#Ozai kidnapped Ursa.

[shadelorde]

Why do so many people unironically think the Fire Nation is the misogyny-less “girlboss” nation. What the fuck.

[ask-ozai]

Hi, Phoneix king Ozai! If somehow Zuko gives you freedom, what will you do? Will you try to usurp the throne ? Or will you try to make the world a better place with the help of the avatar (or atleast try to help the fire nation(For that you should become Zuko's minister)) ? Or will you try to have some daddy-daughter time with your daughters? Or Will you try impress your excess wife? Or will you decide to have a brand new family? .....

How will you try to spend your time ????

-From your foreverloyalist

It makes very little sense to think about that possibility, even as a fantasy. I am not delusional yet and the soup may have cactus juice in it, but not that much. Zuko's reign is already fragile enough with me and Azula still alive. And that fragility has forced him to resort to one of the oldest strategies in populism: blaming the previous government. That is, me. Zuko cannot afford to free me even if I could solve all of the nation's problems. (And I can, but Zuko insists on making things harder than they have to be with that human rights nonsense. They're going to eat him alive).

But let's pretend for a moment that Zuko one day hits his head and starts making good decisions like getting me out of here: he would still be forced to confine me to house arrest for the rest of my life (where I would at least have access to a bathroom and a bed, although probably not to better food, Zuko is determined that only I eat this soup) or banish me. He can't afford the luxury of freeing me or many people would try to organize a coup. Even the worst idiot knows this, so there's no way Zuko doesn't know it.

But let's continue developing the fantasy and say that he somehow decides that it is best to banish me. I think the first thing I would do is trying to get Azula out of the madhouse. (If she hasn't escaped yet, the information on this is very confusing). Although it would be very difficult to achieve. Freeing Azula is the one thing Zuko would never do, because everyone would prefer Azula on the throne instead of him. The people would prefer Azula. The court would prefer Azula. Even Zuko would prefer Azula. My son makes very bad decisions, but I want to believe that he is not self destructive on purpose.

Which would leave me with only one purpose in life: to do whatever it takes to get my firebending back.

When Zhao returned from his year-long stay with the giant owl he told me that on the island where Iroh killed the last dragon, people have secrets about healing and firebending (in the case of anything Zhao said back then could be trusted, I don't forget that he came back convinced that destroying the moon was a good idea). Unlike Iroh and my father, I never believed much in the importance of spirituality. But my will and perseverance have always been made of steel. I was the best firebender in the world not only because of the power I was born with, but also because of the strength of my character.

You mentioned my wife (Because Ursa is my wife, no matter how many playthings she has. We don't have divorces here like the savages from the Earth Kingdom) and my second daughter (Because it's absurdly obvious that the child is mine no matter how much Ursa insists she's a bastard. She melted a huge steel door, for Agni's sake. What even is wrong with Ursa). It's not a bad idea to take them with me on my quest to recover my bending, after throwing Ikea off the balcony. It would save time, since they would eventually return to my side anyway. Kiyi has immense potential that should not be wasted making wooden swords with Ikea. Most likely I would have to kidnap them, however, but they would get over it. And then it would be possible to get Azula out of the madhouse.

We would give Zuko a taste of his own soup medicine.

[somewhereincairparavel]

people really downplay how genuinely AFRAID Ursa was for Azula, when she started displaying tendencies of unstable sadistic behaviour (burning the wooden duck without a thought, burning the doll iroh gave, wanting her uncle and grandfather to die, ecstatic that her brother was going to be killed, not caring about lu tens death etc) Azula was more or less a child who needed extra care, azula was psychologically affected even as a child, this kind of thing requires effort from BOTH parents, something Ursa wasn't able to provide for her, but with valid reasons.

Just put yourself in Ursa's place? What could you even do to correct that behaviour when you KNOW it would only be encouraged by your abusive sadist husband anyway? Ursa did correct azula for her behaviour in two instances, both of which didn't do much at all.

Ozai would only do something to steer azula away from her mother if she had any postive influence on azula, so I don't get why people are so quick to blame Ursa. There seriously wasn't much there could be done in azulas situation as long as ozai is in the picture.

The reason Ursa found it easier to be with Zuko is because ozai didn't care about him at all and wouldn't have done anything to keep him away from her because ozai only focused on his daughter's external influence. He basically threw Zuko away to his mom in a "you can have the defective child" type of way.

[blorboazula]

perhaps an unpopular opinion, but "noble born and raised Ursa who chose to marry Ozai" is much more interesting than "farmgirl Ursa basically kidnapped to be breeding stock for powerful firebenders".

[phoenix-king-ozai]

You gotta wonder what comic Ozai was thinking when his dad just goes up to him and basically says he has to marry some girl he's never met for the sake of the bloodline and have children with her even though he won't get the throne anyway.

I think it depends on certain factors. According to the ATLA comics, Ozai is at least a decade Ursa's senior. It is possible that Ozai already had a lover who was closer to his age and possibly had to abandon that relationship due to the Fire Sage's prophecy and Fire Lord Azulon's demand. Regardless of Ozai’s own wishes and desires regarding his own marriage and love life.

