#but really. the only person that was actually abusive in the fire family was ozai

[avisisisis]

Seeing so many people putting Azula and Zuko against each other bothers me a lot, because that's literally what Ozai did. How can you guys not see that? It's canon

Azula and Zuko were both terrible to eachother in multiple occasions (edit: actually, Azula was terrible to Zuko, but I didn't wanna get jumped by Azula stans so I made it seem like they were both bad. Sorry about that and thanks for correcting me), but they're both traumatized children fighting a war that started before they were even born. The war made them that way. Ozai made them that way

Azula was horrible to Zuko for most of his life, and that's canon. You can't deny it. But at the same time, it MOSTLY wasn't her fault

So, we know how Ozai clearly liked Azula more than Zuko did. But why is this? Zuko may not be as good as Azula in terms of bending, but he's not a bad bender. Ozai likes Azula more (not loves; likes) because she acts the way he wants her to act. She's cold, mean, calculating, manipulative and supports the Fire Nation. Zuko is nice, he asks too many questions, struggles with his emotions and can't seem to stfu (I know I sound mean saying that but that's literally canon. That boy cannot, for the love of god, shut his fucking mouth up)

Ozai made Azula be more like him. Zuko gets his kindness from his mother

And on the topic of Ursa, she canonically loves both of her children, even if she prefers Zuko due to him being less like their abuser. We never see her calling Azula a monster, besides of the scene where she says “What is wrong with that child?” OUTSIDE OF HEARING RANGE and right after Azula did something Bad™ (forgot what it was sorry). This is why I believe that Ursa never directly told Azula she feared her: Ozai told her she did. Ozai spent a lot more time with Azula than he did with Zuko, which was very easily an opportunity to poison her mind even more. And how did he do this?

By telling her everyone hated her.

He isolated her, made her cold and unforgiving, so that she wouldn't have any “weaknesses” like Zuko did. He used her as a means to abuse Zuko. He told her Zuko and Ursa were weak and that they both feared and hated her

Zuko would be right to be angry at Azula for treating him the way she did,but he still should know (and he DOES know, it was literally the main theme of his redemption arc; realizing that his abuser was the one at fault and not him) that the one at fault was Ozai. Same with Azula; it wasn't Zuko's fault nor Ursa's, Ozai is the one that willingly chose to destroy so many people's lives because he wanted power

And I'm pretty sure Zuko and Azula don't hate eachother like many people believe them to do. No, they love eachother, but ofc Ozai fucking ruined their relationship bc he ruins EVERYTHING

Zuko is sad that their relationship turned out to be that way. Zuko wants them to be better, to do better. Zuko wants them to be happy. But Zuko has also grown up with a version of Azula that could never make mistakes and that was mean af. Zuko won't be able to have a perfectly healthy relationship with his sister ever because of how he was made to think of Azula as perfect, and because Azula was made to think of him as weak

So, please, don't pit them against eachother. Don't compare the abuse they went through (seriously. Doing that is disgusting). Don't bring one of them down to make the other look like a little angel that does nothing wrong. They already suffer because of that enough in canon. Leave my babies alone

[shrimz08]

AANG ＆ OZAI PARALLELS: DEBUNKED

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Because apparently the true villain is the sole survivor of a genocide of his entire nation, and not the imperialist colonizer.

Where do I even begin?? Because I’m genuinely holding in laughter writing this, it’s absolutely insane how certain people can make such egregious parallels that aren’t even found in the first place. 

AH, so a little backstory on how this fucking shit stained idea even came to existence, well our dear z^tara fans pissed their pants over Zuko and Katara not tying the knot, so, as a way of retribution for their supposed “honour” They take any chance to jump on the Aang hate train and make him into some irredeemable abusive demon, aaand they got that perfect opportunity because the LoK decided to take a lick out of the great “Main Characters Must Be Bad Parents In The Sequels” Trope. Which personally, does absolutely nothing to the protagonists resolution aside from cheap family drama but I digress. 

Now, I’m not behind the idea of the writers trying to make Aang a “flawed” Parent, I think it really makes no sense by how they went about it, (I might touch on this in another post) 

((And it’s so very clear that they’re trying to give it a soft “retcon” And even taking extra steps saying that Kya and Bumi just “remember wrong” Which I’ll actually take, because season two of LOK was hell on earth anyway so you might as well give it some saving grace.)) 

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There’s three main parallels that they got from Ozai and Aang: (god help me)

Favouring a child

isolating the rest

leaving pressure On the golden child

I’m going to debunk all three of them while trying not to fall into complete lunacy over how ridiculous they are. 

Favouring a child + Leaving pressure: 

OK, so people are clearly blind with context clues and media comprehension, got it. No surprise whatsoever. I can’t be disappointed if I didn’t even have any expectations to begin with. 

Let’s compare the treatment on how Ozai treats Azula, and how Aang treats Tenzin. (Holy Shit)

Beginning with Ozai, well.. It doesn’t take much of a rocket scientist to understand that Ozai essentially could not give two fucks about Azula, as she in essence, serves the role of an attack dog, as long as it does its job, it’s worthy. 

Ozai favoured Azula because she was molded to match his ferocity and hunger for power, she was a prodigy bender, and was cunning and calculated, all traits that Ozai found endearing and someone worthy to be crowned the next “fire lord.” His “favouring” Of her didn’t come out of genuine love or care, she is his tool who serves a purpose. In short, she showed more competency and more ruthlessness and callousness in comparison to Zuko. Which earned her, her place as the “Golden Child.”  

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None of this is even remotely similar to how Aang treated Tenzin and his kids, aside from the fact he supposedly “favoured” Tenzin more, but that is such a baseline statement and has absolutely no relation with Ozai's reasons.

You have to understand that an entire FUCKING NATION IS DEAD. History, Culture, Tradition, is at the BRINK of being wiped out, Tenzin is quite literally the only Airbender that will be left after Aangs passing. Why do people devalue this concept so much? 

“B-BUT THE AIR ACOLYTES1!!” Still have limited knowledge, airbending is so heavily tied to its spiritual roots, you LOSE your ability to AIRBEND, if you aren't inclined to your spiritual side. Which is a core part of the air nomad culture. Tenzin is... Literally the only god forsaken part left of that, so yeah. It’s a pretty big fucking deal. Aang values his culture and teachings to such a high degree, he is literally the survivor of a genocide. His favouring of Tenzin was done out of necessity and love, not out of a need for power and a new attack dog to send orders around. 

Tenzin will literally be the future “Director” Or guide for the next avatar to learn airbending, people still forget this, and it’s hilarious. He needs to know all the moves, all the teachings because he will be the next avatar's personal guide. 

Aang constantly reassures him, and apologizes for the pressure that may be put upon him but he always reaffirms that he’ll be there to guide him and they’ll “learn together”

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So yeah not the same thing at all. Fuck you for being so inept at understanding the different reasons and perspectives of those situations, just for some petty ship discourse, genuinely disgusting.

Isolating the children:

OK this part, I have to say that the writers definitely messed up with aangs characterization, but I think the execution came out way differently than the intention, so I will try to look more into the intention of each decision.

Ozai isolated Zuko, mistreated him, belittled him, PHYSICALLY ABUSED HIM, but yeah totally on par with Aang actually. 

I don’t wanna touch on this part much mainly because his treatment was literally explained all throughout the show, and granted, while I understand most of these people haven’t touched the show aside from reading fanfic 300000 Where Aang is revealed to us as satan himself, but perhaps, even a small peak at Ozai's parenting would reveal the laughable contrast between the two.

Zuko was a slow learner, and much more of a softie, and a “mama's boy” To Ozai’s heavy dislike, he was thus treated as such, he was belittled, turned down, and literally burnt alive for showing “weakness” He is meant to serve as a direct contrast to Azula, ”The everything he isn't.” 

Kya and Bumi on the other hand, don’t show any actual signs of trauma aside from some petty jabs they threw at Tenzin, 

Bumis talk with Aang at the statue was *very very* Clearly, meant to highlight his own inferiority complex that he internalized growing up. His need for proving himself to be capable of doing just as much if not more than a “bender” Probably happened because his two parents were both prodigy benders and him being a first born son who was a non-bender must’ve hit pretty hard for him, and I’m so sure that katara and Aang reassured how special he is but that kind of thing doesn’t really go away.

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Kya: [while healing Bumi] I told you those rocks were slippery. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself.

Bumi: You done with the lecture, mom?

Kya: Oh, grow up. You haven't changed one bit since we were kids. You're still trying to prove you can do everything a bender can. Well, you can't. Deal with it.

----------------------

 That talk with Aangs statue was very much meant to unveil an internal struggle rather than a conflict he had with his father. Kya even doubles down on this, telling him “of course he’d be proud of you” Basically spoon feeding to us, the viewers, that this is much more of internal than an external conflict that he has to overcome along the show. 

“Why Didn’t he share his culture with them 1!!1!” 

He most definitely did, or tried to, but it’s clear they didn’t show much interest so he didn’t pester, this is shown many times throughout the show. 

“You know I could never keep all those gurus straight… There were like a million of them!

remember that long boring story about the guy who never ate?”

This is literally Kya’s remark to Tenzin just after he tried teaching the airbender students this story, basically telling us that Aang DID try to tell them about his stories and culture, but much to their disinterest, didn’t try any further. 

And Bumi, literally could not pay attention to the story to save his life, and instead decided to fool around in his literal 60’s!! I mean Imagine what he was like when he was a kid!! 

I could imagine their dynamic was very similar to Jinora with Meelo and Ikki, Tenzin being the only one with actual interest and care, whilst Bumi and Kya goofing off and not putting much focus onto it. WHICH IS FINE BTW!! 

It only goes to reiterate that Tenzin was the only one who was actually giving interest and attention to the air nomad culture, and it was of Kya and Bumi’s own personal choice to not partake in it. To each their own I see. 

“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VACATIONS” 

This.. I agree, weird for the writers to decide this, but given how they low-key are retconning it in interviews, my best guess is that each of those trips were side-quests during their journey to teach an important lesson that might’ve just drowned out because Tenzin may not have remembered it as well. 

Also keep in mind that Tenzin was put into a lot of pressure, Aang probably saw this, and as a way to still keep it enjoyable, he took him to trips that would help ease the mind for a little kid whilst also learning something valuable. That seems pretty on brand for Aang actually

And given that Kya and Bumi are literally in their fucking 60’s it wouldn’t surprised me if they didn’t have the greatest memory. Hell, they didn’t even fault Aang as a parent until Tenzin started boasting about “trips” That Kya and Bumi gave petty jabs but weren’t actually showing genuine hurt, just annoyance.

