#also anakin is out of his mind with jealousy that his wife gets to spend a romantic evening with his master

[tennessoui]

wait lol au where post-war, the jedi order does a date auction a la every cliche ever where they auction off a date night with one of their jedi generals. it's supposed to raise credits for various post-war charities as well as stoke good feelings about the order (the smear campaign was pretty effective, even if sidious died before the genocide bit)

obviously both the hero with no fear and the negotiator are put on the metaphorical chopping block. anakin is a Good Husband™️ so he clears this with Padmé first, and she laughs and agrees and wishes him luck in surviving the hoards of fans that desire him carnally. she says as a senator, she will be expected to attend and maybe even bid. they both agree that it would be way too obvious for their super secret marriage if she bids on anakin, and anakin asks her to bid on obi-wan in a spur of the moment thing.

it's just. obi-wan was really hurt aboard the invisible hand and then he was hurt again when fighting with grievous. and is anyone vetting these random people who will get to go on a date with the jedi? anyone could win!! a disgruntled separatist could win obi-wan's attention for a night and then take him on a date and then kill him!!!! under anakin's very nose!!!

anakin actually gets like. super concerned about this possibility. like super concerned. he gets padmé to promise that she will bid however much it takes to win obi-wan's hand (she is after all generationally wealthy) and she agrees because she loves him and then also follows through because she's a woman of her word.

anakin gets bid on by several people, one woman wins, it's whatever, anakin doesn't care. what anakin cares about is making sure he and this person can go to the same restaurant as obi-wan and padmé. just like. to make sure obi-wan is alright. he was looking quite flushed during the bidding? anakin is Concerned.

and anakin's poor date, who paid millions of credits for his attention, has to deal with an anakin who is obsessed with what's happening a table over and why are they laughing and are their knees touching beneath the table and maybe anakin should go over and like? break it up? his master is obviously a bit uncomfortable in all this candlelight. he looks beautiful, obviously, but he's clearly uncomfortable and he would feel better if anakin were there. obviously.

and anakin's poor date ALSO has to deal with meeting obi-wan kenobi after/during dinner because anakin can't keep in his lane, and general kenobi is downright hostile and cold to her because he's feeling incredibly overprotective at the thought of anakin having to spend time with some woman who bought him. as if he were a slave again.

[officialgomezaddams]

Morality

I honestly dk what this is but its set in AOTC kinda want to turn this into a little series $wag also shout out to my fellow nihilists this is for you bb

Palpatine had always kept watchful over her but never loomed. It would have been too obvious. When he met Anakin, it was like a breath of fresh air, a realization that this little boy was destined to restore the balance in the force and his daughter, Y/n, would be the one to defeat him. He had begun the idea of his daughter once he joined the Darkside, already knowing that the possibility to be overthrown was something he couldn’t let happen. The dark energy, the power, was simply too much to let go of. The moment he saw the nine-year-old boy, the lord was happy to know that the power would stay on the dark side. 

Dooku trained Y/n as a padawan, and when he left the order, he took Y/n with him, kidnapping her into the night. When she asked why they were leaving the temple as he dragged her into a ship, he simply replied, “Sometimes when politicians can’t do their job, we must do something ourselves.” Over the years together, he would open up more, telling Y/n about the death of Qui-Gon and every step that drove him to leave. 

“The Jedi rely on selflessness. To strip one’s ability to have connection and emotion. They lose themselves in conformity. We need to take control of the life we’re given. Emotion, passion, drive. Those are how we will be victorious. Corrupt politicians pull the Jedi around like kites on strings. You can not try and save a house that its lousy foundation has torn down. Tear it down and build a new one.” 

It was her job to ensure just that, a new foundation set within the heart of the Darkside. Relentless training to mentally and physically defeat the chosen one. Palpatine would often tell her that her destiny was a part of the Sith Two, that the strongest one of the two would survive, and it was to be her. Darth Sidious found comfort that his creation would take over the Darkside once she had killed him and the Count. The most decisive Jedi ruling on the side of the night. 

She didn’t quite understand it, but to stay on the Darkside made the most sense to her. It wasn’t about power. It was the lifestyle. Why be selfless if there was no personal gain? Why spend a life living for something else? Shouldn’t one live their life for themselves? Everyone, she determined, had to want something. As long as she did what she wanted, it was enough. It had to be. Because without drive and her idea of what was truly right and wrong, how would she get anything done? 

