i dont talk about it enough but dragon empress azula iktr

azula.

dailyasiandramas’ sunday throwback ★ [WEEK 26]

WORD OF HONOR 山河令 [2021] Dir. Gary Sing, Jones Ma, Li Hong Yu

THE LAST AIRBENDER .

cracks knuckles im finally free

square up rn

🔫🔫🔫 ROOT DOWN

how else was the world meant to accept a girl born to slaughter the gods ? spend the rest of her life trying to stifle her potential, lock her up, and hide her away in a makeshift prison created specifically for her. only her. perhaps the thought alone should provide a sense of comfort, even in her weakest, she remained a fearsome entity. it was astonishing, truly. they'd guaranteed that fire within her would be snuffed and yet her keepers trembled standing a wingspan's length from her — distance was their greatest defense, it seemed. it would have been laughable if not utterly humiliating, and she wondered how much of it had been specifically orchestrated by her own blood ?

she should have killed him when she had the chance, and she had many. “ you're right, brother. i am a coward, the biggest one. i was too weak to do what i should have done all these years. and now here we are. ” sarcasm, thick in her words. she could just barely make out the image of him. the emblem worn loud and proud — it should have been her. it was supposed to be her. she earned that right, and he'd taken it from her. just as he'd taken everything without a second thought, and the world thought him the helpless one. perhaps they were all vipers hiding in the garden, awaiting their chance.

“ i don't feel good, zu-zu. ” she finally mumbled, the nickname slipping off the tip of her tongue. for just that moment, she was his little sister again, tears welling her eyes from the scruff at her knee when she'd fallen in the square years ago. she would cry until he came to her. “ i just want to be better, i don't know how much longer i can't endure this. i'll be better. ” when it sounded like she might have choked back a sob, it slowly crescendoed into laughter — something deeply, utterly broken and deranged.

The  comparison  razes  him  in  such  a  way  that  anyone  else  might  have  checked  themselves  for  burns,    as  if  she  might  have  set  him  on  fire  without  the  use  of  her  hands  or  mind.    It’s  probably  what  she  intended.    Prying  a  reaction  from  him  was  once never  a  difficult  feat  for  anybody,    but  it  had  always  seemed  Azula’s  foremost  pleasure  most  days in their childhood.    Perhaps  now,    with  little  else  to  occupy  her  time,    it  will  become  much  the  same  again.

Zuko  can  feel  the  barb  of  her  attack  like  a  physical  wound.    He’d  demanded  death  not  long  ago,    too,    but  for  the  very  claim  his  sister  implies  now.    Except  Azula  does  not  accuse  her  big  brother  of  a  likeness  to  Ozai;    Azula  calls  him  worse.    Azula  demands  that  he  become  worse.    And  it  is  so  easy  to  picture  it.    He’s  pictured  it  before.    He  pictures  it  every  day.    He,    feared  and  reviled  by  the  very  people  he  longs  to  inspire  better  within.    He,    heir  to  the  monster  that  built  this  great  nation,    toppling  it  back  to  the  desecrated  ground  that  sets  the  foundation  for  his  every  nightmare.

She  wants  him  angry  because  she  is  angry.    Zuko  wonders,    not  for  the  first  time,    if  she  feels  it,    too.    Sister,    he  wants  to  plead,    is  it  anger  in  your  heart  or  something  far  more  painful?    His  hands  are  still  fists  at  his  sides,    but  Azula  meets  the  eyes  of  a  man  she  doesn’t  know  yet.    Maybe  she  only  sees  the  boy  still.    Zuko  understands  why  she  hates  him  if  that’s  the  case.    ❝    More  honorable,    ❞  he  repeats.    Zuko  dips  his  chin  in  a  well  -  acted  display  of  deference,    but  does  not  look  away  from  her.    ❝    Death  is  easy  when  you  are  ashamed.    I  never  took  you  for  a  coward,    Sister.    ❞

someone said the live action "asian-washed" atla and i've never been so baffled in my life

ok i finished the live action and my overall reaction is that i had fun watching it :p loved seeing an all poc ( asian + indigenous ) cast minus the white boy <3 were there things i was ???????? about........... yes. but i was just honestly brain empty just vibing anyways because if i wanted to be miserable and hate just to hate i would think about my dad but anyways more under the cut bc lKGJSKLGSDKLGJ

nostalgia was def a factor bc why did i cry in nearly every episode or am i just going through it. anyways watching the first ep and realizing they were showing the air nomad genocide i was just

