#Mai wants to keep Azula informed about her life.

[the-genius-az]

What is something special that Azula does only for Mai? Ty Lee? What does Mai do only for Azula? Etc. Could be something sweet or spicy

Thanks for the question, Amor!

Azula learned to make knives for Mai, she could easily buy them, but she decided to give more meaning to her gifts.

Azula wrote songs and sang for Ty Lee, after the girl admitted to loving her voice after a music class.

Mai wrote her daily life to Azula when the princess was too busy to be there.

Mai wrote poems for Ty Lee, she did it even more when she ran away to the circus.

Ty Lee painted Azula in all her paintings, the princess was her beautiful muse.

Ty Lee danced just for Mai, she taught her all the dances she learned.

[rubykgrant]

I can't remember if I posted about it already, or if I just can't find it (because searching for something on here is impossible), but I'm thinking about my Avatar story idea from when I was a teenager (literally right after the original series ended, and way before we had Korra or the comics as a continuation), so here it is again-

-Zuko realizes his dad will never tell him where Ursa is, and just keeps using it as a bargaining chip, so decides to ignore Ozai and focus on helping put the Earth Kingdom/Water Tribes back together, and get the Fire Nation out of "war-mode"

-He also tries to figure out how to help his sister; Azula isn't being violent now that she's fully accepted defeat, but she is SUPREMELY depressed (and seems to expect him to "execute" her, which he very much has no interest in doing). Iroh and some others from the White Lotus find a group of Healers, some Waterbenders, who also understand emotional/mental pain, who agree to help her (she does improve eventually, but it is painful for her to even go home to the Fire Nation... finally realizing how badly her father messed her up was a big deal). Eventually, Ty Lee and Mai visit her, sort of trying to have a "new" friendship

-A couple years go by. Things have mostly settled down, but every once in a while there is a problem (a group in the Fire Nation who think Zuko shouldn't be Fire Lord call themselves "Azula's Army". they aren't very powerful, but are definitely annoying, and sow discontent with other people). After an adventure helping a young Fire Sage who is training, Aang and Zuko find some old scrolls about strange "distant islands"

-Sokka recognizes some of the scrolls are from Wan Shi Tong's library (stolen however long ago). The satchel they were in belonged to Zhao; these were other things he found when looking into information about the Moon and Ocean Spirits. One scroll with a map has the island closest to the Fire Nation circled, with notes in the corner about this being a "Secret the Fire Lords keep". Zuko researches a little more, and finally has the answer...

-This island was where a once "disgraced" Fire Lord was sent, and since then, other Fire Lords have used it as a place for banishment. While it is more common to just banish people from the Fire Nation itself, when a Fire Lord wants to entirely erase somebody without actually "killing" them, they are sent to that island. More secrets imply that a few soldiers who were part of Sozin's army secretly saved infants from the Air Temples during attacks. They weren't strong enough to outright oppose the Fire Lord, and there wasn't enough of them to fight the other soldiers, but they wanted to at least save the children. The babies were smuggled away to the island. This is also where Ozai sent Ursa

-The group decides to make a big trip to the island; after all, they have the possibility of not only finding Zuko's mother, but Aang might NOT be the last Airbender! Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, and Hakoda are all going out on a ship with a few crew members (it would be too far for Appa to fly over the sea, but he and Momo are still along for the ride). Zuko is leaving behind Iroh as temporary Fire Lord, and Suki asked some of her Kyoshi Warriors to help

-At one point as they travel, they find a small, much newer island, formed by a volcano that has started to grow plant life. They all stay for the night to camp and gather some fresh fruit/do some fishing. Katara has figured out a way to "pull apart" salt water so it can be drinkable. Toph just REALLY needs a good dose of LAND before sailing again. In a small tide pool, Zuko teaches Toph how to swim (suddenly remembering how his older cousin Lu Ten taught him way back on Ember Island, before Azula was even born. she finally gets her own Zuka field-trip!)

-They finally arrive at the island; there are a LOT of people here. Some who's ancestors were banished by a Fire Lord generations ago, some who were sailors that got stranded out here after bad storms. A few people who had been Fire Nation soldiers back then decided to stay, not wanting to be part of the war anymore. They all have their own communities... and so many of them are Airbenders! Aang is very excited, and shows off some of his own abilities. The people are amazed, especially because they have never been taught any actual "techniques". Their history and heritage has been lost to them. As everybody walks around, Zuko eagerly looks for a familiar face... when he hears somebody suddenly call his name. He and his mother finally meet again, crying and embracing each other (she sees his scar, and when she touches it and sees his eyes glance down sadly, she knows Ozai did it)

-Lots of catching up, both happy and sad. Some of the people banished here were Waterbenders that had been captured by the Fire Army, in the attempt to have them control whirlpools/tidal waves (searching for some long-lost treasure). The Waterbenders would pretend to be swept away, and escape, eventually finding this island. Now that the restrictions that "banished" them are gone, everybody on the island is welcome to return to the outside world. The ship isn't big enough for everybody, but Ursa and several of the Airbenders make the return trip (more boats will be sent later, both so people on the island can see the other Nations, and so the island can be visited; they won't be alone out here anymore)

-Ursa and Hakoda talk a lot together while sailing back (wishing they could have protected their children better), and Aang shares stories of the Air Nomads with the Airbenders, also teaching some of them how to make an Air Scooter. When they arrive, Iroh is happy to see Ursa again. Zuko takes her to go visit Azula, who at first doesn't believe her mother could return, or EVER love her... but Ursa reassures her daughter; she is real, and so is her love

-Zuko makes one final visit to Ozai; his father has gotten a little "impatient", expecting that Zuko wouldn't be able to resist coming back to ask about his mother for so long... Iroh also walks in, and Ozai tries to mock his brother. Azula walks in as well, finally confronting her father. This throws him, because she looks different (short hair, no make-up), and also because she doesn't care about his approval anymore. He tries to bargain with her, but she refuses his offers. Then, Ursa walks in. Her son and his friends found her, WITHOUT him. Now, she is back with both of her children. Ozai is struck silent. Finally, Aang walks in, telling Ozai that his ancestor failed, the other Airbenders were NOT wiped-out. They will all walk out of here, and have happy lives. He will stay. Nobody wants anything from him anymore. Too late, after they leave, Ozai starts shouting, trying to beg or threaten, but nobody listens (nobody cares)

-In the years that follow, the other islands are eventually located and explored, with more people found there (new people who are Fire/Water/Earth/Air Benders, but with different cultures than the Four Nations. Sokka is sort of the official diplomat for making new friends, and eventually, all the new places are able to travel and communicate with each other). Hakoda and Ursa grow closer, but take a while to act on any romantic feelings (they're worried their children might find it awkward, and Hakoda especially didn't want Katara and Sokka to think he doesn't care about their mother's memory... but the kids are all very happy about it! this makes them all family). Aang helps the Airbenders who want to move back to the Air Temples adjust and recover. People from other nations who have made homes near the Temples are welcome to stay as well, and also help repair the buildings. Hakoda and Ursa live part of the year on Ember Island, and part in the Southern Water Tribe village that was his home (which has also been rebuilt). Azula eventually feels content enough to move on, and she lives on Kyoshi Island with Ty Lee (Azula avoids bending, finally realizing she has PTSD, but she can still help train people with hand-to-hand fighting techniques). Toph makes a home for herself outside of the swamp, where she also begins teaching Metalbending (haha, yes, ironic~). Now that Zuko is very at home being Fire Lord, Iroh stays in Ba Sing Se full time for his tea shop, but returns for special occasions (like when Zuka and Mai get married). Katara surprises Aang with a gift one day; a necklace~

[heinzpilsner]

Okaaay, I'm still alive, and this is the almost-last part of my 'Overanalyzing beach Maiko' series. Hooray.

(Ugh, this "little psychological exercise" transformed into some kind of gigantic fire-breathing monster eventually. Good news is that soon I can move on to analyzing something much more pleasant. ... Probably.)

Anyway, let's finish this beast, shall we?

In the last part, great detective Azula found out that the culprit responsible for the imaginary flagrant oppression of Mai's self-expression was Mai's mother, and now it's time for Mai to react.

Mai: "You want me to express myself? Leave me alone!!"

Well, that was... a little bit too overdramatic.

I suspect the writer's implied message here was something like: "Look, if Mai reacted like this to Azula's words, it means that what Azula said is bound to be truth!"

But while possible thoughts in the writer's head are as good as all others, let me be a judge of what I see with my own eyes.

And apart from Mai's forced yelling (as if she expresses her real annoyance, but in an exaggerated way which doesn't come natural to her) and her desire to close the topic... I have no idea what it was about. The exact reasons behind her reaction could be numerous.

Maybe she just got fed up with all this "you can't express yourself" bullshit. I mean, when you express yourself all the time, but everyone around for some reason keeps saying you don't, it really can become pretty vexing, lol.

Zuko: "I like it when you express yourself."

Here we go again. I must to admit though, given Zuko's psychological cluelesness, in the light of the bullshit information he just received it was a nice gesture of support*.

But... Is it actually truth?

(*Quite an egocentrical one nonetheless. I wonder what in Mai's behavior made Zuko think she'll appreciate any of his opinions at this point. I guess he took Mai's story as a food for "she behaves like she doesn't care about me just because of her childhood trauma" rationalization, and this encouraged him.)

What exactly Zuko likes about Mai's "self-expression", anyway? Is forced out-of-character yelling his kink or something?

(... In russian dub they actually translated his line as "I like you like this much more!", lol. It made it so much worse.)

Either he's being very hopeful and patient in his "she can change" delusions, or his tastes turned out to be quite peculiar.

But okay, it's not my place to judge.

Mai: "Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you."

Okay, now her anger looks more natural. Congratulations, Zuko. Although you don't seem so happy about her self-expression this time.

Zuko: "My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai." Mai: "Whatever!"

Directed by Robert B. Weide

Mai: "That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting."

Weeell... technically, it's truth (depending on how you define "excuse" and which actions and life events we are talking about exactly), but...

Firstly - you don't need to excuse person's behavior to try and understand the reasons behind it. And secondly...

How would you know it, Mai?

Last time Zuko tried to talk with you about his life you just yawned at him and told him to stop worrying.

And just now, you denied him a chance to explain himself and shut him down again (right after he listened to your sob story and expressed readiness to support you about your imaginary childhood trauma, by the way).

Of course, Mai didn't ask for Zuko's support in the first place. And I'm not gonna say that his behavior in this scene was perfect, because it clearly wasn't.

Mai doesn't owe Zuko understanding, or anything, really. She isn't obligated to care about what happened to him or to be more considerate about his life tragedy. And yes, people say all sorts of stupid things when they are angry.

But... ugh. Do I really need to spell it out?

Good news is what while Mai is definitely an unlikable self-centred brat, she's still not a heartless monster.

Apparently, it just sincerely didn't occur to her without a direct reminder that when your father deliberately burns half of your face off and banishes you out of the country with an impossible mission, the state of your psyche may be a little bit imperfect after your return home.

Well, that's just one of those things what egocentrism does even to smart people, I guess.

Anyway, when Mai was finally forced to listen about what happened between Zuko and Ozai from his own mouth, she couldn't just close her eyes and dismiss it like she did previously.

(By the way, I wonder if Zuko would ever mention it if not for Ty Lee "skin" blunder. ... And now I wonder whether it really was a blunder or a deliberate manipulation. /paranoid noises/)

Congratulations, boy - your life story is so disturbing it managed to burst even angry Mai's egocentrical bubble. A truly remarkable accomplishment, if you ask me.

But I guess it's never too late to open your eyes and notice other people's pain. Even if for a little while. Even if it's just one specific person you're physically attracted to.

Mai: "Who are you angry at, Zuko?"

Yep, she finally got interested!

Something definitely shifted in her head.

(This whole scene is so overdramatic it makes me cringe though. I wonder if there is a ghost of an Ember Island's actor on the beach as well. They are friends with the ghost of the amateur psychoanalyst, actually. The actor pretends to be different people, and the psychoanalyst dissects all their imaginary childhood traumas, and they have a great fun together in their beach after-life. Aww.)

Zuko: "I'm angry at myself! Because I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore." Mai: "I know one thing I care about. I care about you".

Well guys, remember: if your girlfriend just broke up with you because of your unexplainable anger problems, just yell at some fire, say "I'm angry at myself and I can't tell what is right and what is wrong", and it immediately brings her back to you!

(Okay, maybe you'll also have to remind her that you're a victim of child abuse for it to work)

Seriously though, I can't say now what Mai's change of attitude doesn't make any sense (like I did previously). In between "Mai acts like she doesn't care" and "Mai acts like she cares" situations there was a noticeable factor - Zuko talking about his scar and his relationship with Ozai. I guess all he said after this didn't really make much difference for Mai - her empathy already woke up from its coma and said to her what this boy needs some care.

So, Mai declares she still wants Zuko despite everything, and they are back to shoving tongues into each other's mouths. Hooray?..

The only problem is... All the other problems what are still here, goddamit!

Perhaps Zuko will try and stop to lash out at other people in the near future (especially physically), but his anger problems are not gonna cure themselves magically just because the source of his anger is more clear to him now.

(Also, the massive complex of problems connected to Zuko's jealousy behavior was simply forgotten as if it meant nothing.

The fact that his general personality settings - such as locus of control and feeling of personal boundaries, for starters, - really could use some improvement was totally ignored as well.)

