resort violence in the series, just like Aang. Azula also left a scar on Aang's body when she killed him, so there's potentially a very odd sort of connection to explore. And Aang's compassion would be complex for Azula to experience and you can do a lot about how their cultures clash and combine. However, that being said, I have only very rarely seen an Azulaang fic I like. Common issues are

Putting Aang in a position of power over Azula

Making Azula's life resolve around serving Aang

Cutting Azula completely off from her connection to her nation

Softening Azula's character in a way that removes her canonical drive and ambition

Now we can finally talk about Sokka. The theoretical basis for Sokka/Azula is pretty strong. They're both warriors with daddy issues, they're both duty dedicated they both struggle to live up to their desired roles, they're both leaders, they're both highly intelligent, they're both sarcastic as hell, etc. The parallels just keep piling up. Azula is even one of the few characters to value nonbenders. There's a reason why this is the most popular Azula x male ship.

However, I have found that I don't tend to like Sokkla fics. Something feels off about them. I think part of the issue is that Sokka is a very hard character to write well, and he tends to feel a bit off to me whenever I see him in fanfiction. He's as silly and childish and idiotic and melodramatic as he is mature, intelligent, and dutiful. Also, it's easy to completely ignore his cultural background, but I think that background is critical to the character. Generally I've found that Sokkla fics tend to feel like they're about Azula much more than they're about Sokka, and it doesn't quite read right to me. And I guess in a certain way maybe Sokka and Azula are too similar for the ship to be truly compeling.

Anyways, those are just my personal opinions. Readers, please don't get mad because I don't like your ship.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

hello hello! can i just say, i love your takes so much. it feels like you’ve read my mind on how katara would actually react in certain situations. currently myself, im rewriting the structure of the show in a way that makes more sense (aka, getting rid of kataang altogether and focusing on actual growth for each character including aang!) and im struggling a bit on aang actually!

we know how brykke basically stunted aang’s growth because of their weirdness. but what if aang never had a crush on katara? what if he sees katara as the big sister he always wanted instead, making their relationship more wholesome than weird? i think he’s such a centralized character, but when i develop the others beyond the show, aang feels like he’s left behind.

maybe that’s part of it too! he is a boy out of time, and now more of a concept than a person as far as anyone else outside of his immediate group knows. in this au where i intend to age everyone up, i’m just curious to see what kind of man aang would grow up into if his motivations for katara was never there. i see him as trying to hold onto his lost childhood and then having to come to terms with the fact he can’t. but i’d love to hear your thoughts. who is aang outside of that? his journey has the opportunity to be so fascinating, but brykke kind of said hey! let’s not get into that! let’s make him a creepy god boy who gets whatever he wants!

(also to note, this version of aang is meant to be with azula and while i love the meta ive seen about taang i do personally hc her as a lesbian but i do like them but yeah!)

also sorry if this is too rambly i’m just very excited!

hi! This is such a nice message, and please never apologize for rambling! My blog is a safe space for all ramblers. Your fic sounds like a very exciting project!

I definitely agree with you that he’d try to hold onto his childhood & have a hard time with his grief; coming to terms with the depth of his loss would be an exceptionally interesting arc. His people were victims of genocide: his culture and his loved ones were brutally murdered. Nobody can replace that community, not even his chosen family of the Gaang, and certainly not a romantic partner.

But Aang certainly is somebody outside of all that tragedy too. I think his cheerfulness and optimism, his playfulness, his resilience, his reluctance to assume responsibility, and his prodigiousness are all important facets of his personality.

Here's my piping hot take: Aang is James Potter with a more tragic backstory and less of a cruel streak. Think about it: mischievous, funny, adventurous, brave, enjoys attention, popular, devoted to friends, prodigious, entitled when it comes to love interests, morally inflexible, dedicated to Good, can be too arrogant to recognize his own faults. We hear that James became a pretty decent guy, so there's plenty of potential for growth for Aang, especially if he doesn't get his forever girl at age twelve.

Aang has a big heart and stringent morals, but is still a bit of a trickster. Not in a malicious way, but in a “I have a zest for life way” that gives him a little bit of an edge beyond just being a sunshine boy. You can see this even in ep 1, when he sacrifices himself so that the village would be left alone, only to haul ass out of the Fire Nation ship as soon as they’re safe. You can also see it in The Great Divide, where he straight up just fabricates history lmao. Lying is not an issue for him at all, which indicates it’s not really part of his moral code.