She rationed that it all didn’t matter. She would never know who was right because, in her mind, the concept of being right varied too much. The Jedi thought they were right, the sith thought they were right, the politicians who voted against their people’s needs thought they were right. She had to suffer through Palpatine’s long lectures about how awful the senate was and now terrible the Jedi Order is. But who was to say he was right? That was only his opinion. Who was to say the Jedi were right because a frog that was almost nine hundred years old said so? 

“I’m just…” Anakin went on, pulling a piece of grass out of the ground. “I mean, I don’t know. Padmè is beautiful and wonderful. She’s everything that could make someone perfect: marriage, it’s so permanent. I know I’m supposed to be excited, which I am, of course. But what if we were not supposed to be together.” 

His speech made her frown. “Sometimes, it’s better just to dive in and see where you land.” She offered. The dreams with Anakin were a peaceful escape to a Jedi’s life. Neither knew why their dreams brought them together or what they even meant. Neither of them bothered, living the same training life on opposite sides. A sweet dream was the perfect reward. “And who are you going to be with then, me?” She teased back. 

The setting of the dreams was in the meadows of Naboo. The pastel-colored flowers stood dim in the moonlight from the starry night above. Anakin laid with his head in her lap as they talked about their personal lives, never going in too deep about what their destinies were. Anakin no longer had the pressure of being the chosen one, and Y/n never had to admit she would kill the chosen one. 

“I wish,” Anakin admitted, now looking up at her. “I want so bad to meet you Y/n, not just in my dreams but in real life. If I could have you by my side, all of this would be less confusing. I’ve fallen in love with you, a woman in my dreams. Why can’t you be in my reality?”

“Don’t say that,” She whispered. Whenever Anakin talked about his little girl-thing, Y/n wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what their relationship was, and she always felt a slight nic in her heart. Y/n knew that she was in love with Anakin, but to hear about another woman making him the happiest he’s been in the majority of the years that she knew him, that it wasn’t her, the one sneaking in kisses with him in the shadows. It brought out an ugly feeling of jealousy and possessiveness to Y/n that she didn’t know she had. 

“I promise, one day, I’ll be with you in all the ways you want.” She spoke with a smile. She would often daydream about what life would be like to meet him real-time. They would run up to each other and crush each other in a hug. She imagined it all.

“Tell me about it,” Anakin edged on, closing his eyes as if it was going to play out in his head.

“Well, I want to go somewhere like D’Qar, somewhere quiet where I won’t have to worry about neighbors or anyone I don’t want finding me. Or us, because you’re coming with me no matter what your soon-to-be wife says,” You teased, making him laugh. “Maybe- Sometimes in my dreams, there’s no Padmè, it’s just us, and every so often there are kids, but it’s just us. Tucked away where we can be together, and nothing can bother us or stop us from being together.”

The silence that sat in between them began to scare Y/n, “Is that a future you would want with me?”

His eyes met hers, a peaceful moment in the chaos of their lives. He reached up to tuck a strand of hair that fell in front of her face, behind her ear. “If I were able to, I would.”

“And why can’t you? Why can’t you have the things you want, Anakin? Is it wrong to be happy?” 

Waking up from the dreams was always the most challenging part, the reality of it not being a reality. Y/n woke up already in a bad mood, mentally kicking herself for pushing too far in. Of course, he wouldn’t want to. He’s getting married to someone else. You’re too late. It had always been Y/n’s plan to end up with Anakin in some way or another. From the first dream to now, she decided to leave the Sith once she had killed the chosen one. Somedays, she would pace around, impatiently waiting for whoever held the title to cross her path so she could just finish the job and take the next ship to wherever Anakin was. 

She tore the necklace he had given her off her neck, clutching the carven japor snippet in her hand with a grip so hard she could have cracked it if it wasn’t made out of stone. She was squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to cry. Anakin had given Y/n the good luck charm when they were at the age of thirteen. Y/n was upset that once everything was over that he may not want to be with her, the reputation of her choices would drive him away. 

“Well, you can’t be that bad,” He commented, pulling out the carved stone from his pocket and shyly handing it to her. “I made this for you,” Anakin explained as she put it around her neck, “So that when good things happen, you can think of me. It’ll be my way of keeping you safe, and in return, one day, you will come to me safely.”

She opened her eyes and stared at the carvings, remembering how Anakin said he made it just for her, so she better not lose it. Y/n wanted to break it, throw it away, and never see Anakin again. She wanted more than just the dreams. She wanted the sunsets and the early morning and the rainy days - all of it. Maybe they were wrong, they weren’t supposed to meet, and it was just a nice dream. 