Kya even comments how Aang was too busy “Trying to save the world, and doing his duty that he didn't have much time for them” 

Phrasing as if it wasn't anything "important" But it's clear that this was Kya's own personal irritation towards Tenzin rather than an actual evaluation on Aang's duties.

A continuation comic best explains it in a deeper way:

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Literally showing that “neglecting” His kids wasn't up to him, and was out of a sense of necessity, trying to cram as much knowledge onto Tenzin, the only one who was basically putting his lessons into practices. Kya and Bumi were left feeling neglected. But that wasn’t out of his decision; he still loved them dearly.

-------

This. Literally highlighting how much pressure was forced upon Aang, so yes, as any person would, he struggled with making time for everybody. Holy shit who knew?? 

GASP!! IS THAT… A REALISTIC BUT UNDERSTANDABLE FLAW!!?? HOW DARE YOU! ITS OZAI #2 

The fact that the smiley energetic person forgets to SMILE, is a big deal, man was put through hells amount of stress but he never cracked.

So tell me, how is a genocidal freak, who treats his golden child like a tool and abuses the other both physically and emotionally for showing “weakness’ 

Even remotely comparable to

 the sole survivor of a genocide, trying to withhold his teachings and culture onto literally his only child that showed actual effort in doing so, while also maintaining the balance of an entire fucking world and being literally the biggest “advisor” And “Mentor” For society, OH! And also building and managing a literal city, but along the way struggling to make time for his children. 

Guess what, they’re not. And if you think they are. You are an idiot, with bias and headcanons.

So the conclusion is, Aang is a flawed parent, but he isn't a "bad" Parent - confirmed by the literal writers.

Comparing him to Ozai a literal dictator, is absolutely sickening, just for your petty shipping discourse when this show's been over for a decade is insane. Indulge in what you enjoy, but stop projecting delusions like they're canon.

:D

[zuko-always-lies]

List of Azula AU/fic ideas

Better parenting Ursa

Azula raises Katara AU (and continued) and more

Azula and Katara get friendly postwar and talk about their brothers.

Mai is significantly older than Azula and Ty Lee AU (Older "sister" Mai)

Jin works at Iroh's teashop but finds out about his past

Zuko tells Azula about the Spirit Water

Ursa and Ozai get along better, and it's not a good thing AU

Imperialist Lu Ten survives the war and tries to regain his throne afterwards

Zuko finds out more about his nation AU

Revolutionary Azula takes over Ba Sing Se AU

Three different AU ideas in one

Favoritism in the royal family is a little different

What if Zuko had a nonbending twin sister (who he doesn't get along with).

Zuko's daughter changes how he sees Azula

Zuko and Ursa try to isolate Azula ("for her own good")

Ozai gets exiled and the Gaang stupidly ally with him

Earth Kingdom ends up with custody of Azula postwar and support her bid for the Fire Nation throne when Zuko starts another war with them.

The Gaang tries to figure out why Zuko joined them.

Dangerous Ladies find Ursa in Book 2

Azula and Toph fake dating

Zuko/"world leaders" try to force Aang to take away Azula's bending and he's very much not OK with it.

Azula is thrown away to the NWT postwar as a trinket and Chief Arnook adopts her.

Comics! Ursa's letter about Zuko being a bastard gets out.

Zuko and Katara lie about what happened during the Agni Kai

An exiled Azula finds Fire Imperialist! Ursa postwar

Aang has to save Azula from being executed by Zuko

Zuko's defection during DoBS goes very badly for Mai

Zuko joins the Gaang at Ba Sing Se, but it ends poorly

Zuko killed Azula during the Agni Kai, and now he has to deal with the consequences.

AU idea where Zuko keeps Azula permanently imprisoned in bad and torturous conditions postwar, and Izumi finds out about when she’s relatively young, and draws exactly the sort of conclusions about her parents that you would expect. Not to mention being terrified that she might be treated the same way if she missteps…

Ozai never declares Zuko and Iroh traitors

Iroh-Azula roleswap au

Zuko asks Azula for help with his firebending

Zuko wants Azula to like him but doesn't get why she doesn't like him (postwar)

Katara has an arranged marriage with Zuko and Azula tries to get into the good graces of her sister in law

"Katara is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Zuko, but she falls in love with Azula instead."

Another take on Zvtara (arranged marriage) and Maizula.

Azula-Katara AU idea (or: Katara runs into an Azula who has changed a lot in some ways and not very much in others)

Zuko is actually Ikem's son

Firelord Azula ends her brother's exile

Azula raises Izumi (it's complicated)

"AU idea: Azula commits suicide out of despair, and just about everyone is convinced that Zuko had her murdered or at the very least “encouraged” her to do it."

Dangerous Ladies get banished/declared traitors and Azula basically gives up. Mai has to step up her place

I have to say, “Zuko has to deal with finding out that Ursa very much isn’t who he believed she was” remains excellent fanfic fodder.

"AU idea: Ursa is more aware of Ozai’s abuse and potential for abuse than in canon, so, right after her exile, she seeks out Iroh and charges him with protecting both of her children."

Firelord Iroh treats Azula in a really screwed up way.

"AU where Azula dies during the latter stages of the war or right after it, and Mai is the only person who ever morns her as a person, not as a politically convenient symbol (Ty Lee runs away from her complex feelings on Azula as much as she can)."

Dark idea

"Since so much of the fandom is convinced that Azula is Zuko’s older sister, I need an AU where this is true and Zuko is just as throne-obsessed as canon and spends all his time trying to usurp his older sister."

"AU where Ozai has a heart attack and dies right after the fire siblings return to the Fire Nation, and Zuko and Azula have to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Gaang are plotting to overthrow them and bring the war to a close once and for all..."

King Kuai adopts Azula as his heir

Things get complicated, darkly (Azula exiled postwar AU)

What if Zuko tried to be a good brother

"I really need an AU where Lu Ten returns and is pissed over Ozai’s usurpation, so he kills Ozai, seizes the throne, and continues the war. Of course, Iroh ends up supporting his actual son in all of this, and the conflict in the Fire Nation ends up boiling down to Zuko and Azula vs. Lu Ten and Iroh as the situation spirals toward civil war, at the same time the 100 years war continues."

"Maizula AU where Mai married Zuko, but he died not long after Izumi was born, and Azula and Mai are secretly carrying out a relationship while raising Izumi and ruling the Fire Nation as her regents."

Azula joins the Gaang with a twist...

"The chaos which would result if Lu Ten showed up alive again in Book 1 and launched a rebellion against Ozai in pursuit of “his” throne."

Ursa opposes Firelord Zuko

Iroh tries to kill Azula during "The Chase"

Mai and Ty Lee on trial for "war crimes"" and Azula has to save them

This is very long list, and people are welcome to steal any ideas they want from it for their own use.

[ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1]

A THEORY ABOUT OZAI-

Why was Ozai so cruel?

Fire Lord Ozai is the absolutely malicious and tyrannical main antagonist of the Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the series, he comes across as a cruel, ruthless, and a megalomaniac dictator. Which is why he is often considered as a 2 dimensional cartoon villian with no rich background compared to the other villains like Azula, Zuko (formerly), Hama; Amon, Zaheer...

We never really see his inner struggles or anything complex about his character at all. His only motivation is like "Evil for sake of being evil". That's why some fans complain about his character being too shallow and too cartoonishly evil. And this really stands out when we compare him to rest of the characters, and arguably, they're all more complex characters than Ozai.

But... is this really true?

Could there be something more interesting and tragic about Fire Lord Ozai's character? Do we only see the only a small part of the iceberg? Well, let's find out!

There's literally nothing we know about his childhood or his early ages. All we know is that he was married Ursa when he was 30 and Ursa was 21, Ursa was specifically chosen because she happens to be the granddaughter of Avatar Roku. So, they could have powerful heirs for the Fire Nation. And it actually happened because Zuko and Azula really are exceptionally powerful firebenders.

Another thing we know about him is this panel,

They actually look like a normal, ordinary family here and it hurts. They're on a vocation; Ozai and Ursa just sitting calmly, baby Azula playing with sand, little Zuko running to save a turtle-crab... And when when the wave washed over Zuko, Ozai ran to save him.

Could the whole thing be true or Ozai was lying? I personally don't think it was a lie, because Zuko seems to remember some rare memories of his family being happy once and coming to Ember Island all together. Yes, you can say that Zuko could be an unreliable narrator here since he kinda romanticized those memories... But again, it's what happens with memories. Don't we all remember our childhood as purely innocent and happy? Because we like to remember those happy times and often forget about the bad ones. But the bad times don't erase the good memories! Also, in the "Beach", when Azula came to comfort Zuko, she also seemed a bit depressed. It means she was also missing those happy and innocent times of their life. So no, Zuko's memory was correct and Ozai probably wasn't lying either. Their family had some good times once.

Could it possibly be a redeeming quality for Ozai? Perhaps. However, we all know that it didn't last long. And we also know that Ozai was always sort of like that and Iroh comfirms it in "The Legacy of The Fire Nation" novel

And something interesting here... Iroh admits he sort of blames himself for not being a better guide for his brother. Which makes me think... Did Ozai really ever have a positive influence on his life?

You can arguably say Iroh, but i'd disagree. First of all, there's a huge age gap between Iroh and Ozai. And Iroh was a general who was busy with fighting in battle, such as the siege of Ba Sing Se. So I imagine they didn't really have a chance to spend time together and bond as brothers.

Also, Iroh wasn't exactly a positive influence before the death of Lu Ten. He used to be more ruthless and hungry for glory. Yes, he still was a caring guy towards his family, but he only realized the terrible side of violence and terror after losing his dear son... This is when he finally developed empathy towards everyone, not only for his family. So I don't think he would be able to be a better influence for Ozai when they were younger...

And if not Iroh, who could possibly be a good guidance for Ozai? Azulon? Pfft, yeah right! He definitely favored Iroh over Ozai, and was seen to be cold and harsh towards his son. So nope, he was an abusive father and far from being a good guidance.

But... What about his mother? What happened to her?

The only thing we know about Iroh and Ozai's mother is her name, Ilah. And she was married to Fire Lord Azulon. There's literally nothing else we know about her. So, we don't know what kind of a relationship she had with Ozai either.

