samtamdan · 1 year ago
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This comic is going to FUCKING KILL ME
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melzula · 8 months ago
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Smoke and Shadow
part two
pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader
notes: final part is here! hope you guys enjoy and thank you for being patient as always
summary: the group is one step closer to finding the missing children and Azula, but that doesn’t mean all of their problems will be solved
~ part of the fire lilies series ~
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“We decided to do some investigating after Zuko kicked Aang out of the throne room,” Suki explains to you as your trio runs after the Avatar and Fire Lord. “We wanted to see if there were any clues left behind from Kiyi’s kidnapping or Azula’s Kemurikage attack on the palace last night.”
“And even though we couldn’t find anything, I realized there was something fishy about the way she was able to escape so quickly!” Ty Lee adds with a keen smile. “When we used to play hide-and-seek as kids, she’d always manage to win by hiding in this secret passage way tucked into the palace walls. It must be how the Kemurikage were able to escape so quickly.”
“Good thinking, Ty Lee. Although, I still can’t believe she kidnapped her own sister,” you note with a disgruntled shake of your head. “That’s low even for her.”
“This is Azula we’re talking about,” Suki reminds you, and that in itself is enough of an explanation for her behavior.
You finally skid to a stop after reaching the palace rooftops where Aang and Zuko land. The Avatar carelessly drops your boyfriend on the tile, and you wince on his behalf before offering Zuko your hand to help him back up onto his feet.
“Did you have fun?” You ask with a teasing smile only for the Fire Lord to scowl.
“Don’t ever do that again!” He scolds Aang whilst dusting off his robes.
“Okay, okay, but look!” the boy insists before pressing down on a loose brick that opens up a hidden doorway.
“A secret passageway! So you think this is how Azula and the other Kemurikage escape? How did you figure this out?”
“They searched for clues after you kicked them out of the throne room,” you tell him with a pointed look that has him shrinking guiltily under your gaze. “I think you owe Aang an apology.”
“You’re right,” he murmurs sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I should have been more open to your ideas.”
“Apology accepted!” Aang chirps happily. “Now what’s our next move?”
“Well… Kiyi could be on the other side.”
“Tom-Tom, too. I’m coming along,” Mai interjects firmly, seemingly forgetting Kei Lo’s presence until he corrects her statement with a “We’re coming along.”
Zuko instructs Suki and Ty Lee to stay back and guard the palace, so you bid your friends goodbye before beginning your descent into the narrow passageway. The hallway is cold and claustrophobic, but Aang and Zuko lead the way with their fire bending, cautioning you to watch your step behind them.
You’re quiet for the most part, mulling over your thoughts and insecurities now that you’re given a moment’s silence to think. You’re still feeling a bit insecure about walking in on him with Mai and about his animosity towards Kei Lo, but you haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet. The long distance has been hard on your relationship, and sometimes it’s hard to keep consistent communication when both of you have duties to tend to and entire nations to run, but you never thought it would be a problem. Now, you’re not so sure.
You recall what Azula had told you during your time in the Forgetful Valley, how you and Zuko were an “unnatural” pair that would never work. You hate to admit it or even think it, but what if she’s right? What if you’re just kidding yourself? Maybe Mai really has been the right girl for him all along. After all, she is Fire Nation, and she certainly is more qualified to be dating the Fire Lord than you are. You wish Suki were here to talk to, surely she’d know just what to say and could stop you from spiraling like you are now, but without her it seems it’s just you and your thoughts for now.
“Hey, I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier,” a voice says, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I’m Kei Lo, Mai’s boyfriend.”
“Yes, I’m sorry, everything’s just been so chaotic. I’m y/n, Zuko’s girlfriend.”
“That’s right, Mai told me. Say, aren’t you a Chief? Should I be calling you Chief y/n instead?”
“Just y/n is perfectly fine,” you correct him with an awkward laugh. Unbeknownst to you, Zuko is listening in on every word. He doesn’t trust Kei Lo, not one bit, and he doesn’t want him roping you into any trouble. He doesn’t care if he really isn’t in cahoots with the Safe Nation Society, if Kei Lo so much as looks at you in a way Zuko doesn’t like he’ll be tossed into a cell immediately.
“So how’s a Chief of a water tribe end up dating the Fire Lord?” He asks with a laugh.
“It’s a very long story.”
“Please spare me the details,” Mai says with a roll of her eyes.
“Yeah, it may not be the best time for that story,” you note with an apprehensive smile.
“You’re probably right. Still, it’s a pretty awkward situation we’ve all found ourselves in.”
“You can say that again.”
After some time group is finally able to reach the end of the passageway, and the only thing standing in your way from the other side is a solid wooden door.
“This must be it,” Zuko announces hopefully. “Behind this door could be Kiyi and Tom-Tom.”
“And Azula,” Aang adds apprehensively before helping the Fire Lord push the heavy wood open. The creak of the old hinges is deafening, echoing in the silent hallway, and you watch with bated breath as the light from the other side slowly begins to seep in. Carefully, you follow the two out the door only to be met with a disappointing site.
There are no missing children and there is no Azula. Instead, you’re faced with a gloomy and desolate graveyard.
“What is this place?” You murmur in awe, your eyes scanning across the expanse of withered headstones. You’ve never seen anything like it.
“I’ve been here before,” Zuko notes thoughtfully, “this is the royal family graveyard.”
“I thought that’s what the Dragonstone catacombs were for,” Aang questions with furrowed brows.
“No, the catacombs are only for Fire Lords. This place is for everyone else. It’s called the Garden of Tranquil Souls.”
“Really? Well, I hate to break it to you, Zuko, but…” the Avatar begins uneasily, and you follow his shifting gaze towards the clouds of smoke that begin to surround the graveyard. Taking a step back, you reach to unclip your water pouch as the dark figures begin to close in on your group. “The souls here don’t seem all that tranquil!”
The group of Kemurikage don’t hesitate to attack, and immediately your group is split apart as you all begin to defend yourselves against their assault. Blasts of fire are shot your way left and right, but you’re able to deflect it every time with your water bending. You manage to take down two of the spirits by encasing them up to their necks in ice, but your progress only seems to make a dent in their ambush. Zuko and Aang are still corned back to back, and Azula has managed to single out Mai and Kei Lo. She holds the boy by the collar of his shirt, eyes full of malice and hand ready to strike him with her blue flames despite Mai’s pleas for her to leave her boyfriend alone.
Before she can harm him, you send a blast of water towards her with an effortful grunt that shoots her across the graveyard and into one of the pillars. The impact is forceful enough to put a crack in the tombstone and disorient Azula momentarily to allow Kei Lo and Mai the chance to escape.
“Are you alright?” You ask him after rushing towards the couple. Mai helps him to his feet before looking to you, her eyes full of gratitude and sincerity.
“Thank you,” she says earnestly, and you give her an appreciative nod in return.
Rising from the ground with a grunt of pain, Azula is filled with rage at your assault on her. How dare you think you can beat her at her own game?
“Helping out your competition? That’s pathetic even for you, dearest,” she insults, irises aflame with fury. “Perhaps you and Zuko are more compatible than I thought.”
“What’s pathetic is the fact that you’re still obsessed with becoming Fire Lord,” you spit back, water cloaking your arms to form tentacle-like limbs for attack.
“Oh, I’m much past that now. I have a new mission,” she notes airily with a passive wave of her hand. Her eyes harden suddenly then and electricity begins to spread across her fingertips. “One that simply won’t work with you in the picture.”
Before she can raise her hands to strike you with her lightening blast, Zuko is quick to send a hail of flames her way to distract her. “Leave her out of this! It’s me you want!”
“Oh, Zuzu, always so dramatic,” she mocks before creating a cloud of smoke to cover her as she runs away.
“You have to go after her!” You exclaim urgently. “I’ll stay back and help Aang handle the rest of the Kemurikage.”
After ensuring you’ll be fine without him, Zuko gives you one final nod before chasing after his sister. You, on the other hand, rush back towards Aang to see if he needs any help. However, it seems he’s been able to manage the assailants just fine on his own.
“Princess! Where’d everybody go?” He asks, perplexed at the sudden disappearance of your group.
“Zuko went after Azula. I’m not sure where Mai and Kei Lo are,” you note as you scan the garden for any sign of them. “What do we do now? We still haven’t found the missing children.”
As if on cue, a shrill voice coming from the passageway calls out for help. You exchange an alarmed glance with Aang before immediately sprinting back into the doorway. A breath of relief leaves you at the sight of Mai’s father with the children in tow, but your ease is short lived at the sight of the two Kemurikage that hold them captive.
“Look!” One of the kids exclaims. “It’s the Avatar and Chief y/n!”
“Hi kids, we’ve been looking all over for you!” Aang says with an overjoyed wave.
“Are you guys alright?!” You call out protectively. “Is anyone hurt?”
“We’re great!” Kiyi calls back prompting you to let out a relieved laugh. You’re so happy to see her and see that she’s okay, but your joyous reunion is quickly cut short by the two spirits who begin to approach the two of you with whips of fire.
“Hang on, kids!” You tell them before beginning to take on the Kemurikage. There’s two of them, so you and Aang each take on one. They’re powerful fighters, but the safety of the children is on the line, so you use all of your might to fight them off as best as you can.
You counter their whip with one of your own, slicing through their weapon each time before it can strike you. While one of your hands controls the water whip, the other sends constant shards of ice hurtling toward the cloaked woman. You can tell she’s beginning to tire, your attacks too much for her to keep up with, but you’re too focused to notice the second figure approaching closely behind you. The Kemurikage’s whip is raised to strike you in the back, but their attack is halted by the blade that slices through the air and pins their hand against the wall.
“What-!” You exhale in surprise, turning just in time to see Mai swoop in and finish the job. The last two spirits have been apprehended, and you’ve been spared a wound that surely could have been fatal.
“Someone had to watch your back,” Mai explains with a faint smile. “You had ours.”
“Thank you,” you utter with a breathless grin. It feels nice to not hate each other for once, and you actually seem to work quite well together.
“Y/n! Y/n!” A voice calls, stealing your attention away from the girl and back to the children. Kiyi sprints towards you with a gleeful smile, and you’re quick to scoop her up into your arms and give her the tightest hug. “You came back!”
“I promised, didn’t I?” You say with a playful smile, carefully pushing back the hair from her face. “I’m so relieved to see you’re okay, and I know Zuko will be too.”
“Guess what? I’m a fire bender now!” She boasts proudly. “I burned a hole through the door so we could escape!”
“That’s incredible!” You praise with a laugh. “Wait until your brother hears this.”
Across the way, Mai cradles her little brother in her arms and watches you speak animatedly with Zuko’s sister. Your interest in Kiyi’s story is completely genuine, and she can see just how much the girl values your opinion. It’s so different from the way Azula used to talk about you, speaking poorly of your character and diminishing you to nothing but a weak Princess. Maybe Mai had judged you too harshly. After all, she might not have been able to get her brother back without your help.
“Thank you again for your help,” she tells you after setting Tom-Tom down to allow him to bid his goodbyes to his new friends. “I was wrong about you, and I shouldn’t have let my resentment cloud my judgement the way I did. I guess I really don’t hate you as much as I thought I did.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” you express with a careful smile. Perhaps things will always be awkward between the two of you, but this is at least a good start.
After making sure all of the children are accounted for, your group exits the passageway just as Zuko emerges from one of the mausoleums. Kiyi is quick to sprint towards her brother, and you watch on with a smile at the way his eyes seem to light up while hugging her close.
“Kiyi! I can’t tell you how worried I was about you.”
“I wasn’t worried at all!” She notes with a grateful smile. “You should’ve seen it, Zuzu! Y/n helped the Avatar take those nasty ladies down!”
“She did, did she?” He asks playfully, glancing over to you with a grateful smile. You simply give him a sheepish shrug in return. “I’ll have to be sure to give her my thanks.”
“And Azula?” You ask him, but his solemn gaze is enough of an answer. “She said she had a new mission, did she tell you what it was?”
“She wasn’t interested in becoming Fire Lord, she was interested in turning me into the type of Fire Lord she would be. The type that rules with fear, ruthlessness. Just like my father. Azula says I can’t escape who I am, and it will only be a matter of time before I’m just like her.”
“You don’t believe that, do you? You’re nothing like Azula,” you say earnestly. “You never will be.”
“I know,” Zuko murmurs softly, but you can see the slightest bit of doubt in his eyes and it saddens to you to know he doesn’t fully believe it to be true. “But either way she escaped. I don’t know where she is or when she’ll return.”
“We’ll be there to help you if she does come back, buddy,” Aang consoles with a comforting hand on the Fire Lord’s shoulder. “For now, let’s just focus on returning these kids back to their families.”
“Good point, Aang. Now,” you say, looking to the children who stare up at you with tired eyes that immediately brighten when you ask, “who’s ready to go home?”
~~~
Peace has been restored in the Fire Nation; the children have been returned safely to their parents, and Zuko has earned the forgiveness of his people for his mishandling of the situation. Everything is almost perfect.
You lean against the balcony of your room for the night and stare up contemplatively at the moon. Yue shines beautifully as always, and you find comfort in her light as you battle against the darkness clouding your thoughts. Your doubts about your relationship still rage on, and you haven’t been able to fight them off no matter how hard you try. You haven’t mentioned anything to Zuko, not wanting to distract him from his duty to his people, but the suffering in silence act you’ve been pulling all day hasn’t been helping your state of mind. Suki had urged you to talk to him, stating you had nothing to worry about because she’s seen firsthand how much he misses you when you’re away, but you were too anxious to follow through. What if you won’t like what you hear when you finally speak to Zuko?