However, the comics try to make Ozai an irredeemable monster and caricature of a villain. So this interpretation is too sympathetic. Even though the original ATLA creators and OG ATLA Wiki on Nickelodeon stated that Ursa was raised as royalty and was the perfect betrothed and possible wife for Fire Prince Ozai.

However, Zuko’s flashbacks showed that Ozai did make an effort to try to be a good father and husband to Ursa and their children. The good memories of the Fire Nation Royal Family on Ember Island hurt Zuko and Azula during the Beach episode. This is why Zuko desired Ozai's love, respect, and admiration from him. If Ozai was only a cruel bastard to his family and son why would Zuko want to go back to his father and homeland to be abused again?

The Search Comics by Yang just took the most stereotypical, uninteresting, and non-complex lazy route regarding the Urzai relationship. Ursa is a good woman! Ozai is a bad man! She must have been kidnapped and physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually abused! This is why Yang goes out of his way to demonize Ozai and bastardize his characteristics for his own personal fanfic OOC named Ikem. Yang has a horrible habit of adding new uninteresting characters into other established characters' lives. Yang destroyed Urzai with Ikem and also Maiko with Kei Lo.

Even though I don't think Ozai was Prince Charming regarding Ursa initially due to her being the granddaughter of Avatar Roku and possibly being a non-bender. Ursa possibly could have been seen as a blood traitor by the royal court and Fire Nation nobility and royalty due to Avatar Roku attacking and stopping Fire Lord Sozin during his early stages of imperial conquest until he died on Ember Island giving Sozin the chance to end the Avatar Cycle by killing the Air Nomads. However, I do believe that Ozai eventually warmed up to Ursa and bonded with her by the time they had Zuko and Azula. We even see Ozai be quiet and somber regarding her favorite spot by the Turtleduck pond after her banishment and disappearance.

[atla-confessions]

Kinda dislike how the search handled Ursa.

I mean, let her be a noble. What's wrong with it? She laughs at the downfall of Ba Sing Se because she herself believes in the Fire Nation's propoganda.

Just, what would've been wrong if she was a noble woman? What would be wrong if she, infact, wasn't kidnapped to marry?

The comic tried way too hard to make Ozai into a heartless monster, when it's not even necessary. It was obvious their relationship was strained. It was obvious Ozai was a corrupt man, it was obvious he was abusive.

The whole way she played a role in the death of Firelord Azulon doesn't make sense when Ozai said she did a wicked thing that day.

Ursa, was compassionate, however, she was morally complex, and inturn it feels like, to me, that there are two Ursas somehow.

X

[wileycap]

[spoilers for ATLA]

I have this fanfic story idea for Avatar, and I want to write some of it out.

The basic premise is: What if Iroh had gone the other way after his son's death, becoming more warlike instead of more peaceful - but Ozai still executes his power grab, and they essentially end up ruling two opposing kingdoms?

After Lu Ten dies, Iroh subjugates Ba Sing Se in grief. He doesn't go full villain, no massacring the civilians on purpose or anything, but he does lay waste to the city, takes the young King Kuei hostage and, as a treat, kills Long Feng. (I really dislike Long Feng.)

Meanwhile, Ozai goes ahead with his plan. Azulon reacts much the same, but he does the ever-popular fic thing of giving Ozai's heirs to Iroh. "You must know the pain of losing a firstborn son!" And, furthermore, he manages to get a hawk out to Iroh, that both of Ozai's children have been written out of his lineage and into Iroh's.

Ozai conspires to kill Azulon by blackmailing Ursa. For her treason, Ursa is banished, as in canon, and Ozai takes the throne.

But the balance of power has shifted. The Earth Kingdom, bolstered by Iroh's legions, is now a contender for total world domination - and that's not exactly a disagreeable state of affairs for a lot of Earth Kingdom kings and generals, who pledge loyalty to Iroh.

Meanwhile, Ozai's Fire Nation controls the seas, but they are quickly losing ground in the Earth Kingdom. The newly crowned Ozai is facing immense amounts of domestic pressure, and responds by cracking down on the homeland, making the already totalitarian state even more totalitarian. The Fire Nation still holds the advantage in the war, but their edge is shrinking more and more by the moment, as many of their best legions were in the Earth Kingdom and are now loyal to Iroh.

To legitimize his rule, Ozai spreads the story that Ursa had been working with Iroh to murder Azulon, and that rather than being a conqueror and a ruler, Iroh is now a hostage for the Earth Kingdom - a puppet to exert influence over the Fire Nation. And furthermore, as she fled, the traitor Ursa had done the unthinkable - kidnapped a member of the royal family!

Meanwhile, Ursa does make it to the Earth Kingdom and to Iroh. And true to the story being spread in the Fire Nation, she does have one of her children with her...

Azula.

