#Forced Positivity and that there is no war in ba sing se and actually

[sergle]

what I was talking abt earlier. we have fully looped back around and away from feminism, societally, whereas before it was very Feminism 101 to acknowledge that many parts of existing as a woman in a misogynistic society are painful and upsetting. not that being a woman is Inherently Negative in a bubble. but that living on this earth, in the conditions we're living in, is hostile to women. and that gender is a performance. that many of the Staples Of Femininity as accepted by society are things that you have to create and perform and mold artificially and aren't inherent, that COMPLAINING about day to day difficulties of existing as a woman is something that you're allowed to do. acknowledging these basic, again, feminism 101 things, that something tied to womanhood is more time consuming or more expensive or more dangerous Because Of The Problems. does not CREATE the problems. that when women complain about having to perform femininity, they are not, in fact, oppressing themselves. the call does not come from inside the fucking house. saying that you HAVE suffered does not fucking equate that you believe you SHOULD have suffered.

like I could talk about this for hours. how braindead and one-dimensional the Takes are getting. "being a woman is looking in the mirror and going fuck yeah i'm a woman" damn. I guess any negative experiences you have by living in a misogynistic world... are your fault if you are anything but positive? "you don't actually want liberation" we've fully gone back to telling feminists "you WANT to be oppressed" when anything negative about our society is pointed out. it's not real until I say it out loud, I guess, and then I'm actually the one who caused it. if anybody expresses any unhappiness with how they're treated or the status quo or the language and culture surrounding womanhood and femininity. they've created it, right that second. they invented it just now. it wasn't a problem before somebody complained, right? also trans women aren't braindead zombies who just follow the flow of whatever cis women around them say. I am pretty fucking sure they are very much aware of pain, and are MORE than aware of the swirling torrent of misogyny and standards of femininity than anybody else. actually. and I am pretty sure someone complaining on tumblr that being a woman means always putting on a performance is going to make someone change their mind about transitioning. also "performing femininity" as a necessity to being treated well as a woman is not fucking NEWS to your Local Trans Woman. I AM PRETTY SURE SHE GETS THE CONCEPT. using trans women as a scapegoat for this braindead perspective on gender politics is spineless, meritless, and pathetic.

#how I feel about my gender is not the same as how I feel about the living conditions of my gender #when I saw that post I screenshotted here I literally sat w my mouth open for a minute #sent it to my friends and was like am I fucking crazy. is this what we're doing now #Forced Positivity and that there is no war in ba sing se and actually #you're ruining children's lives if you complain about misogyny on twitter #I don't HAVE to tell little girls about the downsides because they are already being mistreated #before they have even heard the word 'misogyny' let alone know what it means #you do not have to be fucking happy all the time about the cards you're dealt. #you don't live in a bubble where it's just you and your mirror and your pretty dress and nothing bad has ever happened to you #unfortunately bitch. we will have negative experiences that are in fact. part of the package of being a woman #and IGNORING them doesn't make them not exist. actually they will continue to remain status quo unless acknowledged #sergle.txt #I see so much rhetoric that is JUST old-fashioned gender ideals being presented with liberal language on tiktok #that is just telling women that womanhood is just being a girllll and loving pretty things and being kind and gentleeeee and nurturing #and not working and just like being wholesome and being happy and being a light in ppl's lives and just LOVING LOVING LOVING being a woman #so if for even one second. you don't love it. you are actually failing at being a woman #if you complain about the standards for shaving or putting on makeup. which used to be Baby's First Feminism online #that's actually just you creating problems. you're not supposed to acknowledge it. you're supposed to shut up and smile into the mirror.

[randomgirlyoudontknow]

No one will probably read this, but as a long-time fan of ATLA (as in, I literally watched the show as it aired in 2005-2008), I wanted to share my thoughts on the live action. Let it be known that I am far from an ATLA purist––the original certainly had its own flaws and aspects that didn't age well, in retrospect. Despite the generally negative reviews I've seen from the fandom, I was actually very satisfied with this adaptation! But I’ve seen people saying that the characters were butchered, that it’s a soulless and superficial reproduction, and those who liked the live action aren’t capable of thinking/watching critically, which I wanted to push back against (I mean, I’m working on a doctorate in literature…I am quite literally incapable of watching anything uncritically).

The shift in tone to a darker, more mature one was a positive change, imo. It is definitely a much angrier show than the original, even if some of the characters were not as fiery as they should have been (*cough* Katara *cough*). Overall, while there were certainly decisions made that I didn't agree with (mainly related to pacing and narrative), I thought the cast and crew really captured the spirit of the original, and even added depth and nuance to parts I felt were initially lacking.

In general, I really appreciated the added emphasis on the cost and suffering of war and imperialism, as well as the depiction of the physical effects of bending. Now, I realize this is largely a matter of personal preference––for example, I'm very interested in depictions of war in fiction (I mean, my dissertation partially covers the impact of WWI on avant-garde art & literature, so...). But I've seen several claims that the live action glorifies war and violence in a way that is meant to traumatize the viewer, and I simply don't think that's true? While the original handled war, genocide, trauma, etc. in a phenomenal way for a kid's show in the early 2000s, it was also still sanitized when it comes to death and injury, to an extent that I feel like we, the viewers, almost lose sight of the fact that bending KILLS. Sure, we were exposed to its after effects, like the death of Katara and Sokka's mother or Zuko's scar, but there's something to be said actually seeing and acknowledging the very palpable danger that something like firebending presents.

I've even seen someone say that the show's depiction of "gratuitous violence" constitutes a "profound misunderstanding" of the source text, which I think is frankly a bad faith take. The death and violence, though more realistic, is still not a major focus of the show, nor is it glorified in any way. A glorification of violence would look like indiscriminate killing and maiming for the sake of edginess (looking at you GOT). We would see graphic depictions of death and injuries, which simply does not happen in this show (they even joke about the fact that we never see anyone die in Ember Island Players). War and fighting are still treated with the same depth and gravity as the original, only this time, the severity of its consequences isn't obscured from the viewer.

I also thought the show's handling of trauma (especially Katara's) was excellent. The choice to have Katara's mom's death revealed in flashbacks (specifically when around firebending) was something that really stood out to me. And the new characterization of Bumi, which I realize was quite unpopular, was another change I quite appreciated. His bitterness and cynicism seemed more in-line with someone who had endured 100 years of war and the suffering of his people at the hands of a brutal imperial force. Lastly, I was pleased to see the narrative attempt to address the role Iroh played in the Siege of Ba Sing Se (something that was absolutely missing from the original). The Earth Kingdom soldier confronting him and calling him a butcher was a powerful moment, for me. I truly hope the show continues to dive into this aspect of his character in future seasons.

Speaking of characters, I loved that we got extra background and insight into several of the characters. Zhao, for example, was unexpectedly quite funny, and his actor really did a phenomenal job of fleshing him out and making him feel like a real person (as slimy and smarmy as he was) rather than a stock, cartoon villain. And I have to give kudos to the actors who played Sokka and Zuko––they both did an incredible job of embodying their respective characters, in a way that felt highly reminiscent of the original. In particular, I thought the handling of Zuko's backstory was truly outstanding––perhaps even better than the original.

All in all, I felt the live action did a really nice job of balancing the darker sides with the light. While I've seen fans complaining that the show doesn't have the same goofiness and lightheartedness, I actually thought the humor worked really well––it was one of the few times I felt the overly ironic, Joss Whedonesque one-liners actually fit. Sure, the humor was a lot drier and more toned down than the original, but I nonetheless thought it carried the show's spirit well (loved that they let Sokka say “ass” not once, but twice). There were moments when I genuinely laughed out loud! I also appreciated how, despite the more mature tone, hope, friendship, and harmony still remained the most important aspect at the end of each episode.

There's a lot of room for improvement, but I was overall very satisfied with the live action, and I'm very glad that the series has been renewed. I'm very excited to see what the cast and crew does with the rest of the show!

#tl;dr i really enjoyed the live action #long post #there's honestly so much more i could say but my brain is currently fried #this is probably a little all over the place but i just finished up a book review and i am incapable of forming coherent thoughts #atla #avatar the last airbender #natla #natla positivity

[comradekatara]

I feel like I see ppl say that ozai is dumb (and I totally get why, because he’s extremely shallow to the point of looking downright foolish) but honestly..... is he?? is ozai dumb, is zhao dumb, is zuko dumb, or all they all just men from the fire nation who were taught to embody a certain aggressive, active, prideful, impulsive, violent, reckless, singleminded mode of masculinity that praised them for certain behaviors and virtues such as strength and power and condemned any man who didn’t align with these values?

ozai is smart enough to seize and maintain power over the fire nation, which is his life’s primary goal. zhao is smart enough to invade the north pole, which was impenetrable for the past century of war, and while destroying the moon obviously is not a sensible thing to do, it does carry out his intended effect, which is to debilitate his enemies and demonstrate the sheer force of his power.

zhao’s lack of accounting for the spirits can be attributed directly to the fact that a key aspect of fire nation propaganda is denying spiritualism to the point where he finds iroh silly for respecting their status in the ecosystem whatsoever. he’s not unintelligent, he’s just ignorant due to his cultural upbringing. of course he has massive blindspots, he was fed fire nation propaganda his whole life, but he would never have risen through the ranks of the fire navy just through ozai’s favor alone.

furthermore, the idea that ozai’s reliance on the women in his family to do his dirty work (ursa killing azulon, azula capturing zuko & iroh and taking ba sing se) is a sign of weakness doesn’t actually hold water. if anything, ozai using women for his own ends and then discarding them once they are no longer useful to him demonstrates his strength as a patriarch.

additionally, the way he banishes zuko by giving him an impossible quest with the promise of return on its completion incentivizes zuko to remain loyal to his nation and his father, instead of simply banishing him with no hope of return, at which point zuko would have nothing to lose in attempting to usurp ozai, which is clearly an anxiety for ozai considering that zuko was banished for threatening treason in the first place. (and note that zuko only does resist ozai once he returns to the fire nation, something azula orchestrated without ozai’s approval. if zuko had stayed in ba sing se as a fugitive it is highly unlikely that he would have ever participated in the avatar’s revolution, but azula wanted her brother to come back home and found a way to make it so.)

ozai is very good at manipulating people, he is a very powerful firebender (think of the way he is able to summon lightning instantly, underground, moments after an eclipse is over, without any sort of warning), and he was very close to winning the war for good only six years into his reign. he is myopic, shallow, egotistical, and generally wrong about many things, but that doesn’t actually make him dumb.

i think he mostly seems dumb because when put next to azula (or iroh, or ursa), he is far less subtle in his intellect. azula is shrewd, calculating, clever, and far less image-obsessed than ozai is. she is completely willing to sublimate herself for the sake of serving her empire, whereas ozai is the empire and therefore must project absolute power at all times. zuko, especially in book 1, is far more like ozai than azula is, which is what makes azula such a threatening villain: the fact that she is a girl is crucial to her character. so many of her traits that make her so much more threatening than anyone else in positions of power throughout the show are directly born out of the fact that despite being raised on the same values, she was socialized differently.

her feminine behaviors and the expectations placed on her as a girl are what make so her anomalous among the myopic, egotistical, prideful, power-hungry fire nation military. she doesn’t care as much about projecting power, so she’s able to get rid of her fancy fleet and recruit mai and ty lee, she’s able to disguise herself to enter ba sing se instead of laying siege to it and successfully takes it over when iroh could not after nearly two years. she does not rely on brute force, but rather “feminine qualities” such as manipulation, calculation, and subterfuge. same goes for mai and ty lee, hence why they are also so powerful despite merely being two non-bending teenage girls. by not being forced into performing those restrictive masculine behaviors, she is able to beat the men at their own game.

similarly, ursa uses poison to kill azulon, an act she does for the benefit of the men in her family (ozai and zuko), through a traditionally feminine weapon. a fire nation man would never think to poison their enemy because that is not how men kill other men. but use a woman as a proxy, and this becomes a sufficiently masculine act through the way in which the man exerts his power over a woman.

iroh uses brute force and projection of power as his primary tactics before his reckoning (see his siege on ba sing se), and manipulation, scheming, disguise, and sublimation to achieve his ends only after he has unlearned fire nation propaganda and gained a broader perspective. sokka is similar in this regard, in that it takes him learning feminine strategies from women warriors (the kyoshi warriors technique is about using their opponents’ force against them) to understand that he needs to prioritize his intellect over brute force if he ever intends to win a single fight. zuko’s blue spirit persona demonstrates his capabilities for being smart in battle, but when he is not inhabiting the blue spirit (his mother’s values), he is channeling ozai, and thus loses fights due to his aggression and impulsivity, which is always used against him.

zuko’s growth involves him improving as a fighter when he sheds the fire nation model of masculinity that values blind rage and aggression, and instead embraces the feminine values of warmth, healing, gentleness, and understanding, which allows him to go toe to toe with azula as someone who has internalized feminine values by virtue of being born a girl: being calculating and precise instead of powerful, manipulative and scheming instead of blunt, and patient instead of impulsive. the final agni kai sees azula prioritizing sheer power as she suffers a nervous breakdown, which zuko and katara are able to use against her in a way that they otherwise could not since she is uniquely impulsive and reckless in this fight (although she is still able to strategize as shown when she points her lightning at katara instead of zuko).

the reason azula seems so much smarter than ozai is because she wasn’t raised to prioritize her own ego above everything else; no, she was raised as a girl, and this social disadvantage also proves to be her greatest strength. the reason iroh seems so much smarter than ozai is because he is willing to embrace multiple ideas about the world, instead of just one. to his credit, ozai is very good at implementing his idea; it’s just that said idea sucks. ozai isn’t dumb, he just has an incredibly limited perspective. he’s great at what he does, which is projecting power. but he has no reason to do anything else, so we really shouldn’t expect him to.

ozai isn’t stupid, he’s just wrong. and yes, there is a difference.

