oscar-meir

[oscar-meir]

Avatar The Last Airbender: Choose your favorite character! (Round 1)

#Zhao my beloved #I hate these polls #my people always lose

[oscar-meir]

Is it really Azula if she isn’t dealing with extreme mental/emotional trauma? Loneliness/abandonment, transactional affection, repressed homosexuality, and viewing herself as a monster are essential parts of her character.

writing an azula-zuko role swap

thinking of an azula/zuko role swap au rn... safe to say i'll be posting a ton of art in the next few weeks.

honestly zuko and azula are very different characters (despite being siblings) so i feel if their positions were swapped things would be very different. we need to remember, this is a ROLE swap not a PERSONALITY swap. they'd handle things quite differently. I also don't see iroh being there for azula, either. obviously ozai wouldn't just give up azula - in the series she's his golden child, the prodigy, etc, so i feel like something would've happened. maybe she lost her blue fire, or maybe zuko gains ozai's favour and azula is kinda sidelined? please give me ideas so i can write this properly.

[oscar-meir]

Which person did Zuko treat the best?

This is taking into account how nice the person treated him. So if Character A is always an asshole to him and he's an asshole right back, that's "more OK" that if Character B is always nice to him yet he's still an asshole to her. Meanwhile, if Character C is always a jerk to him but Zuko still treats him well than that's "better" than if Character D treats Zuko well and he responds by treating her well.

I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts in the tags. Ursa isn't on this list because Zuko was only a little kid when she left and didn't really have the opportunity to treat her well or poorly.

#it’s Zhao for me too #Zuko treats Iroh like crap #not that he doesn’t deserve it #he barely interacts with Ozai #and his actions are about what he wants from Ozai #he’s not doing it for Ozai’s benefit

[oscar-meir]

I like the idea of Ozai being afraid of her. When I’ve played around with a similar idea, my thought was that Azulon tried to have her killed instead of Zuko. Her fire turns blue that day as she resolves to defend herself - perhaps she even generates lightning. Ursa eventually hears the commotion and arrives on the scene as Azula is passing out from exhaustion, but all she really knows when she wakes up is that a not insignificant portion of the palace is destroyed, Fire Lord Azulon is dead, Ursa is gone, and Ozai is crowned. The official story is that she lost control, and her traumatized brain has no reason not to believe it.

In this scenario, Ozai has seen a glimpse of the potential of his bloodline with Ursa and he wants to weaponize it so badly, but he’s also afraid of Azula remembering the truth and turning on him. Meanwhile, Azula is likely afraid to reach her potential because she (at least thinks she) killed her mom, so she holds back as much as she can get away with and her progress slows. Due to a combo of frustration and fear, Ozai finds an excuse to send her into exile.

I agree that Iroh wouldn’t want to go with her, but it could be interesting if he was forced to go, especially because Azula would absolutely know it. He would probably make a weak effort to positively influence her and eventually change his mind about her, but she wouldn’t trust him and it would leave her vulnerable to the influence of other replacement parental figures, like Zhao, perhaps?

But the main reason I like Iroh going with Azula is that it leaves Zuko isolated with Ozai like Azula was in canon. It would be really cool to see how Zuko’s negative traits grow in that scenario. His resentment towards Azula would be massive because Ozai would be trying to replace her with him, not to mention blaming her for Ursa. And I imagine he’d seek to inflict the pain and violence he’s experienced on others in the same way canon Azula attempts to control with fear in the same way she’s controlled by her fear, at least to an extent.

writing an azula-zuko role swap

thinking of an azula/zuko role swap au rn... safe to say i'll be posting a ton of art in the next few weeks.

honestly zuko and azula are very different characters (despite being siblings) so i feel if their positions were swapped things would be very different. we need to remember, this is a ROLE swap not a PERSONALITY swap. they'd handle things quite differently. I also don't see iroh being there for azula, either. obviously ozai wouldn't just give up azula - in the series she's his golden child, the prodigy, etc, so i feel like something would've happened. maybe she lost her blue fire, or maybe zuko gains ozai's favour and azula is kinda sidelined? please give me ideas so i can write this properly.

[oscar-meir]

I definitely think Azula was taken by surprise at Katara’s skill and ferocity in BSS, but I disagree with your prediction.

Here’s why: Katara trapped herself more so than she trapped Azula.

I think you’re right that she wanted to pick up Azula and slam her against the ground. If memory serves, the animation shows her beginning to do this (and struggling) before Zuko jumps in. This is the wrong move to make. Have you ever lifted a sledgehammer by the bottom of the handle with your arm extended? Katara is trying to lift a heavy weight in the worst possible way. It’s not going to work.

