#when Ozai only loves power

[floatyflowers]

Dark Platonic! Fire Nation Royal Family x Non-bender Reader

Part 2

With Ozai:

At first he didn't accept the fact that you, his youngest child, is a non-bender, and ignored your existence.

That was until he noticed how his older brother, Iroh, spends time with you, Ozai got extremely jealous.

And decided to spend time with you, only to realize that you are his favorite child, and felt like an actual father.

Yes, you can't firebend nor do you even have the ability to protect yourself.

But why would you need to protect yourself when your father is going to be the Phoenix king of the fire nation?

Ozai will burn down the world for you.

"You, my sweet child, will grow up in the presence of a very powerful father"

With Ursa:

When Ursa found out that you couldn't bend, she became overprotective of you to the point of paranoia.

Since childhood, she refused to allow you to play with anyone except Zuko.

One time, one of her handmaidens scolded you harshly for playing outside without your mother's permission which resulted in you bursting into tears.

The next day, that handmaiden was fired and Ursa made sure that she gets no other jobs.

While thinking of escaping, she thought to take you with her.

However, Ozai has forbidden that from happening.

"When you find out the truth, promise to come find me"

With Azulon

While still alive, he made sure you had the best education and guards.

Azulon also made sure to have you believe that the fire nation is without mistakes or faults.

He tried manipulating you into believing that just your loyalty to your people is enough duty.

However, you are kind, too kind.

Yet, he Azulon didn't hate you for it even if he considered a weak trait to have in the royal family.

He also still has the flower crown you made him stored away safely so it doesn't rot.

It is rumored that the last word he muttered was your name.

With Iroh

Uncle Iroh isn't really as possessive as the other characters, but he focuses on advising you from time to time.

You enjoy drinking tea with him and gossiping about everything.

Even though, Ozai has forbidden him from speaking with you, you would sneak behind your father's back to drink tea with him.

After the loss of his son in the war, Lu Ten, Iroh felt depressed.

Yet you managed to comfort him with your cheerfulness and playful attitude.

It reminded him of his son.

"The best quality in a princess is her kindness, something which your sister clearly lacks"

With Zuko

Zuko thought you would be like Azula but you have proven him wrong.

You are kind, gentle, and nurturing just like your and his mother.

That's why Zuko always found himself by your side, being your playmate...being your protecter.

His mother told him that it's his duty to protect you from danger considering that he is your older brother.

Even though Azula has never hurt you, but Zuko was always wary of her, especially after his mother disappeared.

When Ozai challenged him to an Agni Kai, you were the first to cry out and plead with him to let Zuko off, but Ozai felt jealous of your relationship with Zuko and was determined to teach his son a lesson.

However when your brother got banished, Zuko took you with him in secret not wanting you to be left with Azula.

"I know the journey will take long but once I restore my honor we can return home together"

With Azula

Azula was extremely jealous when you were born, thinking that you will take all the attention from her.

But she realized that you deserve all the attention.

You didn't treat her like a monster, you weren't scared of her.

Instead you showed her love and called her 'big sister'

You would cling to her as a toddler, whenever there was lightning, you would secretly sneak to her room and sleep beside her.

"How can you be scared of lightning, we control it, silly"

Mai and Ty Lee saw how Azula softens whenever you are around.

And when Azula discovered that you have left with Zuko, she destroyed everything in her way and burned a few servants.

"She's mine, and only MINE"

[millionsknives]

i don’t think i’ve rewatched atla since becoming a committed pacifist and i just finished what was probably my tenth rewatch and i have never loved aang more. i've seen it so many times but i still came away with a new appreciation for the way the end of the story was handled. aang is the only survivor of a genocide and he is clinging to the last remnants of his culture and religion, and everyone is telling him the only way to save the world is to kill the dictator whose regime is responsible for the genocide, but to do so would abandon the deeply held beliefs of his people. if aang goes against his beliefs and kills ozai, his people's way of life dies completely and sozin wins.

aang knows it would be wrong but he can't see another way out so he prays for an answer, and the universe hears him and the spirits send out the lion turtle, and the creator answers him. and here's the thing that i never put together before today: aang would not have been able to energybend ozai if he had given in and wanted to kill him. the lion turtle tells aang that only the incorruptible can bend another’s energy, or else they will become corrupted themselves. and i think that aang, because of his love for the fire nation as he had once known it, was never corrupted by personal hatred for the fire lord or the fire nation. he was able to expertly hold two conflicting beliefs in harmony better than any adult could, the belief that ozai is a horrible person and the world would be better off without him and that he's still a human being with a life that is sacred.

and i don't think it's a matter of selfishness like some people make it out to be. aang is not some immature little kid who doesn't want to kill because killing is for bad guys. he's an incredibly wise and spiritual person who was shaped by airbender beliefs and upholds airbender beliefs, and he can see beyond the scope of this war. the balance of the world depends on the existence of the four nations, and aang does not just represent the air nomads, he IS the air nomads. he's all that's left.

despite many people’s interpretation of the four past avatars’ advice, none of the past avatars outright tell him to kill ozai. they tell him to be decisive, to bring justice, to be proactive, to be sacrificial. but none of them tells him definitively to kill him. he doesn't disobey or ignore their advice, he follows their ancient wisdom while still staying true to his beliefs. yangchen actually comes the closest to outright telling him to kill ozai (even more than kiyoshi, surprisingly) but what she fails to account for is that aang is not just the avatar, he is the last airbender, and being the last airbender is far greater a burden than being the avatar. no matter what happens, once he dies, there will always be another avatar. but if he is not careful to preserve the airbender way of life, there will be no more airbenders. yangchen could sacrifice her air nomad way of life for the sake of her duty to the world because there were thousands of other air nomads to continue their traditions. aang has no such privilege.

and it's not that he doesn't want to kill, it's that he actually doesn't think he can do it -- both that he won't be able to emotionally bring himself to kili someone, and, prodigy that he is, he doesn't have the raw bending skill to overcome a comet-powered master firebender. and then it turns from 'i don't think i can do it' into ‘i can’t do it.’ and when the avatar state gives him enough power to actually do it, he changes the answer to ‘i won’t do it.’ he overcomes all the combined power of his past lives to say no, i have found another answer and i will remain incorruptible. to kill is to maintain the power struggle of the fire nation and to reject air nomad wisdom and without airbenders the world CANNOT be brought into balance.