#analysis #hot takes #ozai #azula #zhao #iroh #zuko #wrote this whole thing in a frenzy last night after I saw someone call ozai a dumbass lmao #I mean he is a dumbass but he’s also way smarter and more powerful than I think we want to give him credit for #it’s not his fault his life’s single goal happens to seem very stupid to us #but yeah azulas entire character would simply not work if she wasn’t a girl lol like her gender is so integral to her character #and why every girl in avatar is a better fighter than the big strong powerful masculine men who fight using brute force #toph beats boulder. etc

[balanceoflightanddark]

Expendable

This guy right here is responsible for one of the pivotal plot points in ATLA. Zuko protests his plan to pointlessly sacrifice a regiment of new guys to get the enemy in a better position which earns him an Agni Kai with his father. His first red flag about how brutal the Fire Nation is in their pursuit of victory.

Thing is...Bujing here is NOT an isolated incident.

Sad fact is that the Fire Nation is full of generals and leaders who are willing to throw their own people under the bus just for a chance at personal glory. Bujing here is one of the most notable examples since he's tied in with Zuko's arc. But he's not the only one.

Admiral Zhao is another example of this. He practically had the Siege of the North won and closed up a front for the Fire Nation as a whole. Chances are he would've been heralded as a hero by everyone.

But that wasn't enough. He decided to kill the Moon Spirit, and directly threaten every man under his command for even more glory. Even if Aang didn't fuse with the Ocean Spirit to wipe out the fleet, everyone in the Fire Nation would've been screwed. All because Zhao wanted even more glory.

And then we get to Iroh...

Yes, even Iroh is guilty of this. He was in charge of the 600 Day Siege of Ba Sing Se, an apt name for a veritable meat grinder that caused numerous casualties on both sides of the battle. Mind you his main driving force was that he saw a vision of him conquering Ba Sing Se, and believed it was his destiny. AKA, a word often used by the Fire Nation to justify their goals of conquest.

He only relented because his son died. Not because of the nightmarish losses. But because of a personal loss. Regardless of how Iroh felt about it afterwards (and whether or not he actually made up for it), he was still indicative of that thinking. That the lower ranking soldiers were expendable in the pursuit of glory.

And that also extends to his dear old brother.

Ozai. Putting his treatment of Azula aside (trust me, we'll get to that in a minute), his ultimate goal was to literally burn down the entire Earth Kingdom to ashes. You know. That huge chunk of land the Fire Nation just spent a literal century trying to conquer? And that also has stationed Fire Nation troops and civilians on the ground that would also get caught up in the inferno?

All just to stroke his own ego and declare himself the Phoenix King. Not Fire Lord. The Phoenix King. A title he made up to basically outshine everyone else around him.

When you get right down to it, the Fire Nation is full of these guys. Ruthless warlords willing to throw their subordinates' lives into the meat grinder just for a chance at glory. It practically goes hand in hand with their obsession with personal honor (or at least their version of honor at the time of the war). Sure, they talk about honor and destiny and whatnot, but they're willing to sacrifice lives just to prop themselves up.

So if the populace of the Fire Nation are expendable in the eyes of their leaders...how does it look from the other way around?

Azula gives us a bit of a clue.

I often argue that Azula is at her most..."heroic" (from the Fire Nation's point of view) during the Day of the Black Sun. Mainly, she's putting herself in a vulnerable position to act as bait and to hold off the Gaang long enough for the eclipse to finish and for firebending to be restored. AKA: safeguarding her nation from an enemy invasion.

But let's think about that for a minute. As stated before, I do believe Azula has a sort of black-and-white outlook on the world. That the enemy would not pull any punches and are almost always out for blood. She has no reason to believe that the Gaang wouldn't kill her on the spot.

And she's doing this also to safeguard her father, the Fire Lord. The same person who effectively conditioned her to be a living weapon and obey only him saw fit to use her as a decoy and a sacrifice to save his own skin.

Azula? ...she had no problem with it. No questioning of how effed up that was, nor did she expect any gratitude for her efforts. On the contrary, she got left behind in a worthless position while Ozai hogged all the glory for burning down the Earth Kingdom. And when she tried to call him out on it...

Yes, it's from the novel. But it's a pretty good indicator of what was going through Azula's mind when Ozai snapped at her. And I could imagine the same couuld be said for most of the Fire Nation since loyalty to the Fire Lord was paramount above all others.

So if the Fire Lord tells you to jump off the bridge for his own glory, you better well damn do so.

It's practically within their own propaganda. In the play by the Ember Island Players, Actress!Azula gets consumed by flame while Actor!Ozai poses in victory. No acknowledgment of her contributions. Everyone just cheers on Ozai, Azula apparently having been forgotten.

To me at least, this is evidence of the Fire Nation populace being indoctrinated to the point that the main belief, that the highest aspiration is to die on the field of battle in service to the Fire Lord. Something that is a natural extension when you have a warlike culture. In essence, being expendable might be a common core belief in the Fire Nation during the war.

And considering the consequences of disobeying an authority figure and refusing to fight or throw away your life...

You all saw what happened to Zuko when he didn't fight Ozai.

#fire nation #fire nation meta #atla meta #azula #princess azula #admiral zhao #bujing #ozai #fire lord ozai #ozai's a+ parenting #iroh critical

[water-beats-earthbender]

Ok so i just had a realization:

Iroh was probably spying for the white lotus at the war meeting before Zukos banishment.

Maybe this was obvious but i hadn't really thought too deeply as to why a post-losing-Lu Ten-no-longer-a-war-mongerer Iroh would be going to war meetings. At that point in canon, he's not pro war, and while i could see him being forced to go bc Royalty/ex general. He's low key disgraced bc of the seige of ba sing se and he's not into war so he's also probably not contributing. So why go, unless he can use his high position in the fire nation to report to his flower friends? We don't see the white lotus do much until the comet so it would be cool to have evidence that they actually tried to save lives during the war.

#atla #avatar the last Airbender #atla iroh #iroh #atla headcanons #tbh its probably canon #white lotus

[burst-of-iridescent]

i find it very telling that the first thing zuko says when he confronts katara in the southern raiders is “this isn’t fair! everyone else seems to trust me now, what is it with you?” 

zuko doesn’t say everyone else seems to like me now, or everyone else has forgiven me now, even though the scene that precedes this one (the gaang toasting zuko) is arguably an affirmation of friendship more than it is an affirmation of simply trust. he says everyone else trusts him now, partly because the poor boy is unused to genuine friendship, and partly because i think he’d always identified the biggest problem he could face with the gaang as a lack of trust, and intended to do everything he could to remedy that. 

looking at it from this perspective, zuko’s frustration and initial confrontational manner towards katara make sense. he’d been prepared for the gaang not to trust him, and had done what he promised (and more) to earn that trust. but i don’t think (especially judging by the way he smiled at her in the western air temple) that he’d been prepared for the depths of katara’s rage. he likely initially chalked it up to mistrust, as he had with the rest of the gaang, but now when the rest seem fine with him, he’s confused. what more can he do to prove that he’s changed? why, when the rest of the gaang seem fine with him, was katara still holding out? 

many people have pointed out that zuko didn’t realize the root of katara’s anger until this point, but i think he also didn’t realize until here that the way he wronged katara was different from the way he wronged the rest of the gaang.  fighting aang and sokka was an unavoidable consequence of trying to capture the avatar; kidnapping aang was motivated by his position as the avatar rather than aang himself; burning down suki’s village was collateral damage, not malicious intention. they were, in essence, injustices committed against the avatar and his friends as opposing forces of a war, rather than aang, sokka and suki as people. 

that’s why zuko is able to earn their friendship so swiftly, because once he’s earned their trust by proving that he’s on their side, there’s nothing stopping aang, sokka, suki and toph from getting to know zuko as himself, instead of an opposing soldier. 

but katara already did that. katara treated zuko as a person, not an enemy, long before he’d even proven himself worthy of doing so. katara listened to zuko’s trauma, his insecurities, his conflicting feelings. katara found common ground with him. katara offered zuko her kindness, her care, her vulnerability, and katara had it thrown back in her face. 

katara’s grievance is deeper, more intimate and more personal, because her connection with him was also deeper, more intimate, and more personal than the rest. zuko didn’t just wrong a companion of the avatar or an opposing soldier; he wronged katara. and that’s why when he inadvertently equates the injustice he committed against her with those he committed against the gaang by comparing their reactions, katara lashes out. 

“oh, everyone trusts you now?” 

she could have brought up her mother’s necklace here, or the pirates, or their fight in the the northern water tribe, but she doesn’t. she doesn’t bring up the things he did when they were still enemies, because like the rest of the gaang, she does trust that he’s changed and is truly sorry. and the real source of her anger is actually this: 

“i was the first person to trust you, remember? back in ba sing se. but you turned around and betrayed me. betrayed all of us!” 

katara makes the distinction between her and everyone else. note that she says that he betrayed her first, because it’s what he did to her as a person that hurt her. and this is also what leads her to say as her parting shot that zuko should bring her mother back, because to her, that’s where it all started. because that moment of vulnerability was what made her connect with him... and what cost her deeply in the end. 

this is katara telling zuko why she can’t trust him with her affection and friendship like the rest, why she can’t let him in like they have. this is katara telling zuko why she’s holding out when they aren’t - because she did it before and got burned for it. 

this is katara telling zuko: it isn’t the same with us. we were different. i was different, because i cared. 

this is the first time that zuko realizes what the moment in the catacombs meant to katara, and that’s why the southern raiders is so different from the other field trips. it’s not mission oriented like aang’s or sokka’s (and zuko doesn’t volunteer to take sokka to boiling rock the way he volunteers to take katara to find yon rha; he goes with sokka because he knows nothing will stop sokka from going himself). their journey is so personal because zuko recognizes that what they had was personal, because he wants to show katara the same care and comfort that she once showed him by helping her heal from her deepest trauma. and whether he knows it or not, i think he also wants to show her that their moment in the catacombs meant just as much to him as it did to her. 

to me, this is zuko telling katara: you weren’t wrong. we were different. i cared too. and i still do. 

#zutara #zutara meta

[wingsfreedom]

Master Meta Post

TV show meta (updating...)

