#or why zuko fought in his agni kai

[rosered12]

While there's quite a few changes in the live action atla that I have thoughts and opinions on, good and bad, one that's very simple but makes me very confused is why Katara's necklace isn't mentioned at all the whole season???

Like it's definitely a part of a bigger issue of taking away Katara's anger about her mother's death and making her more mellow, but still. It would have only taken her mentioning it like once or twice and then Paku talking about it and I would've been ok, but they don't? Even though it's a kinda of a big deal in the original season but it's, relatively speaking, a small detail, I don't understand why they would leave out.

[sokkastyles]

It does bother me how big an emphasis there is on criticizing the live action atla adaptation for depicting Zuko fighting back in the agni kai. It's giving vibes of people needing Zuko to be a pure victim, when that misses the point of Ozai's manipulativeness.

It reminds me of a scene from the movie Good Will Hunting, in which the main character describes how his abusive father would put a belt and a wrench on the table and ask his son to choose. Will says he always chose the wrench "because fuck him, that's why."

Rather than comparing unfavorably to the original, my hope is that when people look at how the Netflix adaptation chose to depict a different version of the agni kai, they realize that there was actually no version of that scenario that didn't end in Zuko being burned, whether he fought back or not. Ozai wasn't giving him a choice so much as he was manipulating him into believing that he was responsible for his own abuse. And fuck him.

[cobra-diamond]

My Problems With Azula In the Spirit Temple

Spirit Temple feels like a breath of fresh air in a lot of ways, but it also contains a number of lingering foul odors. Here are some of the problems I have with Spirit Temple:

This Version of Casual Bitch Face Azula

Not be confused with Resting Bitch Face Azula. I'm talking her eyebrows raised casually, her aloof expression, flippant demeanor, and very sharp, even jaundice features. I know we’ve seen variants of this Azula before, but this comic's version in the beginning and at the end feels like an amalgam of her characterizations from Book 2, Book 3, and The Search, maybe even Smoke & Shadow a bit. Something feels off about this characterization of Azula. It feels a bit forced and exaggerated.

The Fire Warriors Not Wanting Revenge on Society

Huge missed opportunity. This was an area where Azula and her acolytes could have related to each other and bonded on a personal level; being discarded by their society and their families. The potential was there for the Fire Warriors to be inspired by Azula because the princess of their nation went through the same ordeal as them. They even wore facsimiles of Azula’s clothes. Instead, they want to be Robin Hoods? The fuck? I know why the story did this. It wants to end the Kemurikage plotline and tie Azula to a new, likely comic-erased, plot for Avatar Studios. It’s still a monumental missed opportunity made even worse by the ending.

The Ending

Trash ending. I’ve changed my mind. It’s terrible. It almost sinks the whole comic. Almost, but not quite. One of two outcomes could have occurred for this story: Azula reconciles with the Fire Warriors, or Azula leaves them be, which is what happened. But we needed a more definitive statement from Azula, not Casual Bitch Face Azula flippantly walking off into the sunset. Once again, Azula is walking off alone into a forest, with no clear indication of what will come next for her or what she actually wants.

But the worst part of the ending is her line, “I’ll find new followers, a new place to rule." What complete nonsense. What, is she going to Neverland to rule over the Lost Boys? Skull Island and marry King Kong? This is 100% a result of Avatar Studios' and the franchise’s overall lack of plan surrounding Azula and the Royal Family. Don’t give me this amateur fanfic garbage of her venturing around the world with no money and no allies. The more I look at this ending, the worse it gets.

The Fire Warriors Getting Dropped

This ties into the ending. The franchise has a massive problem of not having people for Azula to talk to, not having anyone in her corner like Iroh was for Zuko. She’s alone in the finale. She’s alone in The Search. Smoke & Shadow is a joke so ignore that crap. And this comic continues the trend.

Being alone is not naturally part of her arc at this point. It's artificial. There should be no shortage of people in the Fire Nation who are willing to befriend the princess, help the princess, woo the princess. The Fire Warriors were clear examples of girls who would admire her, but the franchise chose to turn them into “good” people who just want to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Perhaps the problem is that Azula's allies would be political in nature and the Fire Nation currently lacks the necessary worldbuilding to have political allies for Azula when that would create huge downstream affects for Zuko.

The War Is Not Mentioned

Azula can’t separate her identity with her political role in the Fire Nation, and that's fine, but the franchise needs to be honest about why the Royal Family is so fucked up, why Zuko and Azula fought an Agni Kai, and why Azula is still adversarial to her older brother, because of the war.

The war.

The war. The war. The war.

The war that wiped out the Air Nomads and Southern Water Tribe waterbenders. The war that led Azulon to be an evil sack of shit to his grandson by commanding Ozai to kill him. That war that led Iroh to either be a proud warlord and favorite of said sack of shit Azulon or feckless burnout in the face of his sack-of-shit-to-be brother. The war that led Ozai to have a reason to be brutal and self-serving. The war that led Iroh to convince Zuko to battle his sister and prevent her from being Fire Lord. The war that pinned Zuko and Azula against each other in the first place.

The war, Sozin, and Azulon need to start getting blamed as root causes for a lot of these problems. Ozai is already getting his portion and is starting to get more from Azula. And Iroh doesn’t get off the hook. He failed to challenge his brother to an Agni Kai when clearly any member of the Royal Family can do so according to Zuko's and Azula’s Agni Kai. I need the war to be blamed for destroying the royal family. This comic barely does that.

Azula Was Too Complacent Around the Spirit

We all know Azula is an incredibly brave girl, but she’s also intelligent enough to sniff out danger. Why wasn’t she more forceful in demanding answers from the scary monk? Why did she play the spirit’s game instead of fight it immediately? This isn’t a big problem, but it made the exchange feel a bit forced and Azula experiencing Plot-Induced Stupidity.

The Spirit’s Intentions Were Too Vague

Was it trying to eat her? Why did the monk kick her out? Why couldn’t it “control what happens next”? Why did it think it new how to "redeem" Azula when it demonstrated tat it didn't know her well enough? There were major Coraline vibes in this story, from the Other Mother-esque tactics of giving Azula what she wants, to Azula circling back to the temple when trying to leave. Again, not a big problem, but it made the spirit frustratingly vague.

Azula’s Blank Reaction to the Zuko Monster

Too many blank stares while the Zuko Monster was lambasting her. I think I know what this scene was doing, but, please, if Azula is confused, use some dialogue to express that. If Azula is scared, or overwhelmed, use some dialogue to convey that. The prior scenes already used dialogue very effectively to convey Azula’s perspective.