the only thing ozai cares about is power, and that's what the entire fight with ozai is about, physically and ideologically, because ozai only sees power in terms of force, fear, threats, and violence. to ozai, aang (and his entire people) are weak and undeserving of life because they are largely pacifists, but he fails to see the magnificent power that the airbenders do hold, spiritual wisdom and mastery of the self and contentment and joy and harmony and a deep understanding of the world that a man like ozai could never obtain. to kill ozai would ratify ozai’s worldview that power as he defines it is the most important pursuit in the world and the only way to assert one's right to be in the world is to be cruel and violent like him. i think to ozai, becoming powerless might be worse than being dead. he wants power, or he wants death, and aang gives him neither. it upends everything he believed in. aang, the avatar, but more importantly, the last airbender, armed by his past lives' power and his people's love and the spirit world's blessing and the lion turtle's omniscience (and toph's mastery of true sight through neutral jing), ends the war 100 years to the day after the air nomad genocide, in the way that his people taught him, with power that goes beyond force and violence, with spiritual wisdom, with an incorruptible soul, with mercy -- mercy that is not weakness, mercy that brings justice.

[hello-nichya-here]

Think I finally managed to understand why Azula not getting a redemption arc works in the show, but not in the comics (beyond the absurd ableism in the Yang stories that is).

Azula has become the classic case of a villain that keeps being brought back due to popularity despite clearly not belonging in the story anymore.

Her arc as a villain was completed in the show. She's been the backstabber, the relentless pursuer, and the cunning villain that wins through mindgames. She's been in charge, been under someone else's rule, joined forces with another villain, and had her enemies join forces against her.

She's been the villain that wins people through manipulation and/or charisma, or that full on threatens them into submission. She had henchmen that she used and threw away, and henchmen she cared about and was abandoned by. She was arrogant and power hungry, but also desperate for validation. She was the main villain's adored, loyal pet that was eventually kicked aside in the end.

She's been the lesser of two evils when compared to Ozai, and the worse of multiple evils when compared to Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee. She's been the villain that gets back up after a defeat post The Drill, the villain that wins (by corrupting one of the potential heroes, capturing a friend of the protagonist and KILLING said protagonist) in the Ba Sing Se arc, the villain that has both a satisfying AND tragic downfall in Boiling Rock and the finale, and the villain with hints of humanity that she refuses to embrace in The Headband, The Beach and the finale.

She had conflicts with people she had zero personal history with (Aang, Long Feng) leading to both physical and mental battles, and people she had a messy history with (her friends and Zuko) leading to super emotional scenes.

And finally, she's been the cold, calculating villain AND the villain that is a complete wreck mentally/emotionally - that last one only lasting for the finale because Azula's breakdown was not the CAUSE of her evil actions, it was the consequence of it. And said consequence made her be both the villain that is defeated by the heroes and the one that causes her own downfall.

Every single fucking thing that could have been done with her as villain has been done in the show already. Even Spirit Temple, the only comic that understood her character, couldn't do much beyond just repeat stuff we're already seen.

Azula refusing to accept anything she considers weakness or imperfection? We've see that in nearly every scene she was in.

Azula leading an evil squad? Literally what she did for 90% of her screentime on the show.

Azula losing said squad and refusing to take responsibility for it? Literally the Mai and Ty Lee arc, hence the two haunting her mind in that same comic. Only this time it happened MUCH faster because Azula no longer has all the political power she once had, so there's less consequences for crossing, so she's not as threatening to ANYONE.

Azula being pathetic and making a fool out of herself? The Beach exists.

Azula being obsessive to the point that it's almost laughable? Again, 90% of her screentime.

Azula having issues with her mom, desperately wanting love from her family, friends and a potential boyfriend? Again, The Beach exists and so does the finale.

The scene of her being confronted with a hallucination of an angry Zuko and shooting lightning at him? Literally a direct reference to the Last Agni Kai, which was the culmination of both of their arcs.

The ONLY thing that was new in that comic was the short moment in which Azula shows resentment towards her father for turning her into a copy of him, and that wasn't explored further not just because it's a stand-alone comic, but also because doing so would open the can of worms that is "Wait, if she's self-aware and processing trauma, that means she could learn her lesson and change" and since the writers clearly don't wanna go there, the scene is useless.

If the writers insist on keeping Azula an active threat in the story, they're setting themselves up for failure. Either they're gonna keep repeating storylines we've already seen with far less tension and with a villain that got a severe downgrade, essentially making Azula the Tom to their Jerry, or they're gonna pull a Yang and go "Make her crazier to make her scary again!" while ignoring that her days as a villain were cut BECAUSE she went insane, and now that here vil plans make no fucking sense anymore, the heroes just look stupid for not being able to defeat her.

Azula has nothing more to give to the story in the role of a villain, so she should either only appear in flashbacks or quick mentions of "she's being cared for, but it seems it's too little too late", or she should be redeemed to get a new role in the story, with new paths to explore. She just can't keep being put into the role of active threat, when we've all seen said threat was clearly neutralized already.

It. Does. Not. Work.

[camcat1320]

The Fortune-Teller does not deserve the hate it has received. It's actually a great episode that people misunderstand. Let me explain.

Kataangers love the episode for it says Katara is destined to be with Aang. Zutarians hate the episode for this reason along with forcing Katara into a pigeon hole. I stand between these warring tribes and say that they are both wrong.

To be clear, I am a Zutarian. If we would've had a Book 4 like the head writer had intended, this episode would've been integral for that book.

"But the 3-act story structure!" some may argue. A 3-act story structure is just a 4-act story structure in disguise.

Anyways, let's continue.

The destiny that Aunt Wu foretells does not give names and is vague in nature. She tells Katara that she is to be married to a powerful bender. She didn't say the most powerful nor did she say bender of all four elements. One doesn't have to be the Avatar to be a powerful bender.

Come Aang's fortune, she foretold of a great battle between good and evil that will determine the fate of the world. We immediately think of Aang battling Firelord Ozai to end the 100 year war. However, this fortune is vague and could foretell another battle after Ozai has fallen.

When Aunt Wu learns that Aang wants to learn about his future about love, she cheers him up by giving him a vague, seemingly harmless white lie to satisfy him. "Follow your heart and you will be with the one you love." Since Aang is 12, he can easily misconstrue infatuation for love.

I believe The Fortune-Teller is a giant red herring that many people in both Zutara and Kataang sectors have fallen for. But wait, what is a red herring?