And that's why I have this theory in my mind! Could it be that Ilah died when she was giving birth to Ozai? And maybe that's why Azulon was cold and cruel to Ozai?

The death on childbirth was a common incident during middle age and in the earlier ages too. Unfortunately, it still can happen in modern world too... But thankfully, it's a rare incident now due the modern advantages.

So yes, it's very possible that Lady Ilah to die on the childbirth. Because we never see her in the series nor in the comics. If she was alive at the moment, she would totally show up on Ozai and Ursa's wedding. But she didn't, which means she was long gone, at least for like 20 years. But since neither Iroh or Ozai mentions her for once, we can assume that she died very long ago.

Could this be why Iroh turned out to be a caring and compassionate person towards his own family? Because he had maternal love and support? Well, he obviously didn't get that from Azulon (even though Azulon seemed to care for Iroh and Lu Ten in a certain level). And that might be why Ozai became a cold and cruel jerk, because he never had this kind of love and support in his life.

And it also explains Azulon's bad treatment towards Ozai, reminds me of how Tywin Lannister despised his son Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. Tywin hated his son Tyrion because he was a dwarf and also because he "killed" his mother in childbirth

So maybe Azulon was going full Tywin on Ozai and blamed him for "killing" his own mother.

If that's the case, it makes a ton of sense for Ozai's character! Because he never really had a chance to redeem himself and grow up in a healthy environment. He was being told that he was a killer since he was born and accused with killing his own mother. I can totally imagine Azulon telling him that he is "An ill-made, spiteful creature. Full of lust and low cunning" (Quote from Tywin Lannister), or maybe even calling him a "monster"?

If this theory is true, then it makes sense for Ozai's character and why he became a brutal, ruthless and narcissistic person.

And let's not forget, narcissism isn't only a personality disorder but also a coping mechanism. Narcissists actually have fragile egos and low self-esteems. That's why they fake confidence and a false sense of grandiosity as a self-defense mechanism. The exact reasons of narcissism is not known, but researchers show that both genetic and environmental factors are in it. And it's very possible to occur because of a trauma or abuse too.

So maybe Ozai was crushed under the abuse and pressure of being "guilty" for killing his mother in childbirth, and he found comfort in creating a false sense of superiority.

And this also might be why Iroh and Ozai became distant towards each other. Ozai was probably jealous of Azulon's nicer treatment towards Iroh. So he didn't want to be around him and see how their father treats him better, because it would remind him of the fact that he was the unfavorite child. And from Iroh's aspect, maybe he was devastated after the death of his mother and wanted to distance himself from Ozai for it? Yes, it doesn't really sound like something that the Iroh we know would do. But again, we really don't know the Iroh before Lu Ten's death, but he surely cared about his family so much. And maybe that's why he distanced himself from Ozai because he took away a part of his family? And because of Azulon, Iroh probably didn't have a chance to accept Ozai a part of his family at this point. And when he did, it was probably too late. The damage was done. Ozai already became a narcissistic jerk and a potential tyrant.

So, that's my headcanon about Ozai's evilness. You can agree or disagree with it. If you have different thoughts, please feel free to share them with me

[sokkastyles]

Boy, I've got a Azula stan take for you. Apparently, Zuko has no right to treat Azula the way he does and be angry at her, because Zuko himself abused Iroh and Iroh only ever treated him with kindness and love. They go on to say that Zuko's "abuse of Iroh" is similar to Azula's treatment of him (but Azula didn't abuse him actually), because Zuko called Iroh nasty things so many times, and Azula did the same to Zuko. It's amazing how deranged some Azula stan takes are.

First of all, if Zuko being nasty to Iroh means he has no right to want to not be treated badly by Azula, then how about we apply that standard to Azula as well, and her stans should stop saying that literally everyone in the series owes her since she's nothing but consistently nasty to them.

Also, the fact that the ways Zuko treats Iroh in book one are similar to the ways that both Azula and Ozai treat Zuko is something I've already been saying, and it's one of the reasons I consider Azula to be one of Zuko's abusers. Not only that, but I've pointed out the similarities in what Zuko says about Iroh - particularly when he's pushing back against Iroh telling him not to trust Ozai or Azula - and what Azula says about Iroh, that he's lazy and indolent and a loser.

Zuko repeats these things when he's trying to be what his father wants him to be, because he sees Azula as a powerful person who not only has his father's love, but also because Azula has power over Zuko. It's very common for abused children to mimic their abusers because it's a way of trying to reclaim power and control over their lives. That's also part of the reason that people who were abused sometimes become abusers themselves. It is hardly surprising that Zuko, particularly when he feels the most helpless, when Iroh is trying to get him to face the reality of how his family abused him, would mimic the things Azula says about Iroh.

The main difference though, between Zuko ridiculing Iroh and Azula ridiculing Zuko, aside from the fact that we're shown early on that Zuko really does admire and love Iroh, is that Zuko does not have power over Iroh in the same way Azula has power over Zuko. Not only because Iroh is an adult and Zuko is a child, but because Iroh is much more established. Even in exile and as a disgraced general, he has enough social power that when Zuko starts getting nasty to him, his own crew come to Iroh's defense and rebel against Zuko. Zuko's nastiness towards Iroh just ends up looking like a child's tantrum because it's never really effective and Zuko doesn't have power over Iroh. We see this again and again, down to Iroh delaying Zuko by taking a bath in a hot spring. Not only is Iroh completely unfazed by Zuko's yelling at him, Zuko doesn't even follow through on his threat to leave Iroh behind and Iroh knows Zuko won't do this, because Zuko is emotionally dependent upon Iroh in the way a child is emotionally dependent on a parent.

If we were to get into, though, for example, book three when Zuko tries to turn his back on Iroh and blames Iroh for his own problems, that would be a different story. Iroh is in prison, so Iroh has less power than Zuko, so if Zuko decided to be cruel to Iroh then that might be abusive. However, even when Zuko yells at Iroh in book three, the framing of the scene emphasizes that Iroh is really the more powerful one, because even though Iroh is hurt by Zuko's anger, he also is sure of himself and what is right, and Zuko still wants Iroh to tell him what to do because Zuko also knows that Iroh has all the emotional strength in the scene and Zuko has none.

Iroh also doesn't just put up with Zuko's crap, either in book one when Zuko is demanding to be taught advanced firebending that Zuko isn't ready for, or in book three when Iroh is desperately hoping that Zuko will make the right decision. He recognizes that Zuko has to make that decision on his own.

I've seen people point to that scene where Iroh bends fire in Zuko's face and Zuko doesn't flinch to show how much Zuko trusts Iroh, but there's another aspect to that scene I haven't seen talked about, and that is that Iroh is showing that he's not gonna just put up with Zuko throwing a fit at him, either. He has completely no problem dressing Zuko down. And then when Zuko can't do anything to retaliate against uncle, he turns and firebends at some nameless mooks. This shows the power that Iroh has over Zuko, but it also shows us how Zuko and Iroh trust each other even in Zuko's darker moments. Zuko won't hurt Iroh and he knows that Iroh won't hurt him.

(It also shows us that Zuko could become an abusive person if he doesn't learn to control his anger and feelings of helplessness and stop directing them at those who are weaker than him as a misguided way of taking back control.)

Azula does have power over Zuko, not just as the royal princess sent to track down the banished prince, not just as a firebending prodigy, but she has emotional power over him as their father's favored child. And she uses that power to hurt Zuko repeatedly. If we recognize that Ozai is abusive to Zuko then we also have to recognize that the ways that Azula participates in that and uses it against him and is empowered by Ozai to do so is also abuse. This is common sense.

[chaosthatsmellsgreen]

Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender thoughts, part 4/5

about the characters from the Fire Nation

Zuko and Aang: they softened Zuko a lot, which, eh, it's fine. he opens up to Aang a little too easily in ep 6, but i loved their little talk about their studies and how they grew up. it's on the nose but honestly, you can't exactly pretend that the Zuko-Aang parallels in the OG show were subtle. "I need my honor back" *sharp cut to Zuko* was anything but subtle, so i'm actually fine with this

Iroh and Lu Ten: so, the discussions around the siege of Ba Sing Se, and Lu Ten's funeral, and Zuko's remembrance of Lu Ten were all wonderful. it's a nice detail to include the earth kingdom soldier, to show the consequences of Iroh's actions more, and i decided i liked how they handled it. i like that Iroh doesn't apologize - there is no point, and no apologies will bring the soldier's brother back. the only thing he can do is show that he knows too many lives have been lost in this war already, and move on; maybe hope that confronting him has helped the soldier move on in some way as well. as for the casket scene; Leaves from the Vine is exploitative a little, but i think the show did a good job of not just riding the free tearjerking the song itself lent to it, but providing substance under it. i especially adored Zuko in that scene; he's young, too young and too raised in an emotionally repressive family to be able to say what he really wants to say. it doesn't even really seem to be allowed for him to say "i'm sorry for your loss", because Lu Ten's fate is regarded as an honourable death more worthy of congratulations than condolences. but obviously, Zuko feels how much pain Iroh is in, and (what i also love) he's struggling with Lu Ten's death himself. there were hints in the original show that Zuko would've spent time alone with Iroh and Lu Ten, and the gifting of Lu Ten's medal is such a precious, telling moment of their relationship. my last comment is that having Zuko not only personally relate to Iroh in his grief, showing him that Iroh isn't alone in this pain, but then sitting with him after that is such a heartwarming, beautiful moment.