Who, upon seeing the Earth Kingdom subjugated under Iroh, isn't actually very upset about the whole thing. In fact, she's excited: with Zuko stuck in the homeland and her here at the side of the leader whom she now views as the stronger one, with Azulon's letter proving that she is meant to be Iroh's heir... her prospects of becoming the ruler of the entire world, not just the Fire Nation, are beginning to look pretty good. And all she has to do is make sure to kill dear old Dad and Zuzu at some point. And help Iroh win the war. And stay in Iroh's favour, because if Iroh is anything like her father (he isn't, but Azula doesn't know that), he's more than ready to cast her aside if she proves unsatisfactory. So, bring on the tea and Pai Sho: Azula is both patient and an excellent liar.

Iroh, however, is beginning to feel his character development. He would now be content with pushing the Fire Nation back and ruling the Earth Kingdom in the name of his lost son. But Ursa pleads with him: Zuko is still in the Fire Nation. He is in danger. They have to win the war, or at least rescue Zuko.

And what about Zuko? Zuko looks at the situation: his mother and sister disappear, his uncle and father are at war, his dad probably had his grandpa killed, the Fire Nation is slowly going to hell and now his dad is acting suspiciously nice to him. (Well, he is the only heir Ozai has left.) He thinks about it for a while, and decides to get going while the going is good, and just so happens to run into a recently disgraced Lieutenant named Jee, who thinks he might be able to get them a ship and a crew, and hey, the areas near the South Pole are supposed to be pretty far from the war, and what's that huge beam of light on the horizon?

Any thoughts?

[stardust948]

The Apothecary Diaries Urzai AU where Ursa is kidnapped from her village and forced to work in the palace. She quickly rises the ranks thanks to her herbalist and healing knowledge. During this she forms a bond with Prince Ozai, having a rivals to almost lovers arc with him. It all comes to head when Ozai recruits Ursa in his plan to poison Firelord Azulon.

[kawaiichibiart]

You voted for it, let's develop my Kya Lives AU

For those who haven't read through it, my Kya Lives AU explores the idea of Kya being kept alive in the FN as Ursa's servant, rather than in prison. While she could have been locked away, they didn't want to give her that luxury. It was also because they wanted her be around when the real last SWT waterbender was found. They'd be killed and Kya would be forced to watch as they die. That way she'd see her failure before she, too, was ultimately killed. This is also why, when they find out she isn't the real last SWT waterbender, she isn't killed on the spot.

From there, she Ursa develop a mutual companionship, which turns into a cautious friendship, neither woman wanting to lower their guards at first. After all, while both are nonbenders, both must have skills elsewhere that should be taken seriously.

Time goes on and the search for the last SWT waterbender becomes an afterthought. The FN has a war to win, chances are they might have killed the last waterbender from the South Pole and not known. Kya's living on edge, careful when she speaks of her family and home to Prince Zuko who has taken an interest in it.

And then Prince Lu Ten dies. The Siege of Ba Sing Se fails and Prince Iroh goes "missing" after he pulls back his men. Ozai goes to present his children to Azulon, and we know how the rest goes. Azula overhears Azulon tell Ozai that he has to feel the pain of losing a firstborn son by losing his own, she tells Zuko Ozai is going to kill him, Ursa intervenes and kills Azulon after making a deal with Ozai so he can become Firelord. Not the best retelling of what happened, but you get the idea.

This where we once again, leave canon behind. Because they're sorta friends now, Ursa tells Kya about what she plans to do and offers to make a deal with her. Help her get her children out of the FN, and she'll help her go home. It's risky, but Kya jumps at the chance to go home. She gets Zuko, Ursa gets Azula, and they get the fuck out as fast as they can.

At first, things are tense. Azula is fully blaming Zuko for what happened, fighting with her mom, demanding to be returned home, and snapping at Kya whenever she tries to intervene. She's upset she got dragged along, because had she been asked, she would have preferred to stay in the FN with her father.

Zuko is also blaming himself, knowing, whether his father was actually going to kill him or not, he should have just not let Azula get to him. They're on the run because of him. For once Azula has to be right, right?

Ursa and Kya are just trying to get by. They'll separate the two kids whenever their fights get bad, and will take turns watching them as one of them goes gets supplies. It isn't an ideal situation for either of them, honestly why they hadn't split paths earlier is lost to them. Would they split once they find a ship? Would Ursa and her kids literally follow Kya to the South Pole and see to it she reunites with her family? (yes)

Both women have wanted posters up. Posters that paint Kya as a witch, a savage who caused Ursa to kidnap the Crown Prince and Princess. Posters that paint Ursa as an usurper. Since she took the kids, the deal she made with Ozai is essentially void. Her murdering Azulon soon becomes public knowledge and Ozai "worries" she plans to kill his "heirs" as well. This makes traveling more difficult, as know all four of them need to be heavily disguised.

And because they have to be so careful now, a journey that, at longest (like extremely long) it should have been roughly half a year to a year. And it takes them longer. They're doing what they can to get by, but they have several points in time where they have to stop and lay low.

The three FN Royals use fake names (Noriko (obviously), Lee (again obviously), and I haven't chosen one for Azula yet, but part of me really wants to choose Loh for the irony). Kya ends up going by Mera.

As time passes their relationship evolves. Azula and Zuko still fight, but Azula no longer blames him for what happened (he hasn't stopped blaming himself yet). Their fights are moreso petty (not the word I was looking for but whatever, I can't think of the right one) fights (one called the other a name, one was being annoying, one kept making faces at the other, etc.). Kya and Ursa have settled into their friendship. Their journey to the SWT has slowed significantly, and they've lived in several places temporarily, but they do, eventually, reach the South Pole.