In literature, a red herring is a device to throw the characters and the audience off the scent of future events. It's meant to distract and deceive.

At the end of The Fortune-Teller, Katara believes she is destined to be with Aang and Aang believes it as well. Throughout the remainder of the series, Katara's emotional bond with Aang is challenged. Then by The Ember Island Players, Katara is confused, unsure about her feelings, unsure about her destiny.

What other character struggled with his perception of his destiny?

For the majority of the series, Zuko falsely believed that his destiny was to hunt down the Avatar and regain his honor. We know that this destiny was forced upon him by his father, Ozai.

But as Iroh has said, "Destiny is a funny thing." Iroh had believed he would have been in Ba Sing Se as a conqueror but instead, he had liberated Ba Sing Se from Fire Nation occupation.

Zuko had turned against his father and his supposed destiny and set out to aid the Avatar instead. After this, Zuko's new belief is that it is his destiny to help Aang in defeating Ozai instead. Truly, destiny is funny that way.

But why is this only applied to Zuko? Why isn't this the same message given to Katara's arc? Is she truly destined to be with Aang and she cannot fight against this fate? Is this strong female character destined to be reduced to servitude?

The same girl that inspired imprisoned earthbenders to fight back? The same girl that fought against gender roles in her own culture? The same girl that didn't give into despair and led her crew out of the desert? The same girl that aided in healing a Fire Nation village? The same girl that rose above her mentor and used bloodbending to save her loved ones? The same girl that went toe to toe with Azula and won?

I SAY NAY!

Imagine, if you will, what Katara's continued arc could've been like in Book 4. Katara would've defied the destiny that was forced upon her and determined her destiny for herself. But in the end, destiny is a funny thing for this action only plays into fate. Zuko is a powerful bender after all. 👀

Now, I must depart before I give too many spoilers for my writing. Fare thee well, until we meet again!

[raul103]

I've just ended Book 2 of Legend of Korra (I love avatar, but I'm still a beginner, I'm kinda slow) and honestly, why do some people blame Korra for losing the connection to the other Avatars? I always thought people said that because she made some kind of decision that lead to that, as some kind of unavoidable consequence she knew would happen but chose, some kind of lesser evil.

I think you can imagine how surprised i was when I saw that she fought with all her strength to prevent it, she did everything in her hand, but lost it, it wasn't her choice, she lost it in battle, why are people blaming her for it? It's like blaming a soldier for losing a leg in combat.

Something like this could have happened to anyone, even Aang himself! Let's remember that he was barely able to defeat Fire Lord Ozai, Aang was almost defeated that day, he was cornered and, let's be honest, in those circumstances, he was pretty much dead.

Aang only survived because Ozai threw him against a rock and, luckily for Aang, he got hit at the exact spot where Azula's lightning had hit him in Ba Sing Se, unlocking the Avatar state. If it hadn't been for that little coincidence, Ozai would have destroyed Ba Sing Se and conquered the whole world...

I know, Aang was 12 and didn't even fully control one of the elements (earthbending, if i recall correctly), but i think we can, no, we MUST forgive Korra for not being able to defeat with no losses an evil, all powerful spirit who has lived for God knows how long... she's a great warrior, a great Avatar and a great girl, she deserves better.

[sokkastyles]

Do you think some parts of the world would have been unhappy in Aang's decision to spare Ozai? That people would be so bitter - this madman gets to live, while their friends and loved ones died? Why is that? Oh - because the Avatar didn't want to compromise his own morals, to kill someone? Tough, it's a war. People die.

The thing I don't like about the way the show frames it is that the narrative doesn't really give Aang a choice, either.

I think people who frame this as Aang respecting Air Nomad culture are trying to give the show too much credit, because the show doesn't act like Aang gets to choose a moral high ground, they act like he has no choice. Aang seems to believe that the only way he can honor his Air Nomad heritage is by not killing, and...what about all the Air Nomads who didn't have that luxury? What about Gyatso, who was faced with the choice of kill or die, and killed, and died?

I think a lot of people would see Aang's choice as a slap in the face. Every person who had to do things they considered against their personal morals to survive. People like Jet who sincerely wished to stop leading a violent life, but couldn't, because that life was chosen for him the moment his parents were murdered. People like Hakoda who felt deeply ashamed of having to leave his own children to go to war. Are these people just inherently less moral or more bloodthirsty than Aang? No, they simply didn't have the power Aang had at his disposal that allowed him to avoid the kind of violent lives that many people, children included, were forced to lead during the war.

That's also why the "Aang reminds Katara/Zuko that they are kids" thing annoys me. What Aang does is remind them that HE has the luxury of thinking of himself as a kid while they don't. The reason Katara hadn't been penguin sledding in so long isn't because she's a buzzkill who hates fun or she "forgot" that she's a kid, it's because she was forced into a role where she had to take care of her family in her mother's absence, and that doesn't go away with the introduction of another kid she has to parent. As for Zuko, that "well you're just a teenager" line is funny and it's easy to think of Zuko as someone who takes himself too seriously (and part of why it's funny is that teenagers in general do view themselves as so much older than younger children), but Zuko was kicked out of his home at thirteen and expected to be fighting a fully-realized adult Avatar. Even when he was Aang's age, he never had the luxury of thinking of himself that way. You can see this also in the way Zuko interacts with adults early in the series, notably Zhao and his crew. He is desperate to be seen as a hardened adult because he has had to act like one to survive.

These people don't act this way because they've lost their morals or sense of fun or because they don't value peace enough. They act this way because this is what they were forced to do to survive. I think people would rightly be offended by the idea that wanting to see Ozai dead for his crimes makes them just as violent as a genocidal tyrant, and they would be right to feel resentful that Ozai gets to live when he was responsible for so much violence. This is also why Zuko tells Ozai that he's lucky that Aang spared his life. Because in the end, Aang has NO moral obligation to spare Ozai whatsoever, not because of his culture or any reason. Pacifism has never meant that you aren't allowed to use necessary force to stop violence from happening. And anyone who uses the argument that Aang has to spare Ozai because of his culture or that this is his only way to honor his people is LYING.