The right move would have been to pull Azula forward. On one leg, I doubt she’d be able to maintain her balance. Take her down and freeze her prone to the ground. Katara could have won, but that’s not what Katara tried to do.

Now, why is Katara more trapped? Both her arms are used. Azula has a free one (and a mouth that can breathe fire). One punch of flames and Katara either has to drop her hold to defend/dodge or get burned. That’s how I see it going without Zuko’s intervention.

[oscar-meir]

are people just too scared to write azula? or is it just not the time for great characters like her anymore? do we now want everyone to be likable? or have we all lost our creativity? azula MUSt remain azula..alWaYS

#atla netflix #natla #azula #avatar the last airbender #Azula was always a character with struggles and insecurities #she was just primarily framed by Zuko’s perspective

[oscar-meir]

She’ll have her bending… for now. They’re actually establishing a passion for archery so that they can frame Aang taking her bending so that Zuko can be the best firebender as a good thing that allows her to focus on what she really loves.

Archery makes sense as a skill to teach a child soldier, particularly since it shares a lot in common with lightning bending. What I don’t care for is the reinterpretation (or misinterpretation) of her motivation. Azula of the cartoon literally paves the way for Zuko to come back and reassume his place as heir. She wanted to remain Ozai’s favorite, certainly, but she was totally blindsided by the Phoenix King thing, so I don’t think she gave the throne much thought.

Azula is now good at archery!!!

[oscar-meir]

I think it has to be one of those things where Toph gets to the end of the adventure and only then realizes she had her life-changing trip with Azula of all people. You can’t just decide that something’s going to change your life, right? It has to be organic.

The thing I think would be really cool about their relationship is that Azula can lie to Toph. Like, imagine going through life with a built-in lie detector. You can never be let down easy. You know exactly how much or little someone appreciates every gift or kind gesture. When you get excited about something and your friends go along with it to humor you, you know when it’s really a burden to them. It would suck for you and everyone around you - it’s a small wonder Toph’s relationships all fail and she fucks off to live on the swamp.

Toph would HATE that Azula can lie to her at first because she relies on that lie detection skill to get through life almost as much as her seismic sense, but she eventually finds it freeing. Azula could end up being Toph’s most meaningful relationship because it’s the only one that has to be built on trust.

After years of trying to go on a famous “life-changing field trip” with Zuko, Toph decides to take one with Azula instead

HAVE AT IT

[oscar-meir]

I don’t like my second theory either, but I’ve assumed that they’re going for the worst fandumb takes on her ever since I read the character bio they released a long while ago. That said, they’re giving her more screen time, so perhaps they’ll give her more nuance as well. But I’m not optimistic!

Azula is now good at archery!!!

[oscar-meir]

Of course it’s about budget.

My first theory is that this is her forcefully recruiting Ty Lee by participating in some sort of human target act. The original recruitment needs all sorts of visual effects for the location, animals, fire, stunt, etc. (and extras for the crowd). The new recruitment just happens behind a tent with just the two of them and can be done with cutaway shots. Azula is not actually good at nor interested in archery. She’s just shooting arrows progressively closer to Ty Lee’s body until she panics and agrees to join her.

My second theory is that she shoots Momo out of the sky so they don’t have to animate him anymore and they can also show her love for animal cruelty.

My cynical brain can only think of negative reasons why this might be happening and my only relief is that my cynical brain also believes that the show will be canceled after one season because it’s on Netflix.

Azula is now good at archery!!!

[oscar-meir]

*Zuko menacingly states he’ll “save” Katara from pirates*

Zutarians: “What a good guy. So romantic.”

You know, I bet when Zuko paid the assassin to take out the gaang, he really meant for him to take them out for ice cream because he knew they were used to cooler climates and might struggle with the fire nation heat. Zuko is just thoughtful that way. (that’s sarcasm for those of you who struggle with understanding context)

Ok, I REALLY need to show how stupid this post is:

*Sigh* First, NO, Zuko never tried to burn her mother's necklace and never threatened to hand Katara over to pirates who are supposedly "knOwN tO huRt WoMen". In fact, he says he's going to save her from the pirates. And I really don't know where this person got it from that these pirates are known to hurt women, like hello?????? Do you really watched the show?

Also, while I agree that Toph and Katara was never abusive to Zuko, I cant say the same for Azula and Mai. And if it's still not clear to you that they were indeed abusive to Zuko, just rewatch the fucking show instead of lying and implying that all zutarians are "misogynists" and "hypocrites", cause, in your head, "we all only defend Zuko". Thank you.