He is still in the middle of the inner crisis, and he's not going to discuss it with this 'new caring version of Mai' in more details (until she suddenly finds herself alone with his "by the way, I betrayed my country" break-up letter).

What Zuko learned about Mai's "childhood trauma" can help him to become more tolerant to her natural temperament, but since he's delusional about the true situation (in my opinion) and tends to use it as food for rationalization, it can have some problematic consequences.

And while brief awakening of Mai's empathy towards Zuko was an important improvement, her general egocentrism and lack of interests in life are not gonna be cured just by the "power of love". There's clearly some serious personal growth for her to do, and this beach psychoanalysis session did nothing to give her a clue of how to approach it efficiently.

Well, this all doesn't matter, apparently, because now Mai cares about Zuko enough to try and save him from being boiled alive on her eyes in the later episodes.

(Still not enough to deny herself a pleasure of purposefully taking his break-up letter with her on their meeting in prison to throw it on his head)

And I guess this is the result of their beach interactions.

Yay, power of love!

Pheeeew.

I guess it's over. There are still a couple of things to add in the epilogue post though.

Honestly, by the end of this series I just feel exhausted. Maiko is a very problematic ship, especially for an endgame, but this was obvious without any dissection.

There were a couple of discoveries I find quite curious, but for such a big complex material it wasn't nearly enough. And I feel like my psychological competence clearly could use some improvement.

Anyway, thanks for your attention. I hope my messy analysis gave at least a little bit of food for your own toughts.

As usual, I ignore all my notifications.

P.S.: In the end, when I think about it... Perhaps I don't like Mai because I actually see in her an exaggerated reflection of my own problems. What a twist. Perhaps I should try and be less judgemental about her in the future?

... Naaah. Where is a fun in it?

R.I.P., all the victims of Crocus City Hall attack. It actually happened in my neighborhood. Feels weird.

[spacedace]

So because I’ve ended up with so many ATLA AUs/fic ideas (more than I’ll probably ever reasonably be able to write) I’m just gonna go ahead and drop some of them here for anyone who might be interested in using the ideas. What’s listed below isn’t all of my AU ideas, just some of the ones that I like but don’t know if I’ll ever get to actually writing. I’ll probably end up making more of these fic idea/writing prompts as I end up coming up with more lol

Living Shrine AU: From an early age Zuko is trained in a secretive sect of Fire Nation Spiritualists that serve the Fire Lord. The Spiritualists gain powers/abilities through binding themselves to willing Spirits in exchange for worship and servitude.

Instead of binding himself to a minor spirit like he’s supposed to, Zuko ends up forming a bond with the Blue Spirit. When the Agni Kai happens, the Blue Spirit goes on a rampage, nearly kills Ozai and scares the shit out of everyone in attendance, resulting in Zuko having to go on the run at 13.

Lone Dragon and (Air Bison) Cub AU: An AU that starts with Zuko leaving Iroh behind in Zuko Alone where instead of the Earth Kingdom town, Zuko stumbles upon a small group of strange refugees seeking a new life. After spending some time with them Zuko realizes that they’re actually some of the last living Air Nomads in the world.

One thing leads to another and Zuko helps them find a safe place to stay (trading his ability to Fire Bend to a Spirit in order to make sure), only for one of the Air Nomads - one of the small handful of Air Benders in the group - to ask him to help them hunt the Avatar down so they can become an Air Bending Master themself.

Which means Zuko is, once again, hunting Aang, only this time so he can yeet another Air Bender at him and then die in a ditch (Zuko is both very dramatic and making a little bit more of an emotional/mental wreck than normal in this AU). Everyone is very confused by the whole thing.

Prison Prince AU: In which Zuko, still very injured and not at all recovered from the Agni Kai and not even officially banished yet, storms the docks when the 41st Division is to be deployed, very publicly screams at several generals about how he refuses to let them sacrifice his people for no good reason, maybe causes a riot and ends up in Boiling Rock at age 13.

Instead of being murdered immediately like Ozai expects, Zuko ends up flourishing. The prisoners love him. The guards love him. Everyone is desperate to keep him safe and teach him anything and everything they can to keep him alive, unintentionally turning him into a nightmare of a skill monkey.

By the time Zuko is 16 he’s broken out of (and into, and out of again) every prison in the Fire Nation and half of the ones in the Earth Kingdom to boot, doing whatever he can to help his people wherever he ends up along the way.

Now if someone could explain to him this whole new fashion fad where people keep smearing red paint over their left eyes that’d be great. Maybe he’ll ask that Water Tribe kid what the deal is after they get done breaking all these people out of Boiling Rock (again, he’s really ruining this place’s reputation.)

Azula says “Fuck the Fire Lord” AU: After taking Ba Sing Se, instead of getting Zuko to help her attack Aang (and the Gaang at large) Azula instead convinces Zuko to stay with her and help her rule over Ba Sing Se/use the resources the city offers in order to fight against Ozai.

Things get confusing for the war after that, and even more so when Zuko decides he doesn’t want to just hide behind Ba Sing Se’s walls and sneaks out to hunt down Aang (again) and teach him Fire Bending. He may have forgotten to tell Azula of his plan. Azula may, due to some faulty information, believe that her brother has been kidnapped by the Avatar to force her hand into helping fight the Fire Nation. Things get a bit chaotic.

[maikingsenseofit]

Canonical evidence of Mai and Zuko’s unrelenting love for each other

I’ve seen many claim that in Zuko’s flashbacks we see Mai have a crush on Zuko, but that feeling wasn’t shown to be reciprocated, thereby emphasizing that their relationship came out of nowhere and was a late stage addition by the creators. But there are several details that hint otherwise, the most prominent one being that Mai was mentioned in Zuko’s flashbacks, was associated with happy memories with his mother, and was important enough to him to be an integral aspect of his childhood. And also, Zuko blushing back when talking about knocking an apple off of a head, while practicing his knife skills in front of Azula.

And of course when Azula mentions how Zuko and Mai have had childhood crushes on each other in the Going Home Again comic:

Speaking about the Going Home Again comic, Zuko explicitly mentions that “he missed seeing this side of Mai” - in reference to her carefree, outgoing emotions. Zuko’s banishment, Mai’s isolation from those her own age, and her repressive household have caused her to become a shell of what she once was. But she will always fondly remember the times she used to throw mud in Zuko’s face.

Now let’s talk about the Legacy of the Fire Nation book, which is surprisingly cited as “anti-Maiko” “pro Zutara” material as some users on the app. (As a separate aside, Iroh absolutely understands the powerful friendship between Zuko and Katara, and the other Gaang inserts can be interpreted as equally romantic (Was that all you were, or were you something more - something Iroh said about Sokka and Zuko)).

Also keep in mind the author Joshua Prett stated that he wasn’t allowed to introduce any new plot resolutions, which is why Izumi and Mai are mostly omitted save for this one golden piece of information.

I’ve seen many try and use this excerpt as hard evidence that Iroh absolutely detested the idea of mai and zuko. But the thing is, Iroh is explicitly referencing his and Zuko’s journey involving Ba Sing Se and the search for the Avatar, which is why he mentions the desert, Zuko having trouble sleeping, and finally, his relationship with Mai.

Although it’s a small mention, it’s an important one. It shows that throughout his exile, Zuko was thinking about Mai. So much so that he confided in Iroh about it.

Ive seen some try and make the argument that “living through something” means an explicit negative connotation. But let’s objectively analyze this. When Zuko feels something, he feels it deeply. So much so that the people around him are also enveloped in those feelings, like we saw in The Beach. Zuko missing and agonizing over Mai, even when she’s not there, and so much so that Iroh lives through his feelings, shows that she’s always been on his mind. Living through something means vicariously experiencing the other persons thoughts and emotions.

My personal, not so head canon: When Iroh suggests Zuko go on a date with Jin to experience being a normal teenager and shake him from his pessimism, it’s quite in line with canon to interpret this as him wanting to stop pining over Mai. Of course, that doesn’t work mainly because of Zuko’s guilt and hesitation (he will never be a normal teenager, so why the pretense) but also because Zuko isn’t over Mai. I mean we saw how he acted when Mai broke up with him and dated Kei Lo :)

Couple this with the fact that in the uncut script of the Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon, Mai gave Zuko a heart shaped rock for him to hold onto during his banishment. (Cr. Minireklamo)

But perhaps the most amazing part is when Mai is shown to be enjoying tea and pai sho with the rest of the Gaang members. The Gaang is an undeniable, essential part of Zuko’s life. He chose to share that part with the love of his life. And mai, despite being reserved and reluctant to enjoy things most times, is an active participant in this intimate part of Zuko’s life. She’s engaging with his friends. She doesn’t scoff or turn away. Zuko’s friends become her friends. She is so important to Zuko that he chooses to share this happy, comfortable moment with her. They might be from different backgrounds, opposite sides of the war, but they all love Zuko. Also Mai and Aang are besties by the way, and Aang (Zuko’s best friend and most important ally, and the most important part of his redemption and reckoning) canonically describes Mai as Zuko’s soulmate.

“I’m happiest of all for Zuko. He is the new firelord. And it seems he found a real soulmate in Mai. She’s so much prettier now that she smiles.”

Being a fan of Mai and Maiko means you are at a distinct disadvantage - Mai is not one of the main members of the Gaang and therefore has 1/8th of the screen time of everyone else. She’s not subject to the same emotional, groundbreaking journeys that the rest of the Gaang embark on with Zuko. Very little is shown of her childhood and upbringing, so the audience is left to reconcile with what we are given in canon. While the show is limited, the Avatar universe expands a great deal on the budding relationship between two childhood best friends, lovers, and soulmates. It is up to the reader individually to determine how much they want to recognize in their interpretations - but it does not change that in the canonical universe of Avatar the Last Airbender, Mai and Zuko were destined to be together and forever. PS: Seeing as fans of other ships pick up what they want to from these in universe materials as insurmountable evidence for their ship, I want to see more Maiko fans appreciate the nuggets of information we have from them.

The point is, Mai and Zuko were never written by the creators to be a random ship that suddenly popped up in Zuko’s life. We see explicit evidence of their reciprocated crushes in the show itself. We see that Mai was such an integral aspect of Zuko’s happy childhood that she’s mentioned in his fondest and deepest memories. She was introduced to the show outside of her relationship with Azula , in contrast to Ty Lee, who we see only when she joins Azula’s team. Her character was given arguably one of the coldest, rawest lines in the whole show. In universe canonical materials suggest that Mai never stops loving Zuko, Zuko never stops loving Mai, and their breakup was only temporary, given how Bryke themselves said “I wish we could turn the comics into an in between show. We were going to show a mini clip of old Zuko and Mai.”

[glimmerglanger]

So I've been thinking more about Azula being the sibling who goes with Team Avatar after the Day of Black Sun debacle in a world where Zuko doesn't.

Azula, who has never felt secure or safe in her life, who knows (in her bones) that fear is the only reliable way to keep people from hurting her people doing what she wants, pays a little more attention to Zuko's conversations with Iroh in prison. It isn't hard to get a guard to tell her what they said.

And she doesn't let herself care about her great-grandfathers. Of course not. It's simply interesting, that's all, to know an Avatar is in her bloodline. She's sure that weak, foolish boy would have an emotional response to it. In a way, she's his family. As close as he's got left, anyway. She stores that away for the time, a dagger for later use.

And while she's looking around, if she happens to discover some of Ozai's plans for after the attempted invasion...

Well.

It's very interesting, all the fuss about naming himself Phoenix King. And how intriguing that he plans to make Zuzu Fire Lord in his stead. Not her. Not her, who went the Earth Kingdom and did what all the best generals in her nation's history for four generations failed to do, bringing Ba Sing Se to it's knees in days. Not her, who brought this information about the coming invasion.

Not her.

"A rabid eel hound," one of the advisors calls her, in the documents she sifts through. It's not that she can call him a liar, but it hurts he could have phrased it more eloquently.

She understands, she tells herself, smoothly the scroll out carefully instead of crumbling it into a ball. If she were Ozai, she would not give someone like her control of the Fire Nation, either, not invite the knife in the back that was sure to come.

Father was many things.

Including, perhaps, not as much of an idiot as she'd thought. She's always known her spot was on the throne, after all. Always.

But not smart enough to keep this from her, either.

She makes her plans, then. Not a single plan, of course. Plans for if the Avatar somehow succeeds - unlikely - and plans for if he fails - if he's captured - if he gets away - if he dies, really, this time.

And when he runs, beaten and driven off, while Zuko flings himself in Mai's no doubt frigid embrace, she leaves.

It isn't difficult to find the Avatar. The Air Temple is close enough to walk and of course he would go to ground, there. Panicked creatures always run to familiar burrows.

Azula finds them. Children. Weak and squabbling children who presume to take on the most powerful army in the world and a part of her feels afraid invigorated, because what would have been the challenge in wiping out the Earth Kingdom with Sozin's Comet strengthening them, anyway?

Anyone could do that. It took no skill. An empty, hollow victory with no value behind it.

But beating the self-appointed Phoenix King? Decimated the entire army with the force of Sozin's Comet behind them? With a handful of children on her side? Now that was an accomplishment. No one would ever be able to look at that and not know that she was the best.

The best fire-bender.

The best Fire Lord.

The--

Azula does not beg them to allow her to teach Aang. Azula has never begged for anything in her life. She simply steps into the glow of their fire and tells them that she will, and, as they gape at her, peasants and fools, she tells them exactly why they're going to let her; what her father plans to do to the Earth Kingdom and when, and watches the fear in their eyes as they see the noose close around them.

