#Plus I ship her with Ty Lee

[thegaybluejay]

Just for fun, here are my rapid fire rambling thoughts on the ATLA ships and platonic dynamics hehe (please don’t go full ship wars tho - these are just my opinions as a chill multishipper!)

My Favorite Ships:

• Zukka - My current brainrot and main ship!! I know they aren’t canon but I really love them and their potential okay😭I just feel like their personalities would work so well! Sokka would call Zuko on his shit and Zuko would be good at grounding Sokka when he needs it. Plus I have seen some absolutely breathtaking AUs with this ship! And fire-and-ice vibes except gay! Them <3

• Kataang - Cutiessss!! I love them! They may not be the ship I think about most often, but when I do think about them, they’re adorable! Aang is such a “my wife” guy and Katara absolutely adores him back! Also the last airbender x last southern waterbender dynamic goes HARD! I like that these two are canon!

• Yuetara - Listen I know they barely interacted but THEY’VE ACTUALLY GROWN ON ME SO MUCH LATELY AND I VERY HIGH KEY SHIP THEM! Something about like, Katara thinking about Yue when she bends is so😭Their story would be heartbreaking in the best way!! Sapphic noncanon blorbos <3

• Mailee - These two are SO cute and have so much potential rahhh!! Again, love some noncanon sapphics <3

• Batkoda - Super SUPER cute and silly and fun! The dads fr <3 Bato is either Katara and Sokka’s adopted uncle or their stepdad and I love it for them hehe! This usually pairs well with a “Hakoda adopts Zuko” AU lmao!

Other Canon/Relatively Popular Ships:

• Zutara - A good ship! I see the potential and tbh it’s very very fun to think about sometimes!!! However, some of y’all toxic Zutara stans need to leave my boy Aang alone lmao. Those who are chill tho, I rock with y’all!! Overall, I’m not opposed if it’s done well and I do sometimes seek out Zutara content! I personally do prefer writing them as found siblings tho, especially with the Azula and Katara parallels!!

• Sukka - Canon cuties!! I really like them! Suki my BELOVED <3 She’s so underrated!

• Yukka - Also canon cuties! They make me sad tho ahhhhh😭😭😭

• Maiko - Also ALSO canon cuties!! They have an interesting dynamic that I can really appreciate! And gotta love Mai <3

• Jinko - Jin my beloved! These two had a super cute dynamic during the one episode they had together lmaoooo, tho I don’t think about this ship too too often.

• Tokka - I don’t mind it if it’s them getting together as adults! But tbh I personally don’t prefer shipping them as teens and I think Toph’s crush was just a typical young girl crush on someone slightly older lol. Definitely not horrible and most Tokka shippers are relatively chill! I like to think Sokka sees Toph as a little sister tho.

Now For Some Of The Crackship-y/Less Popular Ships (based on ships I’ve actually seen):

• Zukki (Zuko/Sokka/Suki) - Power throuple fr and I love some polyamory!! While I mostly lean plain Zukka, this is extremely fun to think about and would be a great dynamic!

• Mai/Ty Lee/Suki - Saw this in a Zukka fic once and it was adorableeeeee! I may not have plans to actively write this or anything, but it’s cute! Another power throuple!

• Jetko - I don’t think they would be compatible long term, but by god they are very very fun to think about in a “Jet flirts with Zuko and Zuko is completely oblivious and they share one kiss before everything goes to shit” way lmao!

• Taang - I can respect it!! I will always love them as chaos siblings personally, but it’s a totally valid and chill ship!

• Katoph - Not a bad ship at all! I’ve only come across like one post tho lmao. Also I do think I heavily prefer them as found sisters, but that’s just me personally! Again, totally a valid and chill ship!

• Azutara - I’m very neutral on this lmao. I don’t despise it at all and it could be pretty interesting?? But tbh really not something I plan to seek out.

• Azulaang - I mean?? I’m also pretty neutral on this one. Aang would be kind to her if she was trying to get help but…idk lmao.

• Tyzula - I see the potential, but I personally think Mai and Ty Lee had a healthier and more interesting and more realistic dynamic. Just my preference tho!

(I think I just want Azula to be in therapy before I reallyyyyy ship her lmao, but NOT THE KIND OF “THERAPY” SHE WAS GIVEN IN THE COMICS)

• Zukaang - I don’t love this as a ship honestly. The canon age gap as teens is sketchy for my personal taste, tho I’ve seen people ship them in “Aang was 16 when he got frozen” AUs and that’s…better and I can get behind it a little! It would be interesting! But I think Roku being Zuko’s great-grandpa just still throws me off of this ship. I don’t have any beef with the shippers tho! I’m very “live and let live” and I have seen so much worse lol.

Can’t Forget My Fav Platonic Dynamics!

• Sokka and Aang - Two found brothers who share one idiot braincell when they interact LMAO! Love them always <3

• Sokka and Katara - The siblings ever!!

• Zuko and Aang - Enemies to found brothers!! Canon besties! I love their friendship and their parallels SO MUCH!!

• Toph and Katara - Absolutely ADORABLE as found sisters!!!! Love them!

• Zuko and Katara - I really like their development in a platonic sense and I think they’re very very fun and lovely found siblings by the end!!!! Zuko is 100% the brother that just “yeah my sister can and will whoop your ass” LMAO!

• Zuko and Toph - Also very found siblings in my head!! Only have a handful of solo interactions in canon but I DON’T CARE! I WILL FOUND FAMILY THEM ANYWAY! I’m a “Toph seeks out Zuko for sibling hugs/cuddles when she’s cold because he’s basically a space heater” truther.

• Uncle Iroh and the Gaang - Zuko needs to learn to share because that is ALL OF THEIR Uncle!!!