Zhao: so Zhao's story was interesting, i think it explored his motivation a little better, and he remained more consistent. in the OG show, he goes a little 0-100 after his first few episodes, here it was more gradual from being a nobody to having ambitions of killing the moon and becoming Firelord. hm. this is almost like a pattern huh

Fire family: is the easiest way to refer to the whole Ozai-Azula-Zuko-Iroh situation. Ozai and his relationship with his children is framed differently and expanded upon. they did change the whole dynamic somewhat, which i don't think is necessarily bad, it certainly lends more depth to Azula, whose story culminated originally in what Overanalyzing Avatar called "The Extremely Expedited Complete Mental Collapse of Azula" (if you haven't watched his analysis on why he thought Azula's breakdown was too sudden, i really recommend it). i think with how they are setting up her character, if they take it in the same direction as ATLA did, they'll have a more solid and believable breakdown at the end. i think Ozai seems weirdly - bear with me here - protective of Zuko. like he believes the crap he's spewing, and while he still treats Zuko horribly (i think the burning of Zuko's face was somehow even more cruel in this, it felt less angry and more deliberate, cold, which is... ugh. hard to even think about.), he clearly seems like he'd prefer Zuko on the throne over Azula. which was not the case in ATLA, even when they were children and Zuko wanted to show off to his grandfather, before he did anything, Ozai was already frowning. now, i don't necessarily think this change couldn't make an interesting story, i just hope the message about how abusive and horrible Ozai is to his children is not gonna get twisted and excused because of this change in attitude. i also like that there is a little more emphasis on the fact that Ozai and Iroh are brothers, and that they actually TALK to each other

priorities: from the above points, i think a clear pattern forms: despite the runtime being roughly equal to ATLA's book 1, NATLA season 1's priorities lean sooooo far towards discussing the fire nation, their soldiers, their supporters and opponents, Zuko and Iroh, Ozai and especially Azula that the Gaang looses a crapload of the runtime they originally had. and while this obviously benefits the fire nation characters, it has this negative effect of us missing out on a lot of opportunities for the main cast to bond while we're busy watching Mai and Ty Lee hyping Azula up for... whatever reason

Mai is not in this show btw. i know there was a girl with Ty Lee and Azula who looks like Mai but it wasn't her.

PART 4/5

START // NEXT // PREVIOUS

[balanceoflightanddark]

I have a bit of a confession to make. An actual confession this time actually.

I...am a Zuko anti.

I know, it seems odd. I only talked about him directly the one time during my Last Agni Kai post and indirectly during my comic posts. So I'm not going directly out of my way to attack him or anything. And I do understand that he is a popular character that has touched countless of people, so I do need to give him credit for that.

The problem I have with Zuko though is...complicated.

I'll admit, I was kind of neutral to him during the show popular. Knew he was gonna be redeemed eventually, would fight Azula eventually and "win", and knew he was going to be the new Fire Lord to bring about an end to the War. I got that. I think all viewers got that. Though I never really built that much of a connection to the character since I related more to some of the others (Aang, Katara, and Azula come to mind), and I was annoyed that he got away with some of the stuff he pulled during Book 1 and some overall problems with his arc that were left unaddressed, but accepted he was in a good position to do better and mend bridges and all that by series end. That I have no problem with.

My issues came around when the comics were released.

To put it simply, Zuko's flaws were jacked up to eleven. His arrogance and hotheadedness that got him into trouble during Book 1 came back. Now, this alone isn't a problem. Not saying one can't backslide into old habits. The problem comes about when the narrative doesn't acknowledge it. He's supposed to be a good guy now. On the right side, yet he's still doing the same villainous things over and over again. And for some reason, the Gaang doesn't call him out on any of it. That alone is an issue.

Then...there's his relationship with Azula.

Remember how I said there was some problems they left unaddressed? Zuko's rivalry with Azula was one of them. I'm convinced that the more he pursues this rivalry, the more toxic and awful of a person he becomes. Especially since Azula was not Zuko's abuser. That would be Ozai, the one who scarred his face after all. And I wasn't entirely convinced that the Last Agni Kai was his redeeming moment where he showed compassion towards Azula at the last shot. Again...was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Then the comics quashed that.

He became an abusive jackass that physically assaults Azula with very little provocation, allows his friends to harass and provoke her into violence, and blames it all on her when she inevitably snaps. And the narrative supports him.

I...have autism. I have what many would consider to be a mental disability. I know what it's like to have a breakdown. To feel like a burden on my family whether underserved or not. And for a long time I was terrified of coming out because there is a stigma towards mental illness.

So when I see pages like this:

...the comics made me despise Zuko for a long ass time. And we're talking years.

Next thing you know I'm convinced that Zuko was doomed to be his father. To be the next Ozai. And I was so convinced, I started seeing only the worst in him. The monster. How every action he took was just proof that he'd never change and he'd be nothing more than a monster worse than his sister. And how fundamentally broken the narrative was for making excuses for him which genuinely affected my enjoyment of the show.

Cause shit like that? ...I saw myself a lot in Azula, and that made me hate Zuko on a very personal level. To the point I seriously considered writing fics where he'd get butchered just out of spite. It was that. Bad.

Comics!Zuko felt like everything I stood against. And soon everything around him became difficult to even look at. Cause how in the Nine Circles of Hell would anyone see this asshole as a beloved hero?

So why am I telling you guys this? Why tell you I once hated Zuko so bad I genuinely wanted to see him dead?

Easy...I don't want to hate him anymore.

Cause it's unfair both to the character and the fans who do like him. That do accept his flaws and want to see him overcome them. I respect those people and all the more power to them.

And as much as I love Azula, I don't want to harp on Zuko anymore. Even if his most diehard fans want me to tear my hair out, I don't want that spilling over to the character himself. Honestly, I think even he'd be disgusted by their attitude. Since tearing Azula down to make himself look good is...well it's the same as tearing him down to make Azula look good.

Again, I still have a grudge against Zuko, but I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm just giving my two cents and throwing it in the ring. Feel free to unfollow me if you want, that's fine. I figured you guys deserved to know going forward.

And I do hope this post is a step in the right direction at least.

[hello-nichya-here]

Say, did Zuko actually blame Azula for the abuse Ozai inflicted upon him? From what I recall Zuko was mostly angry at himself or anyone but Ozai.

Whenever we're talking about Zuko's feelings on his family, the answer is always: it's complicated.

Zuko had been surpressing a lot of the anger he felt towards Ozai. Like any child, he wants to believe that his parent, the person that is supposed to care for and protect him, isn't that bad, genuinely loves him, and that there might be something he or someone else can do to fix their relationship. At one point, in a desperate attempt to comfort Zuko but having no idea how to do so, Iroh straight up says that the abuse is proof of Ozai's love for Zuko.

Ozai also became Fire Lord, and suffered exactly zero consequences for disfiguring his own son - hell, plenty of people act like this was evidence that Zuko really was a terrible person, after all, if he wasn't, his father would have dealt with it differently. Victim-blaming combined with no punishment for the abuser can make the victims start to believe that they indeed caused their own abuse.

Finally, we also have the fact that Ozai straight up encourages the rivalry between Zuko and Azula, and with that bullshit "Born lucky, lucky to be born" speech he not-so-subtly implies that there is a bit of a cause and effect involved in it, as if Azula is loved because Zuko isn't and vice versa. By doing that, Ozai is absolving himself of any wrong-doing, and actively encouraging Zuko to redirect his anger at someone else. Even Ursa and especially Iroh ended up backing up that toxic mentality by playing favorites, and the war literally making Azula his enemy assured that Zuko still had a ton of resentment towards his sister, even after he stood up to Ozai.

However, let's make three things very clear here:

1 - Zuko DOES feel angry at Ozai. He merely doesn't acknowledge said anger until their big confrontation during the eclipse.

2 - Him saying he was only angry at himself happened after he had "betrayed" his uncle, who he clearly cared about. THIS is why he was mad at himself at that moment, because it was something he CHOSE. It makes sense that he can't/won't blame someone else for it.

3 - While is angry and resentful towards his sister, has always been jealous of her, and even blames her for things that were not her fault, he doesn't truly hate her nor does he believe she is the ONLY cause of his misery (at least not anymore). Just look at his dynamic with Zhao: the two were antagonising each other from the start, and Zuko never had a genuinely positive interaction with him and goes out of his way to not even have to be in the same room as Zhao. Meanwhile, he willingly went home with Azula, and their rivalry started to get more "normal" as they spent more time together, and things only got bad again when he abandoned the Fire Nation - and even then he was clearly upset when she was falling off a cliff/was crying after their Agni Kai. If he genuinely had no positive feelings for her at all, this would never have happened.

[cescalr]

For the ship asks! If we're talking Avatar, what about Mei and Zuko?

I'll be honest, I'm not fond of it. I don't really like mei in the first place - apathy never sits well with me, and she never actually changed her mind? Mei at the start is mei at the end. She didn't think what the fire nation was doing was wrong, and she only sided against Azula to stay with Zuko, which would be sweet if she... actually liked him? And I don't think she does? She was happy with Zuko during his time back at the fire nation when he was acting the part of Ozai's favoured son, and its just... eeh. They give me bad vibes, I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if she threw a knife at him properly one of these days.

Plus, Mei doesn't have much of a character outside Zuko. I'd rather shew her development than her stagnation, and keeping her with Zuko keeps her the same. In the end, mostly, me*ko just bores me, which is the nail in the coffin for any ship. At least if I hated it I'd feel something, yk? I prefer meilee or even meizula and... really any other zuko ship (aside from aang >-< yike) over meiko, but... I wouldn't, like, absolutely hate it if a good fic had meiko in it, you know? I just don't like them in canon. Much like I've said before, I'm willing to give things their fair shot. It's just that Mei herself is a hard sell for me as a focal character. It's not even that she's a 'bad' person - I read Azula and Jet-centric fics, and even memorably one Ozai centred fic (time travel, it was interesting start but still a wip though so going to see where it leads) - it's more that I just don't know what to do with her. She's kind of a meh girlfriend and kind of a whatever person, to me.

In comparison, Zuko is literally The redemption arc guy. He's the character people want to replicate the success of. Zuko is such a person that he's iconic and Mei is kinda... there. For the record, I didn't even know she existed until I watched the show. Zukka and Zutara and Zuko's character arc were well known to me, but Mei was not. I ended up only liking zukka platonically, not minding and sometimes supporting zutara, shipping jetko for the angst and the parallelism, even giving some really au zuko stuff like that one toph arranged marriage series or his leadership/friendship/family dynamics with his crew a go, jin/zuko, song/zuko - loads of things! On the other hand, Mei didn't have much going for her in my estimation to begin with, and her portrayal by competing ship fans probably didn't help. There was one where she tried to kill him after the war ended, lmao. That was silly. But still. Bias is easy to build, even without meaning to.

So, would I say I like meiko? No. Would I say I hate it? Depends on the portrayal. Much like ronmione, I don't think it would take a lot of tweaking to make her abusive, specifically also without being OOC, which worries me. So I just don't poke that sleeping dragon and hang out in the other ship spaces.

In the end, I think they just didn't understand each other on a fundamental level. (Also important; Zuko never seemed to know what to do with her, the things shed like or appreciate, and never seemed to take her own expressions - mild as they were - of affection as well as one would expect were he actually in love with her, which is itself important to note, though of course also just my own interpretation of what we were given; a lot of their scenes were cut off at some of the most important parts, which doesnt quite sit right with me.) And I need something to dig my teeth into that just wasn't present for their relationship, except in ways I couldn't interpret positively. A shame, but oh well. We can't all like everything :).

