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First attempt at drawing my OC for Loona's pups Nox and Nova!

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They have some things in common...

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"Azula is pure evil bc she wanted Iroh dead and didn't care that Lu Ten died!"

Have you ever thought that she was just parroting what Ozai said? Bc I highly doubt a child can come up with such things on their own unless they were being influenced by someone.

When Ursa announced that Lu Ten had died you can see in Azula's reaction that, while she didn't react like Zuko, she wasn't happy at all.

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Azula and Ursa: A Complicated Mother-Daughter Relationship

I've been meaning to do this one for a while now but kept on forgetting to do so. The relationship between these two is one that has always interested me because there is so much to it. Unfortunately though the writers have no interest in diving deeper into it because Azula isn't Zuko. It's a shame that they don't explore it further because this right here?

That is a whole lot to unpack. I really hope that these two can reconcile one day (seriously writers just do it already!) because Azula deserves to have a relationship with her mother. Ursa needs to own up to the fact that she wasn't a very good mother to Azula and make up for that. In this meta I will be explaining why Ursa wasn't a good mother to Azula.

Ursa failed to realize why Azula would act out

We all know that little kids do stupid stuff, right? It's a part of growing up. All of us were kids at one point, we all did stuff that we can look back on and think "Wow, that was pretty dumb. Why did I do that?" Sometimes we may have acted out in a way because we wanted attention from our parents or whoever our guardians were because we weren't getting enough attention. These actions could sometimes leas to a negative response from our parents, but that was fine because at least we had their attention.

In that scene in The Search where Azula burns that flower in the garden when she was walking behind Ursa and Zuko, that is exactly why she did it.

In the first panel we see Azula trailing behind Ursa and Zuko as they seem to be enjoying the conversation that they were having. Ursa was giving her full attention to Zuko and wasn't paying Azula any mind at all. So what does Azula do? She burns the first thing that she sees, which is a flower. Now going by what she did to Zuko, she didn't want him to say anything and most likely wanted Ursa to notice it on her own. Either way she got the desired result: Ursa was now taking notice of her. Yes, it was negative attention but it didn't matter. What did matter was that Azula was finally being seen by her mother. Even if it was only for a few short minutes. Ursa then shouts at Azula and tells her to go to her room, and then immediately her focus is back on Zuko.

Now, I don't necessarily blame Ursa for this, not at all. She was making sure that Zuko was ok since Azula just gave him a little burn. However, she failed to realize why Azula acted out that way. And no, Azula burning that flower doesn't mean that she is a sociopath. Keep in mind that this is the FIRE NATION, where people have magical fire powers. Azula was 8 or 9 years old here. What do you expect a kid who is that age with fire powers to do? What would you have done at that age with fire powers?

Ursa only scolded Azula but did not explain why what she was doing was wrong

Now this was something that I honestly found to be odd about Ursa's approach to parenting when I noticed it. If a child does something wrong, it's the parents job to tell them to stop and to explain why whatever it was that they did was wrong, and to not do it again. Now, Ursa does do this. But only with Zuko.

In this scene, Zuko throws a loaf of bread at the turtle ducks. Ursa is shocked at this and gently scolds him. However, she also explained to him why it was wrong. He more than likely did not do it again after this incident.

When Azula burns the flower and then gives Zuko a little burn, all she does is shout at Azula and tells her to go to her room and think about what she did. I really shouldn't need to explain why this is bad parenting right here. And this is what I find to be odd about Ursa's approach to discipline. In my experience as the youngest child, whenever I did something wrong, my parents would scold me obviously, and depending on how bad whatever I did was, I would get hit. However, they never failed to explain why what I did was wrong. By explaining it to me it ensured that I wouldn't do it again. It's assumed that the youngest child often needs things explained to them more than the oldest child since they are younger and don't understand things like the oldest child does. Not to say that the eldest one shouldn't get things explained to them, because they absolutely should. My parents did the same thing with my sister. Seeing as Azula is the youngest child, it's baffling that Ursa never seemed to do that with her.

I have no doubts that this looked a certain type of way to Azula and made her think that something was wrong with her. "Why is she only like that with Zuko? Why is it that whenever he gets into trouble, she's always gentle with him and explains why whatever he did was wrong? What makes him so special? What's so different about me that she can't do the same thing?" These were the thoughts that no doubt ran through her mind, and she most likely felt disconnected from her mother.