• Hakoda and Zuko - I thrive in this section of the fandom!! They have exactly one (1) frame together in canon, but I ADORE Dadkoda adopting Zuko! Something about it is just so wholesome and cute!!! My very very fav ATLA fics are this trope!!#LetHakodaBitchSlapOzaiAndAdoptZuko2024

• Uncle Iroh and Zuko - God they make me so ALSNDKSNXNCNSNSNXNX, y’know?

• The Gaang as a whole - Obvious I know, but I really do love them😭They all bonded sm and I adore their little family!! I eat up fanart of the Gaang cuddling like CANDY omg. And yes Suki is included in the Gaang because WHY WOULDN’T SHE BE!

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TedTalk. If you made it to the end, you get a big platonic kiss on the forehead MWAH!

[waterfire1848]

maizula for the ship ask?

Anon, thank you so much for all these asks!

Who said “I love you” first

Everyone thinks Azula was the first one because Mai just kept saying how much she didn’t hate Azula. Only Azula knows that that’s how Mai says she loves people.

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

Azula. Mai has Azula as her Home Screen background but not her Lock Screen but Azula has her as both.

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

Azula. Mai might be Fire Nation but she can't take showers that hot, plus she's not one for writing messages in the bathroom mirror.

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

Neither. But Mai did buy Azula one cheesy gift because Sokka told her to.

Who initiated the first kiss

Mai. She knows Azula is hopeless when it comes to kissing so she took the first step.

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

Azula. This is mainly because Mai kept hitting their alarms with knives so a kiss in the morning is a much better way to wake her up.

Who starts tickle fights

Neither. I can't see either of them starting tickle fights with one another but I will say that Mai isn't ticklish but Azula definitely is.

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

Both.

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

Mai. But it's less of a 'I know you're tired and want to make sure you eat' and more of a 'eat because if you don't you'll die' kind of love.

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

Azula. Mai was nervous too but she didn't let it show. That being said, Ty Lee, Zuko and Azula, who have known Mai since she was a kid, know that she was insanely nervous but not more so than Azula.

Who kills/takes out the spiders

Mai. She loves showing off to Azula that she can hit a spider with her knives.

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

Azula. It's hard to get the Princess of the Fire Nation very drunk but when she does she will loudly scream out to anyone and everyone that she loves her girlfriend and wants to marry her.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Thoughts on Maizula?

I think it's pretty neat! Not my favorite ship ever, but I like it a lot. They have a lot in common which creates both a genuine bond AND a very tense, sometimes antagonistic dynamic, they'd look good together, and I'm very amused by the thought of Azula no longer wanting Zuko's crown - because she wants to steal his girlfriend instead. Plus, I like both Maiko and Zucest, so Maizula completes the chaotic threesome (add Ty Lee for extra cuteness).

Also it gains points for being one of the few ships for Azula that doesn't fall into any of the major traps I noticed A LOT of Azula ships walk right into. Said traps being:

1 - Only this poor, innocent, perfect little angel could EVER love a monster like Azula.

2 - Completely rewritting Azula's character to make the ship work.

3 - Completely rewritting the other character to make the ship work.

4 - "This is actually a Zuko ship, but I'm treating Azula like she's Female!Zuko and doesn't have her own personality because I want lesbian!Zutara/straight!Jetko/genderbent!Zutara"

Most of the Maizula shippers I've seen seem to like the REAL Mai and Azula and enjoy their actual dynamic. So yeah, Maizula for the win.

[maikowasalwaysbad]

I think what bothered me about Maiko was how half assed it actually was, and how it had wayyy too little scenes to be considered good or well written AT ALL. User @sokkastyles made a lot of good points concerning how badly written Maiko was, and how it did Mai’s character dirty. But what makes it so funny to me is how much lack of scenes there are for it to be good- let me explain:

We never get Mai’s reaction to Zuko’s banishment. None at all. It’s almost like the writers didn’t even plan this and only mashed them together due to them being single. We see her smirk at the thought of seeing him yes, but there’s no concern over Zuko literally being thrown in prison or possibly killed. I’m not saying Mai’s a bad person but…wouldn’t you worry about your partner? Or couldn’t the writers show her reaction to Zuko literally being burned and humiliated?

Where was the build up besides ONE literal flashback that the majority of people I know forgot about??? Literally, that kiss in episode 1 of Book 3 was out of NOWHERE- it felt like the writers needed to give him a love interest so they had Mai kiss him out of desperation. 😭 But even then with that flashback it was nowhere near convincing that Zuko loved her since childhood or something. And even for Mai it was honestly….eh. It’s a cute childhood crush thing where she may find hm attractive, yes. However how is this supposed to convince me it’s long term like they want me to believe? Plus, we literally see Zuko dislike it when Azula and Ty Lee tease them about being together. There’s no implications of him deep down liking Mai or anything in that flashback. Just him getting angry at it in fact.

Where tf were the scenes of Zuko worrying for Mai after the Boiling Rock? This one I can maybe understand due to maybe not enough runtime but…Wouldn’t you worry for someone you love if they’re going to be imprisoned and possibly punished heavily by your crazy sister??? He knows what Azula is capable of along with the Boiling Rock prison in general. So why didn’t we get any scenes of him worrying for her? If the writers wanted to really convince me on their relationship they could’ve at least give me a scene of him either freeing her or worrying for her afterwards LMAO. “Erm maybe offscreen” yeah, keyword: MAYBE.

Mai never confronted the Fire Nation was wrong. Literally, when did she confront the Fire Nation was wrong? Y’all expect me to believe she’s right for him when she didn’t even see that the Fire Nation was wrong? That’s like if a feminist were to date a man who didn’t support women’s rights- it’s just….blegh. And you wouldn’t support that relationship. Literally, where did she confront Ozai was wrong? She only saved Zuko because she “loved” him. But how are they supposed to be compatible due to those opposing ideals? Seems boring and really lazy ass writing that doesn’t confront those points lmao. “She probably realized it in the room when Zuko told her” he only said “that’s not how I see it” when she told him he was betraying his country. We don’t see a scene where Mai suddenly realizes the Fire Nation is bad. “Maybe offscreen” yeah, MAYBE. And that sort of proves my point Maiko is badly written and doesn’t have enough scenes to support it or make it good.