Too Short

I don’t care about the comic format. I need more of this. The ATLA franchise does not have a character remaining who can hold a candle to Azula’s complexity, psychological damage, inner and moral conflicts, and potential for transformation. The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Brewer? Mystery of Penquan Island? ‘Fuck outta here with that shit. Give me more Crime and Punishment, Azula-edition.

[aimlacely-sapphic]

🔥Fire Lord Zuko Headcanons🔥

My semi-canon compliant headcanons of Zuko after the war with a side of Zukka

Zuko's first few months as firelord are a bit of a mess. He's desperately trying to put together some semblance of functional governance in place of the corruption left in his fathers wake, while simultaneously trying to negotiate peace treaties and settlement agreements with nations his predecessors attempted to destroy.

He's overworking himself, not sleeping enough, forgetting to eat and overall just not doing a great job taking care of himself, convinced if he doesn't take care of things instantly then he's not doing enough.

It all comes to a head once the assassination attempts start getting out of hand. At that point Zuko is simply not sleeping so Sokka, Mai, Tylee and Iroh stage an intervention (you cannot convince me Iroh would stay in Ba Sing Se once things start getting out of hand)

His security get upgraded, Toph gets brought in to vet the staff (she can tell when people are lying!! why wouldn't she get to kick people out of the palace?)

And finally things start to settle down

Once the peace talks and negotiations are done he starts transforming the Fire Nation itself

A lot of people have written about this but I am absolutely convinced that Zuko spends the first year trying to get the palace staff to trust him not to hurt them

By the second or third year they are willing to speak to him and have more than small talk

He goes about making a lot of changes in policy but first he disappears for 2 days only Sokka and his head guard knowing in advance

He goes incognito through dozens of towns and villages

He visits schools (putting his blue spirit skills to use)

He goes to orphanages and homeless shelters

He goes back to the Sun Warriors to tell them about the end of the war and seek advice on how to reshape the way firebending is taught to everyone (and maybe he ends up adopting a dragon egg in the process...)

When he returns to the palace he is ready to transform the nation

He makes it a crime to use corporeal punishment

He brings back old traditions and rule for Agni Kais where they can only be fought by adults against adults provided they both agree to the fight. The Agni Kai stops when a person surrenders or at first burn.

He wanted to completely end the practice of Agni Kais but tradition could not constantly be broken by his reign (according to his advisors) so the changes just make them less common or harmful until they go obsolete

He puts in place programs for veterans to get the treatment and support they need.

He creates a fostering program where children who have been left behind can find love with parents who have lost children or veterans who want to bring love and hope to the world

He works with Aang and Sokka and Master Piandao to create new curriculum for the schools which is historically accurate, brings back culture and joy and teaches students to think for themselves

He includes some of the wisdom from the sun warriors in the new curriculum so that firebending, and really all fighting forms can be taught with their duality in mind. Fire burns but it is also life. Martial Arts can be use to kill, but they are also an art form.

Making the curriculum stick is a longer process but with help from people on the inside, slowly but surely schools start to teach in a better. kinder way

Its around the time of Zuko's 20th birthday when advisors start to bother him about marrying.

It is while trying to avoid their matchmaking that he start realizing that he likes Sokka (he's an oblivious biromantic asexual, why would anyone expect it to take less time)

Not much changes when they get together, they still spar and go to the gardens to feed the turtleducks together, Sokka still makes silly faces behind ambassadors backs, Zuko still goes down to the kitchens to make them a pot of tea to have together witting in his room (the kitchen staff are used to this by now)

But they start sharing more intimacies, finding what feels comfortable for them in the form of hugs that last just a bit longer and chaste kisses on shoulders and cheeks and foreheads.

And when the egg from the sun warriors hatches and a tiny dragon comes tumbling out, they name him Druk and take care of him together

Zuko continues to go on trips incognito a few times a year and it is on one of these trips what he finds a young child alone on the side of the road. When he learns that she has know family he tries to taker her to the orphanage in the town near by. She runs away and there is nothing Zuko is willing to do to get her to go.

She has a grittiness and fighting spirit that reminds Zuko of his younger self, an independent streak and impulsiveness that border on dangerous. And even though Zuko has to leave her that day he can't stop thinking about her as he returns to the palace.

Sokka notices right away and they talk about her, and adoption, and the fact that Zuko needs an heir and end up figuring out that they want a child of their own to raise now that Druk is all grown up

When Zuko next returns to the town he brings Sokka, a legal witness and adoption papers with him.

He introduces her to Druk and when she pets him and falls in love they start to talk to her. She begins to trust them, telling them her name is Izumi and that she doesn't like the orphanage because it reminds her too much of her past.

They stay for a few days getting to know her and when they ask if she wants to live with them she does say yes.

Over time Zuko comes to find balance and love in the peace he created in the Fire Nation<3

Note: I cannot take credit for all of these ideas, some of them come from a bunch of fanfictions I've read over the years and especially Post-Canon Fire Lord Zuko (and his staff) by RejectsCanon

[longing-for-rain]

You said the Aang vs. Ozai fight was just an anime battle because the characters hadn’t even met prior to the fight, so the emotional depth is lacking compared to the Final Agni Kai. So what if the netflix series tried to change things by actually having Aang and "Ozai" meet before the war? What if the Netflix show revealed that Ozai was Aang's friend Kuzon in his previous life?

I’m not sure, I think just because of the characters, there would be no way to give that fight the same depth as Zuko and Azula’s.

Because at the end of the day, Ozai doesn’t personally care about Aang. He’s an evil dictator and views Aang as an obstacle—an insignificant one at that, due to Ozai’s racism. Aang doesn’t care about Ozai personally either. He just wants to stop the war and Ozai represents the war. The stakes here are purely political, not personal. It would be more personal if Aang also viewed it as a revenge thing, but he clearly doesn’t.

Any kind of emotional relationship simply wouldn’t exist between them. I could maybe see Netflix trying to pull some bs to make it deeper but I hope they don’t because like I said…there isn’t a lot of room to give these characters a deep connection.

Zuko and Azula on the other hand, had a beautiful and tragic relationship that culminated in their duel. Two siblings raised in an abusive environment who clearly want to love each other but have been pit against one another their whole lives. Zuko always resented Azula for being the favorite and desperately tried to match her strength. Azula feared being put in Zuko’s role so fought desperately to maintain her favorite status, all while holding a secret resentment towards Zuko for being kinder and more loved.

There are high stakes here, and Zuko and Azula’s duel is about so much more than war. It’s personal, and the somber, tragic framing makes that obvious. Then, there is the added layer of Zuko and Katara’s relationship—how Zuko, a Prince who once considered himself above everyone else, set aside his life for a waterbender without hesitation. Then the framing again. Slow motion, emotional, raw, personal. The emotion of Katara defeating Azula and rushing to Zuko’s side to save his life in turn.