On the other hand, he obviously feels very strongly about taking life, which indicates a black and white approach towards morality that is not uncommon in kids. I could see an older, more mature Aang being led to question his own approach to morality, particularly by someone like Zuko, who probably finds violence a lot more palatable than lying. I think there are very interesting cultural differences that can be explored here, which doesn’t necessarily mean that Aang will change his opinions, only that he’ll have greater respect for how other cultures see right and wrong, and that he can keep Air Nomad culture alive without taking on the burden of being the manifestation of that culture. He has the innate impulse to try to see the best in people, which is at odds with his black and white morals sometimes. Related to that, he really struggles with morally grey characteristics in his friends. I think that if he had a fleshed out opportunity to properly disagree with his friends, he may not necessarily change his own mind, but he might grow to value his friends' freedom of choice over imposing his own values on them, since one of the cornerstones of Air Nomad philosophy is apparently about freedom. I think his pacifist voice is an important contribution to their ragtag group of overpowered pre-teens and teens and I love it when that aspect is explored in fics.

I've seen some really good depictions of Aang-not-obsessed-with-Katara in fanfiction (Southern Lights has my favourite one; in fact it's my fave characterization of basically everyone except for Mai). I see most of his flaws as things he can grow out of, but only if he encounters difficult situations and learns to grow. Have fun with your fic, and please do share in any relevant tags once you start posting!

[the-badger-mole]

Sorry I’m asking a bunch of questions but I’m really interested in how you view ATLA

How would you have personally expanded on Mai’s character had you been a show runner for ATLA? Same with Aang.

What other major differences would you have made, and how would you have instead written Kataang if Zutara weren’t an option?

I would've been fine if the show ended with no romances, tbh. If Zutara wasn't an option, that's the route I'd go. That being said, if Kataang was my ONLY other choice, I'd say that Aang would have to have a growth arc. He'd have to confront his problematic opinions towards the SWT, and I'd love for it to be because he was called out on them by Katara in specific. He'd also have to come to an understanding of his friends' perspective on a war that he's only experienced a few months of and they've spent their entire lives worried about. He'd have to also have a reckoning with his beliefs as they come into conflict with the realities the world is facing. He'd have to be way more empathetic and supportive of Katara, even in her worst moments. Basically, he'd have to be a completely different character who just so happened to be named Aang in order for me to support Kataang at all, Zuko or no Zuko.

As for Mai, I think she's a lot more interesting as an antagonist than a hero. I'd have embraced her calculating and manipulative ways and gone with having Ty Lee be the one to turn on Azula. As it should have always been. She didn't need to be over the top evil, but I see her as one of those antebellum ladies who turned a blind eye to the suffering of others because their lives were comfortable. I'd have her be angry with Zuko for rocking the boat instead of falling in line with the status quo. But I'd also have her dealing with a deep rooted rage because, like those antebellum ladies, she was unsatisfied with her lot in life. Her poor treatment of servants would be focused on more, and her thoughts on her family's part in the Fire Nation's colonizing the world would be explored, too. In the end, she would want more freedom for herself, but still be a Fire Nation supremacist, and she would never forgive Zuko for his treason.

[seyaryminamoto]

Stepping into AU territory, what if Zuko had a childhood friend his own age? The son of some noble or general or bureaucrat perhaps?

One from before his exile?

What kind of arc would they have had and how do you think it would have affected Zuko's arc?

Uuuuh... well. On one hand, I'd appreciate that because I hate the fact that Zuko seems to have zero connections with his nation beyond his family. And no, Mai doesn't count, let alone Ty Lee, because they were Azula's friends first, ergo, he only knows them because of his sister: connections through his family.

So on paper, I'd like for Zuko to have a friend from the Fire Nation that maybe was a strong connection for him.

If it was a positive friendship, it would be interesting to see Zuko grappling with the reality of all his worldview changes upon returning home in Book 3... to find that his best friend is still in the same mindset of believing the Fire Nation's rhetoric. This could make Zuko a more active character throughout Book 3, and it would enhance the whole "he's got everything he wants now, but is it REALLY what he wants anymore?!" theme they were going for with him here. So that would have been interesting for sure, and there'd be two possibilities: either Zuko reforms this fellow, or he fails to, and they might have a depressing friends-to-enemies arc where Zuko has to fight his friend and defeat him (hooopefully with more compassion than he showed his sister, I dunno :'D).

There's also the possibility of the "friendship" being negative, which means toxic, which means not really friends but fake friends? Zuko and this guy could've had a competitive, unpleasant dynamic all along that then gets worse once Zuko comes home a hero and MAYBE this guy is scheming to try and get one over Zuko...? It would be a very unpleasant thing but it would serve to show how the Fire Nation's society in itself is corrupted and it's nearly impossible to tell who's friend or foe. This guy could be a social climber who simultaneously wants to put Zuko down and humiliate him and endear himself to Ozai by doing so? I dunno, this could be a bit of a stretch, but it's also a way to take that concept forward.