I can go more into depth on how multiple parts of the writing were flawed whether it be the characters or just the ship in general. However I won’t make this too long and will stop here. Overall, I feel Maiko could’ve had WAY more scenes to sell it to me or be better written. It’s not just the toxic moments that annoy me, but also the lack of scenes and writing. While I do agree it had potential, elements such as bad writing, too little time, etc made it badly written and half assed to me. And I hope Maiko shippers can respect my opinions and thoughts.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I completely forgot about how weird The Swamp is, so how weird would Avatar Ty Lee's version go?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So here's the thing about The Swamp:

It's a hot bit of fuckery. People see visions of people who are important to them in some way. In Canon, Katara saw her mom, Sokka saw Yue, both people they loved and lost. But Aang got a vision of the future seeing Toph. Now that might be some Avatar Bullshit, but the fuckin swamp guy who was explaining this gave his 'time is an illusion' speech so it's more Swamp Nonsense.

My interpretation of this is that you can get visions of past, present, or future, depending on what you are currently missing the most from the past or present/looking for in the present or future.

So while some people get visions of people who are dead, others get visions of people who aren't. The future visions are limited to just the Toph vision though.

So let's go over everyone's visions:

Ty Lee and Aang:

I'm putting them together because at least one of them will still get the Toph Vision. I debate on which one gets the vision though. Because Aang usually gets more of the Avatar Spirit Bullshit as that's his half of the powers. But the vision of Toph is because they're looking for an Earthbending teacher(plus the Ty Lee/Toph ship miiiight be a thing lmao).

If Aang gets the vision of Toph, then Ty Lee will get a vision of her sisters. Not all together, but kinda leading her on a chase where only one shows up at a time but she knows which is which.

If Ty Lee gets the vision of Toph, then Aang gets a vision of Gyatso.

Katara:

Like in Canon, Katara's vision is of her mother.

Sokka:

Since he didn't get the Yue romance, Sokka instead sees a vision of his dad. While he's still a little skeptical of the situation being genuine and not just a hallucination, this does worry him a bit. Because a lot of the other visions are of people who are dead, or at least presumed to be dead. As far as he knows his dad is alive but....... this is a war with casualties.

Azula:

She's the one who got the Yue romance! So ofc she gets the Yue vision as well.

Zuko:

Ofc Zuko sees his mom. Like honey my boy PLEASE.

Mai:

This is actually a bit interesting. Because Mai has... very few people she misses. Most people she cares about are here with her, since her relationship to her parents is...... eh. But the previous episode was where she found out that she has a little brother now. So compared to the parents.....

Iroh:

Look me in the fucking eyes and say you don't already know the answer on who he gets a vision of.

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

Issues With the Tyzula Ship That Tyzula Shippers and Fics Typically Avoid

Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better, even if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and my life itself. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues, as if you always only needed love and affection, instead of real medical help. I will always love you, even if you don’t really change your behavior, or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”

Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula, for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers and fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.

For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that: there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then, Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint, and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula?

And if it happened post-Boiling Rock, there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up”, and it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula, Ty Lee can call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her.

In my opinion, there are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances, but most of them just gloss over them. And not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all, and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile.

Also, how come most Tyzula shippers and fics don’t talk about what LoK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality, and the implications it has for a lesbian or bisexual Azula? For if Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls?

Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia, and thus likely would not express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation, or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection and character growth. Not to mention the fact that she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general and advisor.

So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community, and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, most of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula, so feel free to call me out down below if I am being a hypocrite, and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.

[drowning-in-cacophony]

mayhaps you will share some knowledge about vampire (mai week) for the wip ask game 👁 (- thinkingisadangerouspastime)

Ah, my 'having fun' idea!

I love vampires and I don’t get to write them enough - plus Mai really screams vampire with her aesthetic.

It’s going to be shipping maiko (obvs) and will feature vampire!Mai who has a new target catching her eye... and she can never resist a pursuit. However, there might be a bit of a twist with this pursuit.

I have no idea if I’ll get it done for Mai Week (since it’s the third level of priority right now) but it’s hopefully going to be a lot of fun to write and read!

For a snippet, you can have the only sentences of the actual fic I've written so far:

“You’re looking at him again.” Mai blinks and refocuses on Ty Lee in front of her. Refocuses because yes, again, she wasn’t actually looking at her friend. Or the boba in her hand. Or even just the world outside of the window. Still: “No, I wasn’t.” Ty Lee gives her a disbelieving look that says I just watched you. Mai ignores it.

thank you for the ask! <3

[ao3feed-zukka]

New Heights

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/GStfEAs

by kittycatrin

Sokka stays at the palace to be Zuko's advisor. They're both oblivious fools. This fic describes the years after the war they waste before finally getting together. Heckin' slow burn. Azula's there too.

This is Part Two, but I made sure Part One isn't necessary to read. But if you'd like to see Sokka realize his attraction to Zuko and struggle to contain himself while Suki good-naturedly laughs her ass off (canon-compliant), then check it out! Also some of the stuff about tallness might make a bit more sense if you've read part one.