[coreofgold]

Was that [CHEN FEIYU]? Oh no no, that was just [LU TEN], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER]. They are [TWENTY ] years old, use [HE/HIM], and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

How long has your character been here Lu Ten has been here for around a year

What is your character’s job He's a soldier on Special Forces but while he's not deployed he's a college student studying politics but he really wants to be an artist

Where has your character been pulled from in their fandom His death

Has any magic affected your character The biggest thing is that he was brought back to life ! Other than that. . .not much really

And any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know!! Wiki Here Wiki 2 Here Birthday: September 29 (When Tales of Ba Sing Se aired) Siblings: none but has Zuko and Azula as cousins Zodiac: Libra Species: human Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black

Scars: chronic chest pain from where he was fatally wounded, various scars and wounds from the 600 day siege of Ba Sing Se

Personality: intelligent, loyal, jovial, kind, critical of himself, perfectionist, idealistic, protective, altruistic, passionate, determined, tactful, expert tactician, sensitive, artsy

Romantic Orientation: bisexual but male leaning

Sexual Orientation: bisexual but male leaning

Headcanons 1. Was and is very close with his father and gets his love of tea and to a lesser extent, the art side of him from his father because he nudged him to do something peaceful 2. Is a flirt like his father and is bisexual, though he's more male leaning and sometimes thinks he's gay and just flirts with women to cover it up. He knows how the Fire Nation and their laws are so he's kept that part very hidden. . .but is willing to come out to Iroh. Regardless of the flirting, he never really felt any sort of connection with those he flirted with (which made him think he might be gay because he feels the start of it with the men he'd teasingly flirt with) 3. Loves his cousins but knows they can be crazy so he's really the normal one out of them. Since he has no siblings, his cousins are pretty much like siblings to him so he loves them so much. 4. Is also very close with Azulon and would love to speak to him at all hours of the night, just to bond and talk with him. SO really he had a happy and. . .sort of dysfunctional but pretty much normal childhood (though it did hurt when he realized at a young age that his uncle Ozai hated him and didn't like him, but he's family so he grinned and bared it since it wasn't outwardly) 5. He died when he was twenty ( a few years older than Zuko) and he died protecting one of other soldiers from an attack. I also think at first he was taken as prisoner but managed to escape 6. Yes he probably would be imperialist like the Fire Nation normally is and would go crazy, but since he was young when he died, I like to think he's not as blood thirsty. He rather not fight but fighting is the only thing he can do until he becomes Fire Lord and can lead differently and with less fighting; But since he knows right now there's a goal at the end, he chooses to fight (though when he first fought and killed someone he got sick). He doesn't have the heart or stomach for killing but. . .it's what expected so as long as he thinks that in the end it will be for a purpose then it keeps him going enough. He even tries just to harm them instead of murder, but with war you never know. 7. Sword fighting was a challenge to learn and he would get frustrated when he failed, he'd never give up on it and would love to find new ways to learn and get better so. . .he's decent in weaponry; He really prefers using fire bending and used to abuse it by using it on everything. Needed to heat up the tea ? Fire bending. Wanted to tease his cousins ? Fire bending. Was cold ? Fire bending. He truly was on par with Azula 8. Loves to paint and read up on history. Those were good things when to unwind when he'd get frustrated on how his lessons were going or when he wanted to be alone. He was always interested in history and the law since it was ingrained by his family. Art came to him when he decided to travel around the Fire Nation as part of his studies. 9. I don't know if I will incorporate this but he definitely will have some type of PTSD and trauma response from the war. Not sure what it will manifest as or if I will go through with it as to not offend but he definitely was affected by the war in some way

[mohluskiepedard]

Rating ATLA Characters literally only from what I’ve seen in fandom

or: posts that probably shouldn’t be on my writeblr except I don’t have a sideblog

the context here is it’s half midnight and I have never seen ATLA except I have opinions now apparently so here we go whoop de do- 

I’m also not actually rating them like numerically that’s too much work i’m just stating opinions I know I’m a fraud

AANG

- A child?  - A son?  - he is Baby. but also. he has had It Rough  - would make the updog joke - has unspeakable power or smth and everyone says he’s better than the Korra girl who comes after him but honestly tastes like sexism to me - doesn’t kill people because he’s like twelve, right? he’s like twelve so he refuses to kill people - I stan honestly - less twelve year olds should kill people - Some people say his name WRONG and they are BAD but i don’t actually know what the right way or the wrong way is so. have fun w that yall - lived in peace unTIL THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED 

KATARA

- She is also like twelve???  - Is everyone here twelve - Cortana?? Katana?? Catbug??  - She has good hair, - Her mother is dead??? her mother is dead n she has a brother but she cares about her mother being dead WAY more than him (or apparently the entire fandom??) - Badass - She seems soft. good. sweet - she’s a water breather or whatever??? her brother is NOT but he is a meme - I love her 

SOKKA

- NGL looks like a fuckboy  - The meme brother! does not do the water things, but he has an aXe???  - dates BAMF lady - ngl until I talked to my ATLA watching friend I thought he canonically dated Zuko  - kinda mad he doesn’t - I haven’t actually seen anything about him except like. in zuko ship posts and also Suki appreciation posts - joined the white lotus not-a-cult by accident???  - dark ATLA tumblr show me more Sokka posts - is his name prounounced the same way as Soccer or isn’t it I need to know - HIS FIRST GIRLFRIEND TURNED INTO THE MOON - (AND THAT’S ROUGH, BUDDY) - He and Suki are a good ship, but also, Sokka Has Two Hands

SUKI

- the BAMF herself - she says STOP in that photo but also to sexism - Rlly all I see of her in fanon is abt her teaching Sokka to drink his respect women juice and I appreciate her doing that but also it’s sad she never gets talked about outside of what she did for a man - I hope she has other badass moments w/o him it would suck if she didn’t - she is NOT the girlfriend who turned into the moon, she is the one who didn’t - I don’t know much else about her ATLA Fandom y’all should appreciate her more

ZUKO

- Look at him... my son... - He has a good redemption arc - he and his sister are evil lesbian and redeemed gay guy??? - has a straight canon ship but should’ve been with Sokka this boy is gay - I Want To Protect Him - That’s literally it - he has a cool uncle and his dad sucks  - people ship him with Katara and I Do Not Get It that’s his sister in law except not really - “We don’t trust Zuko’s change of heart” [the next day] “so Zuko is my closest friend now,”  - His dad was like “fuck up the avatar to prove your worth to me” and Aang was like “counter argument you already have worth and we should fuck up your dad” and I think that’s beautiful - he becomes the fire man and he’s very good at it - Zuko for President 2020 - in the words of myself, half an hour ago: “ I was like "that kid with the burn on his face seems like a sad but then happy mlm who needs found family" and I was RIGHT” - took too long to find a happy picture of him :( Zuko rights NOW please - His mother’s story got compared to an OC of mine and all I can say is oh no and they deserve better based on that alone - I have had Zuko for five minutes but if anything else happens to him I will kill everyone in this throne room and then myself

TOPH

- She is badass but like also will murder you while laughing maniacally? - for some reason reminds me of Nott from Critical Role, another show I Have Not Seen - Is blind but gets more out of making jokes abt being blind than she would from being able to see - “Sight is just a cheap tactic to make weak benders stronger!!!” - Literally the opposite of Aang and has killed many people?? - She Can Tell When You’re Lying. But I do not know how and Am simply mildly threatened by this - Therapist: Toph’s ability to know if you’re lying isn’t real and can’t hurt you. Toph’s ability to know if I’m lying:  - She and Zuko.... buddies???  - if not they should be - tiny sad boy needs friends like toph

AZULA

- Evil Lesbian Culture - [BDG Voice] You committed a war crime! Oopsie! - took be gay do crime too literally - her and Zuko have accurate sibling writin except instead of “you ever want to murder your sibling for breathing in the same space as you,” being a Joke Azula took it seriously - okay but with a name like azula she should be the blue bender this ANNOYS me she should NOT be red bender - AZULa  - AZUL - IT MEANS BLUE - She was half of y’alls gay awakenings and it SHOWS - Should have maybe been redeemed too??? Jury is out no one knows - Was she gay for Ty Lee or wasn’t she I can’t tell how much of that Audio is a joke - IS SHE ALSO TWELVE??? IS EVERYONE HERE TWELVE?? IS THIS TWELVE YEAR OLD COMITTING ATROCITIES? 

UNCLE IROH

- A Good Man - Finally, Some Good Fucking [Adult Figures]  - he has the tea. literally and figuratively - Ozai is like “and I will permanently disfigure my son and throw him out” and Iroh is like “What The Fuck, Ozai,” thus voicing the entire audience’s thoughts - Literally the only adult in this that I trust - I? I love him. this is all I have to say. my love for him is unending. Some1 protect this man from all harm   - he’s Zuko’s uncle (and also Azula ig) but he does not seem related to Ozai. is it just a theme in this family that one sibling is chill and one sibling commits horrendous atrocities against your fellow human beings or  - something happened to his son???? :((((( I Don’t Want Him To Have Suffered Like This

OZAI

- A BAD MAN - Uh Oh (stinky)  - THE WORST OF THE MEN  - I do not like him - Bastard man. nasty. committed war crimes and then went “but what if - get this - i also abused my son,”  - I would like him to Not Be Like This - by Like This I mean present and alive  - :/ 

TY LEE

- She’s NOT the There Is No War In Ba Sing Se lady and I don’t know why i thought she WAS but until I looked up her photo I thought that was her  - She looks like a sweetheart tho - I hope nothing bad happens to her????  - talks about auras??? or smth??? let her vibe - She would talk animatedly to me about warrior cats if she was in my year seven class and I was sat alone and I would understand none of it but appreciate her anyway - if azula bullies her I’ll be :( at Azula and Azula will not care because she has Mommy Issues and therefore is slightly unhinged - She seems like that one kid with no trauma vibing at the edge of [every other kid having trauma] and not really getting it but trying her best - Is she also twelve?????? She maybe looks twelve

CABBAGE MAN 

- HIS CABBAGES - fulfills my favourite trope: ordinary person repeatedly has life disrupted by the inconveniences of relying on actual children to save the world - probably has a campaign post canon for letting trained adults fix the worlds’ problems in the future - or sets up the Very First Cabbage Insurance Company - look at him. he loves his cabbages so much. you go you funky lil cabbage man

ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES MOMO

- LOOK AT HIM HE’S SO GOOD - small. fluffy. big ears - Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty: his Momoness - a Good Boy...