Once there, they have to track down Kya's tribe, which in itself is, thankfully, an easier journey. It takes them about a day to find someone who recognizes Kya. And, while weary of the 3 people with her, they lead all 4 of them to the tribe.

Kanna is overjoyed at Kya's return, and upon being asked where Sokka and Katara are, tells her about the Avatar. How he returned and was found by her children. That they left with him to stop the war. And Kya's heard the rumors. But she didn't want to consider the Avatar was traveling with her kids. She'd hoped they were home, safe.

But they were gone, they left to help the Avatar, and as proud as she should (and later would) feel, worry takes a front seat in her mind. Her children were the one thing she hoped to see when she arrived. And they weren't there. She ends up sitting with Kanna, listening as she tells her about what had happened while they were gone. The men had left to help fight the war, something she'd suspected would happen. She knew there a chance Hakoda wouldn't be around when she returned. She'd hoped her family was waiting for her, that Hakoda, Sokka, Katara and Kanna would all welcome her home. That, maybe only her husband would be absent. But only Kanna was there. And while, yes, the rest of the tribe welcomed her home, it's not the same thing. Kanna does her best to reassure her that things will work out. That she'll see all of them again.

If you're wondering about Ursa, Zuko and Azula, yeah they're just sorta...standing there. They don't know what to do. Or rather, Ursa and Azula don't know what to do. Zuko thinks he has the solution.

While some Kya and Kanna go about helping the FN ex-royals settle in, Zuko takes note of where the canoes are. That night, he leaves a note, takes a canoe, and leaves in hope of finding Sokka and Katara. And maybe the Avatar. Maybe. (Queue another mother becoming worried sick, because what the fuck?)

Through his random, whatever the fuck you wanna call it, luck, Zuko manages to survive and arrive in the Earth Kingdom. And we enter the second half of the AU which focuses on Zuko looking for, and eventually joining, the Gaang. The first one he finds is Sokka and that's by pure chance. Sheer luck. And Sokka becomes the first between him and Katara to learn Kya is still alive. That she's home. And he's learning this through this boy, this FN boy who spent a few years living with his mom. This boy who had heard stories about him and his sister. Heard his mom speak about them with so much love and decided he had to meet them. It's a bit overwhelming but...mom's home. Waiting. Waiting for him. For Katara. Maybe even for this weird boy.

Katara, takes this revelation differently. Since Zuko isn't their enemy here (that role belongs to Zhao), her animosity towards him isn't because he's chased them around. It's because, all this time, all these years she's spent blaming herself. Believing she'd gotten her mother killed, that her mom died protecting her. Her mom had been alive this entire time. Telling a FN boy, no, the FN Prince, all about her and Sokka. And while she knows chances are Kya couldn't leave without being hunted or being followed, she hates that she apparently bonded with members of the Royal Family. It wasn't fair. It's not fair. He has no right talking so fondly of her mother. He has no right saying her hugs were comforting. That she told the best stories. He had no right being close to her mom.

Katara is hurting, so a lot of what she says comes out because of that. Things she doesn't mean. Things she knows aren't important or will matter in the end. But she watched as her mother was taken away. As her betrothal necklace was ripped off her neck and tossed in front her crying daughter. Told she might as well have a last reminder of her mother. Her mom was gone and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't been a bender. If only the NWT actually helped them. If she'd just been born earlier or never at all. She doesn't mean what she says.

She knows her mother loves sharing stories, of course she'd tell a little boy if he asked for one. She knows her mom's hugs are comforting, she's been held in one every time she hurt herself, like when she pricked her finger on a needle, or when she got scared, such as the time she accidentally broke the ice under Sokka's feet and he fell through. Her hugs were warm and loving.

She can't help but feel hurt. And it takes her time to apologize, not for how she feels, never because of how she feels, but because of how she let those emotions made her act. For the things she said out of anger. Not just to Zuko, but to her brother, to Aang and Toph.

But she spent 6 years blaming herself and she still blames herself. And she can't help but just feel afraid. She's scared Kya blames her as much as she blames herself. That, when they go home, her mom will look at her in disdain. With nothing but hatred, any love she had for her daughter gone. It's so, stupid, but...

And Katara does eventually become friends with Zuko. The two take to talking, listening as the other vents. She thinks he's a moron for deciding to look for them via a fucking canoe (and now understands her brother's constant prayers to Yue to help him deal with this, he wasn't asking for more crazy benders even if they were cute, and wow was that a way to find out her brother liked boys). But it's also kinda nice, that it was solely because of Kya's stories and worry for them that he decided to look for them.

Not like she can get rid of him, they all got attached.

I've written a lot, so the rest will be in bullet points, feel free to ask about this AU, relationships (the only one I was sure I had planned was Zukka or Zukki):

Kya definitely wanted to leave earlier but wasn't sure how to go about doing so

Because they left the night Azulon left, Zuko doesn't have his scar

That being said, he gets captured in Ba Sing Se with Iroh and upon arriving home, gets one chance to reveal where his mom, sister and Kya are at. When he refuses to say, Ozai burns his face and ships him off the Boiling Rock, which is where he meets Suki for the first time.