You’re too engrossed in your thoughts to hear your door open or the quiet footsteps that head towards you, and it isn’t until he’s right beside you that you finally feel the familiar warmth that constantly emanates from his body. You don’t have to look to know that it’s Zuko.
“Suki said I should come to talk to you,” he says softly, golden eyes looking to you inquisitively. “Is everything alright?”
“I… I’m not sure,” you admit quietly, nervously fidgeting with your fingers and refusing to meet his gaze.
“What is it?”
His hand sneaks its way in between your own to halt your fidgeting and reassure that he’s right there with you and ready to listen to whatever it is you have to say. Sighing, you finally look to him with uncertainty swimming in your eyes.
“Do you have feelings for Mai?”
He’s stunned to stay the least, eyes widening slightly in surprise at your question. It’s certainly the last thing he expected you to ask him.
“Is this what you were trying to talk to me about earlier?” He presses gently, frowning at the way you slowly nod your head. “I see…”
“Just be honest with me, Zuko,” you plead desperately. “We promised we’d never keep secret from each other anymore, so if there’s something to tell then tell me. I can handle it.”
“I can’t stand here and tell you that it didn’t look bad when you walked in on Mai and I,” Zuko admits with a sigh. “But I can tell you that nothing was going on.”
“I heard you say you care about her.”
“It was out of context. I was trying to make things right for the sake of finding the children- she was obviously still upset over what went down between us, and I was trying to keep the peace so that we could work together to find our siblings. I’ve known her since we were kids, and if it weren’t for her I never would have been able to escape Boiling Rock and come back to you. So in a way I guess I do care for her, but it’s nothing compared to how much I care for you.”
“What about your animosity towards Kei Lo? You seemed… jealous of him.”
“I wasn’t jealous, I just didn’t trust him. I still don’t,” Zuko says adamantly. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to release him because I didn’t want him to try and pull anything. I didn’t want Mai getting hurt, and I especially didn’t want him putting you in any danger.”
“So… so you don’t have feelings for her?” You ask meekly, the slightest bit of doubt still present in your voice.
“I’ve never had feelings for her,” Zuko says earnestly before gently taking your hands in his own. “You’re the only girl for me, y/n. I was stupid enough to let you go once, but I’m never making that mistake again.”
You can’t help but smile at his admission, tears beginning to well in your eyes as you throw your arms around him in a tight embrace that he immediately returns. It feels like a weight has finally been lifted off your shoulders, and all the worry and self doubt you had is finally beginning to melt away.
“I never want you to feel doubtful or insecure about our relationship ever again. I’m going to do everything in my power to do better,” he professes earnestly. “I love you more than you know, and you don’t ever have to worry about someone coming between us again.”
“I love you, Zuko.”
He pulls you in for a kiss, and with the moonlight shining down upon you both, everything is almost perfect.
For neither of you notice the pair of golden eyes that stare down at you from the rooftops with disdain and disgust before disappearing into the shadows.
“Pathetic.”
| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303
| zuko tags: @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @taeeemin
| fire lilies tags: @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @xapham @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch
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the-genius-az · 6 months ago
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Azula in this turns most of what she feels into anger, a quiet and cold anger, but anger nonetheless (she's taught that anger is what fuels firebending, and she needs to be the strongest firebender in history).
Azula is my blorbo, my little dragon, half of my fic ideas have her deeply traumatized, terribly injured or just actually dead.
Azula loses her pack, her destined mate and her cub. So she dresses up as the Kemurikage and basically goes out there taking orphan cubs and raising them with other people that lost as much as her. They're an unofficial pack (because neither her or the other alphas can claim a pack after their trauma), hurt adults taking care of children so these pups will never be hurt like them. See, I can make it heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
I'll send a different ask about the whole "Mai loves or doesn't love Azula" of this AU (and actually of all the AUs where Maizula is a thing but Mai still betrays her).
The Boiling Rock is the worst day in Azula's life, poor girl.
Here's the thing: it's as happy as I can give Azula in this context. Because she'll never be "normal", not with childhood trauma, war trauma, asylum trauma. She's inherently a tragic character, her happy ending can be bittersweet at best.
Mai is pretty hurt, but she can understand. She knows that Azula even giving her a chance is much, much more than what she deserves after the boiling rock. So then Azula marries her, is willing to have a couple of kids, be present and ask for nothing but the possibility of Mai not leaving her again. Despite her bad days, despite the past, Azula is a good parent, a good mate, and Mai is thankful that Azula is in her life.
The thing with Zuko is that even breaking the bond, there's still something there, deep down. Zuko was the first person Azula claimed, the first person she wanted to protect. She still loves Ozai, after everything. She still loves Zuko, after everything. It's unconditional, her love is unconditional. All you need to do is exist. And Zuko regrets for the rest of his life for not loving her the same way, for being the person that abandoned her pack twice and being the reason she's so closed to having a pack again.
Yes. In this Aang is the first to come around and understand what she feels, since he also lost his entire pack (I'm not sure what he is, but losing a pack does affect anyone). The circumstances are different, but it's the same sense of broken emptiness. They meditate together a lot, silently grieving together. Aang is the closest to someone she feels safe around. A less tragic version and they'd be platonic mates, bonding over loss and mutual peace.
(I just really like post-war Azula befriending Aang.)
My name's Ash with A of "Angst" ☺️
- Ash 🔥🍌
Azula is my blorbo, my little dragon, half of my fic ideas have her deeply traumatized, terribly injured or just actually dead.
I'm like you! I am the same! everyone can check it! 🎶
So she dresses up as the Kemurikage and basically goes out there taking orphan cubs and raising them with other people that lost as much as her.
I can already imagine the first time Mai saw her Alpha dressed as a kemurikage, maybe that was why they had a second puppy.
See, I can make it heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
I saw, shut up now. 🤧
Mai is pretty hurt, but she can understand. She knows that Azula even giving her a chance is much, much more than what she deserves after the boiling rock.
How did Mai feel when she saw how Azula accepted her again?
I bet in shock.
Despite her bad days, despite the past, Azula is a good parent, a good mate, and Mai is thankful that Azula is in her life.
What does Azula think of Mai? I know she loves him enough to accept him.
But I want to know about those good days, where both love each other regardless of the past.
After everything. It's unconditional, her love is unconditional. All you need to do is exist.
Ha! What does Iroh think about his niece and her OBVIOUS unconditional love that not even he and his beloved nephew have?
They meditate together a lot, silently grieving together. Aang is the closest to someone she feels safe around.
They meditate a lot together, they cry together in silence... they get drunk together while listening to bands, they almost get high on marijuana... it's difficult. 😮‍💨
A less tragic version and they'd be platonic mates, bonding over loss and mutual peace.
In this and that version Mai gets a little jealous, but she doesn't make a fuss because Aang is the other side of Azula's coin.
My name's Ash with A of "Angst" ☺️
Now I understand everything...Pay me for therapy, Ash! I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you!
I cried for two hours! and I wasted a lot of paper! My face hurts from crying so much, ash! 😭
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lazyveran · 6 months ago
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i like your ideas for what happens to azula after atla but in the comics, rather than being sent to prison like Ozai was, she was committed to an asylum on a nearby island, where she was continuously monitored. in comic The Search: Part 1, Zuko asks for her help to uncover the location of their mother. He also went to talk with Ozai in his prison cell to gain information about Ursa, Azula gets the drop on Zuko despite wearing a straitjacket by grabbing a tea tray with her teeth out of Zuko’s hands. Thinking Azula is planning something, Ty Lee (who’s a kyoshi warrior that works in the prison) chi blocks Azula so she can’t use her firebending. but Ty Lee’s chi blocking leads to Azula’s escape, as it makes her flexible enough to wiggle free from her restraints. Shooting lightning at Zuko, Azula escapes to a secret room where Ozai kept unsent letters written by Ursa, burns them, and bargains for her freedom by stating she’ll share their contents if Zuko brings her along on his search for Ursa. Warily, Zuko temporarily grants Azula her freedom and they embark on a mission to find their mother along with Sokka, Katara and Aang.
then, Azula escapes from Zuko and the gaang after confronting Ursa, who they had found within the town of hiira’a. Having saved one of the letters written by Ursa that claimed Zuko wasn’t Ozai’s true son, Azula originally planned on using the letter to oust and assume the throne herself, not knowing that the contents of the letter weren’t true. After her first plan fell through, Azula resurfaces with a new plan to gain revenge against Zuko.
Instead of trying to gain the throne herself, Azula begins to kidnap children with her asylum inmates under the guise of mythical spirits known as the kemurikage with the intention of coaxing Zuko into ruling with the same tyranny exhibited by the former fire lord (ozai). Azula confesses to Zuko that her new destiny is to transform him into the authoritarian ruler she would have been, basically becoming the Fire Lord through him
While her actions seem like classic Azula, flaunting her power over Zuko simply for the fun of it, there is evidence throughout both Avatar: The Last Airbender comics that Azula may have been acting in Zuko’s best interest and is beginning to grow now that she's no longer under Ozai's control. In The Search: Part 3, Azula’s plan to overthrow Zuko as the Fire Lord only failed when she left the letter claiming Zuko wasn’t Ozai’s heir behind, which may have been intentional. At the end of Smoke and Shadow: Part 3, Azula watches as Zuko apologizes to his citizens for his dictatorial actions wearing a knowing smirk, almost as if getting Zuko to trust in his instincts as a fair and just ruler was her true plan all along.
idk if you already knew this , but this is basically what happens. Also, Your ideas of what happens to her after are super cool and i really like them!
hi yeah i already knew this. i just really hate the comics and they arent canon to me
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airspeedprime · 2 years ago
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Do you think the smoke Azula and the rest of the Kemurikage used in Smoke and Shadow is from the smoke spirit on the cover of Azula in the Spirit Temple?
It would be an interesting reveal since the smoke was never really explained, it would mean Azula in the Spirit Temple is either set before Smoke and Shadow to explain the origin or is Azula returning to where she "found" the spirit post SAS.
It would certainly help to explain how she got a glimpse of her destiny, spirits can show people things.
They could go a few ways, just explain that firebenders if they want can make smoke, it is just not a typically useful skill of firebending so no one ever focuses on it. I think I like better the idea that the smoke was just them firebending and Azula in the Spirit Temple is afterwards Azula going on a journey that takes her towards a spirit. I just really want progress in Azula's story/character arc, so I don't want them to feel like they have to bog themselves down explaining other bits and pieces, we have waited years to see some movement for Azula so I want it to be as significant as possible.
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crispykodraws · 2 years ago
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Hey i justed wanted say that i really really loved your short Kemurikage comic panels!!!
I do love the whole Kemurikage girl gang as a concept, it has so much potential. And seeing as the comics are less known and understandably less liked then the show, it us really hard to find good content for them.
So if you are thinking about drawing more of them (just having wacky hijinjs or whatever you want), i would be overjoyed to see more of.
Hello!!
Thank you, I'm really really glad you like them!! It's always nice to know that others enjoy the stuff I make.
I like the girl gang concept too. It might be because one of the first fics I read coming back into the fandom is basically Azula and the Kemurikage/Fire Warriors forming a massive underground crime syndicate. And the comics are categorized as canon in my brain, so they're always in the back of my mind.
As for more content of them, I don't have any specific ideas for now. However, I do have an AU idea where they're still a gang-adjacent group, but Azula is like "you know what, messing with Zuko is dumb, let's do something else." Unfortunately, they still get blamed for stuff anyway. Unfortunately(?), Azula likes the dangerous mystique it gives them, partly because it's hilarious, so she doesn't deny it.
But I haven't decided if I want to make stuff for that yet and I'm pretty deep into my Fire Lord Azula AU right now. Zirin and the girls do briefly show up there though because Fire Lord Azula made improving the mental health institution her secret-kind-of-pet project. And while they won't be a gang, they get to be (sort of) friends there instead.
So future Zirin and the other girls? More than likely! :)
Thanks for the ask!
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justanotherthrowaway1950 · 2 years ago
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Why Do People Think Zuko Wants to Help Azula? Or That It Is His Responsibility to Do So?
Note: This is where Gene Yang heavily implied that Azula’s mental state in the comic is due to her “treatment” in the asylum.
Note: This is Aaron Ehasz’s tweet chain detailing a hypothetical Season 4 Azula redemption arc.
Note: This is Bryke disconfirming there was ever going to be a Season 4 of ATLA.
Note: This image contains Iroh’s canon views in regards to Azula and her upbringing.
I understand that people like the idea of Zuko helping Azula heal and redeem herself, not only fully breaking the cycle of abuse, but also becoming a better man than Iroh, who canonically never really cared for Azula and blames her for her abuse. Especially after Aaron Ehasz tweeted about his plan to redeem Azula through Zuko if ATLA ever got a Season 4, WHICH WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN PER BRYKE’s WORDS.
But the idea that Zuko would help Azula heal and redeem herself is literally not supported by canon.
For he left Azula in an abusive institution for at least a year without giving a damn, which was well within his rights after everything she did to him, and was content with leaving her there until he realized the shitty state of his nuclear family badly reflected him on, and that he needed Azula to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa’s possible location before putting her under house arrest with 24/7 surveillance in an effort to send a message to his subjects and the world.
And that the only reason why Azula was eventually able to travel free and unbound with dignity was because she managed to blackmail Zuko with Ursa’s possible location.
Moreover, deep down, when you push back against Zuko’s facade of wanting to “help” Azula, you find someone who blames her for making his life hell from the moment she was born, like his primary abusers weren’t Ozai and Azulon, and thinks she does evil for the sake of evil.