[oscar-meir]

Katara to Azula (probably):

#Azula does not mind at all #azutara

[oscar-meir]

It’s stiff because it’s dead. It has no legs because Azula burned them off. Checkmate, Azulidiots.

Btw, I love how Toph is also eating the hard boiled babies of the turtleduck.

This is not a real Turtleduck, it has no legs and is stiff. It's just a toy.

#turtleducks #azula in the spirit temple #sarcasm

[oscar-meir]

There were no gay people in entertainment at that time, and even if there were, they’d never stoop so low as to include any sort of subtext.

Idk who needs to hear this but no one was gay in a 2005 children's cartoon that aired on Nickelodeon.

#sarcasm #no gay characters #but there were incestuous straight characters I guess? #surely these children have well-defined sexual orientations #atla #fandom critical #can we own our hostile behavior instead of blaming it on others?

[oscar-meir]

Let’s not forget that the “monster maroons” were the longest-lasting Starfleet uniform, so maroon as “navy red” actually works both ways.

[oscar-meir]

She’d be in real trouble if she were a warm stick of butter.

He’s very awkwardly extended and not in a position to swing with any force. He could try to push her back, but he’s off balance holding that sword in front of him and she has the agility to side step him and/or turn his momentum against him, Suki-style.

Sokka could have killed Azula if he wanted to, indeed. He could force her to retreat even more, cause I her to fall. He could stab her. He didn't. He retreated and let Zuko throw a fireball at her, one that she managed to avoid.

That says a lot about Sokka and about everyone else on that rooftop as well.

Sokka didn't want to kill Azula. He could. And it would be convenient for him a Team Avatar if he had. But despite her imprisoning his dad and girlfriend, and ruining his dobs plan and killing his best friend and almost harming his sister on multiple occasions, he still doesn't want to kill Azula.

However, I don't think it's about being a good person or anything like that. Sokka was never afraid to do sketchy shit if that's what needed to be done. He invaded the Fire Nation when they were at their weakest. He crashed airships, killing hundreds, without even giving it a second thought. He killed the Combustion man without flinching. He wouldn't be afraid to kill Azula if that's what he thought was necessary.

And yet, he didn't. There could be multiple reasons why. It could be that he feared if the most important person (by FN standards) in the elevator thingy was dead, the guards wouldn't hesitate to cut the line immediately. It could be that he thought they had a chance of capturing her and having a vulnerable hostage, since they had better numbers. It could be for Zuko's sake. As a brother, it's possible he wouldn't be interested in killing a little sister infront of her older brother.

As for Suki and Zuko... They don't hate Azula. Sokka just threw away an opportunity of getting rid of an enemy and none of his allies that saw it were bothered. No one said "wtf are you doing? Why would you do that? You could have saved us so much trouble!". They are not eager to see Azula dead despite her being their enemy. Suki doesn't hate Azula, even after Azula imprisoned her. And Zuko doesn't hate Azula either, so all the fics of him having Azula endure any kind of torture are ooc, and they need to be stopped.

No, seriously, stop it.

When it comes to Ty Lee, I noticed that she didn't react to her friend almost dying? I don't think it because Ty Lee doesn't care for Azula, so it's either that she didn't notice because she was busy, or that she had trust in Azula's abilities to make it out alive.

And Azula is... interesting. She either doesn't value her life, or she values it, but she values her duty more. There's no other option. Because how TF is half your foot touching sweet death, and then you just continue without flinching or being scared or anything? You just move on? Honestly, whether Azula doesn't care about being alive that much, or does care, but would still find it honorable to die on duty, it's still interesting. It creates lot of questions about Azula's mental state at the moment and about her dedication to her father and country. Where does it end?

If it's neither of the two, then Azula was just being an arrogant-ass motherfucker which also creates questions. Is it because she trusted her own abilities a lot? Is it because she believed Zuko wouldn't let her die? Is it because she thought Sokka wouldn't kill her? And why is that? Does she consider him soft, cause he didn't hurt her in the dobs, or does he consider him too weak to kill her? And is that because he's a "water tribe savage" or because he's a nonbender?

Every time Azula is on screen, there are so many things to analyze!!

[oscar-meir]

It’s worse than that. I saw comments that said something like “Zuko and Azula look too young. They’re supposed to be teens!”

I don’t even have the words to describe my bafflement. Do they think that the 20-30 year old actors (which Elizabeth Yu is, funnily enough) playing high schoolers on television are the real deal?

Some ppl acting shocked that the 14 year old girl actually looks like a 14 year old girl D:

#atla live action #14 is a child #the real issue is that you have to zoom in to even see Zuko’s scar #make him look like Freddy Krueger you cowards