They have no choice but to accept her. They fear too much to refuse. Fear is the only way. And none of them know of her fear, of the way she can't sit, can't be still, in her room - she demanded the finest one, of course, and they gave it to her, of course.

They do not go to see the Sun Warriors. Azula has never had anything but utter focus and purpose, never done less than believe utterly in each step she takes.

It is difficult to get the child Avatar to embrace this focus. He fights her, wants to argue around to his own way, unable to create more than a hot breeze.

But she has kept the dagger for this. She knows how to soften her voice, to approach him about the connection-that-could-be. The one he wants. History. Family.

We've both lost ours, she tells him, crafting each word exquisitely. But we could find one again. With each other.

The next day he bends fire.

[ultranos]

How did Ozai find out about Azula's attraction to women, and what did he do that was bad enough to make her completely jump ship and leave everything behind at the first opportunity?

It happened during the 3 years after Zuko was banished. Azula was fairly young when it dawned on her that her inclinations did not run towards men. And promptly had a quiet crisis because of Sozin's laws making homosexuality illegal and this was definitely not something her father would be okay with. Ty Lee had already run off to the circus by this point, so it was just Mai, but Mai noticed. And so Mai paid a bit more attention. She eventually cornered her best friend (with a little bit of incriminating evidence), and Azula admitted that she might, just might, not really be all that straight.

Mai keeps her silence.

But that "evidence"...see, Azula is methodical. So she wanted to find out for certain if this was just a weird moment or if she really is gay. And since she can't exactly go out and experiment (and she's like 12-13), she does the next best thing. She reads. And finds that het romances bore her stupid. Does a little bit of sneaking around and gets her hands on some other literature and wow, is...is she supposed to be that intrigued by two ladies doing interesting activities with each other?

Unfortunately, at some point after Mai is gone with her family, the wrong servant happens to discover that the princess has an illegal stash of illicit literature, and looking to get in the good graces of the Fire Lord, promptly goes and informs the man.

Ozai is, in fact, not okay with this. What follows for Azula are a couple of months of Ozai essentially trying conversion therapy, which was a lot of beating disguised as "one-on-one training" (read: Ozai spends a few hours kicking his kid around a training room while hurling "corrective" insults) and "endurance training" (read: hold a stance for hours in the hot sun, miss meals), and the like.

The final straw, however, was when he sent her out to capture Iroh and Zuko, making it clear that she was either to return with them (in chains) or not at all. Iroh, who is still a master firebender with three times more experience than Azula has years of life. And she's being sent over a literally hostile Ocean, into hostile territory, with a pretty minimal force for the only viable heir. And her status as the only viable heir currently is the thing Azula is certain is keeping Ozai from killing her outright. But if she brings Zuko home, even if it's in chains, she's pretty certain Ozai's likely to restore his position. Which means Azula becomes incredibly expendable.

Azula basically sees the writing on the wall that sticking around without anyone on her side is a death wish and hightails it outta there.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

The Date - Azula x female reader series part 2 : The bonfire in Shu Jing

After your incredibly successful first date you and Azula head to the town of Shu Jing for the bonfire date you have planned. However Azula also has some expectations of her own which could make everything go up in flames. 

Part one here

Part three here

____

The next morning you woke up with a smile on your face before you even remembered the date. When you recalled the details about why you were so happy you sunk back into bed and smiled closing your eyes. You could see Azula’s smile in your mind and it filled you with an infectious warmth. You shot out of bed anxious to start the day and found Mai and Ty lee downstairs. From the way Ty lee’s knee was shaking with excitement you knew Mai had told her about the date. Deciding to tease her you smirked and headed for the door “no time to chat gotta go!”. Ty lee let out a small gasp “wait but...” when she realised your hand was on the door handle but you made no move to open in. You grinned at her and stepped away from the door. “Ty lee you’re the biggest gossip in the fire nation, I know why you’re here”. Ty lee blushed “I was just intrigued about your date! I had no idea it was even happening and then Mai told me it went really well?”. You nodded “it did, I think Azula felt comfortable around me and had a good time. I enjoyed being around her informally and i’m really looking forward to the next one”. “Next one?!?” Ty lee cried and you nodded “yeah we’re going to Shu Jing for the festival next week”. “Wow” Ty lee replied and you sunk into a chair and grabbed some food. “So...what was she like?” Ty lee asked. When you shot her a quizzical look she looked down “just I can’t imagine Azula ever going on a date, she’s so... independent and guarded”. You nodded “she was a bit nervous at first but I made sure to choose things I thought she would enjoy and always reassure her she could leave anytime we wanted to. I think that helped and she let her walls down”. Ty lee smiled “that’s so sweet y/n”. “Yeah who knew you could be romantic” Mai teased and you pushed her playfully. “So are you going to see Azula before the date?”. You shook your head “our princess is a busy girl so I’m not going to bother her or come on too strong. I think she’ll appreciate not being smothered so I figured I’d just see her this afternoon for our regular sparring session and keep it casual”. Mai nodded “that makes sense, you don’t want to overwhelm her, this being her first relationship and all”. You nodded “exactly” but Ty lee didn’t agree “well I can’t play it cool! I’ve got to see her” and with that she rushed from the room.

You did all of your morning tasks and made your way to the palace as the midday sun shone overhead as usual. You were let into the palace as the guards recognised you and took the familiar route to the royal training rooms. You passed through the gardens for a change and paused to see how beautiful it looked. You looked at the plants and stopped by some vivid red roses. An idea hit you and smiling, you quickly cut one loose and hurried away. As you approached your regular training room you heard voices and recognised them as Ty lee and Azula. You heard your name and figured this was the first time Ty lee had managed to get Azula to talk. “So how did it go?” Ty lee asked. You bet Azula was wreathing in awkwardness at having to answer that and smiled fondly. “It was...good” Azula said after a while and Ty lee squealed. “I’m so pleased you’ve finally found someone! We all thought you were going to be alone forever...all things considered”. You frowned at that comment and from Azula’s sharp reply knew the feeling was mutual. “What is that supposed to mean?”. “Nothing!” Ty lee said quickly on the defence “just you’ve never dated anyone while Mai, Y/n and I all have. I just wondered if you ever would but you’ve done it now, you’re on the board so it’s okay! You’ve caught up!” Ty lee explained in an attempt to comfort Azula. It didn’t work. “I don’t think my whole life is solved because I went on a date Ty lee, now if you’re done I have sparring to do”. Ty lee babbled “no of course not I just meant...”. “Goodbye Ty lee” Azula replied and you winced. “Goodbye princess” Ty lee replied and she hurried from the room so fast she didn’t even notice you. You gave Azula a few minutes to recover and entered the room. “Hey” you smiled and held out the rose you’d taken from the garden “this is for you”. Azula blushed and eyed the red rose “thank you” she said taking it from you lightly. “So would you like to get started?” you asked aware Azula was probably a bit shaken from her conversation and the princess nodded eagerly.

Luckily once Azula had hit some things she felt better and as training went on you saw her smile return. At the end of the session Azula seemed back to normal and she traded jokes and quips with you as you packed away. Azula picked up the rose before smiling “did you steal this from the palace gardens by any chance?”. You paused “well...possibly” and she laughed. “See I wanted to get you something but I wasn’t sure what. I was passing through the gardens and saw this rose and it made me think of you so I swiped it and hurried here. Think i’ll get in trouble?”. Azula smiled “no I imagine not. The gardens are the property of the royal family so really this is my flower anyway. You effectively stole my property and gave it back to me”. You shrugged “well in that case you’re welcome”. Azula chuckled shaking her head as she watched you “you are an odd one y/n”. You smiled “I think you’re pretty special too princess” you replied and Azula blushed shooting her eyes away from yours rapidly. You grinned and began contemplating if flustered Azula was your favourite Azula when you realised you’d reached the path where you parted ways. “I’ll be heading this way now” you explained “have a nice evening and i’ll see you tomorrow”. Azula nodded “goodbye y/n” and walked away toying with the rose.

Your sparring sessions were largely the same as usual and the week flew by. Before you knew it Friday morning was here and you headed to Azula’s apartment a big bouquet in hand. You decided to give her an actual arrangement that wasn’t stolen from her garden and made sure to fill it with lots of red and yellow flowers which you knew were Azula’s favourite colours. You reached Azula’s room to find her outside ordering the servants to carry her things carefully. She had a lot of stuff. “Someone’s not a light packer” you called and Azula spun to face you. Her eyes went to the flowers immediately and you saw she looked shocked. “A princess must have options” she replied “I take it these are for me?” she asked pointing to the bouquet. You nodded “they are and I didn’t steal them this time”. Azula smiled and took them from you “they’re very beautiful...I like the colours”. “I thought you would, red and yellow” you smiled and Azula blushed “yes..give me a few minutes to put them in a vase. I don’t want to take them with me and have a clumsy servant crush them”. “Understandable” you nodded “I’ll help take your small army of luggage to the carriage” shooting her a playful smile. Minutes later Azula joined you by the carriage and clasped her hands awkwardly “I’m ready to leave”. “Then let’s go!” you cried and opened the carriage door.

The trip wasn’t long but you spent the time explaining to Azula all the different attractions and working out what you’d both like to do. Again Azula seemed nervous initially and then relaxed the more time she spent with you. When you arrived at your lodgings and extended a hand to help her out of the carriage she took it and you struggled not to smile. You quickly unpacked and rushed to the festival which was in full swing. Azula had a few guards with her but luckily given both of your advanced fire bending skills they stayed to the perimeter leaving the two of you alone. You knew Azula hadn’t been out of the palace much and certainly never for fun and watched as she looked at all the stalls with curiosity. You smiled and looked at the ferris wheel “how about we do that first? It’ll give us a good view to scout the place and work out what looks best”. Azula smirked “are you really using battle strategies here? Get the high ground and survey your surroundings?”. You grinned “don’t pretend you weren’t thinking of it” and led her to the large wheel.

After the ride Azula decided she would like to try some of the games. Of course she was amazing at all of them. She beat you in the ring toss, darts and whack a badgermole easily. There was also a High Striker game where people stuck a podium with a hammer in the hopes of ringing a bell at the top with their strength. You saw Azula watching the people try and got the sudden urge to show off. “What prize do you want?” you asked and Azula paused “prize?”. You nodded “if you ring the bell at the top you get one of the prizes” you explained pointing to the nearby booth “so what prize would you like me to win you?”. Azula turned to you smirking “you assume you can win?”. “I know I can” you replied and Azula smiled at your confidence “go on then”. You nodded and made your way forward. You watched a man before you pick up the heaviest hammer they had and perform a large swing smashing the podium precariously. The sensor rose but didn’t hit the bell. “Better luck next time” the worker called and the man walked away grumbling. You stepped forwards and smiled “I’d like a go please”. The man nodded “of course, a strong girl like you should have no problem! Choose any tool you’d like”. You eyed the hammers and smiled. Most people chose the heaviest one thinking that was how to win, they were mistaken. You chose a medium-sized hammer that was heavy enough to have weight but not too clunky. You toyed with it in your hand before nodding. You took a stance and looked back over your shoulder. You saw Azula watching and winked making her blush. You turned back to the machine and swung the hammer over your head and down flat onto the podium. You used power but made sure to employ enough control that you hit the podium correctly and evenly. The sensor shot up and rang the bell. Lights lit up the machine and people nearby stopped to look. You turned around smugly and saw Azula laughing shaking her head. The worker looked at you shocked and you smiled handing him back the hammer “brains as well as brawn” you explained. He passed you your winning ticket and you made your way back to Azula “I believe I promised you this?”. Azula took it smiling “you did...you seem to be good at keeping your promises”. You nodded “I am, now let’s go choose your prize”.  

The prize booth was filled with lots of soft plush animals and toys. You looked over the options wondering what Azula would choose. You inspected some of the weapons they had as adult prizes and figured that would be her pick. Instead Azula handed her ticket over and requested a large sabretooth moose lion plushy. You stared at her in shock and Azula shrugged “what? I can get any of these weapons or tacky decorations with a click of my fingers, the only thing I haven’t seen before is this” she said shifting it in her arms. You laughed shaking your head “you’re full of surprises, just when I think I have you pegged you make me realise how foolish an idea that is”. Azula nodded her head “and don’t you forget it”. 

The main event of the night arrived and you and Azula gathered by the huge firepit to see it be lit on fire. You held Azula’s sabre-tooth moose lion plushy so she had an unobstructed view and watched in anticipation as a group of five approached from alternating angles. As the host thanked everyone for coming Azula chuckled watching the preparations. “They’re using oil” she said leaning into you “me and you could light that thing easily”. You nodded “we could but not everyone is like us Princess”. Azula nodded “indeed” and her eyes swept over you briefly before she turned her attention back to the firepit. Finally the host called for the pit to be lit and everyone began counting down. Azula rolled her eyes as adults and children alike began chanting but you poked her with your elbow and she joined in too. The firepit was set alight and everyone gaped as the fire spread rapidly and shone brightly. You glanced at Azula and smiled seeing her mouth open in awe. The fire lit up her face and made her yellow eyes even brighter. You grinned seeing her so excited and took her hand. Azula was momentarily shaken out of her daze at the sensation and glanced down at your hands. You offered her a bright smile which she tentatively returned. Azula kept ahold of your hand and continued watching the firepit.

