#yes zuko was a threat but still

[discordiansamba]

the other Zuko time travel AU idea is that when he travels back in time, he ends up right back where he started a year ago when Aang came out of the iceberg... except he arrives two years early, right after the men leave the Southern Water Tribe.

and by that I mean, he lands face first in the snow, panics and ends up playing dumb. yes, he's Fire Nation. no, he doesn't actually know how he got here either (not technically a lie). no, he's not here to harm anyone and he wouldn't want to. he's working against the Fire Nation. Promise. For real.

And it's... a little hard to take the guy who just manifested in the middle of your village and faceplanted in the snow as a threat. Zuko figures well. fuck it. Aang's going to come out of that iceberg eventually. He might as well stick around here. What else is he going to do? Besides, they look like they could use the help around here... and if he's being honest, he's still feeling pretty guilty about the whole. ramming his ship into their village thing.

Hey, maybe he can even give Sokka some warrior tips- and Katara some waterbending tips. He remembers some of the katas he saw her practice. This could work out great!

(also Sokka and Katara are so small. holy shit.)

you've heard of (character) adopts Zuko. Now get ready for Zuko adopts Sokka and Katara.

[umalvie]

as i said while discussing iroh as a character, despite the comics being a mess, i feel confident saying that at the end of atla, zuko not only realizes that azula has been harmed too, but he rightfully blames ozai for that harm (although ozai is not solely responsible for traumatizing azula).

as big of a win as that is for the possibility of the fire hazard siblings healing their relationship (zuko absolutely has to take the first step there in my opinon; azula would not be willing to at this point, and their relationship has been unbalanced in terms of care historically), their relationship is still quite tragic even with this realization.

there is no way that zuko actually understands what ozai did to azula. he doesn't even know what ozai did to azula. yes, he knows that ozai abused azula, but zuko only understands and knows abuse as he endured it.

there's also almost no way that azula is going to tell zuko about it. not only would she not want to discuss something so vulnerable in a serious or honest manner (see the way she discusses ursa in the beach), but she's also just had a serious psychotic break. it's very possible that she's not fit to see zuko at all right now, let alone discuss her trauma with him even if she wanted to.

so zuko is left to fill in the blanks about the how of azula's trauma. given his pattern of relating other people's trauma to his even when it's not actually the same (i.e. how he relates katara's trauma about kya being killed during the fire nation's genocide against her culture to his own trauma about ursa's disappearance after committing high treason), he would come to understand and conceive of how ozai abused azula through his own experience with ozai's abuse. while zuko's abuse was clearly always an implicit threat dangled over azula's head ("you can't treat me like zuko!") and ozai absolutely used some of the same tools against her that he did zuko, zuko was ozai's scapegoat child while azula was his golden child. their abuse did not look the same, it did not function the same, and it did not impact them the same.

it's also unlikely that he has the perspective at this stage in his own healing process to apply any of his (false) perceptions of azula's trauma to how it would have shaped both their childhood and his perspective of azula. he probably doesn't even realize just how deeply his perspective of her is colored by ozai's abuse of them both.

furthermore, since he's accepted his recollection of their childhood (which is not his fault. he is a victim of abuse who did not have the means or opportunity, as a young child, to see beyond ozai's more obvious abuse of him, which he couldn't even admit, to notice ozai's more subtle abuse of azula), he likely can only conceive of azula's childhood trauma in two ways:

as the byproduct of his own trauma, existing not because of azula's own traumatic childhood experiences but because of her witnessing his, such as the agni kai

as the product of his exile, occurring because he was no longer physically there for ozai to abuse and thus had to find a new target in azula

the former seems less probable given his belief that azula enjoyed his pain when they were children, so he would likely think that she was abused not when they were younger but exclusively after his exile began.

this isn't even touching on how zuko's perception of ursa and iroh clouds his ability to see how they both harmed azula too. that muddles things a lot more since zuko struggles with black and white thinking.

i think azula and zuko could heal their relationship with time and mutual effort, but as long as she refuses to confide in her brother and as long as he assumes she should experience and respond to trauma the same way he has, they're doomed to remain static in relation to each other.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What do you think about Maiko's ship? I think it was a relationship created by the creators to make it clear that the zuthara was not going to happen and that I don't like the zuthara.

I think you're greatly overestimating how much the writers thought about Zutara. No, they didn't like the ship. Yes, it was popular regardless. But neither Bryan nor Mike seemed to be the type to pull a Joss Whedon and practically use the characters to shame the fans for liking the wrong ships (on top of verbally abusing the actors for the crime of doing their job too well). All we ever got from them was:

1 - One episode in which they poke fun at EVERYTHING - the show itself and it's tropes (Katara crying about hope non-stop, Zuko's hair, HONOR, "Did Jet just die?"), the fandom's opinions and fanfics (the characters skiping the great divide, Katara liking bad boys), their original plans (Toph being a guy), industry shit (the episode itself being a recapt episode, Aang being played a girl as reference to lots of little boy characters being voiced by women). So yeah, Zutara gets made fun of in this, but so does everything Avatar-related.

2 - ONE con in which they were being dicks about how "People who like zutara will end up in abusive relationships." One isolated incident SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO.

3 - Freaking fanservice. They full on let the other writers in the team throw zutarians some bones every now and then.

Outside of that, they don't even talk about Zutara unless directly asked about it. Almost like... they don't take it that seriously. Almost like... they know that, as showrunners, they don't have to "justify" zutara, or any ship, not happening, they can just... not make it happen.

If their goal was to make Zutara basically a ship that the narrative kind of "forbids" from happening, they wouldn't have made Katara forgive and befriend Zuko. They wouldn't have made him risk his life for her. They would have made it clear that these two genuinely DESPISED one another even after Zuko's redemption.

If they just wanted a last-minute ship to make people "forget" Zutara, they could have always just brough Jin back in the finale since she was popular with fans, even zutarians. If Mai was just a "road-block" to Zutara, they wouldn't have made the audience spend tons of episodes in book 2 just seeing her do her thing without Zuko being involved in any way, nor explained to us her traumas on The Beach.

Mai was a well-written character that would make sense to pair up with Zuko, and thus Bryke and the other writers did exactly that. Maiko was not their attempt to "kill" Zutara - you don't have to kill something that was already dead on arrival.

Kataang/Maiko are only zutara's rival ships in the fandom. In the show zutara was never a possibility, therefore it was never rival of ANYTHING. Something being popular in fanon doesn't mean canon is obligated to bow down to it. Bryke didn't do shit to "deal with" zutara because it was never a threat to them - it was, and still is, completely irrelevant in their eyes.

[longing-for-rain]

Playing Soldier: How Sokka’s Arc is Misunderstood

Katara: Ever since Mom died, I’ve been doing all the work around camp while you’ve been off playing soldier!

There seems to be this idea among certain fans that Sokka acted as a “father” or “older brother” figure throughout the series, but this is a very shallow read that neglects Sokka’s arc and the intricacies of it.

While yes, on the surface, Sokka is literally the older brother of Katara, I think her description of his role at the beginning of the series as “playing soldier” is spot-on accurate. I also think it’s significant that this is said directly after the audience is introduced to Sokka’s misogyny, another key part of his mindset at the beginning of his arc. These things are very much related, and I don’t think this gets discussed enough. Misogyny isn’t a minor character flaw; it’s a toxic mindset that influences how a person acts.

You see, much like the fans who perceive Sokka as the authority figure of the group, Sokka himself perceives his role this way. He holds himself as the protector and leader of his tribe, despite doing hardly any of the real, tangible, day-to-day work to support the tribe in comparison to Katara. He’s the man, so in his mind, this means he holds the authority and that his ideas and tasks are inherently more important. We even see this in the opening scene—he ignores the fact that Katara has pretty much already caught a fish using her waterbending because his way is correct, he’s more important, he’s the man, then he messes up and disrupts Katara in the process. And then, promptly jumps into a sexist rant against her blaming her for ruining his moment.

