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burst-of-iridescent · 2 months

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atla live action thoughts: episodes 7 & 8

SPOILERS AHEAD

tw: opinions

things i liked:

i keep forgetting to say this but i love the stylization of the opening credits it looks so elegant

northern water tribe looks beautiful. the spirit oasis is stunning, this show almost never fails to deliver on visuals

i fucking KNEW they were going to end the season with azula producing lightning for the first time and it looks great i won't lie. can't wait for her blue fire

the pakku v katara fight is not bad actually, though it obviously doesn't hold a candle to the original. glad they kept the ice discs moment in because that was iconic and it does have a nice set-up of her learning it from the earthbenders

i do like that they allow aang to interact with different avatars and that they all give him different perspectives. it highlights the differences in their personalities and how the role of the avatar had to be adapted to the times they lived in

i can't remember exactly what it was but aang's line about how this isn't his world or his time went hard

"i underestimated zhao" "funny i figured that out as i was swimming away from the burning wreckage of my boat" i live for sassy zuko

good decision to take out pakku only deciding to teach katara because she was kanna's granddaughter. that reeked of exceptionalism and never sat right with me, so i appreciate that she at least proves herself and also that she includes the other women in the tribe when pushing him to let them fight

yugoda getting to yell at pakku for being a misogynistic idiot is exactly what she deserves, you tell him queen

KOIZILLA!!

seeing the fall of omashu to azula was an addition that made a lot of sense, and sets up the return to omashu episode in the next season nicely

things i disliked:

yue's wig was atrocious. can't believe i'm saying this but the shyamalan movie did it better. amber midthunder deserved so much better

the misogyny arc was a godforsaken mess. the northern water tribe is still sexist... but no one seems to be sexist except for pakku?? chief arnook seems to be grooming yue to take over as chief, the other male waterbenders are impressed by katara and respect her right away, yue seems to have a lot of autonomy, hahn is respectful and kind, and then pakku himself changes his mind on women fighting pretty much within one day. so what was the point of including it at all?

this show has completely nuked katara's rage. she would not be calmly announcing that she's fighting pakku as though it was a calculated decision because it very much wasn't! it was her sense of righteousness and outrage over injustice taking over and it hurts me deeply that they removed that because it's so important to who she is! i needed to see a LOT more power and fury in her in this scene but instead it felt extremely lukewarm

KATARA AND AANG NEVER. FUCKING. LEARN. WATERBENDING. for a show that marketed itself so heavily with the tagline "master your element" there isn't a lot of mastering going on here?? i'm sorry i don't buy at ALL that katara would be able to become a master with One waterbending scroll and watching some earthbenders. i know she's a prodigy but no one can be THAT prodigious. and it really makes her fight with zuko and subsequently being called master katara fall flat because i don't think i've been shown enough to justify that

also hate that my girl got knocked out halfway through the zutara fight because of the moon wtaf let her kick zuko's ass

a moment of silence for "aren't you a big girl now" and "you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun" you will always be famous

despite knowing the avatar needs to learn waterbending, pakku and arnook just?? walk away?? when they find out he hasn't??? SOMEONE TEACH THIS POOR BOY AN ELEMENT OTHER THAN AIR. ANY ELEMENT, I'M BEGGING

real quick, who had "momo saves a random little girl from falling rock only to be nearly killed and saved by yue and sokka in the spirit oasis" on their live action bingo? no one, that's who, BECAUSE THAT'S FUCKING BONKERS. people are dying all around them but sokka and yue decide this is the time to fuck off to save a lemur?? please be so fr

iroh telling zuko to remember his breath of fire when this show has not once established (at least, iirc) that power in firebending comes from the breath is... something. heavily dislike how little focus was given to the intricacies of learning bending in this series

HATE that they removed zhao dying because of koizilla and gave it to iroh instead. that was such a great moment of karmic justice for zhao and really highlighted how he brought about his own downfall through his pride and arrogance. i know they tried to show zuko's compassion by having him spare zhao and walk away (as a callback to the agni kai i'm guessing) but zuko risking himself to save the life of the man who tried to kill him in the original just hit SO much harder.