Words: 11478, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Zuko isn't actually that tall

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Azula (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Ty Lee (Avatar)

Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Suki/Ty Lee (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Gay Zuko (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Post-100 Year War (Avatar TV), sokka is an advisor but basically an ambassador, Slow Burn, sokka and suki break up, zuko comes out, Azula Needs a Hug (Avatar), she recovers in this and yes i did cry while thinking about it and writing it, Assassination Attempt(s), Firelord Zuko (Avatar), zuko and sokka are absolute oblivious fools, literally the entire gang plus iron and AZULA ships them, Protective Azula (Avatar), Protective Zuko (Avatar), Getting Together, sex but it's fade to black, sokka learns how zuko got the scar, azula cockblocks

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/GStfEAs

[shinidamachu]

I haven't watched anything after ATLA, but I was shocked to find out that Zuko and Mai don't work out. What are your thoughts? Do you think the writers could have gone in a different direction or was it for the best?

I gotta be honest, you're not missing out much by not engaging with the extras. I only watched Legend of Korra and I don't really remember Mai even being mentioned on it.

They did give Zuko a daughter, though. Her name is Izumi. And even though they never explicitly revealed the mother to be Mai (or what was made of her), I just assumed she was the mother due to the remarkable resemblance:

Now, I haven't read the comics (nor will I ever), so if you're actually refering to them, my knowledge is very limited. But it is my understanding, from the metas I've read about them, that Zuko and Mai break up and make up, as it was their modus operandi in ATLA.

Mai not being around in LOK doesn't necessarily mean she's dead or that they broke up for good. The fate of their relationship was purposefully left open and they do end up together at the end of ATLA, so what happens after doesn't really matter since not everybody takes the comics or LOK as canon, anyway.

Now, since you asked for my opinion... I wasn’t shocked to find out about how they were portraying Maiko in the comics at all. First, because Bryke suck at writing romance. Second, because from the interactions in ATLA, this was more or less what I imagined their relationship would play out and that’s why I never shipped them.

MAIKO CRITICISM UNDER THE CUT!

The writers should have gone in a different direction, but in the ATLA finale. I love Zuko. And I love Mai. But I don’t like them as a couple because I think they are not fitted for each other. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Zutara shipper, let’s get this out of the way right here, right now.

I’m saying this because I would rather they had ended up alone than together. Not only them, but Aang and Katara as well. They were all so young I feel like there wouldn’t be any harm for the story if no couples were canonized. 

Especially because, again: Bryke suck at writing love stories (with the notable exceptions being Yukka and Sukka) and romance was actually the less compelling part of ATLA.

More than that, if Zuko and Mai had to end up with a love interest, it shouldn’t have been each other because Maiko is actually a disservice to their characters. In some aspects, it keeps Mai from growing and it regresses Zuko's development.

You see, their relationship always struck me as something they would eventually grow out of. Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt they really cared about each other. But the narrative went out of its way to show us that the years they spent apart changed their dynamic fundamentally.

Mai and (especially) Zuko aren’t the same people they were when they first met. And when they finally reunited, no real effort was made to learn who was this new person in fron of them. He tried to open up, but she shut him down. 

Instead of reconnecting, of deepening the relationship, they insisted on jumping head first into dating and picked things up where they left off, desperatelly trying to cling to what they knew and forcing two pieces of a different puzzle to click. Of course it wouldn’t work.

The person Zuko became needed someone passionate by his side. Someone he could open up to and confide in. Someone with the same sense of honor, of justice. Someone who understood him and his actions, who got how important it is for him to take the throne and right the wrongs of his country. Someone he could count on to help him get there. I guess we can all agree that this doesn’t sound like Mai.

The person Mai became needed someone who would focus on her and her needs for once. Someone who would have made her a priority. Someone who could actually see past her poker face. Someone who would take her away from the boring royal stuff she hates so much. I guess we can all agree that this doesn’t sound like Zuko, either.

When he took off to join the Gaang, he left the life style he had always known behind because it didn’t fit who he was anymore. He can’t go back from that. And this includes Mai. She is the personification of that life. And as much as they liked each other, being together just doesn’t make sense anymore. Especially because becoming Fire Lady inevitably traps her in the life she was trying to get away from. It’s one of the worst endings they could have given to these characters.

And the way it was executed? Even worse. They reconciled without as much as a conversation about what happened: his “betrayal”, the end of the war, what it means for their relationship, if their feelings were still the same. In fact, apparently Zuko kind of... completely forgot she was in prison and made no move to get her out because he had been too busy fighting Azula and taking lightning to the chest for Katara.

Mai isn’t even a part of the apotheosis of his arc. He got where he needed to be and she wasn’t one of the characters who activelly help him get there. This is very symbolic. And the apotheosis of her arc? Was saving him from Azula, but she didn’t did it because she understood his reasons and wanted to be supportive. She did it because he is the guy she likes. Which is fine, but not enough to “award” her with Zuko. There were feelings there, but they were never on the same page.

“Mai Alone,” is what she deserved. To travel the world on her own. A different place every day. Never the same, always moving. Maybe that way she would have seen the things Zuko did. Maybe this way she would have understood. And after tasting freedom, she would have realized she would have never want to be confined to palace walls ever again. Not for Zuko, not for anybody.

She would have been much happier as the first woman in the White Lotus or as a Bounty Hunter. A spy who, after seeing what the Fire Nation did to the world, finally found her calling by working on the shadows to make sure nothing will break the peace the Avatar and the Fire Lord managed to achieve.

And Zuko deserved the family he always wanted, with a partner who would not only put up with the political duties, but would have been thrilled to do so. Katara seems like the obvious choice here, but even Jin would have been a better fit.

Sometimes things aren’t meant to be and that’s okay. Zuko and Mai work better as friends.

[purrincesskittens]

This is for @muffinlance because what if Sushi was in Salvage but was Azula's pet. Zuko gets a pet so Azula should get one and if Zuko gets a dog so Azula gets a cat.

"What is that?" Hakoda asks trying very hard not to pinch the bridge of his nose as he stares at the eight legged furry purring THING wrapped around Azula. "It's a cat of course surely you can see that for yourself." Azula replies giving the 'cat' a scratch behind its ears. "An octopus cat to be precise." Ty Lee puts in lifting a fur covered tentacle from her arm and giving it a pet causing the creature to wrap more tentacles around her.