Eventually the rides and games started again and you and Azula headed away from the bonfire. “So what would you like to do next?” you asked “I’ve heard the maze trail in the forest is good”. Azula pursed her lips “perhaps...but could we return to the suite first? It’s getting cold and i’d like to grab a jacket”. You didn’t think it was cold at all, especially with the bonfire but it would be a good place to store the huge plushy Azula chose so you agreed. You quickly made your way back to your lodgings and followed Azula inside. You were both waved inside by guards and Azula headed straight to her bedroom. “It’ll be in my room” she explained beckoning you to follow. Azula held the door open for you and you walked inside and began looking around for Azula’s jacket. You heard the door close and turned confused when Azula grabbed you. She gripped your arm and spun you around before kissing you. You jumped but soon smiled "are you ambushing me?". Azula grinned "maybe" and carried on kissing you. Your smile grew and you kissed her back. Azula was very clearly new to this but had a lot of enthusiasm. She was grabbing you very tightly, her hands wandering curiously, and you were surprised considering this was the first time she’d likely kissed anyone. As Azula began to tug you further into the room you paused. Azula seemed to be in a rush and her destination in the room was blatantly obvious which didn’t make sense to you. The fire nation was known for being cautious, they were never ones to jump into things given their honour and customs but Azula was definitely trying to escalate things. You broke the kiss Azula looked up at you "what? Don’t you want me?". You blushed and shook your head "that's not it, just...Azula are you sure you want to...so soon?". Azula smirked "and here I thought you had a reputation for leading girls into your bed". You paused "I'm not a prude but I...this is the first time we've even kissed and you want to go even further?". Azula swallowed "well why not? We would have at some stage so why not just get it over with". Then it dawned on you. Azula was trying to catch up. The comments Ty lee had made were still bothering her. This was Azula’s way of ticking some boxes and matching all of you. You understood Azula’s desire to do this came from an insecurity and felt sympathy rush through you for the princess. "Azula I don’t just want to get this over with you...I want it to be a big lead up. I want it to be perfect and spontaneous, when the time is right. You can’t just force these things". Azula sighed clearly annoyed and stepped away from you sharply. "You can leave" she said and you groaned "Azula...". "Get out!” she yelled her voice rising in volume “if you're not attracted to me then leave". You shook your head "Azula attraction is not the problem...trust me this is taking a lot of restraint but I respect you enough to do it". Azula rolled her eyes "y/n I've heard the stories, you don’t even know some of the girl’s names before you proceed with them so clearly the problem is me". You shook your head "not at all but you're right that you're what's different from those situations! Azula the girls I have one night stands with...I do that because I'm only attracted to them. All I feel is physical attraction, with you it's so much more than just physical. There’s also the strong emotional connection from our years of friendship and the incomparable romantic feelings I feel for you. So I don’t want it to just be physical between us....I like you Azula and I know this is strong for a second date but I want to date you. Long term. I want to see you lots more and so I don’t want to rush things. You're too good to hurry through things with...if you’d let me, I'd like us to take our time so I can savour this when the time comes. I want to appreciate you in every single way and immerse myself in this" you said taking her hand "you're not a girl I just want to spend one night with Azula". Azula blushed and looked down. "So If it's okay with you, I'd like to keep dating you". Azula nodded her head "okay". You smiled "really?". She nodded "yes that all sounded...really nice but honestly I'm tired and rather embarrassed so I think I will retire for the night now". You nodded your head "I understand i’ll leave you alone but you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You're a wonderful kisser Azula and I find you very attractive. I just know you're worth the wait, I'll prove it to you soon enough". Azula blushed and you smiled kissing her hand "goodnight princess Azula" and left the room. 

You returned to your own room across the hall and had a nervous sleep. You were worried Azula would grow angry again when she was left with her own thoughts but when you saw her the next morning she blushed bashfully and smiled. You grinned pleased she’d listened to you and worked on being extra attentive to her.

After breakfast you had some time before you were set to depart and so you invited Azula to walk through the forest with you. The decorations from yesterday were still there and it was a beautiful autumn morning so you wandered amongst the trees in a content silence. However the peace was soon broken by a rain shower and you thanked your foresight for bringing an umbrella. You held it over the two of you and Azula wrapped her arm around you pressing close. You smiled and led her to a covered area. Once safe you took the umbrella down and smiled at her. "Sorry I heard it was forecast to rain but I thought we would miss it”. Azula smiled back "it’s fine, I know this might be odd for a fire bender to say but i find it rather nice". You looked around the park and had to agree, the water made all the colours come to life and gave the air a much-needed freshening after all of yesterday’s fire. "It is beautiful” you told Azula and she blushed looking down. "I'm glad you asked to get away” Azula told you “I wanted to thank you. You were right, last night I was trying to hurry things because I was insecure and i...thank you for stopping things rather than taking advantage of me. I would have regretted it and i know I'm not the easiest person to say no to so thank you for rejecting me and not letting me do that". You smiled gently touching her cheek "I didn’t reject you I just asked to wait and you said yes. Simple as that. You don’t have to thank me, I did what I did, not just for myself, but because i’d never make you do anything you don’t want to do. I care and respect you Azula...you never have to thank me for doing that, it's what you deserve". Azula blushed and looked up at you "well either way I'm grateful and want to express that to you...." Azula glanced at your lips and smiled. Azula leant in hesitantly and you met her halfway. You kissed her softly and caressed her cheek with one hand. Azula snaked her arms around your neck and comfortably settled against you. Last night Azula had been rash and anxious. This in comparison was calm and relaxed. You pulled back and Azula blinked her eyes open not moving away from you. "Last night was nice but this..." Azula started and you smiled "i know, you really are spectacular". Azula blushed and you chuckled "we should be heading back to pack". Azula nodded her head and took your hand "let's go". She didn’t drop it the whole way back. 

That afternoon, back home in the capital, you stumbled into your shared house with a wide smile on your face and Mai sighed. “Don’t tell me...it was amazing?” she asked sarcastically. "It was amazing" you grinned before frowning "but I can’t tell you about it!". Mai returned your frown "what why not?". "Because last time you told Ty lee who then made some comments which upset Azula and so I'm stopping the chain of command". Mai blinked "y/n I'm sorry I had no idea Ty lee...if you tell me I promise not to tell her. You hesitated and Mai sighed "please!!!! Honestly now I'm dying to know what's got you so happy". You sighed "fine but only because I'm bursting to tell someone! So the whole first day was lovely. Azula and I spent time together, i won her a prize, she beat me in everything and it was all very sweet". Mai raised an eyebrow not impressed and you smirked. "Then Azula gets cold so we go back for her jacket and she starts kissing me". Mai blinked "wow that was fast!". "I know right? And then she starts advancing it, grabbing me, leading me to her bed...". "Eugh gross no detailed account of the sex you had" Mai groaned and you rolled your eyes. "That's the thing, we didn’t! I called it off". Mai laughed "sure you did". "I did!" you cried and Mai rolled her eyes "I don’t believe you mainly for the fact you're still alive". You smiled "Azula was angry at first but I understood when I probed her that she was only acting like that because of what Ty lee had said. She felt like she had to hurry and catch up with us to be valid, she felt inferior. So I told her I wanted to wait and date her properly and build up to it and she agreed". Mai blinked "I still don’t see how she didn’t set you on fire...what did you say?". "Well I told her how I cared about her, how she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to just to fit the stereotypical relationship template and a lot of stuff for her ears only but basically we’re dating". Mai nodded her head "I'm impressed, two dates and Azula agreed to date you?". You nodded your head "we went for a lovely walk the next morning and had a do-over first kiss, it was wonderful and so is she". Mai paused "you always fall for girls fast but this is a new record". "Well I guess it makes sense, Azula is pretty unique. The firebending prodigy princess...anyone would fall for her and i’m not ashamed to admit I have" you smiled. Mai smirked shaking her head "you never did like making things easy for yourself did you? Falling for Azula of all people?”. You blushed but just laughed “the heart wants what the heart wants and I’m not going to mess this up. I'm going to treat Azua to all the romantic tricks I know!" and with that you rushed away to begin planning your future dates.

___

I think in any relationship Azula would just be a bundle of insecurities and would need a lot of reassurance from her partner to overcome that. 

I’m planning on doing one more maybe two more parts and in the next one i’m going to have Ozai ruin everything because that’s what he does best 

[the-badger-mole]

Can you write a short story with a jealous Zuko?

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. By Azula; by Lu Ten; by Avatar Aang. It still often annoyed him to know that the most he could aim for was second best to someone else, no matter where he was. But he never minded when it came to Katara. Give her enough time, Zuko often told himself, and she could bring the entire world to its knees. She'd saved his life in more ways than he could count. She had saved them all, and there would never be enough people singing her praises as far as Zuko was concerned. She stood out no matter where she was. Even in spaces where the Fire Lord should have been the center of attention, Zuko knew he didn't stand a chance when Master Katara entered the room.

It should have annoyed him, Zuko thought, but it didn't. She was sunshine, for all she was a child of Water, and she drew everyone towards her like plants reaching up for Agni's rays. When she laughed, it filled the room- a bit too loud to be polite, but too infectious to really be upset over. She talked with high-ranking nobles with passion, leaving them stunned at her knowledge and convictions- this woman who was barely not a child anymore. She had earned the grudging respect of Zuko's council, which even he hadn't succeeded in doing. He should be jealous, but he watched Katara make her way around the room with pride. Maybe he wasn't as eloquent or magnetic as Katara, but he was her friend. He knew her in a way few- if any- in that room would ever know her.

Someone- Iroh, Zuko guessed- had signaled for the band to start playing. Business was done for the day. Soon the crowd had reshuffled itself, and couples began making their way to the dance floor while everyone else made their way to the buffet tables lining one end of the hall. Katara met Zuko's eyes across the room, and with a warm smile, made her way over to him. She seemed to glow supernaturally. Zuko cast a surreptitious glance to see if some prankster had aimed a spotlight on her. Was it just Zuko? How was no one else being blinded by the way the light reflected off her smile? Her hair? Her skin? Zuko swallowed hard, trying to unstick his tongue from the roof of his suddenly dry mouth.

Katara's smile widened and she opened her mouth to greet him.

"Excuse...um...p-pardon me." Katara turned in surprise to the young man who had approached her. Zuko recognized him vaguely, and he scrambled to place a name. Katara spared him the ordeal of guessing.

"Lord Jee-Soo," she smiled politely at King Kuei's cousin, though Zuko could see an odd tightness in the corners of Katara's eyes. Jee Soo, however, did not notice. His face was tinged pink and he leaned forward in a stiff, formal bow.

"I-I hope I'm not disturbing you," he said. "I was hoping that...that maybe you...er, that is...would you grant me the honor of a dance."

Zuko froze. A shock went down his spine as if someone had walked across a carpet and touched his skin. Katara gaped at him in surprise. Her cheeks flushed a pretty dusky red. Jee Soo smiled at her, nervous and hopeful. She cast a glance at Zuko, trying to communicate... something.

"Oh!" Katara gasped. "Well... I was just going to..." She cast another look at Zuko before she shrugged and smiled at Jee Soo. "Um... sure, I'd love to."

Zuko watched silently as Jee Soo wrapped a clammy-looking hand around Katara's and led her out to the dance floor. His hand squeezed his punch cup dangerously tight as Jee Soo slid his arm around Katara's waist and pulled her as close as propriety would allow. His breath caught in his throat as the young Earth Kingdom noble said something that caused Katara's nose to crinkle in amusement.

"Take care, Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh sidled up to his nephew, with an affable smile and a knowing gleam in his eye. "Someone might think there's trouble between the Fire Nation and Ba Sing Se the way you're glaring at young Lord Jee Soo."

"I'm not glaring!" Zuko insisted hotly. Still, he turned his scowl on his uncle instead.

"She would have danced with you if you'd asked," Iroh told him. "I'm sure she still would."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko grumbled.

"Oh no?" Iroh tried unsuccessfully to hide his amusement. "My mistake. It's been a long time since I was young and in love. Perhaps I don't remember the signs as well as I thought."

"Perhaps not!" Zuko knew he was being peevish, but his uncle was overstepping. Zuko had admitted to having a small crush on Katara years ago, and Iroh had never forgotten, even though Zuko had gotten over her a long time ago. She was dating one of his best friends at the time.

But not anymore.

The traitorous, smug voice in his head sounded annoyingly like his uncle. It was true that Katara had broken up with Aang, but it made no difference. Even if he wasn't over Katara- and he was over her- she and Aang hadn't split on the best of terms. It wouldn't be fair to either of his friends for Zuko to insert himself in the middle of that.

On the dance floor, Jee Soo seemed to have gained some confidence. He twirled and spun Katara with expert ease. If Katara had been hesitant to dance with him before, she seemed happy enough now. Her eyes were bright and her face pink with the exertion of the dance. She was having a good time, and Jee Soo gazed at her as if half in love already.

Zuko could dance. He could dance at least as well as Jee Soo. Others may outshine him in literally every other part of his life, but Zuko's mastery of dance was part of what made the Blue Spirit so deadly. Maybe he could challenge Jee Soo to a friendly competition. Katara could be the judge. Maybe the first prize could be a kiss...

Zuko shook his head. Dangerous territory. She was just coming out of a serious relationship. With one of his best friends. True they had broken up almost a year ago. Also true that Aang hadn't been in close contact with any of them since the breakup. And there was speculation that things had ended because Aang had cheated. But Zuko didn't know that for sure. No one knew for sure except Katara and Aang. Suki probably had more of the story, which Toph probably bullied out of her. And Sokka at least suspected if his coldness towards Aang at the last summit was any indication.

Dangerous territory. Friends don't go after a friend's exes. Even if you happened to have had a thing for said ex before your friend started dating them. Even if that ex was also your best friend.