the pacing of the north pole arc in general was FAR too rushed. at least in the original animation we got the sense that they'd spent weeks there, but in the show it feels like it's been a couple of days MAX. there had to be much more time to build up the threat of the fire nation and the yue/sokka relationship

the sense of time passing was a problem i anticipated the show would have from the start because 8 episodes just feels shorter than 20, but i wish they'd at least done some montages or something to make it seem like time was passing between episodes. as it is, it felt like every episode picked up right after the previous and so the whole season felt like it happened within a week or two. which is a shame because it weakens the epic scale of their journey in having to cross the entire world

overall rating: 6/10. unfortunately i think these episodes were the weakest of the series both in quality of writing and entertainment value, but still fun to watch for the most part

#atla live action

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kidnappedbycartoons · 2 years

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Zuko and Katara were literally shown to be so supportive of each other. When Katara is upset with him in the catacombs and mentions her mother, he relates to her. They connect. He speaks about his scar, how he can choose his own destiny, and Katara offers to heal his scar. She touches the scar. Something that he is so sensitive about and has stopped people from touching before. He lets her touch it.

Do I even need to mention The Southern Raiders? He helped to give Katara closure on something that haunted her. He couldn't do some of the things she mentioned, but he could help her with this. Zuko was by Katara's side the whole time. When she spoke about her mother, he understood, genuinely listened to her, and said, "She was a brave woman". When she faces the bastard who killed Kya, he doesn't tell her what to do. He stands there, watches her, and leaves with her. Sometimes, the best support is just being there.

When Zuko is waiting to go face Iroh, she's there for him. Giving him the push he needs to go in there. During Sozin's Comet, he was trying to protect Katara too. Saying that if he faces Azula alone, then no one else would get hurt. Jumping in front of lightning for her. And in Sozin's Comet, when Aang storms off and Katara goes to follow him, she listens to Zuko when he suggests to leave Aang alone. She could've pulled away and went after Aang anyway, but she didn't. She trusted his advice.

How can you say they would be toxic when book three exists? Do you not see how they lean on each other? How they support the other? In a relationship, they would be so in tune with the others emotions and moods. They'd be able to tell how the other is feeling and know what to give them to feel better. They'd be each other's rock. Perfection. Literally.

#zutara #atla

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sokkastyles · 10 months

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So that post is a reply to this one, for context. This is the reblog that I was talking about.

And this is a reblog of the above reblog.

I remember reading and deciding not to engage with the original post because I find the interpretation of Ty Lee as a super-smart weaponized femininity girlboss mastermind to be...annoying. Which is not to say that Ty Lee is dumb, but Ty Lee's constant adoration of Azula is a defense mechanism, not a manipulation tactic. It's the coping mechanism of an abuse victim, and Ty Lee breaking free to save Mai is something she's shown to be just as confused by as Azula, because it's a victim who's been finally pushed to the breaking point. I'm not trying to diminish Ty Lee's strength, and this is a minor nitpick, but I get annoyed when people think that feminine or kind girls have to be secret masterminds to be worthwhile. Of course Ty Lee is deliberately saying things that she knows Azula wants to hear for her own protection, but to describe it as manipulation implies that Ty Lee has power over Azula, when it's Ty Lee using a defense mechanism to maintain a relationship that hurts her. See Azula slut-shaming Ty Lee at the party and Ty Lee protecting herself by offering to teach Azula how to flirt, which Azula treats dismissively even as she enjoys the attention being back on her. Ty Lee does what a lot of people who are in these kinds of relationships wind up doing, which is give Azula constant positive feedback to avoid being a target of her, or at least, to avoid being a bigger target, because Azula is still cruel to Ty Lee, but less when Ty Lee is validating her. But Ty Lee admits in the comics that she is still afraid of Azula, so her fawning is less a manipulation and more a survival tactic. She's not trying to control Azula, she's trying to minimize the abuse.