"Sushi is a Giant Octopus Cat. If ZuZu gets a giant pet I get one too." Azula announces her arms crossed. Ranalok grinned giving the cat a pat, "Fairs fair, Chief." He says moving out of range of the long tentacles so as not to be ensared by them. The boy and giant pet in question were halfway across the deck where Zuko was trying to use his weight to keep the dog from scitter-clawing his way to get at the cat as he growled and barked at it.

Toklo only helped after Zuko threatened no more hot water, Panuk was no help at all despite having an arm free. With the dog mostly held off for now Hakoda turned his attention back to the Fire princess and her new pet. "How big is this thing going to get exactly?" He questions not sure if he really wanted to know now that he knew how big Seal Jerky would get if his son kept feeding him snacks the way he did.

What would that mean if he did the same with this cat? Just how big could it get? It had giant in the name so probably pretty big. "The biggest domesticated one recorded was 9 m wide." Mai answers not paying attention to them really but rather playing with a new knife she got that had serrated edges. Wonderful that meant it could possibly get bigger then that. And that's still a 30 foot cat on their ship.

"Catopi usually come in smaller breeds like the mimic catopus but Azula asked Uncle if they came bigger and he got her from a special breeder." Zuko explains as he fashion a leash and harness for Seal Jerky from rope to tie him up with. "Unfortunately my brother named her before I got the chance to even see her so she is stuck with the name Sushi now since she won't respond to anything else." Azula rolled her eyes entangled in the cat's tentacles as she was she was still a intimidating picture surprisingly.

"And the hawk?" Hakoda rubbed his temples wondering what it was with his kids trying to give him gray hairs early. The hawk was a fire nation messenger hawk that was perched on Panuk's leather wrapped arm preening itself. "So we can communicate with Uncle far more easier then with your pathetic birds of course." Was the the answer Hakoda recieved. "Plus Ty Lee named her Fire Flake." Wonderful they had two new pets on board now. At least the hawk wouldn't grow to be giant. He thinks/hopes.

......................................................................

So I know Sushi is supposed to be a mimic catopus but if she is going to compete with Seal Jerky as a giant pet she needs to be able to grow more then 2 feet wide like a mimic octopus so I made her a Giant Pacific Octopus Cat which can reach up to 29.5 feet from arm tip to arm tip.

[firelordgrantham]

Atla: confessions of a zutarist

Although I'm Zutara through and through, I've come to peace with Maiko.

Why? Because of the iconic line ''I love Zuko more than I fear [Azula]''.

I thought the chemistry was great between Zutara, plus the old woman said to Katara she would marry a powerful bender so I thought for a moment that there was a chance for Zutara. They were both strongheaded, both the older sibling (yeah Katara is younger than Sokka, but she's more of a grown up) and both had lost an important part of their family, taken from them by Ozai or his men. Their journeys revolved around Aang and his quest for peace, they were both underestimated but a lot of pressure was put on their shoulders nevertheless, and, let's be honest, I love a good ship ''stern-and-hurt-by-life-young-man''x''mother friend of the group and somehow geek (she wanted that waterbending scroll so badly!)'' (which is more or less the LizziexDarcy relationship, she's not a geek but she reads a lot)

And what I didn't like with Mai was that she didn't seem to have much personnality compared to Ty Lee or Azula, apart from being Azula's dogsbody and the goth of the cast.

But then, everything changed with the episode of the Boiling Rock prison or something. Mai was clearly pissed off by Zuko's departure, which was completely understandable, but she was showing a bit of emotion!

And then, she drew her knife against Azula and said her line, and not only did her other characteristic that I didn't like (her blind obedience for Azula) disappear, but that was a nice reversal of allegiances which I simp for almost as much as a good period drama hat-waving. Plus, it made Ty Lee react and break free of Azula's chains, so it was nice for that too, because nobody want to see bubbly Ty Lee in a toxic relationship.

So anyway, still loving Zutara (in my personnal headcannon, which is possible because I never watched LoK, they wrote a lot while she was rebuilding the southern water tribe and he was de-warculture-ing the fire nation, they became adults and at 20-something they got married, since he was firelord and Sokka could take over as Chief after Hakoda instead of Katara, they moved to the Fire Nation and had kids, Aang became a nomad and married a bendless girl in the group that reinvested the temples with flying machines and restarted the air people, Sokka et Toph got in cursed-lovers-mode since she couldn't see with ice and he had to rebuild the tribes...) but I get why Maiko is how it ended, and I see that Mai loved Zuko enough to stop pretending being without emotions (which might have been a coping mechanism with the fact she's the daughter of a fire official in a political regime she doesn't agree with), so... yeah.

If Zutara isn't possible, Maiko is the second best.

[spark-09butghostfilesbitch]

The Scheme

Some more Maiko headcanons. I've seen fics where the Gaang plus Iroh, Ty Lee, Kiyi, Tom Tom and pretty much every person shipping them when they won't admit their feelings to one another.

So, I came up with the idea of: What if Mai and Zuko already made up and were just acting like they weren't together just so they could mess with people and that people would jump at chances to leave them alone with each other.

Mai and Zuko, at first, kept things under wraps because what they had felt new and fragile, and they didn't want further fracture their relationship.

Iroh was the first one to know that they were a thing again.

Mai started to visit pretty often, and would occasionally sidle into Zuko's office, where he would make tea for her and they would talk.

The Kyoshi Warriors obviously noticed something was up, but they wanted to be sure.

After a few weeks, their relationship started to feel like "a thing" again.

Mai helped Zuko out during meetings and they would deliberately sit next to each other so they could banter and quip about the ministers.

People started to notice how comfortable they were with each other, and started gossiping.