Before someone jumps on my back about bashing, I’m not. I’m addressing how Sokka’s canon character was in the beginning. There cannot be growth without a suboptimal starting point. I’m addressing the fact that initially, Sokka has a misogynistic attitude which fuels his idea that he’s the leader and the most important person despite…not doing a lot.

What we do see Sokka doing is very much what I would describe as playing soldier—just like Katara accused him. He ultimately is just a kid, he has no idea how to actually lead, so he’s emulating behaviors he’s observed.

This is pretty blatant in the show. His “soldiers” and “watchtower” are a bunch of kids and a snow fort. He quite literally is playing. It seems silly at first, but we see the tragedy in this when a real threat actually arrives.

This is Sokka’s moment. His first real test. He dresses up in full regalia, prepared to fight and defend his tribe as the great protector he’s professed himself to be. And then…he gets effortlessly swatted aside by Zuko. He’s so little of a threat that Zuko doesn’t even need to firebend to defeat him.

Because, at this point, all Sokka had ever done was play soldier. He hadn’t faced a real threat, and as a result, could do absolutely nothing when one arrived. He’s fortunate that Zuko lacked the cruelty of other Fire Nation commanders like Zhao and kept his word that he cared about finding the Avatar only. If it was Zhao? Sokka and many of the villagers would have been killed.

However, despite this initial humiliation, Sokka clings to this idea that he is the “leader” and should be listened to by virtue of being the oldest…and being male.

I do like the Kyoshi Warriors arc and believe it’s significant, but “Suki beat the sexism out of Sokka, he’s all better now!” is far too simplistic. It’s not realistic at all for a deep seated attitude like that to change, and it continues coming up throughout the series.

There are many incidents of this throughout the series. For example, in B1E10: Jet, where Sokka demands that the group travel on foot because he’s the “leader”…and promptly leads them straight into a Fire Nation army camp. It’s the same theme of the very beginning—Sokka puts himself into a role he isn’t prepared for, and makes a blunder. He’s still playing soldier.

While, again, often played for laughs, this behavior is fairly consistent with Sokka. He has his moments, but more often than not, we see him trying and comically failing at his supposed role of protector and provider.

Meanwhile, as I’ve discussed in much more detail before, it is Katara who is truly carrying the group, despite Sokka generally having a dismissive attitude towards her and the work she does for others.

However, on some level, even Sokka himself recognizes that Katara is truly the one serving the parental role.

Sokka: I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. (B3E7: The Runaway)

This is closer to the end as well, and even though it isn’t particularly explicit, I do believe that Sokka gradually learning humility gave him a compelling arc to become the person he was at the end in comparison to the insecure misogynist in the making he began as.

It’s gradual, but I think the best representation of it is in the Sokka episode: Sokka’s Master.

Sokka: And I know one thing for sure: I have a lot to learn.

This is what ultimately convinces Piandao to accept Sokka as his student, and narratively it is significant to Sokka’s character. In order to truly grow and develop true skill, Sokka has to acknowledge that he isn’t the person he has been holding himself to be. He has to acknowledge that he isn’t his father. He has to acknowledge he’s been…playing soldier.

And that’s the beauty of Sokka’s arc, to me. Because he wasn’t a father figure, despite the fact that he was very clearly trying to emulate his father. He was forced to grow up too fast, but he wasn’t parentified like Katara. He tried and failed to assume that role and this made him insecure.

Sokka’s arc isn’t about parentification, and it’s certainly not meant to show that he actually was a father figure. No; Sokka’s arc is learning that he has his own worth because of who he is, not from trying to measure up to someone else. He finds his own unique identity and skill set in a world of magic and benders. That’s an insightful and interesting arc, and feeding into Book 1 Sokka’s delusions that he truly was a father figure looking out for everyone else really overlooks that.

[blorboazula]

a little draft on how this AU could start (basically: people think Azula is being stubborn for not speaking to anyone, meanwhile her vocal chords are just terribly damaged – kinda want to write it in Azula's POV actually, but Katara's sorta my default for some reason). (buy me a coffee)

In every interaction of theirs, Azula was polite enough when she wasn't trying to kill them. Or trying to capture them, actually, in hindsight it didn't quite look like she was going for the kill. (She was too deadly, too efficient, for not having killed them if she wanted to.) Surprisingly pacific for a perfect princess soldier.

Which means Katara isn't that surprised by Azula good behavior in the asylum Zuko sent her to. She's more annoyed by how long it took him to bring her home, being stuck in a place where she was locked up in her room all day, forced to take teas to keep her malleable and with her bending weakened didn't seem like the ideal way to deal with yet another child soldier.

It's ironic, really, that knowing Zuko better is exactly what made Katara feel any sympathy towards Azula at all.

Knowing more of Zuko's childhood is also why she's here. It took not much convincing for him to believe that if Azula is behaving well, maybe she doesn't need to stay stuck in there. Reports say she's quiet and cooperative, there are group activities and she seems to tend to have a teamwork mentality – that explains why she's that good at strategy. The only issue is that she doesn't talk.

She never talks. Not even back in the palace, not to servants that have been around her her whole life. She silently acknowledges them, with nods and glances. There are no threats, and no fire, even after a few weeks and there's no trace of that chi-weakening tea. She's not even hostile towards her, and she had been expecting lightning in her face instead of a nod before Azula went on to do whatever she was going to do.

In one of her walks around the palace, late at night, Katara finds herself in that courtyard. It has been over a year, the ground is still scorched. It's disturbing to look at the grate and remember the chains – it's a weird feeling, knowing she did the right thing, stopping Azula, but feeling so bad for the way she did it.

The chains, the armor, had been deformed where Azula's fire touched. Fire hot enough to soften metal.

She blinks, fire hot enough to soften metal.

Firebenders aren't immune to fire, look at Zuko's face.

She's not surprised that Azula is up when she knocks at her door, the princess just frowns at her and tilts her head. It's kinda cute- what? She's quite expressive, actually, Katara had formed the image of cold and stoic, when Azula says more with her eyebrows than with her words.

"I want to test something, I-" this is something they should have checked, yes? Treated, like they treated the burns on her wrists and her chest and shoulders- "You can't speak. It's not that you don't want, or that you're this stubborn, you just can't."

Azula looks astounded for a second, like she expected nobody to notice it. She didn't seem to mind that people thought she was a stubborn brat, letting it slide and just being... a quiet presence. Like she was tired of fighting, of taking up space, like she wanted some peace.

You know, like she was exhausted from a life of being someone's pawn in a senseless war.

"Does it hurt? Your throat?" Azula blinks, like nobody has asked her if anything hurts- then she nods. "I can try to... soothe it a little. I can't really heal anything..."

Azula seems to calculate the risk of allowing someone to bend water on her throat, but maybe it hurts enough to be worth the risk. She nods, steps aside and allows Katara into the room.

Not in a million years Katara thought she'd be in the Fire Nation's Crown Princess chambers to offer her relief for her pain, but here she is.

The war is over, everyone deserves their pain to be soothed, their wounds healed.

[hedgiwithapen]

Hakoka learns how Zuko got his scar (am I having feels about yet another parallel in this show? why yes I am)

Somehow, the house on the edge of the Earth Kingdom that they’ve all hunkered down in for the last week while salvage and transport are arranged is more tense with the war ended. Zuko can’t begin to understand why. Sleeping in real beds--soft ones, with feather mattresses and blankets that don't stink of sweat and smoke-- and having a real kitchen to work with, the looming threat of the end of the world off their shoulders should put everyone more at ease. 