Anyways, I am laughing at the claim that Azula said trust was for fools because she just loved Mai and Ty Lee so much and realized that was a mistake and is now lamenting it. You can only interpret it that way if you ignore that she said this in response to Ursa saying "all your life you've used fear to control people, like your friends Mai and Ty Lee." Azula is not lamenting the trust she put in her friends, she is explaining why she cannot and has never relied on trust, and justifying that in the face of the vision of her mother telling her what she knows is true deep down, that she drove her friends away because she never loved them. Controlling people through fear is what she has always done, throughout the show, in every relationship she has. Azula also further says to her mother "even you fear me," to prove this point. This also gets to the heart of why she could never connect to her mother and believed that her mother did not love her, because she believed that her mother feared her and therefore was someone to be controlled (which is why we see her as a child lying to her mother and resenting her mother trying to correct her behavior, and ignoring Ursa's teaching in favor of pleasing her more powerful father, who was the one with the control.

"Not one of them tries to return the counseling she gave them." Give me a break. Azula does not give counseling in "The Beach," she makes dismissive armchair analysis and then makes it about herself and how she's better than them ("I don't have sob stories like all of you") and then admits her own trauma in the least vulnerable way possible ("I don't care"; "she was right of course") while making sure she still keeps everyone else at a distance and under control. They don't reach out to her because she doesn't want them to and she's just belittled them in really cruel and personal ways. Like, tell me you don't have friends in real life without telling me. Or tell me you're really confused about why no one wants to be around you, if you genuinely do not understand why Azula's friends don't respond to her kindly here.

I like how this person does the "Oh, but they just don't appreciate what a good friend she is" and then backtracks into the "but she doesn't know how else to be" song and dance. I mean, sure, but so what? An abusive person who acts abusively because that's all they know how to do is still an abusive person.

And the claim that Azula was so blindsided because she genuinely thought she was being a good friend is BS, because we already know why she was blindsided. She tells us.

Azula: I never expected this from you. The thing I don't understand is "Why?". Why would you do it? You know the consequences.

Mai: I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.

Azula: No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!

And then after Ty Lee chi blocks her:

Ty Lee: [Runs to a shocked Mai, shaking her from her stupor.] Come on! Let's get out of here!

Azula: [Still on the ground; angrily.] You're both fools!

Which echoes the conversation with her mother later. She explicitly tells Mai that she was blindsided because Mai "knew the consequences." Not because she thinks her relationship with Mai is so strong, but because she thinks Mai is afraid of being punished for not obeying. This is exactly what she says to her mother, that fear and control are the only way to maintain relationships, and trust is for fools, echoed in her saying that Mai and Ty Lee are fools for acting out of love - Mai for Zuko and Ty Lee for Mai - rather than fear of Azula.

And the thing is, this isn't like, a minor quarrel where Azula just didn't realize what she was asking Mai to do might be something she would disagree with. Azula %100 expected Mai to sit there and watch her boyfriend die because Azula thought she had her that much under control that it didn't matter to Azula how Mai felt about it. This shows you exactly how much Azula values and cares about Mai as a person rather than a drone she can control. That is to say, not at all.

I wish we could move past the idea that Azula understands people because she's superficially smart. She's able to read and exploit people's weaknesses, true, but when it comes to what really motivates them, she does not understand at all, because she has fundamentally rejected love and trust in favor of controlling through fear. And that is impossible to do to another person unless you have dehumanized them first. So no, Azula does not understand Mai and Ty Lee, nor her brother, nor her mother. She doesn't even understand herself. That's the whole point, the whole tragedy of it.

Like, honey, Azula ain't gonna make healthy new friendships if we all just continue to deny why those friendships were unhealthy to begin with.

