#but the one time it does is the time azula gets caught out

[hella1975]

tams azula is sooo fascinating bc while canon azula doesn't really show her age at all like she's completely desensitised to so much shit 'she is fourteen' is not a justification for ANYTHING both in her own mind and in other people's, in tams she has zuko. and yes the world has been abundantly cruel to her but zuko hasn't. he's basically raised azula and he's done so in a way that she's allowed to show her age, but she still only shows her age in very azula-esque ways. there's no reluctance to see violence like you'd expect from a fourteen-year-old, and like ive said before, that means zuko can't play on that reluctance in order to shield her, but he still wants to shield her from that violence because regardless of what SHE feels about it, as the eldest he knows fundamentally that she shouldn't be seeing certain things no matter how well she can handle them. and seeing zuko effectively PLAY azula in order to protect her is so interesting and complicated and fun

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?

That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.

But there is a constant exception.

Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.

And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.

On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.

He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.

More importantly:

1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"

2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.

3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."

4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.

5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.

Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.

Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.

His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.

Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.

[balanceoflightanddark]

I would be curious to hear your full thoughts on Azula in the Spirit Temple

...oh boy...my full thoughts on Azula in the Spirit Temple...

Needless to say, there has been a LOT of discourse on the release of the Azula one-shot these past few days. I know cause...well, I made a post saying my fic was on hiatus till I got my head straight. So needless to say, I've been in the middle of it myself.

The thing about the one-shot though is that it's not just the comic itself but all the baggage and expectations that comes with something that we've been waiting 15 years for. This is the first time Azula has EVER gotten the focus for once. For many of us, this has sort of been a make-or-break situation. I'll get to why in a moment but needless to say, it's been a stressful week.

But having read the comic, I'm ready to give my opinions on it. Spoilers. Obviously.

By now you should know the synopsis: after a raid on a granary, Azula's Fire Warriors make a rescue attempt for one of their comrades, leaving Azula behind. After trying to track them down for their "betrayal", Azula stumbles across a temple deep within the wood home to a monk. Of course, not all is as it seems, as it becomes apparent that something dark resides within, pitting the Princess against her very own psyche.

As I mentioned before, this is Azula's first time in the spotlight. The whole comic is written from her point of view, and she is effectively the protagonist. Going in, I was both excited...and terrified. See, this is her first appearance since the Yang comics and...

...yeah. Needless to say, there's a LOT of bad blood for me going into this comic. So much so that I nearly lost it when I heard some of the spoilers going in.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

To begin, this comic does the most critical thing right: Azula is NOT portrayed as being an irredeemable monster. While she's still a villain and makes a lot of questionable choices (her treatment of the Fire Warriors is reminiscent of how she treated Mai and Ty Lee after all), she's also given a great deal of sympathy. Probably the most we've seen out of the franchise so far.

If Azula was some kind of monster, there's no way panels like this should even exist. What's more, I actually think it does something that I think wasn't handled well in the series and treated little!Azula as...well, a kid. Not a monster or "sick" as Zuko called her in "Zuko Alone". Just a talented kid who unfortunately caught the eye of Ozai for being good at firebending. Hell, that teaser image of her burning the turtleduck was actually a toy and not the real deal.

It's stuff like this that got me excited for the comic initially. This was what we've been waiting for years now. Writers actually acknowledging that Azula was a victim and not some monster.

...which is why I blew up when the previews turned out to be misleading.

See, Azula doesn't get her redemption here. She's offered one (we'll get to that in a minute), but she rejects it and ends the story as a bad guy. Granted there are hints that she's starting to change, but she's still going after the throne and is still opposed to Zuko. Which...kind of got me upset. Mainly cause I thought it was another bait-and-switch like with Yang hinting at Azula changing at the end of The Search, then going around with her crappy portrayal in Smoke and Shadows.

Course there's only so much you can do within a single one-shot, so admittedly...my hopes were too high. Like, there was a lot I wanted. I wanted the heroes to finally get called out on their bull crap. I wanted Azula to get a break. I wanted...I guess I wanted to feel validated that somebody was listening to us.

And granted there is a little bit here and there. The asylum is NOT looked on kindly by Azula or any of the Fire Warriors, with her even trying to reassure herself she's not being held there anymore.

She even calls out Ursa on abandoning her, saying that Ozai effectively conditioned her into being a weapon when she didn't have any choice in the matter. Hell, there's a heavy implication she's genuinely hurt by what Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee pulled in the past (which considering what they did in the comics, is a lot) and wants some kind of apology from them.

Again, while she's not entirely a saint here, I don't think they'd have this panels if she was entirely in the wrong.

Which then we get to the redemption offer. Basically, the Spirit offers to give her a chance to change...which she rejects.

The problem is, said chance involves her apologizing to THEM first. And I don't think that's portrayed as a good thing since the hallucination of Zuko looks eerily reminiscent of Ozai and downright monstrous. As others have pointed out, it's clear that the Spirit doesn't know Azula and the "redemption" sounds more like groveling for forgiveness. So of COURSE it's not going to work for somebody like Azula since that won't solve anything for her.

So...we come to the ending.

The Spirit calls Azula a monster, says she's squandered a chance for redemption, and she looks upon the Fire Warriors having fun together and...she leaves...

...alone...

...look. I understand that @prying-pandora666 said this was essentially a reset. Getting Azula to a post-Sozin's Comet state with a fresh start. And I get that. Particularly if the animated stuff is gonna feature her.

...but she's alone...again...

I'm okay with her not getting a redemption since I don't think she was mentally ready for one. But...

sighs

Listen, remember how I said I wanted a lot from this comic? Too much in fact? Yeah. I was so focused on what I needed as opposed to what Azula needed. A fresh slate might be what she needs. And in a vacuum, I think this comic is pretty solid.

It's just everything else is where I have problems.

15 years waiting. 15 years of Bryke/Yang's comics, ableism, and lack of empathy. 15 years of stress, of being seen as an outcast by the fandom. It's...it's a lot to hold. And there's no way a single good comic is gonna be able to rebuild those burned-down bridges. I understand that there's talk of a potential follow-up and stuff for her from Avatar Studios.

It's just...you know. You're always afraid of this being the end. Which...doesn't sit well with me. I'm just afraid they're gonna use Azula as a marketing tool to sell future comics. That they're gonna drag this out. That they're gonna keep playing this centrist field instead of committing (it's fine here, and I do think Faith does lean in towards Azula being sympathetic after all), it's just...

I'm sorry. I want to love this comic and be excited for more stuff with Azula but...15 years is a long time. And it's going to take more than a single good comic to get me back on board fully.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine your best friends Mai and Zuko setting you up with Sokka on a blind date

You had been the third wheel to Mai and Zuko for years. So much so you actually weren’t sure which one of them you were friends with first. Some of your earlier childhood memories were spent being confused why Mai and Zuko were so weird around one another. Then when you realised you spent your childhood trying to force them together so they’d admit their feelings. They were both so annoyingly unforthcoming with their emotions you were probably just as happy as the couple when they finally confessed to one another. You were so thrilled your teen years were spent covering for them when they wanted to meet unsupervised or outside of the palace. Zuko would just happen to go on a walk by your house when Mai was sleeping over or Mai would tag along with you to the Ember Islands at the same time Zuko and Azula were there. You did such a good job that everyone actually thought you were dating Zuko or Mai, they were all quite shocked when you revealed you had no part of it. When Azula eventually outed the pair they still invited you to things because apparently your presence while they stared at one another and more was required. You’d been getting kind of sick of third-wheeling with your two best friends lately and they thought they’d found the perfect solution.

Sokka.

"Why are we so dressed up just to go to our favourite restaurant and where is Zuko?" you asked as you and Mai headed into the restaurant district of the capital. The three of you had this planned for weeks but they’d be mysteriously quiet about the details and Mai had practically refused to leave before you dressed up a bit. So you were more than a little curious to know what was going on but Mai never let something slip if she didn’t want to. Mai just shrugged "because it's nice to dress up sometimes and Zuko's just got something to do beforehand so he's meeting us there". You nodded and fell into silence which did nothing to ease Mai’s nerves. Mai and Zuko were fairly sure you’d incinerate them on the spot when their plan was revealed.

You reached the restaurant and were shown to a table. You and Mai were chatting aimlessly when you noticed something. "The table has 4 places mats not 3". Mai feigned surprise "ow yeah it does". "And the waitress said we'll wait for your companions to arrive not companion. Plural not singular. As if were expecting 2 more people not 1". Mai looked at the floor "yeah...". "Mai!" you said in warning "what's going on?" but you were cut off by Zuko’s arrival. "Hi guys sorry we’re late. Y/n you remember Sokka?". You look past him to see the water tribe boy Zuko was fond of. He waved at you awkwardly "hi y/n, hi Mai. You both look lovely". Mai smiled "thanks Sokka take a seat" and Zuko moved to sit next to her leaving the space next to you free for him. This was a double date and you were furious.