[burst-of-iridescent]

i really hate it when people act as though zuko is being selfish or self-serving in some way when he tells aang in the finale that the only choice he has is to kill ozai because a) at this point, zuko is right and b) zuko's brutal honesty here is coming from a place of fear for both aang and the world.

are we all forgetting that unlearning his own idealization of his father and realizing that ozai never had been, and was never going to be, the person zuko thought he was, was a significant part of zuko's own arc? it took him sixteen years to understand that giving ozai any grace or understanding or forgiveness was a mistake, because it would be just another tool for ozai to manipulate him with. and that's not zuko's fault, because he was an abused child growing up in an incredibly damaging environment, but it does make sense that he doesn't want anyone else, especially aang, doing the same thing.

zuko is harsh on aang here because he sees in aang the person that he used to be - the innocent, naive kid who wanted so desperately to believe that ozai wasn't a monster, that there was any shred of humanity within him at all to be appealed to. it's not a coincidence in this show so rife with parallels that aang goes to face ozai at around the same age that zuko has his agni kai. and what did it get zuko, when he threw himself at his father's mercy and counted on ozai's non-existent humanity and compassion to save him?

zuko isn't coming down hard on aang because he's angry that "aang won't do his dirty work for him" or whatever other bullshit version of this argument i've seen zuko antis make - he HAS to impress upon aang how dire this situation is because he knows better than anyone that believing for even a second that ozai can be redeemed is incredibly dangerous. aang cannot give ozai an inch because it will only be used against him (and indeed, this does happen in the final battle when aang turns down the opportunity to redirect lightning at ozai and in return ozai presses his advantage to the point where aang would almost certainly have been killed if not for rock ex-machina).

furthermore, this idea that zuko wanted ozai dead for self-serving reasons doesn't really have much basis either, because if that was the case zuko could have just killed ozai himself during the solstice. he doesn't because at that point, he still had an alternative: aang (and you'll notice his word choices never explicitly refer to what ozai's fate will be; it's only "i'm going to help him defeat you" or "taking you down is the avatar's destiny"). as with many abused children, it's likely that zuko himself didn't really know if he wanted his father dead, but when it came down to the final battle without any other viable options presenting themselves, it was something he had to resign himself - and aang - to.

zuko himself does not lack faith in others (in fact, his whole journey is about understanding that his love for and belief in humanity is a strength, not a weakness) but he's learned the hard way that having this faith in the wrong people can result in devastating consequences, especially when the stakes are so high.

i imagine it terrified zuko to see the echoes of his younger self in aang, knowing he's sending him to face his father at the height of his power. at this point, with no knowledge of energybending or any alternative way to defeat ozai, well aware that a fight with his father can only end in bloodshed, zuko has no choice but to give aang the reality of the situation: kill, or be killed and doom the world alongside you.

[zuko-always-lies]

Zuko from the unsympathetic perspective

Zuko is a sympathetic character, and he's also someone who receives an extremely sympathetic framing in the narrative. However, it's interesting to consider what his character might look like and be perceived as, based on his canon actions, if he received the sort of framing his relatives Ozai and Azula do, instead of the immense grace the narrative gives him:

"Zuko was born into the royal family, as part of a cadet branch. Growing up, he showed little interest in his studies, his royal duties, or friendship, preferring to pall around with his mother. Zuko refuse to practice the basics of Firebending, preferring the immediate pursuit of power over hard work. When Zuko was 10, his mother went into exile to protect him, and his father usurped Zuko's uncle to ascend as Firelord Ozai."

"Zuko had been far down the order of succession until this point, but now he became crown prince. This did not lead to him taking his studies and duties seriously, but did lead to him becoming obsessed with his power, status, and prerogatives as crown prince. Even though he was only ever directly in line for the throne for a brief portion of his life, this obsession would prove persistent. At 13, it manifested when Zuko forced his way into a war meeting he had been specifically banned from and proceeded to violate etiquette, despite specific warnings not to do so. Ozai felt that Zuko was usurping the Firelord's power, so he ordered Zuko to fight an honor duel. When Zuko thought his enemy was going to be someone weaker than him, he talked big and puffed himself up, but when it turned out he would in fact face someone stronger than him, Firelord Ozai, Zuko proved his cowardice and refused to fight. For this shameful behavior, Ozai burned and exiled Zuko, ordering him to capture the Avatar."

"In Zuko's search for the Avatar, motivated by his desires to regain power, prestige, 'his throne,' and his father's approval, Zuko repeatedly used violence against civilian populations, a tendency that would persist. He was also violent to his own subordinates and servants, and extremely disrespectful to his own uncle, who had dedicated his life to looking after Zuko. Zuko also showed his utter amorality in his pursuit of the Avatar, demonstrating a willingness to commit high treason for the most selfish of reasons."

"This suggests one of Zuko's core characteristics: his wiliness to backstab anyone and everyone on a whim, usually for extremely selfish reasons. Most characters who trust him and turn their back on him end up with a knife in it, for their troubles. This includes even Zuko's beloved uncle, who he claims to love. Many characters show Zuko unsolicited and undeserved kindness, and they almost always come to regret it, as Zuko finds a way to extract a "price" from them for it. Feeding him when he's starving will lead to him stealing from you."

"Ultimately, due to Zuko's shameful behavior, Firelord Ozai declared him a fugitive and ordered Zuko's younger sister to capture him. When she attempted to peacefully apprehend him, he responded by attempting to murder her, an action which caused her to nearly retaliate in kind. This marks a persistent pattern of conflict between Zuko and his sister Azula. Azula was a younger sister born into a highly patriarchal society and family which privileged first-born sons over everything else, so she was always operating at a large disadvantage compared to her brother. However, she was such a capable student, strategist, politician, and bender, while Zuko was so unlikeable, that almost everyone who interacted with the siblings came to vastly prefer Azula over Zuko. Zuko greatly resented this "unnatural" competition from a girl and ultimately came to consistently pursue violence against her as a means to "put her in her place," a pattern that would persist. Zuko's conflict with Azula also likely contributed to his misogyny and violent sexism against other women."

"In the end, despite Zuko's pattern of questionable behavior, Azula (wrongfully) believed Zuko was still loyal in his heart and offered him the opportunity to return home to the Fire Nation as a hero and as crown prince, putting her reputation on the line in the process. This gave Zuko the opportunity get together with his old crush Mai, one of Azula's friends. Zuko took advantage of Azula's offering, but responded to her kindness by lying to her about critical information. Zuko became convinced that his regained status in the Fire Nation depended on the Avatar, a 12 year old who had saved Zuko's life twice, being dead, and hired an assassin to kill him."