I stand by the opinion that the final Agni Kai was the best scene in the show, and that’s why. It perfectly completes the stories of Zuko, Azula, and Katara (although iffy about Azula—I’m still an Azula redemption fan but even so this is an important event for her character). It’s so emotional and intense. Beautiful animation and soundtrack. I’m sorry but I don’t think any iteration of Aang v Ozai could top that.

[lennons-lemonade]

I have thoughts….. about the live action ATLA series

we as a fandom have been talking about the changes made to katara (rightfully so, they were INSANE). but when are we as a fandom going to talk about the differences in Zuko’s character? because what do you mean he fought his father and WON?!?!?? maybe this was a fanon thing, but i never thought he was meant to be a very good firebender? ESPECIALLY at the start of the series!!! Like- he spends time learning, he has a breakdown during a lightning storm trying to improve!! so much of the live action made him seem more powerful than i ever thought he was meant to be???? ALSO why was his scar so TINY????! my parents seriously thought he had a birthmark or something!

because i love certain changes they made but it also kind of feels like everyone has been mischaracterized??? katara lost all of her edge, sokka lost his mini-arc of self improvement, zuko lost the base of his inferiority complex (inadequacy) and aang lost his discipline (What do you MEAN he hasn’t been training with katara during their trip??? they would have thought of that!)

BESIDES THAT! If I were azula and my brother who was supposed to be a loser, beat our dad, THE FIRELORD, in an agni kai, only to be the bigger person and not hurt him??? yeah man, i’d be insecure and afraid i’d be losing my position with my father too!!!! i would have been afraid the moment ozai ended up on the ground!

and then Ozai keeps acting like he wants Zuko back??? and like cares about his return???? and that soooooo threw me off. whenever they point out that zuko’s hunt was a wild goose chase and then show a scene of his dad being invested in his return??? like???

Idk. i liked a lot of aspects of the show, but i think some of their changes were definitely strange & they could have done way better

[piratefishmama]

Everything wrong with the liveaction Avatar and WHY.

in my own personal opinion that nobody need agree with me on.

Zuko fought back in the Agni Kai against his father.

Okay so, so far, there's been a lot of people trying to explain why this was wrong with the very limited space on twitter, i'm going to do it here, on tumblr, where i have unlimited space, whee. In the original show, Zuko, with pure terror in his heart, got down on his knees, begged, and pleaded for forgiveness that his father would not give, before being burned and banished for his weakness and disrespect. This gave the audience the impression that Ozai was fucking terrifying. His power was beyond comprehension, and he was so scary that his own son, his own progeny, would still be TOO AFRAID of him, to even dare cross him. Even at the cost of his honour. Ozai wouldn't even grant mercy to his own terrified son, scarring his face, a part of Zuko that he could never hide, so everyone would forever see the proof of Zuko's dishonour and shame. Ozai was awful. In every single way, but he was also terrifying. The Live Action version had Zuko fighting back. Not only did it have him fighting back, it also had him obtain an actual chance to win that fight. Now, an Agni Kai, is a fight between firebenders where the first person to be burned, loses. Undoubtedly, Ozai had many oppportunities to burn his son from the get go, but for a brief moment, Zuko has the upper hand, right here

It's right here, that Zuko could have won an Agni Kai against his father, the firelord, and big bad of the entire series, right out of the gate, before he'd even hit adulthood. Pathetic. Dont get me wrong, it's a cool scene, but it greatly diminishes how scary Ozai is supposed to be. Zuko has the strength to fight back, he's scared, but he's not paralyzed with fear, he's able to fight back, and damn near almost WIN. Shit's pathetic. Ozai almost got his shit rocked by a teenager. Who isnt even the avatar. Cartoon Ozai was a terrifying monster who had the actual avatar so scared he was having recurring nightmares about rocking up to the big fight without pants, this dude's just a terrible father with superpowers.

The Face Stealer Koh

In the original cartoon, Koh was introduced as a spirit old enough to know who and what the real world forms of the ocean and moon spirit were. A creepy stealer of faces who hunted by causing reactions in people. Stealing their faces wouldnt kill them, they just. Wouldnt have a face. In the live action, he appears in the 'Hei Bai' episode and hunts in the fog of lost souls, y'know, the place in Korra where lost souls get stuck in their worst memories? Then he cocoons them, and eats their faces. Like, full on eats them. And for some reason he was the one who grabbed the lost villagers in the Hei Bai episode, not Hei Bai. It's weird. Pretty sure one of them maybe got eaten, idk. Unclear. Gross and unclear.

Hei Bai plothole

Not so much a plothole as just... something missing. Hei Bai is seen in his 'distressed spirit' form, he's seen, his pain and distress is acknowledged multiple times, and the reason why he's distressed is seen, but he's never shown to be soothed. Aang buries an acorn in the ground near his damaged statue, but it never shows Hei Bai being soothed. In the cartoon he had to be handed the acorn to see it, to understand the implication and be calmed, if just burying an acorn in the ground would have worked, he'd have never been upset, because he'd have been able to see it himself in the ruins of the forest with there being acorns all over the place.

Wan Shi Tong cameo in Hei bai's foggy spirit forest

Dude why tf are you out of your library? Your foxes venture out into the world to find you things, get back to your library, what the hell r u doin out there?

WE DIDNT NEED TO SEE THE AIR NOMAD GENOCIDE

WE DIDN'T NEED TO SEE THE AIR NOMAD GENOCIDE

Gyatso's underwhelming skeletal remains.

In the cartoon they found him surrounded by dead firebender soldiers, having solo'd a ton of them by himself, an old man, a monk, all on his own. Giving the impression that either he fought them off until he fell, or he removed out the air in the room suffocating them all and himself. Both entirely badass ways to go. In the live action the firelord walks through his frankly impressive wall of airbending in a cool 'oo i'm on fire' trick, and burns him alive in front of a bunch of air nation children. The fucking dishonour on your whole goddamn family whoever decided upon that scene, jesus christ.

Azula wasn't scary

She was just... meh.

The Only Good Thing About the Avatar Live Action series.

Big spirit fish go brr.

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Episode 6: Overall Thoughts.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It made the least changes from the original, which means I have nothing really to commend it on that the original didn’t already do, but at the same time, I don’t have anything to complain about either. In isolation, it is a very good episode of television. In isolation, it’s the best episode yet, but I have a harder time crediting it because most of the good stuff in here is from the original. Onto the specifics:

This episode continued the trend I don’t love of Aang being just a vessel for cliché heroic lines. I get that the show is supposed to have a more mature tone, and maybe some of Aang’s more childish traits wouldn’t have translated well, but they could have at least put SOMETHING interesting in there.