APPA

- he looks so soft... - he can fly but he just does it by??? vibing through the air?? motionless??? iconic - I saw that one post about mishearing it as Abba and thinking he was Aang’s dad and he looks like he would be a good stand in dad ngl - he’s so LORGE - a chonky boy - love him

that is everyone I have heard of it and if I left someone out it’s a sign that y’all should talk about em more bc I have no clue they exist put more ATLA On my Dash ig I’ll do Legend of Korra ig maybe apparently that one has canon wlw and i love me some canon wlw

[itsnothingofinterest]

Something I think worth mentioning about villain redemptions is, in addition to people just liking the characters; one reason the villain fans want redemptions for the League is that their redemptions would almost certainly signify the addressing & remedy of serous systemic issues that have affected many characters and aspects of the series, and have been felt since the first line of the series.

It’s no secret that the world of HeroAca is plagued with systemic issues rooted in inequality, corruption, and the gross mishandling of quirks among other things. These have affected both villains like Shigaraki, Dabi, Toga, & Spinner, and hero students like Izuku, Shoto, Shinsou, & Shoji. However while the students’ character focus is, on average, about how to overcome these hurdles to become good heroes and what kind of heroes that makes them; the villains’ character focus is more on what to actually do about the systemic issues they were never able to just overcome, and so are attempting to tackle full force. In other words, the handling of the villains is seemingly going to be directly tied and inversely correlated to the handling of those systemic issues and, in turn, just how many problems are really going to be solved in the aftermath and not rear their heads again..

The Problems

It’s like this: people often like to compare BNHA to Avatar: The Last Airbender (probably because of Todoroki’s resemblance to Zuko, even though his position is more like a less Azula-ish Azula, but that’s beside the point), and have even made comparisons between Shigaraki & Dabi and Ozai. Now that’s more than a bit weird, but we’re gonna role with that to explain something.

See, the thing about Ozai is, he was in a position of power; a position from which he and the last 2 Fire Lords had effectively caused all of the problems. And the reason they did that was basically just because they were arrogant; they thought the Fire Nation was better than everywhere else. Meanwhile; the Gaang had Zuko, the next in line to the throne who had been enlightened by his travels about the values of the other nations & how wrong the Fire Nation’s way of doing things was. The Gaang new if they defeat Ozai & Azula, he gets that position of power and will cease all the problems arising from it. For them, that part of the plan was simple: defeat the big bad = no more problems.

For Shigaraki & the League, it’s no where near that easy. See, while they have acquired power in various forms; they’re really just average joes picked off the street. Naturally occurring misanthropes produced by societal failures like oppression, abuse, inequality, prejudice, corruption, and other such topics. Heck, Jin’s name means ‘humanity’; both as in compassion, but also as in a face in the crowd (or rather the entire crowd). And Shigaraki even once compared them all to maggots crawling out of the trash piles the heroes swept under the rug. And you aren’t gonna accomplish much just squashing the maggots; they’re just gonna keep coming faster & faster as the piles get bigger & bigger, and even without a League we’d just see more Kaminos, Fukuokas, Daikas, & Jakus. The thing they need to address is the trash piles, the issues in society, in order to actually stop the problems.

The Easy-Yet-Hard Solutions

“Well, okay,” you might say, “but can’t those societal problems get addressed and the villains still get killed or jailed for life, as are the consequence for their actions?” Well technically yes, that is possible, but the problem is it would be a very, very, very hard sell to the audience.

For one; not many on the heroes’ side see these things as problems. To most of them, the biggest problem in society is that it needs more All Might. Not to say there’s no one in the country who thinks society needs to change...but there is the slight hurdle that a good number of them joined the PLF, and are presumably headed off to Death Row for association with Shigaraki. (You may think that’s an extreme assumption, but Kurogiri got worse for very similar crimes.) This doesn’t exactly discount our heroes tackling all those root issues we discussed; but, well, it’s a bit hard to believe the heroes might try to change society in accordance with the wishes of people we assume they’ll just think of as enemies until the end. (Especially regarding the necessary changes that might inconvenience the heroes.)

What’s more, the villains most directly represent the victims of those issues, so it’s hard to separate their treatment from the handling of those issues. There’s just some dissonance in the idea he heroes would be like “In our pursuit of justice, we shall ensure no hero has the power to abuse their family any more, and shall hold heroes accountable for any breaches of the law they commit. But as a separate matter, screw Dabi. Life in prison for him and he’s (debatably) lucky we’re not killing him. Endeavor of course shall walk free because he’s trying to change, and he’s gone through so much, and he means so much to us.” Like I said, that’s a hard sell. It gives off the impression that the heroes are just doing what they’ve always been doing, which conflicts with the idea that they’re then going to change things.

The Hard-Yet-Easy Solutions

Conversely, if the villains get redeemed and end up working with the heroes; societal restructuring to remedy those systemic root causes of villainy are all but guaranteed. They know better than most what problems there are in society, seem to have thought pretty hard on how to fix them or what alternative systems could be installed, and have no reason to be coy about any of that. The heroes, conversely, tend to have the faith in humanity to think they can better the world without needing any acts of terrorism, and the societal sway to then actually do it. Or at least will acquire that sway, if we’re assuming the UA students are gonna end up doing most of the leg work on this.

In short, each side has about half of what’s really needed to guarantee a societal remedy that’ll ensure we don’t get any more naturally occurring Shigarakis, Dabis, & Togas; and in turn that we don’t end up right back where we are now eventually.

It’s not quite accurate to say they need to work together on this; both sides could accomplish this restructuring on their own. But with the heroes, it’s highly questionable if they’d even think to change things if they get the chance, and how how hard they’d really try if they did; and with the villains we know they’d put their all into it, but it would incur massive costs in human life. If the villains get redeemed though, and the two sides work together on this? It’s very easy to believe the presence of one side would entirely eliminate the issues in the other’s methods. The best solution is the one that comes from both sides working together; and that’s probably why Izuku & Shigaraki’s quirks each ended up being named after half the phrase “All for one and one for all”.

Conclusion

Look. I get it. The League are terrorists, there’s no getting around that, and at times it can feel like the villains fans ignore this. But that truth is that it’s more complicated than that.

Shigaraki’s inner circle are simultaneously some of the victims most in need of saving & some of the greatest threats the HeroAca-verse has ever faced. They are, in several ways, the greatest conflict a hero could ever face, and how a hero would handle them would define not only the type of hero they are but also the quality of hero they are. I’m just saying; a high quality hero that’d save them, the real Plus Ultra-type, would probably be the kind best suited to taking care of those metaphorical garbage piles and reach that “no more problems” state you usually want your stories to end in.

Does that really mean they need to get away with everything they’ve done? Honestly, got me buddy. Like I said, from a hero’s perspective, their situation is complicated; so if you’re looking for the perfect solution for how a hero should handle them, it’ll probably be pretty complicated in itself. To me personally, that stuff seems like details. What I’m most prioritizing is if we’ll get the best resolution to the root issues as possible.

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

I think my favorite thing abt Zuko is how hard it is to actually hate him once you get to know him. Like idk but he's just trying to hard and he's so soft and you look at him and think "baby 🥺" and that's that. Even when he was the enemy i never really hated him bc like, he never really did anything too bad like?? He didn't burn down the SWT village, and yeah he hit Sokka but not hard bc he got up right after. So idk but he's soft bby and hard to hate and i love that.

Okay I love Zuko as much as anyone but like .... he did some true asshole stuff in this series. Like homeboy burned Kyoshi village 

kidnapped Katara and held her hostage to kidnap Aang 

paralyzed Katara and Sokka with the shirshu 

kidnapped Aang in the North Pole when he was in the spirit world, leaving the oasis temporarily defenseless (indirectly allowing Zhao a window to get in and kill the moon spirit) 

while he was usually ethical with his Blue Spirit crimes, I’m gonna say stealing from these two was a dick move 

ya know....Ba Sing Se

and then the whole Sent An Assassin After Them thing.....explicitly hiring someone to murder a 12-year-old 

Zuko is a lot of things, but “baby” he is not. 

Deep down, yeah he is soft, but for the majority of the show he wasn’t. We saw that he cared, that he was hurting, and we understood that all his actions stemmed from just wanting to please the father that hurt him, but he wasn’t a soft baby by any means. His anger stemmed from an understandable place, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take it out on everyone around him (especially Iroh in season 1). He was selfish. That doesn’t mean he was a bad person, but recognizing that he did awful things and understanding that he hurt people honestly makes his character better because it makes his redemption arc all the more powerful.  

The reason why we appreciate Zuko as a character so much is because how much he changes. It’s because he does break from the mentality he was stuck in thinking his value rested in Ozai’s approval, his recognition of the suffering of others not just under his nation’s actions, but because of his actions, and the lengths he went to earn forgiveness. 

That’s why his redemption arc works, though. He did do awful things. He did hurt people without caring. He was selfish. He was rude. Just because he was acting that way because of his trauma doesn’t negate the severity of the things he did. 

But he did make up for it. He came to regret all of his actions and did the work to make amends. Not only by internally recognizing that he was wrong and saying he was sorry, but actively making efforts to repair some of the damage at every step. 

And the reason we do sympathize and root for him is mostly because of his motivations in comparison to other characters, namely Zhao, Azula, and Ozai. (And because he loses, a lot.) There’s a post that explains it better, but Zuko’s motivations were completely rooted in his own self-interests, ultimately rooted in just wanting to appease Ozai. And that we can understand. We can’t really sympathize with Zhao, Long Feng, or Ozai because their motivations are political-- they want to exploit people and systems for their own glory and power. They aren’t seeking acceptance or validation like Zuko, they’re seeking control and domination over those who don’t have power. 

But it’s easier to root for Zuko, not because we want him to succeed, but because we want him to change sides. We don’t want him to capture Aang because doing so would validate Ozai, who is objectively awful. We don’t want him to win against the gaang because that’s who we’re rooting for. What we want for him is to change because unlike other villains on the show, he isn’t swept up by an ideology and hasn’t let power go to his head. 

And part of that is us wanting for him to change how he acts towards others. In season 1 he’s explicitly rude to Iroh multiple times. He was an asshole to everyone because he was taking out his hurt feelings on the people around him.