She couldn’t do that. She at least owes him a simple greeting, and then she can get rid of him. Putting the necklace back on and wiping her face to make sure she wasn’t crying, Y/n walked out of the room, ready for whatever the sith wanted her to do. 

“Just be patient,” Her master told her as they waited outside the still open ship. Geonosis was overrun with battle, the sith fighting tooth and bone to claim the planet as its capital, the major droid foundries, and its Mandalorians. Nothing could be more perfect for the sith. The two force signatures caught Y/n’s attention. Looking up at Dooku, she told him, “Well, let’s make it quick then.” 

“The chosen one will be here,” he whispered back. “I’ll leave that one to you.”

“You’re gonna pay for all the Jedi you killed, Dooku,” A familiar voice said as you both turned around in unison. “Y/N?” A pit dropped in her stomach. It was him, Anakin. Anakin’s blue saber was pointed at the ground, more focused on her than the older man. 

The necklace he gave her burned her through her robes. Anakin was finally there in front of her. This Anakin was different from her dreams. He stood with more pride and confidence. He was also the chosen one. “I-I didn’t expect to meet you like this,” She told him, knowing full well once on the ship, she would be interrogated about her knowledge of the boy. 

“Why are you with him?” The venom in his voice almost made her feel guilty about being who she was. “Are you-? Don’t tell me Y/n-” He couldn’t find the words to express his confusion and disappointment, “You’re a Sith. How can you be with them? You lied to me! Can’t you see what they’re doing to you? Can’t you see what they’ve done!”

“The Jedi know no facts,” She spoke, looking over at the Count, waiting for his head nod and sign of approval to ignite her orange saber. The whole weapon was made for destruction, a perfect saber to kill the chosen one. Its orange glow was representing strength. The curved hilt that matched hers of her masters was perfect for duels and close fights. “Only assumptions.”

It hurt her to have him looking at her in disgust. As if she was suddenly less than him because of her beliefs. “Anakin, you need to calm down,” She warned him as he charged towards her, only for Dooku to step in front of her, raising his hand to send bolds of electricity into the boy’s body and fling him into a rock wall. “Don’t keep me waiting,” Her master spoke before walking up the platform of the ship. 

Y/n only had seconds to understand that not only her master had abandoned her, Anakin was also lying limp in a pile of rocks, and the other Jedi was making his way towards her. She pointed her saber straight ahead at him, taking careful steps around him, trying to think about how this all would end. Was this it? When is supposed to kill the chosen one who happened to be the boy Y/n had fallen in love with over the past ten years? She knew that once she killed Anakin, she would have to kill the two sith above her, starting the two over with her as a master. 

“I heard the little green guy talks highly of you, Kenobi. What a pity it will be when I kill his two strongest men.”

Obi-wan shook his head, “You’re not Dooku’s apprentice. You’re just an assassin to him. Y/n why would he elect a child to be his successor?” He spoke as if he could read her mind, his blue eyes pleading with her. 

“You don’t know anything!” Y/n yelled, making the first strike. His saber skills were advanced, but quickly she was able to disarm him and left two marks on him, one on his arm and one on his thigh. She walked up to him, the two staring at each other. Was she about to kill this man? She had never killed a human before. Taking down droids and other creatures were casual to her. Humans? This man was edging her on with his eyes, both understanding that she wasn’t able to drive her saber into his neck. She couldn’t just kill a man who had done nothing to her. That would be wrong, right? But if it was so bad, why was she encouraged to do it? 

Before she could thoroughly choose, Anakin came at full force again. This time his master had tossed him his saber, making the fight two against one. “Why won’t you join our site, the right side?” Anakin asked, swiftly dodging her but failing to make any advancements to disarming her. 

“I don’t believe in any right sides.” She told him, knocking the green lightsaber out of his hand, evening out the fight. “I believe in one thing. Power of human will.” 

She walked into the ship quietly, ignoring the little green Jedi behind her. She didn’t care about the older man, Yoda or Count Dooku. She walked past the sith and made her way right to the pilot’s seat before sitting down. 

Dooku followed her, giving her space as she sat down. Crossing his arms like a disappointed parent, he asked, “Well?”

“I cut his arm off,” Y/n spoke, taking out the necklace and looking at the charm in her hand. She left right after, watching him lay unconscious against his master, missing apart of his right arm. She had hurt him, and for a moment, when she was looking at the injured pair, the padawan’s master had the same look on his face as before. An eyebrow raised as if to say, Do it, kill us. I doubt you’ll do it. 

