#fire lord zuko

[sevrinve]

bedtime

[f1reladymai]

there is a serious lack of discussion about how mai is zuko’s safe space. we see this in their first appearance together (that’s not a flashback). when mai asks him a simple question, “aren’t you cold?” and zuko, who has a hard time opening up and expressing emotions that aren’t anger or angst, freely and openly starts to tell her his worries about going back to the fire nation. and while people love to chastise mai on her reply, “I just asked if you were cold, I didn’t ask for your whole life story”, I think they misunderstand her approach to this. zuko is worrying and overthinking about something he cannot change, something that will only drive him crazy and she tries to distract him with a joke. and it might fall flat, but she realises this and suddenly she is comforting him with her touch. her hand reaching out so casually towards scar like it’s not a big deal, because it’s not. they’ve known each other for a long time, they’ve grown up together and their relationship was a long time coming. and zuko leans into her hand, and her kiss, without thinking twice about it. because mai is familiar, and mai is comfort and that can be seen when you contrast it to song’s attempting at touch his scar, and how quickly he was to stop her. but it’s not only this moment that showcases mai as his safe space, but also when he’s back in the fire nation. when he’s stressed out and going through a tumultuous time, not knowing what’s right and wrong or what he should do next, it’s mai he goes to. we see this in “nightmares and daydreams” when he spends all day at her house, when he can’t stand being in the palace anymore, mai and her house and her bedroom is his safe space. and here we see her trying to comfort him, trying to say the war meeting is stupid, it would be be boring anyway, and shall we go for a ride around town? it’ll be fun… and even though he’s still sad, he goes back to her house on the day of the war meeting and she’s making him tea. and even when he does get invited to the all day war meeting, she goes to the palace with him and waits for him all day, to see if it went well and to comfort him if it didn’t. when he says that it was everything he thought wanted it to be, she’s immediately happy for him, reaching out to touch him with a smile on her face. mai is who zuko feels safe and comfortable around, even in his vulnerable moments and it’s something we should talk about.

[avatar-firelordzuko]

ᴢᴜᴋᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴᴄʟᴇ ɪʀᴏʜ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘɪʀɪᴛ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. 🐼

ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴏʟᴅ ᴅᴀʏs. 🌋

ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴊᴀsᴍɪɴᴇ ᴛᴇᴀ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ. 🫖🍵

ᴢᴜᴋᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴀᴛᴀʀᴀ ᴅʀɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴊᴀsᴍɪɴᴇ ᴛᴇᴀ. 🫖🍵

ᴋᴀᴛᴀʀᴀ ɪs sᴇᴡɪɴɢ ᴏɴ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏᴛʜᴇs🧵🪡

ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʀᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴊᴏʏ.

☺️🫶🏻❤️

Beautiful fanart 🎨

[starlight-bread-blog]

Zuko had a hard time living up to his sister. She was a firebending prodigy. No matter how good he was, she was always better. And their father favored her because of this.

Ozai's abuse made it seem like he is not a good bender, just because he couldn't match his sister, the wonder child.

But Zuko is a Proficient Bender

At 16, he beat Zhao, a firebending master, at an Agni Kai.

He exercises the original firebending learnt from the dragons.

His firebending is influenced by other bending forms.

He's one of 3 people that at that time coulf redirect lightning.

After he'd recognized Ozai's cruelty towards him, he also casually recognizes that he is skilled, that he is good at firebending.

He casually recognizes that he is so good that he can teach the Avatar.

[darklinaforever]

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[nerdypeanuthoagiebanana]

So I was thinking about how ATLA inverted the favored sibling trope -if u can call it a trope-. Like usually in fiction, it's the older sibling that is the favorite and the younger one is kind of the underdog. And then I realized that they didn't only invert it they also subtly executed the classic version of it. It's never said explicitly but in the one scene, where we see Ozai and Azulon interact with each other, it is abundantly clear that Azulon favors Iroh - his older son- and completely dismisses Ozai. Ozai is the one lacking, Ozai can't do anything right in his father's eyes.

And now we go one generation further, Ozai is now an admittedly terrible father to two children. Zuko and Azula, and who does he favor?!

THE YOUNGER ONE

AZULA

Of course he does, Ozai heavily projects on both of his kids. He goes the extreme other way and puts the same abusive pattern on his own children, just reversed.

- Iroh himself btw never has the opportunity to develop that pattern, first of all because he only had one child, and second of all because he was the one who got the at least somewhat "healthier" dynamic with his father and probably his mother, if we go with the theory that Ilah died in childbirth.-

Because he sees the exceptional prodigy of Azula as himself, the second child, who in his narcissism is the better option. Who he can form to be the perfect successor of his legacy.

And in that way of thinking he treats Zuko, his older child with the same neglect and dismissal as he was treated as a child. He himself does not realise it, but he creates in that way in Zuko a kind of distorted mirror image of himself.

With one difference. Zuko has his mother and his uncle to teach him compassion. Not only that but Zuko himself is someone who as a person has a strict honor code he follows. (See 41st division).