Hakoda sits at the table, his chopsticks gathering up the last of his fish and rice, and smiles at his children who sit opposite him. "I am so proud of you," he says, and Zuko's heart clenches with jealousy he's sworn to never voice. 

It's a scene from the ending of a play, peace and harmony restored in the wider world paralleled in a family unified, Zuko thinks.

Instead of a curtain closing, though, Katara throws her bowl, still half filled, at her father's head and leaves at a run.

Wordlessly, Sokka takes off after her, and Aang looks torn, mumbling something about checking on Appa.

Hakoda looks at Zuko, and winces. Zuko's hand goes for a sword he isn't wearing before he reminds himself that Katara's a powerful bender. She can win. She doesn't need him coming to her defense. Diplomacy's always worth a shot, though.

"She's just exhausted," he says, hoping that from him, it won't seem like a weak excuse. 

Hakoda tilts his head, matching the way Zuko has to tilt his to get a clear view, and the corner of his mouth twitches. "It's nothing I don't deserve," he says. "I'm not exactly winning a father of the year award."

The Prince of the--the Fire Lord Presumptive-- does not gape. So Zuko keeps his mouth closed, teeth gritted hard. "Children should still respect their fathers," he says, the lesson fighting past his façade of calm. "Chief Hakoda, how can you say you deserve that?"

The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe  shakes his head. "I abandoned my children when they needed me," he says. "I left Sokka with an impossible task and I left them, in my pride. Now that they're not terrified I'll die before they see me again, they can get that out of their systems. I understand it." He starts to clean the shards of pottery from the table, wincing as a splinter of ceramic sticks his finger. The bead of blood is bright against his weathered skin. 

"You were doing what was best for your people," Zuko says. 

"My children are as much my people as anyone else," Hakoda counters. "How can someone call themselves a leader if their own children can't count on them for protection?"

"You'd be surprised," Zuko says darkly, touching the rough edge of his scar. 

Hakoda looks confused, and Zuko realizes that he doesn't know. The story didn't reach as far as he'd always thought, but still...

"I spoke against my father's general," he says. "Nearly four years ago. This was the understanding he extended to me for my disrespect."

Hakoda drops the pile of shards he's managed to gather. "That's--"

"I don't need your pity," Zuko interrupts. "You should just know you're... better than you give yourself credit for." It feels like Uncle's words, but he says them anyways.

"I see." Hakoda says, thoughtful. "Well, Zuko. I can't say that I agree with you completely. My children don't owe me anything that I don't earn from them first. But I won't say that their situation and yours are... equal." He sits back a little on his cushion, shaking his head. "Perhaps I am father of the year, and what a sad thing that would be."

"They love you," Zuko says, jutting his chin towards the doorway Katara and Sokka fled through. 

"That's all I need," Hakoda says, gathering the dish again. 

[crackedpumpkin]

The Red String Theory (05)

Water Will Reach Its Destination - 水到渠成

𝗽𝗿��𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 | 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁

a/n: next chapter is 8k words. How're we feeling chat?

Chicken? Check. Soaked mushrooms? Check. Sliced vegetables? Check.

Annoyance doesn’t even begin to describe how you felt when Zuko assigned you to be the ship’s cook as punishment for the rudeness displayed after you’d found out he’s teamed up with Zhao. 

Either way, you’d be cooking the best dishes you’ll ever make for yourself, while petty much giving him nothing but scraps. The thought of this mini payback makes you chuckle lowly, not noticing Iroh’s presence until you turn. 

The sudden sight of him makes you shriek, placing a hand over your racing heart in an attempt to calm it. “Spirits, Uncle Iroh! I could’ve burnt you or something!” The spatula you hold is more than enough of a threat, lowering it from its initial pose above your head, ready to swing.

“I just came to see what’s for dinner,” Uncle Iroh lowered his hands that were lifted in surrender, casually strolling into the kitchen and picking up a ladle. He glances at the ingredients you’ve spread out on the table, raising a brow when you grab an onion and begin to slice it. “Stew or noodles?”

“You know I eat nothing but noodles,” you snort, blinking rapidly as the onion gas causes involuntary tears to form in your eyes. “Besides,” tossing the now sliced onions into the wok brings a sharp hiss, “I doubt the Crown Prince will be pleased to see you chatting with someone who’s drawn his ire.” 

This draws a chuckle from him. “And I am his uncle. Do you think I would be affected?”

Sizzles fill the air in place of a response, though the sadness in your eyes doesn’t go unnoticed by him. “I know he can be…difficult, but please understand that-”

“I’ve been understanding, Iroh.” Words filled with bitterness finally spill from your lips, a testament to how long you’d been holding in your feelings. A sharp exhale brings your focus back to the onions that slowly begin to char in the wok. “Water has its destination.”

The air grows still, your turned back signalling an unspoken sign for him to leave. “I see,” He says at last, the lantern casting his shadow in the doorway. “I look forward to dinner.” You wait for a while longer to make sure he’s gone, confirming it when you turn to grab the sliced pieces of raw mushrooms to toss into the wok. 

Recalling how visibly frustrated you were with Iroh moments earlier makes you sigh, wishing you hadn’t made your feelings so evident. However, you can hardly blame yourself for feeling this way after all, especially with how much you’ve tolerated over the years.

The most recent incident with the Avatar made you reach your tipping point. 

Water reaches its destination. 

The very proverb you’d brought up to Uncle Iroh now mocks you in the corner of your mind. 

He’d been the one to teach it to you, after all. It had been a year and a half ago when you stormed into his cabin and slammed the door behind you, having been subject once again to Zuko’s pride and stubbornness that refused to let him see common sense.

“The Avatar is dead, why can’t he just accept that we’re never going home?” you had cried out, pacing the floor, not realizing that you were in the wrong cabin. “Was he banished for being such a thick-headed numbskull? Yes! Was he banished unfairly? Also yes!”

A groan of frustration filled the air as you slammed your fist against the wall. “I can’t even hit him because he’s the Crown Prince!” An idea occurred to you, raising your head with a small smirk. “But we’re not in the Fire Nation anymore…”

Just then, you finally noticed the red decorations around the room. The sheer amount of colour was more than enough for you to realize that something was very, very wrong. Taking a small step back, you finally heard an odd noise behind you.

You quickly turned, almost frozen in place once you fully processed General Iroh sitting a short distance away, calmly grinding his ink tablet and dipping his brush. He showed no sign of distress at having been interrupted, raising his head with a collected yet wise gaze.

“I’m so sorry, General Iroh!” Finally recovering your senses, you dropped to the floor and bowed deeply with your forehead touching the ground. Even though you had been told of his generosity to his subordinates, it was never the same thing when faced in person.

“It’s quite alright. I understand. Besides, water has its destination.”

“Wha-?” You cut yourself off quickly, lowering your gaze (and head) back to the floor. Sure, you might be a defiant servant with the occasional accident, but it didn’t mean you wanted to lose your life. Besides, you had someone important waiting for you to return.

You couldn’t afford to die here.

“Once one’s patience has been exhausted and circumstances align, things will naturally come to a resolution or conclusion. It suggests that one should wait for the right moment to act decisively rather than continuing to tolerate an intolerable situation indefinitely,” he said wisely, setting down his brush and beginning to grind more ink.

“And as for hitting Prince Zuko, well, I’m sure that can be arranged.” You lifted your head in surprise, taken aback by his words. “He does need a sparring partner after all.”

“I would be honoured,” you managed to muster, slowly standing back up. A hint of mischief was in his smile as he raised a brow at your reaction. “I’m eternally grateful for your mercy, General.”

“Please, as you mentioned earlier, we’re no longer in the Fire Nation. You may refer to me as Uncle Iroh.” The mere reference to your earlier outburst shot a chill up your spine, and you tensed visibly in fear that he might be offended. 