Judging by Sokka’s awkward reaction he also hadn’t been prepared for this. You stared at Zuko and Mai, wreathing in anger as they both pointedly avoided your gaze hiding behind their menus. “Wow this all looks so good” Sokka said tentatively into the awkward silence. Zuko nodded “yeah it does, what you thinking of having?”. The two descended into chatter and you caught Mai’s eye “so when I asked if there was anything new you chose to leave this out?”. “Y/n” Mai hissed “please just try it” she said lowering her voice. You rolled your eyes “you are not getting away with this” and went back to your menu.

After your orders had been taken there was nothing left to hide behind and Sokka tried cautiously engaging with you. “So y/n Zuko tells me you’ve known him and Mai since you were all very young?”. You nodded “ahh so he can tell the truth sometimes?”. Zuko blushed and Sokka chuckled “I’m dying to know what kid Zuko was like? Was he anything like the god awful ponytail version?”. You paused caught off guard “you meant the pouty angst machine? That’s always been his main personality”. “I knew it!” Sokka cried “Zuko tried telling me he was wise and calm before his banishment”. You snorted “is your name Iroh? No Zuko has always been hotheaded and mardy” you smirked “some things never change”. Sokka nodded “tell me about it, I beat him fair and square in sword fighting the other day and he invented a rule to deny me the match”. “That is not what happened at all” Zuko complained and you and Mai smirked. “Ow yeah? What was the rule?” Mai asked. Zuko paused and Sokka turned to you both “apparently I didn’t wait three seconds after my last point of contact”. You and Mai burst out laughing and Sokka grinned “it’s crazy right? No rule like that really exists?”. Mai smiled “it does but at the academy when everyone is still learning and can easily maim one another. The rule is usually dropped when kids get to around 13...is there something you’re not telling me Zuko?” she asked and the three of you all continued laughing. Zuko blushed folding his arms “I didn’t know Sokka’s level, I was being responsible”. “He trained with Piando and you know it!” you cried before you paused looking at Sokka “that was you right?”. Sokka nodded proudly “yup!”. “Sorry Zuko talks about you guys a lot so sometimes it’s hard to remember who is who...are you the one who also got the same fish hook stuck in his thumb twice?”. Now it was Zuko’s turn to burst out laughing. “You told her that!” Sokka cried kicking Zuko under the table. Zuko just laughed and Mai grinned. Sokka sighed turning back to you “yes that was also me but I wish Zuko thought to tell you something less embarrassing about me”. You smiled “don’t worry we can get him back later” you found your mood had been lightened and decided to embrace it. “So Sokka, what is it like growing up in the Southern Water Tribe? We hear many stories of course but you're the first water tribesman I’ve ever met so i’d like to hear it from you”. Sokka sat up a bit taller, seemingly pleased by that “well it’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of places” Sokka started and he proceeded to launch into an in-depth answer to your question.

Despite your good mood you hadn’t forgotten what Mai and Zuko had done so when Mai went to the bathroom you went too. She jumped when she came out to find you waiting. “So is there something you want to tell me?”. Mai paused “i’m pretty sure you’re aware of Sokka by now...”. “Very funny” you replied “if this is your way of telling me you and Zuko are sick of me tagging along with you? You could have been brave enough to just say it! I always ask if you guys would rather be alone so I find this so insulting and embarrassing. Do i not deserve your respect and honesty?”. “Woah woah y/n calm down, it’s not that at all! Zuko and I love having you around”. “Sure seems like it” you shot back and Mai sighed “can you be quiet long enough to let me explain?”. You crossed your arms angrily but remained silent. Mai nodded “thank you. Like I said this has nothing to do with us being sick of you, it’s more the opposite. Y/n we know we’re not the most fun to hang out, especially when we’re so absorbed in one another and we felt bad. You’ve already done so much for us and so we thought we’d invite someone like-minded to join us so it was less boring”. You frowned “so instead of hiring entertainment you bring me a boy? Don’t pretend this isn’t anything other than a date Mai”. Mai sighed “no you’re right we did invite Sokka and hope the two of you would hit it off but we put a lot of thought into it y/n! You’re only a year older than him, you both love strategy and planning. He’s interested in mechanics and engineering just like you love architecture and mathematics. You’re both hot-headed and incredibly smart. You also share a love of sarcasm and think your embarrassing puns are hilarious. We didn’t just choose the first guy we saw. We put a lot of consideration into it y/n and the two of you are really compatible! Even if not as a couple you should be great friends”. You hated when Mai was reasonable, it also made it so much harder to be angry at her. You sighed “okay fine you put a lot more effort into this than I thought but I don’t appreciate not being told. I am not some desperate lonely girl who needs a man to complete her”. Mai nodded “of course not and Zuko and I don’t think that about you at all!  We didn’t tell you because we knew you would never agree if we were honest so we had to be sneaky but tell me this. Are you having a bad time so far?". You paused "well no but...". "But nothing! If you're enjoying yourself why are you mad? Stop being stubborn and embrace the event". You sighed "i hate when you turn out to be right". Mai smiled linking your arm with hers "i know, now come on, you have a water tribe boy to quiz about battle strategy”.

Sokka seemed to guess why you’d followed Mai and while Zuko and Mai began discussing how ugly the colour scheme of the restaurant was he leant towards you. “So” he asked in a quiet voice “did they blindside you to this too?”. You nodded “yup, you?”. Sokka nodded “yep. Zuko told me he was showing me his favourite restaurant in the city. Then when we got outside he told me you and Mai were also here and that it was a double date. I tried to storm off but he convinced me to come inside and atleast meet you”. You couldn’t resist messing with people and so you kept your face passive and gave Sokka a hard stare. “Was there any particular reason why you were so opposed to being set up with me?”. Sokka jumped, as if just realising he’d told an expert firebender he didn’t want to date her. “No! I mean you’re very beautiful of course and from what Zuko’s told me about you I think you’re amazing I mean you were the only person who could match Azula in fire bending! That’s insanely impressive” Sokka cried and you nodded “keep going”. Sokka nodded “of course any guy or girl would be lucky to date you but I just hated being blindsided like this. I’m not some sad desperate guy who needs a blind date to get a girl. Please don’t be offended, the issue was definitely not you more the premise itself”. You allowed your smile to appear and chuckled “I know i’m messing with you. I totally agree them springing a date on us was bad”. “So bad!” Sokka cried and you nodded “so we’ll definitely have to get them back for it”. Sokka smiled “I like that devious look in your eye...what do you have in mind?”. 

The next morning

You lived in the palace and shared a wing with Mai and Zuko so your plan was very easy to enact. You made sure they were both in the dining room having breakfast before you turned to Sokka “you ready?”. He paused surveying himself in the mirror. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday just very crumpled (you’d stamped on them to get that professional effect) and has his hair messily down. You wore a night robe and had your hair messily up in a bun. You were going to trick Mai and Zuko into thinking you spent the night together when really Sokka climbed up through your window half an hour ago. Sokka tousled his hair once more and nodded “ready!”. You paused for a second at how nice his hair looked before you pulled yourself together and nodded “let’s do this”. 