Azula meta:

Azula tried to live up to Ursa's wishes too, not only Ozai's (character study + observation)

"Might is right" Ozai’s ideology about power and how it affected Azula

Azula's extreme behavior; it's nature and origin (meta)

In which Azula listens to reason and looking for alternative options that don’t rely on brute force (examples)

Zuko Alone: Azula’s beautiful Firebending

Zuko Alone: Ozai’s training of Azula (observation)

Azula's motives in the war meeting (character study)

The Phoenix King scene: Azula's vulnerability

Child soldiering and align interests: Azula’s means to get love from her father

"Being counted on isn't the same thing as being loved", an interpretation of the kind of relationship Azula has with her father

Azula and being merely inches away from dangerous attacks by the Gaang

Azula's language and team mentality

Loyalty matters much more to Azula than success/results

The Last Agni Kai: Azula’s refusal to kill Zuko

Mirror scene: what makes Azula redeemable to me

Mirror scene: Azula’s hair symbolism and control

Post-war: positive Azula arc (essay)

Post-war: Azula’s mental health (discarding the comics and all post-atla content take)

Post-War: opening the chakras is best therapeutic approach to Azula

Theory: Azula is dressing in male fashion (?)

My take on Azula's morality

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother"

“My brother is being difficult as usual.” -Azula

"Aside from “The Beach,” in which parts do you think Azula acts most like a 14-year-old?" (response)

What Azula does in her free time (collection)

Lost Adventures: Azula's childishness

Azula's nervousness

Azula and physical touch (observation)

Rare sight: Azula looks cute if she was caught off guard (observation)

Rare sight: Azula’s Soft Smile

Azula and the Dragon Lady stereotype (fandom problems)

Azula's name true origin

Ozai meta:

Abyss arc for Azula as a corruption arc instead of redemption

Azula's eye color

Firebending study: Why Ozai is the top Firebender in ATLA

My interpretation on Ozai's character (meta)

Ozai's treatment of Zuko and Azula during his first years as Fire Lord (headcanon)

Phoenix King Ozai: fashion and preparations

Iroh meta:

Iroh doesn’t dislike Azula because she was evil (meta)

Iroh's problem with Azula (a much shorter post)

Why Iroh is wrong about the way he treated Zuko in Book 3 (Iroh critical)

Iroh and Ba Sing Se

Why Iroh fails miserably at being a saint despite the desperate attempts at sugar-coating

Mai and Ty Lee meta:

Mai and Ty Lee's relationship was NOT lovey-dovey

Mai and Ty Lee having fun in Book 2

Headcanon: Ty Lee has synesthesia

What attracted Ty Lee to Azula

Mai's issues and her inability to bond with Tom Tom in ATLA

Return to Omashu: the trade and Mai's choice

Zuko meta:

Zuko's team work doesn't get enough credit

Zuko is a heart-motivated yet goal-oriented character

Zuko's inferiority-complex (and how it negatively affected his personality and relationship with his sister) (meta)

Zuko's competition

Zuko's first seed of wisdom and Azula's role in it (observation)

Zuko relies on Azula for help, advice, knowledge and comfort

Canon Zuko vs Fanon Zuko (about fighting Azula)

Zuko is one of the best Firebenders in the series

Zuko uses fear/physical aggression to establish his authority

Ursa meta:

Theory: Show!Ursa's hometown is Ember Island (theory)

The background of Ursa in the TV show

"Ursa tried to correct Azula's cruel behavior" is NOT actually true

What Ursa meant by "never forget who you are" line

Ursa's failure as a mother: Why Ursa's encouragement of her children to spend time together scene is tragic in nature (Azula & Ursa meta)

Narrative meta:

"The Storm" and "Zuko Alone" flashbacks: the questionability of Zuko and Iroh's narration of Azula (unreliable narrator)

Zuko Alone flashbacks: metaphorical narrative (shorter post)

General meta:

The Rock that bounced Aang back into the Avatar State and percussive readjustment (detail)

Why Firebenders can't bend in the eclipse but can bend at night

Caldera: the Forbidden City (fire nation map)

The popularity of Zuko, Azula and Ozai in the Fire Nation

Azulon's emphasizes on the First-bornTM and what does it say about his character (observation, theory/headcanon)

Reasons for Firelord Azulon to dislike/overlook Azula

How old Lu Ten was when he died

Post war: royal family continued tragic ending, permanently

The location of the "inner fire"

Critique

Zuko Alone: writing issues ("You're no Hero.")

Suki, Alone (2021): why Azula's meeting with Suki as well as the conditions of the Boiling Rock and Kyoshi Island's refusal of trading with the outside world were retcons and made-up events

Why post-war content failed at satisfying Azula arc

Azula's role in post atla-content (summary)

Comics

The Search: Ursa's escapism (why comics!Ursa was a bad mother)

The Search: abuse in design

Fanfiction

Backstory: Azula's Childhood (fic + images)

Honor mentions, other people's meta:

Future Azula: the possibilities i wanted the comics to take (post war)

Day of Black Sun: Azula was ready to sacrifice her life

#atla #atla meta #atla analysis #azula meta #azula #wingsfreedom #ursa #zuko #iroh #ozai #mai #ty lee

[zuko-always-lies]

How Iroh talks about his about his attempts to conquer Ba Sing Se vs. How Azula talks about conquering Ba Sing Se

Iroh:

“Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World”:

Earthbender captain: A place you’re quite familiar with, actually. You once laid siege to it for 600 days, but it would not yield to you.

Iroh: Ah, the great city of Ba Sing Se.

Earthbender captain: It was greater than you were, apparently.

Iroh: I acknowledge my defeat at Ba Sing Se. After 600 days away from home, my men were tired, and I was tired. [Yawns.] And I’m still tired.

“Zuko Alone”:

Iroh: (voice over) If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. (cut to a younger Iroh sitting at a desk, flanked by two guards, writing the letter) I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first. (He laughs at this, then cut back to a frontal shot of Ursa, the letter scroll spread open in the foreground, with Zuko and Azula on either side. They laugh with Iroh at this comment.)

“The Desert”:

Zuko: Ba Sing Se? ‌Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital‌? Fung: [Calmly.] The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice two more. Iroh: We can hide in plain sight there. And it’s the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn’t break through to the city. [Happily shrugs his shoulders.]

“The Serpent’s Pass”:

Iroh: Who would have thought after all these years, I’d return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace … [Turns away for a second before turning back with a floral hat on his head.] as a tourist!

“The Crossroads of Destiny”:

Iroh: Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace. But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror...instead, we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing.

“Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters”:

Iroh: [Aerial view of group.] Sozin’s Comet is arriving, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. [Extreme close-up.] When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. [Cut to Zuko and the camera pans across to right showing Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Katara.] Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation, [Extreme close-up.] so the Earth Kingdom can be free again.

…

Iroh: [Close-up.] Goodbye, everyone. Today, destiny is our friend. [Whispers.] I know it.

For Iroh, everything is about him. Conquest is an individual act, done by him in order to fulfill his destiny and secure personal glory.  Conquest isn’t about the good of the Fire Nation, about bringing an end to the war, or about fulfilling the Fire Nation’s imperial destiny. Iroh only rarely bothers to mention the people under his command, much less grant any credit to them, whether they be the massive army which died by the thousands in the 600 day siege or the incredibly powerful White Lotus force under his command during his “liberation” of the city.

Azula:

“The Guru:”

Azula: We have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity, girls. Ty Lee: (teasingly) Mai finally gets to wear makeup that's not totally depressing? Mai: (deadpan) Ha. Ha. (she has large, dark splotches of makeup beneath her eyes) Azula: (walking to a window) I'm talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom. (the two girls turn with shocked looks) Azula:(staring out the window) For a hundred years the fire nation has hammered away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now we are on the inside, and we can take it by ourselves. Ty Lee: (admiringly) Gosh, you're so confident. I really admire that about you. Azula: From the inside we're in the perfect position to organize a coup and overthrow the Earth King. The key is the Dai Li. Whoever controls the Dai Li, controls Ba Sing Se.

“The Crossroads of Destiny”:

Azula: Why don't you let him decide, Uncle? I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want.

And

Azula: We've done it Zuko. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se. Zuko: (regretfully) I betrayed Uncle. Azula: No, he betrayed you. Zuko, when you return home, father will welcome you as a war hero. Zuko: But I don't have the Avatar. What if Father doesn't restore my honor?

(I didn’t include Lo and Li’s speech in “The Awakening” because although Azula provided the information for that, I doubt she choose the exact wording.)

For Azula, conquest is always a collective act, with credit being distributed correspondingly.  Even though the actual conquest of Ba Sing Se was done by her and three people completely rejected and devalued by the Fire Nation who only she valued, and thus Azula come reasonably claim complete credit, Azula instead attributes the victory to the Fire Nation’s collective effort.  Finally, conquest is an act motivated by the Fire Nation’s good and greater glory instead of being motivated by individual gain or glory.

#Azula #Iroh #Iroh-critical #kind of #anti-Iroh #but not really #Ba Sing Se

[lovebecomeshim]

hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn��t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

#zutara #atla #zutara rant #like really the way the canon relationships were written throughout s3 #it would’ve been more believable for zutara to happen #or at least be hinted at #all of the major issues presented in those relationship were dug up extensively and then... never resolved #and then they just slapped some kisses on a screen and said ‘there all better’ #and we just kinda had to say ‘oh ok guess it’s all better then’ #this got long I’m sorry #I wrote it all out and then tumblr ate 2/3 of it #which is why it took so long #and what I’ve written now doesn’t even match what I had before #because there’s too much to say about why I love zutara #and the stuff I left out the first time is what came out this time #rip to my original thoughts but this post is different #anyway that’s why this took so long #and I should’ve just made a PowerPoint... #I can do that too if you’d rather not read all of this lol #I won’t be offended #this is incoherent #Alia rambles uselessly #also hoping this doesn’t end up in any wrong tags because I don’t wanna step on toes lol #it’s not anti!! it’s just critical #in a compare/contrast way #I can pinpoint the moment when I started trying to rewrite my points from memory #because everything gets shorter and more succinct #like... I really said all that??? sounds fake and I don’t remember it anyway so here’s the condensed version #with no!! smooth!!! transitions!!!! #also why am I so lazy with proper grammar over text

[ultranos]

Also in Korra does the white lotus do the same in modulus? If so does Zaheer and the red lotus still exist in the same way?

I haven't entirely worked out yet how all the geopolitics play out. I can see the White Lotus either becoming more proactive in things with the collapse of the EK into decentralized, ever-shifting nation-states following a massive rebellion that breaks the power of Ba Sing Se.

On the other hand, the same series of events could cause the White Lotus to turtle even more, and very much invest in finding the Avatar and raising them under protection as soon as possible. Korra's parents would be pretty much forced to choose between their child and everything else (of course, they choose Korra). Because the last thing the White Lotus wants is for the Avatar to die in some rebellion, or worse, get influenced by these revolutionary ideas. (lol)

The White Lotus is fairly canonically invested in maintaining the status quo, or the status quo as it existed pre-war. They favor balance over disruption, but that also means they would have to oppose positive disruption aimed at oppressive forces that have existed for a long time. The White Lotus is fine with the Dai Li and returns Kuei to power, despite no evidence that another advisor can't just slide into Long Feng's place.

For the Red Lotus, I think they at some level have to exist because for the White Lotus's ethos demands an equal and opposite, ironically enough, for there to be a balance. (We can blame Shin Megami Tensei's influence on me at this point, for why the extremes of both "order" and "chaos" are equally bad for humanity and the world.) The form that the Red Lotus takes is still nebulous, but I can say it's not going to be "lol anarchy".

I will also note that I need to figure out if the Red Lotus members get imprisoned for a time or not as they do in canon. If they do, that would end up being a major sticking point between Zuko and Azula, and whatever relationship they managed to have at that point would be well and truly burned to the ground. Because even a few months in the conditions they suffered under in the asylum/prison were enough to have a profound effect on Azula's views regarding captivity and humane justice.

Yeah, it's a bit of "wow I didn't realize how bad this is until it actually affected me personally" but it'd lead to a pretty bad argument that would take a long time to come back from. (Think "punishment for the sake of punishment is just cruelty" and how that kind of cruelty sounds like something a certain Fire Lord would do. And then how that would be the high point of the argument.) Depending on the timing, possibly not until Asami forces it.