For when Zuko finds out Azula is tied to the Fake Kemurikage kidnappings, he doesn’t react with sadness like Ty Lee, or shock and disbelief like Mai, two people who, despite rightfully fearing and loathing Azula, did know her best outside of her family.
No…when asked why Azula would be a part of such a vile enterprise for no apparent reason, Zuko basically shrugs and says that it is Azula, and so there is no need to understand why she is doing it.
So why would someone who blames Azula for all the misfortune in his life and is quick to assume the worse out of her want to willingly help her?
And before anyone brings up the climax of The Search, just think about it for a moment from Azula’s POV?
She just tried killing Zuko’s beloved mommy their mother in front of Zuko after a tumultuous trip in which Zuko and his friends found out that she was planning to overthrow Zuko using the “Zuko is a bastard” letter and only let her keep it because they still needed her to find Ursa.
Moreover, Zuko has already made it clear that he blames her for making his life hard in addition to her belief that Zuko locked up her in the abusive institution to break her, when in reality Zuko is so absent minded he never bothered to check the conditions there, not that Zuko's intentions in sending Azula to asylum makes her "treatment" there any better.
So when Azula hears Zuko say he wants to help her, why would Azula believe that Zuko would do anything other than have Aang de-bend her for good before throwing her in a prison cell next to Ozai for life, or worse, back into the asylum?
But moving on, even if one were to disregard the comics, it is pretty clear that Zuko is clearly not the person to help Azula.
For he compares Azula to Aang in terms of how easy bending comes to her, when it is obvious from Azula’s training scene with Lo and Li that she had to work almost as hard (key word almost) as Zuko in order to manifest her natural talent.
Zuko, in order to not face the reality that his grandfather and father are abusive bastards with no love for him, comes up with the mantra of, “Azula always lies,” even though it is clear that she isn’t always lying. For example, when she tells Zuko in his room that Ozai is really going to fulfill Azulon’s order to kill him, or that Ozai views the beginning of Book 2 Zuko as a miserable failure, and so he wants to lock up him up so he can stop “embarrassing” him.
Or when Azula tries opening up to the rest of The Dangerous Ladies and Zuko about how she views herself as a monster, and how Ursa was right to view her as one, Zuko stays silent due to a combination of resentment, fear, and believing Azula that is just lying to gain brownie points with the rest of group after they revealed their various long-standing traumas, despite Azula, along with Mai and Ty Lee, helping him deal with his own issues.
Or how about when Azula is apparently falling to her death during the start of The Southern Raiders, for Zuko initially appears worried that she will die, but the moment she is able to launch herself to the cliffside, he acts annoyed that she even survived.
But the crown jewel that shows TV!Zuko’s care, or lack thereof, for TV!Azula is when Zuko asks Katara to help put Azula in her place when he asks Katara to help him take down Azula so he can take the throne.
For there is no hesitation or any reflection that the reason why he has to outright kill Azula is because he had the right circumstances to overcome their indoctrination and abuse while she never had anyone to help her do the same, and thus has to be put down for the sake of the world.
And yes, Zuko was clearly intending to kill Azula considering he was going to redirect her lightning to win the final Agni Kai until Katara foolishly stepped into the arena, giving Azula a chance take advantage of Zuko’s protectiveness to hit him with lightning without Zuko being able to properly redirect it.
But before anyone accuses of me of twisting Zuko’s behavior and actions to make him seem like a jackass or woobify Azula, there is a reason why I did so other than to show that Zuko doesn’t want to help Azula: to show that not only is he ill-equipped to help her, but also that it is not responsibility to do so.
For what Azula needs, other than medical treatment to help her deal with her, in my opinion, canon schizo-??? disorder (she has severe audiovisual delusions and hallucinations for at least a year straight and her master plan in Smoke and Shadow comes about due to giving into her delusions), is a parental figure who can teach her that love is not conditional while also showing her unconditional love and that fear is for fools, trust is the only reliable way.
For once she learns how to be a functional person and heals, she will be able to start atoning for all her various evil acts and eventually become a healthy, productive member of society.
Which ties back into why it is not Zuko’s responsibility to help her; for in addition to being a teenager who is still trying to overcome his abuse, on top of having reform a superpower after a hundred years of indoctrination while reintegrating it into the world community, Zuko is one of Azula’s principal victims!
For Azula was Zuko’s secondary abuser, abused Mai and Ty Lee, and tried killing or jailing Zuko and/or his loved ones several times (and succeeded several times).
In fact, a key part of Azula's hypothetical atonement is her apologizing to Zuko for her behavior towards him and the people he cares about while also making it clear that she is not entitled to be part of his life, or part his government, and thus wield (real) power again.
Not to mention showing through repeated actions that her words are not just another attempt at manipulation for her own benefit.
But now that I have made it clear that Zuko doesn’t want to help Azula heal, nor is it his responsibility to do so, I am sure people are going to ask who can serve as that parental figure who can help Azula heal?
Well, there are a lot of options: Iroh, if you are part of the group of people who ignore the comics and extended lore; post-comics Ursa, who has already indicated a desire to make up for her parenting mistakes in regards to Azula; an actual medical professional once Zuko realizes the bad state of the asylums and reforms them; or even some random adults who decide to help an obviously broken person desperately seeking guidance in AUs that don’t take into account the comics.
For this is an aside, but it seems pretty clear to me that post-Smoke and Shadow Azula, who is most likely a legal adult, will most likely never find support, even among civilians, due to her crimes and status as the most wanted war criminal fugitive alive.
But getting back to the main point, I don’t get the idea why people think Zuko would want to help Azula, at least in an earnest fashion where Azula is given the time, space, and ability to make mistakes just like Zuko did during his redemption arc? Or why is it his responsibility to help her, when he himself has a lot to figure out about himself and is one of Azula’s victims?
Not when there are a lot of potential adult figures who can help Azula heal from Ozai’s abuse.
Also, it would be nice for one of the remaining Royal Family adult members to try and actually make up for doing absolutely nothing to counter Ozai’s grooming like they did with Zuko, but this post is neither the time nor place for that discussion.
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zuko-always-lies · 3 years ago
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Why Do People Think Zuko Wants to Help Azula? Or That It Is His Responsibility to Do So?[submitted by justanotherthrowaway1950]
Note (This is where Gene Yang heavily implied that Azula’s mental state in the comic is due to her “treatment” in the asylum): https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1027/avatar-last-airbender-search-cbr-interviews-gene-y
Note (This Aaron Eschaz’s tweet chain detailing a hypothetical Season 4 Azula redemption arc): https://twitter.com/aaronehasz/status/1112814662393847808?lang=en
Note (This is Bryke disconfirming there was ever going to be a Season 4 of ATLA): https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/8/31/21405084/legend-of-korra-netflix-bryan-konietzko-michael-dimartino-interview-avatar
Note (This Iroh’s canon views in regards to Azula and her upbringing): https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9b6924eaab671b1b851cdb574fa9e78/c21e8fb4ef323ad3-de/s1280x1920/5d45b3fa9c49e00093cb30d085df1ad615b1ffaa.jpg
I understand that people like the idea that Zuko would help Azula heal and redeem herself, not only fully breaking the cycle of abuse, but becoming a better man than even Iroh, who canonically never really did care for Azula and blames her for her abuse. Especially after Aaron Eschaz tweeted about his plan to redeem Azula through Zuko if ATLA ever got a Season 4 (WHICH WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN PER BRYKE’s WORDS).
But the idea that Zuko would help Azula heal and redeem herself is literally not supported by canon.
For he left Azula in an abusive institution for two years without giving a damn (which was well within his rights after everything she did to him), and was content with leaving her there until he realized the shitty state of his nuclear family badly reflected him on and that he needed Azula to extract intel from Ozai about Ursa's possible location before putting her under house arrest with 24/7 surveillance.
And that the only reason why Azula was eventually able to travel free and unbound with dignity was because she managed to blackmail Zuko with Ursa’s possible location.
Moreover, deep down, when you push back against Zuko's facade of wanting to "help" Azula, you find someone who blames Azula for making his life hell from the moment she was born like his primary abusers weren't Ozai and Azulon and thinks she does evil for the sake of evil.
For when Zuko finds out Azula is tied to the Fake Kemurikage kidnappings, he doesn’t react with sadness like Ty Lee or shock & disbelief like Mai, two people who, despite rightfully fearing and loathing Azula, did know her best outside of her family.
No...when asked why Azula would be a part of such a vile enterprise for no apparent reason, Zuko basically shrugs and says that it is Azula so there is no need to understand why she is doing it.
So why would someone who blames Azula for all the misfortune in his life and is quick to assume the worse out of her want to willingly help Azula?
And before anyone brings up the climax of The Search, just think about from a moment from Azula’s POV?
She just tried killing Zuko’s beloved mommy their mother in front of Zuko after a tumultuous trip in which Zuko and his friends found out that she was planning to overthrow Zuko using the “Zuko is a bastard” letter and only let her keep it because they still needed her to find Ursa.
Moreover, Zuko has already made it clear that he blames her for making his life hard in addition to her belief that Zuko locked up her in the abusive institution to break her (when in reality Zuko is so absent minded he never bothered to check the conditions there but this doesn’t really help).
So when Azula hears Zuko say he wants to help her, why would Azula believe that Zuko would do anything other than have Aang de-bend her for good before throwing in prison next to Ozai for life or, even worse, back into the asylum?
But moving on, even if one were to disregard the comics, it is pretty clear that Zuko is clearly not the person to help Azula.
For he compares Azula to Aang in terms of how easy bending comes to her when it is obvious from Azula’s training scene with Lo and Li that she had to work almost as hard (key word almost) as Zuko in order to manifest her natural talent.
Zuko, in order to not face the reality that his grandfather and father are abusive bastards with no love for him, comes up with the mantra of, “Azula always lies,” even though it is clear that she isn’t always lying (ex. Ozai is really going to fulfill Azulon’s order to kill Zuko or that Ozai views the beginning of Book 2 Zuko as a miserable failure who wants to lock up Zuko so he can stop “embarrassing” Ozai).
Or when Azula tries opening up to the rest of The Dangerous Ladies and Zuko about how she views herself as a monster and how Ursa was right to view her as one, Zuko stays silent due to some combo of resentment, fear, and believing Azula is just lying to just gain brownie points with the rest of group after they revealed their various long-standing traumas despite Azula, along with Mai & Ty Lee, helping Zuko open up about his issues.
Or how about when Azula is apparently falling to her death during the start of The Southern Raiders, Zuko appears worried that she will die but the moment she is able to launch herself to the cliff-slide, he acts annoyed that she even survived.
But the crown jewel that shows TV!Zuko’s care, or lack thereof, for TV!Azula is when Zuko asks Katara to help put Azula in her place when he asks Katara to help him take out Azula so he can take the throne.
For there is no hesitation or any reflection that the reason why he has to outright kill Azula is because he had the right circumstances to overcome their indoctrination and abuse while she never had anyone to help her do the same and thus has to be put down for the sake of the world.
And yes, Zuko was clearly intending to kill Azula considering he was going to redirect her lighting to win the final Agni Kai until Katara foolishly stepped into the arena, giving Azula a chance take advantage of Zuko’s protectiveness to hit him with lighting without Zuko being able to properly redirect her lighting.
But before anyone accuses of me of twisting Zuko’s behavior and actions to make him seem like a jackass or woobify Azula, there is a reason why I did so other than to show that Zuko doesn’t want to help Azula: to show that not only is he ill-equipped to help her but that it is not responsibility to do so.
For what Azula needs, other than medical treatment to help her deal with her, imo, canon schizo disorder (she has severe audiovisual delusions and hallucinations for two straight years and her master plan in S&S comes about due to giving into her delusions), is a parental figure who can teach her that love is not conditional while showing her unconditional love and that fear is for fools since trust is the only reliable way.
For once she learns how to be a functional person and heals, she will be able to start atoning for all her various evil acts and eventually be able to be a healthy, productive member of society.
Which ties back into why it is not Zuko’s responsibility to help her; for in addition to being a teenager who is still trying to overcome his abuse in addition to having reform a super-power after a 100 years of indoctrination while re-integrating it into the world community, Zuko is one of Azula’s principal victims!
For Azula was Zuko's secondary abuser, abused Mai & Ty Lee, and tried killing or jailing Zuko and/or his loved ones several times (and succeeded several times).
In fact a key part of Azula hypothetical atonement is Azula apologizing to Zuko for her behavior towards him and the people he cares about while making it fully clear that she is not entitled to be part of his life or to be a part of his government (and thus wield power again).
Not to mention showing through repeated actions that her words are not just another attempt at manipulation for her own benefit.
But now that I have made it clear that Zuko doesn’t want to help nor is it his responsibility to do so, I am sure people are going to ask who can serve as that parental figure who can help Azula heal?
Well there are a lot of options: Iroh (if you are part of the group of people who ignore the comics and extended lore); post-comics Ursa (who has already indicated a desire to make up for her parenting mistakes in regards to Azula); an actual medical professional once Zuko realizes the bad state of the asylums and reforms it; or even some random adults who decide to help an obviously broken person desperately seeking guidance (in AUs that don’t take into account the comics).
For this is an aside, but it seems pretty clear to me that post-Smoke & Shadow Azula, who is most likely a legal adult, will most likely never find support even among civilians due to her crimes and status as the most wanted war criminal fugitive alive.