You grabbed Sokka’s hand and began chattering loudly between the two of you. You made sure you were in plain view of the couple but made no move towards them. You had to pretend like there was nobody else in the world except Sokka and that wasn't too hard at the moment. Sokka adopted the role of flirty smitten one night stand well. He whispered in your ear and trailed his hand around your waist. You weren’t one to back down so you stepped up your game giving lots of eye contact and twirling a piece of Sokka’s hair in your fingertips. Eventually it was too much for Zuko and Mai. “Ah-hem!” someone *coughed* and you turned as if startled. “Ow....hey” Sokka said blushing and you looked down “morning”. “Good morning” Zuko replied “would you like to join us for breakfast?”. Sokka shook his head “can’t i’m afraid i’ve got plans with Toph but i’ll see you later” he said suggestively, directing the question at you. You nodded and kissed him lightly. It wasn’t planned but it seemed to fit. Sokka was surprised, you could tell by how tense he felt against you but he soon recovered and wrapped his arms around you kissing you back. You eventually separated and Sokka said goodbye shooting his eyes up and down you before he left. You smiled after him before walking lightly over to the table and taking a seat across from a very shocked couple. “What the actual fuck?” Mai asked “you and Sokka...on the first night?”. You smiled “don’t be such a prude Mai it’s just sex”. Zuko spluttered and you struggled not to laugh. “So are you like...dating now?” Mai asked. “Nope” you replied and Zuko frowned “no? y/n you just had your tongue down his throat”. You rolled your eyes “so that means I have to marry him? We’re just having fun. Hooking up casually and stuff, i believe the term is friends with benefit?”. Zuko looked faint at the idea and Mai’s eyes were wider than you’d ever seen them. They looked at one another before glancing back at you. Zuko spoke first “well...if you and Sokka are...if that works for you then we’re happy for you. Right Mai?”. Mai nodded “yeah I mean this is certainly a new form of company we didn’t expect but you seem to be enjoying it so good for you”. You stared at their awkward looks of encouragement and burst. “Sokka and I didn’t sleep together you idiots! It was all a prank!”. Zuko sighed “ow thank god! Katara would have murdered me for sure”. Mai stared at you “wait a prank, why?”. “To get you back for blindsiding up both. We arranged it all last night”. You explained the finer details and Mai and Zuko shook their heads at how gleeful you were for getting them. “And now i’ve got what I came for I will be leaving” you smiled with a bow. “Hold on a second” Mai called “so I get you faked all the flirting and stuff but you kissed him. Planned or not that happened”. You paused unsure what to say and Zuko smiled. “Yeah and a kiss is pretty extreme for a prank, especially for you who hates physical contact unless it’s with someone she cares about or...fancies”. Their smiles were back and you sighed “I kissed Sokka for the prank, no other reason okay?”. “Sure keep telling yourself that” Mai smiled and Zuko nodded. “Ow and you’re welcome for yesterday, we could tell you had a good time no matter how much you tried not to” .”I...just because I didn’t hate it proves nothing”. “Sureee” Mai replied sarcastically and Zuko laughed throwing an arm around her. “Eugh I’m leaving” you groaned and they kept laughing. “Y/n’s first love” Mai called and Zuko chuckled “they grow up so fast don’t they?”. "I'm two months older than you!" you called and slammed your door closed blocking out their laughter.

The force of you slamming your door caused your room to shake and the person standing on your window ledge to fall forwards with a thump. “I’m okay!” Sokka cried and your eyes widened “Sokka? I’m so sorry I had no idea you were...here let me help you up”. You helped Sokka to stand and checked nothing was broken. “So what are you doing here?” you asked half pleased and half nervous. “To hear how it went of course!” Sokka cried “did they fall for it?”. “Hook line and sinker” you laughed “you should’ve seen their faces” and you explained their reactions in detail. Sokka laughed before he looked at you “well i’m not surprised we were brilliant actors...I mean for a second there I thought that kiss was real”. You froze but managed to keep your face calm. “You could have convinced me you actually wanted to kiss me” Sokka joked and you shrugged “well I am an excellent actress”. “Clearly” Sokka nodded “but just in case you did want to do it again how about we go out tonight?”. “You’re asking me out?” you asked “I thought you were mad at being set up”. Sokka nodded “I was and still am that’s why I’m asking you out myself. Zuko and Mai get zero credit”. You nodded “that sounds good....if I said yes where would we go?”. “I was thinking the theatre. I know we’re both so talented we could be up there but I figured we’d leave it to the professionals this once?”. You nodded “that makes sense, we’ve got to take a break sometimes right?” you joked. Sokka smiled “exactly...so what time should I pick you up?”. “I haven’t said yes yet” you retorted and Sokka laughed before coming closer. “You said yes the moment you kissed me. I could tell you liked me by how passionate it was and not to even mention the way you checked me out all morning. I thought your eyes were going to fall out the way you oggled me when you were stamping on my shirt and I was topless”. You laughed taken back “I’ll admit you’re visually pleasing and your personality isn’t awful”. “Best compliment I’ve ever got” Sokka joked “so fire girl what time?”. “I’m not sure if i’ll be able to fit you in but how about we say 7?” you asked nonchalantly. Sokka grinned “7 it is, see you later y/n” and he hopped out your window. You stared at the spot Sokka had just disappeared from and the realisation you had a date sunk in. You thought about Sokka and this morning and a smile soon appeared on your face which made you want to both curse and thank Mai and Zuko. They might be annoying but they really had done their research. 

[waterfire1848]

Hey do you any headcanons in Azula as a mother overall especially if she were to have more than one child? The post about Azula with a teenager has piqued my interest

Hello, anon!! Thanks for the ask!

I do have some headcanons!

Azula, no matter who her partner is, is terrified when she gets pregnant. Even before her baby is born, she's reading almost every parenting book known to man to prepare for the baby because she refuses to be caught off guard. If she and her partner adopt she still reads up on how to care for babies/little kids (depending on the age of the kid).

She would never admit it but she does always have a tiny hope when her kids are born/adopted that they're benders. Of course she doesn't get mad at them if they aren't or treat them any differently, but she does think it would be a nice thing to share with her child(ren).

She takes them to Ember Island every summer. While they're there, they all relax, even her. After her breakdown, she learned the value of taking mental health breaks and taking real time to relax and be with family. Since she absolutely doesn't want her kids to feel the same pressure she did, she makes it clear that while they're on Ember Island, they're just normal kids and they can do normal kid stuff. (It doesn't work out perfect all the time, one visit Azula had to come collect her oldest children because they got drunk at a party, but she is happy they felt relaxed)

Azula actively encourages her children to get involved in whatever hobbies they want. She only asks that it's safe and doesn't accidentally harm one of their siblings (e.x. one of her middle children made honey filled snacks and the family had to go to a healer because her oldest is very allergic to honey)

She does not stand for their nursery being far away from her. Ozai and Ursa had Zuko and Azula's nursery far away (Ursa hated this but Ozai ordered it which caused Ursa to spend multiple nights asleep on the nursery's floor) to prevent them from hearing the two when they cried. Azula demands her children's cribs are in her room so she can be there when they need her. A very servants try to talk her out of this, saying she'll want her own space, and they get their clothes burned in response.

Azula does not know how to do her own hair and she struggles with her first daughter's hair as well. So much so that when her eldest daughter is young, the girl runs away from her mom yelling that she's pulling her hair. After a year and a lot of training with her own hair, Azula starts to learn how to do different kinds of hairstyles. Only for her youngest children to say they don't want their hair put up.

[drpoisonoaky]

Katara is sick (Part 5)

Part 1 - Part 4

Katara: Achoo! Ty lee: Bless you! Katara: Oh, thanks.  Ty lee: Be careful, maybe you’re catching a cold or something. Katara: Yeah, Sokka got one last week.  Katara: Oh wait, maybe you could help me, Suki ask me to help in- Ty lee: Wait. You’re sick?! Katara: I only have a runny nose, nothing to worry about. Ty lee: Oh Agni. Katara: Ty lee I’m fine. Thank you for being worried but I’m totally fine. Ty lee: Yes you are, I see that. But the people around you are gonna pay for your crimes. Katara: What? Ty lee, deeply focused: Katara, does Azula know about your illness? Katara: No?  Ty lee: Okay we have time, you need to hide until you fully recover or the people surrounding you are gonna to suffer. Katara: It’s not that serious a day in bed and a good soup and I’ll be as good as new. Ty lee: Katara you are not understanding me. I am not worrying about you. No offense. It’s your girlfriend. Katara: Oh no, another childhood trauma. Ty lee: Well, maybe, I’m not sure. But definitely Azula doesn’t like people she cares about getting sick. Katara: What did she do? Ty lee: Well when we were dating, there  was this one time I also caught a cold but we weren’t in the fire nation yet, so she made every colonel or soldier or whatever strip and gave me their clothes cause me being cold was forbidden. And I said “‘Zula but you are a firebender and you keep me warm”, no double meaning intended, and she said “I do, but what if a sneeze or I don’t know we have to fight, I am not taking risks” Ty lee: And let me tell you I had seen that woman jet fly and conquer places so I wasn’t sure about what risks but I wasn’t going to fight.  Ty lee: So everybody ended up catching a cold but when we arrived at the fire nation I was good as new but that people hated me until this day. Katara: I see. Ty lee: So we need to- Katara: No. Ty lee: No? Katara: Look, I’m not hiding something from Azula, that’s not how we work. So I’m going to go back and sneeze if I have to. If she finds out I’m going to watch the show and enjoy how she is unnecessarily worried. Because I think it is cute, even though we will address that trauma part after. Ty lee: *starts to cry* Katara: Wha-Ty lee what’s wrong?! Ty lee: YOU BOTH ARE SO CUTE AND FIT SO WELL TOGETHER  I- Katara: Achoo. Ty lee: Okay it’s cute but I definitely don’t want to be sick so bye bye. I warned ya! Katara: Sniff.