"Zuko showed extremely worrying controlling behavior in his relationship Mai, notably reacting violently when she talked to other boys and trying to start a fight between Mai and one of her friends."

"Zuko became unhappy with his father's treatment of him and convinced that Zuko's restored position of prestige would inevitably come to an end when the Avatar turned up alive again. As a result, Zuko betrayed his father and government, throwing his sister under the bus in the process, and allied with his nation's hereditary enemies. This alliance would prove extremely fruitful for Zuko, for it would allow him to become Firelord in a matter of months."

"During Zuko's time with his newfound "friends," he continued to demonstrate the worrisome and questionable patterns of behavior he had shown earlier. He continued his violent confrontations with his sister. When his girlfriend Mai sacrificed herself to protect him, he abandoned her without second thought and showed no interest in rescuing her. When one of his new allies refused to forgive him for his repeated transgressions against her and her friends, he refused to accept this, demanded she forgive him, and dug deep into her trauma in order to convince her to. When a student of his preferred to take a break instead of training, Zuko responded by violently attacking him."

"Ultimately, Zuko's alliance greatly aided him. He was able to take advantage of his sister's mental breakdown to violently "put her in her place" and seize the throne."

Is the above summary really fair for Zuko? God no. It omits a lot of stuff that was included to make him more sympathetic. Is it entirely based on his actions in canon? Yes. Does it demonstrate how easy it would be to demonize Zuko with a small shift in framing? God yes. Does it basically reflect the sort of framing Ozai and Azula get in the show? God yes.

[the-air-nomad]

Can you do more Fire Lord Ozai x reader? He's hot, and there's almost no fanfic with him (sorry if my English is bad)

I hope that you will like it!

A NAIVE DESIRE

You come from a noble family in the Fire Nation. So ambition and thirst for power run through your veins.

You are the fourth child in your family, so you had to fight for everything you have. Life has never been easy for you, being condemned to be the forgotten child of your family.

Although you had all the comforts and riches anyone could want, you always wanted more and more.

You have a charming nature, you are beautiful, intelligent and a fearsome firebender.

So it wasn't hard for you to be invited to a ball held in honor of Fire Lord Ozai.

Since you are already in your 20s, you have decided that this will be the perfect opportunity to find a fiancé who will help you climb the social ladder of nobility.

With this desire in mind, you dressed in a lovely dress that hugged all your curves. Over the dress, you wore a cape that had a phoenix bird embroidered with gold thread. You instructed your servants to tie half of your hair in a bun and let the other part fall freely down your back. You put a fine gold chain around your neck and chose some ruby ​​earrings. Finally, you put on blush and red lipstick. You fixed your golden mask and left your house heading for the palace.

Once you arrived at the palace, you flashed charming smiles everywhere and spoke to all the nobles who caught your eye.

Everyone wore masks so it was relatively hard to tell who you were talking to without the person introducing themselves. But you ignored this crucial detail.

From the moment you stepped into the ballroom, you felt watched. At one point, you managed to make out the person who refused to take his eyes off you. He was a man, about 40 years old, and had amber eyes. You realized the man was probably part of the royal family. But you brushed that thought away, convincing yourself that he was most likely just a distant relative of the royal family, a descendant of Sozin's sister. Why would the Fire Lord be staring at you?

You acted like you didn't know you were being watched. You carried on with the evening as normal, although the man's gaze had begun to give you chills.

At one point, the man approached you. You tried to ignore him but the man you were talking to basically ran away with a look of pure terror in his eyes. You raised an eyebrow and then ignored the urge to flee to the colonies forming in your stomach. You turned to the man with a charming smile and he kissed your hand.

Calm down, it's just a distant relative of the royal family. The Fire Lord wouldn't waste his time looking at you like a creepy stalker. Isn't that right?

The man practically dragged you to a secluded corner of the room and started complimenting you. He said it was great to see a splash of creativity among all the boring guests. Then he started talking about war and destiny.

You looked at him, trying not to shudder at the fever with which he spoke of destroying the other nations. You mentally prayed that this man was not a general.

After what felt like an eternity, he looked you intently in the eyes and said that it was most likely fate that brought you together. He said that you two are the only ones capable of rebuilding the world because you are basically two phoenixes in a sea of ​​blind dragons.

At this point, you knew you had gone too far tonight.

You knew very well that the fire lord was a sadistic and possessive man. So you continued to act like you didn't realize who you were talking to.

You changed the subject and started talking about mythology, hoping to bore him. But you did the exact opposite. He started telling you various stories and even talking about prophetic dreams he had had.

You smiled, hiding your fear as best you could and wanting to run and hide behind your mother's skirt.

You almost cried with happiness when several ministers called Ozai.

But your happiness was ruined seconds later when Ozai grabbed your arm and started dragging you around for the rest of the evening.

As the hall started to empty, you tried to make up excuses and say you didn't want to bother him. He grinned and told you not to worry about it.

He pulled you closer and put an arm around your waist, holding you tight.

An hour later you yawned and asked Ozai to excuse you as you were exhausted. He raised an eyebrow and thought for a few seconds.

And then he grinned and started walking towards his quarters dragging you along. You calmly asked him to let you go, but as you got closer and closer to his bedroom you became frantic. At one point you even tried to push him away and run away. But he laughed and picked you up starting to carry you to his bedroom.

Ignoring the strange looks the guards were giving you, he entered his bedroom still carrying you.

He sat down on the bed with you on his lap. He took off his mask and so did yours. He cupped your chin and looked deep into your eyes.

Ozai: Hush, my queen. You're just tired and stunned. You are a clever woman and you will make a wonderful queen for me. And we will rule the world together.

Silent tears begin to fall from your eyes. But he ignores them and kisses you.

Although I do not own the characters from avatar the last airbender, this work belongs to me! I sincerely hope you liked it. please rate it and leave a comment! follow me to see my next posts! Don’t forget that the request are open💖💖💨

You can buy me a coffe if you want:  buymeacoffee.com/TheAirNomad

[floatyflowers]

First : Love your work Soo much! >⁠.⁠<

Second: Here me out. Older Sister of Soka and Katara who are platonic yandere, who is natural blood bender so she got banished from south by the elders and is now a part of Azulas gang which made here known by the rest of Fire Royals family who are romantic/platonic yandere for her. O⁠_⁠o

You discovered that you are a natural blood bender when the fire nation attacked the south and tried to kill Katara after burning your mother to death.