Mai was the one who suggested the idea to Zuko so that they could mess with people.

The servants were the first to broadcast the "The Firelord and Lady Mai are stuck with being a couple and being friends attitude"

Zuko and Mai would try to hide their smiles as Zuko's fangirls people tried to figure it out.

They did manage to find a way to meet up and even went on a few dates.

About, like, a month after this, Ty and Suki walked in on them kissing, but after Zuko and Mai explained why they didn't want anyone to know, the Kyoshi Warriors were in on the joke.

The Kyoshi Warriors allowed Mai to walk into the Firelord's chambers at any time she wanted. *Ty Lee giggles*

Team Avatar, thinking Mai and Zuko, left them alone plenty of times.

But unfortunately, word got out, and the act was over. Zuko and Mai didn't care about it though.

This also inspired much more teasing from their friends. Zuko and Mai are embarrassed but they don't want to admit that they don't want it any other way.

I've been having Maiko feels suddenly. I might even post some pen and paper fanart. Anyway, hope you liked these random headcanons!

[feiquacker]

Hey! So after a few months on tumblr I have recognized you to be an intelligent and free-thinking individual willing to speak your mind, and I’d like to open up a little discourse on the widely popular Zukki ship, if that’s alright.

The reason I’m asking you in particular is because you’re a Zuko realist—something this fandom could use a lot more of—who sees the character as he actually is in canon, flaws included, instead of the soft, selfless, over-idealized paragon-of-virtue who has practically hijacked the character we got in the show. And I’m interested to know why you ship Zukki in spite of this, especially considering his possessiveness with Mai (like in The Beach) and how that would work with the dynamic of a throuple. Hope that doesn’t come off as a loaded question! I just want to get your thoughts/reasons behind shipping it. (And you’re welcome to just PM me instead rather than answer this as an ask, idc either way). Thanks!

Oh god you absolute sweetheart noone has ever called me an intelligent and free thinking individual willing to speak my mind. That's like the best complement I have ever received. And nah don't worry I love long asks.

So I am not the biggest Zukki shipper but I absolutely ship them. The main reason is because I want Suki to have two boyfriends and because Sokka is to way awesome to get replaced by Zuko or even compared to him. Plus polynamory is awesome too and I figured instead of disliking zukka I can just like zukki which to you may seem weird now but to me is like a very big deal and has a whole other philosophy behind it that I do not have time to explain right now. Aaah

I liked zuki's dynamic in the comics and although I don't really ship them I like it. If you mix that with some romance you get some really cool stuff.

I am getting off track

One of the main reasons I started shipping zukki is because zukka just seemed off. They didn't have any chemistry and their interractions in chanon were just not fruity like everyone claims so I started searching for reasons to ship them but there was litherally nothing they had incommon then suki.

They just can not be in a relationship. There's no chemistry, no balance or equality.

One of the reasons I ship zukki is because in zukka there is litherally no balance.

So I figured that Suki is the perfect balance.

Don't belive everything I say because I am not good invested into Zuko's and Sokka's sides aka philosophy and character. What I can ruffly say is that while Zuko is impulsive Sokka can be impulsive which isn't a good combination. Zuko runs into battle head on while Sokka plans it out to litheral perfection forgetting to plan the enemies plan and what could go wrong. He sees half of the picture not the whole while Zuko doesn't see at all. Zuko has anger issues and Sokka is the protector of the gaang which means that Zuko is a potential treat because of his "anger issues". Zuko is reckless while Sokka is partially prepared. (this is all before and during the boiling rock by the way)

So here suki comes in. Sukka is litherally the best ship. Suki is the one that sees the full picture, the one that is calm and flexible af but still has enough chaos in mind to take over a warship and crash it against another. Suki see's Sokka's plan and goes with it until it starts failing, where she takes action. If suki was there for the invasion the plan would have worked since she too is a great leader.

Now suki and zuko. A direct comparison is the way she and zuko faught (because they are so similar you could forget the differences in no time): While Suki and Zuko run into action. Suki stepping on the prisoners heads to get to the warden and Zuko jumping off the ledge before getting caught by Sokka on the gondala. While for Zuko it was completely predictable. He runs headfirst into stuff for suki it was a wow moment because it was so unpredictable. Her taking the upper hand in the fight against Ty Lee? Also inpredictable and the whole time it just followes trough flawlessly. Everything she does is flawless unlike Sokka's invasion plan and a lot of Zuko's attempts to catch Aang. As if every move of her is calculated. The reason she got captured by Azula? Surprise attack. She didn't have enough time to plan everything and Appa was there too making it even worse for them. But she shoos of Appa. She knew this was a loosing fight.

That's why she is such a good addition to Sokka and Zuko too. They balance eachother out.

I mean Sukka and Zuki balance eachother out.

So the reason I ship zukki is because I ship sukka and zuki and figured that the three of them in a relationship would be cool plus there's some content for them out there so yea. I still preferrer sukka and sukitara though. Zukki is like a neutral ship. You know? A ship you aren't invested in but also have nothing against?

Yea... Suki would be good for Zuko because she could beat the toxic behaviours out of Zuko. I hate jealous people that actually act out their jealous. And I can imagine Suki doing that to. Because its Suki cmon. She wanted to kill sokka the second he spoke. She would kick that misogynistic behaviour up his ass and out (and yes Zuko is misagonistic sometimes I don't have to explain it and I won't but he is. There is enough proof)

I personally started hc it because I liked the idea of Zuki in the comics and dukka is awesome. Zuko and sokka are just best friends that kiss sometimes and cuddle with suki because she is a sweetheart and the best cuddler ever lmao.

I don't know if answered the question because I got off track a lot and this is the third day and I am still writing it so yeaaa...