Jee Soo dipped Katara, causing her to let out a nervous, but giddy laugh. Her hands clutched at Jee Soo tightly, to keep herself steady, but as a result, they were much closer than they started at the beginning of the dance. Jee Soo's face lit up with a grin as he did it again. And again. And again.

Didn't this guy know any other moves? Katara was going to catch on to him, and she would be annoyed. Wouldn't she? Zuko knew she'd been out with a couple of other guys since the breakup. Nothing serious, though, Suki had informed him. No one who lasted more than a month. Still, Zuko wasn't sure what her type was anymore. Jee Soo reminded Zuko a bit of Aang, but just because Katara had dated Aang for three years doesn't mean he was her type. Maybe she was into quieter guys who got way too deep in their own heads and overthought hypothetical situations until they lost entire nights of sleep worrying about problems that didn't actually exist. Yeah...for sure that's what Katara would find attractive.

How long was this song, Zuko wondered. Jee Soo was dipping Katara again, though she seemed to be getting tired of it. Her smile was that polite, tight smile that she'd given him earlier when she wasn't sure she wanted him to interrupt her. Zuko saw her say something to him, probably asking him to keep her upright for a while. Jee Soo laughed and shook his head and said something teasing as he pulled her closer. Katara's smile fell away completely, and Zuko saw she was getting mad. He was halfway across the dance floor before he'd even realized he was going to go over. He was ready to yank Jee Soo away, and if necessary, deck the creep for not respecting Katara's reasonable wish. But before he got to them, Jee Soo had stepped away with a deep, embarrassed blush on his face.

"I'm so sorry," Jee Soo was saying as Zuko got closer. "Honestly, I was just trying to...well, I didn't mean to upset you or offend you."

"It's alright, Jee Soo," Katara said patiently. Her smile was back in place. The song ended, finally, and another one started up.

"Would you...like to dance again?" Jee Soo asked.

"I'm a bit tired," Katara begged off. "But I'll bet Kimiko would love you to ask her. Don't say I told you, but she's been checking you out." That didn't seem to soothe Jee Soo's disappointment, but he accepted the rejection graciously enough.

"Seems like you had fun," Zuko said. Katara sighed tiredly and slipped her arm through his.

"I thought the song would never end!" she groaned. "It was like dancing with Aang. Fun for the first minute, but he was doing way too much. All the dipping gave me vertigo." Zuko heard that with interest.

"I didn't realize you weren't having fun," he tried to keep his voice even as he led them away from the dance floor over to the punch table. "I would have come rescue you if I'd realized. We should come up with some sort of sign when you want me to cut in."

"You never dance at these things," Katara pointed out.

"I'd make an exception for you." Zuko blushed and scrambled to cover. "I mean, I'd do it if it saved you from some over-eager guy who can't take a hint."

"My hero." Katara scrunched her nose up at Zuko and leaned against him. It was adorable! Zuko had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from grinning.

"Actually..." Katara said slowly. "I was coming over to ask you to dance before Jee Soo interrupted."

"Really?" Zuko's voice hit an octave it hadn't hit since he was fourteen and his voice was still dropping. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fact that Katara was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "I know you don't really like dancing, but maybe you can preemptively cut in for me? Someone told me that Lord Hino's son wanted to ask me for a dance." Zuko grimaced. Lord Hino was one of his most trusted advisors, but his son was a famous klutz with two left feet. No woman left the dance floor without bruised feet when she danced with him.

"You told Jee Soo you were tired," Zuko reminded her. Why, he yelled internally, would he say that? Fortunately, Katara just shrugged and looked up at him coyly from the corner of her eye.

"I'd make an exception for you," she said quietly. Zuko froze midstep. Katara looked up at him in alarm. There was a spectacular blush rising from her neck towards her hairline, and a panicked retraction already on her lips. Zuko turned to her and took her hand. Then in a move that would have pleased every last one of his etiquette tutors and his uncle, if he was watching, Zuko bowed elegantly and brushed a feathery light kiss on Katara's fingertips. He lifted his gaze with an impish grin.

"I would be honored," he said, "to have this dance." Katara nodded speechlessly and allowed Zuko to lead her out to the dance floor again.

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. He wasn't the most powerful bender, or the most charismatic leader. He wasn't the most handsome man or the most eloquent. But there on the dancefloor, with the most beautiful woman in at the ball in his arms, he knew that no one could match him for dancing. Katara seemed to agree because she accepted his request for another dance. And another. And another...

[loopy777]

How do you headcanon Zuko and Azula’s relationship post war is? Is she redeemed in the future?

I like to keep this one open, as I would be very sad if whatever I headcanon gets contradicted by official stuff. Azula is the one element of the story that I think could break either way, but I do have some thoughts on how each could go.

If Azula is "redeemed" (and I admit I don't like that word, as it means too many different things to too many different people), I see it as her recognizing the evils she has done, trying to live a better life, and making reparations to those she hurt as much as she is able. What that doesn't mandate is a continuing relationship with Zuko, Mai, or Ty Lee. Nor does it even hint at a friendship with anyone in the gAang. The process would also involve her recognizing the horrible influences in her life that led to her taking an evil path, including both her father and the militant Fire Nation culture. All that comes together in my head for an Azula who chooses to start a new life in the former colonies, almost certainly with a completely new identity. And because I love the elements in both Westerns and Samurai stories, I see her continually trying to live a life without violence, but circumstances keep forcing her to use her fighting and Firebending capability to protect others. I'm not sure if I want to go full 'Lone Wolf & Cub' with the idea (or "Mando & Baby Yoda" for the kids in the audience), but I think it might be a viable alternative to having a traditional family for making her work through her issues with Ursa's mothering.

So that's my headcanon for redeemed!Azula. A quiet woman who rolls into a remote town that doesn't get much news, where people value community and the simple pleasures. She makes friendships but doesn't share much about herself. There's some speculation that she has a Past, but her classy way of speaking and intelligence make people think she's a noble fleeing an arrange marriage. Then one day a gang of bandits come along who threaten the village and their entire harvest, and that quiet woman calmly walks out to end the threat and afterward no one can look at her the same way again. So she decides to move on, perhaps with the local orphan in tow.

Then there's if Azula remains a villain. While I wouldn't mind a tragic, heartbreaking death with her refusing every chance to save herself, I like the idea of her settling into a comfortable criminality. I see her becoming the Professor Moriarty of the former colonies- she takes a position at a university as a cover and proceeds to become the leading 'criminal genius consultant' in the land, advising every major criminal organization and trading favors to facilitate the rise of her allies and create tremendous gains for herself. I like to think that Sokka tries to take her down, in his position on the council of Republic City, but he soon finds that she counters his efforts in the most unexpected way possible: by making herself a better alternative than letting all those criminals run rampant without control or coordination, and she even comes to an Arrangement with him that she passes on information on mutual threats. She also makes sure that her efforts regularly impede the work of Zuko and Aang, but not to such a degree that they'll tear the United Republic apart trying to find and stop her. She knows how to make herself a maximized annoyance but not quite a threat- not that it keeps the gAang from worry about whether she might decide to become a threat, someday.

So that's an unrepentant Azula to me. She's the charming toast of the professorial social scene, regularly publishing papers on sociology that no one quite understands. Late at night, she regularly accepts callers in dark robes who describe a problem to her and come away with a dangerously effective suggestion. Or perhaps they whisper a name to along with an outrageous price, and then six months later a judge dies in a freak accident and Azula's suite has a new famous painting in it that she couldn't possible afford on a professor's salary. Meanwhile, Republic City's crime prime continues to grow, no matter what anyone does to try to contain it.

[flameo-hotman]

,,,,,, weren't you going to go to sleep?

I did but I left my queue running. I dreamt I had gotten my hands on a box set of Atla but it was different than normal because this one had like twenty seasons and I watched them all.

The first couple seasons were dedicated to different Avatars. The first book was Wan and a more in-depth look at his life. Stezo dealing with politics and being the coolest dude ever. (He was aroace in my dream, and as such will be in any fic I write of him.)

Then there was Yangchen and that one was from the perspective of her sky bison Singling. It was melancholy because Singling saw how lonely Yangchen felt as the Avatar. How with each mission as Avatar Yangchen fell deeper and deeper into a depression.

Then there was Kuruk and the time he spent with his friends. The way they began to drift and the steady build up to him trying to track down Father Glow Worm. I think for this one my brain really just was pulling from the Kyoshi novels. The season finally of course was the fight between him and Father Glow Worm.

Then there was Kyoshi and her battle against Chin the Conqueror. At one point she needed information and so she snuck into the base that he was using as his headquarters. She in this episode pretended to be a normal serving girl and like she was applying for a job. Her ruse worked and she was able to get in and start looking for the info but got caught by another serving girl who decided to Allie herself with Kyoshi and went back to Yokoya with Kyoshi and become the first Kyoshi Warrior.

Then there was Roku and his life before he learned he was the Avatar. It focused on his friendship with Sozin and how it bordered on more at times but that Sozin would carefully allude to his feelings for Roku saying things like “I would give you my nation if you would but just ask but there are things for which I may never give freely” and “to caress your hair is the greatest temptation and yet the memory would haunt me for the rest of my days, so it would be better still to cut my hand from my person.” But Roku was straight and had no gaydar whatsoever. But also Sozin didn’t start the war because of his crush on his friend, but instead made comments during their childhood that foreshadowed what he would later go on to do. Comments that showed how he thought everyone was beneath him and Roku.

And then there was Aang and his adventures before he went into the ice and the friends he had in all the different nations. Then it switched to the childhoods of the Gaang before the show and then the show itself with added episodes. Then the comics with added content. And then we start to get into the later lives of the Gaang.

Some of the post war stuff with the Gaang was funny fluff and some stuff was dark and I would love to write fics about both. But there was this one season where Ozai had escaped prison with the aid of a dark spirit who granted him a twisted form of his previous bending and there was some sort of buffer that was keeping everyone in the Fire Nation from leaving well also keeping people from getting in.

Azula ended up siding with Zuko because Ozai was granted the ability to absorb other people’s bending by this dark spirit and he’d started by stealing Azula’s bending and she wanted it back.

In the end Zuko, Azula , and the Kyoshi Warriors were able to put a stop to Ozai and undo what had been done. They needed to travel into the spirit world and find the dark spirit and tried to fight it. And it turned out that there was a way to curry favor with it by selling some of their memories to the thing.

For each memory they sold to the spirit they would buy a day of peace from it. And so each of them sold a handful of memories buying themselves what they thought would be a couple of weeks. During which they were planning on contacting the rest of the Gaang and seeing if there was a more permanent solution. But they didn’t realize that the spirit would only be collecting payment from one of them and so when they got back to the human world and the first day of peace was had they realized something was wrong.

Zuko as it turned out was the one who payment had been collected from and when they asked him if they should also write to his uncle Zuko seemed confused. He didn’t remember having an uncle. In fact he had forgotten multiple people. (It had some flwogb vibes during this part tbh and hey love flwogb so I didn’t mind one but.)

They went to the gardens after Suki sent out the letters and Zuko asked when they got turtleducks in the pond which was deeply unsettling considering how much he loves those turtleducks. In her letter she didn’t mention the lost memories but only that something had gone wrong and they needed help with a dark spirit.

When the Gaang and Iroh arrived they were taken aside and privately told about what had happened and how they weren’t sure what all Zuko may not remember anymore.

Turned out that Zuko had forgotten who Iroh, Toph, his mom, the turtle ducks, and Sokka were. Also he didn’t seem to remember Appa or Momo.

The Gaang was able to defeat the dark spirit and get Zuko’s memories back. And I am highly tempted to write this season as a fic because of how much I loved it.

Anyways that was a pretty neat dream and high key I want that box set lol

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Yup, Sure Was a Finale

I had an epiphany. The reason why I never re-watched the final two parts of Sozin’s Comet even though I’ve popped in episodes at random many times over the years isn’t that I can’t bear the sadness of seeing one of the best, most engaging narratives out there come to an end.

It’s simply that the finale isn’t all that good.

Some honorable mentions of what was enjoyable.

(+) This

Just this.

(+) The Church of Zutara has another convert

“Are you sure they don’t get together?” Hubster, 2020

(+) The tragedy of Azula

And the fact that it’s acknowledged as such. I hope Zuko will do his best to get her help and have a relationship with her…

(+) Sokka being a big bro

And the whole airship sequence in general. It’s wonderfully paced and plotted, with moments of humor, real stakes, Toph being both badass and a scared crying kid, Sokka strategizing and protecting, Suki saving the day, and non-benders being instrumental in thwarting the bad guy firebender’s plans. Would be shame if Bryke never portrayed them this capable ever again…

And now for the main course.

(-) Blink and its over

The wrap-up feels too quick (hashtag Needs More ROtK-style False Endings). A part of this is due to how fast the story goes from the thick of the action to hastily tying up a bunch of loose ends, but the larger issue is how Book 3’s uneven pacing comes home to roost. After spending half a season on filler episodes that at best subtly flesh out established characters while dancing around a huge lionturtle-shaped hole, and at worst contradict the theme of “no one is born bad” with “you’re a hot mess because your great-grandfathers didn’t get along too well”, the frantic “go go go” rush of the second half screeches to a halt with “they won and everyone was happy because now the right people have power and it will be all good from now on yup nothing more to deal with baiiiii”.

Yes, I know, it’s a kids’ show. But goddamn, this particular kids’ show has proven so many times it can do better than the expected tropiness. Showing the characters in their roles as builders of a new world was the least that could have been done.