#atla #modulus verse #i really have not decided on the imprisonment thing #because it would lead to an argument with #a lot of things said that cannot be unsaid #on the other hand it would kind of suck for them to make all of this progress and then blow it up #also zuko's choices were different and he deserves a chance to also learn from mistakes #and reject the mentality of his forefathers #nos answers things

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Not just a soft princess - Azula x female reader imagine: Part One

Imagine being the earth king’s niece and princess of Ba Sing Se, who impresses Azula so much she decides to take you back to the fire nation with her...

Part two here

Part three here

Part four here

Part five here

Part six here

Azula’s POV

Here in the supposed “greatest” city in all the earth kingdom Azula had to admit she wasn’t impressed. The cities defences were abysmal, the whole population naively ignorant to the war and the poor were sickly and weak while the rich pompous and frail. The whole city was the opposite of fire nation efficiency but there were two things Azula admired; the dai li and you, coincidentally the two intertwined. 

You weren’t a dai li agent yourself, Azula supposed your title didn’t permit it, but you did train with them all regularly and Azula had seen first hand your skills.  When she arrived as a kyoshi warrior with Mai and Ty lee the earth king was only too eager to bring you out to show them. Azula supposed you’d be some helpless stereotypical princess but when you appeared before her she was surprised. Firstly because of how you were dressed. She figured you’d look like that god awful doll her uncle sent her as a child but there was not a skirt or dress in sight. You were in practical training clothes, your hair in messy plaits and your face gleaming with sweat from whatever physical activity you’d evidently just been doing. You certainly didn’t dress as she expected but you still looked like a princess to her. You had an easy appeal and noticeability that could only be royalty. Azula bowed to you with surprising ease. “This is y/n my niece and the jewel of the earth kingdom” the earth king declared happily. Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his comment but saw everyone in the room was watching you fondly. All the guards smiled as you laughed and their eyes softened looking at you as a father would a daughter, The whole elite force was smitten with you and Azula was determined to use that. 

The earth king too her on a tour of the kingdom and Azula kept an eye on you as you followed along too. You started talking to Mai and Ty lee and she couldn’t believe she’d gotten the old king while they got you. When you reached a large yard however she was surprised to see you excuse yourself from Mai and Ty lee and rush to the soldiers down below. “Ahh we can’t kept that girl from the sparring yard, it’s her second home”. Azula watched the soldiers reactions to you and knew the earth king was telling the truth. “Y/n...” Azula said carefully “she trains with the dai li often...despite her title?” Azula asked. The earth king nodded “yes, ever since she was a child she wanted to learn, her parents were tragically killed when she was young so she came to me and infant and i’m ashamed to admit we indulged her in any hobby she wanted, archery, sword fighting, ostrichhorse riding and of course earth bending...I know they’re not usual activities a princess indulges in but I couldn’t say no to her and now she’s the best earth bender in Ba Sing Sei, just watch and you’ll see”. Azula followed his gaze to where you stood joking with a group of dai li agents. Four of you were stood in a square all armed and ready to spar. You were clearly confident and while the others took defensive positions you just carried on joking around. A bell was rung and Azula frowned as the three men all turned to you. “Three on one?” Azula asked and the earth king laughed “that’s nothing for my niece, watch”. Azula did watch as you tossed the men aside easily with your bending, so easily you showboated and took your time using flashy strikes to please the crowd that had gathered to watch. Azula had to smirk at you cockiness, you were good and apparently you knew it. “She is talented” Azula nodded as you finally showed mercy and eliminated the last man. “She’s the earth kingdom’s pride and joy” the earth king smiled and Azula realised the king wasn’t exaggerating. Long feng didn’t run Ba Sing Sei nor did the earth king...the key to the kingdom was you and Azula was determined to get you. 

So Azula’s plan started to revolve around you and she considered her options. There were easy ways to get your support of course, she knew she could challenge you to a fight. She’d watched you in closely in training and admired your form but growing up adored and protected by half the kingdom she doubted you’d actually have the killer instinct in battle. So overpowering you would be easy but Azula had a feeling fear wouldn’t work here. The people seemed so loyal to you, even if the odds were stacked against them they’d fight to defend you. So using force wouldn’t make the city bend so Azula had one option. She had to get you on side.

Your POV

You were just about to go meet with the war council when there was knock on your door. You opened it and were pleasantly surprised to see it was the leader of the kyoshi warriors. The warriors had been here several days now and they interested you greatly but with training and war councils you hadn’t got much time to speak to them so it was nice to see one of them in your doorway. You bowed and let her into your room a little excited and flushed, a real kyoshi warrior was in your room! “What can I do for you?” you asked happy to assist a warrior in any way but the girl’s response was not what you were expecting. 

“You war council is doomed to fail”. When you paused in shock the warrior smiled “that is where you were going isn’t it? Same time every day...your schedule is easy to pinpoint, you should be cautious of that princess”. Her tone confused you but you ignored her comment and focused on what she’d said about the war “how is the council doomed? We have the avatar on our side!”. “Yes but he’s not here right now is he? What if the fire nation attacked? How would you defend yourself?”. “Well we’d....the dai li are amazing benders, they’d defend against any breach...but there’s no point worrying about the fire nation we’d know if an army was outside our gates”. “What if they’re already inside?”. The kyoshi warrior was really creeping you out and you couldn’t understand why she was saying all this to you. Frustrated you sighed “Why are you saying all this it’s not like any of it is true. If you have concerns we can raise them at the war meeting”. “It’s too late for that” the warrior smirked and you rolled your eyes utterly done with this awkward encounter “and why is that?”. "Because i am Azula, princess of the fire nation and i’m here to conquer your city". 

Azula’s POV

Azula was impressed, not even a second after she’d finished speaking you attacked her and not to capture her...maybe you did have the killer instinct...but Azula was better. She easily outmanoeuvred your attacks, her theory about you never having been in a proper lethal fight proving to be true, and returned the fire. Literally. You soon has to use your earth bending for defence and that gave Azula the chance to attack, exactly what she did best. Azula had you cornered and secured within minutes. You glared as she chained your hands and stepped away from you surveying her work. "So what i’m the fire nation’s prisoner now?” you yelled once you realised the chain wouldn’t budge. “I won’t comply so you may as well silence me properly and be done with it" you spat. The look in your eye was so sharp it impressed Azula and she smiled, not just a soft princess at all. "No, you're more use to me alive" she said simply. "How?" you asked and Azula’s smile grew. She walked around you, a shark circling it’s prey, admiring the catch she’d caught. "I’ll be honest, your dai li have impressed me. Their skill and efficiency. Their determination....all qualities they seem to have taught you and that is why they are so protective over you but they are flawed...they listen to long feng". “Impossible! we arrested him after the avatar exposed his treachery”. “For someone so cocky you aren’t half naive” Azula smirked “of course long feng is not done, I actually made a deal with him directly to take your city”. Azula smiled as your anger exploded and you struggled against the chains to attack her. “Calm down” she smiled "they obey long feng but that’s not who they are loyal too....that’s where you come in. The army is loyal to you, they all adore you and who would do anything for you, they follow long feng but he’s just the figure head, it’s you they really fight for. You're their leader not the earth king and if you ordered them to stand down or even....to defect to the fire nation. They’d listen".

Your POV

"Why on earth would i do that! There’s no way i’d ever help you or betray my people". "Well princess it’s more complicated than that” Azula smirked coming closer. “As soon as i have the dai li it’s over. I could keep you out of the way long enough to use long feng to get them...sure some of them might resist but i’m sure long feng with put them down, then I will put him down. I could conquer Ba Sing Sei the old fashioned way, with blood and infighting or you can help me take it peacefully. You can order them to swear loyalty to me and it will all be over. If you refuse many will die but the result will be the same, i will win. You can choose to save your people and prevent all that. If you side with me and tell your citizens not to resist then i will be merciful. No violence needs to occur, no more blood will be shed. It will be a peaceful take over...unless you make it otherwise". "Peaceful?" You asked "since when have the fire nation been merciful". "We’re not" Azula admitted "but for you I can make the exception...or you can see fire nation ferocity at it’s worst....it’s down to you". You thought it over thinking of everything that would erupt if you resisted. "You have my word, princess to princess, if you get your people to obey nobody will be harmed. You won’t be harmed. I promise" Azula told you, her voice smooth like silk. You looked up and met the princess’s glowing eyes. They were scarily focused and bright but they weren’t deceitful. She meant what she said, If you agreed she wouldn’t attack your people, nobody would die. So you hung your head and sighed “I accept your deal, I will make my people cooperate and defect to the fire nation”. Azula smiled and let you out of the handcuffs “well there’s no time like the present”.

Azula’s POV

Azula was in an amazing mood as she walked to the throne room, Mai Ty lee and you beside her. You walked infront where she could keep an eye on you and Mai and Ty lee looked at her, “did she....is it done?” Ty lee whispered and Azula smiled “the princess is mine...now for the army and then the kingdom”. 

Azula entered the throne room alone and almost smirked to see long feng stood by the throne. “Princess Azula” he smiled patronisingly “your plan worked, the city is mine”. “Yours?” Azula asked and Long feng grinned “sorry to double cross you but i’m sure you understand...you’d have done the same thing if you were smart enough to think of it”. Azula resisted the urge to smile and looked at the man “ow? So you think I am without a plan? That I have been beaten?”. “Well of course you have! I have the army and so I have Ba sing sei”. “But what if you didn’t have the army?” Azula asked smiling. Long feng stared “Of course I have them! My men are loyal to me, I’ve trained them from when they were boys...why on earth would they side with you a stranger and an outsider over me?” Long Feng sneered and Azula smirked. “Because of her”. 

Your POV

On cue you walked out from behind her and Azula smirked to see Long Feng jolt in surprise. “Princess....” he stammered “I...this woman isn’t a kyoshi warrior she’s from the fire nation! She’s here to attack us!”. “I know who she is but she is not the threat here, you are”. Azula smiled at you approvingly. In order for the dai li to believe you, you had to pretend you and Azula were allies, you had to remove long feng and leave no doubt in the soldiers mind who the enemy was. “You kept the war a secret for years! You put me and my uncle in danger our whole lives, Azula has been honest with me and she’s offered me a deal, no harm will come to Ba Sing Sei, as long as we surrender to the fire nation”. “You cannot be serious?” Long feng cried but you raised a hand cutting him off “it’s your recklessness that has brought us here i’m merely saving the lives of my people! Azula’s alliance will protect everyone, none of you have to put your lives at risk” you said loudly addressing the dai li directly “so put down your weapons, swear allegiance to me through Azula and this will all be over”. Silence settled and Long feng smirked “you stupid child...” when a loud clatter of weapons being dropped cut him off. Every single dai li agent dropped their weapons and bowed. “We swear out allegiance” they said in unison and Azula smiled “perfect, your first order....arrest long feng”. The soldiers looked to you and you nodded your head. Immediately Long feng was seized and brought to your feet. Azula looked at you and you knew what she wanted you to say “put him in the deepest cell we have and let him rot”. Azula smirked as the guards filed out, you went to follow but the princess caught your arm “not so fast I have a task for you, it’s time to address your city”. 

"The fire nation has conquered Ba Sing Sei but there is no need to be fearful" you said to the large crowd so many scared and confused faces you struggled to carry on but you had to. You gripped the piece of paper tighter and carried on. "Their only wish is to assimilate our great city into their empire and i have been assured our cooperation will make the transition safe and swift. The fire nation are not to be feared, i am allied with them as are the dai li. You have nothing to fear. Rejoice the fire nation" you finished and Azula nodded "good, we will leave for the fire nation immediately”. “We’ll....i’ll be what?”. “Well you didn’t think I’d let you stay here did you?”. “But I...I gave you my word”. “And as sweet as that is I’m not stupid leaving you here in your city...well that’d give anyone ideas about a rebellion, no you will come back to the fire nation with me as will the dai li”. “For how long?” you asked and Azula shrugged “who cares? Your uncle escaped his cell and disappeared with the avatar, they left you. Your army is in service to me and your city isn’t yours anymore....what do you have worth staying here?”. You looked down and Azula smiled thinking she’d broken you but she was wrong. 