“I’m disappointed in you.” He said. Y/n could have done it. She would have just pictured them as droids and slice the two in half. It would have been quick and painless. She could have plaid her life out, kill the chosen one, rule the sith, and live her life. Why didn’t you? She kept thinking as she admired the gift. 

Looking at the charm, the future she talked about seemed too far away, especially now. The end with the boy she loved, Anakin, who also was the boy she was supposed to kill. But for right now, she thought to herself. She wouldn’t kill him, at least not yet, until she knew for sure that her fantasies with Anakin were just wild dreams. It was her own life. Why couldn’t she have the things she wanted? 

[science-fiction-is-real]

“The Search”, it’s problems, and how to fix it.   PART 2, OZAI

Some of us really liked “The Search,” which tell the story of Zuko’s mom and her fate.  Other’s of us.... didn’t.

My writer’s instinct tells me to fix any story I don’t like.  So here it is.

In my last analytical post, I talked about Ursa, and how she’s a total badass in the show, but is completely mishandled in the comics.  I also talked about some changes I would make if I were handed the reigns to rewrite “the search.”

Villains are SUPER important to stories so I have a lot to say about this here in part two.

While “The Search” is Ursa’s story, stories are driven by conflict, and so the villain is often just as important as the main character. When it came to Ozai, Gene and Bryke had an amazing opportunity to create something interesting, dynamic, and intimidating, and boy did they drop the ball.

So here is Ozai in terms of “The Search,” what his problems are, and how I would fix them.

Villains, as the main source of conflict, are the power house of any story, and so they need to be done well.  Watching Avatar and Legend of Korra, Bryke prove themselves to be kings when it comes to their villains. Every single one of the bastards struck a balance between being terrifying and being believably human.  (Except for Unalaq.  Fuck you Unalaq)  Ozai was not necessarily a complex character in the show. This was because he was supposed to be more of a symbol of evil than a character in his own right.  But Even Ozai's humanity is shoved down our throats toward the end.  He sure was cute in that baby picture.

But Ozai can’t be the same thing in the comics than he was in the show.  In “The Search” we see him in a more intimate setting, as Ursa’s husband and Zuko and Azula’s father.  He doesn’t get to be a mere symbolic evil anymore.  Now he has to be a walking breathing human being with an interesting personality.  Can he make the switch?

Spoiler alert, he doesn’t make the switch very well.

I don’t think Bryke and Gene recognized how cool an opportunity they had when dealing with person Ozai as opposed to just symbolic Ozai.  

Think about some of the best villains in fiction/literature:   Satan was once Lucifer, Darth was once Anakin, Frankenstein and Monster both were never predestined for their villainous rivalry.  These characters are interesting and timeless because they are PEOPLE first and villains second.  They became evil not because it was fun but because of decisions they actively made, based on complex emotions, beliefs, and desires.  

Presenting villains as humans doesn’t take away their scariness.  The opposite is true.  Seeing humanity in villains disturbs us because it reminds us 1) anyone is capable of evil, and 2) people we hate are human beings too.  Also.  When villains have complex thoughts, feelings, and emotions, this gives them strong motivations, and shows us they are actually DRIVEN to commit evil deeds.

The writers could have done this with Ozai.  But they took that opportunity presented to them by “The Search” and they flushed it down the toilet.

Ozai in the comics certainly LOOKS like a human character.  He does human-ish things, like working out, eating dinner with his family, sharing sexual tension with his wife.  But the writers forget something pretty basic about humans when they delt with Ozai.  Humans have behaviors that are driven by thoughts, desires, and emotions.  Ozai has behaviors, and those behaviors, uhm... sort of.. kind of... add to the plot, But the thoughts, desires, and emotions behind them are self contradictory, poorly explained, or just missing all together.

 Ozai’s actions are so confusing I had to go back to read the comic again just to figure out what the writers were trying to do with him.  I am thoroughly convinced the writers hadn’t the slightest clue what was going on in that evil little noggin, nor did they give the slightest fuck. They spent maybe five minutes on the dude and his dialogue.  The result is neither interesting nor intimidating.