In terms of the Aang/Roku scene, I didn’t love it. I don’t like this “the avatar must not have friends” dilemma the show is pushing. It’s tired. We’ve seen it in every fantasy show. A variation of this could work as part of Aang’s work, but it doesn’t work as his central conflict. It’s too overdone.

Also, Katara wasn’t in this episode, so I couldn’t get annoyed at them for butchering her character. Definite plus.

Another plus was June! Didn’t love her flirting with Iroh but she was fun and entertaining. Arden Cho did a wonderful job. I hope they bring her back more, she’d be a great recurring fun character to have around.

I did love all the stuff with Zuko. I loved the juxtaposition between younger, idealistic, naive Zuko and current, hardened Zuko. Even though live action Zuko is softer than animated Zuko, this episode really did a good job of showing how he has been hardened by his experiences, relative to what he once was. I liked his conversation with Aang, and how the two clearly have a connection despite their circumstances. I generally like it when those types of stories are played out in a non-romantic context because it’s so rare. A lot of the lines between them were a bit cliché, but they worked (except for the line going right into the flashback where Aang was like “You can’t have always been this way. That one was a little heavy handed).

In terms of the flashback itself:

Younger Zuko seems softer and more naive than animated Zuko, which works with the way we see Zuko here. He had a lot of good lines, especially his line about giving the weak a chance. I know some people didn’t like that he fought back against Ozai in the Agni Kai, but to me it worked. It showed that he was still trying to please his father, and just how willing he was to sacrifice his morals to do it (though not willing enough for Ozai).

Speaking of Ozai, I find it interesting how he’s portrayed here. The original show portrayed him as very uncaring, willing to banish Zuko for disobedience but not really caring if he came back. Here it almost seems like he genuinely thinks this is good parenting, like he genuinely believes this will make Zuko stronger. Obviously he’s still horrible and abusive, but I actually think it works better than the original. It goes hand in hand with how he seems to really think he’s doing the right thing for the world with the FN (because newsflash…that’s what imperialism is!) A villain who really thinks they’re right is always more interesting than one who just wants power and is horrible. I think they could do interesting things with him and I’m intrigued.

Iroh was really sweet in this episode. I liked that he tried to stop Ozai from having the Agni Kai, and that he was with Zuko afterwards. It always puzzled me why he didn’t do that in the first place, and while Iroh having flaws makes sense (he should have flaws!) that particular flaw didn’t seem right, so I liked that addition.

And rounding out the fire family flashback (haha alliteration!) we have Azula. She didn’t really do anything here but the bangs were a great choice! I found it a bit weird that the camera kept zooming in on her expression during Zuko’s burning, but her expression was very neutral. It’s another change I like from the original. I think Azula smiling in the original works and is super interesting, but this show is clearly taking steps to make her more humanized right off the bat, which I appreciate as an Azula stan who has to deal with…many people who don’t see her as human. I’m not sure what to make of her expression, but I did notice that it’s the same one she used when Ozai burned the spy in episode 3 (good job Lizzy Yu!) It seems like a mix of fear and joy and detachment, like she’s trying to relish it but also she knows it could happen to her, but she doesn’t want to admit that, and also she just wants to detach from what’s happening. It can be interpreted in many ways!

One minor thing: I didn’t like that this Agni Kai was outside. The really dark, all red, fiery throne room looked a lot more menacing. And they literally already have that set! Having it outside made it look so much more mundane.

Back to the present:

Blue Spirit escape sequence was great! Again, basically torn from the original so no surprise there. I appreciate that they didn’t feel the need to change everything, and the mask looked great. I also loved Iroh’s last line about the mask being the real you. That’s a theme that could come back for a number of characters (Aang, Zuko, Katara, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee…) And I did get this spoiled, but the addition of Zuko’s crew being the 41st was great. Lovely. Super sweet. A wonderful way to pull at the heartstrings.

I’ll give this episode a 9/10. A very strong episode of television, but I can’t give it a 10 because the strongest stuff is plucked from the OG.

[mal3vol3nt]

Do you think Azula would’ve won the fight against Zuko and Katara if she was in a better mental state

would she have beaten zuko? hm yea probably

katara? i don’t think so

it’s clear that the only reason her and zuko were on equal footing during the final agni kai was because of her slipping mental state. he could tell there was something off and knew that gave him an advantage even if he fought her without katara’s help

it goes without saying that azula’s bending is more powerful and precise. yes zuko met the dragons, and that awarded him new motivation and understanding of firebending, but it didn’t automatically strengthen his bending skill. it changed his fighting style though and that gave him an advantage over her as azula couldn’t easily overwhelm him anymore like she used to. had she been sane, she probably would have noticed this change in him and stopped trying to overwhelm him—he’s not as predictable anymore so she needs to fight him like he’s a brand new opponent and not the family scapegoat. but, azula’s quick and she lacks a moral compass even when sane. i’m sure she would have found a way to get zuko out of the way. her sloppiness and willingness to cheat by directing her lighting at katara left zuko incapable to fight. her willingness to cheat would still be there as a sane opponent and she’d be more precise with it too. i have no doubt she’d be able to beat zuko

katara on the other hand is a quick-learner, a prodigy and master in her own right, and has experience witnessing azula’s fighting style. firebending is more aggressive and offensive in nature, and it’s clear many firebenders like azula bend so that they are the attackers rather than the ones dodging and protecting themselves against attacks. waterbenders, however, are fluid. they move in a push-and-pull manner and can therefore sense and switch easily between both attack and defense. so azula, who’s almost always in the attack, isn’t always checking to make sure her offense is strong. and when she is fighting a skilled waterbender like katara, who keeps up her offense even while attacking, being able to switch between offense and defense is crucial. attacking leaves you momentarily vulnerable and katara would likely see that and strike, just as she did in canon with azula’s slipping mental state. it’s why we frequently see katara get an upper hand on azula whenever they fight in canon and post-canon. azula strikes, leaving herself vulnerable, and katara puts up her offenses (protects herself) while also striking

take this scene for example. she surrounds herself in water, protecting herself from her vulnerabilities as she strikes her opponents. she’s moving between defense and offense. this makes her such a capable opponent against azula even when azula is in a clear state of mind. so if the agni kai happened while azula was clear headed, i think katara would have eventually found an in and gotten the upper hand

but really, azula’s subdued sanity is honestly the whole reason the agni kai even happened. a sane azula would have never accepted zuko’s challenge to a duel. she was already awarded the birthright. zuko’s a traitor, an outcast, and has no right to the throne anymore. she’d gain absolutely nothing by entertaining his challenge and would probably laugh in his face and have him and katara arrested. she wouldn’t put herself in a position where her fate is dependent on a 1v1 or 1v2 fight, especially when that fate is already waiting for her

[ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1]

WHY I LOVE ATLA- Part 2

-Symbolism

In the first part, I explained why characters were such an important part of the show. And we loved watching that well-written and brilliant characters.