You were surprisingly unwatched after they put you onto the airship. Probably because there wasn’t any earth for you to bend but you didn’t need earth for what you planned to do. You snook past the people on the deck, quickly rushing away as you saw the prince and one of Azula’s friends stood there. You caught your breath thankful they hadn’t seen you and carried on. Azula’s chambers were also surprisingly unguarded but you weren’t too shocked. Azula was probably so happy with her victory nothing could make her feel mortal. You planned to change that. You let yourself into her room quietly and gripped the dagger in your right hand. You shut the door without making a sound and waited for your eyes to adjust. You made out Azula’s bed and a figure in it. You carefully crossed the room and came to stand beside it, the princess was snoring softly and you lifted your hand with the knife. You brought your hand down when suddenly a hand shot up and gripped your wrist. Another hand shot out and punched you in the stomach and the knife clattered to the floor. You pulled yourself away and scrambled after it. “Seeing as you can’t bend I won’t either” Azula called before following you. She grabbed one of your legs but you kicked out hard and caught her. She made a noise of pain and you gripped the knife. You dove on her without a thought and aimed for where would cause the most damage. Azula caught your knife with a piece of cloth and twirled it out of your hand sending it flying across the room. You followed it with your eyes and in that second Azula slammed you down onto the floor hard. You hit your head and breathed haggardly, the wind knocked out of you. Azula bound your hands and searched you for any more knives “just the one?” she laughed “not a good assassin...but I have to admit I am pleased you tried to kill me” she smirked. “You’re pleased?” you asked confused and Azula nodded “it proves what i suspected...you’re brave and head strong, you have fire” she smiled poking you hard in the chest “i like that”. “Is that why you decided to bring me to the fire nation, you think i’ll fit in?”. Azula smirked “no you’ll definitely stand out but you’ll be interesting”. Azula got off you and stood up straightened her tunic. She drew open the curtains and looked out. “Come here” she said and when you glared at her she smirked “don’t you want to see the fire nation?”. That did peak your interest and so, your ego and body bruised, you carefully got up and came to stand beside the princess. The sun was just rising and a massive city was coming into focus. The city was still a fair distance away but you could easily make out a large extravagant building. “Is that the...”. “The palace?” Azula smirked “your new home”. The way she said it made you shiver but not just in fear, it was also in anticipation. You weren’t sure how but you could feel that this was where your life would be determined. You’d always known you weren’t meant to live sheltered in Ba Sing Sei forever and this was the confirmation. This would change your life. 

#azula #azula imagine #azula x reader #atla azula #avatar azula #princess azula #Avatar The Last Airbender #avatar the last airbender imagine #fire nation #fire nation royalty #fire nation royal family #Ba sing Sei #earth kingdom #earth bending #fire bending #mai #ty lee #kyoshi warriors #earth king #avatar #aang #long feng

[visit-ba-sing-se]

hey it is me again rewriting a scene from the comics with no compliance to canon nor context just because it was on my dash and bothered me 

“You know it wasn’t, Zuzu.” The words came out before Azula had thought them through, and she directly scolded herself for that. Sure, the current situation was bad, but she liked to believe that she had been in way greater danger before. And in those moments, her brain had usually worked pretty well. Which was the reason why she was even still alive now to be stuck in this mess. Of course, she had to admit, a few times it hadn’t. Which was again the reason behind the mess. “What?”  At least she had managed to catch her brother surprise. His grip loosened a bit, and the anger in his eyes faded a little to make room for confusion, which turned into disbelief and then again quickly into scepticism. After everything, his face was still like an open book, and she could see him shifting through the different pages as he tried figure out her intentions.

“Like this. Between us.” Azula shrugged, as much as that was possible in her current position. “You know. me trying to kill you…you locking me up..me trying to kill you again…you holding me over a cliff…” 

Azula did her best to sound casual as she spoke. As if she was telling a funny remark, not recounting the shambles the relationship between her an Zuko had fallen into, each one a sharp dagger of its own. But she herself could hear how much her voice sounded like it was about to crack. And a part of her did not even mind. That part that was just so tired of keeping her act up, again and again, everyday and at all times. She had played it so well. Had done so much to keep to keep everything, but first and foremost herself in control. And where had that even gotten her? On the edge of a cliff, from which her brother would may or may not throw her to death. So, if there had ever been a moment to put her cards on the table, wasn’t it now? 

“Azula, I have no idea what you are getting at.” 

The anger had returned onto her bothers face, and Azula did not know what was worse: the fact that she actually wondered if he would have it in himself to kill her, or how little she cared about the answer.

“And to be honest am really not in the mood for one of your mind games right now.”

She could not help but laugh. It wasn’t real laughter. Too bitter and too dry.  Not like she really remembered what her real laughter even sounded like.  Of course, that was what he thought. That she was still scheming, with her feet in the air and the abyss below. And had that not been the picture she had always tried so hard to convey? Why was she mad at him for buying exactly the show she was selling? Because he does not even try to look behind the curtains, a voice in her head whispered the answer. Zuko opened his mouth to say something else, but she interrupted him before that.

“I am not playing anything. I am just answering your question. Truthfully.” She emphasised the last word. Not for him, but more for herself. It was about time she did that. “You know we were different when we were kids. How we used to play together. How we snuck in the kitchen to steal food.How you taught me the first bending moves. How we warned each other when dad was in a bad mood. That was not us against each other. That was us against the rest.” She paused, to give her words the room and weight they deserved to have. “You cannot tell me you do not remember what tricks we used to play on the staff. Or what stories you used to tell me about the dragons when I had snuck into your room at night. Or what you swore me when Lu Ten went to war.” 

Her brothers reaction reaction told Azula that he did, just as well as her. Even though that night had been so long ago, and at least to her felt like it had happened in another universe. 

The day that their older cousins, who had kind of been like a second bigger brother to her, had announced that he would leave to conquer Ba Sing Se. Of course the adults had tried to play it down, but Azula had not fallen for their tales. She knew what war was. Or least, she had thought so. At. least she had already understood that sometimes people went there and did not return. And that now one of those people would be Lu Ten. 

She had refused to join the family during meals and even missed her lessons, for the only time in her life. All she had done was sit at a turtle duck pond and stare into the water, which no amount of yelling nor nice words from either parent had been able to change. Azula did not remember what excactly she had been thinking back then, except for the she sworn herself to never talk to any of them ever again. Which had worked quite well. Until Zuko had shown up to sit next to her and put a hand around her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t be so sad, Azula,” he had said, obviously trying to sound more cheerful than her really felt. “Lu Ten surely will come back soon and well.”

Azula did not know why, but after that her tears has just started to flow.

“Zuzu, he is abandoning me. Abandoning us.” She had sniffed, hiding her face between her hands. “How can he just do that? I thought he was our friend.”

“Because he had to fight in the war. Like our uncle. It’s important for our nation. And his duty.”

“Stupid duty!” Today, her own reaction seemed hilarious to Azula. But she knew that she had meant each word she had said, the way only a child can mean them. “I think if you really care for someone, you do not just leave them behind. Not for any duty.”

“Well, I know that I would never abandon you.” Her brother had responded, he too as convinced of his words as only a child could be . “Not for anything in the world.”

“Promise?” she had asked.

“Promise” he had said, and they had shaken hands dramatically, while looking each other deep in eyes. As if they had just sealed a very important and serious deal.

Now, Azula was staring at those exact same and yet so different eyes again. Still the same shade of gold, but one of them now scared.

In them, she saw understanding. And then a very, very deep regret. A regret not limited to the events of today, but that seemed to span over all of their lost days. She recognized it not only because it was so obviously written on his face, but because she felt it too. When her brother carefully put her down on her feet again, its weight on her shoulder nearly made her legs give in. 

“How only did we end up here?” Zuko asked finally, shaking his head. There was no more accusation in his voice. Just sadness and disbelieve. Azula wanted to reach out to him. As close as they were standing, it would have been easy to put her arm on his. But at the same time, he seemed to be so far away, and the divide that had built between them over years just felt uncrossable. 

When had it started? She wondered. When had she started seeing Zuko as friend and brother and more like an opponent? Like a rival for her parents approval? Had it been when her training had gotten more serious? Or when her father mood swings had gotten worse? Azula could not remember. What she remembered was how there suddenly had been this fear. This fear to fail and disappoint, that had come and chased every other motion away. That had numbed her feelings for anyone and anything else, except for this one need. This one need to be perfect. To be the best. 

“You know”, her brother continued after a moment, while Azula was still deep in her thoughts,  “I usually tell myself that this is what we were destined for. That we just were made to stand on opposing sides and fight. But-“ his voice cracked, and took a while until he continued talking. “But that’s not true. That’s just what they taught us. What he taught us. He just was so good at it.” 

She truly wanted to believe that he was right. But she had just reached another conclusion before. One that she hated to have had, and one that she even more hated to share. But she had wanted the truth in first place. So now there was no turning back.

“No. It was me. I ruined it. I was so obsessed with making father proud and…..I”,

 Azula forced herself to continue speaking even though she felt like she was choking on her words, “I sacrificed you for that. I…I sacrificed us.” She felt hot, burning tears on her cheeks, but she did not care enough to even swipe them away. What were a few tears for so much that was lost? 

“And now it’s all ruined. I….I`m sorry.”

“Azula…no”, she saw her brother reaching our his hand. Slowly and hesitant, as if he was afraid she would back away. But she did not, and so he put it down on her shoulder. “Azula, you were child. We both were. And I am sure there were times I could have been a better brother, but I was not. Like back then. But also today. And for those I am sorry, too.” 

There were tears in his eyes as well, Azula noticed, just like the slight crack in his voice. And she knew that he meant everything he said.

“And of course I am sorry for the years we lost, and I wish we could turn back time and make things different. But-,” Zuko paused, and Azula could tell that he was carefully considering each word, “we still can have so many years ahead. Maybe we can try to make this right. Maybe we can at least take our future back from them”

He brother looked at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but also nervously twitching his free hand. 

Azula knew that he was excepting an answer to his proposal. She also it would be difficult, and that it might not even work. She also knew that there had been a time where her answer would have been a clear no. No risk. No trust. No dependency. That had been her default, and part of her strategy to success. And also how she had lost everyone that had ever mattered to her. But now, more than anything, she just wanted her brother back.

“You really think we could?”, she said therefore, “because I really do want these years.

“Yes I do”, Zuko smiled through his tears. “After all, I have a promise to keep.”

And then, after what had felt like an eternity, Azula hugged her bother again. (submit another scene if you enjoyed this?)

#Azula #Zuko #avatar #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #atla fanfic #my writing #I refuse to accept the comics as canon #also yeah I deserved to write this #as a treat #jk I just had to distract my mind from...stuff #maybe spare some love <3?

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

Hi fren! Been following ur blog for a while and honestly I love it! I was wondering if I can get ur thoughts on something :)) remember in sozins comet when Iroh refused to fight ozai becuz “history will see it as more violence, a brother killing a brother to gain power” but then cue to Azula and Zuko who are fighting for the throne and it’s fine?? with them?? doesn’t that count as more violence as well? Thank if you ever come across this :D

Okay, first off, I think it needs to be clarified what Iroh actually said in that scene in regards to sending Zuko to defeat Azula because the two situations are very different and everyone involved knew that. The exchange went as such:

Zuko: Uncle, you’re the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the fatherlord.... we need you to come with us. 

Iroh: No Zuko, it won’t turn out well. 

Zuko: You can beat him. And we’ll be there to help. 

Iroh: Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don’t know that I could, it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as more senseless violence: a brother killing a brother to gain power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is if the Avatar defeats the Firelord. 

(dialogue, etc.) 

Iroh: Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation, so that when the Firelord falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order. But Azula will be there waiting for you. 

When I see the argument that Iroh sending Zuko after Azula was hypocritical, I think it ignores the reality of the situation and the pragmatic approach. Because Iroh was absolutely correct throughout this whole exchange. Here were the facts as of this point: 

1. Iroh and Zuko were declared traitors and could not legally assume the throne once Ozai was defeated, meaning Azula would assume the throne by default.