As for the final possibility... a friend who joins him on his journey? :'D as in, a fan-favorite concept with mild AUs that follow the same path but you add whoever to the exiled prince (or princess)'s journey? I... don't really vibe much with that. Iroh's already there as a mentor figure. A second character involved here would just clutter the situation and either wear on Zuko further (if the guy is, say, a comic relief type who makes his life a mess along with Iroh), or just... not provide much to the story other than needless drama? So, in this specific scenario, I wouldn't be too interested, personally, in exploring this route. Would be a little odd, imo.

All this being said, interesting things can be done by giving Zuko some more basic social graces, or just making it clear that his status means people will want to use him for connections or to improve their own status through him. It's, if anything, quite strange that canon decided to make him the biggest loner of all time, whose only friends in life apparently were his mother and uncle, and maaaaaybe if you squint Mai and Ty Lee but even that's not something pre-banishment, or at least, doesn't really look like they were particularly close in Zuko Alone. It makes the sudden turn of the finale, where Zuko is universally beloved and people are ready to die for him, while his sister is completely abandoned, feel a little less contrived. The whole concept that Azula was loved by randos and Zuko was not has never made any sense to me, because we have zero evidence of that. Zuko absolutely had more people on his corner, beats me why or how, and the story somehow wants to convince us of the opposite. So... I'd be perfectly happy for some of the story's themes (Zuko knows how to be friends with someone, Azula doesn't) to be enforced further with an OC like this one, who could show us that Zuko CAN be a good friend. Would be a change of pace that makes the guy a little less disagreeable for me, who knows? :'D

[shoutoutout]

checking out your June/Azula fic, and it's so good (not at the latest chapter yet, but will try to get there when I have time). what got you into this ship?

Thank you so much for giving it a chance I am BEYOND grateful <3! And since I’ve never been asked this before, I’m about to give way too long of an answer (sorry!). This story started with the premise:

What would happen if Azula went through all the motions of “redemption” but had never healed?

I’m personally not that interested in writing Azula being “redeemed” (because that is inherently a judgment bestowed by some external force) but I am interested in exploring her healing(!) and because this is a narrative, you gotta get worse before you get better! Before the start of this story, Azula has done everything “right” but she comes out on the other side 1. in disagreement about the direction of the country and 2. still nursing deep wounds. So she is in full on quarter-life crisis: alone, desperate, flailing and looking for a path forward.

And in comes June! I can't name a character less tethered to nation, ideology, or morality than her. June represents freedom(!). She lives in the moment and refuses to be tied down to any one place. This is at odds with Azula’s desire for control, legacy, and power. I think this little passage sums up their contrast:

Azula’s ambitions are set high. Her eyes crane upward on the heavens, on glory. June tries it on for size, wondering what a purpose so lofty might weigh. It doesn’t stick. All she can feel, think, taste is the immediate: the ground and the trail and their bodies altogether pounding through the Earth Kingdom.

June has been alone her whole life and has fallen into a rut. Azula represents the fire and drive that June lacks. And being so morally grey, June does not impose any morality onto Azula, she even fosters some of her “badness” which is how I like my Azula!

And then we got all kinds of fun themes & tropes to explore: two hottie baddies being murder wives together, June being more mature and a bit of a mentor, girlfriend twins and mirror metaphors, power play and distrust, toxic yuri, class differences… the list goes on! June can really hold her own against Azula, teasing her and pushing back against her nonsense. I think Azula both appreciates being seen for her whole self outside of her family and legacy and is deeply challenged by it. Anyway, I'm putting my whole ass heart and soul into writing this story so again, thank you for taking the time to read it I really hope you enjoy where it goes. We have twists and turns, love and hate and heartbreak!