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

anytime there's harry potter discourse i think about the many times over the years that the veil was pulled aside, that the illusion of the books being a fun escape was shattered. bc jkr's transphobia isn't the first time this happened, it's only the most recent and the biggest. one of those moments that i remember wasn't really a specific moment - it was just a new thread of analysis about the series. specifically, it was about how dumbledore was actually kind of awful and manipulative, basically orchestrating harry's life so he'd be willing to sacrifice himself to stop voldemort. as kids, dumbledore was this cool wise mentor, but as adults, people looked at the text and saw an adult manipulating a child. though we are meant to see more depth in dumbledore over the course of the series, this realization shattered the illusion of comfort in a way i don't think jkr intended.

it's interesting to compare this to the treatment of iroh, another character from kids media who starts out as a kooky sweet old man and is later revealed to have depth and a great deal of power over the world. but realizing that iroh actually has an agenda, that he's working secretly to make sure zuko plays the role he wants him to play, doesn't feel as much like a shattering. it all comes down to the way the two characters handle abuse.

dumbledore places harry with the dursleys ostensibly in an attempt to give him a normal childhood, away from being treated as a celebrity in the wizarding world. but he's keeping tabs on him enough to know that he's sleeping in a cupboard, and yet he does nothing to remove him from that abusive situation. in fact, mcgonagall warns him in the first chapter of the first book that the dursleys are not good people, and he still leaves him there. the only implication we can take from this is that the dursleys' abuse was the normal childhood that dumbledore wanted harry to have.

meanwhile, iroh's machinations are all about getting zuko free of his abuser. yes, iroh has this grand plan of zuko defeating azula and becoming the new good fire lord who will end the war, but that can only happen once zuko's free of ozai's influence, and so that's most of what iroh does. he keeps offering zuko fun, pleasant things, like tea and good food and music nights, and he sabotages zuko's quest for the avatar by falling asleep in a hot spring and pretending to lose a pai sho tile. he's trying to show zuko that having fun is more important than a quest from his abusive father. he poisons himself in the earth kingdom so that zuko is forced to seek help, forced to interact with people of the earth kingdom and see that that the way the fire nation treats people is wrong. everyone in the earth kingdom will assume that a burn scar like zuko's is a sign of fire nation abuse, even if they're wrong about the details, and that could make zuko realize they're right.

neither iroh nor dumbledore are super upfront with their intentions, but iroh's playing it subtle because people trapped in trying to please an abuser can be resistant to people trying to remove them from that situation, while dumbledore doesn't tell harry because then he might not want to be the sacrifice he needs to be. iroh's secrets are because he cares about zuko and wants to help him as best he can, dumbledore's are about using harry as a tool.

it also reflects a more nuanced understanding of abuse. iroh can't directly remove zuko (or azula, for that matter) from their abusive situation because they are caught up in loyalty to their father and ozai wouldn't want to give up his control over them. dumbledore can't remove harry from the dursleys because...he doesn't want to? harry was pretty willing to leave and they seemed like they'd be pretty happy to be rid of him. plus, ozai has power over everyone - including iroh - as fire lord, while dumbledore is far more powerful than the dursleys. if a muggle authority had tried to intervene with harry, the dursleys might have resisted, but if a wizard wants to fly their nephew away, they can't physically or legally stop him. we're left to wonder if perhaps dumbledore has some old-fashioned "experiencing hardship is good for the soul" mentality, or if maybe that he thought harry would be more likely to sacrifice himself for the wizarding world if it was his escape from abuse.

but of course harry potter wasn't going to address the reality of what keeps people trapped in abusive situations. it was constantly marketed as an escapist fantasy - that you could be whisked away from your abusive family to a magical world where you were loved and powerful. getting out has to be easy, but we also have to keep going back to the abusive situation so that the wizarding world keeps seeming magical.

atla, meanwhile, is its own magical world, and the show is about bringing hope and childlike joy back to a world ravaged by war and colonialism. depicting the reality of abuse, how hard it is to break the cycle but also how essential it is to do so, reinforces the themes of the show.

and so the mastermind adult, orchestrating the defeat of evil and the breaking of the cycle, does it out of love for a child.

[platinumrosetail]

Can I have yandere Macaqua and sun JTTW x prince soko twin sister

Like the reader was teleport JTTW world

And Mac and sun fell in love with the reader who has water and fire bender

But the reader found out it wasn't heathy and they are yandere so some how she made it back home and then fell in love with Ang and years the reader child two years old and angi and her having a another baby but some how sun and Mac get into there work and take the cub back with there wife and make her eat the peach and take her home and the little kid that angs is rise by then as well

Oh wow I love the idea of this request 🤩, also the reader reminds me of an oc that I’m trying to make but she’s the daughter of zuko x sokka, anyway shall we get on with it?

This might have more than 7 paragraphs like the last one but I don’t know, i’ll see if I can do more than 7 paragraphs for this one as well.

Warnings: noob author, female reader, yandere characters, and others.

Characters: sun wukong, macaque.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shadowpeach:

You were the youngest out of the first borns of the fire nation royalty, making you zuko’s younger twin sister, which also meant that zuko would be overprotective of you and try to defend you from azula bullying that she is fond of doing to him and make sure you don’t get caught in her abusive ways, though he doesn’t know until later that she wants to protect you as much as he does as well and surprisingly your father, the fire lord also would like to protect you as well but zuko still tries to distance you from those two and more to your mother and uncle.

It was a shock to your family that you can waterbend as well as firebend but they decided to keep it a secret as it could cause a scandal to uproar in the court and the relations with you and zuko actually being apart of the family.

You found a little trinket in the pirate boat when you, your brother, and uncle was trying to find the current avatar to help restore zuko’s honor that he had lost when he was younger the trinket was kept with you and not officially put on until after you and zuko’s joined the gang group.

But when you put on that trinket it had brought you to a world you didn’t know existed before until now. You soon met a unusual group that is heading west to a being called buddha you decided to tag along as this Buddha could help you get home to your rightful world.

You ignore all of pigsy attempts at flirting with you, talk and spend some relaxing time with sandy and talk about the different things about each others culture with Tripitaka, though you spend most of your time with sun as he somehow found his way in your heart and soon became your crush.

You would heal sun with your waterbending and scold Tripitaka about his treatment towards sun and give facts about how he shouldn’t have done those things now or what happened in the past with the knowledge Anna had told you about monks, that made sun soon realize he as well has fallen in love with you too.

You met macaque when you and sun was searching for some vegetarian food for Tripitaka as you sadly won’t be apart of this group forever and cause you have a family to get to so you can’t stay even if you wanted to, macaque had startled you when handing you another fruit you would of overlooked if it wasn’t for him. When you notice how there seem to be a bad tension between the two you decided to fix it.

And fixed it you did as you had them talk about what they needed to talk about while also trying to make sure they don’t go ballistic on each other and try to kill each other over something that could be dealt with peacefully.

The two ended up persuading you into a relationship and how when the time comes for it then they will try to find a way for you three to be together.

You later learned how they actually act, with how they kill people you talk to and from their words ‘are a threat to your relationship’ which wasn’t true as there is something that was made because you loved them, it was also them that was the threat to this relationship for killing innocence people just because they talked with you one time.

You had somehow got the trinket to work and bring you back to your world, leaving behind two angry monkeys left behind after they realized you found a way back to your world, though what they didn’t know is that they would’ve been fathers if they haven’t messed up.

A few years went by, about 2, and you and your friend and first crush, avatar aang decide to get together with your first child from the previous relationship became aang’s child after marrying each other then came the cub that is named mk little sibling and the biological child of aang and what you didn’t know is that you’ll be seeing some people that you didn’t want to see.

Sun and macaque found a way to their missing lover’s world and now is on the search in that world.

You didn’t know what had happened as the next thing you knew is that your back to the world you previous went to but this time it’s more futuristic than it was before. Apparently it has been many years since they last seen you and not the same length of time like your world went to from that event.

Thankfully you have your two children with you but you hope you can get them away from the two.

Though you and the children both had eaten the peaches of immortality so you have a plenty time to play hide and seek from them.

Though that will be hard with two supernatural monkeys that would do anything for you and your children.

[kawaiichibiart]

Random assortment of ATLA AU ideas I'm probably not gonna do anything with but needed to get out there:

AU where Zuko was never banished from the FN due to the people of the FN revolting when they found out. Word of the Agni Kai and the War Meeting had made it's way across the nation and the majority were in favor of Zuko. So much that they were planning a mutiny. Annoyed, but seeing a way out, Ozai orders a tower be made far away from Caldera. Once it's made, Zuko would live there. If they win the war, he'll forgive his son and welcome him back. The tower is built and Zuko is dumped in there. Only one way in and out and he can't open it. The other option is literally barred. Blah blah blah, we get into book 2, Suki has been caught by Azula. She's on her way to prison, not sure where she'll end up. And she's surprised when she's told she'll be keeping the prince company. Because, what prince? And she's put into Zuko's tower. In short, Zuki prison roommates AU but it's not in the Boiling Rock.

No one understands how it happened. Why it happened. They prayed to the moon. So, why did the sun respond and save their daughter? She prayed to the sun. She prayed and begged for him to answer. The one who answered her was the moon. Sun Spirit Yue and Moon Spirit Zuko AU. Bonus if both can bend the element of the spirit that blessed them (firebender Yue and waterbender Zuko).