Ursa did not try hard enough to connect with Azula

Now before anyone goes "Azula was always with Ozai! He wouldn't let her be around her mother at all because he wanted Azula to train constantly!" I just want to say this: that's a load of shit. That man was not around her 24/7. He was a prince, I'm pretty sure that he had plenty of responsibilities to fulfill, none of which included his children. Azula also wasn't constantly training, there is literally proof in canon that says otherwise. Ursa could have spent time with Azula. And yet we don't get the sense that she did. She was always with Zuko. Which, to a certain point, is perfectly understandable. Ozai did not give Zuko the time of day and treated him like dirt because his firebending didn't reach his expectations. So Ursa wanted to make sure that Zuko knew that he was loved by one of his parents. Which is completely fine. What isn't fine though is how she pretty much neglected Azula. And I get that her situation was hard because she was in a abusive marriage with a man who was also abusive to his kids. But she still could have put in the extra effort for her daughter. She sure did for Zuko. It's obvious that she saw Azula as a difficult child, and thus leaned more towards Zuko, who was easier for her to deal with. I'm sure that she could have found something to bond with Azula. Asking your kids what their interests are can go a long way.

So in conclusion, I don't think that Ursa was a good mom to Azula. Her situation made it difficult, but she could have done more. This doesn't mean that Ursa can't do anything to make up for this though. Azula is only, what, 15? 16? She's still a kid. Ursa has all the time in the world to make up for her mistakes with her daughter. She just needs to put in the effort and realize where she fucked up at with Azula. Of course this all comes down to whether or not the writers ever actually let these two reconcile at some point. I really hope that they do, because I refuse to accept this as an end to they're relationship:

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One thing I want to make clear is that when I say that Ursa is a bad mother I'm NOT saying that she never loved Azula or that Azula is innocent or whatever.

I know Ursa loves Azula but she still didn't love her enough and just bc I love Azula doesn't mean she shouldn't get any karma for what she did but I think being locked in an asylum alone and losing everything is enough considering everything that drove her to do the things she did.

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reasons why iroh hates azula:

1_he is mad that he can't bend blue fire

2_he failed to conquer ba sing se while his niece did it as a side quest

3_he's called the dragon of the west cause he lied about killing the last dragon while azula doesn't need to lie to uplift her status

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Iroh (to Jet): I believe can change their lives if they want to. (Looks to Zuko) I believe in second chances.

Iroh (to Zuko when he suggested getting along with Azula): No, she's crazy and needs to be taken down((tired of writing he original line).

Iroh (when asked to literally save the world):

A brother fighting his brother, history would see it as a senseless fight to gain power.

Iroh (when it's actual senseless fight to gain power between siblings that could've been easily avoided if he wanted to): Zuko, go and fight your sister for the throne despite you being a known and wanted traitor.

Literally saying Azula will be waiting for you, knowing full well that he's basically sending Zuko to die, just because his ass didn't want to fight Ozai, because he believed in Destiny.

I keep saying Zuko the Hijacker, need to give attention to Iroh the Hypocrite too.

Maybe it's because of all the literal suffering I found to be happening in the world right now, but I can't really bring myself to care about Colonizing and Genocidal characters when their entire face turn is done horribly. Zuko gets what he wanted because the good guys(especially Aang) are genuinely good hearted people and give him multiple chances to prove himself. Yet he himself doesn't change much in terms of what is highlighted about his character (he still wants the throne and to beat his sister, despite him standing up to his father). Iroh not only does nothing when things matter most, he gets rewarded for yet again thinking about destiny. Getting to retire in the city he once laid seige to for more than a year? Just because he helped "free" it?(him fighting Ozai with Aang would've been much better to the entire world than choosing to chase glory once again)

I always saw tweets/posts about Zuko having the best redemption arc in history and how Iroh is the best uncle/mentor ever but I saw nothing of this stuff. Maybe because I'm not western so I don't see the hype about colonizers becoming good people that I see with these two characters? I just the bare minimum that would've been amazing if done right and with justice to a story about war and genocide but nope. I don't see or feel the hype.

X

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Just the way they both cover their eyes sometimes when they're upset and angry

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Wanted to draw them as shitty little emo kids drawing on their shoes.

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Another Octavia and Blitz parallel I just noticed, I want them to interact more ngl

like step-father like step-daughter I suppose

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Wake me up when September ends 🍁🍂🌰

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"Azula is pure evil bc she smiled when Zuko was burnt!!!"

Yeah and Zuko had Azula thrown in a mental institution that only made her mental issues worse and never bothered to check on her unless he needed something. Oh yeah he is such a great person...

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We all know canon Zuko has little to no empathy for Azula's pov, but the way he tells her "Those summers we spent here seem so long ago. So much has changed..." in "The Beach" makes me wonder if he actually does have some consideration for her, and knows she can relate to his nostalgia for the better, happier days they shared. If he didn't believe she could understand, I don't think he would voice his thoughts out loud to her in the first place.