The reason we’re rooting for him to change isn’t that he was a sweet person or because he was “soft.” It was because he was the underdog. 

Those feelings of crushing failure, inadequacy...that’s relatable. It’s certainly more relatable than other villains doing selfish things and hurting people without caring to gain power or to perpetuate imperialism. Those are feelings people can relate to and that makes us want him to overcome those feelings. We want him to realize that his father was wrong and terrible to him and that capturing Aang isn’t the answer. 

We could relate to Zuko even in season 1 because his arc was about the realization of his own self-worth. It was about a kid learning that no one deserves cruelty, even him. That’s something he always knew, but didn’t internalize and apply to the world and himself until he witnessed how the Fire Nation affected the people of the Earth Kingdom. 

From season 1, we know that it was cruel and wrong and hope that maybe Zuko will realize it too. Because no one--  no one earns cruelty. 

And his actions stemming from his hurt doesn’t mean they didn’t hurt others. He did a lot of awful things in this show. His betrayal of Iroh, him putting his own goals in front of people who needed the Avatar to win the war for them, and putting others in danger for his own goals. Zuko hurt a lot of people but he arguably did the work to fix his mistakes. He helped restore the world his family destroyed and made personal amends with the specific people he hurt, Iroh most importantly. He put his life on the line several times, stood up to his father, and protected the gaang from the people he once stood alongside to hurt them (Combustion Man, Azula). We saw his remorse and it wasn’t rooted in being mad at his father, it was upon gaining perspective on the world and realizing how that also applied to him, both in the recognition of the harm he did and the steps he had to take to make amends and the fac that he didn’t deserve the abuse his father delt him. 

We wanted Zuko to break out of his mentality from season 1 not only because we wanted the gaang to succeed, but because we knew that his selfish actions stemmed from hurt and a lack of perspective on the world, both things he comes to understand throughout the series. He’s not Zhao, wanting glory or military ranking for capturing Aang. He’s not Long Feng, wanting control over others to keep his position of power. He’s not Azula, who was successful in a way he never was. And he’s not Ozai, perpetuating suffering because he believes himself to be that important. He’s a kid who was told he wasn’t good enough and was willing to do anything to appease the people who told him that, even if that meant hurting other people. 

We root for him because he really just a kid who wants to not feel like a failure and honestly? That’s one of the most relatable motivations I can think of. 

[asocial-inkblot]

Need Help Picking Out What to Write About Next

*Probably pointless of me to do, especially since I don’t know if anyone will even see this. Regardless, I’m going for anyway. Too bad there’s no poll option.*

I’m not a scholar or expert on media creation by any means, but I do have at least a few thoughts on the below ideas. Some I may have already hinted my feelings about in previous posts. Some I may merge together into one piece. Either way I want to eventually do something with all of them, but I suppose we’ll see. So, take your pick I guess. Oh and if you like a topic here, you’re welcome to do something with it! (Excuse the huge amount. I can’t help it.)

1. Theory On: Zuko’s age during his and his father’s agni kai and Fire Nation views

2. My Conflicted Feelings On Mai and Ty Lee

3. Headcanon: Neither Zuko nor Azula were trying to backstab each other in the last turtleduck pond scene.

4. (Despite Its Upsides) My issues with the episode The Beach.

5. Unpopular Opinion: Zuko shows signs and traits of a future (but not necessarily current) IPV/domestic abuser.

6. Unpopular opinion: Sokka has womanizer traits and doesn’t actually feel strongly for any girl he’s ever met, Suki included, save his mother and Katara.

7. Zuko didn’t really care about Mai, Ty Lee or Katara. The only women in his life he never stops thinking about are his mother and Azula.

8. My theory on childhood and adulthood in ATLA overall.

9. The Fire Sibs’ Minds: Who’s Really the “Crazy” One?

10. Azula while capable of understanding resentment and right vs wrong, likely wouldn’t view Ozai’s treatment of her or Zuko as unacceptable.

11. The Fandom’s Unchanging View and Characterization of Ozai Is Boring!

12. What If: Ursa Was the Toxic Spouse?

13. Imagining Canon or Non-Canon ATLA Weddings

14. Who’s More Sexist: Iroh, Ozai or Zuko?

15. Headcanon: Azula Is a Highly Feminine Character...Who Was Likely Groomed Into It.

16. Unpopular Opinion: Azula Does Not Lack “Motherly” Traits. She Just Has a Different Understanding of Motherhood than Katara and Related Do.

17. Both Azula and Zuko Need Serious Mental/Emotional/Spiritual Healing.

18. The fact that no sexist customs were implied to have been considered for change in the original series even after the GAang were confronted with them, is very irresponsible pro-macho writing.

19. Theory: The Dragons that Both Iroh and Zuko Met, Taught Them Nothing.

20. Unpopular Opinion: Ursa’s Parenting MO Was Actually Somewhat Harmful to Zuko in the Long Run

21. Theory: Zuko Was Probably a Far Worse Behaved Child than Zuko Alone Showed Us.

22. You Can Have “Abusive” (By Western Standards) Traits and Love Your Child, Even Be Kind to Them at Times.

23. What If: Ozai Lied to Zuko About What Happened On the Night of Azulon’s Death?

24. Theory: Ursa May Have Wanted Azula to Act Wife-Like Towards Zuko.

25. Azula Was Not Trying to Seduce Zuko in The Awakening (“The Bedroom Scene”)!

26. Draft: How Race Was Utilized for ATLA. I don’t know how many want to read my thoughts on this but I’m of the opinion that the characters are exactly what we personally want to view them as, all the above options, and none of the above.

27. Patriarchal Gender Attitudes Among Shippers

28. Your private thoughts are above criticism. The things you share are not, fanwork for your ships included.

29. Aang would not have been automatically going against his pacifist beliefs if he killed Ozai.

30. The different ways that the Fire Family’s Arc could have ended for (imo) a better story.

31. A theoretical season 4 & beyond could have had literal world building in it.

32. Headcanon/Theory: Azula knew about the blue spirit and who the person behind the mask was.

33. If Azula wanted, after the war ended, she could have just gone back to the Earth Kingdom and taken over again and done an actually good job ruling it.

34. Zuko is dim, but not clueless. Malicious but not diabolical.

35. Headcanon: Mai probably got fed up with Zuko’s self-centered, naive and destructive antics within the first two weeks of his reign and dumped him again.

36. Ty Lee probably realized while on Kyoshi Island what her real problem was, found a way to move past it and cope and then left the Kyoshi Warriors to come back to the Fire Nation rather quickly.

37. None of the Fire Teens except Azula are capable of staying loyal to a person/group/cause for more than a short while.

38. A character’s sexism/toxicity in-universe is likely often just a writer adding in their own unconscious biases. This means that much of the awful behavior we see in-show, especially by characters like Sokka and Zuko, was never meant to be resolved in all probability.

[phoukanamedpookie]

Unpopular opinion: Fandom misapplies the Scapegoat/Golden Child dynamic with Zuko and Azula

I've said before that the way fandom assigns the Scapgoat/Golden Child roles to Zuko and Azula gets a little out of hand.

TL;DR for that post: fandom takes a few things Zuko says about Azula as gospel but ignores how Ozai actually interacts with Azula on the show.

I'm going to expand that point and say that it also ignores the way Zuko is actually treated on the show.

The way fandom would have it, Ozai did nothing but heap scorn on Zuko from the day he was born. But is that really so? The events of the show don't bear that out.

Make no mistake; Ozai absolutely abused his children. He challenged his own son to an Agni Kai just for talking out of turn, and Zuko bears his distinctive scar as a result. But I'm not so sure that Ozai's abuse of Zuko manifested as a constant barrage of vitriol. What he does in the show is create an atmosphere of unrelenting tension, where everyone's on pins and needles, waiting for the shoe to drop. It just so happens that the shoe always drops on Zuko. But there's a reason for that.

It's interesting to note that Ozai's rationale for burning Zuko was to teach him "respect," but in reality, what Zuko did "wrong" was undermine the image of the all-powerful sovereign that Ozai constantly seeks to project. His assessment of Zuko as a "miserable failure" has nothing to do with a general scorn for Zuko as a person, but seething rage at how Zuko's inability to meet his unrealistic expectations reflects poorly on the All-Powerful Ruler Of The World persona he invests so much of himself in.

But how is Zuko treated when he's not on Ozai's shit list for making him look bad in front of his followers?

I believe the two best places to look are: how he behaves during his banishment and how he's treated upon his return to the Fire Nation.

"Lieutenant! You'd better learn some respect—or I will teach it to you."—Zuko, "The Storm"

"This is humiliating! We're royalty! These people should be giving us whatever we want."—Zuko, "The Swamp"

"My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."—Zuko, "Zuko Alone"

"Good things that are happening for you! Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?"—Zuko, "Lake Laogai"

Zuko talks about his status as prince, his throne, and his destiny to become Fire Lord almost as much as he talks about his honor. These are not the words or the attitude of someone who does not feel entitled to what he thinks he deserves.

That persistent and outspoken entitlement runs counter to the Scapegoat role fandom assigns to Zuko. That's not to say that Ozai never praised Azula while disparaging Zuko. The "lucky to be born" comment proves that he's done it at least once. But let's not make him out to be the Cinderella of the Fire Nation royal family, forced to sleep on ashes while Azula gets a clean, soft bed.

While I'm on the subject of entitlement, it's so perplexing to see fanfic and headcanons that characterize Azula as lording her royal status over everyone because she never draws attention to it on the show. In fact, she seems to go out of her way to avoid doing so. Even when she gives her speech to Long Feng about the divine right to rule, she's not talking about her title as princess but about that mysterious quality that separates great leaders and shapers of history from everybody else.

But I digress.

Zuko's entitlement through most of the show suggests that when he's not actively on Ozai's bad side, he gets and believes he deserves everything he wants. It's only when his actions threaten Ozai's persona of supreme power and authority that Ozai gets nasty with him.

Then there's how Zuko gets treated when he returns from exile.