Apparently, that displeased your tribe, and before you know it, you were forced to leave.

However, Sokka and Katara tried to plead for you to stay or take them with you.

"It's safer for you two to stay here, promise me that you will take care of Katara for me, Sokka"

With that you leave the tribe.

Only to be captured by the firebenders who got a sniff of you being a blood bender and was ordered to be brought to the fire nation.

That's where Ozai took the chance to manipulate you into believing that...

"My soldier might have murdered your mother, but your tribe didn't even think about her sacrifice and decided to cast you out for something you have no control of?"

Ozai even killed the man who murdered your mother to prove that he is just and kind, he also pressed on the 'daddy issues' you have and told you to call him 'father'

Unfortunately, you found comfort in his words

And before you knew it, you joined Azula and her gang.

Also you met prince Zuko who fell in love with you from first sight.

Azula looked up to you even if you were a waterbender, but you are a very powerful one, and determined.

You are the only one she respects.

On the other hand, Zuko was infatuated with you, he stole one of your shawls, just to imagine your appearance by his side while he sleeps at night.

After Zuko gets banished, you begin to start seeing Ozai's real face.

But while on the hunt for the Avatar, you meet your siblings.

At that moment, you realize that you were on the wrong side the whole time.

If your family is on the Avatar's side then he must be the right one.

So, you left Azula's gang after your siblings convinced you.

Even if Sokka guilt tripped you, but still you believe you made the right choice.

However, the royal family won't stop until they have you back with them.

[unholy-virtue]

Here's a hot take:

I know that Azula losing her bending (I mean Avatar taking it from her as punishment) is commonly used to redeem her, but I honestly feel that it would make her worse instead of better.

Aside from the fact that Aang, who typically refuses to mess with spirit and energy bending stuff and only uses it as a last resort, would not do that to her if he didn't see any other option, Azula losing something so integral to her identity would push her further into her beliefs. Remember, she's the prodigy. That's the main reason she had Ozai's approval in the first place. It's all she has.

Losing something so integral to her identity would make her double down on her desire for vengeance. She already wants revenge for her loss of the Fire Lord position, which was the goal she had been striving for all her life. Losing her bending, which to her is even more important than the position of the Fire Lord, would validate her belief that the world is against her even further. Consequently fueling her desire for revenge.

In addition, it would be an attempt to fix the problem without addressing it from its cause. And this is the difference between Azula and Ozai. Ozai wants power. Azula wants to be loved. He's a wielder, she's a weapon. Taking Ozai's bending worked because to him it was a tool for power. But the root of Azula's problem is the reason she uses her bending. It will be properly solved when the motive changes, which can only be achieved if she manages to trust somebody enough to let them love her. Which is the hard part, but that's for another time.

[late-draft]

I'd contribute a tiny bit to the pro-Zutara side when it comes to the idea of Katara in the role of a co-ruler of the Fire Nation.

I understand where the negative arguments are coming from, how it's especially "shocking" if she enters the royal family (one which led the oppressive regime which waged war for 100 years and caused so much devastation);

however, firstly it is really no longer that family. Zuko committed high treason, almost died TRICE for that and still kept steady on that course, rejected his family, the family's terrible ideas about the world and both Ozai and Azula were imprisoned. Nobody supporting the old ways is still there. I don't understand negative arguments which treat Zuko's early background, lineage, political role (which may be incredibly undefined as the entire nation is being restructured, it's fantasy) as a more important factor than him as a person. He treats others with respect after undergoing redemption, he's demonstrably empathetic, he's working on undoing as much damage the Fire Nation has caused as possible, he was ready to die for these things. Secondly, why should a job or a title in a fantasy setting be a more relevant argument than love? If love was real and strong: if there's mutual respect between two people, understanding, cooperation, splitting of tasks, mutual care, communication on how to tackle problems, this is much more important and holds more weight than whether or not a role granting political power is from this or that side.

From what I've seen, the dominant headcanon for Zutara is that it wouldn't be oppressive to her but instead allow her to affect the world. It makes sense, most people want their favourite characters to be happy - AND there's no canonical evidence to suggest that being a co-ruler of the new Fire Nation would be a terrible, oppressive, restrictive position. Sure, there can also be headcanons where duty to other parts of the world might be too heavy and they split Zuko and Katara up, but this is a Tragedy trope and it only exists when there's incredibly strong love between them underneath this. So even this argument ends up supporting zutara.

I think that any arguments that use outside reasons why their relationship would be terrible are in the end much weaker in philosophy, compared to arguments about whether or not there are strong feelings between them. This is fantasy, love is an incredibly powerful force. And audience wants to believe in the power of love.

Now, if you ask me, I'd say I believe two characters absolutely do not need to have an on-screen kiss or anything completely explicit in order to convey that yes, they have deep feelings for each other. Shipping comes down to preferences, many people certainly simply Do Not Vibe with Zuko as a personality or whatever. However, this is a separate thing from what the characters are written as doing, how they are behaving in each other's company and how they treat each other.

So I'd say, if Katara loves Zuko (and vice-versa), then that's fullstop. Anything else is just an obstacle in their way which they'd tackle together.

[camcat1320]

Ozai was supposed to be Amon

My meta theory about TLOK is that the entire show is just ATLA Book 4 chopped up, diluted, and repackaged. I wholeheartedly believe Amon was supposed to be Ozai in disguise.

Remember that scene in TLOK when Amon's mask flew off and he revealed that he was a bender?

With the tension rising, the animation and music, you would think it would've revealed a previous big bad that the characters have dealt with before that had returned to power. But no. As I watched it years ago, I felt like I hit a brick wall, wondering "who the fuck is that?" It didn't stick the landing for me.

I believe this scene was supposed to be the finale of ATLA Book 4 and the reveal was supposed to be Ozai. From a writing perspective, that would make more sense for a masked villain reveal.

I did not care for the use of bloodbending to lock or take away someone's bending. It doesn't make sense in the magic system of the Avatar universe. But having Ozai learn to energy bend, reverse engineering what Aang did to him, that makes sense.

But wait, isn't the Avatar the only one that can energy bend? Not necessarily.

As the lion turtle said, "Before the age of the Avatar, we bent not the elements but the energy within ourselves. To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed."

If ancient people did this before the Avatar even existed, it stands to reason that energy bending is not an exclusive power only the Avatar can do. An important thing about energy is that it is all around us and within us. Also, energy cannot be destroyed nor created, it can only transform.