Zuku joins the Gaang early and poses as Sokka's wife the entire time (fiancee if we go as early as book 1 and up until they get to Ba Sing Se in book 2. Zuko: I must find my darling husband!! I'm so worried about him... Katara: Seriously, what do you see in that guy? Zuko: He makes me laugh.)

The SWT has collapsed. Men have gone to war, and the remaining women, children and elders have split between finding sanctuary in either Kyoshi Island or the NWT OR living a new life at sea as pirates. Sokka becomes well known as a decent pirate. He won't raid someone just to raid them. They have to have something he wants. And right now, his attention was in the rather pretty boy (he assumed it was a boy anyways) onboard Zhao's ship. He'd usually go for maps and plans and even rations when he raided a ship, but this time he's thinking of getting a person. Huh, kidnapping...well there's a first for everything. (Basic summary, the SWT doesn't exist, Sokka is now a pirate, and yes so are Katara and Kanna. Their biggest enemy personally is Zhao, who's hunting down the Avatar (whom they're hiding in their ship). Sokka eventually notices Zuko, who was given to Zhao rather than banished. Blah blah blah, it's easy to tell Zuko hates Zhao, hopefully he won't mind a small kidnapping if it means getting off Zhao's ship (he does but honestly he'd rather be on Sokka's ship, it's a lot cleaner and the avatar seems nice, the bison is a bonus.))

Despite his attempts, Zuko is unable to join Team Avatar. Not able to turn to either side, he runs off and goes into hiding. While on the run, he reunites with Jin and they end up having a heart to heart. Things are confessed but in the end they get together and go on the run together. They open up a secret camp for people like them, on the run from the war. They heal the injured as best as they can and work together to make food that can last a few days. The first time things turn sour is when Jet enters the camp. He's hostile and picking fights until he's given the choice to cool his attitude or leave and hope someone else takes pity on him. Things settle down and he gets close with Jin and Zuko. More time passes by and they're eventually approached by Team Avatar, Aang and Toph both seem pleasantly surprised to see Zuko, but Sokka, Katara and Suki (whom the two water siblings freed from prison alongside their dad) weren't, Hakoda doesn't say anything. Like with Jet, they were given a choice, cool the attitude or leave.

Growing up, Azula always trailed after her mother and older brother. Despite being their father's favorite, Azula preferred their company. Call her overprotective, but like Uncle Iroh and their cousin Lu Ten have told her over and over, they were dragons. And dragons hoard and protect what's theirs. Ursa and Zuko are Azula's hoard, and she wouldn't let anyone hurt them. So, when Ursa disappears, when Zuko gets burned and banished, she decides enough is enough. The war against the other nations has ended, it was time for Civil War. And once she won, she'd bring her real family back. Ozai touched her hoard, it was about time he learned why you should never touch something belonging to a dragon.

Is this how adoption works now?? He just, finds kids lost at sea, abandoned in random places, having run away? Hakoda's not sure why it happened. It started when he found a young girl adrift on a small boat. Her white hair hidden with scarves and her hood. Yue, Princess of the NWT. Ranaway upon learning she was engaged to someone who wouldn't care for her or her people. Then came ex-Prince Zuko, who had been abandoned on an island they stopped to camp at. He'd been living there for about 3 years, maybe longer, he's unsure. But hey, what's another kid? He joins their crew... Fuck his earlier words, he doesn't need more kids. But Hakoda just sighs as a small girl (Toph) follows Zuko aboard. Seriously, is THIS how adoption works now? How's he gonna explain this to Sokka and Katara and his mother? They'll accept Yue no doubt, Toph might also be easy, but Zuko? Fuck, he needs a drink- BATO STOP LAUGHING!!

She didn't want it to end the way it did. She hated what had happened to him. What Ozai did to him while she was gone. What their mother did when she abandoned them. She remembered when Zuko was happy. When he'd smile at her and tell her he'd love her. She remembered the expectations put on him, the extra lessons and how little he was allowed to sleep. She was...jealous for so long. Both of their fire were unique, hers a brilliant blue and his a kaleidoscope of colors. It wasn't fair he was treated special... He wasn't treated special. And she was blind to that. She was blind and the truth was falling apart right in front of her. She hated this. She hated what this war had done to her family. What it did to her. What it did to Zuko. And she hated that she just stood there as her brother was carted off somewhere, ignoring his gaze as he was taken away. She hates everything... (sorta a roleswap between Azula and Zuko but not really?? Both are strong benders, Zuko just peaked later on but not too much later. As the oldest, a lot of pressure was placed on Zuko and thus Ozai's attention was on him as well. Azula, upset with this, did everything she could to upstage him. The two have a good relationship, but Ozai favoring Zuko didn't help and so Azula left to capture the Avatar, stating she wanted a challenge and to prove herself. She got a ship, and set sail with Iroh at her side. Azula eventually joins to Avatar's side and branded a traitor alongside her uncle. Zuko is tasked at bringing her home and despite how much he'd rather join her, Ozai's grip on him is too strong (not in the sense he's loyal to his father, but in the sense that he's too scared to leave). We eventually get to Agni Kai during Sozin's Comet and Azula comes out victorious, but it feels like an empty win because she knows Zuko had lost long ago. This was just the fight that broke him (also yes, Azula becomes the Firelord).

[maikingsenseofit]

In Defense of Mai and Maiko, Let’s talk about seashells

Mai has been criticized and villainized relentlessly over her comment to Zuko when he gives her a seashell at the beach. Anti maikos consider her to be selfish, inconsiderate of Zuko’s feelings, and a toxic girlfriend out of this one action. But a key detail that most viewers forget is when Ty Lee snuggles up to the seashell bedspread in Lo and Li’s place, Mai explicitly verbalizes her disdain for seashells. And Zuko was there and heard her say this.

Ty Lee: Ooh, I love the seashell bedspread. [Rubs the pillow admiringly.]

Mai:[Frontal view.] Are you serious? It looks like the beach threw up all over it.

Zuko was clearly not in the right state of mind throughout the Beach episode. He was frustrated with himself, his surroundings, and caught in a moral disarray. There is no wonder as to why he would have remembered this small but important detail. But one thing remains clear. Mai does not like seashells, and she makes sure to show it, and Zuko hears it.

Later, Zuko gives Mai a seashell on the beach. It’s a sweet effort, but it shows Zuko was not paying attention to what Mai had said a moment earlier. He might have heard it, but he didn’t listen to her. Mai has every right to be upset with him. She isn’t privy to Zuko’s turmoil and moral dilemma yet. But in the actual interaction, she isn’t shown to be overbearingly upset or angry. She maintains a mellow demure and clearly states “Why would I want that?” And why would she? She makes it abundantly clear she hates most things, especially things that appeal to normal girls. She expresses her frustration rather simply to Zuko.

Zuko: Here. This is for you.

Mai: why would I want that?

Zuko: I saw it and I thought it was pretty. Don’t girls like stuff like this?

Mai: Maybe stupid girls.

She told Zuko, Azula, and Ty Lee that she hates seashells. Zuko offers her a seashell, making it clear he wasn’t paying attention or listening to her when she said this. She later expresses her well justified frustration in a mostly calm way. She doesn’t hold it over Zuko. She doesn’t break up with him on the spot. She’s shown to still be enjoying her time with him under the umbrella.

It’s so puzzling to me when I see anti-Maiko arguments - demonizing Mai for something that isn’t her fault. Take a look here (I also mentioned in my previous post that I will be quoting directly from other posters, if you are uncomfortable let me know and I will remove the tag)

Now, if you’re in a romantic relationship with someone and your S/O gives you a gift and you throw it aside like it meant nothing to you, and then you proceed to act like a petulant child when they were just trying to do something nice for you — that’s unhealthy. - @seapruncs

Mai was treating him like garbage the entire flipping time. Every time he tried to please her, she acted like he was the scum under her shoe. I mean so you don’t like seashells, we get that, Mai, but would it kill you to thank him for trying? It’s the thought that counts. I see people justifying her reaction on the basis that Zuko really ought to know what she likes. How? - @daughter-of-water

This comment is really funny because Mai disliking seashells isn’t some unspoken fact that Zuko should have been magically aware of. She literally says it.

 Friendly reminder that even when Zuko tried to do little things for Mai like give her sweet gifts, she spat them back in his face in mockery - @steambend

I fail to see how Mai spat a gift back in his face and mocked him when all she does is express genuine discontent that he gave her a gift that she explicitly says she doesn’t like.

These comments are a small sample of dozens of takes on why mai is an evil, toxic, even abusive girlfriend for disliking the seashell on the beach. Do you see the misogyny here? Do you see how a female character is being mischaracterized based on an important part of an episode that is conveniently ignored?