And in this part, I'll be explaining the best symbolism examples I've seen in the series. A:TLA sure did an awesome job with using symbols in a meta way.

1-) Zuko's Fever Dream:

During the dream, we see Zuko scar-less and as the Fire Lord. We can assume that this version of himself is the best one he hoped to become.

No scar = No shame = Honor

Zuko isn't disgraced and dishonored since he doesn't have the scar. And he became the Fire Lord as he was supposed to be since he was the crown prince.

And not to mention, he literally looks like a younger and softer version of Ozai here. It's already comfirmed by the creators that Ozai was indeed designed to look like an older Zuko with no scar.

So basically, Zuko's idealized version of himself is Ozai. Just look at how cold and serious he appears here. Only until he sees his reflection in Ursa's eye...

And then, he "wakes up" as Aang. Not surprising considering the fact that capturing the avatar was the one and only way of restoring his honor.

2-) The Dragons:

The dragons, Ran and Shaw are the original firebending masters. And their dance somewhat reminds me of Yin-Yang symbol.

Which makes sense since Aang and Zuko also found out the true meaning of fire here. It's life. It's death. It's balance. Fire is destruction but it's also creation. There's a balance in it. And that's the point of true firebending. It's all about balance.

But it's also surprising that there was also red and blue dragons in Zuko's fever dream

The blue one, telling Zuko to sleep, was voiced by Azula's voice actress. And the red one, telling Zuko to get out of there, was voiced by Iroh's voice actor. They're whispering to Zuko's ears on the both sides of his shoulders, almost like a devil and an angel advising him.

And it makes complete sense because Iroh and Azula are the most influential people in Zuko's decisions. Azula is the devil here, manipulating Zuko, leading him to darkness and destruction, and to the negative side of the fire. Iroh, on the other hand (or on the other shoulder that is?) is the angel, actually caring for Zuko's well-being, leading him to kindness and creation, to the positive side of the fire.

And this dragon symbolism really reaches the top tier point when we see Sozin and Roku's dragons.

Sozin's dragon is blue, just like the one in Zuko's dream which was voiced by Azula (Grey DeLisle) whereas Roku's dragon is red, just like the one that voiced by Iroh (Greg Baldwin).

So the whole red-blue dragon thing actually symbolizes Zuko's inner struggles and bloodline. Iroh, Roku and the red dragon are his conscience. The side that leads him to positive use of fire.

Azula, Sozin and the blue dragon are his ruthlessness. The side that leads him to negative use of fire.

3-) Zuko's Grunts

Before learning the true form of firebending from dragons, Zuko's source of his bending was anger. He used to rely on anger and agression when he was firebending. So whenever he was firebending, we were hearing him grunting and screaming.

And it's also because he was using his muscles during bending, not his breath as Iroh was trying to teach. So no wonder he had a body like that in book one.

But after learning the true form of firebending, Zuko learns to control his anger, and no longer relies on his muscles.

That's why he no longer grunts during firebending. And it creates a great contrast between his agni kai fights.

When he fought Zhao, he was pretty aggressive and angry. But when he fought Azula, he was calm and collected.

And what makes this development even more impressive was Azula's fall. Because once a cold and calculating princess has now fallen from grace.

Zuko fought with the confidence and grace that Azula once had.

Azula fought with the anger and agression that Zuko once had.

And this contrast is both impressive and tragic at the same time.

4-) The Lightning and Abuse

In the Fire Nation, lightning is described as a rare gift that only really talented firebenders are capable of.

We haven't seen Sozin lightning bending, but he does a similar move with the volcano instead. So we can assume he could generate lightning as well.

It's the same case with Azulon. We never saw him bending lightning (we didn't even see him bending though). But he's known to be an extremely powerful firebender. So much that Ozai named his favorite, powerful kid after him. Therefore we can assume he was capable of bending lightning as well.

But what we know for sure is Ozai and Azula were perfectly capable of generating lightning.

Right after the eclipse, Ozai was able to bend a massive lightning very quickly with little sunlight. Showing how powerful he is, which is scary.

And only creating a much greater one when he faced Aang during Sozin's Comet.

Azula also bends lightning perfectly. She was even able to bend it during a severe mental breakdown, despite the fact that Iroh stated, lightning bending takes full concentration and a clear mind.

Not surprisingly, Azula was able to control its voltage as well, she hits Sokka with very low voltage in The Search.

And she can create lightning balls in The Search too, used it againts a giant wolf spirit.

And of course, she learned how to redirect it in Smoke and Shadow comics too.

But what about Iroh and Zuko?

We know Iroh can generate lightning too. But he never uses it. And Zuko has never seen to bend it.

But instead, they specialize in redirecting it.

Because in the Fire Nation Royal Family, lightning is the symbol of abuse.

From Sozin to Azulon, from Azulon to Iroh and Ozai, from Ozai to Zuko and Azula. Each generation carries the toxicity and abuse in the family. And lightning is a very spot on metaphor for this situation.

->Ozai tried to kill his own son with a lightning, so did Azula.

->Ozai tried to kill Aang with lightning, Azula made it.

->Both Ozai and Azula tried to kill Zuko with lightning, but both failed due to Iroh.

->And Azula's lightnings gave both Zuko and Aang scars.

But if lightning is a meta symbol for abuse, then it means redirecting it must be breaking this cycle, right? Absolutely.

Because if Iroh didn't teach Zuko how to redirect it, he would be dead.

And if Zuko was dead, there would be no one there to teach Aang lightning redirection. Which means Aang would also be dead.

5-) Ozai and Azula's Resemblance

In my previous posts, I already said that Zuko looks nearly identical to his father whereas Azula seems to be similar to both her parents but resembled her mother more...

Except for a certain moment.

Lightning is Azula's signature move (along with her iconic blue flames). But it's only too meaningful that her father looks so much like her after doing her signature move.

->Both are tilting their heads with a similar angle,

->Both are surrounded with their flames,

->Both have shadows on their faces,

->Both have mad, pissed off expressions,

I believe it's one of the many moments connecting father and daughter, and pointing out their similarities.