2. By this point in the series, Azula had shown at every point that she was just as enthusiastic about waging war and had shown no remorse for the suffering of the Earth Kingdom at the hands of the Fire Nation. She was particularly enthusiastic about the two major affronts against the Earth Kingdom: conquering Ba Sing Se and using Sozin’s Comet to burn down the Earth Kingdom. 

3. Azula was the one who had the idea for the ‘let’s use the comet to burn down the Earth Kingdom’ plan in the first place and was proud of that plan. If Ozai was defeated, she would have used her position to go through with the plan anyway.

Realistically, this situation is in no way ideal, but the reality is that Azula did need to be stopped from assuming the throne. Make no mistake, if she had the opportunity to do so, she would have been at Ozai’s side burning down the Earth Kingdom instead of staying in the Fire Nation. She was dangerous and needed to be stopped and that was evident from her actions throughout the entire series. 

And the situations of Zuko defeating Azula and Iroh defeating Ozai are completely different, mainly because it was never Zuko or Iroh’s intention for Zuko to kill Azula like everyone else was planning with Ozai. The intent with Zuko going after Azula was to stop her from being crowned, which was a thing that needed to be stopped, otherwise, the war would have continued. And Iroh was absolutely correct in his assumptions: Zuko and Katara arrived in the Fire Nation just before Azula was crowned Firelord. And in the end, as we all know, they didn’t kill her, they just removed her as a threat so Zuko could assume the throne. There is a difference between taking out an actively harmful force in a position of absolute authority (Ozai) and stopping a harmful force from taking a position of absolute authority (Azula). 

There’s also the facts that 1. Iroh had his own history as a general who held siege on Ba Sing Se for 600 days, allegedly committed war crimes, and wasn’t exactly well regarded in the Earth Kingdom. 2. Like he said, a fight between Iroh and Ozai was not one that had a clear victor. Iroh was not the right person to defeat Ozai, Aang was, for many reasons. (There’s also the fact that Iroh’s arc came full circle as he freed the city he once laid siege on, but that has less to do with the pragmatic rationale behind the match ups and more to do with thematic purposes.)

And this is a thing that also bothers me. There’s an argument that Iroh failed Azula and that part of the reason she was how she was fell on him and I don’t think that’s fair. And this post by @withyoutilltheendofthecredits articulates why: 

the ideas “azula was a victim of abuse who was manipulated and hurt by ozai” and “azula had a hand in a lot of trauma for zuko due to her awful treatment of him” can and should coexist

I think it’s important to keep in mind whenever we talk about Iroh, Azula, and Zuko how their dynamic was in season 2. Firstly, Iroh’s priority through this show was to keep Zuko safe. In season 1, he wasn’t so much there to actively help Zuko find Aang (and on multiple occasions seemed to work against Zuko’s mission), but rather was there to stop Zuko from making stupid decisions that would get him killed while offering emotional support and training him to be a better firebender. Does he actually want Zuko to kidnap the Avatar and return to his awful, abusive father? No. But he does want Zuko to have something that gives him hope, something that keeps him going. And Iroh’s priority is to be there to make sure this kid doesn’t do anything too reckless. 

 In season 2, Zuko technically no longer has his mission as he’s deemed an enemy of the Fire Nation and Iroh more explicitly works to help his nephew mentally and emotionally extricate himself from the family members that hurt him. At the beginning of the season when Zuko is excited about going home after Azula lies to them, Iroh voices his suspicion because unlike Zuko, who’s still holding onto the idea that he can win his father’s love, Iroh is able to look at the situation objectively and knows that if Zuko goes home, he’s not going to be safe and he is not going to be met with any sort of love. 

Zuko: Did you listen to Azula? Father’s realized how important family is. He cares about me. 

Iroh: I care about you!

And through the rest of the season, Iroh tries his best to take advantage of their new freedom by showing Zuko that he does deserve control of his own life, happiness, and unconditional love. He’s trying his best to help him through this difficult time because part of Zuko’s emotional struggle in this is reconciling with the fact that no, his father doesn’t want him, at all. When he was banished, he had the ‘if I get the Avatar I can go home’ thing to cling onto, but Iroh and everyone else knew that Ozai never actually intended for Zuko to succeed or return. So Zuko has to deal with that in season 2 and doesn’t get to that point, he still tries to capture Aang and he still joins Azula in Crossroads of Destiny because he’s not ready to let that little bit of hope that he could return home go. It isn’t until he takes a stand against Ozai with the “it was cruel and it was wrong” speech that he really discovers who he is and what he wants and the main reason he’s able to come to that conclusion is because of Iroh’s treatment of him in season 2. 

In season 2, Iroh not only protects Zuko from physical harm and takes care of him in regards to sickness, food, and water, but tries to drill into his head that he didn’t deserve the treatment from his father and shouldn’t throw his life away trying to please him. That he can have and deserves a peaceful life. And Zuko keeps going down the self destructive path because he’s been convinced for so long that him proving himself to his father is more important than his personal safety or happiness. Iroh just wants him to put himself before the man that abused him. He hates it that Zuko almost gets himself killed multiple times for the sake of Ozai. There’s their talk in The Avatar Day and their fight in Lake Laogai that bring this to the forefront: 

Iroh: Even if you did capture the Avatar, I’m not so sure it would solve all our problems. 

Zuko: Then there is no hope at all 

Iroh: No Zuko, you must never give into despair. 

Iroh: And then what?! You never think these things through. This is exactly what happened when you tried to capture the Avatar at the North Pole. You had him and then you had nowhere to go. 

Zuko: I would have figured something out. 

Iroh: No! If his friends hadn’t found you, you would have frozen to death! 

Zuko: I know my own destiny. 

Iroh: Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you? 

And as Iroh acts as Zuko’s protector and tries to break him away from his self destructive mentality, how does Azula fit into that? Here are the interactions between Azula, Zuko, and Iroh in season 2: 

Azula trying to take Zuko and Iroh as prisoners to the Fire Nation with no remorse 

Azula attempting to shoot lightning at Zuko in the first episode of season 2 and Zuko only being saved by Iroh redirecting it at the last second 

Azula shooting Iroh and seriously injuring him (it could have been lighting, but I think it was just fire) 

Azula trying to capture Iroh and Zuko in Ba Sing Se and succeeding 

Azula manipulating Zuko into going back to Ozai 

Objectively, Azula is a threat against Zuko’s safety and there’s a good chance she would have killed him in the first episode of season 2 if Iroh hadn’t stopped her. He knows exactly how dangerous she is and made the decision that he was going to do what it took to keep Zuko safe, which he did. With this exchange in Bitter Work. 

This isn’t Iroh saying ‘I have no sympathy for my niece whatsoever and am choosing to ignore her’. This is Iroh saying ‘Azula has proven herself to be an objective and real threat and I need to keep Zuko safe from her.’ And he was correct. I feel like this stance is reasonable when the last two times she saw them she tried to shoot Zuko with lightning and actually shot Iroh. 

And the reality of the situation is that Iroh shouldn’t have had to be the one to raise Zuko or Azula. He wasn’t their parent and he shouldn’t have had to be responsible for them. Ideally, Ozai should have been the one to do that, but that wasn’t the reality of the situation. And Iroh was faced with a choice: go with Zuko who was banished, injured, and lost, or stay with Azula who was not in a good home with a good influence, but who was still the favored, prodigy princess. He had a choice of which kid to stand behind and I think it’s fair to say that Zuko needed Iroh more when he was banished. 

Ideally, there shouldn’t have been a choice for Iroh. Ideally, Iroh shouldn’t have had to raise his nephew. Ideally, Azula should have had a better parental influence who didn’t encourage her violent streak. But it was by no means an ideal situation. Azula was dangerous and remorseless and Iroh was entirely correct when he saw her rising to power and realized ‘if she isn’t stopped now, there is no telling what she’s going to do’. Because he knows exactly who raised her.

#hot leaf meta #atla #avatar the last airbender #azula #iroh #zuko #tw: abuse #the babes are asking

[seyaryminamoto]

How much was azula and zuko blinded of the propaganda?I have seen someone say that" azula knew the propaganda was a lie and there evidence was the fire nation were willingly to burn ba sing sa to the ground so azula should have known better"

O_o um, no offense intended to that person but... where’s the evidence that Azula ever had any doubts about the Fire Nation’s supremacist views?

I can outright point at a key dialogue where Zuko blatantly proves he’s not blinded by his father’s propaganda: Book 1, episode 3. Zuko directly tells Zhao: “If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!”, quoted right out of the wikia. So... heh. Zuko seems to be critical of his father, of his conquest, of his colonialist pursuits...

... And yet he proceeds to continue chasing the Avatar, fighting against him, outright committing treason against his own nation by releasing Aang but ONLY so he could be the one to turn him in personally, still saying things like “My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all.” (Book 1, episode 13), telling Iroh “I want it back. I want the Avatar, I want my honor, my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless.” (Book 2, episode 1), introducing himself in this manner: “My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne.” (Book 2, episode 7), and the list goes on :’) basically, insert everything nefarious or gray Zuko does through the three seasons, and factor in that Zuko has proven he doesn’t believe his father’s propaganda since early Book 1... you get the picture.

So... what that line in “The Southern Air Temple” ends up telling us is that all his actions are self-serving! :’D Which takes away from Zuko’s big speech to Ozai, namely when he says that the argument about the war spreading the Fire Nation’s greatness was an “amazing lie”. No, it wasn’t an amazing lie, and no, he didn’t believe it, at least he didn’t ever since the show began, as far as we saw. Therefore... I give no free passes to Zuko over any arguments that he was doing Ozai’s bidding or acting in his behalf. No one who says “my father is a fool” with such conviction in the show’s very THIRD EPISODE can pretend he was completely unaware of how wrong the Fire Nation’s direction was until he finally had his change of heart and awakening to the goodness of the world. He knew it was wrong. He did everything he did because it didn’t matter to him that it was, his throne and honor mattered more. 

And considering I could quote at least three different instances where he talks about the throne as his own, or meant to be his own, I think it’s damn clear it was constantly on his mind. The only occasion when he says anything about wanting to do right by the Fire Nation itself is with Mai in the Boiling Rock... and by then he’s “redeemed”. Ergo, he’s supposed to know better at last. Before redemption? Zero signs that Zuko believes the Fire Nation needs new guidance and that he realizes the problem is Ozai’s propaganda and ideological indoctrination. That line in episode 3 suggests he KNOWS his father can and should be questioned, but later on he doesn’t betray any interest in doing so until he outright confronts him in The Eclipse. And that’s the thing: Zuko knows Ozai is bullshitting everyone, but it’s not his problem. That’s not why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s not here to further spread Ozai’s gospel, he’s here to get the Avatar and earn his ticket back home, and he’ll do ANYTHING to achieve that.

Meanwhile, Azula... anyone can say she’s not blind to the horrors the Fire Nation has committed, that she’s an active participant of the war, that she’s her father’s enabler too... sure. But I don’t think ANYONE can say with any degree of certainty that Azula had broken out of the Fire Nation indoctrination on any level by the time we meet her in the show. Azula, as far as I’ve always seen her, is a product of her upbringing: she is sheltered, troubled, capable of dismissing any moral dilemmas in the face of any mission, absolutely unwilling to fail at anything she ever does. But really... where’s the evidence that she KNOWS the Fire Nation isn’t inherently superior to the others? Where’s the evidence that she knows Sozin’s doctrines are just excuses? I’m not saying she’s not smart enough to figure it out, I certainly write her that way myself... but I don’t think there’s anything you can point to in the show, the way there IS, objectively, with Zuko, to say “Yeah she’s 100% aware that the Fire Nation supremacist ideals are BS and she just follows fit with them because she wants a throne for herself.”

In contrast: how many times does Azula say the word “throne” in the show?:

“The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down.” (Book 2, Episode 20) -- not the Fire Nation throne, but Ba Sing Se’s. Ergo, a throne she took via strategic prowess... that she then abandoned and left in Joo Dee’s hands SOMEHOW (why... Azula, just... why?? xD) before returning to the Fire Nation instead of merely relishing in having obtained MORE POWER!

... That’s literally it.