Katara's guilt is something she's been hiding for a while. So when Sokka shows up with Zuko and says their mom is alive, that he was told by the FN boy next to him, her emotions slowly begin to break through the wall she built until it broke and she let everything out on everyone. She was hurting and wanted everyone else to feel hurt so she used her words to do that. And while she knows she was wrong to speak to them in the way she did, she was not going to apologize for how she felt.

That also being said, she's genuinely afraid of reuniting with her mom, because she can't help but think of it going wrong. She keeps imagining what her mom will say. How she'd look at her. And when the day comes she can finally see her mom again, she's the last one to do so.

Azula does, eventually, track down her dumdum brother's new friends. She'd hoped he was with them and was more than a little pissed when she learned he got captured by Zhao (I can't remember it correctly, but I think originally I had her catch up with all of them, so prior to Zuko being caught, but I like this more).

Zhao just barely made it out alive. First was his escape from the NWT and his failed siege. The next was when Ozai gave him one last chance to redeem himself. Now he's on his last chance. And he was sure he redeemed himself. He killed the Avatar, he caught the traitor Iroh and brought Prince Zuko home, who then revealed himself as another traitor. His last task? Find Ursa and Azula and the savage woman. Hopefully before the two women corrupted her as they did the Prince.

That's all I'll be sharing for now. A lot of it is things I've written before, some of it is changes I've made and some of it's new. This AU will still go through changes and I do want to go over the relationship between characters, so feel free to ask for certain ones!!

[blluespirit]

atla fics i want to write but in a future investigative journalist kinda way/vibe; some potential ideas:

The Boiling Rock idea 1: a journalist goes to the Boiling Rock Prison, now at the centre of controversy as reports come to light for the first time detailing the horrific abuse endured by prisoners during the war.

The Boiling Rock idea 2: a journalist investigates the rumours that Fire Lord Zuko and Ambassador Sokka broke in, and out of the Fire Nation's most notorious prison, expecting it not to come to fruition, and instead, uncovering one of the most insane stories of the year.

Pentapox: a journalist investigates a mysterious outbreak of the so-called "pentapox" disease that broke out towards the end of the war in the then Fire Nation-occupied city of Omashu, in which a highly documented disease resulted in the release of dozens of Earth Kingdom citizens from the city to stop the spread, despite there being no record of any similar disease then or since.

Azulon, Ursa and Ozai: a journalist decides to take the plunge and investigate the suspicious and frankly disturbing timeline of events that lead to Fire Lord Ozai taking the throne. Through a series of harrowing interviews with previous servants, political experts and even a special interview with the Fire Lord himself, they learn their suspicions of murder and violence were tame compared to the truth.

Ba Sing Se's missing women: a journalist delves into the bizarre series of disappearances of Ba Sing Se women in the final decade of the war and the state secrets that surround it (i.e., all the women the Dai Li brainwashed were people, and there's no way there wasn't some scary as fuck rumours about the Dai Li kidnapping women and then seeing them again, except they no longer have any idea who their loved ones are)

The Blue Spirit: A journalist looks into the bizarre crimes of a masked vigilante who robbed both the rich and the poor, freed the Avatar, and ended their story in the Ba Sing Se catacombs. The story leaves everyone with a lot of questions, and very few answers.

The Boy in the Iceberg: a journalist decides to delve into the truth of what happened to Avatar Aang in between the time he went missing and 100 years later. Through incredible exclusive interviews with Chief Katara and Ambassador Sokka, they learn about the events that led to Aang being discovered, and what it meant to leave their home behind to save the world.

The Freedom Fighters: A journalist and their journey tracking down one of the most well-known resistance groups in the later half of the war as they learn the fate of it's leader and the terrible cost of war on the children that were pushed into fighting.

[hello-nichya-here]

I read a Tumblr post basically saying Ozai r*ped Ursa to get Zuko and Azula. Do you think that's true he's so terrible I just don't see anything else after reading that!! :'( the family is sooooo messed up I'm happy you try to make nice things come out of it despite all the ugly ❤️❤️

Depends on which version of the story we're talking about.

If we're talking about the show canon, Zuko said their family was once happy, and the last thing Ursa says to her son, after finding out her husband is about to kill him, was "Never forget who you are." To me, that suggests that Ozai and Ursa's marriage once was, at the very least, tolerable - the original "backstory" the writers planned for Ursa even mentions her simply being picked to be Ozai's wife because they were a perfect match and they seemingly got along. Maybe it became abusive at some point, maybe it didn't.

As for the comics though? Ozai practically kidnapped her, forced her into marriage, tells her she'll never see her family again, and we see Ursa having panic attacks just by standing outside the door of their bedroom. It's pretty clear that nothing that went on between them was ever consensual.