[zuko-always-lies]

Ozai: You will fight for your honor. Young Zuko: [Frontal shot; kneels on his knees and forearms, while looking at the floor.] I meant you no disrespect. [Gazes up at his father, tears shimmering in his eyes as his voice starts to waver.] I am your loyal son. Ozai: [Far off frontal shot of Zuko as Ozai's shadow and eventually his head come into view.] Rise and fight, Prince Zuko! Cut to a side-view from behind some of the spectators as Ozai reaches Zuko, who lowers his head to the floor again. Young Zuko: I won't fight you. Ozai: You will learn respect, [Zuko pushes himself up on his knees and hands. Cut to a frontal shot of Zuko as he starts to shake.] and suffering will be your [Zuko looks up at Ozai, tears streaming down his face.] teacher.

I really think that Ozai would have been proud of Zuko if Zuko had fought back during the Agni Kai. He would have still burned him, as part of the Agni Kai, but not as badly and he certainly wouldn't have banished Zuko. Zuko would have proven his willingness to defend his honor and words and thus shown he was "worthy" of being treated as crown prince. Ozai would probably have invited Zuko to future war meetings, instead of excluding him.

None of this changes the fact that Ozai is an awful, abusive parent perpetuating an awful, abusive, imperialist culture, but there's a certain method to his abuse and why he acts like he did.

[sokkastyles]

So, I've been following your blog for a while, which means I've had a front-row seat to your progression from courteous but stern, to just completely losing patience with Azula stans and their bad takes, lol. On the one hand, I would recommend being less combative as that might lead to seeing bad faith where only ignorance is present. On the other hand, I completely understand the frustration with these people who insist on:

looking for anyone but Ozai to blame for the way she turned out;

trying to retcon all the bad things Azula did as having been done with secretly benign motives (no, she was not trying to warn her brother about their dad killing him, she was using it to scare him *facepalm*);

acting like an abuser having a few moments where they're nice to their victim somehow means they're not abusive;

acting like children cannot be abusive (which is why bullying famously never happens in schools /s);

acting like Ursa and Iroh could have just whisked Azula away from Ozai and his abuse- as if he wasn't the most powerful man in the world at the time (they couldn't even save Zuko, who had to be banished in order for Iroh to help him);

acknowledging that Ozai was an abusive narcissist, yet continuing to try to validate his worldview (such as the myth of Azula's inherent superiority);

Etc, etc, etc.

It's also how I feel about some of the anti-Zutara takes I've seen where it really seems like the person hasn't even watched the show (such as insisting that Katara would never date Zuko because she still hates him somehow?)(There is no Southern Raiders hug in Ba Sing Se). They both use the same kind of selective perception and misleading wording in order to obfuscate what they're actually talking about and what actually happened in the show, e.g. referring to Zutara as a "colonizer/colonized" ship à la Pocahontas even when Zuko explicitly denounced his nation's imperialism and fought to dismantle it. Or describing the Last Agni Kai as Zuko "showing up to his little sister's house and exploiting her mental state in order to beat her up" when it was actually him and Katara trying to stop Azula's coronation because she was hellbent on continuing the Fire Nation's genocidal regime. They really love pulling a Ship of Theseus with their wording, lol.

One thing I wish everyone could do in the discourse, though, is to draw a fine line between the series and the comics and make it clear when we're talking about which because the comics have... different interpretations of the characters (*cough* Aang agreeing to kill Zuko *cough*). Looking at the discourse, I often feel like people are having two different conversations because one is basing their analysis on the information the show gave us, while the other is basing their analysis on what the comics gave us- which often contradicts what we saw in the show. So they both end up talking past each other because they can't reconcile the inconsistent characterizations that canon left us with.

Even the places where the comics don't outright contradict what we see in the show still sometimes feel incongruent and lead to bad takes. Like, I personally saw Azula's hallucination of Ursa in the finale as a temporary thing that was caused by the stress of her mental breakdown and her mind searching for reasons for why everything fell apart ("All your life you used fear to control people"), not a biochemical thing; however, the comics decided to go in the direction of giving her a full-on psychotic disorder. While this wasn't wrong per se, I feel like it was poorly handled and not only weakened her character, but also gave her stans yet another way to deflect from criticism via accusations of ableism (as if the misleading accusations of misogyny weren't enough).

I just wish that people would stop with the vague gesturing and word games and be more precise in explaining what they're actually talking about and where they got that information from (such as the idea that Ursa never hugged Azula????), so I understand your desire to just bulldoze through the BS, even if it's worded more harshly than how I would put it lol.

Keep up the good metas!

(Sorry this got way longer than I expected)

I agree with a lot of what you say here, including Azula's hallucinations in the comics. But the problem with this particular argument is not that they are pulling information from multiple sources. The idea that Ursa never hugged Azula doesn't come from anywhere. It cannot be backed up by anything. And people who insist that their bizarro misogynistic abuse apologist headcanons be considered as facts are not making good faith arguments, and nobody owes them politeness. These arguments should be shut down with as much prejudice as possible. They should be laughed out of the fandom.

I do get the impression that some of these stans are just repeating what big name fans have already said, and a lot of these arguments are circle jerks. But they are spreading around information that is actually really harmful, like the idea that people can always prevent abuse if they try hard enough and therefore we should put blame on anyone other than the abuser. Nobody who says that with their whole chest is owed politeness, and it is not my job to educate them. The best respons is to laugh and move on, but these arguments are so prevalent in the fandom that it is incredibly frustrating. I block pretty liberally and still see these arguments come up, hence me losing patience with it.

You're also right that the point of their arguments is to obfuscate the perception of what actually happened on the show, and that's why I keep saying this is abuser logic. It has a lot in common with cult rhetoric, too, the attempt to manipulate events so that what actually happened didn't happen. People who use this kind of rhetoric want you to give them an opening, such as engaging in a "discussion" where there actually is no discussion. We cannot discuss whether Ursa or Iroh are to blame for how Azula turned out because there is no discussion to be had. They just aren't to blame. But people who use manipulative rhetoric tactics will try and engage in that discussion. That's why these people always fly into a rage when I block them and end the discussion, because they have no foothold if you don't engage with them.

You do not need to be polite to manipulative people. You don't owe them an argument or your time.

[mushyposts]

New ocs 👀

Or is just pov and I am confused 🤔

Either way I am so excited to see!!!!!