Oh well!

(-) Ursa

We’ll never know. There will never be a story that delves into this. Yup. Shall forever remain but an intriguing mystery. Is good, though. Mystery is better than a story where Ursa shares her son’s penchant for forgetfulness. Imagine how embarrassing that would be. Speaking of which…

(-) What does Mai see in this jerkbender?

Look, I like to harp a lot on the mess of inconsistent writing that’s Mai but let’s unpack this scene from her perspective, shall we?

Zuko forgot about her! It totally slipped his mind that the one person who prioritized the safety of his dumb ass was rotting in the worst prison in the Fire Nation—because of him! And she was rotting there long enough after the final Agni Kai for the news of Zuko’s upcoming coronation to spread and her uncle to feel sufficiently secure to release her. But then the coronation scene is attended by every single member of Gaang & Friends that was imprisoned?

So what this tells me is that either a) the invasion force had the ability to break themselves out the whole time and for some reason decided not to exercise it until after the war was over, b) Zuko forgot about them as well and no one thought to remind him there were prisons full of POWs until Mai arrived, or, and that’s even better, c) Zuko took care to free every single resistance fighter while making sure Mai would be the one to stay behind bars.

Never thought I’d say this but Mai? Honey? You deserve so much better.

(-) “What does Katara want?”

Asked no one in the writers’ room ever, apparently.

This is not so much anti Cataang as anti romance stories that pay attention to the needs, opinions, and wants of only one partner in general. Over the previous 60 episodes, Katara actively expressed romantic interest in Aang exactly, wait for it,

Once.

And it got retconned out of relevance by the following two interactions where the possibility of a romantic relationship came up, making the Headband dance pretty easy to reclassify as just one of those examples where Aang “teaches” Katara to have fun (as if one of the main obstacles to her having fun wasn’t him constantly fooling around and offloading his duties). And because the writers not only didn’t succeed in portraying Katara’s internal state of mind, but also failed to root her reluctance to pursue a relationship in outside circumstances that could change, her sudden state of unconfused once Aang steps into the spotlight has a single canonical explanation that as much as approaches coherency.

The fact is, though, that trying to interpret canon Cataang from a Watsonian perspective is an exercise in foolishness. Because there is no Watsonian justification for the ship and never has been. Bryke simply conceived of Katara as nothing but a tropey prize for Aang, never saw her as anything beyond that, and were perfectly happy to go on and immortalize her as a passive broodmare for the rest of her life.

And I fully intend to die mad about it.

(-) Iroh dips

OK, it’s been long apparent that the show doesn’t intend to do anything about Iroh’s complicity in AzulOzai’s regime in any meaningful way, and that his sole motivation for doing anything whatsoever is Zuko whom he views as a replacement son which is supposed to be good for some reason. But the finale has him abandon even that, and instead turns him full-on YOLO, idgaf anymore. It really throws Iroh’s supposed love for Zuko into doubt when his last act in the entire show is to take a half-educated 16-year old with no political savvy or an heir to secure a dynastic continuity and plomp him on the throne of a war-mongering imperialist regime where the entirety of the militarist and ruling class is guaranteed to fight him tooth and nail for power.

(I sure hope Mai’s ready to start popping out babies by tea-time otherwise the whole country is fukd in about a week)

Christ, how hard would it be to have Iroh keep the throne warm for a few years while Zuko is getting ready to succeed him? Not only would it make the whole FN reformation bit quite likelier to occur, it would require Iroh’s hedonistic ass to actually sacrifice something for once. And not having Zuko ascend to power, instead spending some time bettering and educating himself first, would be a wonderful message that no matter what you endured and overcame, you never stop growing. A kids’ show, remember?

(-) The conquering of Ba Sing Se

Gee, I feel so blessed to have my attention diverted from battlefields which actually matter to an old dude vanity project I would have been perfectly happy to assume resolved itself off-screen.

The White Lotus in general just bugs me. I was fine with the individual characters and their overall passivity when they were portrayed as lone dissenters living under circumstances where it wasn’t really possible for any single person to mount a meaningful resistance. But as members of a far-reaching shadowy organization that’s left the real fight to a bunch of kids for 59 episodes straight and didn’t turn up until a perfect opportunity presented itself to take control of the largest city in the world and bask in the spotlight?

Yeah, no.

Similarly to the lionturtle-ex-machina, the White Lotus represents a huge missed opportunity for a season-long storytelling. Here’s just a brief list of what they could have been doing throughout Book 3:

orchestrating a Fire Nation uprising;

gathering those directly persecuted by AzulOzai’s regime to help Zuko keep his hold on power once he’s crowned;

establishing themselves as a viable alternative to Ozai;

sabotaging Fire Nation’s war efforts from the inside;

countering Fire Nation propaganda (Asha Greyjoy’s pinecones, anyone?);

running a supply network to alleviate the suffering of Earth Kingdom citizens.

Instead, they sit on their asses until the time comes to claim personal glory.

You know what, good on Bryke for making me conclude that in comparison, the Freedom Fighters were perfectly unproblematic, actually.

(-) Fire Lord Dead-by-Dawn

Yes, a kids’ show, I know! But ffs, this is the same kids’ show that came up with Long Feng and portrayed courtly intrigue, kingly puppets, secret police, spy networks, and information wars. Was it really too much of me to expect something other than “enlightened despot solves everything”? Especially if said enlightened despot has persisting anger issues, no personal support system, no base of followers, and no political experience whatsoever?

If Zuko’s actually serious about regaining the Fire Nation’s honor (i.e. by dismantling the country’s military machine, decolonizing the Earth Kingdom, paying reparations to everyone and their lemur, and funding any and all cultural restoration projects Aang and the SWT come up with), then there is no way, no way in the universe that he doesn’t face a civil war, deposing, and execution within a month.

One reason why his future as a Fire Lord seems rather bleak is that little’s been shown about the actual subjects of AzulOzai’s regime. While we get a vague reassurance that “no Toph, they’re not born bad” (le shockings), they largely remain a voiceless uniform mass of brainwashed clapping seals. What is their view on the Fire Nation’s crimes? Do they associate their condition with their country’s war-mongering? How will they react when Zuko starts dismantling the country piece by piece to rebuild it, bringing it to economic ruin? What will they do when noble Ozai loyalists come out of the woodwork and begin rounding them up under the banner of “Make the Fire Nation Great Again?”

I have no idea, and Zuko doesn’t either because he’s unironically more qualified to rule the Earth Kingdom than his own people.

You know what would have been better? Fire Lord Iroh, White Lotus pulling the strings to maintain the regime, and Crown Prince/People’s Champion Zuko travelling the Fire Nation with Aang and an army of tutors to promote the new boss, only to realize that absolute monarchy is kinda crap for the people he’s one day supposed to rule and gaining their support by ceding some power to them.

I’d laser holes into my TV due to how much I’d enjoy watching that.

(-) All hail Avatar Rock

Literally and metaphorically. Aang doesn’t sacrifice anything, gets everything, and the clever solution of going about getting said everything is handed to him on a silver platter, requiring no active participation on his part whatsoever.

He doesn’t work to unblock his chakras, spiritually or physically.

He only speaks to his past lives to get a pat on the back and a bow-tied solution he could mindlessly follow.

Energy-bending doesn’t require any sacrifice from him, leaves no lasting marks, and only serves for the narrative to praise him as the rare individual that’s unbendable and thus so very very special.

The most infuriating thing is, however, that Aang is clearly shown as being able to beat Ozai without either the Avatar state, or energy-bending.

And he chooses not to. From this moment on, Aang no longer fights to save the world. He fights to preserve his beliefs, going directly against the instructions of his past lives and effectively reneging on his duties as the Avatar.

Again.

It’s not like you can’t portray Aang’s faithfulness to his spiritual beliefs as the key to beating Ozai and saving the world. But that’s not what the show did. There is no link between Aang sparing Ozai and securing a better future, quite to the contrary—Ozai’s survival ends up being a massive problem for the continuation of Zuko’s rule, and consequently a threat to the world at large. His survival benefits Aang and no one else.

Aang’s spiritual purity and his status as a savior of the world are allowed to coexist only due to a deliberate stroke of a writer’s pen.

And I hate it.

Welp, nothing to do about it now except to bury myself up to my tits in fix-it fics I guess.

[passable-talent]

part 4 was so so good!!!!! can you make a part 5? i’m in love with your writing and that series!!! you’re feeding my need for zuko content and i love u for that.

it literally took exactly 19 minutes to get a request for part 5

THANK U THO SHDBCNDGS IM HAPPY YOURE ENJOYING WHAT I DO

been excited to get back to this one, y’all aren’t ready 😏

OKAY I SAID YALL WERENT READY BEFORE I EVEN WROTE IT BUT NOW IVE WRITTEN IT AND LET ME FUCKING REITERATE: YALL ARE NOT F U C K I N G R E A D Y

| part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 |

For chapter five, and my five hundred follower special, we will go back to spring of the year 100 AG, right before Azula’s coup succeeded in their destruction of Ba Sing Se . . .

“So what’s happening?” You asked Mushi as the two of you hurried through the streets of the upper ring.

“Come close,” Mushi answered, and your footsteps brought you beside him.

“My nephew and I are more than refugees,” he began, “my name is Iroh, and I am the brother of the Fire Lord. My nephew, Zuko, is the banished prince of the Fire Nation. I’m sorry we lied to you, but we needed to, in order to stay in Ba Sing Se where we were safe from our family.” Your head reeled, but you kept beside him, because still you trusted this man. You were trained to react and to think, thanks to the Dai Li, so you analyzed his words.

“Were?” you questioned, wondering why he seemed to suggest that he was no longer safe.

“My niece, Princess Azula, has infiltrated the city. She tried to capture me- she did capture Zuko.” Your eyes widened, and your speed increased beside Iroh. “I need your help to retrieve him, and the Avatar’s. That’s where we’re headed.” You looked up at the house you were approaching, half caved in from some sort of destruction. What had happened here?

“The Avatar?” you asked, and Iroh nodded, pausing in front of the door to knock politely. You waited beside him, but held your forehead- you were so shocked about everything you were finding out.

Zuko- not Lee. The banished prince of the Fire Nation. You hadn’t even known that the prince of the Fire Nation had been banished! What else didn’t you know about the other nations of the world beyond the walls of Ba Sing Se?

Why had this information been kept from you? You were training to be in the Dai Li, one of the best and most important police forces of the Earth Kingdom, shouldn’t this information be privy to you? Why wasn’t it?

You were pulled from your thoughts as a girl opened the door, and regarded Iroh with friendliness.

“I need your help,” he began, and you watched the reactions of the other two at the door. They seemed frightened by Iroh- what kind of history had they that you weren’t aware of?

Why were you kept in the dark about everything?

“You guys know each other?” demanded the boy you had to assume was the avatar, who didn’t seem much concerned with your presence. Maybe it was the earth kingdom robes?

“I met him in the woods once, and knocked him down,” answered the girl, and with her gaze that didn’t seem focused on the avatar you wondered if maybe she was blind. She, however, seemed like a strong earthbender. It was one of the things you were trained to pick up on in the Dai Li, and relied entirely on how a person carried herself. “Then he gave me tea and some very good advice.”

“May we come in?” Iroh asked sheepishly, and you wondered why there wasn’t more urgency to his tone.

“Who’s your friend?” the clearly water tribe boy demanded, and you lifted your chin, being acknowledged.

“I’m Y/N, a soon-to-be member of the Dai Li,” you answered, “You can trust me.”

“The Dai Li?” Avatar Aang responded, more shock in his face than before.

“That makes us even less likely to trust you!!” the water tribe boy shouted, and your eyebrows knitted together.

“The Dai Li are the protectors of the city!” you said, though you felt doubt gnaw at your spine- they had kept so much from you, their own cadet.

Iroh turned his eyes to you, and something in his gaze told you to hush up.

“Princess Azula is here, in Ba Sing Se,” Iroh told them, his tone stern and serious.

“She must have Katara!” Aang said, and you looked to Iroh. You didn’t know these people- but that Azula would capture both Zuko and a friend of the avatar meant that she was one of two things: insanely brave or insanely stupid.

“She has captured my nephew, as well,” Iroh said.

“Then we’ll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko,” the avatar said, and you felt a little lightness crawl into your heart. You’d be able to help save Zuko, and a friend of the avatar? You were about to go on a crazy adventure.

“Whoa there,” said the water tribe boy, walking back into the conversation, “you lost me at ‘Zuko.’ “

“I know how you must feel about my nephew,” Iroh began, and your expression softened. There was definitely history here, and you’d be interested to learn it. “But believe me when I tell you, there is good inside him.” You brought your eyes to the avatar’s, and nodded, trying to fathom something to say that they’d believe. They didn’t know you, didn’t know what you stood for, and it seemed that you didn’t know much of that yourself.

“I’ve known Zuko for a while,” you said, “and he’s never been anything other than a scared and polite refugee.”

“Good inside him isn’t enough!” The water tribe boy insisted, “Why don’t you come back when it’s outside him too, okay?” Your chest deflated further, and you had to wonder: what had Zuko done, what had Zuko been, that they had this strong of a hatred for him?

Did you want to know?

“Katara’s in trouble,” Aang said to his friend, “All of Ba Sing Se’s in trouble. Working together is our best chance.”