Where Zuko constantly talks about “his throne”, Azula only displays genuine, overt, blatant interest in becoming Fire Lord when Ozai directly offers her the position. She doesn’t shy away from it at all, of course, but when she’s seen talking about her alleged future as Fire Lord, her wording is... curiously different from Zuko’s:

“My father asked you to come here and talk to me, didn't he‌? He thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being Fire Lord. But I will be the greatest leader in Fire Nation history.” (Book 3, Episode 20)

This isn’t even fully healthy Azula, so using her behavior here as representative for her genuine views is a tricky thing to do. And yet... she says she will be the greatest LEADER? She’s not looking at the throne as something she is owed, she’s looking at it as a challenge she needs to prove herself worthy of. She’s not looking at a crown or a throne exclusively: she’s looking at LEADERSHIP. She’s ambitious enough to think BEYOND obtaining the power, and instead she’s already thinking of how she’ll use it.

This is a fundamental difference between both Zuko and Azula. Azula’s motivation wasn’t the throne, or a crown, or anything like that until the finale. If she’d wanted more political power, like I always say, she would’ve stayed in the Earth Kingdom and ruled over Ba Sing Se herself, getting high on the thrill of finally controlling a nation of her own. She’s the main artificer of the take-over, the Dai Li literally answer to her, and yet she didn’t stick around: she left the city for other people to deal with rather than going wild over her newly acquired power. Doesn’t this speak lengths about Azula’s priorities? And once she’s finally being offered the throne she does value, her troubled mind is set on LEADERSHIP. And while of course someone can argue she’s just vain and wants to be remembered forever, kind of like Zhao did, the question of what kind of leadership Azula has in mind is still worth asking: if she didn’t want the Earth Kingdom throne, it suggests she actually cherishes the Fire Nation above all else, and another nation’s throne doesn’t suffice or particularly prove fulfilling for her beyond the initial conquest. Prioritizing the Fire Nation, WITHOUT being Fire Lord yet, above Ba Sing Se’s throne... strongly suggests a belief that the Fire Nation matters more than anything else. And that’s basically what the Ozai propaganda impresses upon his people.

For further evidence... I present to you the Fire Nation Oath:

“My life I give to my country, with my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet may our March of Civilization continue.” (Book 3, Episode 2)

Just one reading of this oath explains Azula’s actions and motivations immediately. Recapping her actions throughout the show: 

She finds Iroh and Zuko under Ozai’s orders, attempts to take them home peacefully, then they rebel, she fights them and regards them as traitors, loses, still intends to continue chasing them after her defeat.

Gathers new allies for her quest, comes across the Avatar, decides to take him down, fails, decides she has two targets now.

Chases the Avatar, fights both him and Zuko, narrowly escapes before being defeated, all be it to fight another day.

Helps in the Drill’s operations in Ba Sing Se, nearly stops Team Avatar’s scheme, fails again once Aang finishes their plan perfectly.

Follows Appa, fights and defeats the Kyoshi Warriors, takes their uniforms, impersonates them and breaks into Ba Sing Se while no one’s the wiser.

Acquires crucial information about the enemies’ plans to attack her nation on the day of the Eclipse.

Acquires the support of the Dai Li, captures Katara, Zuko and Iroh, overthrows Kuei.

Offers Zuko one more chance to fight by her side, attempts to fight Aang and Katara by herself, then is shown willing to fight Zuko as well as those two until she joins forces safely with Zuko and they defeat Aang and Katara.

Takes Zuko home as a hero, he hides crucial information about the Avatar, Azula attempts to set up a trap so Zuko takes the fall if the Avatar isn’t dead.

Offers Zuko advice about not visiting Iroh so he stays out of trouble, which he disregards to no consequences.

Goes on a chaotic vacation with her friends.

Gives Zuko a history lesson with more than a few harsh burns.

Tells Zuko he should go to a war meeting, which he attends later to no consequences, and she was right to say he was expected to be in it.

Intervenes in the war meeting and cuts off Zuko before he says the wrong thing, Ozai extrapolates Azula’s suggestion into his perfect, megalomaniac villain plan, and she’s shown perfectly satisfied with supplying her father an idea he values.

Organizes and leads the resistance against the invasion, stalls the Avatar’s group, keeps her father safe.

Visits the Boiling Rock, presumably upon finding out her brother infiltrated the prison, and in all likelihood suspecting he didn’t do it alone, considering that she immediately barges into the interrogations about the escape attempts rather than appearing at Zuko’s holding cell.

Fights Sokka and Zuko, nearly dies when the Warden decides to cut the line but saves herself by flying off, loses her shit when Mai betrays her, gets chi-blocked, sends her friends to prison.

Attacks Team Avatar in the Western Air Temple, takes a near-fatal plummet but still manages to survive and return home while the enemies escape.

Intends to go with Ozai to set fire to the Earth Kingdom, loses her temper, Ozai loses his, he offers her the role of Fire Lord and becomes Phoenix King.

Loses herself to paranoia gradually, hallucinates her mother, pushes everyone away, agrees to fight an Agni Kai with Zuko instead of merely commanding to be crowned disregarding Zuko’s intrusion.

Loses the fight against Katara, is sent to an asylum.

I think there’s quite a lot in here that suggests Azula’s actions are meant to uphold the values and beliefs of the Fire Nation Oath. She gave herself completely to her missions, to the point of even facing deadly peril more than once. She fought many battles, lost a LOT of them, and yet she never backed down. She is by far the most strategic character in the Fire Nation side of the story, switching her tactics constantly while the show progresses... and what is she after? Victories. For whom? Herself? Why... again, if it were just for herself, why abandon Ba Sing Se, the crown jewel of the Earth Kingdom’s Ultimate Conqueror? Why allow Zuko to share in that big achievement, too, instead of merely locking him up someplace and taking all the credit for herself?

There’s seriously zero reason to believe Azula DOESN’T live by the Fire Nation Oath. I, personally, don’t see how any of her actions indicate she’s questioned her nation’s indoctrinated creed in any way. Do I think she’s smart enough to know that the war wasn’t about spreading “greatness”? Sure. Does this automatically mean she was doing everything she ever did for herself, and not for the Fire Nation AND her father? Absolutely not. And that’s where Zuko and Azula are crucially, fundamentally different: Zuko’s concerns are PERSONAL. Zuko’s battles are PERSONAL. Zuko wants HIS honor, HIS throne: Azula never says any similar words in the entire show. Azula’s biggest display of ambition is claiming she wants to be the Fire Nation’s greatest leader. Ambitious, yes, BUT... an ambition that is perfectly in line with the oath, again, especiall with this line: “may our march of civilization continue”. Whereas Zuko’s words and actions throughout the show honestly don’t strike any legitimate chords with the Oath, as far as I can tell?

And I’m relying on the Oath because it’s literally the only solid evidence we have of actual creed and speeches the Fire Nation people are taught. While we can make plenty of guesses as to what else their education includes, by judging Fire Nation people’s actions and behavior, the only solid things we have are the misinformation the teacher attempts to give the children in Aang’s classroom and the Oath she makes the children recite. I think it’s safe to guess most Fire Nation people would know that Oath by heart, and probably attempt to live by it, too.

But like I said, where Azula’s actions can easily be interpreted as morally awful ways of displaying the “values” present in the Fire Nation Oath, I don’t see how Zuko’s actions EVER had anything to do with those values. They plain didn’t. And that isn’t a bad thing, objectively speaking: it means Zuko wasn’t insanely attached to the Fire Nation to the point of valuing it above his own life, after all. And yet, it puts a spin on Zuko’s actions and behavior that definitely doesn’t do his character any favors: no, his actions aren’t motivated by the Fire Nation Oath or any similar creed, they’re motivated, above all else, by the hopes that his father will return his birthright and honor to him. And his redemption is, of course, coded as him realizing that Ozai doesn’t get to decide whether he has honor or not! Which... again... is a blatant way of saying that Zuko’s true motivation wasn’t “doing Ozai’s bidding and advancing the Fire Nation’s war”, it was his honor, his throne, and everything to do with what he’d lost after his banishment. The whole show is full of obvious signs that Zuko’s not motivated by any beliefs greater than this -- such as the fact that he returns home as a hero and it feels WRONG to him. It’s not only because his father now respects him under the false pretenses that he killed the Avatar, but also because he plain feels out of place and isn’t happy at all! Why? Because he “got everything back”, and it feels off. Why is it off? Because he wants honor and he doesn’t feel like he regained it at all in the first half of Book 3. Then he turns his back on his father and chooses a whole different path and he’s finally at peace with himself, so much he can’t even bend anymore :’D but the point is, simply, that there’s no evidence anywhere within the show that Zuko honest to gods was acting out of anything but his own, personal needs rather than a constant pursuit for the Fire Nation’s advancement.

And like I said before, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It probably makes his redemption “easier”, to a fault, since there’s less to address. Do I like it? No. Do I think Zuko is fundamentally a better human being than Azula because he questioned Ozai and she didn’t? Considering how many awful things he still did while proving he could question his father, not a chance. Do I think Azula is fundamentally a better human being than Zuko since her actions do seem to follow fit with what Fire Nation indoctrination looks like? Considering what that indoctrination entails, and the deeds she proves capable of to uphold it, the answer would once again be “not a chance”.

In short: neither buying the Fire Nation indoctrination or questioning it makes either Azula or Zuko objectively better people. Both are capable of amoral deeds and actions that should never be supported, encouraged or excused :’D and while I absolutely will impress that they have different motivations, which codify their actions, I don’t think Azula’s deeds would be objectively any worse if someone SOMEHOW finds solid evidence that she truly didn’t believe in any of these doctrines, just as I don’t think Zuko’s would be any better if it’s proven (though... I’d be pretty sure it can’t be) that he’s just as brainwashed as everyone else in the Fire Nation.

On a final note, directly answering your final concern there: both Zuko and Azula are shown reacting to the notion of Ba Sing Se being burned to the ground. Heck, Ursa is shown reacting to it too. If we need a refresher...

If this is somehow proof that Azula “understands” the FIre Nation is evil (How? She’s laughing like it’s a perfectly happy revelation? So is her mother? So is her brother? How does someone watch this scene and interpret this as “this messed up family KNOWS they’re the BAD GUYS!”, rather than “this messed up family thinks burning a city down is GOOD?!”), then it’s also proof Zuko and Ursa do. And they still laugh just as she does.

If the person in question was talking about Azula’s intervention in the war meeting? Zuko’s reaction shows he thinks burning down a continent is evil. Zuko’s betrayal of the Fire Nation shows he didn’t want anything to do with that (his reluctance to share this information with Team Avatar, however, is highly illogical?). Azula’s behavior doesn’t suggest at all that she thinks burning an enemy nation is anything but a sign of superiority, something both Ursa and Zuko are totally fine with in the scene above, and her suggestion, yet again, is something that is perfectly in line with the Fire Nation’s morally reprehensible values. As such, it’s not something that proves Azula somehow was acting of her own accord and is immune to Fire Nation indoctrination and propaganda, by any means.

So.

I’d think that answers that. :’)

#thea-here #yikes this got long #but #hopefully as it's so late #it won't bother anyone's dashboards #if it does let me know #and I'll read-more it #:'D #but really #why do people try to make arguments that can be deflated in a heartbeat #like... #I rambled on and on because I love to? #but man #there's zero substance in that theory #zero logic #zero analysis #*shrug* #just the truth

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Alright let's try this Soulmate body switch AU I'm also attempting this whole "make a tag" thing... bare with me, ive only actually used this app for like 4 days now im gonna go with "RayMakesSoulmates" for now... uhm, idk what else to go with uhhhhh yeah, names Ray btw...

Okay here we go. The idea of switching bodies is something a bit strange to me so let me make this work for me.

Basically it happens once a year after you either turn 17 or meet your soulmate. If its the latter then there has to be alot of turmoil and confusion on one side to trigger the first switch because it does not happen at the first encounter. However after the first encounter you'll sometimes have little blurry dreams that are in fact core memories of your soulmate. But theyre always too blurry to point out who's involved and sounds are too muffled to pin point any specific noises words or what have you.

Now, the dreams don't happen every night but they happen often enough that you are made aware that you have met your soulmate at some point recently.