But getting back to the main point, I don't get the idea why people think Zuko would want to help Azula, at least in an earnest fashion where Azula is given the time, space, and ability to make mistakes just like Zuko did during his redemption arc. Or why is it his responsibility to help her when he himself has a lot to figure out about himself and is one of Azula’s victims.
Not when there are a lot of potential adult figures who can help Azula heal from Ozai’s abuse.
Also, it would be nice for one of the remaining Royal Family adult members to try and actually make up for doing absolutely nothing to counter Ozai’s grooming like they did with Zuko but this post is not the time and place for that discussion.
submitted by justanotherthrowaway1950
Yes, I mostly agree here. Of course, once Azula(a badly traumatized child soldier) falls under Zuko's control, it's his responsibility to ensure she receives proper care and treatment(and to ensure that she's not abused), but not his responsibility to personally insert himself under her life. However, I must protest about the characterization of Azula's actions as "abuse," as I don't think that's a useful paradigm for understanding them, and it only serves to demonize her. Still, she hurt her friends and they hurt her, but she hurt her brother and her brother hurt her back far worse(and Zuko hurt her far worse than she ever hurt him). The last bit strongly suggests that the Fire siblings should, at the very least, spend some time away from each other.
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impossiblycolorfulpanda · 3 years ago
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In the palace of the fire nation.
Ty Lee: “Suki is off to meet up with Sokka in the team with Cranefish town. It might be a while before she comes back again.”
Zuko: “Thank you.”
Ty lee began to make a stressed look.
Zuko: "Is everything alright?" 
Ty lee: "I'm alright. Just have a lot in my mind." 
Zuko: "You...want to talk about it? I know your hear for my protection but I wanna help you too." 
Ty lee: (sigh) “I just can't get over what Azula's doing, I mean portending to be Kemurikage and capturing kids? as if she wasn't scary enough! what's her end goal?" 
Zuko: "Apparently a masked figure and new leader of the new Ozai society, named Xai Bau made a deal. She’d turn me into my father for she still believes that fear and manipulations are the right way to lead humanity, for it was what's best for the world and that every other method was considered weakness. With me being the firelord, she wants me to do just that. Xau Bau must’ve made her think he’d help her. But I think he has an even more nefarious agenda and I might have an idea for Azula to see other ways." 
Ty lee was surprised to hear this. 
Ty lee: "How?" 
Zuko: "It's not set in stone but let's just say that Azula has a lot more to learn before she decides what's really best for the world just like I did during my three years in exile." 
Ty lee: "What do you mean? What do you plan on doing?"
Zuko: “I plan on finding her but I’m not gonna fight her or arrest her. I’m gonna do for her what my uncle did for me, show her the truth and try patching up with her.”
Ty Lee: “You’re gonna try and make up? Last I heard, she lost it and tried to destroy you and your mother.”
Zuko: “This is my mess Ty Lee, I have to clean it up.”
Ty Lee: “Your not responsible for what happened, Azula and this Xai Bau guy are.”
Zuko: “Azula wouldn’t have escaped if I haven’t tried to beat my father in is own twisted game and use Azula for information he never even knew or even cared to know. I shouldn’t have put her in that nut house in the first place.”
Ty Lee: “She’s a lunatic! Where else could you have put her?”
Zuko: “Someplace healthier and more comfortable then there. I owe her my life.”
Ty Lee: “You owe her life? what are you talking about?”
Zuko: “The night my cousin Lu Ten died, the night my mother was banished. Azula overheard Azulon ordering my father...to kill me.”
Ty Lee was shocked.
Zuko: “Azula tried warning about it but I never believed it. My mother pulled her out of my room and she made Azula spill it, she explained everything that happened. My mother helped my grandfather get killed so that my father would take the throne himself...only for him to banish her!”
Ty Lee was shocked.
Zuko: “I was so angry at Azula for all the horrible things my father did to me because I used to think she had it easy. I kept on forgetting that she had it just as hard as me, if not harder and that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her. Even if she doesn’t change, I owe it to her to treat her better.”
Ty Lee had a hard time picturing the caring side of Azula.
Zuko: “When I left the fire nation to join Aang, I left Mai a note, explaining my reasons and tried to be genuine. I shoulda gave Azula, and maybe even you as well, that same sentiment.”
Ty Lee: “Me? Why me?”
Zuko: “Well...you were close to Mai and Azula...and I figured it me my way putting water under the bridge for my little...blow up...in ember islands.”
Ty lee: “You were having a mid-life crisis and you didn't fully know what your true calling was. If anyone can understand that, it's me."
Zuko: “Still, you didn’t deserve that, just like Azula didn’t deserve to have her life ruined and thrown in an institution that was hurting her. I thought I could handle her alone but I see that’s not possible. I need Aang.”
Ty Lee: “Aang? No offense to him but how can he help?”
Zuko: “Azula and I are descendants of the avatar before Aang. Roku. Back in Roku’s temple, Aang somehow transformed into Roku. In his current state, for several moments, it felt like I had a connection with Aang. Maybe the same thing can happen with him and Azula but on a more deeper and permanent level.”
Ty Lee: “I think this plan is bonkers but I trust you.”
Zuko: “You do?”
Ty Lee: “Yeah. Because I know you.”
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axolotl-druk · 4 years ago
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Ty Lee, Mai and Zuko using embarrassing childhood  memories as leverage to make a point
Oh yeah, I know you command a country but do you remember when you though babies came from gardens? And then tried to make more sisters by planting your toys? So maybe your plans aren't always the best
Yeah, Mai you can probably kill us in our sleep. But you also used to make short stories about a superhero who had your characteristics but totally wasn't you. I can't find you that scary 
I mean, Ty Lee you kind of have a history of getting obsessed over animals. Do you remember your wolf-horse girl stage? You had their favorite foods for like a month
Oh yeah, Mai can be seen really put together, but once she farted in front of me and tried to blame it in the kemurikage
Ty Lee used to have one hour assigned a day to play with her dolls because if not they would try to murder her in her sleep, It ended when Azula suggested a cage for them.
Zuko you talked backwards for a month so Azula couldn't understand you, none of us could understand you actually, so you went to charade everything. Do you remember when you asked for the bathroom in signs at my home? DO YOU?
What about the great idea of making one big braid of your 3 heads? That didn't go well, did it? 
You used to drink pond juice and call it “Turtle ducks love juice” and said it was a form of bonding with them
Ty Lee used to pretend she was an exchange student once in a while. Nobody believed her and but that didnt stop her
We convinced Mai that we could talk to animals, and she got so sad she made letters for all of them
Maybe Sokka starts arguments between them to learn more about Zuko, but Mai and Ty Lee enjoy roasting him so everyone wins
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the-last-cuddlebender · 4 years ago
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Even more Toph and Azula life-changing field trip headcanons:
PART I
Toph tells Azula that she was Melon Lord. Azula likes her style. Toph also tells her that Katara hates papaya, so Azula calls Katara the Papaya Peasant.
Toph tells Azula about the time she became the Blind Bandit, and Azula is impressed. They restart the gig for a while, and Toph loves Azula’s strategies. Together, they wreak havoc in gambling and other dastardly (but mostly harmless) ventures.
They pass the time by people-watching and making fun of everyone. (“Well, that sounds really shallow and stupid. Let's try it!”)
They meet June and have an absolute blast together. (God I want to write something with these three causing chaos together. ‘Chaos Crew’ lmao).
June joins them...and Azula suddenly realizes that she doesn’t want to talk to boys anymore. (“Do you...You like her, don’t you?” “What? That’s ridiculous. June is just a valuable asset to our operation.” “I can tell you’re lying~”)
^^^Azula still has a lot of trouble flirting, but Toph kicks her in the ass and gets her to try again and tells her to just be herself. Azula does try to be herself, and, surprisingly, June is in love with her method of flirting. (“Together, you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world! We will dominate the Earth!” “You son of a bitch, I’m in.”)
Azula needs an outlet for her anger and the war-driven nature that Ozai instilled in her, so Toph helps her become the Kemurikage (but without a cloak) to dole out vigilante justice. Azula loves destroying the mafias and etc. that they find around the Earth Kingdom, and as they travel and she doles out justice, Azula comes to see what the Fire Nation did in the war because her great nation allowed low-life’s like this to worm into and take over their conquests (her experience is very a la ‘Zuko Alone’)
Toph teaches Azula what makes one-liner jokes funny, but she immediately regrets it because Azula becomes the Queen of dad jokes and is very proud of it because she can cause pain to anyone within earshot and laugh at them at the same time.
(Will add more ideas as they come to me because I am loving Toph’s and Azula’s dynamic)
#papayamelon
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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years ago
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If Azula had a redemption,I don't think it's a good idea for Zuko and Tylee to help Azula.Both were victims of Azula,they don't owe her anything.Ty lee was afraid of her. also Azula is not going to accept the help of someone (who she believes) who took everything from her.Azula's redemption is going to be quite complicated, I don't think zuko can cope with all that but it would be good to see how they repair their sibling relationship.(I think sokka and toph are a good option to help azula).
I can see why you’d say that. That’s kind of why I think that she should get help from a new character. Azula has a negative history with pretty much everyone. Though I think that it’s a little more complicated with she and Zuko because Zuko wasn’t particularly a saint to her either. I mainly think of the scene where she almost falls to her death and he sounds disappointed that she didn’t (”of course she did”) I really don’t know how else to take that scene.
I think that Azula hurt Zuko more than he hurt her but they both did some damage to each other. 
As far as whether or not he should be an Iroh to her. I’d like to give some food for thought; Zuko kind of abused Iroh verbally. He constantly lashed out at and belittled Iroh while Iroh tried to help him. He let Iroh get captured and imprisoned. I wouldn’t call that healthy and yet no one seems to question that aspect of Zuko’s redemption? No hate intended here but I find it odd that people accept Iroh fixing Zuko despite receiving verbal abuse but are off put by Zuko helping Azula for that exact reason. 
After typing this I think that I’ve decided that the bottom line is that Azula has to help Azula. She needs support but she’s the only one who can fix her. And I think that she needs that unconditional love from someone she has not history with. Someone like one of her Kemurikage girls. 
As for Toph and Sokka; I can get on board with that. But the reason it’s harder for me to see (despite being an avid Sokkla shipper) is that we just haven’t seen many canon interactions. And for Toph specifically I feel like they’d have more of a bromance relationship. I can’t see Toph as the mentor/emotionally supportive type. I feel like Toph and her would get up to mischief which would probably be detrimental to a trying-to-change Azula. Sokka I can see a bit more though; he has a softer more emotional side and she doesn’t have as much history with him as the others. 
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purpleplatypusbear21 · 5 years ago
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Azula Week Day 6: Unexpectedly Saving Someone from the Gaang
“My fellow citizens, thank you for gathering here on such short notice.”  With his Kyoshi warrior bodyguards and Avatar Aang to his right, Fire Lord Zuko addressed his nation with poise and confidence following the fall of the New Ozai Society.  “The last few days have been traumatic for all of us.  Our children were taken, our parents grew fearful, and our streets descended into chaos.  And as your Fire Lord, I… well… I responded poorly.”  He scanned the crowd, briefly acknowledging his mother, Kiyi, and Noren. “Security and freedom exist in a delicate balance.  I did not maintain that balance well.  My recent decisions were based not on reason, not on wisdom, but on fear.  For that, I ask your forgiveness.  You should never feel like prisoners in your own city, or suspects in your own homes.  I resolve to do better.” 
Cloaked in the dark robes of their Kemurikage disguises, Azula and her allies watched the speech from a nearby rooftop.
“I will continue striving to be a Fire Lord worthy of you,” Zuko continued.  “I’m grateful for your patience.  I’m grateful for your trust.” 
Azula pulled off her Kemurikage mask as the Fire Nation citizens applauded their new leader.  “How touching.” 
���Hey.”  Zirin gestured to the crowd with a sharp nod of her head.  “Who’s that?” 
A muscular figure with a brown hood over his head was slowly meandering to the front. 
Azula narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Let’s get a closer look.”
With a flash of smoke, the cloaked women vanished from the roof.  Azula instructed her friends to disperse amongst the crowd while she crept along the side of the building where her brother was delivering his speech.  She had a good line of sight on the mysterious stranger. 
The muscular man reached a hand up toward his face, where he pulled up the fabric of his hood ever so slightly. 
That’s when Azula saw it.  The eye.  Right in the middle of his forehead.  Her heart stopped in her chest.  The events that followed occurred in a flash.
 “LONG LIVE FIRE LORD OZAI!”  A beam of light shot out from the man’s third eye, aimed perfectly at Fire Lord Zuko. 
Azula didn’t have time to think or strategize.  Her body just reacted.  “ZUKO!” she screamed jumping out in front of the concentrated beam. 
The explosion caused the crowd to run away, covering their heads and shrieking and shouting with fear.  The other Kemurikage women chased after the assassin. 
“Azula?  Spirits, Azula!” Zuko cried as he ran over to his sister’s body, crouching down beside her. “Someone help!  Please, somebody, anybody!” 
“Go find a healer,” Aang instructed Suki and Ty Lee. “I’m going to get Katara.”  He shook his head.  “I hope it won’t be too late.” 
Zuko rolled his sister’s body onto her back, propping her head up onto his lap and searching her eyes for any sign of life. 
“Zuko,” she whispered, blinking slowly. 
“Azula,” he whispered back with desperation in his voice. “You’re going to be okay, you hear me? You’re going to be just fine.  I’ve got you, I’ve got you, the healers are on their way – ” 
“Zuko, stop.”  She slowly shook her head. 
He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. 