Sukka is amazing zukki is cool and yea. But I love the idea of sukitara and sokkaang. Just because I can't stand the bitches that say Katara is straight. Like... No? She's bi. You either have two queer siblings or two straight siblings.

(also I ship them because it gives me a reason not to hate zuko which I am struggling with. I don't want to hate him so I ship him with my favourite character. That way I can lie to myself and stay realistic with jis character)

[princess-of-the-corner]

One other idea I had for that little snippet:

The major events of Ty Lee's journey, from the perspective of her parents.

The first time she bends Air, the moment they realize she's the Avatar, heck, maybe her father was there when the previous Avatar was executed.

Because I can only imagine how they'd react to the news that gets back home, just praying to whatever god or spirit will listen to keep their daughter safe.

(And also their confusion when they learn that there are TWO Avatars running around.)

Plus, I want to homage that one scene in Mulan, with her parents, when they catch on to what their daughter is up to and realize that they CAN'T stop her. Because stopping her risks exposing her.

And if she's discovered, she will die.

(Seriously, Zuko's three year banishment would be such a NIGHTMARE for them.)

OH SO HERE'S THE THING:

Ty Lee's parents actually /don't know about the Avatar thing/.

Because this AU idea kinda spawned out of a more common headcanon that Ty Lee's family is descended from Airbenders, likely ones that went into hiding and managed to stay hidden during the 100 Year War.

And! We've had an entire cycle of Avatars since then. We know that what actually happened was Raava jumping from Aang to try a forced reset of the Avatar Cycle that doesn't fully work. But everyone else assumes the Air Avatar must've been killed by the Fire Nation when a new Avatar shows up in the Water Tribe. We cycle through that one, an Earthbender, and even the Firebender one.

The Firebender one is an interesting one who died very young. Just barely realized what he was, and had been oh so ready to dedicate himself to the Fire Nation's cause. Too bad that Fire Lord Azulon didn't want to risk the Avatar's need for 'balance' turning on them.

Most people assume the Avatar Cycle is broken now, as there are no Airbenders being born. Except there are, they're just staying super fucking hidden

So Ty Lee isn't the new Fire Avatar, she's the new Air Avatar.

And. Her parents know she can Airbend. But made sure she knew to hide that fact. Ty Lee eventually figured out she could work with the other Elements, but she knew not to tell anyone and just. Never told her parents about it either.

So yeah jumping to when the girlsquad joins Zuko's banishment:

Ty Lee's parents don't know exactly why that happened. Honestly for the first bit of time they don't realize that's why she went missing until they hear that Azula and Mai also went missing around the same time, and there was eventually confirmation that Azula was on Zuko's ship so everyone assumes the three are together.

And yeah they're worried but they don't know that the whole Avatar thing is a thing so there's just the general worry.

And then the whole squad jumps ship(somewhat literally) and joins in the war on the other side with the Avatar(s).

GOD does every update on that give her parents a fucking heart attack.

[babydotcom]

mai? ❤

may: i just think mai and i would have a lovely relationship. i could watch her throw her knives and we could listen to shitty emo music together and- i'm totally kidding (but am i?) but seriously

mailee: just. duh. it's about the way they're opposites but it goes deeper than the goth gf x pink gf dynamic. aesthetically, they are divine. but my favorite thing about them is that they have such different but complimentary responses to their similar traumas-- ty lee gets to express every emotion while mai expresses none, and they both step in to protect each other from azula in really subtle ways. they're there for each other first and foremost, and the betrayal at boiling rock is evidence of that. i genuinely gasped out loud, because by god they fucking put that act of devotion on display for all to see. yes, ty lee was also protecting azula from herself, but the way they are there for each other throughout their run on the show makes my heart happy. i like that they're both fucking terrifying in different ways and they compliment each other like puzzle pieces and this really isn't articulated very well at all but you know what i mean

maiki: liiisten. this one's pretty rare but i like it. so. much. grace i think u were the one who put me on or rbd an art about them but. they're just such a calm, quietly powerful pair and i think suki would see really well through mai's exterior and get her to open up a bit, and mai would have an appreciation for suki's devotion to the warriors and her connection to her "family" in the warriors and a cause she really believes in. it's almost like if you toned mailee down a couple notches and removed all of the baggage. idk. it's nice. plus i started a mailee fic a while back that was supposed to have maiki as a stepping stone but i realized while writing it that it just works somehow.

maiko: as i said in my post for zuko, i like it for what it is when it is and not much more.

send me a character and a heart emoji and i'll tell you all my ships for them

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Alright let's try this Soulmate body switch AU I'm also attempting this whole "make a tag" thing... bare with me, ive only actually used this app for like 4 days now im gonna go with "RayMakesSoulmates" for now... uhm, idk what else to go with uhhhhh yeah, names Ray btw...

Okay here we go. The idea of switching bodies is something a bit strange to me so let me make this work for me.

Basically it happens once a year after you either turn 17 or meet your soulmate. If its the latter then there has to be alot of turmoil and confusion on one side to trigger the first switch because it does not happen at the first encounter. However after the first encounter you'll sometimes have little blurry dreams that are in fact core memories of your soulmate. But theyre always too blurry to point out who's involved and sounds are too muffled to pin point any specific noises words or what have you.

Now, the dreams don't happen every night but they happen often enough that you are made aware that you have met your soulmate at some point recently.

So after Zuko visits the south and they begin their cat and mouse game around the world Zuko often has blurry dreams of white with black falling what he thinks is people screaming and what he knows is muffled crying. While Sokka has random dreams of what he thinks is someone moving away into the darkness and someone screaming out to them but he can't figure out what they're saying. Another dream he has is a blurry glow of bright blue and crying. There's also one that shows up more often than the other two, its when he sees what he believes is someone moving towards him saying something, but its muffled, then a bright light and muffled screaming and crying.