Aaron Ehasz had stated in an interview that his ideas for Book 4 was supposed to include the negative consequences of taking Ozai's firebending. Since energy cannot be destroyed, Ozai's firebending had to go somewhere. Aang took in Ozai's firebending into himself and he would have to deal with the personal consequences of that.

On a wider scope, bringing back the ancient art of energy bending to the collective consciousness should have negative consequences as well. The whole show is about yin and yang ideas, light and dark, 2 sides of the same coin. What if something that was used for good was also used for evil?

Now I think Aang was naively incorrect about Ozai. Aang states that he took away his firebending so he could not hurt anyone else ever again. But for someone such as Ozai, his firebending wasn't the only source of power he wielded. Ozai was the leader of a fascist imperialist regime, he would have skills in manipulation of the masses and bending people to his will. He doesn't necessarily require firebending to do so.

So what does one do after they've been dethroned and crave revenge? Start a cult.

Amon has hints of being a cult leader, especially when he says that the spirits had given him the power to take people's bending away. Cult leader 101, make it seem like you have an exclusive, God-given superpower.

The TLOK writers tried to go for an oppression narrative where the nonbenders were suppressed by bender gangs. I think this was grasping at straws to replace the narrative that was meant for ATLA.

Imagine, Ozai wanting to start a cult so that people would willingly give up their firebending so that he may take it for himself, growing in power the more he takes. He would take advantage of the down and lost people of the Fire Nation. The people are disappointed in the loss of the Hundred Year War and the economic downturn that resulted shortly after and are disgruntled by Zuko's leadership thus far. Ozai would tell the people what they want to hear, feeding into their anxieties and fears, spinning webs of lies. He would propose to tear down the government then replace it with something new, a new world order, something with him at the center of it. And Ozai would do this with the assistance of the Fire Sages and high ranking government officials who have all sworn their loyalty to him.

Now THAT sounds like better villain motivation!

[waywardbananawolf]

According to fandom, the Fire Nation must love Zuko because... he an awkward turtle duck? But really, why would the Fire Nation love Zuko? In the first place, when I refer to the Fire Nation, I mean to everyone, from the civilian population to the nobility, why would the nobility want Zuko? Most of the power connections that the nobility would have would be between Ozai's government and therefore his heir Azula, in addition to losing business and benefits from the colonies, why would the army support Zuko? If we consider that Zuko's honor is totally stained thanks to the fact that he betrays his father and therefore his Nation and organizes and carries out an overthrow with foreign forces stepping on Fire Nation territory, why would they trust someone who practically made them lose a war won by making the death of thousands of soldiers worthless?, why would the civilian classes support Zuko if he is just a name known mostly for his cowardice and betrayal?, why would they support Zuko if he caused a mass exodus of migrants from the colonies expelled from lands that had belonged to them for 100 years?, why all classes would be happy to pay compensation to other nations if we consider that the economy would be in ruins since it was adapted to permanent war and the extraction of resources of the colonies?, in addition to a refugee crisis and the return of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who could not enter the labor market due to overpopulation and limited resources.

and they only tell me that there was a small and stupid organization that wanted him out when if we look at it critically there could be at least 5 organizations against Zuko's government

[sokkastyles]

I cant help but notice that quiet a lot of people who dont like Zuko and/or Uncle Iroh happen to be Azula stans. Now I am the last person to put everyone in a Box because that sucks so I want to make clear that I am not putting every Person who like her with these Kind of people.

But it gives me an icky feeling when they somehow make Azula the victim and Zuko the abuser when it was very clearly the other way around (never read the Comic but in my humble opinion there is nothing Zuko could do or say that would even be close to the abuse he suffered from Azula).

Also somehow giving Iroh crap when All he does during the show is protecting Zuko from Azula and only calling her crazy and she needs to go down after she almost kills him

Kinda a rant but I just blocked one of these Zuko hating Azula loving Accounts because due to the Zuko Tag they repeat to show up on my feed and it was nagging at me.

I would love to hear your thoughts on that matter. (Sorry if you already talked about it)

I don't like putting people in boxes either, but the tumblr fandom is infested with Azula stans, and what I've found is that if you scratch almost anyone with a bad take, they will turn out to be an Azula stan. Funnily enough, when people say the fandom is toxic, they don't mention this. But it isn't a surprise that people who are fandom bullies with victim complexes overidentify with a character like Azula and that they dominate the conversation. They even have been known to use sock puppet blogs to make themselves seem like their numbers are larger than they are and that many people agree with their opinions. It's just a shame because she's such a great character, but the discourse around her has been shaped by these people.

When Azula stans say that Zuko or Iroh are really the abuser, they're engaging in classic DARVO behavior: deny, attack, reverse victim and offender. It's a common abuser tactic to make the victim think that they are actually the abuser or that they have some kind of mutual abuse dynamic. I've read The Search, where most of those accusations against Zuko come from, and as badly written as that comic is, it pretty accurately depicts this kind of abusive relationship. Azula accuses Zuko of mistreating her because she no longer has complete power over him like she did before. Ozai also does the same thing to Zuko in The Promise. And the kicker is that even from her diminished position, Azula still has psychological power over Zuko, which is how she's able to convince Zuko that he's mistreating her in the first place. Zuko believes Azula because he's been subjected to this crap his whole life and is terrified of being like his abusers. Essentially, the reason he falls for Azula's attempts to convince him that he is like her is because he is not like her. Azula is able to convince Zuko to let her go free and trusts her under the guise of giving her "dignity" when she's actually been lying to him and manipulating him the whole time, along with insulting and degrading him and putting him and his friends in danger.

Iroh's great sin is that he won't let Azula harm Zuko, yes, but also, like Zuko, the reason he is hated by these people is because he got redemption and Azula didn't. Sometimes he is more hated than Zuko because he's an adult and didn't change until well into adulthood, whereas we should give Azula leniency for being a kid. What these people fail to realize is that all the leniency in the world will not make Azula change, and she has never expressed any indication towards redemption.

Whenever people are like "but Iroh did bad thing," I just don't know what the argument is here. Is it that nobody should ever change for the better?

Nope, the real problem is that Zuko and Iroh changing for the better highlights how Azula didn't. That Zuko did what Azula couldn't gives the lie to the "she's just a kid" excuse, and that Iroh did what Azula couldn't gives the lie to the idea that her age means she's more likely to change her ways and that we should judge her on that.