#azula #zuko #mai #ty lee #the discourse

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waterfire1848 · 10 months

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Hello mx waterfire (I do not know your pronouns) I’m cooking up a think and I’m wondering if you have a thought. I’m thinking about what if Azula was banished with Zuko too (or she went along with him). Thinking that in this au lu ten would be alive and Iroh would have never turned good, so Azula and Zuko are pretty emotionally alone on the ship. However I can’t think of something g that would push Azula to become banished With Zuko. Perhaps Lu ten is still the heir to the throne so the Zuko/Azula rivalry was never as strong? But that doesn’t really make sense because Iroh isn’t the fire lord. Maybe ursa died when Azula was born and thus the “Zuko got love and I didn’t” turned into “we only have each other but we’re also both super guarded”? Idk do you have any thoughts? Mostly I just had a dream about Azula and Zuko together coming to the air temple instead of just Zuko in “hello Zuko here” and them both being so painfully awkward instead of him because it’s funny.

Thanks for the ask!

Hmmmm...

So it's just Azula and Zuko on the ship? If you wanted to stick close to canon you could have that Azula went in Zuko's place to the Agni Kai to prove how strong she was. Maybe Ozai didn't let Azula participate in Agni Kai's yet because he didn't think she was ready, but when she arrived the two were forced to fight. Azula is burned and Zuko convinces her to join him before she gets hurt even more.

If you're looking for reasons as to why Ozai/Iroh/Azulon might have gotten rid of her there are a few. She could have shown off her power and Iroh and Azulon didn't like it because that could mean that she could overthrow them. She might have been closer to Ursa than she saw in canon so Ozai doesn't believe she's loyal.

You could also do Iroh sending Azula and Zuko because he wants them out of the picture. They may not be the crown prince and princess in this version but they're still in line so still a threat to Lu Ten.

If you want an AU where Ursa dies when Azula is born you could wind up with the siblings getting along a bit better but I would still think that Zuko may have some resentment toward Azula for "killing" Ursa. Though I think this could be easily ignored if you wanted. Without Ursa in the picture, we might see Zuko attaching more to Azula because he still wouldn't have Ozai to give him love so he looks to his sister. If they did have a stronger bond from this then Azula would definitely join Zuko when he gets banished.

Or I've seen a few where Azula chooses to run away with Zuko because she knows that Ozai would get rid of her just as quickly as she would him.

I do think them being awkward at the Air Temple would be hilarious though because in every universe possible those two don't have any social skills.

#ask #zuko #azula #lu ten #iroh #ozai #ursa #atla #what if azula went with zuko

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juniperhillpatient · 2 years

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"do you ever think about the fact that had iroh not intentionally manipulated zuko into thinking azula was irredeemable, we could’ve had a good ending for both fire siblings that would’ve worked with canon" Wait, how could have Iroh and/or Zuko turned Azula into an anti-imperialist considering she, as far they knew, had everything she every wanted and therefore wasn't going to be convinced that her path was wrong until she lost everything and/or forcibly stopped like in canon?

Hi! Ahh thanks for engaging. I’m on my phone (definitely not at work, psh I would never) so apologies for mistakes but I think OP of the post you’re referencing actually explained super well in their followup why Zuko & Azula would work well together in ushering in the new era of peace with the help of Aang post series.

I don’t think Zuko or Iroh alone could convince Azula that she needs to change her way of thinking & question her father & the values instilled in her. In my opinion, this would need to be a long process encouraged from many sides, & Azula would have to have experiences that push her to change, just like Zuko did. That’s why I hate the idea of her staying locked up in a mental ward or prison. That’s not an avenue for character development.

A redeemed Azula could be a huge asset to Zuko post series & it would be an interesting story. However, I agree with what I think you’re saying which is that Azula would need to go on her own journey of healing & redemption before she could work in such a role, & while Zuko & perhaps Iroh could be part of that story, they shouldn’t (in my opinion) be the only part. This is both because of the baggage they already have as a family & because Azula should, like Zuko, learn to change her worldview by being exposed to people outside her family. Perhaps the gaang could encourage this. But Iroh still could’ve done things to make the path easier & show he cared about his niece.