In the next episode, we see how Mai and Zuko learn from their previous mistakes and grow as individuals and a couple, notably after the Beach revelations. Zuko cares so much about Mai that he asks her what she wants, listens to what she has to say, and gives her a gift that he knows she will enjoy. Mai graciously accepts the gift, acknowledges and appreciates Zuko’s effort.

Zuko: Tell me, if you can have anything you wanted right now, what would it be?

Mai: Hmm. A big fancy fruit tart, with rose petals on top.

Zuko: You know, being a prince and all, I might just be able to make that happen.

Mai: That would be impressive. I guess there are some nice perks with royalty.

Anyone can see two traumatized teenagers learning from their mistakes and becoming better individuals for it. It’s a dynamic, growing relationship. Whats not to love about that?

[readsalot1]

ATLA Main Characters Hogwarts Sorting

For the main Gaang:

Aang - I think he could go into either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Aang is brave, and sometimes reckless, which fit for Gryffindors, but he's also very hardworking (mastered 35 pre-existing forms of airbending and invented another), and he expresses a lot of loyalty/steadfastness to his philosophy.

Katara - Again, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. She's brave, but more cautious than Aang (most of the time--looking at you Painted Lady incident), and has a strong sense of personal loyalty.

Sokka - Ravenclaw. Sokka expresses traits that could put him in any of the houses, but despite his claims of being the meat and sarcasm guy, he ends up making the more complex battle plans of Team Avatar (also he gets incredibly happy pouring over maps), this puts him in the category of valuing intelligence more highly than a lot of his other traits. (he's also the most obviously nerdy *cough*sherlock holmes*cough*)

Toph - Gryffindor. She rebels against her parents to leave and travel the world in an obviously risky expedition that could lead to death. She's also the only person in the Gaang to jump in with two feet, rather than being obligated to do it (Aang), or getting caught up in the flow (Sokka, Katara), or possibly being in less danger joining the Gaang (Zuko).

Zuko - This is going to get me a lot of flack, but I feel as though he really fits the stereotypic Slytherin ambition (hear me out, I promise this is well-reasoned). He states that even since he was a child he knew the throne was his destiny. It is important to note that at the time he is referencing, he was second TO LAST in the line of succession. Azulon, Iroh, Lu Ten and Ozai would all have to die for him to be Fire Lord. Zuko doesn't really have the cunning down as much as some other Slytherins, but he does not lack for ambition.

For the antagonists:

Azula - Again, another controversial decision, but I'm more likely to put her in Hufflepuff than Ravenclaw despite her obvious above-average intelligence. Hermione demonstrated that if you value other traits more highly, even if you're one of the smartest kids to be sorted in your year, you get put elsewhere. Azula values her loyalty to her father (and country's goals) above anything else, including her well-being. I'm putting her in Hufflepuff for the same reasons Mara Jade (from Star Wars; loyal to a fault to Emperor Palps--you should totally check her out) is a Hufflepuff: she'll die for someone else's cause even after they're gone.

Mai - Slytherin. She leans more towards finding someone more powerful to do the protecting, until she finds something she values more highly than protection. This fits cunning more than ambitious (unless you count ambition for Zuko's hand?), but still lands her solidly in Slytherin.

Ty Lee - Despite her bubbly external appearance, Ty Lee is friends with Azula and Mai and still holds her own. She's a lot more clever than people give her credit for and the optimistic airhead persona is partially a mask--she uses it to disarm her opponent before going in to take victory. She'd either be a Luna Lovegood-reminiscent Ravenclaw, or in Slytherin for cunning.

[julietwiskey1]

Ursa and Azula headcanons?

Canon headcanons

At the time of “Zuko Alone” Azula and Ursa were at the low point of their mother daughter relationship. Ursa was having a hard time connecting with her child as Ozai started taking more interest in her.

Ursa was also a rather spoiling type of mom. All Azula has to do is put on a pair of adorable puppy eyes and she could get anything she wants.

While Azula is mean and plays mean pranks she was a very obedient child to her mother. If caught she would hold her tong and listen to what her mother told her to do. Ozai eventually took an interest in Azula and fostered a more rebellious nature in her against Ursa. Which is where a lot of the back talk in Zuko alone comes from.

Ursa was the primary adult in Azula’s life up until Ursa was banished. Her absence was just as life altering and confusing for Azula as it was for Zuko. Ursa was always the one overseeing Azula’s development and classes. The one who would watch over her as she played and would take her on play dates.

Ursa really did call Azula a monster once in frustration. It was horrible and Ursa immediately went to apologize. And the apology seemed to work. But words like that can never fully be taken away. So when Ursa left they grew to shadow Azula’s memory of her mom.

When Azula and Ursa are working on their relationship post war they hold hands when in each others presence. It helps reassure Azula that Ursa is real. Even in an argument Azula will grab Ursa by the wrist. Ursa never complains and is always willing to let Azula touch or hold her how she needs to. Though she does sometimes cry at night or stay up yelling at herself or the memory of Ozai for not being there or mistreating Azula to the point where she had a severe mental breakdown.

Headcanons that have no proof whatsoever but you can only try to pry them out of my cold dead hands

Ursa and Azula both have a rather large sweet tooth. When it comes to indulging in her guilty pleasure Ursa makes sure to share some with her daughter, who’s eyes light up like fire when given a couple secret piece of mochi from her mom.

After the war fire bender Ursa teaches Azula about Fire dancing. And Azula teaches Ursa self defense. It is a great bonding exercise.

Little Azula was obsessed with all things spy and spying related. Ursa used to make up her own bed time stories about a dark haired girl going on daring missions to save her kingdom. To Ursa the main protagonist was always a grown up Azula. But Azula took them to be actual retelling of her moms hidden life as a spy. These stories may or may not have fostered Azula’s habit of eavesdropping.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Dragon Skin

Summary: Azula discovers that she has dragon blood when her skin begins turning blue.

It is a small splotch on her right hand, one that she mistakes for a smear of paint. It very well could have been a smear of paint, except that it doesn’t rub away when she runs her finger over it. It doesn’t wash away no matter how much soap she scrubs into it. And it is only getting bigger, spreading out like ink in water. 

Azula wears gloves now, golden in color and as lavish as her robes. But the gloves end at her wrists and the blue is creeping up her arm. She clutches her afflicted hand to her chest and winces–her stomach is queasy. 

What’s wrong with her?

Why is this happening to her?

Everyone already thought that she was a monster, they are only just getting over that and now she is becoming a monster of some sort or another. And in the most literal sense this time around. 

She tears off the glove and begins another round of useless scrubbing. She rubs until her blue skin breaks. 

She still bleeds red. 

She places her back against the wall and slumps to the floor. Perhaps she should just light her hand a blaze. It might hurt horrifically, it might come out blistered, blacked, and ugly but at least burns are normal. At least they aren’t freakish. They are extremely common in the Fire Nation, really she can’t name one person who doesn’t have at least one small burn from some bending related accident or crime. 

She holds her strange hand up in front of her face, the blue stains have reached her elbow. She closes her eyes and inhales. Exales. Inhales…

She does so five times over and lights a fire in her left hand. Is flicks and licks in the same shade as her skin. 

She hovers her shaking hand over that flame, anxious tears streaming down her face. The heat is intense and she hasn’t yet plunged her hand into it. She takes another deep exhale and…

She loses her nerve. 

The fire dies in her hand and she flops fully to the floor as the adrenaline vaccats her. She lies there, body trembling, tears flowing. Her blue fingers brush against the carpet fibers. Tears drip from her nose and leave wet circles. 

By the next afternoon the blue has reached her neck. It has also claimed her right side and breast and parts of her belly and lower back. She buries herself in layers and high collared dresses. She masks her dread beneath a bravado of cockiness. Beneath, she feels like an abomination, some freakish creature caught between human and beast. 

“Are you alright, Azula?” Tylee asks. 

“I’m fine.” She replies stiffly. 

The acrobat knows her well enough to know that this is absolutely not true. To know that she is stressed and anxious and on edge. She is almost certain that everyone is aware. She gets snappy and cold when she is afraid. 

They just can’t place what is bothering her so very much. 

And she thinks of sharing. 

Thinks of just tearing off the gloves, thrusting her hand into the Avatar’s face, and demanding answers. Instead she holds her hand to her chest, feeling the burn of blue beneath. 

.oOo.

It has been a while since he has seen Azula. A strange thing considering that she hasn’t left the palace. He has seen her in the library on several occasions–in fact this is where Sokka has the most run-ins with her. 

The last he’d seen of the princess she had been almost frantically tearing up the library. He is worried that she is in one of her states, although she is rather adamant that, that had been a one off thing. A fluke brought on by  particularly intense amounts of stress. 

Before he knows it, he finds himself standing before her bedroom door. She doesn’t answer him but he can hear her walking. And he lets her know as much. He talks and talks until finally she cracks the door open. Just ever so slightly. “What do you want, Sokka?” 