“I… I can’t move my arms or legs.”  She swallowed. 
“The healers will take care of you – I’ll take care of you.  You’re going to be fine – ” 
“No.  Don’t worry about me, brother.” 
To Zuko’s surprise, he saw the faintest hint of a smile on his sister’s pale lips. 
“This was fated to happen.  It’s all so clear now.” 
“What are you talking about?” he choked. 
“Don’t you see?  You have everything now.”  Her smile widened.  “Your enemies are vanquished, you finally have the respect of your nation, the throne, loyal friends, a real family – ” 
“Don’t you dare say it – ” 
“With me out of the picture, there are no more complications.  You can live a free and happy life.” 
“Stop it – ” 
“I want that for you.” 
“I want that for you too.”  He was sobbing.  Fat tears were dripping down his cheeks into his sister’s dark silky hair. 
“That’s not possible, Zuzu.”  She sighed.  “We both know that.” 
“That’s not true, Azula!  If I was given a second chance, people will forgive you too.  Y-You just need to keep fighting!” 
“I’m tired of fighting.” 
His lips trembled. 
“I’m just… tired.”  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “Just know that everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you.” 
“I don’t understand – ” 
“You don’t have to.” 
“Why did you do that for me – why did you save my life – ” 
She lifted the heavy lids of her golden eyes. “Because you’re my brother, dum-dum.” Smiling softly, she rested her eyes again. 
“Please,” he pleaded, “just tell me what to do.  Tell me what to do to help you – ” 
“You can hold me until I’m asleep.” 
In that moment he realized that she really had given up the fight.  She was done. And he didn’t want to fight anymore either.  Conceding, he nodded slowly.  “I can do that.”
*******************************************************************************************
Light slowly filtered in through heavy eyelids. Consciousness began to take shape. The princess was alive.  Lying on her back on her bed, Azula looked around. Her bedroom looked exactly the same as how she left it all those years ago.  Well, one thing was different. 
“Azula?  Azula?!” Zuko rushed over to her, pulling up a chair to the side of the mattress. 
“Zuzu,” she exhaled.  “How… how am I – ” 
He smiled warmly at her, tears forming in his eyes. “Our healers did everything they could to keep you here, but ultimately it was Katara who saved you.” 
Azula raised an eyebrow. 
“She’s been treating you every day.” 
“...Why?  Doesn’t she… hate me?” 
Zuko sighed.  “Look, Katara can be stubborn, and she certainly hasn’t forgiven you, but… you saved my life, Azula.  And that can’t be overlooked.”  He locked eyes with her.  “You’re a hero.” 
Azula dismissed the comment with a shake of her head. 
“You are. Everyone’s talking about it. Things are going to be different from now on.  Trust me, you’ll see.” 
“I…”  She cast her eyes down.  “I still can’t move my limbs.  I can’t feel anything.” 
“You were hit in the spine.  It’s going to take some time – ” 
“What if I can never firebend again?  What good am I then?” 
“Azula.  I know this is frustrating for you, but Katara believes you’re going to make a full recovery.” 
“She does?” 
He nodded.  “You’ll be back to bending and intimidating everybody in no time.” 
She smiled for the first time in a long time.  
“But for now... your only responsibility is resting and relaxing.” 
“I have no idea what those two words mean.” 
He laughed.  “That’s too bad because I’m expecting you to be efficient.  You need to recover quickly.” 
“Oh, and why is that?  Big plans?” she teased. 
“Actually, yes.” 
She lowered her eyes at him. 
“I’ve hired an artist to create a new royal family portrait.” 
Azula was quiet for a moment.  “With me in it?” 
“Of course!��� 
“Mother… is okay with this?” 
He gave her a soft smile.  “It was Mother’s idea.” 
She looked at him with disbelief. 
“Really.  She loves you, you know.” 
She laughed, shaking her head.  “I don’t even know what love is.” 
He leaned in a bit closer to her, placing his hand on her arm.  “Yes you do.” 
“I…”  Azula cast her eyes down at her arm and then smiled up at her brother with brightness in her golden eyes.  “I can feel that.”  
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seyaryminamoto · 7 years ago
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What do you think about the plot of Smoke and Shadow? And what do you about Azula's role in it?
I don’t like the plot of Smoke and Shadow, and I like Azula’s role in it even less than the plot :’D do you want me to go fully in depth? Because… that’s gonna be very, very long.
The plot of Smoke and Shadow may be one of the worst in the comics so far. While I hear people complain about The Promise and how it handled many serious topics, it literally picked up after the show to answer a question everyone kept asking: what happens now that the Fire Lord was defeated? How does this world start to be peaceful after 100 years at war?
There are key problems to the whole execution, yes, there’s the whole conflict everyone has had with how colonization was handled, the whole subplot with Aang and the Air Acolytes was very annoying, especially with the first group of girls who were appropriating his culture just the same, but even more disrespectfully than the ones who did it later, and yet Aang somehow lashed out at the second ones but not the first… and there’s even more problems, but yes. The Promise has issues. But it was a story that at least felt worth telling.
The Search has SO MANY EXECUTION PROBLEMS… but it was the story everyone wanted to hear. It was worth telling, even if what they told was… really disappointing. I take issue with most everything in the Search, I’m not going to lie, but the idea of explaining Ursa’s mystery is still good and worth exploring.
But then we get to the Rift. And the Rift has a problem the first two stories didn’t have: it feels irrelevant. It didn’t really achieve something important for characters, you could have simply had a short comic with Toph coming home, her parents are still reluctant to accept her, something bad happens, she saves them again, they see her with her students, they realize she’s really that strong and that they should be proud of her. There. Takes less than 10 pages. But instead we took an entire trilogy to have Toph doing basically what I just summarized, only with a spiritual crisis in the middle, and a bunch of subplots that weren’t all that interesting. The subplots are especially useless because their ties to the future of the Avatar world seem to be comic exclusive: if you said Satoru is the father of one of Toph’s kids, he’d be relevant. But he hasn’t been confirmed as such. Is he that important in her life? Her refinery partnership with her dad sure shows she fixed her relationship with him: such refinery or partnership have no effect in her character or legacy in LOK as we know it. Why did it matter?
This is the same thing that happens to Smoke and Shadow. It introduced and then resolved a lot of problems, but the trilogy opened and closed while leaving the very same ends untied at the end: we don’t know if Mai and Zuko are officially together again after she broke up with Kei Lo. Kei Lo also wasn’t a serious obstacle until this comic begins (in her comic book day story, she only dates him once and ends everything with him because he’s with the New Ozai Society, so it wasn’t like she was with him all along after ending with Zuko). So, the whole problem of this love triangle really is only relevant in this trilogy because it was introduced and resolved within the comic’s allotted page count, just the same in the Free Comic Book story.
Azula? She came and went, was last seen in the Search running into a forest and wasn’t found again, Smoke and Shadow we have Azula causing a problem, then running away at the end just the same. Her situation remains the same, generally speaking. Ozai’s conspiracy? Got nowhere and in the end barely seemed a threat for Zuko’s rule because the entire focus changed to fighting Azula.
The situation of the Fire Nation did not change at all. You are not shown a crowd of people who trust and believe in Zuko at the end of it, everyone is solemn and it simply looks like everyone will just keep waiting and hoping he won’t mess up in the future. He sorted out this problem, but did it by acting in a way they didn’t like. He did not come off as a stronger leader for what he did, nor for his apology. In conclusion: the Fire Nation is the same as it was, if not worse because people might distrust Zuko more.
So, what was the point of S&S? On the large scale of things, what was the idea, the purpose of this trilogy? Were we supposed to see how Zuko lost himself because he doesn’t know how to act as the kind Fire Lord he wants to be when the stakes are high? Oh, wait, that was the Promise’s subject too. How about that. Were we supposed to see that there’s Fire Nation people who doubt Zuko? Ah, yes, remember Kori Morishita? Remember Zuko’s decision to side with her, which showed he cared for his people in its own weird way? Well, there’s no such a development in this story, as he starts locking up people, forbidding them from leaving the mainland, and in general only earning everyone’s anger for what he’s doing. 
How was that resolved? Allegedly by an apology that doesn’t really make me think anyone’s happy about Zuko. No cheering, no smiles. Just eyes watching him, wary of his next mistake. So… what really ends up being the purpose of this comic in the end? Why is it relevant? Why was this story oh so important? Because it introduced Azula’s new group? Yeah, considering they actually did not bother introducing them for real, we could have actually used a whole comic trilogy of exploring this team (even if just as villains) rather than a single panel of the group where only one of their names was mentioned. They all look like interesting people, so why not have a storyline that made them more important as characters instead of using them as mere plot devices to bring Mai and Zuko together to save their siblings, while fighting these mysterious, apparently unknown masked enemies?
Maybe S&S was only a tunnel, maybe it will lead us to something that is actually worthwhile. Maybe it is indeed the first step towards Azula’s redemption, but was everything that happened in this comic essential for that purpose? Azula behaves as a terrorist, who sure, helped take down the New Ozai Society but then assured Zuko she was going to be Fire Lord through him (which is quite a direct confession of still wanting the throne and wanting to use him as her puppet). What was the takeaway for Azula in this comic? She has a brand new group of allies and… we only know the name of ONE of them. We barely know anything about them. They work together. Why? They all came from an institution. How did they ally with each other and what are their motivations? What is the purpose of this team?
As I said earlier, in my personal opinion, I didn’t need S&S to introduce this group of people to me, I would rather have had a comic about a completely different subject where that could happen. You could have every introduction of the characters along with their skills, along with one or two pages to explain their partnership with Azula, and then you move on to plot. This could have been done as they helped to take down the NOS, which should have been a better threat against Zuko’s rule. Or maybe they could have been disconnected from Fire Nation politics, and instead had something to do with a search for dragons, who as we know, were somehow around again in LOK. If Azula and her gang found dragon eggs, maybe? It’d be plot relevant. It’d be important. It introduces a factor that will have actually play a part in the future of the Avatarverse. 
The Kemurikage, as we saw them? What did they do for the Avatar World? They were part of Yang’s unnecessary rewriting and contradiction of already existing Fire Nation mythology, that merely ended up enhancing and furthering the image of the Fire Nation as a warring nation (which it presumably wasn’t until Sozin went bonkers, going by the spiritual lore that was established for the Fire Nation before). Why do I like the idea of the Fire Nation being spiritually guided, same as how the Air Nomads were? Because this way, when the Fire Nation sets aside all spirituality and becomes a warmongering country, balance breaks in the world. It’s part of the symbolism and logic of the original show. 
If their history was all that filled with wars and conflict, why would Sozin want to hide it away as he apparently did? If the Fire Nation was mainly peaceful and spiritual until he arrived, it would make a lot more sense for him to hide history, so people would be led to think they were always out for war because of his rewriting of history. That’s what a dictator would do. If a nation’s history is full of blood and violence and heroes and war, the dictator gladly clings onto that history to say he’s the new hero, following on the footsteps of the warmongers before him. So even for Yang’s purpose of saying Sozin was hiding Fire Nation history, it makes more sense for them to have been spiritually inclined all along as the original Fire Nation lore established.
So, this entire thing was really just another of Yang’s trademark spirit nonsense, that comes out of nowhere, and that has nothing to do with genuine spirituality. And of course, it annoys me because this did nothing to enrich the Fire Nation as we know it. Absolutely nothing. Even LOK’s comic’s tidbit of information about same-sex relationships did more for the Fire Nation because a least it didn’t contradict anything that already existed.
Long story short, Smoke and Shadow, to me, felt just as irrelevant as the Rift. The New Ozai Society deserved to be a genuine threat, rather than a smokescreen for Azula to become a terrorist behind a mask. The New Ozai Society COULD HAVE BEEN exploited and turned into a serious problem for Zuko, because as we’ve seen, there’s a fair amount of people in both Fire Nation-centric trilogies who are displeased with his rule. This Society could have grown wider and served as a foil for him, as proof that changing the Fire Nation’s ways is not that easy, but it also could have allowed for other complex groups to be born, such as groups of people who don’t like Zuko’s current MO, but disapprove of Ozai and of New Ozai Society’s methods all the same. People who want peace, but not at the cost of feeling their Fire Lord is more connected with outsiders than to his own nation.
Zuko’s disconnection with the Fire Nation as it is, his role as their leader, needs to be explored. He needs to be shown as more than just a military figurehead. A Fire Lord who’s advocating for peace should be shown working on furthering the Fire Nation’s other regards, rescuing their former cultural values, fixing their flawed education, for instance, rather than always being at the center of a military problem. Is it not that epic? Oh, why, I beg to differ. If Zuko reforms the Fire Nation’s education, it would bring about a ton of enemies who want Ozai’s rule to come back. It would be a way to introduce people who refuse to let change come. But it would also introduce a ton of allies who believe in Zuko and the future he’s trying to bring. A story like this would allow him to find his own connection with his people, so that it no longer feels like he’s being the Avatar’s proxy in the Fire Nation.
Basically, if Zuko gets another comic trilogy it should be about showing us how the Fire Nation is genuinely changing for the better under his rule, and how much his nation means to him. Not about how many people want to kill him because he’s not Ozai, just so the topic of why Zuko is being rejected by some people ends up buried and forgotten because “these people who don’t like him are all so baaaad!”.
Uff. Okay, so, my opinion on Azula’s role in S&S is something I already stated but I’ll state again that I dislike it because it turned her into a terrorist. Nothing she had done in the show or even in the Search was ever quite as fucked up as what she did in this trilogy. Why? Because she never attacked her nation. Because her nation was not means to an end for her. Because she wanted to be a great leader for the Fire Nation, that was the last goal we ever heard her stating outright in the show.