It’s me so I’ll say again that I think Azula could learn a lot from Katara, another young girl who’s a prodigious bender who’s had a very different upbringing from Azula. Maybe Azula could have a life changing adventure of her own, involving both the gaang & Zuko? The options for how & why Azula unlearns her imperialist ideology & questions her upbringing are endless.

But I think that to OP’s original point - Iroh hampered this possibility by encouraging Zuko to see his sister as an enemy & nothing more. Azula, like Zuko, was a brainwashed & traumatized teenager. My understanding of OP’s post was that it was an expression of disappointment that Iroh didn’t extend the same benefit of the doubt & kindness & compassion to Azula as he did Zuko & this contributed to Zuko’s warped view of his sister.

Zuko is shown saying he “should try to get along” with Azula, because she’s family. He’s convinced by her to help take Ba Sing Se. When he’s trying to think of what to say to the gaang he asks himself “what would Azula do?” When he has questions about their family history, he goes to her. When he’s upset at the beach house, he lets her comfort him & lead him away. Zuko doesn’t hate his sister, he doesn’t know how to feel about her.

So when Iroh, the adult Zuko has come to trust & respect the most, encourages Zuko to view Azula as an adversary & nothing more, this actively hurts any chance of Azula starting a path toward redemption. I’m not arguing that they didn’t need to be careful of Azula or mistrust her when she tries to capture them. But Iroh shows time & again that he can be diplomatic. He could have treated Azula as a threat without encouraging Zuko’s resentment & while pushing Zuko to consider Azula’s side. He’s Iroh, his entire role is about subtly manipulating Zuko.

Then - maybe - by the end of the story things could be different. Maybe Zuko couldn’t have convinced Azula to go with him when he left the Fire Nation but what if he found a way to leave her a letter or say goodbye? Maybe the Agni Kai would’ve still happened but a few things being different between the siblings could’ve opened the door for an easier path to a a post series reconciliation.

#Azula #azula redemption #azula meta #fire siblings meta #fire siblings #Zuko meta #iroh critical #atla meta #my atla post #asks #anon #answered #discussion

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prodogg · 2 years

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Love it when people say Azula pushed people away who cared about her, the thing is there were never people shown who cared about her in the series, it was never shown that she pushed someone away either. So stop calling bs and find a actual reason to blame Azula for things she actually did.

#azula #atla #princessazula #prinzessin azula #god I’m so sick to read the same old arguments #that people just assume because they think Azula is a stereotype of a character #guess what she isn’t one #she is a complex character that can’t be judged as stereotype #so no one was ever shown to be pushed away by Azula #and no one cared about her personally #Zuko and Iroh never did #Mai and Ty Lee are a complicated case #Azula was not shown to push them away #avatar the last airbender #stop making things up about Azula so it’s easier to blame her for everything #fandom scapegoat azula

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 2 years

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Do you think Thomas has a problem with writing complex characters? It seems if he does, he writes them really inconsistent and their personality is all over the place. He ditched Felix Agreste because he didn't have chemistry with Marinette like how hard is it to write something like that? It's not hard, I'm serious. I may not be a professional writer but I've read a lot of books and figured out how to structure stories and create characters and writing people interacting isn't hard. He screw up Chloe and then tried to say people were looking up to false hope because Chloe wasn't changing. He wanted her to be damned from the start and fall from grace. He didn't do it properly at all. I wouldn't mind if Chloe didn't change but her so call damnation arc wasn't written well. Look at Azula, that's a damnation arc written well. He also just messed up Felix as well. In Felix (the episode), Felix pushed himself unto Ladybug and humiliated Adrien to his friends which is so wrong but in Gabriel Agreste, it's like nothing happened. I don't hate Felix but I'm flabbergasted they glosses over his mistakes and acted like it didn't happened. What's so hard to write Adrien and Gabriel resenting Felix for what he did then have a scene where Felix do apologize properly for what he did and apologize to Ladybug for doing what he did, then have him doing what he did in Gabriel agreste after he shown he's sorry since Thomas want us for whatever reason to like Felix now after he tried to make us hate him in his first episode. He also messes up Marinette's character with all the stalking, obssession and all the other bad things Marinette has done that she never gets call out for. Same for Adrien, the perfect oblivious guy with no flaws. I mean Thomas said Adrien isn't flawed ,the world is. Adrien has the ability to be so damn complexed but where is it? Oh right. It's not explored because Adrien never gets explored in the show which sucks. Like how do you have such a complexed character and just waste him like that. Or how Zoe just came out of nowhere and is just liked by everyone and is so sweet and kind and tha's it. Thomas thinks characters have to be good, sweet and kind then they are automatically unlikable or the audience won't like them which is just not true. Just because your main character is likable doesn't mean well written. Well written characters are usually loved and recieved properly by fans. A character can be selfish but the audience can still love them if they're interesting and complex. That's why so many people call Adrien boring or Zoe a mary sue. It's because they aren't well written and aren't complex. I would prefer a well written character over perfect kind and sweet characters any day.