On the way toward the catacombs of the city underneath the palace, you learned Sokka and Toph’s names, as well as the true treachery of the Dai Lee. You learned about the war with the Fire Nation, and had a smile on your face as you took in how lucky you were that the two firebenders whom you had come to love were the only two on the right side of this war.

“Well, whaddaya know, there is an ancient city down there,” Toph said, her hand pressed to the stone courtyard, “but it’s deep.” She opened up a large hole in the stone, heading downward.

“How can you tell?” You asked, and she cracked her knuckles in your direction.

“Right, you’re classically trained,” she mocked with a rude laugh, which made you smile. “I can sense seismic activity through stone. Maybe I’ll teach you, when this is over.” You nodded, intrigued, before Sokka grabbed your attention.

“We should split up. Aang, you go with Iroh and Y/N to look for Katara and the angry jerk,” he said. “No offense,” he added in Iroh’s direction, and once again you found yourself confused on the nature of their shared past when Iroh said “none taken.”

“And I’ll go with Toph to warn the Earth King about Azula’s Coup.”

Aang, Iroh, and you began heading down into the tunnel, Iroh holding up fire for light while you and Aang took turns lengthening the tunnel downwards.

“So, Toph thinks you give pretty good advice,” Aang said, seeming to try to make conversation. “And great tea.” A smile came to your face- Iroh’s tea was the reason that you were, apparently, romantically involved with the prince of the Fire Nation.

Imagine that.

“The key to both is proper aging,” Iroh said, and you laughed under your breath. “What’s on your mind?” Aang paused, and took his turn lengthening the tunnel.

“Well, I met with this guru who was supposed to help me master the avatar state and control this great power.” You turned to look at the avatar as you walked, amazed at both his story and his mere stature. You never thought that you’d get to meet the avatar.

“But to do it, I had to let go of someone I love, and I just couldn’t.” You reached the end of the tunnel, and took stance beside Iroh to take your turn lengthening it. However, Iroh began speaking, and you figured it rude to interrupt him.

“Perfection and power are overrated. I think you are very wise to choose happiness, and love.” With a smile on your face you earthbent and opened up the tunnel further, deciding then and there that you would stick with Iroh. Surely you weren’t to stay and train with the Dai Li, and as it seemed he was teaming up with the avatar, maybe you’d get to help fight in the war!

“But what happens if we can’t save everyone and beat Azula?” You didn’t answer, and let Iroh, both because you didn’t know the answer, and because you felt that the scope of your knowledge and importance wasn’t what it needed to be to even participate in this conversation.

“Without the avatar state, what if I’m not powerful enough?”

“I don’t know the answer,” Iroh said, making you gaze to the side at him. “Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving...” Iroh paused as Aang took his turn to break through the stone in front of you, revealing light and a wide open new space, “...you will come to a better place.” You paused, standing on the edge of a cliff, to look out over the ancient city. There was a fountain in front of you, making the air smell fresh even though you were so far below ground. It was amazing, and part of you wished you could have stayed. However, you knew that there was much more pressing matters, and so you quickly moved along with Iroh and Aang into another chamber to hopefully find the prisoners you were looking for.

Aang burst through another wall of stone, and quickly disappeared through the hole as you and Iroh followed.

“Aang!” A girl shouted before embracing him, and you barely put it together that this must be ‘Katara’ before your feet had carried you to Zuko, and hugged him tightly. You yielded this, however, to Iroh, who hugged him with just as much relief as you felt in your heart.

“Uncle, I don’t understand,” Zuko said, a malice you didn’t recognize glinting in his eyes. “What are you doing with the avatar?”

“Saving you, that’s what,” Aang said, and Zuko began to lunge before Iroh caught his chest. You flinched- this wasn’t the boy you knew at all.

“Zuko, it’s time we talked,” Iroh told him, then looking at Aang and Katara. “Go help your other friends. We’ll catch up with you.” Aang and Katara turned away while you stood still, but Iroh turned to you. “You as well. It’ll be alright.” You nodded, and raced down the tunnel after Katara.

“We’ve gotta find Sokka and Toph!” Katara shouted, but you couldn’t answer her before you heard roaring behind you. You didn’t recognize the sound, but when you turned and saw blue fire, nothing could’ve prepared you.

This wasn’t in your training. It wasn’t in your index of attacks to react to. You had no idea what to do- if it wasn’t for Aang and the wall that he raised, you would’ve surely been charred on the spot.

You didn’t recognize the girl that had shot it, but you felt that it was safe to assume it must’ve been Azula.

Katara raced around the wall and picked up water, revealing herself as a powerful water bender before your eyes. The fight between her and Azula created a cloud of steam, and you staggered back even further from Aang’s wall, your chest rising and falling quickly.

You were panicking.

All of that training, everything that your instructors had ever done to harden your will and sharpen your reaction time, it stood nothing against this. This, with the sister of the guy you were crushing on shooting blue fire at the avatar, and you weren’t even sure who’s side you should be on.

That was stupid, of course you knew you should be on the avatar’s side. But something in your head whispered doubts- she was Zuko’s sister. She was the leader of the Dai Li, who you belonged to.

Azula appeared from the steam and shot two fireballs at Aang and Katara, who were forty or so feet in front of you. You just watched, dumbfounded, and realized quickly that she wasn’t aiming at you. She wasn’t targeting you at all.

She landed on a column, which Aang rocked beneath her, and she fell down to stand between Aang and Katara, her back to you. She kept her hands pointed at both of them, but suddenly, her attention turned toward you.

“You’re Y/N, right?” She asked, and your eyes widened. “I remember you. You’re a very impressive cadet, you could be an asset to me. I control the Dai Li, now, and so your allegiance is to me.”

Just for a moment, Katara’s gaze turned to you, wondering if there was any truth to that statement.

Was there?

A fireball impacted the ground between Aang and Azula and you staggered backward, looking up for the source of the flame.

Zuko. Relief filled your chest- at least you knew for sure you were on his side.

As though time was frozen, you watched as he turned his ready stance from aiming at Aang, to aiming at Azula, and your tension melted away. You could fight beside Zuko and the avatar and Katara, and surely between the four of you the princess would be defeated.

Then, from your position fifty feet behind Aang, you saw Zuko’s eyes land on the avatar.

The calmness drifted away, and all you saw was rage.

Fire blasted toward Aang, and he couldn’t avoid the plume, his air bending keeping him from harm but also sending him back beside you. Zuko’s fire kept coming, and you threw up a wall in front of you, turning to the side with your body made into a smaller target out of pure fear.

Zuko had turned on Aang. He’d shot fire at Aang- he’d shot fire at you.

Aang leapt away to continue his battle, which left you behind your wall of stone, paralyzed with fear and indecision and betrayal and anger and sadness.

Didn’t you know Zuko at all? That look in his eye... you had never seen that before. There was pure rage inside him, and you couldn’t understand it, you couldn’t comprehend how this was the boy you’d cared for.

You heard fire roaring throughout the cave, and the whooshing of the wind that Aang sent back. Rocks clattered to the floor and water shot around the cavern, and it was all too much, the sounds of martial arts and groaning and impacts, you couldn’t get a clear thought through your mind.

“I thought you had changed!” Katara’s yell echoed off the rocks, and just for a moment your hands lifted from your temple. Was she talking to Zuko?

“I have changed,” he answered, and it was in the silence that followed that you made up your mind, finally.

Zuko was on the wrong side of this war. Not as you’d thought.

You heard a yelp from Katara and brought up a hunk of earth underneath you, launching you across the cave and into a defensive position in front of her with a battle cry. Both Azula and Zuko seemed surprised by this decision, but before any of you could react, the rumbling of Aang’s reemergence interrupted the fight. They turned their attention to him, which gave you the moment to send a hunk of stone into both of their abdomens, knocking them backward. However, your eyes turned up with the sound of Dai Li stone chains, and you couldn’t pull your limbs in tight enough to avoid their sudden grip on you.

“No,” you snarled as Katara woke, and brought a ring of water around the both of you. You stood back to back with her, small finger movements slowly dissembling the stone chains around your wrists so you could help her in the fight.

But there were too many agents- you knew you couldn’t take them all on. Not even with a master waterbender at your back.

A gust of wind surprised you, and you broke free in time to see Aang rise from shattered crystal inside a beam of light. It was amazing- and you were stunned into awe.

Lightning struck the avatar.

Katara nearly drowned you in the wave she created, but you pulled up a slab of stone just in time to surf on it behind her, just like you had on summer days in Lake Laogai. Mowing down Dai Li agents, and the royal siblings, the two of you raced toward the falling avatar, before he was caught by Katara. Soaked, exhausted, and tears blurring your vision, you stood between her and the siblings, who walked toward her, as though they were predators, and she an easy meal.

Though you knew you should be watching them both, your eyes were on Zuko. Maybe, there was some of Lee left in him, and seeing you would bring it back. But his eyes were firmly on the dead-or-dying avatar, hungry, predatory, and your heart shattered.

Fire cut off their path and you looked up to see Iroh, who leapt down in front of even you.

“You’ve got to get out of here!” He shouted, looking back at you. “I’ll hold them off for as long as I can!” Katara stood and you joined her on Aang’s other side, carrying the avatar toward a waterfall, the sound of fire roaring behind you.

It was terrifying.

“Hold onto him!” Katara shouted, her grip tight on the avatar as she used her other hand to bend an upward spiral around the three of you.

You watched Iroh face Zuko until the rock covered your vision, and you closed your eyes.

Back on Appa, you kneeled behind Sokka, one eye keeping a watch on Katara as she attempted to heal Aang. But mostly, you gripped Appa’s fur, and cried.

The Dai Li had lied to you. Zuko and Iroh had lied to you. The Dia Li turned on you. Zuko turned on you. Zuko turned on Iroh, Azula killed the avatar. Everything was so messed up, beyond proportion, skewed beyond belief. The boy you thought you might’ve loved...

He’d never existed in the first place.

And though the avatar lived, you laid your forehead to the bison’s back, and sobbed.

tag list for this series- @furblrwurblr @eridanuswave

oh yeah request for pt 6 /// already been requested y’all are fine

edit: | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 |

-🦌 Roe

[forever--rain]

A Master List of Ever’s Fics

G-Rated:

Wind-Songs in the Pines

Pairings: Zutara, minor Sukka

Summary: Life on idyllic Kyoshi Island hasn't been the same for Katara since her mother passed away. Still, she has high hopes for the future: college, a career, world travel... Confident in her intelligence and armed with a keen sense of confidence, Katara aims to accomplish all of this and more. But always on the periphery is Zuko with his knife-sharp intelligence and his knack for showing up whenever there's trouble. Katara knows what he represents, and it's nothing that bodes well for her plans.

Critical Information: This is an Anne of Green Gables-inspired AU! (No background knowledge of AOGG necessary.) REALLY fun, super sweet! Give this baby some love!

Status: In progress

The Answer

Pairings: Zutara

Summary: Mai, Katara, and the moments where yes was not the answer. (And the moment where it was the only answer.)

Status: Completed; short one-shot

T-Rated:

All the Lights are Shining

Pairings: Zutara, minor Sukka, minor Tyzula

Summary: The amber-eyed woman can’t help the smirk that tugs at her lips. She’s looking to help Zuko to do something of a one-eighty in his love life. That means any girl he gets involved with must also be a one-eighty from Mai. Though Azula treasures Mai, loves her dearly, even, she and Zuko had been a poor match, a miscalculation that Azula does not intend to make again.

“Listen,” Azula says with a sigh. “He comes off surly and prickly, but he’s not. He’s shy and he lacks the confidence to talk to pretty girls. If you’re interested in him, you’ll have to make the first move.”

Blue Eyes scoffs a laugh. “I’ve dated guys like your brother before,” she says. “I won’t make that mistake again. Hard pass.”

--

Zuko just wants to get through the winter solstice without acknowledging its existence. Thanks to Uncle, Azula, and a secret society, he may just end up getting into the holiday spirit and finding exactly what he wasn't looking for in the first place.

Critical Information: Rating may change

Status: In progress

Your Soul has Crushed Mountains

Pairings: Minor Zutara, minor Sukka

Summary: “It never turns out to be what people make it out to be does it?” she says. “Life, I mean. Five years ago we were all just trying to make it to the next day in one piece and now…”

“Now we don’t know what to do with the multitude of days that follow.”

____

Or: Five years post-war, six young women learn the advantages of being what and who they are.

Critical Information: A post-war fix-it fic that focuses on female friendships and giving the ladies of ATLA better endings than the creators gave them. Because we all know Bry.ke shafted them. It’s my intention to keep romantic storylines to a minimum, but there will be some because I am a hopeless Zutara and Sukka shipper.

Status: In progress

Partners in Learning

Pairings: Zutara

Summary: All of Izumi’s teachers prior to this one have used the term “partners in learning.” But never before has it seemed true. And now, here he is, eyeballs deep in markers and glitter glue, somehow the most involved parent in the classroom.

----

In which Izumi idolizes her new teacher and Zuko falls a little bit in love.

Critical Information: single dadko; minor character death

Status: Completed; long one-shot

Kisses

Pairings: Zutara

Summary: A series of Zutara kisses inspired by prompts given to me on Tumblr.

Status: In progress

Ten Strides in the Right Direction

Pairings: Zutara, minor Sukka

Summary: These coming days will bring darkness and destruction, but if these little flecks of happiness continue to blaze through the bleak blackness, then nothing that is bad will prevail.

Critical Information: Book 3 AU

Status: Completed

M-Rated

Covered in You

Pairings: Zutara, mentions of Sukka

Summary: Zuko can’t keep a Southern Water Tribe ambassador to save his life. Ten years post-war and he’s gone through eight of them. They all keep leaving to get married and start families. The Fire Lord is getting desperate.