When she’s out to kill her mother in the Search, it feels forced and wrong to me (as she’s suddenly paranoid and unreasonable, holding her mother responsible for everything that went wrong in her life despite the fact that this is not something she ever did in the show). But it’s a personal thing. It’s Azula fighting her inner demons in a very bad way that is only making her sink deeper into their web. She’s not doing this for some crazy scheme: she’s doing it because she has no idea what else to do to stop the madness that has taken over her. She knows she’s out of control, knows she’s not fine, and wants to resolve her problem by her own hand. All that’s good, the fact that she was led to think her mother was the source of everything was what was fucked up and unreasonable to me, but anyways, it’s not entirely wrong for her to act the way she did in the Search if you’re also based on the premise that she’s mentally ill and misunderstanding her entire reality.
But in S&S? She doesn’t limit herself to attacking her family, which fine, we accept as a possibility from as early as her first appearance in the show, because her relationship with her family is absurdly complicated. But no, now she attacks her nation. She kidnaps children. She says she wants nothing more to do with her father but acts with the same lack of reasoning and contempt/disrespect for her people and everyone else as Ozai did. She is shown still pursuing the throne, even if no longer in a direct manner.
So honestly, I dislike her appearance in S&S entirely because it’s yet another disservice to her character. It’s plain wrong in my opinion that a girl who had priorities is now setting the throne as her only goal, and she doesn’t seem to care about who she runs over on the quest for absolute power. And it’s BEYOND fucked up for Yang to code this sort of Azula as “healed” Azula, as an Azula who is no longer attached to her father: he’s basically saying that the terrorist, that the kidnapper, that the manipulative criminal, is what Azula would become even without her father’s influence. 
What everyone thought would turn her into a better person apparently had the entire opposite effect: she wasn’t a terrorist, EVER, while working for Ozai. Her problems with Ty Lee, with Chan, with Zuko, with anyone she hurt in the show, wasn’t damaging her nation as a whole. She had personal issues with them, and she didn’t resolve them by targeting the whole nation just to get back at them for what they’d done. She was harsh, but never what she was in this comic.
So I do hope Yang can excuse me for feeling that his idea of a healed Azula is utterly disturbing and repelling. I’d choose show!Azula any day: as flawed, immoral and manipulative as she was, she made a complex, interesting character whose goals and motivations made sense, as opposed to his version of Azula who is no longer as complex, yet more immoral, and more manipulative (yet less efficient about it) than her original counterpart, while being a terrorist on top of it all.
Whatever she achieved in this comic, however she helped Zuko, the two things I took away from this trilogy are those I’ve stated over and over: 1. She’s become a terrorist and a public menace. 2. She still, STILL, has not given up the throne and I don’t understand why so many people refuse to see it. Saying Zuko belongs in the throne and then saying “Ah, but I’ll shape you into being a leader I approve of because THAT WAY I’LL BE FIRE LORD ANYWAYS” means she’s not done with the throne: it means she wants to be his puppet master. I know it’s beyond unpleasant to admit it, but it’s true. I see no reason to excuse what she’s done in this comic, absolutely none. Her motivations and actions have reasonable explanations in the show, heavily related to her past, to her growth, to her priorities, to her flaws: here, everything regarding her motivations has been reduced to the goddamn throne. And that pisses me off a lot.
So… is that endless rant enough to explain my feelings about S&S? In conclusion, I don’t like where Yang is taking Azula’s character, and I don’t like how utterly irrelevant this trilogy felt in the long run. There’s a ton of stories still worth telling about Zuko’s tenure as Fire Lord, and yet Yang has managed to waste an entire trilogy in one that yielded nothing for his character or for the Fire Nation.
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ustrinamor · 7 years ago
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PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP MEME!
tell everyone how to start pre-established relationships with your muse! How to be their friend? Enemy? Ex? Go for it! Have lots of fun and tag five blogs you want to know better afterwards!
tagged by:  Stolen from @chantryprince because I can’t resist pre-established stuff tagging:  @ralliedcry (both your bbs I’m a lazy tagger lmao), @dirthera , @ass--sass--sin , @thxwarden , and anyone else who wants to do it!
(I put this under a cut because I’m doing it for all of my muses so it might get long! I’m only doing a couple of ideas for each to help with the length. Also, these are all pretty non-specific so they can be tailored on a case-by-case basis. Come talk plots with me and we can make something specific to our muses!)
FRIENDS
Azula
(Mostly Dragon Age) A contact or acquaintance she’s made in the underground. They might be one of the few people who know of her involvement with the Kemurikage. Pls give her more criminal friends
(Dragon Age) A family friend, most likely nobility with Tevinter background/connections but Orlesian nobility works too.
Faline
Tbh she has a lot of connections in Orlais as a Marquise’s sister so she could know someone through that. This also extends beyond Orlais to a degree.
She is well-loved by the Orlesian commonfolk and is likely to have friends of non-noble status throughout Orlais. A lot of her work has been put to improving the lives of those outside of the gentry, and she’s really spent more time among commoners than nobility as she’s grown into her adulthood.
Daeris
Fellow assassins in any verse (Elder Scrolls/Dragon Age mostly)
Worshippers of Nocturnal. No doubt she’s been sent to do a few personal requests for the most faithful of them. She’s likely even been sent as assistance to the nightingales and other agents on occasion.
Arsine
Fellow bards and ex bards. Perhaps they even worked together on a few assignments.
People from Kirkwall. She built a wide net of connections while spying there. She spied in Kirkwall the same time Hawke was there. One of her objectives was to actually spy on Hawke and their companions later on when they became more involved with events.
People she knew during her brief time as a slave in Tevinter. She was young and escaped when she was barely into her teens, so this would be less familiar than other relationships.
Teslaena
Fellow Dalish. Teslaena was First in her clan before she got kicked out, so she was highly involved in dealings with other clans.
Free Marchers. Tess’s clan was very friendly to humans in Kirkwall, Ostwick, and Starkhaven and for the most part had a good relationship with them. She explored the cities a lot, always interested in human culture. She might have made a few friends there. She also lived in Kirkwall later after being exiled, so that makes this way more likely.
Natsu
Other ninja or demon hunters. Slayers gotta stick together yo
Associates of Taki. She probably introduced Natsu to a lot of people, since she is her successor.
Josephine
Antivans; anyone ranging from nobility to bards to assassins to whatever. It’s her homeland and she has a wide net of connections there specifically.
She honestly knows or knows of 90% of the nobility in Thedas tbh. Being the skilled ambassador that she is, she likely has numerous friends among the gentry.
Trish
(DMC Reboot timeline) Other Demons. She was one of Mundus’s top lieutenants before her fall from his favor. No doubt she’s made a lot of allies and still managed to keep some even after getting into trouble. Probably has a better relationship with other demons now that Mundus is gone, actually.
(Dragon Age) Mortals she’s made deals with in the past. This is largely more likely to occur with mages since there is easier access to them than non-mages, but she is powerful and has likely found non-mages who were willing to make deals with her.
Vivienne
Former members of the Circle, apprentices or high-ranking. She likely only still thinks fondly of the people who did not approve of the rebellion, but there may be a few exceptions where she is forgiving to those who joined. (Younger apprentices and people who were just led along, mostly, since she believes some of them truly didn’t know any better. For older enchanters or established members or members who actively pushed for the Circle’s dissolution, she is unforgiving.)
Members of the Orlesian court. She has a favorable reputation, if not a vicious one. Many would like to befriend her if only to earn her favor.
ENEMIES
Azula
Political rivals, whether mainstream or for control of the underground.
Nobility who have slighted her (and most likely paid for it.)
Faline
Many people still look poorly upon her family for what the Shame of Serault did. Some have even taken measures against her family. These people are unforgivable to her.
Nobility who for the most part openly act for their own gain. She is quick to speak against people she finds selfishly motivated, uncaring of the repercussions.
Daeris
Rival assassins in any verse (Elder Scrolls/Dragon Age mostly). Perhaps there was a contract dispute, or a target was killed by one assassin while the other believes they target was rightfully theirs (or just doesn’t like having a paycheck stolen)
Worshippers of other Daedra. Particularly Mephala or Molag Bal. (Not so much Azura, Meridia, or Sanguine, as they are the least ‘intrusive’. Mephala and Molag Bal just like to fuck shit up for other daedra lmao)
Arsine
Slavers and Tevinter nobility. For the most part it isn’t personally towards a single person or noble house, just the institution in general. When it comes to House Erimond, however, it is deeply personal as that is the house she served as a slave.
People she worked against as a bard. She worked for Empress Celene on occasion as her employer was a close friend and supporter of the empress, so she has done things against Gaspard and his supporters as well as other rivals of Celene and her employer.
Teslaena
Templars. Particularly from Kirkwall or other cities in the Free Marches. She explored the cities a lot, so despite the clan’s good relationship with the cities, she’s likely encountered her fair share of Templars who were apprehensive or rude to her for openly presenting herself as a mage. A few probably even tried to arrest her for apostasy.
Other Dalish that she didn’t get along with. Her pro-human views likely have earned a lot of detractors and enemies. A lot of people would be especially angry that a clan’s First had pro-human opinions.
Natsu
Demons. She’s a demon hunter, so it’s a natural fit.
Other demon hunters that see her as no more than a demon herself. They might want her dead because of the demon sealed inside of her, or believe she’s a hypocrite or some sort of sleeper-agent.
Josephine
The rare few members of nobility that don’t like her lmao
People who have worked against her family and their fortune (assassins, etc.)
Trish
(DMC Reboot timeline) Angels. Demons and angels have a longstanding history of hate and war, so there’s a natural dislike.
(DMC Reboot timeline) Demon hunters. I mean....this is kinda obvious too lmao. She didn’t start appearing in the mortal world again until after Mundus’s death, but someone who hunted her before she disappeared might remember her.
Vivienne
Vivienne has a LOT of enemies, particularly within the mage rebellion. She’s got plenty at court as well, so really a past rival or enemy could come from anywhere for any various reason.
EX-LOVERS:
This is honestly  on a very specific case-by-case basis, so I’ll just say how likely an ex-lover relationship could be with a muse.
Azula: Not very likely. She trusts very few people, and is extremely selective with casual relationships.
Faline: Somewhat likely. She’s had a few relationships, some of them with suitors her mother wanted her to marry though she always chose not to.
Daeris: Extremely likely. Daeris is very into casual relationships, and uses them as an unhealthy coping mechanism. She tends to scare off at signs of real romance.
Arsine: Likely. She’s had a few casual relationships and a couple of serious ones.
Teslaena: Not likely at all. She’s only ever been in a relationship with one person. She’s not quick to give out her heart, and she doesn’t like casual relationships.
Natsu: Not very likely. She tends to put all of her focus into her work, not to mention she doesn’t see herself as dateable because of her occupation and the fact that she has a demon sealed inside of her. She is a romantic at heart, though, so there are exceptions, but she’s gotten her heart broken every single time she’s tried a relationship.
Josephine: Not very likely. Maybe a few fleeting romances when she was younger, but since she has matured and her focus has become her familial duties, she hasn’t had much time for idle romances.
Trish: Somewhat likely. Trish is a tease, but she’s picky with who she actually gets involved with. Never anything serious.
Vivienne: Not likely at all. Her love life has always been focused on Bastien. Before he came along, she was too busy instrumenting her ownadvancement to worry about dull affairs.
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loopy-atla-fanfic · 7 years ago
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Samsara - Chapter 2
Rating: T
Characters: Mai, Zuko, Ty Lee, Azula
Story Warnings: Ableism, Suicidal Thoughts
Chapter Warnings: Brief suicidal thoughts
Written for Maiko Week 2017
EPOCH 2
"Come on, Mai. It's time to embrace the day! Hey, that rhymed."
Oh, no. Not again.
Mai sat up to find Ty Lee already having lifted one of her feet onto the far end of the mattress, no doubt in preparation for the daily (so to speak) act of bounce-based terrorism. Mai quickly crawled over and grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "Today is the Day of Black Sun, isn't it?"
Ty Lee nodded. "You must be excited. That's the fastest I've ever seen you wake up before noon."
Ashes.
Ashes.
Dragon-pooped, First Flame flickering ashes!
It wasn't prophetic dreams. It wasn't weird subconscious collating of information.
Mai was trapped in the Day of Black Sun.
Great. How had she gone and gotten herself cursed?
(She was also greatly disappointed that curses were real. What next? Auras, the Kemurikage, and Tonyan the Gift-Flinger?)
With a sigh, Mai let go of Ty Lee and got out of bed. She took a step towards her clothes-
-and then stopped. What was she doing? Was she really going to go through it all again? What would be the point? She should be finding a way to end this curse! The whole plan for the invasion would happen without her. She'd just be stuck somewhere all day while Zuko-
Zuko.
Hmmmmm.
Mai began to make plans. (This took a moment of thought, because she was so out of practice.) Just how much of this day she was stuck with, and how much of this day she could change? She felt a smile twist her lips as she used the skills that made her such a dangerous warrior: she identified a target, plotted an intercept, and set about cutting through the troubles of life with grace and efficiency. If the metaphorical cutting went well, she might not have to do any literal cutting. She turned to Ty Lee. "Forty-seven minutes to Azula's dawn briefing, right?" She didn't wait for a response before grabbing her clothes and ducking into the bathroom.
Exactly forty-six minutes later, Mai and Ty Lee arrived to hear Azula once again proclaim, "Ah, girls, right on time."