[inventedsanity]

a 3am essay where i ranted on remarried empress again....

part 1

as a rashta fan, i don't think navier's character is that bad but i do wish they explored it more. like it is interesting to see a person realize they are more than what title they hold, navier had to learn on how she can do other things by just being herself and not an empress.

she herself told how much the title empress meant to her and how losing it feels like losing a part of herself, which shows her codependency on this title but in my personal opinion, it felt like the webtoon never explored such themes enough. her character was barely explored or even had that much development. though to be fair, i haven't read the webtoon in a while after i saw how horrible the author was treating rashta and her character.

the only thing explored in the webtoon was navier learning to be more in a relationship, the reason why soveishu and navier did not stay together was because of they relecutency to open up to each other even though they were in love with each other, they just failed to open up with each other. and i do wish that the author talked about how even navier has a play in this, im not saying soveishu being cheated should be excused but they should have showed on why not opening up to your partner is not always a good thing in relationships.

rashta makes awful decisions for her wanting power just so she can't go back to her horrible past of being a slave, she's tired of being manipulated by the people around her, but during her want for power, she gets manipulated by the viscount who also traumitized the shit out of her by giving her a dead baby. which i also add that he never gets the proper treatment for his awful actions. he is not for once called out for being an asshole.

also navier being a classist would also be a great theme to explore in the webtoon, she doesn't even have much of a reaction to the fact slavery happens in the kingdom. in the first few eps, when she finds out rashta was an ex-slave from rumors, she asks soveishu if it is true in such a weird manner like downgrading her? could just be me though

duke ergi (i do love him), the guy who manipulated rashta the most after she came into nobility is given the least reprecussions in the webtoon, even the fans applaud him for manipulating her. he is aware of how alone she feels, she can't trust others after what her previous lover had done to her, by what the viscount did, by what her father did. she suffered so much and duke ergi is aware of how isolated she is, and took advantage of it.

im not saying the author should excuse her actions, but they should stop downgrading her or making her do stupid actions (which is ooc) just to make navier better. literally in the latest episodes, we see panels of where rashta is sufferring and navier is just living her life and they have similar situations. like rashta sufferring after giving birth to her child and navier finding out shes pregnant. it just shows how the author has blatant favoritism towards the female lead.

characters who are literally victims but also bad people at the same time and are so treated by the story are literally my favorite characters (azula from ATLA). i wish rashta got the same treatment as azula.

rashta is smart and cunning and i wish the story accepted that. they make her do dumb decisions just to uplift navier to spread the message "navier wouldn't do that", the thing is ofc navier wouldn't do that, she was literally raised in nobility and taught to become an empress from day one but rashta? she was a slave and had to literally use her very limited skills to get a position in nobility, yeah she did do stupid shit but isn't it impressive that with literally no education that she somehow was able to survive in nobility? and navier that took years to study on becoming empress, rashta has done much faster within the limited time she has, obviously she hasn't perfected her studies and even complained on having to study, but i think she has the right. she was literally thrown into this hell fire without any time to prepare.

part 2

[sausage-rolll]

Queen Marika the eternal and the power of bewitching

-

Y'know, it's interesting that Marika also seemed to have a similar "mind control" power that Miquella is often sited as having.

"The Empyrean Miquella is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection."

-

While it's something that isn't heavily explored in game (to the point where I don't see anyone discussing it) Roderika theorizes that Marika cursed Hewg to eternally craft weapons for the remainder of his life. And it's straight up stated that this "cursing power" was used on the fire giant to force it into protecting the giants forge in the name of the erdtree.

"The Fire Giant is a survivor of the War against the Giants. Upon realizing the flames of their forge would never die, Queen Marika marked him with a curse. "O trifling giant, mayest thou tend thy flame for eternity.""

-

So Marika definitely seems to have a similar power, possibly even being the person Miquella inherited his off of in the first place.

But could this go even further than just Hewg and the fire giant? How many others could she have cursed over the years? What are the chances that Radagon suddenly up and leaving his family to become second elden lord wasn't actually his decision at all? Miriel himself states that it's a ongoing mystery as to why Radagon would do it.(alongside why he was chosen to become elden lord at all)

"The mystery endures, to this day... As to why Lord Radagon would cast Lady Rennala aside... and moreover...why a mere champion would be chosen for the seat of Elden Lord"."

The thing I find really important is that the question isn't just about why he'd be chosen as elden lord, but also why he'd cast Rennala aside at all. To me, this implies that Radagon did indeed care for Rennala, to the point where even with the temptation of becoming the second lord of the order he loved so much, it still seemed strangely out of character for him to take that opportunity over his family. As if he would never do that.

That is unless, he didn't take that opportunity by choice.

Afterall, even after leaving Rennala, he still clings to the only thing he has left of her, the golden order greatsword. And on top of that, he left his red wolf to protect her from harm, and even gifted her the amber egg before his departure. (Though I'd argue that that did far more bad than good for her mental state.)

"Telltale signs betray that this was once the greatsword bequeathed to him by his first wife, Rennala."

-

Ok so Radagon could have been cursed by Marika, and much like Hewg with his smithing and the fire giant with the forge, Radagon might have been cursed to protect the golden order as its elden lord, which would eventually backfire horrendously when Marika decided to turn against that very same order.