"I am proud of you, Prince Zuko. I am proud because you and your sister conquered Ba Sing Se. I am proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous uncle, you did the right thing and captured the traitor. And I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishment: you slayed the Avatar." —Ozai, "The Awakening"

"Prince Zuko, everyone's waiting for you. [...] The high admirals, the high generals, the war ministers, and the princess have all arrived. You're the only person missing. [...] The Fire Lord said he would not start until you arrived, sir." —Servant, "Nightmares and Dreamscapes"

When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me. My father had saved me a seat. He wanted me next to him. I was literally at his right hand.—Zuko, "Nightmares and Dreamscapes"

As much as fandom paints Zuko as the Un-Favorite compared to Azula, the show doesn't affirm that. In fact, after "proving himself," he seems to have gained more favor in Ozai's eyes than Azula (which, interestingly enough, doesn't seem to bother Azula at all). Until Zuko does a Heel-Face Turn and betrays the Fire Nation to join the Avatar, Azula takes a back seat to him in Ozai's esteem. Again, it's because Ozai's convinced that Zuko achieved something that makes him look more powerful in front of others. That's not to say he had it easy. Being the child of Fire Lord Ozai is a hardship in itself. However, based on what's going on for the first half of Book 3, it's kinda hard to see him as the underdog.

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't include some kind of feminist or womanist analysis to the roles these characters inhabit with Ozai. Consider:

"Not all Golden Children [...] are Golden Children on the basis of what they do. [...] Some become Golden Children by dint of factors that often have cultural relevance, such as gender. In many cultures, tragically, boys are valued much more than girls from birth, and in this way, it is not atypical for an eldest son to be a Golden Child, and subsequent children, especially daughters, becoming Scapegoats or taking other unpleasant family roles [such as the Invisible Child*]. It doesn't matter what kind of person that son is or what he does. The son is golden by dint of his gender." (source)

Does this mean fandom has been misreading the Scapegoat/Golden Child dynamic the whole time? Is Zuko the Golden Child and Azula the Scapegoat? TBH, I'm not sure that's the right way of looking at it. I'm just saying that it's not so simple when you scratch the surface. These are not rigid categories that never change and have no overlap with each other or with other roles assigned within a toxic family. Fandom, I think, mistakes the Scapegoat, Golden Child, and Invisible Child for identities when a better way to see them is as functions.

Viewed through that lens, Zuko and Azula are assigned different roles that serve different functions at different points in time. So, yes, there are times when, in Ozai's eyes, Zuko is the Golden Child and Azula the Invisible Child. There are times when Zuko is the Scapegoat, and Azula becomes the Golden Child. It all depends on how well each of them is fulfilling Ozai's bottomless need for validation.

*Does this remind you of anyone?

"Narcissists [...] have such a tendency to view other people as conveniences or inconveniences, that when you're useful to a narcissist, they're all about you, but when you're not [...] the narcissist may find that child to be a headache, and they can sort of fade into the background for the narcissistic parent [...] The challenge of this is that the Invisible Child, like any child, will often spend time trying to get the notice of their parents. They'll do anything they can. They'll try to be the best possible kid. They'll try to be more than enough, whether that's getting grades or staying out of trouble or sometimes getting into trouble just so they can get the notice of their parents."

[sokkastyles]

I've been seeing a lot of "criticism" of Iroh lately that implies or outright states that Iroh failed Zuko because he didn't directly tell him that Ozai was abusive, or push harder for Zuko to see the truth. I've also been asked privately what I think of these metas, and I have to state that this seems to me to be a fundamental misunderstanding of how abuse works.

We see Zuko throughout the series deny that Ozai is abusive, believing that if he captures the Avatar, he will gain Ozai's love. This is a coping mechanism that many victims of abuse employ to deal with their situation, and it's one of the reasons it's so hard for victims to get help or leave abusive situations. Many victims do not want to see themselves as victims, and defend their abusers because they don't want to admit the pain and helplessness of the true situation.

We see Zuko be defensive of Ozai whenever Iroh gets close to telling him that he should not be trying to get back in Ozai's good graces. In season one when Zuko goes into Fire Nation waters, Iroh becomes incredibly afraid for Zuko and tells him he should not be breaking the parameters of his banishment. Zuko dismisses this and says he is sure the Firelord will understand, but Iroh says Ozai is "not the understanding type." Zuko completely ignores Iroh's words.

In other places, we see Zuko actually become hostile to Iroh when he tries to prevent Zuko from going back to Ozai. Because Zuko needs to believe that he can get back in his father's good graces, he would rather blame Iroh for trying to tell him that the relationship isn't good than admit that his father hurt him, and that it wasn't a justified punishment that he can atone for to regain his father's love and respect, it was abuse.

Iroh is put in the complicated position of trying to steer Zuko away from his abuser, but he also knows that because Zuko is hostile to attempts to get him to turn against Ozai, he risks alienating Zuko completely if he pushes him too hard, and indeed, we almost see that happen several times in the series.

We see this happen in the first episode of book two, with the introduction of Azula and her promise to take Zuko home.

Zuko: [Packing belongings.] We're going home! After three long years, it's unbelievable!

Iroh: [Staring out the window thoughtfully.] It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret anything.

This time, Zuko does not ignore Iroh, but becomes hostile the more Iroh pushes him to see the truth about his father.

Zuko: Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him! [Irritated.] He cares about me!

Iroh: [Turns to face Zuko and holds out arms in gesture.] I care about you! And if Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine.

And here we see the root of Zuko's hostility. He desperately needs to believe that his father really does care about him. Iroh, of course, is worried about Zuko getting hurt, but Zuko can't admit that his father hurt him and might do so again.

Zuko: [Turns his back to Iroh.] You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!

Iroh: Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem.

Zuko: [Turns to face Iroh.] I think you are exactly what you seem! A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother!

Zuko does some typical things in this conversation that victims in abusive relationships do. One is to justify the relationship by telling the person who is on the outside that they just don't "understand" the relationship and how special it is. Zuko tells Iroh that he does not know how his father really feels about him. He also accuses Iroh of jealousy, which also feeds on the idea that Iroh just doesn't understand how special Zuko's relationship with his father is, and because Zuko knows that Iroh sees him as something of a surrogate son, he can tell himself that Iroh is just envious of Zuko and Ozai's father-son relationship.

After their fight, Zuko decides to go to Azula alone. Iroh, knowing the danger, chooses to follow him, but is immediately prepared to get Zuko out of there if he had to, and he did have to.

This is the first time Zuko chooses to leave Iroh over choosing Ozai, and it doesn't last long. The second time, though, is not too many episodes later.

In early season two, Zuko begins to use his Blue Spirit identity to steal things which he brings to Iroh, trying to gain for them some measure of what they lost. Iroh tries to tell Zuko that there is still hope, and that he doesn't need material possessions and wealth to be happy. Zuko insists that the only way he can regain his honor is to find the Avatar, and Iroh tells Zuko that he's not sure that even capturing the Avatar would fix all their problems.

This is the second time that Iroh tries to tell Zuko that following his father's orders won't fix what is wrong with their relationship. Zuko's response is to sink into a depression, then eventually decide to leave Iroh a second time.

Zuko: Uncle ... [Switch to a close-up of Iroh with Zuko on the background.] I thought a lot about what you said.

Iroh: [Iroh's sad expression clears up as he hears Zuko talk.] You did? Good, good.

Zuko: It's helped me realize something. We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together. [Iroh's brightened expression quickly disappears again.] I need to find my own way.

Rather than abandoning trying to gain his father's approval, Zuko comes to the conclusion that it's Iroh, the one who is telling him that he shouldn't be trying to seek Ozai's favor, who is holding him back and preventing him from getting it.

After Zuko leaves this time, Iroh lets him go but follows close behind, and is there to give Zuko a hand, literally and metaphorically, when he falls in "The Chase." Before that, Iroh tells Toph that he knows Zuko doesn't want him around right now, but that he'll still be there for him in the ways he can.

Iroh chooses to give Zuko space because otherwise he risks alienating him further, but provides support for Zuko when Zuko needs it. Which is sometimes the best thing you can do when someone won't leave an abusive relationship.

Zuko is not a small child that Iroh can force to stay away from Ozai, nor does Iroh want to force Zuko to do things. Zuko is a teenager and also has a degree of autonomy that real teenagers in the real world don't have. If Iroh doesn't give Zuko space, he risks pushing him more towards Ozai, and he knows it.

The one time Zuko does become harsh with Zuko is the third time Zuko leaves Iroh in book two to pursue Ozai's favor, when Iroh finds Zuko under Lake Laogai. The show itself makes the comparison to when Zuko left Iroh at the North Pole, but seeing it in relation to the times Zuko leaves Iroh in book two is an underrated aspect, I think.

At least, at the North Pole, Iroh knew that Zuko was leaving, and Zuko had promised to come back. What makes Zuko's pursuit of Appa in Ba Sing Se different is that, just like the other two times Zuko left Iroh in book two, Zuko and Iroh had had a fight beforehand about Zuko's future, where Iroh tried to push him towards abandoning his search for the Avatar, and thus, his relationship with Ozai.

When Iroh finds Zuko under Ba Sing Se, they have what is their worst fight so far. Iroh yells at Zuko and also makes it clear that he is worried about his safety, and Zuko concedes that there is no other course of action than to listen to Iroh, but he goes from snarling in anger to looking defeated as Iroh encourages him to throw away his Blue Spirit mask.

This is what leads Zuko to his spiritual sickness at the end of the episode. This is hard for Zuko because he again has to confront the reality that pursuing his relationship with his father is unhealthy, and he has to be completely dependent on Iroh. Zuko physically cannot run away this time, and thus goes through several scary experiences. If he hadn't gotten sick, though, I think it's possible that he would have tried to run away again.

The option to run back towards his father presents itself later, at the end of the season, after Zuko has already made strides towards accepting Iroh's love. In part, choosing to side with Azula and going back to the Fire Nation is Zuko giving in to those unresolved feelings for his father, and the fact that he'd been forced to rely on Iroh is part of what pushes him in the opposite direction. Being captured and forced to rely on Iroh for rescue also doesn't help that. Iroh is, of course, protecting Zuko, but Zuko processes this as feeling helpless and that leads him to feel resentment at Iroh.

Of course, it isn't Iroh who put Zuko in that position of helplessness, it was Ozai, in a broader sense, and Azula in a more immediate sense. But admitting this also means Zuko has to face the one thing he isn't ready to face, that his father's treatment of him was wrong, and that that relationship isn't worth salvaging.

On the flipside of people saying that Iroh didn't try hard enough to convince Zuko that his father was abusive, I also see people saying that Iroh pushed Zuko too hard, and I have to wonder what these people think Iroh should have done, and I don't think they understand how complex and delicate a situation like this is. As well as ignoring that a lot of what happened under Ba Sing Se was out of Iroh's control, especially considering that he was captured by the Dai Li for most of it.