Also, so sorry for the long post.

Don’t worry. It’s a complicated subject to talk about.

Astruc has always talked about how incredibly deep his show is, and how we’re all idiots for thinking otherwise, but the characterization is just so simplistic.

Characters like Marinette and Adrien’s lives are always portrayed as perfect and never really struggle outside of hero-related stuff for the former, much less have any arcs where they grow as people. Sure, they have flaws, but they rarely get acknowledged outside of throwaway lines like “Haha, isn’t it funny how we made Marinette so obsessive?”.

Part of what made Chloe’s arc so interesting was that she was established to have flaws she needed to work on, and as minimal as it was, there was still effort for her to try and be a better person, even if it was just to show off as Queen Bee. We all thought it would culminate in an episode where she changed for the better, but then “Miracle Queen” happened, the cardboard cutout the other characters call Zoe was introduced, and Astruc pissed away a chunk of his credibility by insulting anyone who actually got invested in the only semi-consistent character arc in the show. People liked Chloe because of her flaws and the attempt to work on them, which is why, putting aside the bitter taste of Chloe’s betrayal, Zoe just hasn’t endeared herself to nearly as many fans as what Chloe got despite the show’s attempts to cram Zoe into the main cast.

Then there’s all the stuff Astruc said about Felix. Like with Chloe, part of what made the concept of Felix interesting was the idea of someone who wanted nothing to do with the superhero life because of the literal misfortune that came with the powers growing into a more kind person who doesn’t want to ditch his ring the first chance he gets. There was conflict, and all kinds of potential struggles that could be written about, which is why people love using the character in fanfics. But then Astruc said the character wouldn’t work because of how he was a “weak” character...

Even though the fans liked the idea of him growing into a better person, and not the cynical asshole we saw in the initial PV trailer. Do you think people only like Zuko because of the way he was portrayed in the first season of Avatar? Of course not. They like the overall story told with him as he realizes the true meaning of honor.

This is what a complicated character is like. Things aren’t black and white with this kind of writing. People get invested because of how their arcs are written and the story told with their development. Here, we get characters like Chloe and Felix who start off as jerks, but have the potential to grow as people, but instead, Astruc tells us how wrong it is to get invested in their growth even though their flaws are actually shown to be problems that need to be worked on. That’s what makes both of them interesting characters to write about compared to what Astruc did with both of them while saying his show is still complicated.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #thomas astruc #thomas astruc salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #ml salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #chloe bourgeois #queen bee #queen b #zoe lee #vesperia #felix graham de vanily

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raewritez · 3 years

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all that mattered

based on this request: Hello! I love your writing! Can i request a zuko x firebender reader where the reader was a close friend of zuko’s and went with him when he had to go hunt the avatar and she goes w the gaang in the catacombs and is hurt by zuko’s decision but they reconcile slowly @ the western air temple? Thanks!!

word count: 2.8k

You were happy, a cautious glint of hope pulling at your heartstrings as you smiled at Zuko from across the teashop. After all you had been through together; from playing pirates with the young boy who wore his heart on his sleeve to sneaking onto the navy ship to follow your best friend on his seemingly unachievable quest for the Avatar, you had finally grasped the scraps of unabashed content in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se.