Admittedly I am kind of stretching here but everyone she cursed seems to be "cursed" with a specific goal in mind. Forge a god slaying weapon, Protect the giants forge. So it's not totally out of the question that she also cursed Radagon with the goal of "be the elden lord."

It would certainly explain why even after years trapped in the tree and barely even being alive anymore, he still fought tooth and nail to protect his order. He cannot give up because he's no longer physically capable of giving up. Much like Hewg and the giant. That is unless they die of course.

-

But it could go even further than that. What about Maliketh? It appears he's just loyally following the orders of Marika but that's what it always looks like! It looks like that with Hewg. It looks like that with the fire giant and it looks like that with Maliketh aswell. Despite seeming utterly miserable both as Maliketh and Gurranq, he carries on following her orders for years.

We have no idea how long he spent in the Farum Azula. Time doesn't work properly there. For all we know, he could be the oldest being in the game by the time we get to him. And yet after all that time his resolve never wavers. Even after being "betrayed" by Marika.

"Maliketh was a shadowbound beast given to his Empyrean. Marika's sole need of her shadow was a vessel to lock away Destined Death. Even then, she betrayed him."

And much Like Hewg, Fire Giant and Radagon, Maliketh is also ordered to carry out a specific goal. Which is protecting destined death.

Forge the god slaying weapon.

Protect the Giants Forge.

Be elden lord.

Guard Destined death.

-

Many people, including myself have sited Miquella's connection to the bewitching branch and power to "compel affection" as evidence that he might not be as benevolent as he seemed. But what if we've got it all wrong? What if we shouldn't be being suspicious of Miquella for having this power, but instead the person he inherited it off of?

-

Now there is someone else that Marika may have cursed. Well, a group of someone's actually. I saved this till the end because it's the most "out there" part of this theory but...

Spoken echoes of Queen Marika linger here as well.

Shall I share them with you?

In Marika's own words.

Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...

...What if it wasn't the power from shards of the elden ring that corrupted the Demi-gods and led to the shattering wars?

What if it was the power of suggestion? The power of bewitchment?

What if it was Marika?

[rms10]

Favorite ATLA Characters

Someone asked my 10 favorite ATLA characters through DM, but I thought I'd just post it out in the open. It's a tough question, especially if I'll try to put them in an order, but here we go:

Katara: Katara is my favorite character in the show. An indigenous person trying desperately to connect with and preserve their heritage and spiritual connections is a natural connection for me. Additionally, she is simply so well written and (voiced) acted throughout the show. To me, she's a masterclass in very clearly showing characterization through actions, inflection, and tone without stooping to exposition.

Aang: I've always enjoyed the idea of having a good character whose struggles/conflict are primarily internal and/or against outside influences taking them from their path. Aang really fits the bill. The more I've explored the show and the informing cultural touchstones, the more his character seems to come alive and really do a nice of job of providing a satisfying arc that runs just enough against standard Western norms to challenge the (assumed/primary) audience while also not skewing so far that he's unrelatable.

Sokka: On any given day, he and Aang might swap places in this list, but they'd retain the 2 and 3 spots. I have a special place for the original gaang of three as my top characters. In real life, I'd probably end up like Sokka, the meat and sarcasm person with no powers, which might also explain why I put him below the other two. Still, he has a phenomenal arc, and he provides a really interesting character who adds importance and depth to the group.

Zuko: He stole the redemption arc that the villains in most stories want, even if it was pretty clear he'd change sides from very early in the series. His constant backtracking really comes off as an authentic person struggling to reconcile their experiences in the world with their preconceptions they left home with, especially someone striving for acceptance like Zuko. The fact that he remains with a lot of bad traits, even after switching sides, just adds to the depth of his character. (Ironically, it seems like a lot of fandom sand those rough edges down to smooth them, which really robs him of his great character. Probably my biggest complaint about Zuko isn't the character, but how fandom tends to handle him.) At times I get very critical of Zuko, but that's more about people in the fandom whitewashing his sins, as the actual character is (mostly) forced to own them in the show.

Iroh: What is there to say? Great character. Some really wonderful real-world applicable sage advice, and an excellent character arc of his own, both before the show, but also during the show. It's subtle compared to Zuko who's not subtle, but it's still in progress during the show. Iroh goes from aiding the Fire Nation to eventually sending Zuko off to redeem the Fire Nation, while he goes to liberate Ba Sing Se. Much like Zuko, the worst part of Iroh is really how fandom tends to coddle him and completely overlook his flaws and mistakes - issues that the show is explicit about.