It is true that it's harder to change the older you get, but that only highlights that redemption has to be chosen, it can't be forced. Anyone can change no matter who they are or what they've done, but Azula simply hasn't and doesn't think she needs to.

It's also very easy to imagine a redemption for her and use that idealized fantasy to judge the characters who actually got redemption in canon. But this is just more of engaging in abuser-logic fantasies.

It's not shown a lot, but there is evidence in atla that Ozai also thought he was a victim, and used that to defend his own abusiveness, even sometimes directly to the son he burned. He had to teach Zuko respect, didn't he? His own wife committed treason, didn't she? Nevermind that Ozai manipulated both of these scenarios so that they would come out in his favor. He certainly thinks of himself as the victim and that's the reason he won't change. Iroh knows this, too ("I've never known my brother to regret anything"), which is the other reason Azula stans hate him. He sees right through Ozai and he sees through Azula when she lies and manipulates, too.

[crowlion]

do you have any katara x azula hcs??

Oh boy oh boy DO I. I have a lot! Buckle up because this'll be a long one. I'll start with typical couples questions then share headcanons that don't exactly fit anywhere else.

The most affectionate: Katara, by a landslide. She's generally more in tune with her emotions and not as easily flustered as Azula is, so she's more comfortable showing her love. In private, however, Azula is very lovey dovey.

Who said I love you first: Azula. Katara was ready to say it for ages but didn't want to pressure Azula into saying it back if she wasn't ready, so she waited for Azula to tell her on her own time.

Favorite physical feature about the other: Katara loves Azula's hands. Azula loves Katara's hair and is constantly playing with it. (But her actual favorite of Katara's features is the way her mind works. She's captivated by the way Katara thinks through problems.)

Who is most likely to carry the other to bed: Azula. She's taller and more muscular so she can actually bridal carry her and make it all romantic. Katara can only lift Azula up by her legs— Azula's muscle weight makes her kind of heavy otherwise.

Big spoon and little spoon: They switch, but usually Katara is big and Azula is little.

Who initiates kisses: Katara.

Who kisses the hardest: Azula. She's so touch deprived she can't help it.

Miscellaneous headcanons:

• Azula only allows Katara to touch and do her hair. Hair is sacred in Fire Nation culture and only direct family members (or servants in more noble households) are permitted to touch an individual's hair. It's viewed as an immense sign of disrespect when any part of the body is touched unprompted, but especially hair— such a bold act may be considered so ungracious that Agni Kais may be called to settle the matter of dishonor. This especially applies as rank increases. For example, members of the royal family are considered untouchable.

Katara is never explicitly given Azula's permission to handle her hair; she probably isn't even aware of this aspect of Fire Nation culture. She just kind of starts doing it for her out of love, because Azula's still not very good at it. Azula never once rejects her advances, despite the implications that Katara must be equivalent to family if she's been given hair touching privileges.

• Azula has never actually killed anyone, despite what some may believe about her, but she is still incredibly protective over Katara and will take any lengths necessary to keep her from harm. This is especially the case during the resurgence of the New Ozai Society, when the Gaang is residing in the capital to help Zuko handle the rebellions. Katara becomes a major political target given she's the princess's outsider girlfriend, and sometimes Azula will come back to the palace late at night caked in blood that isn't her own. No matter how big or small the threat is, if Katara's name is mentioned, Azula handles it. She earns the nickname The Red Spirit for her vigilantism.

• During the early stages of their relationship, Katara flinches whenever Azula uses her firebending. She tries to play it off, but Azula notices every time. To combat this as gently as she possibly could, Azula made it a point to use her bending solely in very specific contexts, like warming Katara's hands for her on colder days. They're small steps, and it takes a very long time, but Azula is patient. She understands that Katara grew up associating fire with destruction.

• Jumping off of that, Katara does eventually grow to find peace with fire. Her favorite aspect of Azula becomes her fingers— she kisses them all the time. Individually, all at once, over her knuckles, on her palms, she can't get enough.

• The first time Katara uses her bloodbending in front of Azula is also the first time Azula ever remembers feeling genuine fear over anyone's power that wasn't Ozai's.

• Azula loves Katara very deeply, but when they spar (which isn't often), she refuses to let Katara win. She's too competitive for that, even when it comes to the love of her life.

• After Aang and Zuko, Azula and Katara are said to have the best offensive chemistry. They developed a combo move that incorporates Katara's water and Azula's lightning (low charged) to stun multiple rebels at once. It really helps get fights sorted out faster.

• Azula is beyond possessive and gets jealous very easily. She's also incredibly clingy, probably from a lack of childhood affection. Her biggest fear is Katara leaving her.

• Before they even began dating, they were tentative friends. During this time, their fights and arguments were intense. Never physical, but Azula could be pretty mean— she had to be, growing up. Being ruthless is what kept her alive. It took her a long time to realize that talking to Katara that way wasn't going to keep her around. Like Katara's journey with fire, Azula's journey with keeping tabs on her emotions and expressing herself properly was a long one, but Katara was patient.

• Katara is bisexual, and Azula is lesbian. Katara only ever semi-dated Aang before settling down with Azula, whereas Katara is Azula's one and only.

• Azula struggled a lot with internalized homophobia, even after Zuko abolished the ban on same-sex relationships that Sozin put into place. She projected a lot because of it, but one night out at the Fire Festival with Katara and seeing two girls kiss under the decorative lights was enough for her to realize that that's exactly what she wanted with Katara.

Some NSFW-ish headcanons below:

• They switch, of course, but Azula's the tall bottom and Katara is the short top. This took a lot of time for Azula to accept since she's so used to being in control, but it was important for her to be fully vulnerable when getting intimate.

• Katara is a tongue kisser. Azula had no idea how to kiss until Katara taught her.

• Katara is reserved about PDA. She'll give her a peck or two but keeps it classy. Azula, once she gets really comfortable, is insane about it. She doesn't care in the slightest what anyone else thinks. As far as she's concerned, Katara is hers, and she's not going to hide that for the sake of anybody else's discomfort.

• Azula is about 95% of the time a pillow princess. Katara doesn't mind this at all— if she did, they wouldn't be together. They both find their dynamic perfect, and the bonus for Azula is that she gets to keep her nails long. When Azula does give, however, it's absolutely life changing.