Instead of complaining about the early hour, the impoliteness of invading rebels, or the possibility that Azula's mental problems were the result of royal inbreeding, Mai just bowed her head and waited.
Seeming quite pleased to be alive on a day when resistance would be ruthlessly crushed beneath her heel, Azula turned to her big ol' map on its fancy stand and pointed to a bright red mark near the center of the Caldera. " Now, you and Ty Lee will take command of 'Operation: Springback' here in the Capital Temple. You will be my coiled spring, hiding within the temple, and attack only when rebel forces enter the grounds in significant number. The Earth King's original plan called out our temple as a possible fallback point, but if they try, they will once again find that I have cut off their every chance to survive. Are you clear on your mission?" Mai bowed her head again. "Yes, princess."
"Excellent! Be sure to stop by the Royal Kitchens before you go, and get something to eat from the buffet. The rations being distributed to the soldiers are rather plain."
Well, the briefing had gone about as well as it could have, in Mai's opinion. She had even been invited to the buffet without having to seem dangerously unstable.
It was unfortunate that she was feeling too nervous to have anything more than a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Mai’s stomach continued to twist as she and Ty Lee started out to the temple, and she waited until the front gate came into view before she said, "Oops, I just realized I forgot my lucky razor disc. I need to go back home and get it."
Ty Lee frowned. "Since when do you have a lucky anything? I gave you lucky seashell years ago but you thr-"
"Since now. You head into the temple and get set up. The commanding officer is Corporal Lee, and he's very eager to impress today." Before any further objections could be aired, Mai turned and sprinted back down the lane towards her house. She once again eschewed the front doors and climbed up to her bedroom window, but this time, as she stood on the divan, she found the foot of her bed mercifully free of heart-breaking 'Dear Mai' letters.
Good. She was on time.
She hopped down off the divan, and crouched behind it. She had no intention of catching up to Ty Lee at all today, but that didn't mean she was giving up on the idea of springing an ambush. She just wasn't going to be ambushing any rebels.
Instead, she'd be ambushing a stupid ex-boyfriend. Or soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. Or soon-to-be-ex-who-she-could-hopefully-convince-not-to-be-an-ex-boyfriend? Zuko technically still her boyfriend, on account not having left the note yet today, right? And if she stopped him here, and this was the last repetition, could his breaking up with her be said to happen?
Well, Mai had discovered a path to madness, if she ever wanted to take it: just think about how time worked in a cursed loop, and goodbye sanity.
Turning her away from that path for now, a little voice in the back of her head, near where most of her gorgeous shining hair was tied, asked why exactly she expected this to be the last time?
Simple, the front of Mai's mind answered. Once we stop Zuko from leaving, we'll get a Fire Sage to do a purification ritual, or whatever, and then time will go back to flowing normally with our boyfriend safely in place. No problem.
Oh, the back corner of Mai's mind replied. Well, if you have it all figured out, then by all means, go ahead and-
Footsteps sounded somewhere in the house.
Mai tensed.
The steps grew closer, grew louder.
They were right outside the room.
They were in the room.
Then Zuko said, "I'm sorry, Mai."
And she sprang up from behind the divan. "Sorry for what?"
Zuko startled, whipping his head around to stare at her with wide eyes. (Well, one wide eye and one permanently squinting eye.) "What are you- were you hiding behind- why were you- what?"
Mai snorted. "Eloquent as always. What are you sorry for?"
Zuko remained frozen for another moment, and then seemed to deflate. All tension left his body, and his gaze fell to the floor at the same pace as the rolled paper that he let fall from his hands. "I'm sorry for everything."
Well, that was a pretty good start. He had everything to be sorry for. "You're leaving."
He nodded. "I thought you'd be out getting ready for the invasion."
"I was. But I-" Knew what was going to happen? Had come home twice now to find a stupid note and was getting thoroughly sick of it? "-had a feeling about you."
Zuko shrugged. "Well, at least I can say goodbye in person."
"Then why bother with a note at all?" Mai stepped out from behind the divan, keeping her pace slow as she drifted to put herself between Zuko and the door. "I slept over in the palace. You could have caught me any time this morning."
Zuko finally looked up at her. "I couldn’t decide my course. I was already dressed for battle in my armor when I finally made my choice. Trying to catch you would have risked getting caught by Azula. And I thought you might stab me."
"Fair point. Well, you're caught, now. Is there anything you want to say?"
Zuko inhaled, and in doing so seemed to draw in strength once again. His back went straight and a little of that Royal Grace that Azula so effortlessly displayed came into his limbs. Mai had never seen him stand like that, and she had to stop herself being distracted by the sight as he said, "I have to stop him. My father. I can't let him destroy the world."
Meh. Of course he would lead with talking about boring politics. "Really? You're standing in my bedroom with a break-up letter, and you want to talk about destroying the world? What about me? Don't you have anything to say about- about us?"
Zuko scowled. "But this isn't about you! This is about the Fire Nation, about-"
"Junk I don't care about!" Mai crossed her arms over her chest. "Who cares if your father is going to destroy the Earth Kingdom? That means the Fire Nation wins, and we can stop worrying about anything but ourselves! Yeah, it's a shame people have to die or whatever, but that's what happens in a war. This will probably save Fire Nation lives."
Zuko blinked at her. "That- that isn't winning! Think about all those people who will be hurt- people who just want to work their farms or clean up their neighborhoods or- or- or just live. There's no honor in making them suffer! We'd be destroying our nation if we let it happen! I'd be destroying myself."
"Oh, Zuko." Mai put all of her effort into trying to smile, but she wasn't sure if it was working. Nevertheless, she kept trying, and peered out at Zuko from beneath her fringe of hair in that way that usually made him squirm. "Yes, we have to do hard things to win a war, and part of what I like about you is that you actually managed to get to adulthood and still feel things for other people. It's different. And cute. You can be sad about it if you need to. Good thing I know how to cheer you up." She stepped up to him, reaching out around his shoulders, and pulled him close.
Then she leaned forward and kissed him.
She put all of her strength, all of her heat, all of herself into that kiss, into showing Zuko was he would be throwing away if he continued with his ridiculous plan. She felt his arms slide up her sides, felt his strong but gentle hands clasp her body-
-and then he pulled her away. "I can't ignore this anymore," he said. His voice was quiet and his eyes were wet. "I'm sorry. But even if I stayed, I wouldn't be able to give you the love you deserve. It would die with the Earth Kingdom. With the Avatar."
What? Why would his love die with people other than her?
He stepped back and let go of her. "Goodbye, Mai."
He moved to walk around her-
-and Mai pulled a needle from her sleeve. If he wasn't going to stay by choice, then pinning him to the wall was certainly a solution. She'd apologize later, perhaps while wearing that shoulder-baring dress he liked so much-
But as she moved to throw, Zuko pivoted and threw himself towards the divan. Even as Mai was lining up her next shot, Zuko rolled behind the furniture, cutting him off from view.
How dare he expect her to attack him!
Just because she was going to do it didn't mean he should distrust her like that!
Mai moved to see around the divan, planning to nail Zuko to the floor if needed, but there was another blur of motion and then Zuko was dashing towards the window and jumping-
-Mai threw her needle and then a backup razor disc-
-Zuko went sailing out of the window head-first as her blades sank into the window frame right next to him-
-and then he was gone.
Mai stood there for a moment, unable to believe he was really that stupid (Why not, given everything else?), but then she heard the sound of Firebending, and rushed over to the window to find him landing safely in the street with the last flickers of flames dying in the air to mark his path. He ran towards the palace, but then skidded to a halt.
He turned and looked back up at her.
Mai met his gaze.
Then he turned and started running away from the palace, down a street that would take him away from the expected path of the invaders. He was lost to sight.
Come to think of it, there were echoes in the air that might have been the sounds of warfare down at the harbor. The invasion must have just started.
And Zuko was gone. Again. Sort of.
Mai's first instinct was to run after him. He had a head start, but she was quicker in a straight dash, so maybe if she guessed right about his path she could-
Wait.
Why bother?
Why not just try again tomorrow?
After all, there was no tomorrow today. Why would there be a tomorrow, tomorrow?
So Mai packed herself a lunch, went back up to that little isolated spot on the caldera's rim- the one with so many memories of Zuko- and spent the rest of the day watching the war. This time, she got there early enough to see the harbor gate fall to the invaders, and then she sarcastically cheered them on as they rushed to get into the city before the eclipse started. She even spotted what looked like the Avatar's Waterbender helping a wounded warrior hobble his way up the side of the volcano. Mai waved at them, but they didn't notice her.
The most amusing part was when the eclipse ended, and Azula's airships rose up, and the invaders all ran like little lemurs scattering before a komodo rhino. Sadly, it was fairly boring after that, nothing to see but prisoners being arrested and dragged away while the clean-up crews began wondering how to deal with the giant boulders left lying around by impolite Earthbender soldiers.
She started to drift off.
At one point, Mai might have heard something like Ty Lee calling her name. Ty Lee sounded very upset. Maybe she thought Mai had died during the invasion. That was kind of funny. Mai gave a little giggle as sleep began to fully overtake her, but before she lost consciousness, she mumbled, "See you tomorrow."
"Come on, Mai. It's time to embrace the day! Hey, that rhymed."
Mai's eyes snapped open, and she got out of bed with a smile.
She knew exactly what to do.
Exchange some early morning banter with Ty Lee, politely breeze through Azula's redundant briefing, beg off going to the temple so that she could double back to her house, wait behind the divan for Zuko, spring up and point at him when he said-
"I'm sorry, Mai."
"You should be!" She didn't wait for him to get over his surprise before she continued, "This isn't the way! If destroying the Earth Kingdom is such a problem for you, then let's work on it! It's not going to happen today!" Something about her own phrasing amused her, and she let out a small laugh. "By that logic, it might not happen at all."
Zuko stared at her.
Mai shook her head and focused again on the problem at hand. "My point is that making yourself into a traitor and wanted criminal isn't going to accomplish anything! Stay here. With me. We can talk to Azula, or your father, and find some other way to win the war."
Zuko finally moved, slumping (again) and shaking his head. "How can you be smart enough to know I'd come here, and still believe that Azula or Father will listen to me? They don't want another way to win the war. That's why I have to leave. The Fire Nation is rotting from the very top, and only by siding with the Avatar can I start to heal everything. I plan to free my uncle, and-"
"That old gasbag?!"
"He should be Fire Lord! Not my father!"
Mai didn't quite know what to say to that. She wasn't very practiced at discussing whether or not the absolute ruler of her nation should be the absolute ruler of her nation. That was the kind of thing that could put Azula in a remarkably bad mood, and Mai had a talent for judging when to stop just short of that line.
That, at least, gave her an idea of how to respond. "Zuko, you're going to get yourself killed."
He didn't seem especially put out by the idea. "I have to live my life with honor, wherever it takes me."
"That's all it is with you." Mai began walking, this time angling to put herself close enough to both the door and the windows so that she'd have a clear angle no matter which he tried to escape through. "It's always about 'me.' Don't you think other people might care if you die?"
Zuko blinked. "Not many, no." Something must have occurred to him, because his eyes went wide, and then he looked at her with the true light of fire in his face. "But if you care that much, then come with me! We can free Uncle, and then help the Avatar save the Earth Kingdom."
Betray her nation?! Betray Azula?! Risk a prolonged, painful death, probably involving hot coals, and almost certainly involving one of those pointy, multi-pronged metal devices with terrifyingly mysterious purposes?!
Mai considered the point rationally. Considered the abstract idea of Zuko getting himself killed with his idiocy.
"No," she said.
Zuko closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Mai had to admit that she felt kind of rotten.
Then Zuko threw his arms out and sent a wave of flaming expending across her bedroom. She reflexively dodged behind the divan, pulling some of her throwing razors from her sleeves, and by the time she realized that she'd been tricked, Zuko was already out the window.
Ash.
Well, if he wanted to play dirty, then she could, too.
Zuko stepped into her bedroom, and came to an abrupt halt when he saw her.
-saw her lying on her bed, in that off-the-shoulder dress he liked so much, with the skirt much shortened since he had seen it last.
Mai brushed her loose hair from her eyes, smiled, and said, "Hello, lover."
Zuko stared.
He stared some more.
He put the rolled paper on the floor in the doorway, and then turned and ran.
Mai decided to be offended.
This time, Mai just sat at the foot of her bed (fully dressed), staring at the floor. She didn't care if he saw her. She was tired of this.
He stopped short again when he saw her, but this time, he came into the room. "Mai? What are you doing here?"
She didn't bother meeting his gaze. "Zuko, why aren't I enough? Haven't I tried? Don't I make you happy? What about the rest of the world makes it more important than me?"
He was silent for a long moment. Then he came over and sat on the bed next to her. He put his arm around her, and her every instinct was to lean against him and take comfort in his warmth, but she was also mad at him and so made herself resist.
He said, "I've seen the world, and it's not just this big thing that's somewhere else. It's everywhere. It's right here. It's every person out there who's living and working and trying to be happy. I- I don't think I can be happy until they are, too."
Mai snorted. "Then you'll never be happy."
She thought that was a witty point, but he nodded with no surprise or hesitation. "I know."
She shook her head. "I don't think I'm capable of self-sacrifice. Not for other people. Not even- I think- for you."
"But you-"
"Being a supportive girlfriend doesn't count. That was small stuff. You're talking about giving up your life if you have to." She turned and looked him straight in the eyes. "Do you really think I'm capable of giving everything up for someone else? Think about it. Tell me the truth."