You were so proud of Zuko. He had come so far from the erratic, rage-filled boy you had stuck with the past three years, now growing into the person you always knew he was. The glimmers of your youth seemed so far now, yet closer than they had been in years. The Zuko you knew then; the soft, earnest child who loved his friend unashamedly in the merriments of your pretendings was slowly peeking out of the harsh exterior he had built up in his desolation.

He found himself aching, yearning for your presence and the unwavering comfort you had always provided him. He could barely remember a world without you, without the familiarity of your laughter and the warmth of your caring touches. He knew he loved you, he supposed he always had. He knew it in the way his heart would speed up at the sight of your grin, how a lovely blush would make its way to his face at the soothing lilt of your voice. He knew he loved you, the same way he had when his hands were small and his face unscarred, when the only problems were the insufficient days that weren’t long enough to hold all your adventures.

Now, you were smiling at him from across the room of Iroh’s tea shop. Like always, he felt his face heat up and the corners of his lips threatening to lift at the mere sight of your joyful expression. He smiled back, forgetting for a moment the weight upon his shoulders. Again, the Avatar had been preoccupying his mind, the temptation and longing to be back home and to feel the affection of his father overpowering his logic. But now, with his amber eyes locked with yours and his uncle’s jolly laughter ringing over the dulled chatter of the customers, he thought maybe a life like this wouldn’t be too bad.

///

“Zuko!” you cried, launching yourself into his arms.

Iroh trailed behind you, the Avatar in tow. The catacombs shone with an emerald glow, a slight chill in the humid air. You turned your head to see Aang hugging Katara, while you step aside to allow Iroh to embrace his nephew.

“Uncle, Y/n, I don't understand,” Zuko speaks, his brows furrowed. “What are you doing with the Avatar?”

“Saving you, that's what,” Aang replies. Zuko growls and steps forward confrontationally, your arms reaching out to restrain him.

“Zuko, it's time we talked,” Iroh says calmly.

He tells Aang and Katara to leave, Zuko’s eyes trailing after them.

“Why, Uncle?” Zuko questions in a hurt tone.

Iroh simply smiles. “You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good.”

You yelp as you feel your body being encased in a prison of crystal alongside Iroh, your eyes snapping up to meet Azula’s golden ones with a glare that could send a man ten feet under. Zuko frantically reaches out to you, only to be halted by Azula’s drawling voice.

“I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle. But Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?” “Release them immediately,” Zuko growls.

“It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself.” “Zuko, no!” You shout, desperation in your eyes. “You can’t listen to her! She’s lying, like she always does!” Azula chuckles sinisterly. “Am I, Y/n? Or are you just trying to hold him back? He knows his destiny, it seems to me like you’re only preventing him from achieving it.”

“Zuko, that’s not true!” you call out to him, your voice cracking. “I know you, I know that what you want isn’t-”

“Why don't you let him decide, Y/n?” her voice cuts through like a knife. “Zuko, I need you. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father’s love. You’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted.” Iroh’s pleads are drowned out by the noise inside your head, the panic setting in and clouding your senses. Please, Zuko. Don’t do this.

Tears roll down your cheeks as Zuko turns his back, following his sister out of the cavern. A choked cry leaves your mouth, desperation for the lost feeling of happiness leaving you feeling empty.

Iroh tenderly calls out your name, the deep sadness in his expression interrupted only by a glint of determination.

/// You gaze up in horror as the figure of the Avatar falls to the ground, Azula’s outstretched fingers crackling with electricity.

Katara rushes forward, her water crashing over the Dai Li agents and Firenation siblings and pulling them under the waves. She embraces Aang in her arms, a look of hopelessness and despair shining in her tear-filled eyes.