Toph: She's a lot of fun and runs counter to the other characters in a nice way, plus the representation she gives (not to mention jokes) really add something to the story. I know a lot of fans would rank her higher, but for me she just doesn't have as strong of arc as the previous characters (possible exception of Iroh). Some of that is that she's only in the show for only slightly over half of it. She also starts off as a master bender and her character at the end is much as it is when she joins. I also find that I don't have a lot of investment in her post series.

Mai: Her characterization is very strong, from the beginning. She masks with that indifferent vibe. We see it constantly - how she doesn't follow Azula's commands when she doesn't see a point in them, or doesn't want to, and it all builds steadily toward that betrayal of Azula in S3. That's so satisfying and perhaps that most badass moment of the entire show, or at least the one that was the biggest surprise. Plus, I really enjoy her arc with Zuko and how they evolved throughout S3. It feels about right for two teens trying to figure it out with the chaos going on around them.

Suki: It's pretty clear from a first watch that she was supposed to be one-off, but she came back and served an important purpose, and then she comes back again. It would have been easy to make her just Sokka's love interest (after she kicked his butt), but the Kyoshi Warriors are so excellent, and as their leader she's really tops. I am very invested in her fate post series, and both dislike her handling in the comics (like so many others, but the tonedeafness in sending her off to serve as personal guards to the Fire Lord was really bad) and then we know nothing of her beyond. I realize we have less info on her than the next two characters, but I still just like her a lot.

Azula: There's a lot of good reasons she could be placed higher in the list, especially as she's a more central character than several above this spot, but I still enjoy them more. While she makes a great antagonist, there are a few places her characterization was bent for the sake of the plot (at least IMO). Still, her final breakdown, was pretty much the perfect end for her, as it leaves the audience empathetic to the fact that she's part of the debris left behind by the Fire Nation's warmonger - the ultimate demonstration the show spends a lot of time on, that the people of the Fire Nation are also suffering due to the war.

Ty Lee: ty Lee is a lot of fun. Her character is fine. It just has less development and is less interesting than the others to me. I still enjoy it and I enjoy where she ended up post series.

OK, 10 was a lot and my order might shift a bit. Also, I actually like most of the characters in the show, at least the recurring ones. I have criticisms of most characters, but overall they're fairly minor. After all, if I didn't like the characters, then it'd be a bit strange to hang out in the fandom to my mind. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

[missaccuracy]

I think i would have loved smoke and shadows if it's mai Redemption arc and centeric comic, since she never got one

So instead of the usual bad azula and good zuko, we could have mai working with her father and the rest of ozai Followers to take down zuko, ofcaurse mai have diffrent feelings about being against zuko or her father as she have Tense relationship with both and she already had a break up with zuko

So when her father start ordering her to do shady things and later doing whole crimes and terror ( Kidnap the childreen) she struggles more with her Emotions , just for the people to tell her that they were doing this for one hunderd year

Here mai had to relize how bad this is and choose to continue what she is doing or stoping it

So the thing the stroy focus on

Mai abuse and abusive parents, zuko being a bad boyfreind instead of perfect little boy, mai relize the that Imperialism is bad, she Get Redemption not because she is zuko girlfreind but because she is mai the person, we can even include azula by seeing people blaming azula for what is mai doing and mai feeling bad for her old freind that's everyone demonize because of mai own mistakes

I'm not a writer So i think my idea will work better by a real writer

What your thoughts?

Overall, I agree that it would be nice to explore Mai's character more and get more focus on her actually unlearning an imperialism, her relationship with Azula, as well as getting more insight into her dynamic with her abusive parents. I like Mai and I think she's a very interesting character, so I'm ALL FOR the idea of giving her more attention in the story. It just needs a good writer to make it work.

[onigiri-dorkk]

Every time I see posts exploring Zutara’s dynamic it makes total sense why there seems to be a lot of overlap of Rivamika and Zutara shippers 😭 Like this is so Levi and Mikasa coded!

Idc if neither pair was canon or romantic, but this creates sweet sweet tension and growth. Levi knew Mikasa hated his guts in the beginning — she was very clear about how much she disliked and disrespected him, especially their first solo interaction in the forest against female Titan. Similarly, Zuko knows well enough that Katara hates his guts too for all the reasons. The key thing to both Levi and Zuko, though, is that neither men lash out at Katara/Mikasa for their ill feelings. They don’t call them delusional for holding things against them, or get frustrated that they haven’t forgiven them. Levi was in the literal position to confront or even punish Mikasa for her disrespect. Instead they let them feel what they feel, and they work hard at reversing it. Why? Because Zuko cared about what Katara thinks of him. And even though Levi never says it, he absolutely cares about what Mikasa thinks of him — quietly over time he does things to prove she can trust him and respect him as a captain and as a person (saves her life/injured himself for her, utilizing her in his new squadron, looking to her to fight alongside him, showing he trusts her to be by his side, considering her words with attentiveness, etc). Isayama’s graph said that Levi was especially concerned about Mikasa so it makes sense he cares about what she thinks of him.