Warmth flooded your ears in embarrassment, wishing you had burst into anyone else’s cabin but his. Then again, no one would have been as kind as he was. 

“I could never!”

“Then I will make it an order,” he stated simply, chuckling at the comical way your eyes widened.

You exited his room afterwards with a sense of bewilderment and awe, hands grasping your neck in disbelief that you still stood there alive. Walking back to your actual cabin this time, you recalled the new proverb he had spoken about. “Water reaches its destination…” you muttered under your breath with a shake of your head.

— — — — — — 

If there's one thing you’ve learnt about Zuko, it’s that he abides by the rules to the point it makes you wonder how you’re even alive after insulting him to his face countless times. ‘Hothead’, ‘Poopface’, ‘Steamboat without an engine’, and ‘Hot air’ were among those insults that would’ve been enough to land you in jail if you’d been back home. 

Wow, you realise, is that seriously the extent of my insults? I could do better.

However, what used to be such a stupid trait of his would prove useful in your plan to escape. A couple of barrels tucked away in the corner catch your eye upon preparing the number of bowls for the crew’s dinner. You’d already eaten your share of food, making sure to take the best bits of meat for yourself. 

Wandering over out of curiosity, you grab the barrel and twist the top, surprised when you hear the liquid sloshing around inside. Moving closer to it and taking a whiff makes your nose wrinkle in disgust. 

Baijiu. Insanely strong liquor that you’d been subject to drinking occasionally with Hui Ge. Sailors love it, elders even more so. The taste itself is horrible, but once you get past it, the burn is rather pleasant. 

Your alcohol tolerance isn’t the highest, but it’s somewhat bearable with experience aiding you. Closing it, you shift it to a more comfortable position to introduce it to the crew for dinner. You just know they’d love this.

However, who’s to say that only the crew can drink it?

An idea takes root in your mind, glancing from the dining area to the barrel, then to the space at the head of the table. It lays empty, perfect for a single person whose authority commands the entire ship.

He probably wouldn’t have the highest alcohol tolerance, would he…? You strongly doubt that he’d ever consumed alcohol before, much less been anywhere near it. He could potentially be…a lightweight.

Using it to your advantage does seem like a rather spiteful move, but you’d already made your peace with it earlier. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do to go home again. 

Nothing.

— — — — — — 

“Is this…dinner?” Zuko stares down at the bowl you plop in front of him with a carefree smile. Faux cheerfulness masks the bitterness behind your expression, glancing at the other members of the crew who remain standing. 

You frown at his clear scepticism of your cooking, squinting at the soup. It looks perfectly fine to you. Sure, maybe the meat’s a bit overdone, and maybe the soup might be a tad bit too spicy, but other than that, you couldn’t ask for anything better! 

“Well, you could always…make it yourself.” Hui Ge’s shoulders stiffen instantly in the corner of your eye, but you ignore it in favour of crossing your arms and leaning on the table. What would Zuko do about your impertinence? Fire you?

Apparently, Zuko must have reached the same conclusion. He sighs, pretending not to have heard your snide reply. He picks up his chopsticks and begins to eat, a silent signal for the rest of his men to take their places around the table. You watch in satisfaction, heart thrumming in anticipation for what’s to follow.

He’s already feeling guilty enough for subjecting you to cooking for the entire crew. Even though you may not be friends, you’ve been around him long enough to pick up on subtle traits at the very least, and you intend to use it to your full advantage. So when you knock on his door and meekly ask him to have dinner with the rest of the crew, you’re initially met with doubt and uncertainty. 

Once you bring up the argument and his own words said, however, his tightly-pressed lips hint at a grimace. As such, it took almost no time at all to convince him to head below deck. After all, what would he do? Turn down someone who used to be his ‘friend’?

Once everyone’s seated after taking their utensils and bowls of beef noodles, the time has come to be patient. “Not enough salt,” Hui Ge grunts softly. You elbow him under the table in response, though it doesn’t affect him in the slightest with his large build. 

“I put salt, it’s just that you guys eat too many salty things that your taste buds are dead,” You scowl. Your response must’ve been funny though, as he lets out a rambunctious laugh right after. 

It stuns Zuko momentarily, chopsticks paused halfway to his mouth as Hui Ge slaps a hand over his mouth. However, the prince shows no sign of discomfort, choosing instead to continue eating. 

Eyeing the way he grips his chopsticks a little tighter, and how his eyes dart around slightly, is enough to confirm his discomfort. Grinning, you pretend to chuckle, finally breaking the ice as everyone else starts to relax a little more and talk about trivial things. 

There’s still a sense of awkwardness in the air though, but you know just the solution to fix that. “Where’re you going?” Hui Ge asks, seemingly grabbing Zuko’s attention at the same time with his question. 

“Well, considering that it’s Prince Zuko’s first time dining with everyone…”You trail off, rolling out a huge barrel. The alcoholic liquid inside sloshes back and forth with the motion. You lift it with help from Hui Ge, placing it down on the end of the table. “I think it calls for some form of celebration, don’t you think?”

You’re instantly met with cheers, but one of the men pipes up with a question. “But will Prince Zuko allow it?” The loud cheers die down quickly, everyone turning to look at the head of the table. You lean an elbow on the barrel top, raising a brow in interest.

“Yeah Prince Zuko, surely you’d let your subordinates drink a little bit. Especially after considering what they’ve all just been through. Interrogations and all.” You wave a lazy hand in the air, though your gaze is filled with pure defiance. Silence falls over the room, everyone waiting with bated breath for his final verdict. 

After long last, he looks up from his bowl with a sigh. “You may drink.” 

Everyone rejoices with his approval, a few soldiers running to grab the proper baijiu glasses and handing one to him with their head bowed. You get one of the crew to crack open the barrel top, using a ladle to scoop out the baijiu and pour it into its proper ceramic jug Uncle Iroh had so graciously provided at the beginning of the voyage.

Zuko picks up the glass with interest, turning it around in his hands as he inspects the delicate details. It’s honestly cheaply made, but at least it’s enough to intrigue him while you busy yourself pouring the alcohol for everyone.

Rambunctious laughter fills the cabin, everyone heading back for seconds. Helmets are off, Zuko’s at the head of the table, and food is making everyone feel at ease. It’s all falling into place. 

Once the words painted on the barrel in bright red are proudly displayed upon moving the barrel to the middle of the table, excitement supercharges the air. “Praise to the Fire Nation!” A soldier calls out, lifting his baijiu glass in the air. Everyone else follows suit, and you pick up yours as well.

“It’s baijiu, Zuko. C’mon, we’re at sea! There’s no one here to punish us for trying a little sip.” Your coaxing seems to work, his narrowed eyes relaxing somewhat when you take a sip from his cup. You lick your lips with a satisfied smile, handing it to him. “See? Nothing to it.”

He brings the cup to his mouth and tilts it, swallowing the alcohol with a disgusted scowl. It’s easy to tell that he does feel some form of guilt towards you — he accepts your encouragement to drink without much hesitation after all. 

Bright laughter and cheerful smiles seem to bring the atmosphere to a head, everyone now challenging each other in an attempt to see who can drink the most. You’re constantly by Zuko’s side, ensuring that he’s sipping away from his special little cup and occasionally eying the exit.

Escape is only a lifeboat away.

Time passes by so slowly, but it’s only a matter of minutes before Zuko’s already more or less wasted beside you. His head is on your shoulder mumbling things under his breath. You couldn’t care less about what they are. 

What’s more important is the number of people that are passed out in the cabin, some lying on the floor while some are in each other’s laps.

You push him off you, the slightest bit of compassion in your conscience helping him lay down in his chair. His head lolls to the side, blinking groggily as he tries to regain his senses. Hiding a laugh, you adjust his arms so that you can move away successfully. 