And not gonna lie, even though I love Zucest with all my heart, I find it funny that me makeing Zuko and Azula fuck can be considered adding some wholesomeness to their awful family XD

[trivial-writing]

I’m back! It’s earlier than I expected. Here’s some updates with the family before we get into the main topic of the post: my brother’s spouse is now cishet. She is currently in therapy right now with my brother. The younger of my older brothers stayed at our house instead of moving out.

On to the main topic of the post. Masculinity and femininity in Avatar the Last Airbender. More specifically, the parallelism between Ozai, Hakoda, and Iroh for masculinity. As for femininity, I want to look at Kya and Ursa. This is mainly going to look at the effects of lacking masculine and feminine figures in a family and how loss affects individuals in the family.

If your tiktok and youtube shorts algorithm is anything like mine, then you keep seeing the Fresh and Fit and Whatever podcasts spew absolute mockery of what they think being a “man” is like. If I were on those podcasts, I would call them boys, because that’s what they are. They are not men. They are boys in a man’s body.

Iroh, however, is a man. He has patience, compassion, confidence, loyalty, wisdom, joy, and other positive traits. HE is the peak of masculinity. I remember when watching Overanalyzing Avatar’s Day of Black Sun analysis, something caught my attention. He said that Iroh was Zuko’s loving father figure and Ozai was Zuko’s actual father. I would disagree. Ozai is Zuko’s fake father. Iroh is Zuko’s actual father. When Zuko lashes out, Iroh doesn’t clap back with equal aggression. When Zuko leaves Iroh, Iroh doesn’t prevent his “nephew” from choosing his decision. Iroh follows Zuko until the “The Chase.” He doesn’t tell Zuko anything. He lets Zuko make his own decisions. After Zuko betrays Iroh, Iroh isn’t mad at his son. He’s sad. He mourns the fact that, in a sense, he lost another son. He mourns Zuko’s path of destruction. After Zuko leaves his first prison visit, we see Iroh crying in his cell. During Tales of Ba Sing Se, Iroh spends his biological son’s, Lu Ten’s, birthday tending to other young males, things Iroh would’ve wanted to do with Lu Ten. I’m sure of it. Soon, the writers reveal that it was Lu Ten’s birthday. Iroh finds a setting like Lu Ten’s grave. Then, one of the best songs committed to lyrical music for television plays. Iroh doesn’t blame Lu Ten’s death on the Earth Kingdom like Jet did with the Fire Nation and his parents. Instead, he blames himself. In Sozin’s Comet Part Two: The Old Masters, when Zuko comes to apologizes to Iroh, he is on his hands and knees pleading for forgiveness. He cries with a raspy voice. And in that moment, Zuko is immediately taken in a warm embrace with his loving father figure. Zuko is baffled saying, “How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me.” To which, Iroh, a true father, a true man, says, “I was never mad at you. I was sad because I thought you lost your way.” He is proud in Zuko that Zuko found his way on his own. Iroh doesn’t take that time to praise himself. He focuses on Zuko. Zuko, the son he found after he lost his previous one. Zuko, the son who wnet away just like Lu Ten. But the difference here is that Zuko, Little Soldier boy, Brave Soldier boy, came marching home.

Speaking of that Zuko scene, let’s trash talk about the Fire Loser Lord. Like I said earlier in Iroh’s section, Ozai is Zuko’s fake father, if you can even call them that. In The Storm, the origin of Zuko’s scar is revealed. A thirteen year old boy wants to be a good Fire Lord, and in doing so, he finds his way into the Fire Lord’s meeting room. Zuko stays quiet as told by his true father until a general devises a terrible plan. Zuko is challenged to an Agni Kai. He is confident because he thinks he’ll fight the general. Instead, he steps up to the ring and finds his father. He is on his hands and knees, begging his father for forgiveness. Ozai, the absolute monster, seeing his SON on his hands and knees, decides to burn his face. He says suffering will be your teacher.” When Zuko kidnaps Aang in the North Pole, he reveals Ozai told his SON that “she was born lucky … I was lucky to be born.” That is not a father, let alone a man. Please tell me, how is Ozai a man? How is Ozai a father? Can you call Ozai a father? I think not. But Zuko is not the only victim to Ozai’s “parenting.” Azula too is a victim. In the first or second part of Sozin’s Comet (i forgot) it is revealed how she is afraid of her father. The very idea of her father leaving her behind. She is afraid of Ozai treating her like Zuko. She is a mere puppet to Ozai. Ozai manipulates her to find joy in being Fire Lord, a clear downgrade to being the Phoenix Princess. Ozai molds her into being daddy’s little monster. I’m not a psychologist, but I think Azula has problems with perfection. She can’t face the idea of her being imperfect in her father’s eyes. She tries hard to please her father. She tries to please him as much as she can. Now, I don’t really call the comics cannon. I think it’s inconsistent to the show, but I really like Ursa’s backstory. She is forced into an unhealthy marriage. There are subtle undertones of sexual abuse. She is walking on egg shells with Ozai. May I pose another question? How is Ozai a husband? Can you call Ozai a husband? I can’t. It’s impossible. With Hakoda next, I want to mention this parallelism, Ozai has two children. A firstborn son and second born daughter. The daughter catches the attention of everyone while the son is viewed as a lower individual to his sister. Ozai sends both of his children away. He forces his children to fight. He sends CHILDREN to a war. Not just CHILDREN, but his own BLOOD RELATED CHILDREN.