I also am kinda wondering what are you fire Nation laws?(Everyone has different ones)

not a new OC! Som very special people are getting POV's in the next chapter hehehe... Im not too sure what you mean by laws, so im gonna take it as a general "What are the major laws thatll effect the fic" kind of thing! The Fire Nation has legal banishment for everyone, which I mentioned offhandedly in the fic. You can send a document to the Fire Lord, but usually its seen by his representatives for that area, to get someone you are legally in charge of (your children, adopted or not, anyone ur the legal guardian of, OR if they've committed treason under the military branch ur in control of! although that can sometimes open u up to speculation, why are so many in ur command questioning our great nation??? What are you teaching them?) banished, this can be conditional (like Zuko's was) or it can be permanent. Sexuality isnt spoken about, theres technically no laws around homosexuality as it isnt even given as an OPTION, the only law that mentions it is that any relationship not mentioned by Agni's words, is not permitted and is seen as a crime against Agni, and is punishable by conditional banishment or even death in some spaces. Since Sozin removed any mention of homosexuality, polyamory, or honestly any relationship/gender outside the cishet binary, this means that without even MENTIONING the idea of homosexuality, as they did not want to even give a name to it as name is power, they've made it functionally illegal. Agni Kai MUST be fought between the parties who initiated it. The one who asks, the one who accepts, unless the Fire Lord says otherwise. This includes him taking the place of, or even permitting (read: Forcing) others to take place for either party. This is meant to be used to protect members who may be unable to properly fight, but still need to have their honour protected. It is. NOT used in that way, usually used as a way for two people engaged in an Agni Kai to try get as better fighter as they can OR Ozai may swap strong benders for weaker one where he wishes another party to win. There arent many laws around women or men's roles. Its more so centric around bender or non-bender. If you can bend, you're expected to do military service on the battle grounds. If you cant, then youre expected to do compulsory military service as a desk worker or something of the sorts. very low ranking, but still something. Very rare for non-benders to climb up the ranks, this got more prevalent during Ozai's rule. I think for the most part the Fire Nation would rule through the unsaid, the inexplicit. Propaganda, subtle laws, technicalities. Keeping their nation as in the dark as they can, lack of proper education/severely distorted education (This is displayed in canon too when Aang goes to the fire nation school.) and it was done slowly, subtly over the years of the war, through twisted narratives. I do believe in explicit laws being present, of course, but I also think sometimes the most dangerous of things said, is what is left unsaid. Lack of explicit, direct legislation, also would give Ozai the opportunity to use loopholes, or consistently falling on Agni's word seeing as he is Agni's will on earth, he can do whatever TF he wants. Less explicit, the better for him in the long run. UH! Thats all I can think of at this point hehe. Also to be clear I havent actually watched LOK, nor have I read all the comics, so this is all based on my own world building after years of obsession w ATLA and atp im too attached to it to let the other stuff change my mind i am SORRY... I also just dont have time ot read all the comics and watch LOK.

[blodgmonster]

Thoughts on live action Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Not that anyone actually wants my take.

It's solidly in the middle. Not as horrible as that wrteched movie. Obviously, it's not as amazing as the original series. It was never going to be. It was NEVER going to be as good as the original. You can't top perfection. I don't hate it. I don't love it. Below the cut (for spoiler free...ness) are my likes and dislikes. Probably not all of them. I'm sure I forgot some.

LIKES

Iroh. His characterization was good and I like that it kind of addressed the fact that he's a war criminal. Our beloved war criminal.

Azula. I've always adored her and was worried they'd wreck her. Obviously, I want to see her blue fire, but she was clever and badass, and we saw her insecurities. And went she lightning bent? * chef's kiss * That's my girl. Also, glad they didn't have her grinning like a sociopath when Zuko got burned.

Kyoshi. They leaned HEAVILY into the fanon interpretation of her and she wouldn't have yelled at Aang but she was badass.

Aesthetics. The show looked good.

Jun and Nyla. Perfect

The line "You are the fire in which her iron was forged." Fantastic.

Yue. Less wishy washy, more proactive. Also, a waterbender who sometimes chills in the spirit world. Good for her. And no love triangle.

Big fish fuckin things up!

Sokka. The actor did a good job.

"Kick his ass." Sokka being fully supportive of Katara

Katara bringing all the women to the battle.

Having Zuko's crew be the division he got his scar for was a cool touch.

DISLIKES

Zuko fought back against Ozai in the Agni Kai? I think NOT. That's the whole point. Ozai attacked a CHILD who refused to fight back. That shows the depth of his evil. Why erase that?

Did Aang just...leave my boi Hei Bai raging and in pain?

Aang never learned waterbending!? Didn't even try? Why???

Where was Katara's rage? Yes she's hopeful and motherly and in touch with her feelings but she's also fucking angry and she's right and it's great. But cutting that, they made her one dimensional.

Cutting Sokka's character growth, wherein he learns to respect women. "It was problematic." Yeah, dude, that's the point. He was in the wrong and had to learn that.

Suki. They made her...less than somehow. Less capable. Less strong. Ogling Sokka? Unnecessary. Saying he brought the world to her? Lame.

BUMI. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Bumi was so BITTER and CRUEL to Aang! It made me so mad. Yes, he's unhinged but he's also a playful genius

Aang was kind of wooden. They cut his joyful, playful nature. But that's at Aang'd core. Why cut that? And he sides with PAKKU when he says Katara can't fight? EXCUSE YOU? No. He calls him Master Poophead and teaches her himself.

Cramming all the spirit world stuff into one episode was weird. Koh, Wong Shi Tong, and Hai Bei all in one go? And having Gyatso there only to have him leave? What was that? And they stripped Koh of his purpose, telling Aang who Tui and La were.

What was Mai's wig? Good Lord. The wigs in general were meh, but hers was particularly heinous.

Kyoshi and Kuruk yelling at Aang. Too much yelling.

[whoisthatcreepoverthere]

A real fucked up ATLA AU idea hit me while I was cooking, so enjoy headcanons no one asked for (and hopefully this isn't an overdone idea).

Spoilers for the post-war comics and side materials.

When Ursa assassinates Azulon and tampers with his will so Ozai will be crowned Fire Lord, she drugs her sleeping daughter and takes the girl with her, both to protect her and to screw her husband over. As gut wrenching as it is for her to do so, she keeps Azula in a vegetative state until after she and Ikem meet the Mother of Faces, who changes the faces and memories of Ursa and Azula both. Perhaps there's an inquiry made on how to dampen Azula's firebending, so it isn't so obvious, those blue flames are infamous already.

The new identies come with false memories of being a disgraced Fire Nation family who needed to escape their homeland and take refuge elsewhere. The hazy memories of the time Renamed!Azula was down is rewritten as a severe illness she contracted while on the run in both her and her mother's minds. Only Ikem knows the truth and he does not speak of it for years. Like many, the family flees to the Earth Kingdom, specifically Ba Sing Se. With their technical knowledge still in tact, Ikem and Noriko (Ursa's new identity according to the comics) are able to get decent jobs and Renamed!Azula returns to school once she heals.