So after Zuko visits the south and they begin their cat and mouse game around the world Zuko often has blurry dreams of white with black falling what he thinks is people screaming and what he knows is muffled crying. While Sokka has random dreams of what he thinks is someone moving away into the darkness and someone screaming out to them but he can't figure out what they're saying. Another dream he has is a blurry glow of bright blue and crying. There's also one that shows up more often than the other two, its when he sees what he believes is someone moving towards him saying something, but its muffled, then a bright light and muffled screaming and crying.

However after Ba Sing Se Sokka has a dream that's clear and vivid, not muffled and not blurry. After he takes a moment from shooting up to a sitting position he realizes that this is not a dream, he's switched bodies. Standing up and moving the blankets off of him he looks around and sees the there are fire nation items everywhere, it looks like he's in a royal bedroom. He elects to keep calm as he moves towards where he thinks is a bathroom, he is correct and when he looks into the mirror he freezes. His heart drops into his stomach. Sokka can hardly believe what he's looking at. Staring back at him is not his face, but Zuko's. He reaches up to touch the scar on Zuko's face. While yes he has control over his body and he doesn't exactly know how to act 'firenation' let alone 'fire nation royalty' he stands straight. "This won't last longer than 3 hours." He reminds himself

"What won't last longer than three hours?" Azula's voice breaks through

Instantly on edge and irritated Sokka- ahem Zuko turns to Azula "what do you want Azula?" He says in a voice thats much less irritated, theyre siblings right? So they have to be chummy right

"Oo! You sound so much less angry!" She muses "disgusting, anyways, Mai wanted me to let you know she's leaving today"

Why would he care about that? Oh they must be friends? Maybe they're dating? Okay, don't screw this up "uh, okay"

"Aw don't be so sad Zuzu~ you two would have never worked out anyways, her and Ty Lee switched bodies just three days ago. It was honestly was kind of amusing watching her string you along" This is not how siblings normally talk to eachother. He just glared at Azula "alright alright sheesh, ill leave you alone" he found something to write on and quickly jotted down the conversation because if he was given that information Zuko would need it.

Meanwhile Zuko shot awake and found himself lying next to appa Katara and Aang, so he is alive huh? Confused he figured he must be dreaming until he realized his vision was clear and nothing was muffled. He was below deck on a fire nation ship. He paused a moment before he stood and noticed Sokka's boomerang beside him. He lifed it and saw Sokka in the reflection. His reaction seemed to mirror(haha get it) Sokka's when he saw Zuko in the mirror. But he dropped the boomerang and it made a loud bang which woke the other two up "Sokka what are you doing, the sun is barely up"

He paused and cleared his throat. Okay, sure he's been chasing them he needs to not blow this "uh, sorry, nightmare"

Katara shifted and turned to him, a genuine look of worry in her eyes "do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a tone that reminded him of his mother. Genuine love.

He forced himself not to tear up at the memory and just shook his head "no, I honestly can't remember it. Just scared me is all" the hesitation in Katara's expression before she responded was strange to him

"Alright, if you say so, do you mind going and asking dad to change the course? We need to stop and get supplies"

His hesitation and expression probably made her realize what happened "okay, youre not Sokka right now are you?" He froze and nodded slowly "alright, you dont have to tell me who you are, but I'll help you through the motions, Aang and I switched back in Ba Sing Se, that was the day when you questioned why I said I'd fly around, er- or that was when Sokka questioned me" okay she was a little more accepting of this than he thought.

"Uhm, okay, yeah, right, uhm, I don't want to blow this so can you just uh show me around? I'm sure Sokka knows all the people he's- oh agni he's gonna meet my dad" zuko internally cringed.

In that moment it seemed to click with Katara "alright, so you're telling me your Zuko"

Zuko flinched and backed up against the wall "look I dont know what you want me to do about this, but I promise you that I'm not going to ruin anything, I know I messed up, hell Sokka's probably noticing that my family doesn't work like yours does. I've been so confused my whole life okay, I'm sorry I betrayed you in Ba Sing Se, my sister has a way of manipulating me. I just hope he doesn't get hurt, he probably doesn't know he needs to keep his mouth shut in my family." Zuko was panicking when Katara reached out

"Zuko, zuko what do you mean?" Her voice shaky

"Look I cant tell you everything, I cant tell you my life story not right now, I need to get through with this. If we meet again, which I hope we do, ill tell you then. But right now, please just show me what Sokka goes through day to day. I know he's not gonna like what happens on the other end, I just hope it doesn't go too bad."

Katara nodded "alright well. Let me walk you around and let you learn the peoples names, ill just say hi to them and say their names." She paused "but first, tell me about your mother, i dont know if I believe it anymore"

He sighed before telling her the entire story.

Meanwhile at the palace Sokka was sitting in a war meeting knowing to keep his mouth shut unless spoken to. He didnt want to set people off or let them know he wasn't actually Zuko. The topic of the earth kingdome came up and Ozai turned to him "Zuko, you've spent time among the Earth kingdom citizens. What information do you have?"

"Uh, the Earth kingdoms citizens are strong willed and hopeful, as long as they have hope they will not yeild"

"Hmmm, I see, we need to crush their hope"

"Well, thats not what I-"

"I think we should take their precious hope and burn it to the ground!" Azula cuts in

"Yes, yes good idea Azula" Oh no

About an hour after the meeting the switch flipped, Sokka made notes about everything that he found important in time before the switch was over.

After they switched back Sokka found his sister and grabbed her shoulders "Katara, I have to tell you something, I just got back from a body swit-"

"And your soulmate is Zuko? I know, he cried when I was nice to him, what happened on your end?"

"Well, his whole family is mean to him"

"Figured"

"I was in a war meeting and found out their plan for the comet"

After relaying the information he found they discussed it with Aang.

Let's skip ahead to after the failed invasion and to the air temple when Zuko shows up.

"Hello, Zuko here"

No fighting it in this one

"Get your jerk bender butt over here" Katara and Sokka said practically in unison.

>im gonna wrap it up here. And yes Katara would notice its not Sokka and would totally pick up on Zuko, she's observant

>and no Azula wouldn't notice at all because she's used to Zuko being stand offish with her. Plus Sokka is so much better at impersonations than Zuko

@chaoticidiott @roman-does-nothing @bisexuallsokka @transzukostanblog

I dont know if I did this AU justice, I tried.

#RayMakesSoulmates #atla sokka #prince zuko #sokka #sokka x zuko #zukka #zuko #avatar the last airbender #so gay #omg #tw: caps

[the-hopefulpenguin]

Cause and Comrades

A snippet from when I started trying to write the Battle of Ba Sing Se, featuring a very tired and sad Kuvira. Title is taken from James McPherson’s book, ‘For Cause and Comrades’ about the American Civil War.  

The headquarters were nowhere near the front, and yet Kuvira reckoned it was louder than the fiercest battle, communications traffic and running messengers striking their own percussion. She strode through Aerial Forces Command, boots clacking on wooden floorboards. To either side, radio operators blurted out messages. Fragments caught and stuck to her.

“Bison 4-2-Actual this is - “

“ - take evasive action now.”

“Roger, vectoring Lightning-3 - “

She would have been proud if she hadn’t been so tired. This was the largest battle in eighty years. At least. Ninety thousand troops under her command from a dozen states, militia and Kingdom Army and security forces in one. Her leadership was the only thing holding them all together. Baatar had joked, on the march to Ba Sing Se, that it was strange; an army of immense disunity, fighting for unity. It hadn’t been a very funny joke. Baatar wasn’t good at them. An endearing quality.

The guard swung the door open ahead of her and saluted. She returned it automatically and went in.

It had been a noble’s retiring room before her army had come. He and his family had fled after Hou-Ting’s death, running for estates in Republic City rather than staying to piece his country back together. Elegant mahogany furnishing and a thick green pile carpet - oppressed under boxy cartographs and trodden flat by countless boots.

If the setting was evidence of military uniformity, the personnel, her generals, weren’t. Shan, her old second in Zaofu, still in gleaming metal armour. Jiang, a militia leader in homespun and an outrageous red scarf which almost distracted from the scar carving her face apart. Tsu, fresh from the front, every inch the mud-spattered military professional.

She shook his hand in the north-western style.

“Brief me,” she said, shortly.

“Tough fighting,” he replied, sounding as tired as she felt. The 15th Division had been grinding forward in the Lower Ring for close to a month. House by house, courtyard by courtyard. She’d had to rotate in more earthbenders to keep up the advance, and they were leaving precious little in their wake. “We’ve pressed them back almost halfway to the Middle Ring at the furthest point, but they’re bringing in more Dai Li and actual soldiers - no offence, Jiang.”

Jiang smiled without humour. “None taken.”

He went on. “So, its slowing. And they’re pushing back now, properly. The 31st was almost overrun this afternoon.”

“Understood,” she said, eyeing the map spread-eagled in front of them, metal unit markers and pinned in string showing positions, routes of march and supply, staging areas. Land vivisected and turned over to war. “And the north? Shan?”

“We’re holding steady,” he said, that calm baritone unchanged from Zaofu even when everything else was. “Minor engagements along the line. The 59th Infantry got the worst of it, but the enemy was driven off with air support.”

“They’re still massing for a major offensive?”

Shan dipped his head minutely. “Yes. At least two divisions of armour.”

“Must be damn near everything they’ve got left,” Jiang said. “None of that good stuff in the city, I tell ya.”

Kuvira decided to ignore her. Jiang was capable where it counted and aggravating in all else. “We need to accelerate our schedule,” she said, hand starting to rise so she could rub her brow. She stilled it deliberately and went on. “I spoke with Chief Tonraq an hour ago. The world leaders plan to convene and offer official backing to a warlord of their choice soon. Perhaps within the week.”

“They don’t have the right!” Tsu exclaimed.

“They have the power,” Kuvira said, bleakly. That was the essence of it. They didn’t want an Earth Kingdom in ruins or chaos. Not for the nation’s benefit, not of any sense of altruism. Just a political expedience. Suyin had refused to be that expedient. The hunt for another tool was on, with ponderous inevitability. If she wasn’t their chosen implement, for all it stung, she’d lose and so would the nation. “Tonraq’s on our side. I don’t know about the others. We need a fast and decisive victory.”

“If the Avatar - “ Jiang began.

“Assume the Avatar is dead,” Kuvira said. Too harsh and too far. She saw it in the expressions. Spirits, but she needed sleep. “We can’t rely on her intervention. We have to solve this one on our own. Tsu, how soon will the 15th be ready for a major push?”

He blinked and stiffened at the word of command, then paused to assess. “Two days. Perhaps three at the outside.”

“Make it two.”

“But, we’ll be overextended. Can the 22nd - “

“No,” she said. A wave of her hands shifted the map markers. “The 15th will advance further. Make it look like overextension. We’ll put the 22nd in as well, but in dribs and drabs. Regiment by regiment. Best opportunity they’ll get for that attack on our northern flank to work.”

Shan peered down at the map. “You’re contracting the position in the north? Like at Second Omashu?”

“Yes.” She nodded briefly, and explained to Tsu and Jiang, too frazzled or incompetent or both. “I’m going to peel troops off the northern lines and dig in around Achase - “ she indicated an agricultural town sitting at a crossroads which commanded much of the traffic to the wall breaches. “The 17th Armoured and our Si Wong cavalry will hide to the north-east - I’m pulling earthbenders from the 15th to make concealment. Once they’ve spent themselves against Achase, our reserves take them from the rear.”

Jiang snorted and stifled a half-born chuckle at Kuvira’s glare.

“Our attack will be much costlier without earthbenders,” Tsu said.

“I know,” Kuvira replied, sharp and brittle like frozen glass. Too few men and too few options. “You understand your orders?”

A round of nods, the courtesies of farewell, and Kuvira was left alone in the command room. The armchair in the corner was a plush, green silk affair. She wanted to sit. To sleep. To play a round of pai sho with Baatar. Any number of luxuries. But there was no time. There was simply no time.

She cursed the heavens and the spirits and the vicissitudes of world leaders. And went back to work.

#kuvira #baavira #lok #lok fanfic #kuvira probably needs a hug #and at this stage it would not be unethical to give her one