However after Ba Sing Se Sokka has a dream that's clear and vivid, not muffled and not blurry. After he takes a moment from shooting up to a sitting position he realizes that this is not a dream, he's switched bodies. Standing up and moving the blankets off of him he looks around and sees the there are fire nation items everywhere, it looks like he's in a royal bedroom. He elects to keep calm as he moves towards where he thinks is a bathroom, he is correct and when he looks into the mirror he freezes. His heart drops into his stomach. Sokka can hardly believe what he's looking at. Staring back at him is not his face, but Zuko's. He reaches up to touch the scar on Zuko's face. While yes he has control over his body and he doesn't exactly know how to act 'firenation' let alone 'fire nation royalty' he stands straight. "This won't last longer than 3 hours." He reminds himself

"What won't last longer than three hours?" Azula's voice breaks through

Instantly on edge and irritated Sokka- ahem Zuko turns to Azula "what do you want Azula?" He says in a voice thats much less irritated, theyre siblings right? So they have to be chummy right

"Oo! You sound so much less angry!" She muses "disgusting, anyways, Mai wanted me to let you know she's leaving today"

Why would he care about that? Oh they must be friends? Maybe they're dating? Okay, don't screw this up "uh, okay"

"Aw don't be so sad Zuzu~ you two would have never worked out anyways, her and Ty Lee switched bodies just three days ago. It was honestly was kind of amusing watching her string you along" This is not how siblings normally talk to eachother. He just glared at Azula "alright alright sheesh, ill leave you alone" he found something to write on and quickly jotted down the conversation because if he was given that information Zuko would need it.

Meanwhile Zuko shot awake and found himself lying next to appa Katara and Aang, so he is alive huh? Confused he figured he must be dreaming until he realized his vision was clear and nothing was muffled. He was below deck on a fire nation ship. He paused a moment before he stood and noticed Sokka's boomerang beside him. He lifed it and saw Sokka in the reflection. His reaction seemed to mirror(haha get it) Sokka's when he saw Zuko in the mirror. But he dropped the boomerang and it made a loud bang which woke the other two up "Sokka what are you doing, the sun is barely up"

He paused and cleared his throat. Okay, sure he's been chasing them he needs to not blow this "uh, sorry, nightmare"

Katara shifted and turned to him, a genuine look of worry in her eyes "do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a tone that reminded him of his mother. Genuine love.

He forced himself not to tear up at the memory and just shook his head "no, I honestly can't remember it. Just scared me is all" the hesitation in Katara's expression before she responded was strange to him

"Alright, if you say so, do you mind going and asking dad to change the course? We need to stop and get supplies"

His hesitation and expression probably made her realize what happened "okay, youre not Sokka right now are you?" He froze and nodded slowly "alright, you dont have to tell me who you are, but I'll help you through the motions, Aang and I switched back in Ba Sing Se, that was the day when you questioned why I said I'd fly around, er- or that was when Sokka questioned me" okay she was a little more accepting of this than he thought.

"Uhm, okay, yeah, right, uhm, I don't want to blow this so can you just uh show me around? I'm sure Sokka knows all the people he's- oh agni he's gonna meet my dad" zuko internally cringed.

In that moment it seemed to click with Katara "alright, so you're telling me your Zuko"

Zuko flinched and backed up against the wall "look I dont know what you want me to do about this, but I promise you that I'm not going to ruin anything, I know I messed up, hell Sokka's probably noticing that my family doesn't work like yours does. I've been so confused my whole life okay, I'm sorry I betrayed you in Ba Sing Se, my sister has a way of manipulating me. I just hope he doesn't get hurt, he probably doesn't know he needs to keep his mouth shut in my family." Zuko was panicking when Katara reached out

"Zuko, zuko what do you mean?" Her voice shaky

"Look I cant tell you everything, I cant tell you my life story not right now, I need to get through with this. If we meet again, which I hope we do, ill tell you then. But right now, please just show me what Sokka goes through day to day. I know he's not gonna like what happens on the other end, I just hope it doesn't go too bad."

Katara nodded "alright well. Let me walk you around and let you learn the peoples names, ill just say hi to them and say their names." She paused "but first, tell me about your mother, i dont know if I believe it anymore"

He sighed before telling her the entire story.

Meanwhile at the palace Sokka was sitting in a war meeting knowing to keep his mouth shut unless spoken to. He didnt want to set people off or let them know he wasn't actually Zuko. The topic of the earth kingdome came up and Ozai turned to him "Zuko, you've spent time among the Earth kingdom citizens. What information do you have?"

"Uh, the Earth kingdoms citizens are strong willed and hopeful, as long as they have hope they will not yeild"

"Hmmm, I see, we need to crush their hope"

"Well, thats not what I-"

"I think we should take their precious hope and burn it to the ground!" Azula cuts in

"Yes, yes good idea Azula" Oh no

About an hour after the meeting the switch flipped, Sokka made notes about everything that he found important in time before the switch was over.

After they switched back Sokka found his sister and grabbed her shoulders "Katara, I have to tell you something, I just got back from a body swit-"

"And your soulmate is Zuko? I know, he cried when I was nice to him, what happened on your end?"

"Well, his whole family is mean to him"

"Figured"

"I was in a war meeting and found out their plan for the comet"

After relaying the information he found they discussed it with Aang.

Let's skip ahead to after the failed invasion and to the air temple when Zuko shows up.

"Hello, Zuko here"

No fighting it in this one

"Get your jerk bender butt over here" Katara and Sokka said practically in unison.

>im gonna wrap it up here. And yes Katara would notice its not Sokka and would totally pick up on Zuko, she's observant

>and no Azula wouldn't notice at all because she's used to Zuko being stand offish with her. Plus Sokka is so much better at impersonations than Zuko

@chaoticidiott @roman-does-nothing @bisexuallsokka @transzukostanblog

I dont know if I did this AU justice, I tried.