“Wh-wha-?” Wrinkling your nose, you fan the space in front of you to rid it of the alcohol in his breath. He’s going to wake up with one hell of a headache. You grin. Serves him right. 

Heading toward the exit, you lean down and grab the bag you’d securely tucked behind the mess of extra chairs and objects they’d casually tossed aside.

The door swings open without a hitch, the slightest of creaks making you freeze. Fortunately, they’re all still sound asleep. The exhale of relief that leaves your chest almost makes you keel forward, every muscle in your body tense. If anyone caught you trying to escape, there’s no telling what would happen.

The lifeboats sit in the corner of the ship’s upper deck, gently rocking and swaying in the sea breeze. The rough texture of the ropes scratches against your hands mercilessly, as if warning you of the dangers ahead. The skin blisters and splits open on certain areas, drawing blood to the surface. 

Ignoring all the pain, you climb inside and lower the lifeboat into the water. It hits the surface with a loud splash. Drops of seawater land on your face, and you use your shoulder to wipe them away roughly before grabbing a knife stowed away in your left boot. 

Sawing through the ropes takes more time than you expect, especially since it’s already night. The moon itself is shielded by the clouds in the sky as if someone painted over it. 

Surely some light wouldn’t hurt, right?

A small flame flickers on the tip of the ring finger and pinky on your left hand, guiding it toward the almost-sawed-through ropes. Gritting your teeth, you use the remaining strength you have to finish the job, panic spurring you forth when you hear a few shouts above you. 

Finally, the ropes snap. You collapse on the boat, muscles aching with exhaustion. However, there’s no chance to rest. Distance is what you have to put between you and the ship. So you grab the oars, ignoring the pain in your hands that scream for mercy. 

The waves seem to be on your side, gently guiding the boat in a specific direction. Maybe the spirits are truly with you today. Hunching down, you stash your bag between your calves and focus on rowing as fast as you can. 

After what seems like hours, you set down the oars and allow a moment of peace, glancing around with the alertness you’d honed in the palace, having hidden behind corners and passageways when someone important came around. 

The cold wind of the night brushes past your ear like a whisper, arms and legs starting to shiver. Luckily, you’d thought ahead and packed a change of clothes that had much duller colours compared to the prominent red fabric on your shirt. 

After getting changed, you pull out the water tribe cloak Zuko had gifted you, wrapping it tightly around your cold body. Taking a deep breath, you stare into the abyss of darkness under the water surface. 

It’s now or never, you suppose, dropping the clothes you’d changed out of into the sea, watching it sink down further and further until you can’t see their vibrant red. 

The clouds overhead pass by, allowing the gentle beams of moonlight to shine down. They reflect off the waves, resembling jewels and gems you’d heard about in stories. It’s beautiful. Breathing in deeply, you lay down in the boat, staring up into the night sky. 

You feel light. It’s as if a cannonball that had been strapped to your chest is gone, sunken below the sea so deep that it can no longer be found. Suddenly, breathing is a little easier, and thoughts are a little clearer.

A huff of disbelief falls from your lips, sitting up and running a hand through your hair. The ship is no longer within view, and it feels as though an invisible shackle has finally been unchained from your very being. 

You’re free.

“I’m free,” you mumble to yourself as if saying it out loud would solidify it even more. Staring back at the dark horizon, giggles erupt from your chest and you take a moment to stand up. Cupping both hands around your mouth, you shout it into the sky, pure happiness in your voice. 

After the mini-celebration, your excitement dies down and it’s time to decide which way to go. The vast darkness doesn’t even feel as scary as you thought it would, deciding to just row until you see land. Then, you can make your way back on foot or hijack a horse.

You stare at the grey clouds passing overhead, noting their ominous colour. That’s not a good sign, especially for someone who’s on a mere lifeboat out at sea, with little supplies and limited rations.

In this case, that someone is you.

“...I should’ve made a plan."

[firelordazulon]

stardust ; zuko × reader

requested?: yes!

summary: being zuko's childhood friend wasn't easy but the stars have always been with you

wc: 671

warning(s): n/a

The stars of Ba Sing Se shine brighter than they ever did in the Fire Nation—brighter than it ever did in the three years you spent on the sea. Where the streets of the Earth Kingdom were quiet, you sit on the metal roof of a random building you chose blindly trying to make out constellations you don’t know the name of. 

You close your eyes under the warmth of the stars. The slight breeze ruffles the Earth Kingdom clothes you’d comped a while ago. They aren’t as comfortable as your old Fire Nation attire, but it saves you from being a target everywhere you go. A relaxed sigh escapes your lips and your eyes open, falling on the person sitting to your left.

To this day, you still have the Agni Kai imprinted in your memory. Too young to watch it thanks to smothering parents, but not too young to witness the outcome thanks to them being too worried to care about your whereabouts. Upon hearing that Fire Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation, you’d slipped through the cracks of overprotective parents and onto the ship through the late Prince Iroh’s protests.

And after all these years, it never leaves your mind: how it was nearly two weeks before you were able to see him—gauze covering most of his head and another week before the first time you saw your dearest and closest friend without his bandages. It was the mark of the deepest betrayal one could receive—one from your own father. 

Though growing up beside the royal children, you’ve come to terms that his relationship with his honor is something you’ll never understand but only something that you can be beside for. When Iroh offhandedly said something about Zuko getting out the house more and throwing you a knowing look, you just had to succumb to the youthful rush that has flowed through you the last month you’ve stayed in Ba Sing Se.

Without the threat of Princess Azula on your backs and Zuko’s seemingly disinterest in the Avatar, you take it upon yourself to bask in the moment—to pick up where your childhood was cut short. 

Iroh’s comment led to you dragging Zuko through the night life, stopping at every kiosk out of pure curiosity. And though he tried his best to be grumpy, with the way you cling to his arm all night, he hid his blush with snide comments that you saw right through due to him tripping over his words nearly every time. 

And here you go, convincing him to climb some random building to get a better view of the stars until the owners come to yell at you or the Dai Li tell you to stop loitering, not that he needed much convincing because you’re you. While you feel the warmth of the stars, the moonlight shines down on your friend like a spotlight.

He looks so pretty, his short hair slowly over growing to meet his eyebrows, dressed in neutral colors you’d never thought you’d see him wear, where the light catches his golden eyes where you swear you see stars in them, too. 

You decide to become bold and test the waters, leaning back so that your hand brushes his ever so lightly until it lands just next to it. You don’t dare to look his way as you do this, but you hear the sharp inhale from his that makes your heart skip. 

And when you grow a larger pair and place your hand on top of his is when you two finally look at each other. It’s dark, but stars twinkle as no words are exchanged. Neither of you pull away so you look back into the night sky. You feel his eyes linger on you for a second, then your fingers are intertwined with his. 

The moonlight warms your skin, but not as much as your hands together warm your heart. And the stars smile down on you just as an identical one adorns your lips. 

[princess-of-the-corner]

Low key, high key but I've long since thought Azula would make a better final for than Ozai.

She's the better strategist, her Bending is more unique, she can actually fight well without Bending. Azula also has a personal dynamic with Aang born from fighting him and with her having killed him there'd definitely be some added weight.

Plus she's still tied to the legacy of the genocide of the Air Nomads, but was never super clear on her ideology compared to Ozais card carrying villain, so she could even represent the way such horrors are justified via propaganda.

Barring quick-shot lightning Ozai's not demonstrated anything impressive & that got soft-blocked by Zuko which also served to humiliate him. So its all on the comet, which barely holds up when Aang doesn't have the Avatar State. Otherwise he's done very little to make himself feel like a threat. He's evil, but that's not the same a threat.

Plus, if she was given even a scrap of empathy in her portrayal there'd be a ton of dramatic weight and theming born of two teenagers fighting a war.