the bending was executed beautifully!!!!!!!! i felt they did rlly well in that factor

i honestly just went into it thinking of it as an AU so the changes didn't bother as much and i refused to think any further on it or i'd lose my mind ( and even then, the changes weren't horrible i dont think idk )

i was honestly living for azula's kinda "origin" to the girl we meet in the animated series. i enjoyed seeing the psychological abuse happening in real time from her father. ALSO. general zhao's speech about azula and zuko? i was frothing at the mouth sorry

where was my professional yapper miss katara?? hello. why was suki down bad for sokka off the bat. there was not enough bullying <3

they were very . determined with the costuming and it shows but it did go a lil overboard for my taste and ventured into cosplay :clown: like at some point it felt like a bunch of super rich cosplayers got together and was like hey, what if we made a live action atla <3 i just feel like the costume department was a hit and miss with various charas and they need to find their footing

my only GENUINE gripe with the show was its delivery with lines and general acting..........? which really confuses me because the cast is full of sm talents that ik are amazing at their craft. so im p sure it comes down to the script and direction so hopefully if it gets greenlit for another season or smth it gets improved upon. otherwise, this isn't bad if ur target audience is for ppl under like 12. BUT considering the creators were like we're tryin to blend GOT elements <3 bestie u kinda dropped the ball there but A- for effort

also the pacing was waaaaaaaaaay too fast. i think 12 eps could've helped but idk

i think the line i saw best describe the series is smth like "it's uniquely its own thing but distinctly still atla, if u go in to pick out flaws, u'll find them but if u just take it for what it is, it's enjoyable" and honestly yeah. if u wanna be a hater then whatever but do Nawt put that energy near me tyvvmmmmm

bonus: heres my fav tweet about yue's costuming that had me giggling bc honestly wtf was that:

“ i don't, this is about our reputation. get with the program. ” she insisted, irritation bubbling without much effort. she went into this knowing she was going to spend most of it fighting every rising urge to throttle him, but there were moments when even the worst of foes needed to put their differences aside to win. they were on the same team, and she knew one of the purposes of such a wretched vacation was to force them to bond, to celebrate their hard work. this had to be one example of it, and it was just as grueling as she'd expected — pulling teeth, annoyingly aggravating ! it definitely did not help that he was exceptionally skilled in the art of pissing her off. “ you're idiotic, of course you would say that. like calls to like. ” she had moved onto the next produce, flick of her wrist starting the fire under one of the pots. “ stupid. ” she muttered, just loud enough for him hear, the ' p ' ringing through sharply. “ this whole vacation is pointless. is it even helping you ? ”

❝    Since  when  do  you  hold  anyone’s  opinion,    especially  the  girls’,    in  high  regard?    ❞  In  any  regard,    really.    Zuko  bats  her  projectile  cabbage  out  of  the  way  with  a  smack  of  his  fisted  knuckles  and  the  vegetable  splits  down  the  middle  as  if  by  a  knife,    landing  at  his  feet  on  the  ground.    The  curled  edges  of  the  leaves  are  left  singed.    It’s  enough  to  quirk  one  corner  of  his  mouth,    this  lowly  measure  of  control,    but  the  amusement  doesn’t  last.    Azula  knows  best  how  to  raise  his  hackles  and  back  him  into  a  corner.    That  shared  streak  of  competitiveness  slices  through  him  as  if  she’d  flayed  his  back  open  with  a  fire  -  blue  whip  forged  from  the  ends  of  her  fingertips.    With  a  huff,    Zuko  turns  to  his  own  pile  of  medley  ingredients  and  scrutinizes  his  options.    ❝    This  is  idiotic.    What’s  worse  is  that  you’re  playing  along.    ❞  With  all  the  self  -  awareness  of  the  onion  he’s  currently  chopping,    the  Prince  rolls  his  eyes  and  huffs  again.    ❝    Idiotic.    ❞

"you could've hurt him" "that's his fault, he should've been better" "you're perfect" "that's not good enough"

cabbage man going through it

So who’s banished?

forced myself to stop after two eps and all i have to say is that im emotional <3

starting the first ep <3

im speaking into the void on this empty blog with literally zero mutuals rn but istg if i see any uppity mfs trying to talk down on people who got into atla through the live action as if being the first to consume the original series makes them better ……….. jobless, bitchless, and annoying!

u know what

azula would appreciate this