His scarred gaze searched hers. Was he simply examining her face, looking at the mask she had turned herself into for some sign of the heart he wanted her to have? Or was he trying to look past the mask, through her dull eyes to the spirit energies within her body, tasting her shadows?
He leaned back. "I guess not."
He stood and walked away.
This time, Mai didn't try to stop him.
"Come on, Mai. It's time to embrace the day! Hey, that rhymed."
Mai sighed and sat up. She wasn't feeling up for another go at Zuko. What more could she say to him? It wasn't just that she had failed to convince him not to try to save the world; she was becoming convinced that she simply didn't have the skill, worldview, or wisdom to talk him down. She, herself, was inadequate to the task. She might have an infinite number of chances, but she had lost the struggle a long time ago.
Well, nothing said she couldn't take a break. Maybe there was something else she could look into?
And then it came to her. "Tell Azula that I'm sick." She grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to see a healer. Give my regards to Colonel Lee and the rest."
Ty Lee's head tilted. "Who?"
Of course, the city's healers had been evacuated with the rest of the citizenry, but there were combat medics aplenty, and Mai was able to find a woman on her way to the harbor who was willing to give her a check-up.
Sadly, finding a female medic who believed in curses was a bit harder. "You say you're suffering from what? Uh, my lady?"
Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm reliving the same day over and over. Every day I wake up and it's the Day of Black Sun. I can tell you exactly how the battle will play out, minute by minute, to prove myself."
"Well, uh, I guess it can't hurt to have you write it all down."
So Mai did.
Several hours, multiple skirmishes, two armies, and one eclipse later, the same medic was scratching her hair. "It's the craziest thing, but I guess you're right. Do you, uh, know how you got cursed?"
Mai shrugged. "I'm a bit free with my blasphemies, but that hasn't been a problem up to now."
"Well, I can do a quick check-up, but you might be better off with a sage."
After a session of poking, prodding, and saying, "Ahhhh," more times than had to be strictly necessary, the healer brought Mai to temple, where the sages had just returned. They listened to her story with obvious disdain, showed a bit more interest when the medic vouched that something had given Mai some kind of prophetic insight, and then got positively giddy when they were given permission to do whatever tests they needed to determine the nature of the curse.
(Although, Mai limited the amount of poking, prodding, and "Ahhh"-ing that would be conducted. The sages were all men, after all.)
By the time Azula dropped by in a fume to ask if Mai knew anything about Zuko running away to marry the Avatar, it had been unquestionably established that the most revered Fire Sages in the Homeland were all nincompoops. They had no idea what kind of curse she might have, or how to undo it. They had never even heard of a curse that trapped a person in an endless loop of a single day.
"You're a hypochondriac and Zuko is a traitor," Azula snarled on the way back to the palace. "I can't rely on anyone!"
Mai thought about that. "And if I had come to you before he had left? Told you what he was planning?"
Azula's head turned slowly, and her gaze was entirely reptilian. "Then today would have played out very differently."
Huh. You don't say.
"Zuko's planning on running away and joining the Avatar."
Azula froze halfway through her turn to the big map on its fancy stand, her finger already extending to point to the temple. She blinked exactly once and then said, "What?"
Mai shrugged. "I thought you'd want to know that before you began your briefing."
Azula stared at her.
Ty Lee leaned forward. "Did I miss something? I don't even think Zuko is up yet. Or is this why you got in so late last night?"
Azula's eyes narrowed. "Zuko admitted a desire to commit treason, and you decided to sleep on it?"
Mai sighed. "Never mind. Bad joke."
"Zuko's planning on running away and joining the Avatar."
Azula froze in the middle of directing her Dai Li goons on where to hide, her finger already extending up to the cave-chamber's rafters. Of course, the princess couldn’t just set a trap for any invaders who managed to find their way to the secret bunker underneath the palace; she had to organize the trap for maximum drama.
Azula’s attention, however, was no longer on her trap. "What?"
Mai shrugged. "I was at the temple when I figured out some references he made during our last conversation. I just thought you'd want to know before he can get away."
Azula was still for only a moment longer. Then she snapped a hand signal to the Dai Li, nodded at Mai in a clear 'you better follow me if you know what's good for you and here's a hint: getting killed by me would not be good for you' signal, and stalked out of the chamber. The princess led the way up out of the underground bunker to emerge through the secret passage into the palace itself.
They caught Zuko just was he was emerging from his bedroom, the break-up note rolled and tied in his hand.
He dropped it when the first attack came.
At a motion from Azula, the Dai Li shot their weird rock-gloves at Zuko, pinning him to the nearest wall by his wrists and ankles in a move that reminded Mai uncomfortably of her own style. Why was Zuko so good at dodging her needles, but he got hit so easily by this?
She stood apart from the proceedings, allowing this to remain between the royal siblings (and their personal subcontractors). She watched as Zuko struggled and Azula stepped forward to pick up the dropped note. The princess unfurled and read it silently, then tossed it over her shoulder to Mai.
Mai didn't bother reading it. She already knew what it said, and didn't want to get mad all over again. Azula was already bringing more than her share of madness (both kinds!) to this situation already.
"So ungrateful," Azula hissed to Zuko. "After everything I've done for you, you're just going to throw this life away and embrace an existence of failure?"
Zuko turned his gaze to Mai, but she kept her face free of expression in a clear 'Who, me? I just work here!' statement. Zuko looked back to Azula. "You've done nothing for me that hasn't also benefitted yourself. I'm finally just doing what's right."
"Of course you are." Azula turned to Mai and smiled. "Thank you for reporting this to me. I'll be sure that my father knows you deserve all the credit. It's good to know that you understand your true loyalties."
Mai was starting to think that applying Azula's specific skills to the problem of Zuko might not have been the best choice. Certainly, that seemed to be the idea behind Zuko's heart-wrenching expression of hurt, and it was making a compelling argument.
Well, he had betrayed her first. At least now he wouldn't be running off to become a doomed fugitive.
He was still staring at her when the Royal Crimson Guard arrived and wrapped him in chains to be led away.
Mai took advantage of the following commotion (Azula made a grand pronouncement out of, "Bring him to my father. The Fire Lord will have the final say about his fate, and I need to get into position in case our invaders make it this far.") to slink away. She ducked into Zuko's bedroom and went over to the windows. This high up in the palace's tower, she could see the whole Caldera settlement. It was still and empty now, but the distant echoes of warfare had started. The invaders must have landed at the harbor.
Maybe she could just hide out here for the rest of the day. Certainly, no one would be using Zuko's bedroom for a while. It was some time before the rebels would crest the volcano's rim and put on a show, so she explored all that Zuko had left behind, at least in terms of physical possessions and not all those pesky emotional sensations that had her stomaching clenching.
Of course, Mai was already familiar with Zuko's room, but she soon turned up something new. An inked portrait of his mother, the Princess Ursa, had been propped up on a shelf at the foot of his bed. It was the first image of the woman that Mai had seen since her mysterious disappearance. The unspoken word was that speaking word of Princess Ursa would result in a lot more than just harsh words, both spoken and unspoken, and so the matter had been ignored for years by all and sundry. Mai herself had no personal feelings about Zuko and Azula's mother, nor much interaction with her beyond the time Mai upchucked after eating an ant-worm on a dare by Azula and Ursa had helped clean her up.
Zuko's picture contained much more grace and serenity than Mai remembered, but perhaps that was just because she usually saw Ursa only when caught between Zuko and Azula.
Still, the picture wasn't that interesting. Mai wound up dozing on Zuko's bed until she was startled awake by the sound of someone- perhaps a young boy- shouting from the lower floors of the palace. She sneaked over to close and lock the room's door, but made note that the palace had been infiltrated just before the true invasion was supposed to begin.
And, judging by the youth of the voice, perhaps it was the Avatar himself. And here Zuko was trying to run away to join the kid.
Except Zuko wasn't getting away this time.
When the fighting finally reached the Caldera, with the eclipse starting above everyone's heads, Mai found that she had a new perspective on the action. Previously, she had been behind the invader's push, watching from the volcano rim like a neutral observer. Now, the invaders were pushing towards her, and she had to admit it was a bit more intimidating from this angle.
Mai saw the Home Guard soldiers move to oppose the invaders, and either get cut down or quickly captured for their trouble. She was a lot closer to the action, this time, and didn't find it quite so amusing.
She thought she spotted one person- wearing the hat of one of the army's runners- jogging down a lane just east of the garden park where she, Ty Lee, and Azula had frequently played as children. The runner seemed to be on a good route that would circumvent the fighting, but on the complete other side of the park, one of the fighting Earthbenders pulled a large rock from the street and shot it at an attacking swordsman. The rock missed its target, but flew more than fast enough to cross the park.
And then the rock and the runner worked together to illustrate a rather extreme, fatal example of bad luck.
The runner was crushed with a suddenness that might have been funny, if Mai was in a mood to laugh.
It turned out that she wasn't.
In fact, she herself felt like she had a big rock on top of her.
So she simply watched as the rebels surrounded the palace to wait for a victory that wouldn't come.
Then the eclipse passed, the Avatar returned to his army on his (armored!) sky bison, and the whole group decided to take their toys and go home if the Fire Nation wasn't going to fight fairly.
Soon enough, Mai was alone again.
The sun was setting when Azula found her.
"Ah, here you are," the princess said as she stepped into the bedroom. "I would be disappointed that you didn't return to handle Operation Springback, but it turned out that the invaders bypassed the temple completely, and you've already done a great service to our nation today."
Mai would have expected more gloating, more honey, in Azula's voice, but the princess was being surprisingly monotone. Nor was there any smile, not even the hint of an evil smirk, on her face.
Mai felt the urge to vomit and hadn't even eaten any ant-worms. "What happened to Zuko?"
Azula blinked once. Twice. There was no expression on her face; it was like she was using at as a mask, just like Mai did. "Why, I had him brought to Father, of course! It's not like I could hide such an act of treason."
Mai stepped forward. "Where is Zuko now?"
Azula giggled without smiling, a high-pitched sound as sharp as broken glass. "Where do you think? The one thing Father will not tolerate is disobedience. That's why he scarred poor Zuzu! Father told him to get up and fight and Zuzu just cried!"
"Azula." Mai mentally counted every single blade strapped to her body. "Tell me what happened to Zuko. Now."
"Watch your tone." There was no strength in Azula's voice. "It's up to us, now. We need to be strong. We need to be united. Father's going to be giving us his full attention."
"Azula-"
"Zuzu is dead!" Azula's screech echoed off the walls. Her face finally had some expression on it, but whether it was born of anger or joy or fear was impossible to tell. "He's dead and it's just us, now! Behave, or I'll send you to join him!"
Oh.
Oh, no.
This-
Mai didn't mean to-
This wasn't-
Fine. So much for this idea. "I see. Thank you for telling me."
Azula let out a ragged breath and nodded. "Okay."
Mai nodded back. "Okay."
Then she threw a razor disc into Azula's throat.
She had aimed for flesh before- she had tried to throw blades at the faces of both the Avatar and his pet Waterbender back in Omashu- but had never actually hit it before. Perhaps it was the short range, this time, or perhaps Azula wasn't quite on her game.
Maybe- just maybe- Azula had known it was coming, and wanted it.
Or it could be that Mai just wanted this hit to land more than any other she had thrown before.
Whatever had led up to it, the princess was crumbled on the floor now in a growing pool of her own blood, and any last words she might have had were lost in all the bubbling.
Mai's stomach clenched. She'd seen blood and death before, but had never smelled it, nor seen it on a familiar face.
Her hands were shaking.
She'd killed.
Not that it counted, of course. Tomorrow, it would be the Day of Black Sun again, and Zuko and Azula would both be alive and well.
But Mai couldn't think of a better way to end this day.
She didn't have to wait long for the guards, and they played their part admirably, charging her with spears as soon as they saw the scene. One might have accused them of jumping to conclusions on entirely circumstantial evidence, but then, she was standing over the bloody body of their princess, while holding what could be called a threatening display of sharp objects.
Mai's shaking hands didn't make her last stand last very long, and within seconds she had another new experience: the feel of metal spearheads punching into her flesh and tearing her innards. There was no experience that could have prepared Mai for the feeling of having her life leak out through ragged holes in her torso. So this was what it felt like to be Zuko- to be Azula- to die-
Wait.
This wouldn't end the cycle of days, would it?
"Come on, Mai. It's time to embrace the day! Hey, that rhymed."
Huh.
So even being killed wouldn't stop it.
A little part of her had expected that. After all, that would be too easy. Did the same go for death by her own hand?
That felt like too much work to explore, right now.
So she didn't move. Even when Ty Lee started bouncing on the far end of the bed, she remained lying underneath the covers. Even when Ty Lee crawled over and started shaking her, she let herself flop in her friend's grip, and fell back down to the mattress when released.
At some point, she began crying silently.
Ty Lee left. Then Ty Lee returned with Azula. More words and attempts to get her out of bed followed. More of her tears moistened the sheets.
Eventually, a guard was called to bundle her up in the bedding and cart her away. She was carried out of the palace, out into the daylight, and then into some underground space.
Eventually she was dumped on the floor of a large room filled with people, where the light was dim and the air was a humid funk. Somewhere nearby, a woman was screeching about how she couldn't stay here, that the ceiling was coming down on her, that she was being crushed by all the people, and she had to get out get out GET OUT.
Mai agreed, but remained on the floor, crying silently to herself.
There was no getting out of some prisons.
The day passed.
As did another.
And another.
And another.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW
Eventually, even complete despair becomes boring, and if there's anything Mai absolutely could not tolerate, it was boredom.
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