The satisfaction between Zuko and Katara is that they got their solo moments to really hash it out and find full resolve, and this led to their final battle moments against Azula which was the ultimate statement of trust — saving each others lives even if it meant sacrifice (thankfully Zuko survived that lightning!)

I think that’s what we craved for Rivamika too. Their trust and bond is implied, but I wish we had scenes that blatantly shows us this. We needed Ackertalk! We needed that soooo bad!!! It would’ve been the equivalent of when Zuko and Katara hug and she tells him she forgives him/she trusts him fully, she welcomes him by her side fully now. Something like that would’ve made Levi and Mikasa’s final battle together against Eren even more impactful.

I remember tweeting about how important it was that in the final battle, Mikasa takes the lead and she orders Levi to aid her while she takes the final kill (a direct parallel to their first interaction when Levi orders Mikasa to aid him in taking down the female Titan). It shows their growth individually — Mikasa stepping up to take down Eren, choosing the safety of the world over her personal interest, and Levi stepping down to let Mikasa take the lead because he trusts her now; he doesn’t see her as a ‘gloomy bitch’ (lol) who impulsively acts on her feelings anymore. I discussed this and there were antis who said none of that is important, that Rivamika people are just delulu lmao

I say all of that because if, again, we just had that smaaaalll Ackertalk — that Zuko/Katara forgiveness episode!! — it would have made Levi and Mikasa’s interaction in the final chapters way more obvious to the fandom. Literally we still have antis saying Levi and Mikasa don’t even interact. HELLO?

Anyway wow LOL this is a huge tangent! We love Zuko/Katara for all the same reasons we love (and love the potential of) Levi and Mikasa 😭😭😭😭 ATLA/AOT fans, where ya at?!?!

[linkspooky]

Hey. Long time follower here. Your metas, your discussions of "bad victims", your nuanced view of heroes and victims, your favoritism towards "losers"...not only did you heavily influence my own writing and my own favorites in different medias (I'm entirely blaming you for me being a Makima stan) but you helped through an extremely dark time in my life. I don't think that you just made me a better writer, you also sort of saved my life. I'll always be grateful for that.

There's something I want to ask. You answered to another ask that you don't regret reading MHA because focusing on what doesn't work about it made your writing stronger. Do you feel the same about Homestuck? Or about the more disappointing parts of Tokyo Ghoul (and, while we're being candid here, Avatar?).

Thank you for your compliments they're very encouraging to read.

At this point this blog is becoming the bad victim lovers support group where we all hug each other and cry over how MHA is treating all of its bad victims.

HOMESTUCK: Honestly, my main problem with Homestuck is that ACT 6 was so long and uneventful full of characters not doing anything that by the end of it the only character I was invested in was Vriska. ACT 6 also did go out of it's way to kill my enthusiasm for everything I liked in ACT 5, especially John Vriska. I've never seen a comic throw out all of its previous development that the audience was invested in and like everything that was foreshadowed - oh wait My Hero Academia. Unfortunately Vriska is an all-time-fave so I still write Homestuck Fanfic about her to this day. I used to like think the finale of Homestuck was one big "meh" but after years to reflect upon it, I do like Vriska's arc ending on a final note of Terezi searching for her in the void, possibly forever, and the ambiguity of whether they'll reunite.

TOKYO GHOUL: I remember being mad about Kaneki getting a happy ending that he didn't earn. Kaneki was a character that really frustrated me for a long time, but I came to realize that if you like remove Kaneki from his group of codependent enablers he's actually a really interesting character when he's alone. So he's a character I love to explore in fic, even if I disliked what they did with him in canon. Also, Tokyo Ghoul killed off its biggest victims Furuta and Rize in a really cruel way, but it didn't kill off every single victim so it just disappoints me instead of making me sick to my stomach like MHA does.