Now, let’s look at Hakoda. Hakoda is a chieftain. His children consists of a firstborn son, a nonbender, and a gifted waterbending daughter. Katara, the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. Hakoda nurtures both his children. He treats Sokka as an equal to Katara. He favors both of them. He ensures one child is treated the same as the other. Hakoda goes out to fight in the war. In Bato of the Southern Water Tribe, a flashback shows how mich of a man Hakoda is. Sokka wants to fight in the war. Hakoda stops his son. In Hakoda’s willingness to protect his children, he forces Sokka to stay home, and protect his sister and the rest of the tribe, probably assuming the war wouldn’t affect the tribe anymore, with the Fire Nation assuming the last Waterbender is dead. Hakoda forces his kids to stay home while he fights in war. Ozai forces his kids to fight while he sits on his throne, like a scared little boy. As a reiteration, Hakoda forces his kids to stay home, safe and sound, while he fights to protect others, like a protector and true father. Hakoda tells his children how proud he is of them and says how their mother would be too. Like a true man, Hakoda fosters care for his children, teaches his children, and supports his children.

Hakoda and Iroh are true men. True fathers. Ozai is a coward. Ozai is a monster. Ozai is a child in a man’s body. Ozai is a 30-ish (i’m guessing his age) child who steals the honor of the 16-17 year old man that is somehow related to him.

As for femininity, Ursa isn’t the angel some people and even the writers want to push. Ursa didn’t even bother trying to steer Azula to the right path. If Ursa had given Azula the same amount of guidance that she did with Zuko, Azula would’ve gotten the redemption arc she deserved. Ursa plays favorites with Zuko while Azula suffers. Azula needed a proper mother figure. Ursa is a woman that shows the virtues of femininity. She is caring, wise, protective, proactive, reactive, durable, and supportive, but her folly is in how, or rather who, she shows her femininity to. A true mother would nurture both her children no matter what. Ursa isn’t as terrible as Ozai, but she’s not an angel either.

A better mother figure could be Kya. We don’t know much about her, but what we can gleam from her very few appearances and the comics to my chagrin, she was caring. In the Southern Raiders, it is her care for her child that makes her lay down her life for the sake of her child. Kya does have favoritism towards Katara over Sokka, but I can be completely wrong. Kya is firm in handling Yon Rha. Unlike what toxic masculinity says, Kya is firm. She is also a protector. She doesn’t marry Hakoda for status. It’s clear in North and South that she married Hakoda out of true love. Hakoda married Kya not for her to be child bearer, but as a person who can care for him and he for her.

A very important theme in Avatar is how war affects the household. It is the lack of positive feminine and masculine figures in Sokka’s life that makes him sexist in the first few episodes of the show. It is the lack of a healthy parental figure in Azula’s life that makes Azula mentally breakdown. It is Ozai’s lack of fraternal care that pots Zuko and Azula against each other in the Final Agni Kai. It is Ozai’s lack of true masculinity that steers Zuko away from the path his mother and Iroh set him to follow. It is the lack of a maternal figure in Katara’s life that forces her to mature into a simile of what a feminine mother is. I didn’t really talk about Toph’s parents here, but the same applies here too. It is Toph’s parents’ lack of personal quality time that makes her leave. It’s her parents’s lack of understanding and open mindedness that forces them to see their daughter as a fragile object. Objectification can go in many ways. Whether it be in lust, in utility (think Azula), in entertainment (Zuko and Ozai probably), and, in Toph’s case, false care and compassion.

[waterfire1848]

Avatar AU - After being kidnapped, kid Hakoda, Kya, Bato, Ozai and Ursa are stuck in Ba Sing Se and have to find their way back home.

[phoenix-king-ozai]

The Ozai, Ursa, & Ikem romance debacle…

I truly honestly hope that the Netflix adaptation doesn’t adapt The Search when it comes to Ozai and Ursa’s relationship. Which, thank Agni seems not to fully be the case. It seems that LA Ozai does care for Ursa and his family members, even Zuko. He show respect to Lu Ten and Iroh and even cried when burning Zuko. He even mentioned the “soft” mother Ursa when talking to Zuko and referenced her when saying “don’t talk to me about loss” Showing that he had feeling for her.

The Search is very poorly written and turn Ozai into a very piss-poor caricature of an evil abusive bad man for no good or compelling reason yet even fails to deliver on that interpretation of Ozai and Ursa’s complex and compelling relationship.

This song is basically the Urzai relationship in the ATLA comics!

If The Search wanted to turn Ozai into a compelling, vicious, dangerous, and cruel monstrous villain in Ursa’s and our own eyes. Then why didn’t Yang have Ozai kill Ikem when he THREATENED his father, Fire Lord’s Azulon life in defiance due to his love for Ursa? Yet, for some reason, he had Ozai spare Ikem’s life due to Ursa's “love” for Ozai which Ozai knows is a blatant lie and stupidly desperate!

