#i love my straight trans siblings you are the strongest people on earth

[teletyped]

this one goes out to the trans hets. i love you thank you for your service

[ourimpavidheroine]

The Fire Nation, anyone? Let’s check in with the Firelord herself.

Juziya

I created the character of Sozui for Fic Purposes and then realized I didn’t actually want him to be the Firelord. Therefore I needed an older sibling for him. I was toying with names and thinking about this character and she just appeared there, tall, implacable, powerful yet feminine. And then I realized she had an Adam’s apple and I was like...hey, I’ve got a transwoman here.

I didn’t actually tell my readers that for a long time; my mistake, absolutely. I thought I was doing the right thing by treating her like just another character but I was speaking to a trans student I have here and mentioned trans characters in fiction and long story short, he called me on my bullshit and set me straight. (Uh, so to speak.) I immediately wrote it in to the fic I was currently working on at the time. I’ve apologized for my ignorance before but let me do it again: to all of my trans readers, I was wrong to not identify Juziya as trans from the very beginning and I am truly sorry for any hurt I caused. It will not happen again.

What can I tell you about her? Juziya’s mother, Mizuko, is mentally ill; she was Izumi’s oldest daughter and should have been the Firelord but Izumi knows by the time she is in her teens that Mizuko may not be able to rule. Mizuko marries for love; she does not recover well from Juziya’s birth and Izumi moves the family to a royal estate out in the very well-guarded countryside of Capital Island. Juziya lives there with her parents - while her mother steadily gets worse - until she’s ten and she and her year old baby brother are moved to the Palace where she is trained to be the next Firelord. (To be clear, Juziya would have eventually been the Firelord anyhow, but she would have followed her mother rather than her grandmother.)

Juziya is sharply intelligent and carries a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. By the time she is crowned Firelord her nation is the largest in the world, with the strongest economy. It is also a conservative nation, with ancient traditions that are far more than just lip service. 

Her education, although conducted privately, is extensive. Her grandmother starts to bring Juziya with her to court when Juziya turns thirteen. Izumi is very aware that Juziya will have to rule with an iron fist: for one thing, the Earth Kingdom has been dissolved, which means a huge change in terms of world politics and world economy. For another Zuko is gone and while his legacy carries on, there are noble families who either didn’t like how he did things or who hope to take advantage of this young, untested ruler. Juziya begins ruling in a world of great change, and it takes a strong monarch to navigate that in the best way for their nation. Juziya is raised to be that monarch and it will, for her entire life, be her only focus.

Juziya understands this and while she is a fair monarch, she does have the iron fist the Fire Nation needs during her particular range. She knows that she is doing what she is doing so that her eventual heir - Sozui’s child - will be able to be a different kind of Firelord. Sometimes she grieves who she must be, but never publicly. 

She and Sozui are extremely close; he is the person in the world who matters the most to her (although she dotes on Lozan and behind closed doors will be a very loving Auntie Ziya). Under her grandmother’s advice, she chooses while Sozui is still underage not to marry or have heirs. She knows that the next Firelord being her niece/nephew will mean a fresh start for the Fire Nation, a chance for the people to love that Firelord without her legacy hanging over them. She is, in that, absolutely correct. That is exactly what happens.

She regrets deeply that she must force Sozui to provide her with an heir. She is very glad when the tension between herself and Naoki is resolved and Lozan is firmly secured as the next Firelord and her brother comes home. He is the only person she feels she can really trust, really rely on when it comes to anything personal.

Juziya has no time for romance and knows better than to risk it since she is clearly unattached. The Firelord does not need to be part of a scandal. She’s mostly not interested in all of that, either; it was not a huge loss for her to never marry or even seek discreet lovers. She does, however, harbor certain feelings for Qi, and always will. Juziya is so reserved, however, her walls so unapproachable, that the only person who will ever know is Sozui, who knows her the best. And he will most certainly never tell.

She is a very good Firelord. Sometimes, however, duty takes its toll.

I'll smile, I know what it takes to fool this town

I'll do it 'til the sun goes down And all through the night time, oh yeah, Oh, yeah, I'll tell you what you want to hear Keep my sunglasses on while I shed a tear It's never the right time, yeah, yeah I'll put my armor on, Show you how strong I am I'll put my armor on, I'll show you that I am I'm unstoppable I'm a Porsche with no brakes I'm invincible Yeah, I win every single game I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today [3x] I'm unstoppable today I break down, only alone I will cry out loud You'll never see what's hiding out Hiding out deep down, yeah, yeah I know I've heard that to let your feelings show Is the only way to make friendships grow But I'm too afraid now, yeah, yeah I'll put my armor on, Show you how strong I am I'll put my armor on, I'll show you that I am I'm unstoppable I'm a Porsche with no brakes I'm invincible Yeah, I win every single game I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today [3x] I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today [3x] I'm unstoppable today I'll put my armor on, Show you how strong I am I'll put my armor on, I'll show you that I am I'm unstoppable I'm a Porsche with no brakes I'm invincible Yeah, I win every single game I'm so powerful I don't need batteries to play I'm so confident I'm unstoppable today Unstoppable today [3x]