ATLA: I actually think the Avatar the Last Airbender ending is fine. Which like, isn't saying much because I think the Season 1 finale and Season 2 finales are some of the best things ever put to television. The worst sin that the ending does is number one lack of foreshadowing in earlier in the season and number two rushed plot points. Aang not wanting to kill the Fire Lord makes sense. I think the reason a lot of people criticize this and call it an ass pull is that it's not even BROUGHT UP until the finale. Vash the Stampede is pacifist and one of my favorite characters, but it's established from episode 1 that Vash is constantly up against people who want to kill him and he either has to run away or find a way to fight back nonlethally. Azula's insanity and mental instability could have been a thing, but it's not foreshadowed at all so all it ends up doing is conveniently nerf Azula for Zuko, and also being ableist. The worst problem is while there are epic fights it doesn't feel like an ending, because everyone's character arcs are 3/4ths of the way through. ESPECIALLY ZUKO's. Like people say Zuko is acting out of character in the comics, but I think Zuko is the only person in character in the comics because that's how Zuko without a proper end to his character arc would act. It really feels like they had plans for a fourth season that they didn't get, and their solution was to cram an entire season worth of development in everything post the eclipse on season 3. The fact that Azula is left as such a hanging thread is like proof of that, and the fact that Azula's last shot in the series is just her crying and screaming with like no follow up afterwards is something I've been bitter about for fourteen years.

I could write an entire post about how Zuko's redemption arc is unfinished though. It's like the same problem as Catra. I like both characters and I'm glad they got redeemed but they crammed in the entire redemption arc into 1/2 of the last season and that simply wasn't enough time.

[sharenadraculea]

Some thoughts on Lu Ten

A lot of people have been talking about the live action avatar show and how the scene of Iroh and Zuko sitting next to Lu Tens casket made them very sad. Which made me think about how I was never sad about Lu Ten dying, even with quite a few scenes tailored to make watchers sad about his death and me liking Uncle Iroh quite a bit. So I did some thinking:

First, let‘s collect what we know about Lu Ten from the show as well as what we know about the Siege of Ba Sing Se (it‘s not a lot). Lu Ten was the son of Iroh and significantly older cousin of Zuko and Azula, making him prince of the fire nation. Iroh loved him a lot and Zuko has fond memories of him. Lu Ten was a officer in the fire nation army and died in the siege of Ba Sing Se, which made Iroh very sad and stop the siege. The Siege itself was part of the hundredyear war and a attempt to take Ba Sing Se. It lasted for 600 days, let me repeat sixhundred days, and conditions were so bad that water had to be rationed. At least one of the walls was damaged or broken. It was lead by Iroh.

From this we can extrapolate some more stuff: living in the besieged city was hell on earth and a lot of people -mostly civilians- died, likely of hunger. Lu Ten was not a kid when he died -I personally estimate that he was probally in his twenties- and he was probally quite important in the Siege on the attacking side.

Which is why I don‘t feel particularly sorry for Lu Tens death. People die in war, it‘s a thing that happens, and the fire nation started that war and they started the siege. They are the genocidal imperialist faction. (I also have the headcanon that they wanted to starve out and kill most of Ba Sing Se, as taking it with less losses and a much shorter time is possible, as demostrated by Azula) And as far as we (or at least I) know Lu Ten was complacent in the siege. Honestly, his death was probally a net-positive, because thanks to it the siege was stopped and if it hadn‘t a lot more people -especially earth kingdom civilians- would have died.

And I think this is absolutly fascinating! Both how I see this thing of a story so diffrent from most people and the implications this has for the charcter of Lu Ten and also Iroh. (On a sidenote, I think a large part of me seeing this aspect diffrent is that I only watched atla around a year ago, so not as a kid, and that ww2 is one of my special interests and for a while it was specifically the siege of leningrad, longest recorded siege, lasting more than 800 days, during which one million civilians starved too death, and starvation is a very long, often agonizing death).

But back to atla and Iroh: we only meet Iroh in the middle/end of his redemtion arc, once he allready chilled out, and with the animated show beeing for kids, we are never given many details on his past and what happend in Ba Sing Se. To me his story feels very „Well, I never thought the leopards would eat my face too!“. Which is honestly a fascinating story for a morally grey character with a dark past to have. How did Iroh turn from beeing most likely really into the fire nations ideology to figthing against them? Because his turn lasted for years, starting at Lu Tens death, not when we first meet him in the show.

Also there are so many more interpretation of who Lu Ten was other than the „cooler older cousin“-one I usually see! Was he super behind what the fire nation was doing, possibly even dragging Iroh along with him? Or was it the opposit? What effect did seeing the horrors of the siege have on him? Did he see those starving civilians even as people? And also all the options if he started rebelling! What effect did it have on Iroh? Did he just think stuff or did he try to save people? What if his death was a assasination because he started doing those things?

I have so many thoughts on this and I should really write some fics about it, to explore that stuff further.