Especially if Ozai had sent Azula off to do his dirty work as usual. She is the living weapon Gyatso feared Aang being raised into, devoted to someone who views her as nothing but a disposable tool.

See here's the thing I can go back and forth on it.

Because yes I do think that, given the chance, Azula would be a far more formidable opponent than Ozai.

But also.... the whole point of their dynamic is to show that for all of Azula's ruthlessness, she's a literal child being manipulated by her abusive father.

I can see very few versions where she both sees what he's doing is 'bad' in some way, but also she decides to be even more evil than him.

[captain-azoren]

I want someone to tell me what "non-evil" thing Azula was supposed to do when Aang was going into the Avatar State that wouldn't have been incredibly incompetent or out of character or made no sense in general.

How would you have written Azula in a way that makes her less evil but keeps the story the same? Just make her smirk less?

I see a lot of talk about Azula's agency and the choices she makes, but if she's trying to win, why would anyone expect her to anything differently?

And before anyone starts, this is not making excuses, this is trying to understand where the character is coming from.

Azula sees Iroh as a traitor and a disgrace. She legitimately hates him. Of course she's going to do a lethal sneak attack on him. Zuko betrayed her, their family and their nation. He also hates her. Azula had no reason to like him, so why is it so hard to fathom she wants him dead by the end of the series?

Azula isn't going to feel remorse because she believes she is the good guy, or at least that the Fire Nation winning is for the greater good. And newsflash, so does the vast majority of the FN. If any other loyal soldier in the FN had to make those choices, they likely would have done the same.

Nearly every single FN soldier had been trying to kill these kids. That includes Zuko. Zuko was literally RIGHT THERE fighting Aang and Katara in the crystal catacombs, but he doesn't get called evil or heartless all because he was too incompetent to strike a killing blow on Aang while he was powering up and then later expressed regret.

Except Zuko only regretted betraying Iroh. Need I remind people Zuko hires a damn ASSASSIN to kill a 12 year old in the next season? If you think Azula coming the closest to killing Aang somehow puts her at a higher grade of evil than 99% of the villains who attacked the Gaang, you have moral myopia and are full of shit.

Azula isn't going to bat an eye at killing Aang because Aang being a child is secondary to Aang being the single greatest threat to her goal. You cannot reasonably expect her, within the circumstances, to politely ask Aang to surrender. You cannot expect her to just lay down and accept defeat when her level of skill, her tactical cunning, and her upbringing under Ozai all point her towards shooting Aang in the back.

Why shouldn't she try to kill Zuko and Katara? She's the enemy and he's a traitor. She hates them and she's pissed. This isn't some moral event horizon.

Azula hates Ursa because she felt neglected and that Zuko getting more attention was unfair. It might be a misunderstanding, but as a child it isn't Azula's responsibility to sort things out.

Azula has arguably the least agency due to her age and having the most oversight by a powerful adult, so yeah I'm not letting that go.

I'm not saying Azula isn't bad. She has a pretty unpleasant personality and dies some shitty stuff. But it's only some, and on the whole she isn't even particularly bad compared to the other villains in the franchise. Is the smirking bad? It is only if you consider having nasty thoughts to be a crime. A bad sign, but just a sign.

But that's all it really ever boiled down to, isn't it? That damn smile of Azula's that shows you just how much she enjoys hurting people. Well the fact is, no matter how much Azula seems to enjoy her actions, no matter how little remorse she shows, it doesn't make her actions any worse than if she had a cold, emotionless or angry frown. It makes her unpleasant, yes, but ultimately you have to judge people on their actions and less on their thoughts and feelings.

No matter how conflicted Zuko was, he still stole that girl's horse when he could have kept walking, hard as it was. No matter how jolly or enlightened Iroh was, he still waged war for decades.

If you expect me to forgive Zuko and Iroh for all their wrongdoings just because they turned things around, then I'm going to hold Azula to that same standard and say that, smirk or no smirk, her actions are, not excusable, but forgivable.

And yes, I do sincerely believe that Azula caused less harm to the world than Zuko and Iroh in the months she was actually active. I understand that conquering BSS was bad and burning down the EK would have been an actual atrocity, but I also understand that conquering BSS was something the FN as a whole was aiming for and burning the land have zero objections by any of the FN military.

Azula also suggests it to keep Zuko from saying something stupid and to get on Ozai's good side. I do not believe she suggested burning the land because she sadistically wanted to kill thousands of people. Azula probably thought it was a brilliant tactic for stampings out the last few rebellions for good.

Is it bad? Yes, it's very fucking bad, because Azula doesn't understand the sheer gravity of what she's saying or the devastation of Ozai's escalation. But that's true for everyone in that room but Zuko. It isn't JUST Azula, it's the whole damn Nation.

You know what Azula does that's just plain mean? Destroying a sand castle. Taunting Zuko about Ozai going to kill him is pretty cruel. Azula probably could have found a nicer way to get Ty Lee on her team.

But don't give me any bullshit about Zuko being Azula's abuse victim. It was a toxic rivalry. And I guarantee you if Zuko had gotten the upper hand on Azula sooner he would have done what he could to humiliate her, because he hates her out if envy, not just because she's mean.

And why should Azula be nice to Zuko, who is always belligerent and angry towards her for being better? That is how she sees him, in her eyes Zuko is the bad sibling who needs to be humiliated and taught a lesson because he's stubborn and entitled and spoiled by their mother who loved him even when he failed, unlike their father who gave attention when it was deserved and earned.

Yes, that's a fucked up way of seeing things, but that's how Azula sees it, that's what she believes is right, and you shouldn't expect her to know otherwise because she IS 14 and has no exposure to anything else.

Azula DOES regret some things, she regrets always having to use fear to control people, but as the series itself spells things out, it's literally all she knows, it's all that she thinks she's even capable of from her failed attempts at being normal in the Beach.

Azula doesn't think she has a choice,band if you don't think you have a choice, then THERE IS NO CHOICE. There is NO opportunity or chsnce to change without guidance, and what so many dumb casuals and antis just don't GET is that Azula really doesn't know right from wrong. That these supposed second chances she's getting to change her ways are utterly pointless if she lacks the wisdom to see them as choices.

None of us are excusing Azula, because that would defeat the purpose of wanting her to finally understand for herself what she did wrong and to get better, but we can't blame her for everything either.

Just because what she did wasn't right doesn't put her beyond forgiveness. The right thing to do would be to trying and actually guide her and help her, not just throw second chances at her and be shocked when she makes another bad decision.

This is a hard pill to swallow for some of you, but a victim is a victim, and no matter how bad or abusive they are, a victim NEEDS HELP. So get over your hangup and do something useful, and if you can't do that, then stay out of the way and let someone else help.

I'm sick of people trying to convince me to forsake a kid, no matter how cruel or messed up she is. Stop telling me to give up hope, stop telling me to keep fighting to save that one little kernel of goodness buried deep down.

I've been doing this shit since I was a teenager, both for myself and for actual people who made bad choices. Even if Azula laughed at Zuko's pain or was willing to kill, she deserves to heal from her abuse as much as she needs to right her wrongs. Fuck anyone who thinks it's okay for her to suffer.

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

I feel like if the cartoon Jee had tried to share the dirt on Zhao, Zuko wouldn't have reprimanded him.

I get that this scene was meant to show Zuko as an idealistic teenager still seeing the Fire Nation and its values through rose-colored glasses, and also show he was honorable even toward enemies. But I think making this the first time Zuko met Zhao very much changed the dynamics.

In the original, it's immediately clear that Zuko and Zhao have a bad history. The entire episode slowly builds up to the rage we see in the agni kai.

I don't think Zuko would gossip with Jee. But he would definitely smirk and try to hide his amusement.