The realistic and emotionally heart-wrenching scenario would be for Ozai to march towards Ikem, Ursa tries to stop Ozai, however Ozai scarred Ursa’s wrist by burning her via firebending and then backhanded her causing her lip to bleed. Then proceed to execute Ikem by immolation in front of Ursa’s very eyes. This very demented, sinister, vile, and cruel brutal punishment for DARING to raise his hand against Fire Lord Azulon, Fire Prince Ozai, and the Fire Sages wishes would had created a compelling narrative regarding Ursa having complete and justified loathing of her betroth Ozai.

It was extremely foolish, idiotic, unreasonable, and unrealistic to have a no-named peasant like Ikem, who is not a firebender, attack the royal carriage and guards no matter how brave and noble his affection and intentions were regarding the integrity of his childhood love. Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Prince Ozai probably should have immediately immolated Ikem and his familial relations due to his affront against the Fire Lord and his son. Trying to stand up against the authoritarian, oppressive, violent, and vicious absolute monarchical regime of Fire Lord Azulon and Fire Prince Ozai should have come with immense consequences just like the fire nation rebels in Episode 3: Omashu in NATLA.

Zuko mentions that Ozai and Ursa’s along with their family used to be happy, and we saw that in Zuko's flashbacks. Yang, just decided to make Ursa a victim because in his mind: URSA WOMAN, OZAI BAD MAN, SHE MUST BE HELD, HOSTAGE!!! While Ozai and Ursa arrange marriage does make sense and was confirmed by the creators. It doesn't mean that Ozai and Ursa relationship was ALWAYS BAD, or SHE WAS KIDNAPPED! Plus, the Urzai relationship is quite normal in the antiquity of Asian societies that the Fire Nation is based on aka Shogunates of Japan and Imperial Chinese Dynasties!!!

Personally, I am afraid that the ATLA comics are going to screw up the Fire Nation Royal Family Characterization and Dynamics along with making them one-dimensional especially Ozai and Azulon. They might legit have Azulon and Ozai be abusive and beat Ilah and Ursa. I'm so doomer blackpilled regarding ATLA comics considering the Serach. This is probably why the comic writers ignore making a comic Pre-Zuko Alone flashbacks.

Ozai's harshness and ruthless regarding Zuko has nothing to do with Ursa or Ikem forbidden love! Ozai wants Zuko and Azula to both prove themselves. Ozai doesn't favor Zuko or Azula. It is about which child will succeed Sozin, Azulon, and his legacy as future Fire Lord. In fact, Ozai doesn't want Zuko or Azula to think that they are the “favorite” child. He wants Azula and Zuko to improve through competition. Because of the “only the greatest of pressures can forge diamonds” & “steel sharpen steel” mentality. Ozai has the mentality of an imperialist warlord. Ozai isn't trying to be the world's most loving and caring father but rather continue and build upon a powerful and dominant legacy that his forefathers had created before him. He wants Zuko & Azula to be cold, ruthless, heartless, vicious, and brutal imperialistic warmongers like him (Ozai), his father (Azulon), and his grandfather (Sozin).

[ao3feed-zukka]

When you can't defeat something you can always take control of it

Read now on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/54SwG2h by Silver_Sunbeam In that moment, there were three things that Katara was certain of: 1) The Avatar was real, and very much alive given that she was tied up on the back of his flying bison 2) There may have been a chance that her adoptive father lied to her about why she was taken to the fire nation when she was eight 3) She needed to get back to her brother, Zuko as soon as possible or Katara gets discovered as the last waterbender in the south pole, but instead of being killed the fire nation they pay the Dai Li to do their mind fuckery shit and she ends up being adopted by Ozai and Ursa. Also Sokka is hella down bad for Zuko but is too stubborn to admit it. Words: 1909, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: Multi Characters: Katara (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Azula (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Yue (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Appa (Avatar), Momo (Avatar), Hama (Avatar), Kya (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Azulon (Avatar), Yon Rha (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar), Dai Li (Avatar), Kyoshi Warriors (Avatar) Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Katara (Avatar) Additional Tags: Katara-centric (Avatar), Katara was raised by the fire nation, Suki Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Reverse kidnapping, Iroh is a Good Uncle (Avatar), Iroh is too tired for this shit, Bloodbender Katara (Avatar), yue is a waterbender, Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Zuko is hot and Sokka just doesn't want to admit it, Fluff and Angst, like a shit ton of angst, Katara has amnesia, Katara is Zuko's adopted sister, Kya Lives (Avatar), Yue Lives (Avatar), As in Sokka Aang Suki and Yue kidnapped someone who was already kidnapped Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/54SwG2h

[atinylittledog]

i'm seeing multiple people say that ursa "was ozai's equal" and that she had "power in their relationship"

like did we????? read the same comic????????????????

i mean it's been years since i've read the search but didn't ozai basically kidnap ursa threaten to kill her fiance and cut her off from her family members???? because that does not sound like an equal relationship to me lmao

like at this point i feel that the ATLA fandom (but specifically azula's weird stans) is being deliberately obtuse about everything surrounding ursa at this point like the entire comic is a super on-the-nose depiction of a woman being abused but the fandom keeps turning it into a massive victim-blame-fest