In order to be as unsympathetic as possible, Comics Ozai basically follows the behavior pattern of “handle every situation as badly as I possibly can" regardless if it fits any type of concrete motivation.  In fact Ozai isn’t really allowed to have any thoughts, feelings, or motivations at all.  He is not allowed to show any emotion that doesn’t fall between grumpy and hateful. No other emotions allowed!  Otherwise he might run the risk of being relatable, and God forbid a villain show any of that humanity the show worked so hard to convince us villains have. As a result, his behavior has no consistency.  If this were a Criminal Minds episode, they would profile Ozai as being multiple UnSubs who are not actually working together. 

They can’t get the guy pinned down.  At first they play him off as a jealous and possessive husband.  Of course, Ozai doesn’t show any of the emotions that tend to go along with jealousy and possessiveness.  He shows no sexual or romantic attraction to Ursa.  He suffers no fear of abandonment.  Those are no-no emotions for Ozai.  But he’s jealous anyway.  He reads her mail, he forbids her to contact or talk about her family, he puts a hit out on her old boyfriend.   But then, after spending several pages being jealous and possessive, Ozai suddenly decides to ask Ursa for a quick and amicable divorce right after the plot to kill Azulon is established.  Jealous possessive types usually panic at the thought of separation with their partner, but Ozai actually seems to take glee in the thought of Ursa leaving. Which is it Ozai?  Do you want to control and possess the woman or do you hate her and want her gone?  Make up your fucking mind.

Just as confusing is how he treats Zuko. Abuse by a parent toward a child is always confusing and tragic.  But real dick parents either have no motivation at all for their abuse (other then whatever behavior the victim did to trigger it), or they believe their abuse to be a natural part of parenting.  Ozai actually gives us a more creative reason for his cruelty.  He does it to punish Ursa for her lie about Zuko’s parentage.  We’re supposed to interpret this as Ozai being a sadistic prick.  But if Ozai were really just a sadistic prick, he wouldn’t wait for Ursa to give him an excuse to pick on Zuko.  And if Ursa really was the cause of his abuse, the abuse would stop after Ursa left.  Also why does Ozai take so much glee in Azulon’s order to kill Zuko?  YOU’RE BEING PUNISHED OZAI!  Azulon is telling you to kill Zuko as a PUNISHMENT.  Either its a punishment or it was something you were going to do all along.  It can’t be both. What the hell is going on?

Ozai’s confused motivation means that he isn’t really that intimidating throughout the story.  He’s actually kind of something to laugh at.  A lot of the supposedly scary and evil things he does also fall flat under closer inspection.  When he’s jealous about Ursa’s former boyfriend he doesn’t go after him herself, but instead hires a hit man, who fails.  He tells Ursa not to contact her home town, but he seems to care little about the letters she writes her boyfriend, even though he has been intercepting them for years (until the lie about Zuko’s parentage).  He’s supposed to be seen as conniving and ambitions, but he indicates no interest or plans to seize political power until his wife dictates letter by letter how he can do it.  We don’t even get to see him fight, except against some training dummies.  For such a supposedly dastardly villain he isn’t very ballsy or active in the narrative.  Some of you may disagree with me on that, but I thought he could have done more.

One reason this one-dimensional Ozai bothers me so much is because of how The Search makes a half-hearted effort to have a discussion on abuse and abusive family dynamics.  Ozai is an abuser, but real life abusers aren't dangerous because they happen to be evil for evil's sake, they are dangerous because their cruelty is mixed in with the more human, positive aspects of family life as well.  Abusers use affection and charm to gain control just as much as they use cruelty.  Some times abusers and victims actually have strong, loving feelings for each other, which only further entangles their victims in the cycle.  If “The Search” wants to have a conversation on such a real and pressing topic, it isn't very responsible of them to portray the issue in such a one dimensional and unrealistic way.

Long story short, Bryke had an opportunity to flesh out their best villains they had, and they blew it.  Villains are the source of conflict, and thus driving engines of a story.  Villains are extremely important and need to be done with care.  Bryke blew it.  It makes me want to scream into a pillow.  

SO.... HOW DO WE FIX THIS....?

A good version of the Search could go in one of two different directions.  

One)  They could stick with the story mostly as it is, where Ozai is evil from the beginning and is the unchallenged antagonist throughout the story.  This is more time efficient.

Two) They could really take advantage of the chance to show Ozai as a human being, and give us some backstory on him and the origins of his evil nature.  They could show him as Anakin turning into Darth if you will.

But either of these routes will have some things in common that will need to be fixed.