That being said, I also think the original Zhao would be unlikely to fail so many times. I mean, yes, even persevering in the face of failure takes strength. But Zhao is very much portrayed as more of a threat in the original.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

You know what, I need to calm myself down so have another funny? interesting? ATLA/Wingfeather Saga crossover idea.

Okay, stay with me here. I legitimately think that after the end of their respective series that Kalmar and Azula could be friends.

Something something child who was had too much pressure put on them and broke, made bad decisions, was seen as a monster, feared by everyone, fought in a war, younger sibling, missed childhood...

I just feel like Kalmar, the boy who had such insane compassion for the cloven and Fangs, who had to sit in a cell all night listening to a mad Fang in the Hollows and later carried her out of the dungeon, who befriended a cloven who he thought was there to kill him, who watched his uncle suffer with madness...

Idk man I just feel like Kal would understand her. And do his very best to be her friend. He would not be phased at all by her threats or her trying to attack him. I mean, the child was in the Blackwood and attacked by his own broken people who had forgotten who they were. Azula tries to threaten him and he just shrugs and offers her a berry bun.

He'd also absolutely give her an outlet for ~chaos~, like can you imagine if he helped her to the point that she wasn't trying to kill people anymore but was still chaotic? They'd get up to SO MANY shenanigans. Janner and Zuko can't figure out why they keep getting pranked so effectively and they finally figure out their younger siblings have rallied against them.

Also, just, "Oh, your mom thought you were a monster? Do you want to share my mom? She convinced the Hollowsfolk to let me stay with them by pledging her life for mine, so that if I broke the rules she'd be punished with me, even if it meant they killed her." *small voice* "....yes." (Nia would absolutely accept another suffering child are you kidding me)

Janner, watching Kal and Azula run through Castle Rysen committing crimes shenanigans: I quit. Zuko: *just glad his sister's found a friend and isn't trying to murder anyone anymore* at least they're having fun.

edited to add: Janner: WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING FIRE AT MY LITTLE BROTHER Azula: *looking at Kalmar* training. Kal: definitely not because I bet that she couldn't shoot a glipfruit off my head. Azula: we need to work on your lying. Janner: NO

Idk man, I just feel like they'd get along so well. Kalmar at the end of the series has the depth to both care about and want to help someone like Azula. He'd have so much compassion for her it's making me lose my mind a little. And I think Azula would appreciate having someone willing to listen to her side of things and not judge her, but acknowledge her struggles and what she went through and not treat her as any less. Someone who isn't afraid of her, even a little bit. Someone who, somehow, genuinely understands.

[sokkastyles]

I saw some Azula fans saying that Mai and Ty Lee were not afraid of Azula. About the scene where Ty Lee tries to stay with the circus and refuse Azula, they also added:

"The fact that Ty Lee tried to refuse at all shows us that she isn’t just 24/7 terrified of Azula.They’re genuinely friends. Azula would still be scary regardless because she’s their princess in a highly militarized society.Zuko does this too, threatening people including his Uncle to get his way constantly. It’s clearly a common thread between them and not at all unique to Azula.Yet no one accuses Iroh of only supporting Zuko out of fear."

I'm just here thinking that the power dynamics between Iroh and Zuko are very different from the dynamics between Azula and her two friends. I'm sure you've probably talked about this topic before, but what do you think about the idea that Azula and Zuko threatening people to get their way is a "common thread between them"?

There's multiple things I want to address here.

First of all, you are absolutely right that the power dynamics are different. There IS a commonality between Azula threatening people and Zuko threatening people, and it's that both have learned that same entitlement that comes with being royalty of an imperialistic nation and both were raised by Ozai.

But one of the major differences is that we know that Zuko's natural inclinations are towards empathy, and we see him as a more empathetic child in contrast to Azula. His behavior towards Iroh and his men at the beginning of the series is a direct result of being burned and banished, and feels like he's trying to imitate what he's supposed to be, just like he imitated Azula at the turtleduck pond when he was little.

Zuko's threats are also never taken seriously, which is another reason why it feels like imitation rather than something he would really carry out. Iroh is not cowed at all when Zuko threatens him, his men call him out, and Zhao laughs in his face. Zuko technically outranks all of them and could use his authority against them, but he has neither the will to do that nor really the desire, whereas Azula's quick readiness to deliver threats plus the way people much older than her react to her with fear shows that she is ready to carry those threats out at a moment's notice.

I'd also point out, with Ty Lee, that being afraid or someone doesn't mean you never say no to them ever, and I find it extremely hypocritical that people deny the obvious fear Azula's victims show of her and say they weren't abused because they weren't quaking in their boots 24/7, and then turn around and insist that Azula was terrified of Ozai offscreen, even though she never shows fear of him ever, lies to him, and screams at him that he "can't treat her like Zuko." Yes, Azula and Ty Lee were friends, but you can still be abused by someone you care about. Azuls stans, in particular, should know this, since they love to talk about how Azula was abused by Ozai. And I'm not denying that she was, just saying that if you are going to talk about abuse, you need to recognize how Azula abuses others as well and not apply double standards to her victims.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

thoughts?

https://www.tumblr.com/burst-of-iridescent/747767266319433728/ive-written-before-about-how-fire-lady-katara?source=share

Classic "dismantling an argument no one made while indulging in the behavior people were actually criticising"

No one is saying "Katara wouldn't want to be Fire Lady" because we think she's the type to run away and hide where "it's safe" (and how the fuck a dying tribe is safe and "left alone by the Fire Nation" when Zuko attacked it in the first fucking episode is beyond me).

We say she'd rather be in her tribe BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT KATARA IS CONSTANTLY TELLING THE AUDIENCE DURING THE ENTIRE FUCKING SHOW! It's not "paternalistic" to take consistent characterization seriously.

Katara loves her tribe. She explicitly says she's excited to learn from Hama because it's a form to reconnect with her heritage. She loved seeing Bato again and helping with the whole boat thing. Even when she's in the Fire Nation, helping Fire Nation people, she does so by acting like a WATER spirit. She full on says to Hakoda "The Fire Nation can't separate our family again."

Does that sound like someone who is super excited to pack her bags and leave permanently? She was on a mission, and now that it's over, she'll go where she wants to be AND where she's needed most: her tribe, her home, to make it better for the future generations.

And can we talk about the ABSURD that is this line?

"I firmly believe that the last thing katara would do is allow herself to be ruled by the fire nation instead of being the one ruling it"

You firmly believe she doesn't actually trust Zuko then? Because that's what this implies. He is the one in charge now, and he not only helped save the world, he also took lightning to the heart for her - if she still views the Fire Nation as a threat with HIM as the absolute leader of it, then that means that not only does she STILL not trust him, but also likely never will because if all that didn't do the trick, nothing will.

And since when does Katara want to be ruler of anything? SOKKA is the one constantly trying take on "leader roles" - trying to be like his dad, insisting he is the leader of the Gaang, etc. Katara's focus is on being a fighter and healer. Wanting the people that are constantly raiding your home to stop it is not the same as wanting to rule their nation, what kind of "logic" is this?

Liking the aesthetic of "Fire Lady Katara" is fine, and it's fine to ship her with Zuko and imagining them as a power couple, but to pretend this is the ONLY path for her and that the show clearly didn't set up something completely different is RIDICULOUS - and yes, depending on how it's written, usually by denying Katara's love and pride for her culture and tribe, which this person is getting dangerously close to doing in this post, it is absolutely racist.

Yes, this is still true even when it comes from a non-white person. Your identity is not a shield from criticism.

[attackfish]

Could you do some more of the Dai Li brainwashing Azula and Mai?

Continued from: [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], and [Link].