“I want to make sure that you’re okay.” He says quietly.

“I’m fine.” And the door begins to close. Against his better judgment, he jams his foot in the door. “Sokka, go away.” 

“You haven’t left your bedroom in days.”

“That isn’t your problem, now is it.”

“Well, see, I’m a happy guy. I don’t have any problems of my own so, I’ll make this my problem.”

“You’re an idiot.” 

“And you’re not getting off that easily.” He pries the door open just enough to squeeze himself through. Of course he manages to face plant at Azula’s feet in the attempt. He expects to hear that dainty little snicker. Expects to look up and see a smug smirk. 

She has her back to him when he rises. 

He rests a hand on her shoulder, intent on turning her around to face him. “Azula?” Her body goes rigid and he attempts to turn her around but she holds her posture firm. “Azula, what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. Leave me alone.” 

“I can tell that this isn’t nothing.” He can see it in her stance. It is both timid and cagey. She has all of this space and she is giving off an air of someone trapped within tiny confines. “I’d like to help you.” 

“You can’t.” She replies quietly.

“That’s what you said the last time and look; you have friends and new hobbies and…”

“And I’m going to lose all of it.” She whispers. “Just like the last time.”

“Why do you think that?” Without thinking, he pulls her into a hug. 

“Sokka, leave me alone.”

“Do you really want to be alone, Azula?” He asks. “Because every other time you’ve said that you ended up caving and demanding that someone go and comfort you.” Really it was more of a begging but he knows that she hates it when he says so. Her silence is answer enough. He sighs. Since she won’t turn around and face him, he opts to walk in front of her. 

She cringes and her head dips. Her hair falls into her face and she makes no move to brush it aside. But he does and she cringes when he has it back over her shoulder. She doesn’t look him in the eyes–no, hers are downcast and fixed on the floor. 

And he understands very well, what is troubling her. Her eyes squeeze shut and she grits her teeth, he knows that look. He intertwines their fingers. 

.oOo.

Azula finds herself feeling quite dizzy; he doesn’t leave her. It doesn’t make sense but he is still in the room with her. Not just in the room with her but scooping her up and carrying her to her bed. He carefully lays her down and begins rubbing her back. 

“What’s happening to me, Sokka?” 

“I–I’m not sure.” 

“I’ve looked through everything.” She mumbles. “There’s nothing in the library…” She clutches the excess fabric of her pillow. “I don’t know what I did. I–I don’t think that I did anything. I never dabbled with spirit vines.”

“Spirit vines?”

She nods. “All of the scrolls I’ve read indicated adverse reactions to interacting with sprit vines. But I’ve never…” she swallows. “I haven’t even been anywhere with spirit vines.” Unless juice or sap or some other sort of spirit vine extract has been slipped into her drinks or meals.

“Have you asked Aang?”

“I haven’t told anyone yet.”

“Why not?” He sputters. 

“Would you be comfortable trotting merrily down the hall with blue skin?!” She snaps. “People already think that I’m a monster.”

Sokka pats the back of her calf. “Nobody thinks that, Azula. You’re the only one who says that.” 

“Well they will think so now.” 

“I don’t think so.” He smiles. 

Azula rolls onto her back and rubs her hands, her strange blue hands, over her face, holds them over her eyes. “You don’t have to lie to me, Sokka.”

“I’m not!” I swears. “I think that it’s kind of neat actually. Blue looks good on you, it’s always been your color. It’s like a trademark”

“The color of my fire. The trademark of my fire. Not me.” Her hands muffle her voice.

He shrugs. “Well I think that it looks nice.”

“You have wrong opinions.” 

Sokka laughs. “If you say so.”

.oOo.

Azula gives another shaky sigh and she lets him take her hands. Finally she looks up.

And finally he sees those eyes.

Dragon eyes.

There is still something in them, a spark, a something that is unmistakably Azula. His lips part and he is speechless just long enough for her to grow uncomfortable and distraught again. Until he mumbles, “Azula, I think that I know what’s happening to you.” 

“And what’s that?” She asks in a near whisper. 

“Aang’s new Avatar mission involves dragons.”

“What’s that got to do with me, Sokka.” She sits herself up and sighs. 

“Everything!” He says a bit too loudly, a touch too suddenly. He apologizes at her flinch. “So, there’s this rumor about dragons coming back. About people who were dragons in a past life.”

“Well I’m not a dragon in this life.”

“Not yet.” He shrugs. He doesn’t know what to make of her expression at the suggestion. There is a degree of intrigue within that look of terror. A dash of excitement underneath that anxiety.

“I–I want to be a human being, Sokka.” 

“That’s not what you said last month.” He shrugs. “You said that you wished that you were a dragon so that you could just fly away when people tried to hold you down.”

“I didn’t think…”

He pulls her into a hug. “Look, human or dragon or something in between, you still have me. You still have all of us.” He kisses the top of her head. “Okay?”

“Okay.” She mumbles into his shirt. 

“Now are we going to show you off to everyone else yet or do you still need a moment?”

“I suppose that we should just get it over with.”

Sokka grins and gives her a good pat on the back. “That’s the spirit! Trust me, everything will work out just fine.”

[balanceoflightanddark]

Expendable

This guy right here is responsible for one of the pivotal plot points in ATLA. Zuko protests his plan to pointlessly sacrifice a regiment of new guys to get the enemy in a better position which earns him an Agni Kai with his father. His first red flag about how brutal the Fire Nation is in their pursuit of victory.

Thing is...Bujing here is NOT an isolated incident.

Sad fact is that the Fire Nation is full of generals and leaders who are willing to throw their own people under the bus just for a chance at personal glory. Bujing here is one of the most notable examples since he's tied in with Zuko's arc. But he's not the only one.

Admiral Zhao is another example of this. He practically had the Siege of the North won and closed up a front for the Fire Nation as a whole. Chances are he would've been heralded as a hero by everyone.

But that wasn't enough. He decided to kill the Moon Spirit, and directly threaten every man under his command for even more glory. Even if Aang didn't fuse with the Ocean Spirit to wipe out the fleet, everyone in the Fire Nation would've been screwed. All because Zhao wanted even more glory.

And then we get to Iroh...

Yes, even Iroh is guilty of this. He was in charge of the 600 Day Siege of Ba Sing Se, an apt name for a veritable meat grinder that caused numerous casualties on both sides of the battle. Mind you his main driving force was that he saw a vision of him conquering Ba Sing Se, and believed it was his destiny. AKA, a word often used by the Fire Nation to justify their goals of conquest.

He only relented because his son died. Not because of the nightmarish losses. But because of a personal loss. Regardless of how Iroh felt about it afterwards (and whether or not he actually made up for it), he was still indicative of that thinking. That the lower ranking soldiers were expendable in the pursuit of glory.

And that also extends to his dear old brother.

Ozai. Putting his treatment of Azula aside (trust me, we'll get to that in a minute), his ultimate goal was to literally burn down the entire Earth Kingdom to ashes. You know. That huge chunk of land the Fire Nation just spent a literal century trying to conquer? And that also has stationed Fire Nation troops and civilians on the ground that would also get caught up in the inferno?

All just to stroke his own ego and declare himself the Phoenix King. Not Fire Lord. The Phoenix King. A title he made up to basically outshine everyone else around him.

When you get right down to it, the Fire Nation is full of these guys. Ruthless warlords willing to throw their subordinates' lives into the meat grinder just for a chance at glory. It practically goes hand in hand with their obsession with personal honor (or at least their version of honor at the time of the war). Sure, they talk about honor and destiny and whatnot, but they're willing to sacrifice lives just to prop themselves up.

So if the populace of the Fire Nation are expendable in the eyes of their leaders...how does it look from the other way around?

Azula gives us a bit of a clue.

I often argue that Azula is at her most..."heroic" (from the Fire Nation's point of view) during the Day of the Black Sun. Mainly, she's putting herself in a vulnerable position to act as bait and to hold off the Gaang long enough for the eclipse to finish and for firebending to be restored. AKA: safeguarding her nation from an enemy invasion.

But let's think about that for a minute. As stated before, I do believe Azula has a sort of black-and-white outlook on the world. That the enemy would not pull any punches and are almost always out for blood. She has no reason to believe that the Gaang wouldn't kill her on the spot.

And she's doing this also to safeguard her father, the Fire Lord. The same person who effectively conditioned her to be a living weapon and obey only him saw fit to use her as a decoy and a sacrifice to save his own skin.

Azula? ...she had no problem with it. No questioning of how effed up that was, nor did she expect any gratitude for her efforts. On the contrary, she got left behind in a worthless position while Ozai hogged all the glory for burning down the Earth Kingdom. And when she tried to call him out on it...