The Current Search shows an Ozai half-heartedly attempting “schemes” and “plots,” but never in a way that truely convinces us he’s a truely effective antagonist.  The first thing Search 2.0 should do is to show Ozai taking a much more active, if not violent role in the story events.  Ozai’s main character trait it seems is his ambition.  So lets let him be ambitious.  Lets let him grab the royal court by its balls and man handle it to his liking.  Also, its a damn shame we had an action-centered comic where Ozai (one of the best fire benders in the ATLA universe) was the main bad guy, and we didn’t get to see him in a single fight.  Let’s put him in a fight.  Most importantly, in order to convince the reader that Ozai should truely frighten them, his actions need to have very clear and explicit motivations, AND must be successful at least a large part of the time--with consequences to those around him.

Included in this, I want to see Ozai do a much more convincing job playing the abuser.  I want to see him charm and manipulate as well as throw his weight around.  I want to see him actually make the audience feel trapped and claustrophobic as they relate to the family trapped under his thumb.  You may say that is too dark, but must I remind you Show Ozai burned a kid’s face off in the very first season.  We have wiggle room when it comes to darkness.

Next

Ozai needs emotional range.  Every character but him is allowed to show range.  Villains need as much range as the protagonists, including moments of emotional vulnerability and non-threatening emotions.  Emotional vulnerability doesn’t make villains less scary.  It actually does the opposite. Villains are scary when we know their evil deeds have a strong motivation behind them.  And that strong motivation can only come when characters have emotions that drive their actions.   Frankenstein’s monster is a good example of a villain who demonstrates strong, if not over dramatic emotional range.  It’s not the monsters anger or grumpiness that makes him scary, it’s his loneliness, sense of loss, and longing to be loved that do, because we know that THOSE are the emotions that will drive him to fuck a bitch up.

You may also worry that showing an emotionally vulnerable, and dare I say relatable, Ozai would make the reader feel morrally confused.  Good.  Good stories ARE morally confusing.  Tell me you weren’t morally confused when you saw Darth Vader as a ten year old child, or when someone told you FRANKENSTEIN and not the monster might be the bad guy, or when someone told you the devil himself used to work for God, OR WHEN BRYKE SHOWED YOU OZAI’S BABY PICTURE RIGHT BEFORE AANG WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM.  We were morally confused when those things happened, but it made us smarter and wiser because it challenged our perceptions.  If we take the second story option this will be an absolute necessity.

What kind of emotions might those be?  Well, it depends on what type of story line we would decide to go with for Search 2.0. There are some things to work with here.  Ozai is shown having a toxic relationship with his own father.  I could imagine a story line where he attempts to take the pain and hurt from that rejection, and channel it into rising above his station, into unbridled ambition that drives him to destroy his own family while securing his own power.  It is a well established fact that Ozai is ambitious.  We could explore how Ozai feels when asked by his father to kill his own son, in the sense that Ozai takes it as a punishment--torn between protecting his own bloodline vs his compulsive need to please his father.  We could explore what sort of feelings, if any, he has toward Ursa, which is especially important considering this is Ursa’s story.

 If we want to stick as much to canon as possible, let’s recall that Show Ozai reads as a classic narcissist, by the technical definition of the word. His treatment of Zuko and Azula follows typical patterns of Narcissistic abusers, and he also does shit like usurp the throne from his grieving brother and crown himself Phoenix King.  Of course, being a Narcissist does NOT exclude him from being emotionally complex and even in some ways relatable.  Narcisist don’t experience empathy or true love, but they do experience pretty much every other emotion on the table.

Some more plot specific things.. I would get rid of the jealous husband angle.  It seems a little Cliche to me.  I think Ozai would be much too concerned with cementing his own power in the court to worry about who Ursa is writing letters too.

Lets PLEASE get rid of the plot point where Ozai decides to abuse Zuko because he’s trying to get back at Ursa.  It doesn’t make any sense to me.  We can explore why he hates his son if we want.  I have my own theories.  Maybe Azulon hates Zuko, and because Ozai wants to suck up to his dad, he hates Zuko too.  Or maybe Ozai blames Zuko for Azulon’s death and Ursa’s leaving.  Afteral if it hadn’t been to protect Zuko’s life, Ursa would not have killed Azulon and left.  Or maybe Zuko takes after Ozai in many different ways, and Ozai hates himself, and therefore hates Zuko.  Or maybe he’s just a big fat dick who needs a punching bag and learned abusive behavior patterns from his own dad.

Sorry that was so long, pepes, you are treasures for hearing me out.

Please comment if you have any thoughts