Critical Information: Ambassador Katara and Fire Lord Zuko; post-canon fix-it; so much pining it’s a forest...like...a REALLY dense forest

Status: Completed

Lost in You Still

Pairings: Zutara, minor Sukka, minor Kata.ang, minor Ma.iko

Summary: Something unknown and unspoken is entombed underneath it all. It’s calling to her, daring her to burrow deeper, enticing her with the temptation to unbury something well-hidden and deeply felt. And Zuko has long been such an enigma, such a beacon in her life that Katara dares, just for one moment, to reach out and touch that unknown emotion, brushing the edges of it with her subconscious.

____

The night after the final Agni Kai sends out shockwaves that ripple into the future and demolish several idealized views of destiny.

Critical Information: Infidelity, major character death, post canon fix-it except I set everything on fire and it hurts. If you’d like to read this and want a hand to hold, my ask box and DMs are open.

Status: Complete

A Delicate Balance

Pairings: Zutara, minor Sukka

Summary: Katara is a person of layers and complexity as much as Zuko is, but something about the way he casts his golden eyes at her often makes her feel like he can peel her defenses back and see right to the center of her soul. Exchanging one glance with him can induce her to feel utterly bare and startlingly seen—for everything that she is.

There are some things Katara doesn’t talk to Zuko about. The way she feels when he looks at her is one of them.

--

Or, the twenty-four hours that change the dynamics of a relationship.

Critical Information: Modern AU, friends to lovers

Status: Completed

[melzula]

fire lilies blurb where mai and zuko have that reunion at the boiling rock and when zuko and sokka return zuko starts acting weird and the princess wants to know what happened

a/n: so I kind of referenced this in the Suki piece but I’ve elaborated a bit more in this piece here

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

You watch the waves crash against the ocean shore from the balcony of the royal family’s beach house, the moonlight glistening against the deep blue water and illuminating the beauty of the element. Inside everyone is getting settled for the night in their own perspective rooms; there are enough for everybody, but the team still decides to buddy up and share. Though no one cares to admit it, you’ve grown accustomed to sleeping in each other’s presence, and without the added company none of you would be comfortable enough to rest. You and Suki had agreed to share a room together, Azula’s old room in fact, but you didn’t feel like turning in for the night just yet, so now you stood gazing up at the moon and admiring Yue’s eternal beauty.

“Suki said you’d be here,” Zuko says gently so as to not startle you, joining you on your place against the railing. Already you can feel the heat radiating off of him, and as he stands beside you looking out at the water you can’t help but remember the days lived out on his Fire Nation ship. How times had changed.

“I’m not ready to go to bed just yet,” you reply with a faint smile, your gaze never once leaving the water. “Seeing the ocean reminds me of home.”

“Do you ever regret leaving?”

“I used to. But I know now that this is where I’m supposed to be, helping Aang defeat your father and end the war, and I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. I was meant to leave, and even though our split tore me apart I think that was meant to happen, too,” you murmur thoughtfully. “We had to follow our own paths and fulfill our own destinies and grow as our own people before fate decided it was time we be together again.”

“I’m so happy you’ve decided to forgive me,” Zuko declares with earnest as he takes both of your hands in his own and meets your tender gaze. He hesitates then, unsure how to proceed with the next bit of information he has to tell you, and you’re quick to notice.

“But?” You prod gently.

“But there’s one more thing we need to talk about before we can begin repairing our relationship.”

Helping you to the floor, Zuko sits the two of you down and keeps one of your hands clasped securely between his own. Your face is understanding and receptive; you’ve already been through the hard part of your relationship, whatever life decides to throw at you next you’ll be able to handle.

“I knew I loved you the day I watched you heal that sick baby koala otter when we were children, and since then all I ever wanted was to be with you. But no one knew about us other than Azula, and my sister also happened to know that there was another girl who sought out my attention. I pushed her into a fountain once to save her from a burning apple,” Zuko notes with a faint smile, his nostalgia beginning to wash over him as he recounts the tale. Things had been so simple then. “She was a good friend, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t aware of the feelings she had for me. But my heart was set on a certain water tribe Princess, and so I never really gave it a second thought.”

Your smile is faint at Zuko’s words but you begin to shift uncomfortably as you realize where this story is going. You have no reason to be jealous and no need to be angry— Zuko is with you now and whatever he had with other girls during your time apart was a thing of the past. Still, you weren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of him seeing someone else, especially not after what had gone down between you, but if you wanted this relationship to work you had to be open and receptive to whatever Zuko felt would be necessary to completely patch things up between you. The truth was a big part of that, so you forced your unpleasant emotions down and remained neutral as he continued on with his recounting.

“She was there in Ba Sing Se when everything happened, and she convinced me to return to the Fire Nation when I had planned to stay behind in the city. Mai was... well, she was different from what I was used to after being with you for so long, but she was also something familiar from my old life in the Fire Nation. I thought being with her could help me start over, help me forget about you and the Avatar so that things could be normal again. But no matter how much I tried I could never stop thinking about you. Even in my sleep I could see your heartbroken face.”

“I started dating Mai because I believed it was what my father wanted and would help me fit in again, and even though I didn’t love her I thought maybe eventually I could. But that was wrong of me, and I never should have relied on her to help me cover up my mistakes,” Zuko admits quietly, remorse clear in his eyes. He can almost hear her yelling at him just as she had back on Boiling Rock, anger and betrayal clear in her tone. Did you ever even love me?!

“I broke up with her before I left to come join your group, and I told her there was someone else. I told her I was still in love with you and had to make things right between us, even if it was at her expense. But despite how terrible I was, she still turned against my sister to help us escape. I never knew she loved me that much, and I hope one day we can be friends, but for now I thought you should know why I was acting so strange when Sokka and I got back.”

“She sounds very brave,” you admit with a weak smile, leaning into Zuko’s touch as he gently cups your cheek in his palm. Reaching up to hold tightly onto his hand, your eyes meet him with a sense of unease, “Were you... I mean, did you...”

“Our time together lasted a year, and we did kiss. But it didn’t mean anything, not when I was still so hung up over you,” he explains quietly. “But I wanted to let you know so there’d be no more secrets between us.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

“Are you angry?”

“I’m a little uncomfortable thinking about you with someone else, but I’m not angry,” you say. “It’s in the past, and right now our only focus is the future. We’re together now and that’s all that matters to me.”

A faint smile appears on Zuko’s features as he leans forward and rests his forehead against your own, gifting you with a soft kunik, an act of affection you’ve always been fond of.

“I think you should get some rest,” Zuko offers. “Katara’s planning a beach day for tomorrow.”

“You’re probably right,” you smile before pulling away from the boy and rising up from the ground. You offer your hand to him and help him up off his feet before wrapping your arms tightly around his torso for a hug. “Goodnight Zuko.”

“Goodnight, Princess,” he replies gently, making sure to press a careful kiss to your forehead before letting you go. He waits to make sure you get to your room without any trouble then goes off to retire to his own for the night, the weight that had been hanging over his shoulders since he’d arrived finally beginning to disappear.

| tags: @rainteslerrrr @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @coldlilheart @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @zukh03s @titaniafire @dekahg @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @lozzybowe @izzieserra @melacholy @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @djskfkdkkf @xapham @yeetletzgetitjae @misnmatchedsox |

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

I'm very curious to hear your take on Zuko as a disabled character? All of your analyses of disability in fiction have been very interesting to read so far, thank you for sharing your thoughts/expertise.

Thank you!  Follow-on from this post about Toph.

What I mean by saying Zuko is a disabled character: the social model of disability basically states that disability is any bodily difference that gets problematized and/or treated as abnormal by society.  This definition includes facial differences, AKA any scarring, skin marking, and so on that leads to staring by nondisabled society or other forms of stigma based on the person’s appearance.  Part of the reason for this inclusion is about complicating the disabled-nondisabled dichotomy; facial difference and facial scarring are identities within that framework.  Part of the reason comes from the U.S.’s history of Ugly Laws, which literally made it illegal for people with facial differences to appear in public in some cities as late as 1974.  Part of it is the huge overlap between ableism (giving more privileges to the nondisabled) and lookism (giving more privileges to the normatively beautiful).

Avatar: The Last Airbender has some high-quality anti-ableism in showing Zuko’s story, including how other characters respond to Zuko and how Zuko’s appearance informs but does not define his characterization.

One of the ways this comes out is by turning nondisabled characters’ gaze back on them:

In “The Serpent’s Pass,” Jet says to Zuko “You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were…” and then goes on to describe his almost hilariously wrong conclusion that Zuko’s a Freedom Fighter waiting to happen because Zuko’s village was presumably also destroyed by the Fire Nation.  We get to see Zuko’s moment of terror that he actually has been recognized turn into incredulity as he then gets invited to join a guerrilla force opposing everything he (currently) stands for.  Jet looks stupid for jumping to conclusions based on appearances.

In both “Zuko Alone” and “The Cave of Two Lovers,” that same jumping-to-conclusions works in Zuko’s favor, because both Song’s mother and Li’s parents assume that anyone with a burn scar must be a veteran of the fight against the Fire Nation.  Again, the emphasis is on the fact that the people judging Zuko based on his appearance are wrong.

In “The Chase,” Azula becomes the only person we ever see mock Zuko for his appearance, when she covers her own left eye to draw out the “family resemblance” for Aang.  The moment gets a horrified reaction out of Aang — Zuko’s his enemy, but Aang also realizes that this is a nasty thing to do — and helps to establish Azula as not just a villain, but a sadistic one.

In “The Beach,” Zuko blows up at Ty Lee for commenting that stress can cause breakouts.  His response is unnecessarily mean-spirited, but it also draws attention to the relative level of privilege (the biggest skin problem she has to worry about is acne) that informed her careless comment.

In “Crossroads of Destiny,” Zuko assumes that, when Katara calls him “the face of the enemy,” it’s a way of calling him frightening to look at — and it’s Katara who looks like a jerk for implying it, even accidentally.

The other big way that this comes out is clapping back at the implied treatment of disability as demanding explanation, or the “But why are you like this?” form of ableism:

The show makes it clear that Zuko does not owe anyone — not Song, not Li, not Jet, not his crew, not his friends — an explanation for why he looks the way he does.  None of the Gaang ever ask Zuko what happened, and the few characters who do (Li, Song, Lieutenant Jee) don’t end up looking good when they do so.

“The Cave of Two Lovers” clearly underlines the show’s theme of “my body, my business” in the scene where Song tries to touch Zuko’s face.  The tone (including literal musical tones) signals that Song is being inappropriate and invasive.  It’s understandable that she wants to make a connection, but it’s also emphatically not okay to touch body parts of strangers one has not received permission to touch.

To be clear, taking people’s ostrich-horses is also not okay, Zuko, but Baby’s First Grand Theft Auto helps drive home just how thoroughly Song has let her curiosity and rudeness sour a budding connection.  It also shows that, while she’s right that she and Zuko have some things in common, she has privileges he lacks because she doesn’t have to disclose her scars if she doesn’t feel like it.  Plus, that moment contrasts to Katara and Mai both touching Zuko’s cheek — Katara just after they’ve shared a moment of vulnerability, Mai just before they start smooching — because they’re both doing so in a way that’s respectful to Zuko himself.

When he wakes up from a dream of turning into Aang, the first thing Zuko does is touch his left eye to make sure he’s still himself.  It’s part of his identity, and the only time we see adolescent Zuko without it (earlier in the dream sequence) it’s a way of showing that Zuko isn’t truly himself.

Zuko grapples with the fact that he’s always going to bear evidence of having survived abuse, and a big part of his character journey is concluding that he’s free to make whatever meaning he chooses of that scar, regardless of what Ozai might’ve intended.

There are other elements of Zuko’s story the Avatar writers do well.  He bears a superficial resemblance to the thousands of villains (especially in SF) who become villainous because they incur facial scarring, but of course his story is infinitely more humanized and nuanced than “skin bleached in a vat of acid, might as well go rob banks now.”  His appearance incurs very different reactions depending on his current wealth and political power, emphasizing the intersections of disability and imperialism.  He discusses the possibility of a cure with Katara, but also goes on to live a long and fulfilling life without one.

Maybe there’s no clearer evidence that Zuko counts as disabled in the sense of “society treats your body as a problem that needs to be solved” than the way that adaptations of AtLA treat the scar.  They tend to minimize, hide, or otherwise avoid it.

[Image description: Sepia-toned image of the Gaang from a Legend of Korra promotional that appeared on the Nickelodeon website.  Zuko has his head turned and his hair swept forward in such a way that none of the left side of his face is visible.]

[Image description: Screenshot of Zuko from the 2010 adaptation The Last Airbender.  Dev Patel has a very subtle amount of makeup meant to convey minimal scarring around his left eye.]

Like I said: facial difference counts as a disability because society treats it like one.  In the social model, that’s what counts rather than, for instance, how much peripheral vision Zuko does or doesn’t have.

I’m not linking to any of many works of fan art that depict Zuko tilted to the right, occasionally even when other characters are presented facing directly ahead.  Nor am I going to link to any of the equally-plentiful works of fan fiction that keep most other elements of canon the same but specify that Zuko’s face is unscarred.  (A similar number, it’s worth noting, also make Toph sighted.)  This isn’t a callout.  It’s an explanation of how Avatar does an effective job of showing how Zuko’s facial difference informs his identity without making that difference the sum total of his identity.