1. Let's remember, Azula and Mai were not the only parties to be brainwashed by the Dai Li in this AU. Ty Lee was too. She held onto herself in an act of remarkable self-posession and deception, but she only found a way to escape after she had gone through the brainwashing process, and the Dai Li discounted her as a threat. She has found her way to help, and to Katara's waterbending healing, while Azula and Mai are still captive, but she was definitely brainwashed, however unsuccessfully, as well.

2. Her escape has some pretty serious consequences for Mai and Azula. While before, the Dai Li did not view them as capable of escaping, and left them in a cell with a single guard, now they are separated, put into chains, and left in their cells under heavy guard, as if they had never been through the brainwashing process. If one of them escaped, what might her two compatriots be capable of? Not much, but the Dai Li don't know that.

3. Spare a little sympathy for the Dai Li. Yes, they impose crushing authoritarian control on the people of Ba Sing Se, but they're caught up in the same authoritarian system too. And now a couple of guards and the people in charge of brainwashing the fire princess and her companions have really screwed up. This is the second worst screw up in Dai Li history, and these guys are going to be held responsible for it. And as secretive and controlling is the Dai Li are, something tells me that they are not the kind of people to forgive and forget, and the consequences for this kind of thing aren't a nice little firing. Everybody is waiting for Long Feng to return to power, and then shit will go down.

4. The Dai Li have had a really bad week, okay? The Avatar and his group of children, actual children, discovered and broke into their hideout, and they had to trash the place, then these same kids told the Earth King about everything and got Long Feng arrested, and they've been having to sneak him out of his cell, and this all constitutes the worst screw up in Dai Li history, and then this little girl escaped them, and everything is just a nightmare. But maybe, this isn't so bad. They can recapture her. Probably fairly easily. She can't have gone far, and she has to be pretty conspicuous. She doesn't have any allies, anywhere safe to go, and her mind will not be working right. She should be easy to find. They can clean this up before Long Feng ever has to know.

5. Meanwhile of course, Ty Lee has in fact found allies, and while she might currently be sobbing uncontrollably on Zuko's shoulder, her brain is her own again, and she is fully capable of making plans.

[oneatlatime]

Season 1 Zuko & Iroh Thoughts

Zuko

zuko is a villain when he's trying, an asshole when he's not. He's not even very effective! He's bad at being a bad guy, and when he isn't actively being a bad guy, he's just an unpleasant person. -Do I have enormous sympathy for him? Yes, especially after The Storm's backstory revelation. -Is he in an enormously awful situation? Yes, although he's not the only character in an enormously awful situation, and others in situations as bad are doing far better. -Do I like who he is as a person? Nope. Not at all. He's an unpleasant scoundrel. He's an ass. He does have some useful and arguably good qualities - he's driven, has (some) planning ability, is bonkers at swords, and occasionally remembers not to be a dick to his uncle or his crew.

I don't deny that a lot of what I dislike about him is caused by the difficult extenuating circumstances that apply to him. But, even if all those difficulties disappeared, I feel like I wouldn't find his base personality appealing either. That being said, I don't know if I've glimpsed the "real" Zuko yet. I don't think there has been an episode yet where he doesn't have a reason to be on high alert. But in episodes when he's not actively pursuing the Gaang, he's yelling at his crew or his uncle.

He does seem to have a (deeply buried) inner core of decency and lines he won't cross, unlike Zhao. After Sokka and Katara helped Aang escape Zuko's ship back in episode 2, he didn't go back and destroy the southern water tribe. Zhao would have. Zhao never would have accepted Aang's deal to protect the tribe in the first place. But rather than making Zuko an appealing character, this inner core of decency just makes him a less effective villain. It's too small to make him someone to root for; it's just big enough to have enough of a restraining effect on his villainy to make him seem pathetic compared to other Fire Nation villains.

At the end of season 1, my question regarding Zuko is this: why does any fan like him? You can't root for him as a villain, because he's not callous or suave enough to be a badass, crazy enough to be entertaining, or competent enough to be a threat. You can't admire him when he's not actively in villain mode, because he's a disrespectful shouty little butt. My very limited knowledge of this show before I watched it did include the tidbit that Zuko had a big fanbase. Why tho?

Iroh

Iroh obviously has something deeper going on. Which I find confusing. He obviously doesn't have the same 'burn the world' zeal as Zhao, and in fact is more interested in defending the world as a whole than advancing Fire Nation interests when the chips are down (see him defending the moon fish). I think he still supports the Fire Nation cause; I think he would be more actively discouraging Zuko's Avatar hunting if he didn't still support/believe it.

It was Zuko's ship they were on, so Iroh doesn't have command over or responsibility for Zuko, which means that he can't just tell Zuko what to do. But he's shown himself to be someone capable of subtlety (at least the amount of subtlety required to get something past Zuko). And he's shown himself to be capable of teenager wrangling. So I'm forced to conclude that the 'something deeper' that is going on with Iroh is the fact that he is either currently on the fence about, or slowly drifting away from, Fire Nation ideals. He can't actually disapprove of what the Fire Nation is doing, otherwise he would have taken advantage of the last three years of totally uninterrupted contact with his nephew to start steering him in an anti-war direction.

So either Iroh has only the slightest anti-war leanings at the moment, or it took literally every second of Zuko's last three years at sea to recover from getting half his face blown off. While I can believe that the injury was slow to heal (especially the psychological side), one of the first lines that Iroh says in episode one is cautioning Zuko against getting his hopes up about having found the Avatar because there had been countless red herrings previously. Which implies that they've been actively Avatar hunting for a while.

So my question is this: if, as I am being led to believe, Iroh does not fully support the Fire Nation war, why has he not, at any point over the last three years at sea, attempted to sway Zuko into thinking the same? I could understand not wanting to rip the rug out from under Zuko if they were a few months into their banishment, but after three whole years, is it not borderline irresponsible of a guardian-ish figure to allow their charge to keep believing in something they suspect may be untrue? Surely in the three years since banishment, Zuko has seen enough destruction caused by the Fire Nation for him to start putting the pieces together himself?

That being said...

I'm meh on Iroh; I actively dislike Zuko. But Zuko + Iroh? That's good stuff. Their dynamic is exponentially more than the sum of its parts. Their interactions are believable and entertaining. Of the first ten episodes, my favourite is The Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World, in part because of their odd couple dynamic. Zuko is only tolerable when he's bouncing off Iroh. Iroh is at his best when he's in Zuko wrangling mode. I forget that I dislike Zuko when he's having a non-shouty interaction with Iroh. And then he goes and talks to shouts at someone else and I remember why I dislike him.

I do think Zuko is an ass on a very fundamental level, but I also wonder if he plays that up when he's around people he's not comfortable with. Take Zuko and Iroh's interactions when Zuko is stowing away on Zhao's ship to the North Pole. Quiet, controlled, genuine, almost as much left unsaid as is spoken aloud. They obviously have a deep understanding of each other. And they have mutual respect, although Zuko would never admit it. Now compare that to Zuko and Katara interacting in the Spirit Oasis when Zuko is trying to kidnap Aang. The jerk tendencies are turned up to 11. Which wasn't actually necessary, and probably detrimental since Zuko's one liner announced his presence and took away the element of surprise.

So maybe Zuko isn't that much of a jerk deep down. But since Zuko is not the main character of this show, we're pretty much guaranteed to only see Zuko in the context of interacting with others in the cast, where he will be a jerk. So whether or not he is as much of a jerk as he appears will be irrelevant, because we'll only see him in contexts where he is at maximum jerkiness, if that makes sense?

Honestly I don't even know if Zuko and Iroh will be in season 2. Zuko is on the box art for my season 3 DVD, so I guess he comes back at some point, but by the end of season 1 he and Iroh are no one and have nothing. The days of them being a threat, even a nuisance, to the Gaang are over. What can the writers even do with these characters now? Where can they possibly go?