Yes, it's from the novel. But it's a pretty good indicator of what was going through Azula's mind when Ozai snapped at her. And I could imagine the same couuld be said for most of the Fire Nation since loyalty to the Fire Lord was paramount above all others.

So if the Fire Lord tells you to jump off the bridge for his own glory, you better well damn do so.

It's practically within their own propaganda. In the play by the Ember Island Players, Actress!Azula gets consumed by flame while Actor!Ozai poses in victory. No acknowledgment of her contributions. Everyone just cheers on Ozai, Azula apparently having been forgotten.

To me at least, this is evidence of the Fire Nation populace being indoctrinated to the point that the main belief, that the highest aspiration is to die on the field of battle in service to the Fire Lord. Something that is a natural extension when you have a warlike culture. In essence, being expendable might be a common core belief in the Fire Nation during the war.

And considering the consequences of disobeying an authority figure and refusing to fight or throw away your life...

You all saw what happened to Zuko when he didn't fight Ozai.

[likeabxrdinflight]

okay episode three was a huge improvement from the first two in a lot of ways. I'm gonna stop here for a bit, I think, cuz I'm not sure I want to binge all of this in one day.

so this one combines "jet" and "the mechanist" with aspects of "the waterbending scroll", but it's set in omashu, which was a great choice. the exposition problem is gone, the dialogue is much better (though aang still talks about "saving the world" a little bit too much), and the kids seem to have settled into their roles more by this point in the shooting. I think the diction might also be improving, but I also have the subtitles on now, so it's harder to tell.

omashu looks incredible. there's colorful markets, the mail system is utilized, it's big and spectacular and feels very alive. I think they combined practical sets with the CGI quite a bit because it really has a lived-in feel to it. probably the best environment they've created thus far. this gives me a lot of optimism for what they'll do with ba sing se if we get a season two.

the plot is...very different. but not bad here. they were able to make this episode flow very well by having jet show up early to help sneak the gaang into omashu. later, while aang is off with teo and sokka is helping the mechanist, katara wanders off with jet to trauma bond and struggle with waterbending. it all comes together as while the mechanist remains a traitor (we think...this is a 'to be continued' kind of episode...), jet's extremist move this time is to attempt to assassinate the mechanist in a move which would kill teo and other innocent people in the process. we see the fall out of jet's actions earlier in the episode too- he bombed a fire nation spy hut, but omashu citizens were caught in the blast.

this is such a better take on jet's extremism, because not only is he potentially harming innocent people, he's harming innocent earth kingdom civilians. there is no argument that he's taking down only enemy combatants or people complicit in the fire nation's war crimes. I suspect some jet fans aren't gonna love it, but if you're gonna have a character come across as an extremist, this is a better way to show that.

they also add a fire nation subplot here- and azula finally shows up! my girl! who colludes with zhao to try and undermine zuko. this version of azula doesn't want zuko back home, at least not yet. elizabeth yu is doing great btw, anyway who was concerned she can't be "evil" enough is...wrong. they're just wrong. she's gonna do scary just fine if they get a season two, don't worry about it.

finally they add a subplot with zuko and iroh sneaking into omashu to find aang. zuko does his impulsive zuko thing where he sets something on fire (it's the cabbages btw) and so in order to protect him, iroh takes the fall and outs himself as a firebender, leading to his capture. this is clearly going to set up the subplot from the animated show where zuko has to go and rescue him.

paul lee's iroh is so good btw, what a phenomenal casting choice. he's doing the most, honestly. the dynamic between him and zuko is perfect. I think he's a much better character than his animated counterpart as he's much more consistent. the white lotus has already been hinted at too. given how much this show is adding, I do wonder if they'll at some point give us a more detailed look at his backstory. we'll see.

I am now curious if they'll ever address his relationship with azula in later seasons but I don't expect that for now

this is obviously very, very different from the animated show, but honestly? anything they did in omashu was likely to be better. "the king of omashu" was one of the weakest episodes in the original, and the way they stitched these disparate episodes together managed to work very well. the themes of both "the mechanist" and "jet," which deal with earth kingdom citizens doing wrong things in the name of survival, freedom, and safety, played off each other nicely. these characters represent two sides of that conflict- the mechanist who is betraying his people to keep himself and his son safe vs jet who will go to any lengths to stop the fire nation, even if innocent people get hurt. and it was a solid way to use the city of omashu as a setting.

a little sad we likely won't get to see the northern air temple, and it does lose the ideas about cultural appropriation that were in the original. jet's story also takes some significant cuts, and his betrayal doesn't quite hit as hard. we also lose a lot with "the waterbending scroll"- we see katara struggling to learn the water whip, but instead of getting pissed at aang and having that whole side story with the pirates, she ends up with jet's gang.

katara is, unfortunately, still the weakest character of the main cast, but she was better here. some of that spark was there this episode, but it's just a shadow of the original. they are doing more with her trauma, however, and at the very least she's not nearly as parentified. this katara is not "motherly." so, there's that. but she's still the weak link of the main cast, I'm afraid.

azula is still my best girl though, and this azula? baby. absolute baby. I would die for her. the hair looks a little fake and I think it might be a wig but I'd still die for her. baby girl. ozai can catch these hands.

I'll have more to say on her later, I want to see the whole season before I talk too much about what they've done with her. but so far, I'm good with it.

[mooncaps]

Buckle up for a long post

Ugh! Just tell them. It’ll be better now than when they inevitably find out later.

Also, I’m noticing that ponytail, subtly paralleling Luz to Philip. He’s like her dark mirror in some ways. The human in the Demon Realm, but with evil intent.

Okay, so it was definitely the Belos goop.

Lumity Studios!

Ayyy, new main theme remix just dropped. Also, cute Lumity moments!

Yaaas queen!

Okay, new looks.

Hee!

Slay, witches!

Yeah, okay.

Nope nope nope nope nope.

We love and appreciate supportive girlfriends in this house.

First of all, cute. Second of all, running out in the rain in your socks? Ewww. Why?

Yeah, yeah, the foreground, whatever, but look at those two.

They’re too much!

Okay, I’m not sure what day it was supposed to be when they came to the Human Realm, but apparently it’s Halloween now and I’m getting the impression that we just montaged past a lot of time.

Okay, thank you for the information, Amity.

Been working on your sewing, have you?

What is this and who put it here?

Yeah, I’m nervous about that.

What the goop doin’?

Why does she seem to have Collector-themed decorations?

Okay, is he part of a greater conspiracy or am I reading too much into this?

This is sweet. I’m a little surprised that it took months for them to have this conversation, but I’m glad to see it.

Why do I feel like that’s gonna be significant?

That’s probably bad.

Poor Amity.

Okay, promising lead.

We love to see it!

Awww.

I’m guessing this stuff and the stuff we montaged past is what we would’ve gotten if they had a full season 3.

Why do I feel like they’re gonna be misinterpreting this somehow?

(Narrator Voice: They weren’t.)

Oh?

So now you know? Please tell the others.

Okay, well, at least you’re telling Luz. That’s something.

Awww. Poor guy.

Nope nope nope nope nope.

Why ya gotta be so weird about it, Camila?

Just give me the heartwarming girlfriends. No more trauma and tragedy please.

Oh boy. This should end well.

Look at these cosplaying witch girlfriends.

Oh boy. This should end well.

Get thee hence, Satan! You leave this boy alone.

Okay, but now I’m starting to think maybe The Collector is from Mars. This guy was kind of right about a lot of things before.

(Also, is that Azula’s voice?)

Wait, so the name Hunter made up when he was undercover is the actual brother’s name.

Oh, what are you planning, Luz?

How though? What changed?

Ah, okay. That makes sense.

Lol, privacy schmivacy.

How did this get here though? And why is it in a test tube?

And why does the cork look like Owlbert?

Philip, you should’ve died like 400 years ago. Please just lay down in one of the graves and end this.

Evelyn? The witch that Caleb followed into the Demon Realm?

Wow. Camila’s a real one.

Why is this here though? We had to spend all of last season building an acceptable gateway and now there’s a usable one just right here? Who keeps leaving all these things for our people to find?!

Damn it! I knew people were sad about this bird before I even started the show and I’m still welling up.

Babe, wake up, new eye color just dropped.

This kid did not deserve any of this.

Yeah, sure. If you’d never showed up, Philip would’ve just given up on things he already had mostly solved.

Thank you, Hunter.

These two still make me smile.

I’m worried about Luz lingering though.

Glad to see Camila being more supportive of her daughter. The early episodes did not make me feel very sympathetic toward her.

Yeah, I thought that was Grey.

Ayyy, get it, Vee!

So...I guess I’m caught up now, right? New episode tomorrow? And then just one more?

Don’t know why Belos even wants to go back. The Collector’s probably just gonna splat him against the wall again.

Hopefully everyone else is okay. Months is a long time even without factoring in The Collector.

Definitely eager to see what tomorrow holds.