The problem is that this leads nowhere. Despite Azula's further efforts to get along with her brother, Zuko exerts zero retrospection in his relationship with his sister. He still needlessly snitches on her to their father. He still doesn't thank her for everything she's done for his since Ba Sing se. He still leaves without saying a word (which he does for Mai). He is still more comfortable with having her as an enemy. He still doesn't as much as try a diplomatic approach with her before Agni Kai.

The fact that it takes Azula almost falling to death and seeing her sobbing uncontrollably on the ground to evoke some emotion for her well-being out of him, should say everything about what kind of sibling Zuko is.

That scene in the Beach episode is a really interesting moment of communication between siblings. I truly believe that Zuko felt comfortable saying this because he knew Azula would understand. But I think the reason for Zuko's lack of interest in her well-being is pretty simple. Aside from the fact that Ozai pitted them against each other, the rivalry, and all the bad blood between them, Zuko has internalized the idea that Azula is perfect and therefore doesn't need any help.

Which is why it literally takes Azula's breakdown for Zuko to start realizing that she can be hurt, too.

But I wouldn't blame Zuko for not realizing it sooner. Would you expect Zuko to be a perfect brother, given the trauma he went through himself? It makes sense that his own abuse didn't let him see Azula's.

And that's also part of Azula's tragedy, Azula got used to acting perfect because she was afraid of Ozai's anger, but it made everyone think that she really WAS perfect and never afraid of anything, which is why no one thought she needed help.

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This image is really interesting. It just gives glimpse of what Azula wishes for and how Azula literally sees her family members.

Iroh: She sees him as a fat old jovial man.

Azulon:(First of all, why is he bending? Does he have back pain or something?) She sees him a weak old man as she earlier addressed in Zuko alone episode.

Sozin: (Why do we have him here? Does anyone know why?) Well, he seems to be happy...Perhaps proud of her achievement or that's what Azula thinks.

Ozai: He is happy with her mother and proud of her. Thats what she really wants.

Zuko: Zuko really looks like his younger version and he does not have his scar. But it is lot like she cannot remember his face without the scar. And one more thing I can add here: Does Azula wish Zuko to be her younger brother or is she remembering zuko how he used to be before everything went down ?

Ruon Jian: She wants a boyfriend that's it. She wants someone who appreciates in every way. She wants to ba normal teenager.

Ursa: Azula wants to Ursa to be happy for her too. She wants Ursa to be there for her like she does for zuko.

And one more thing....

Lu Ten: Why don't we have him here? He should be really present here. We have sozin, azulon, and iroh but not Lu Ten? Why? She should have known Lu Ten personally. It was good opportunity to give glimpse on the fire family but they missed it.

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Imagine if Fire Lord Zuko movie contain Kiyi.

Ngl, I'll cringe so hard to see a character exist to reward Zuko yet her most notable characteristics are directly copied from Azula lol

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The Search: abuse in design

Why this whole scene is so messed-up for Azula:

The reason Ozai declared that he picked Azula as a favorite was because of her firebending. The power Firelord Azulon married him with Ursa to produce. If Azula was not gifted, then she would've been the one he would abandon right away (or keep her reluctantly for another purposes). The Sages and Ursa pleaded him with Zuko but that doesn't mean Ozai would submit to begging twice. The reason he called Azula "lucky" was because no one interfered to protect her from his disappointment and abandonment threat since his condition is met. Yikes.

Furthermore, there is an important element to Ozai dragging Zuko's worth down here for petty reasons (to indirectly hurt Ursa) and that's he is using Azula to do so, which damaged Zuko's bond with his sister and resulted in feelings of resentment and jealousy towards her. This also damaged Ursa's bond (or lack thereof) with her daughter since Ozai's cruelty resulted with her neglecting Azula more in favor of shielding Zuko from Ozai's disappointment since Azula seemingly has her father's approval. So Azula basically become isolated from every support system.

Then this has continued with Ozai using Azula again to convince his father to give him the throne; introducing her early to warfare and combative firebending.

So yeah, his praise here is actually abuse in design, since he's not offering Azula any safety nor unconditional love and basically using her to abuse his family members or to pursue his ambition. (and this treatment continued even after his defeat)

Of course, Azula enjoys the praise/approval/attention she's getting because it's the only constant form of love she had (I'd like to note this scene takes place after we've seen Ursa neglecting Azula in the garden) but she can only get it if she performed to expectations. If she's no longer getting it or if she failed to live up to expectations then that would lead to a threat of abandonment which unravel her fight or flight survival mode and feelings of guilt.

P.S writing this post because this scene focus on Zuko and Ursa, but actually Ozai was abusing his whole family in this scene.