Back in the Fire Nation Palace, Zuko is even more confused and hurt than his canon self, having lost both his mother and sister. While he's glad Azula doesn't have to experience the horror of Ozai's reign and their father's reaction to being triffled with, he wonders why he was left alone. He wonders if they're even alive, but it's impossible to imagine anyone daring to harm Ozai's beloved princess, certainly his mother is protecting Azula. Right? Still the feeling of abandonment runs too deep to ever disappear.

Ozai is even more abusive to Zuko, enraged that he was left with his "useless" son, the manner of which depends on if Ozai is still capable of having children. Should Ozai still be virile, he remarries and has a 3rd child, banishing and largely disinheriting Zuko for something trivial just after the new royal is born. Agni Kai and all. Should the Fire Lord be past his prime, Zuko is begrudingly kept in the Palace as Crown Prince, but Ozai does his damnedest to mold Zuko into what Azula was. This Zuko is covered in hundreds of scars and barely hanging on by a thread. Nearing a breakdown at barely 13-14, Iroh manages to give him an opportunity to leave home, providing the Prince a chance to run. Naturally, Iroh joins him and enter the Earth Kingdom as refugees much like they did in canon.

It's the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se where the siblings meet again, of course, they don't recognize each other between Renamed!Azula's new identity and the girl's altered memories. However, Renamed!Azula is curious about this "Lee" who strikes her as familiar somehow and is clearly a lot like her. She wonders if he's secretly a firebender like her and if so, could she convince him to teach her? Hence, she takes to observing him from afar, looking for proofs of his capabilities and leverage for a deal, only pestering him when she thinks she has a way in.

Her behavior reminds Zuko of his lost sister immediately. He wants to cry, laugh and rage. It takes time, but she does fool him into revealing his firebending, and eventually shoehorns him into tutoring her. Before he does, he makes her meet Uncle Mushi (Iroh's alias), who also notes the girl's similarities to Azula. Regardless, that's not the missing Princess's face, not even close. They have no clue if the girl is even alive. Iroh was not hopeful; Azula was proud of who she was and was deeply attached to her father, if she was alive, she would've fought to come home.

Zuko struggles with feeling like he's betraying Azula's memory with how much he comes to view the girl as a sister, but he can't help but seek her out, it's comforting. Iroh comforts his nephew, he knows too well that there's no replacing what was lost, but kindling something familiar makes it bearable. Perhaps Iroh/Mushi has Renamed!Azula follow Zuko/Lee when the boy goes off on his own and she helps him in his time of need.

Perhaps it's in the equivalent of The Crossroads of Destiny that Renamed!Azula's blue flames reappear out of desperation. Perhaps she even defends the Gaang from Zuko. But with less practice and experience, maybe Zuko beats her in this AU, or it's a close draw that still ends with Aang in a questionable state. I think this would be when Zuko and Iroh begin questioning if there's any way the girl could be Azula. In the wake of this experience, Renamed!Azula begins remembering things that slowly drive her mad, what she's seeing in her flashblacks couldn't possibly be true. Right?

I wonder where do they go from here? I feel like she does end up with the Gaang and Zuko's redemption plays out similarly in this AU. Asides from Ikem revealing the truth much sooner and Azula helping Zuko's progress rather than hindering it. The Princess may still have a breakdown of her own over how much of her life has been a lie, being drugged for months, the man she's known as her father isn't her father, her biological father is a tyrant who had full intentions of using her like a war machine, she has an estranged brother and uncle.

I wonder.

[ask-ozai]

Iroh once claimed that before Zuko, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all searched for the Avatar.

I know about Sozin's search, but could you please tell us more about your own and Azulon's searches?

They're state secrets and no one has ever known too many details about the expeditions, but that's Zuko's problem now. And since he just caused an hyperinflation, probably he is too busy to even notice if people start talking about it.

Firelord Azulon was the same age as Zuko when he left to find the Avatar, fourteen, but he was very different from Zuko. At fourteen, my father had already fought and won four Agni Kais, and he never knelt and begged for mercy like a coward. He was the pride and future of the Fire Nation, trained and educated from his earliest age to be the perfect Firelord.

His quest to capture the Avatar led him to the most logical place to start, the Northern Water Tribe, where he was greeted with fear and apprehension given Sozin's recent history with the airbenders. But my father had the gift of persuasion and charisma, much needed in his role as Firelord and world conqueror. They reached a non-aggression agreement with the Chief, which lasted until the last day of my father's life and is the reason why the war barely affected the Northern Water Tribe in a hundred years. My father knew that they couldn't conquer his natural enemies until they conquered the Earth Kingdom first, so he gave them a false sense of security. Better to keep them out of the war for the moment.

He met my mother on that trip, Ilah.

Now, unfortunately, I never knew exactly the circumstances of how they met, nor much about my mother at all. The mere reminder of her existence (and absence) was enough to ignite my father's ire for whole days. No one was allowed to talk about my mother when I was a child. Neither the court, nor the servants, and much less me. The little I know is from Iroh, but he didn't talk much about her either. She was a complete taboo.

But yes, my father fell in love with my mother on that trip and returned home quickly to tell his father that he had found the perfect bride for himself. Sozin refused, for some unknown reason (other than that he simply didn't like women very much, I guess), so my father had no choice but to challenge him to an Agni Kai to fulfill his will to marry. Iroh says that Sozin was dead for two minutes when my father threw him a lightning and won the Agni Kai. Sozin must have been proud. When the healers managed to restart his heart, of course.

I don't have much more to say, because my father's trips were rather brief and sporadic. He and my mother married two years later, when he was sixteen, and remained married for fifty years until my mother's death when I was born.

Once my father organized another search, with Lo and Li in charge this time, who went to look for the Avatar in Omashu, hearing that King Bumi had once been friends with him. It is said that Lo had an affair with him and there is even talk of a secret bastard that they had to hide, but nothing was ever confirmed.

My search for the Avatar was a different matter. I was sixteen years old, and the time had come to show my father my value. Evil tongues will tell you that it was just an excuse to get rid of me, but they were Iroh supporters so their opinion don't count.

I took a ship, a small crew, and Zhao and Michi (the only companions I had even a modicum of confidence in) and we went to search for the Avatar. We traveled throughout the Earth Kingdom for two very long years. We had some adventures, naturally, but nothing worth mentioning until we infiltrated Ba Sing Se pretending to be circus performers. I can't give many details about what happened there, because Michi, Zhao and I swore an oath of silence. And as useless as Zuko is, he can still put Michi in a dungeon. Especially now that her daughter dumped him. And that wouldn't be convenient for anyone.

Let's just say the previous Earth King died under suspicious circumstances.