Zuko is with that in mind, not just a reflection of Ozai but also a WEAK reflection from his perspective.

Which puts us back to the reason of, why he burned the face.

So in conclusion did ATLA not only invert a trope, it also used it to develop a unhealthy family dynamic and create a realistic picture of the cycle of generational trauma.

[aleatus177]

i’m in LOVE

its been ages since i’ve spent most of my time drawing, i literally finished my Zuko’s drawings yesterday and i just started and finished the digital one TODAY

anyways

here’s the speed paint

its took 6 hours 9 minutes and 28 seconds 🧍

(i also changed my signature :D! i made it like a stamp, i really like it)

[vodkartoons]

zuko (again)

[kirinjaegeste]

I think if Zuko had traveled the Fire Nation right after his banishment, and seen what the war did to his own country, he would have started a revolution against his nation within like, 2 months.

[unevenpatterns]

Fic Idea - Zuko is skin and bones (Jetko)

Zuko is still a teenage boy and they need a shit ton of food. But I can easily see how him becoming a firelord might lead him down a path of not eating enough.

He still has the metabolism of a teenager, but all of a sudden he is super busy and probably pretty stressed out. There are a so many meetings and obligations, so little time.

Although his stint as a refugee made him more appreciative of food, he doesn't have hunger in his bones the same way that Jet does.

Jet lived for years on scraps, whatever they could steal and harvest from the forest. Fuck, imagine the winters he had to go through. How he had to keep an eye on everyone and make sure food was divided not based on hunger, but based on who could safely go without that day.

So when Jet sees Zuko thin in a way that he shouldn't be, all the alarm bells start ringing. Zuko's plate gets filled with extra portions when he looks away. And yet, he's still too thin. Jet frets over the situation, asks the cook and the palace healer what's wrong afraid that Zuko might be sick.

But no, he's just too busy to eat. What. Why is he so stupid? Why won't he eat??!

Even after getting past the whole "by the way, the dude you're banging is a firebender... and the firelord" Jet still finds plenty of opportunities to rage against him.

Jet: My bf is dying. There's no other plausible explanation for this. 😢 Everyone else: Uh no, he's just not taking care of himself. Jet: That's a real thing? *hands Zuko more food* Zuko: Thank you. I forgot to eat lunch today 🥰 Jet, in a silent rage: How is this man still alive.

.

(author is currently on a weight-gain diet. It might sound more fun than the reverse, but I promise you it is not. It's just as awful.)

[calmingthoughtsinyourhead]

Poor Zuko

He just wanted to join the Gaang but now the blind girl is moving metal, the sweet watergirl is bending blood and the kid is talking to spirits

At least he can count on Sokka to be normal. Oh, where did you say that sword was from?

Yeah, that’s right, fucking outer space

[goldenvulpine]

I want to clear up a mistake people make with Azula and Ursa.

Ursa didn’t play favorites.

Ursa didn’t think Azula was a monster.

Ursa simply, unequivocally, just didn’t enable Azula’s worst traits like Ozai did.

Ozai’s favorite child was Azula, but Ursa still loved her more.

Because enabling isn’t love.

What did Ozai’s enabling do? It made Azula into the type of person to never have any loyal friends. It made the type of person that Mai and Tai Lee would betray at the risk of their own lives.

Ursa pushed Azula to be with her friends. To be with Zuko. Ozai pushed Ursa away, and both kids suffered for it. Azula became a sadist, enjoying seeing her brother get burned—while Zuko was pushed away because he cared for his people.

Azula thought her mom hated her because her mom was the only one who cared enough to tell her no.

[vanilladrizzlequeen]

bro my sister is actually so smart

so yknow how Zuko’s scar is worse directly around his eye?

and there are a lot of reasons that could be but also consider this (and this is what my 12 year old sister came up with)

Zuko was sobbing and refusing to fight his father when Ozai burned him

his tears literally became boiling water against his eye.

[thatonedudeinthecorner]

His ass does not pay attention enough to know all of their genders. Toph wears baggy clothes, he squinted at her and went “yeah that’s a boy. Or boy adjacent. Probably.” and moved on. Ally???

[yvainart]

sending letters to each other (yes that’s the birdie or other of their kind from book 3)

[ursa-majora]

Everyone talks about how Appa is apparently obese for a sky bison and Aang is over feeding him. Undeserved in my opinion (hes just big boned obviously)

But nobody talks about how Druk (Zuko's dragon) is a complete fatass compared to other dragons.

For example: These are pics of Roku's Dragon, Fang, and Sozin's Dragon

Do you see how long and noodley they are. They're actual dragons too, not Wyverns like GoT dragons. (Note the 4 legs)

And heres Ran and Shaw:

See, still very noodley. And these are quite old, large dragons.

And this? This is Druk:

And Its not just the angle because even when he is sitting down he's fat

Obviously Druk has lived a life of luxery, he's a pampered little prince