You stare in disbelief at the face of the prince, your heart splintering. Iroh suddenly jumps in front of your frame defensively, his voice booming in the hollowness of the catacomb.

“You've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can!” Fire thrusts forth from his fists, momentarily halting the soldiers. Katara makes her way over to you, her hand outstretched. You look at her with confusion, having been prepared to suffer your fate at the hands of your nation.

“Come on!” She exclaims, grasping your hand and lifting the three of you out of the wretched caves. The last thing you see are his eyes, piercing your soul with the bitterness of betrayal and abandonment.

///

“Hello, Zuko here.”

You can only stare, shocked into a state of paralyzation by the utter surprise of seeing his figure on the mountainside. He looks different, his hair is longer and his face bears a hesitant smile.

As the shock fades, it is replaced with a burning anger, the one that has been brewing and festering in the depths of your soul ever since he walked out of that cave with his sister. Your eyes narrow into slits, a hardened glare contorting your features. His eyes flicker to yours as your friends unload their bearings onto him, only to shrink away at the fire in your expression.

He longs to rush forward, to fall at your feet and beg for forgiveness. The guilt that has been plaguing his mind for weeks bubbling to the surface; the sight of you almost bringing him to the ground. He yearns to be in your arms again, to bask in your wondrous existence and fearless love.

But he knows he doesn’t deserve it. He had hurt you, abandoned you. You, who had stood steadfast beside him through all his troubles and misfortunes, you, who had shown such faith in him that he began to wonder how he deserved it. And for what? For honor? For the approval of his father? He didn’t know, but he knew that walking away from you and his uncle in those catacombs was the single biggest regret of his life.

He’s sent away, and you don’t argue. Not that he would expect you to. That night, as he curls in on himself by the blaze of the campfire, silent tears stream down his face as he aches for you, as he loves you from afar in the high hours of the night. He at least finds comfort in the fact that you sleep under the same sky.

///

a week later...

It was almost unbearable, having him so near. You saw him everyday as he trained with Aang and conversed with the rest, his gaze always finding yours the second you walked into his vicinity. You kept your distance, the wound of his desertion still raw and painful, building new walls around your heart which had always remained unsheltered. Your body betrayed your logic, your fingers itching to run through his hair, your breath escaping your lungs whenever you heard the rasp of his voice.

You knew he had changed, really changed this time, that much was obvious. The way he and Aang talked like old friends, how he was slowly worming his way into the group’s good graces and affections.

He hadn’t pushed you, hadn’t demanded you speak to him or expressed anger at your coldness. Instead, he waited, reluctantly settling for small acts of atonement and care. He would always ensure you received the first bowl of rice at dinnertime, secretly complete your chores for you. He treated you like an idol, an alter, his actions small compensation for all his wrongdoings and mistakes.

That didn’t mean it was easy for him, though. Zuko starved for your closeness, the feeling of having you so close yet so far eating away at his heart. He feared that he would never again experience the love you so unsparingly served to him, never again bathe in the solace of your friendship.

He found you sitting beneath the moon, Yue’s light cascading through your hair and illuminating your features with an ethereal glow. His breath was ripped away at your unapologetic beauty, a familiar longing consuming his senses.

“Y/n,” he whispered.

You whipped around, your eyes locking with his. Under his intense stare you were paralyzed, unable to run away like you wanted.

You sighed. “What do you want, Zuko?”

There was a bitterness to your words, but all Zuko could focus on was the way his name sounded from your lips. He hadn’t heard the sound in so long, the melody squeezing his heart with adoration. He knew it was undeserved, though.

When he didn’t respond you scoffed and rolled your eyes, standing up to walk back to the temple only to be gently yanked back by a hold on your wrist.

“No, wait, I...” his eyes were wide, a distressed look upon his face. He glanced down at your interlocked hands, reluctantly letting go so as not to overstep. “I...”

You stared at him, brows furrowed. What? What could you possibly have to say to me?

“I...I’m sorry.”

He sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. “I know that doesn’t mean anything, and it doesn’t make anything better, but....I just need you to know how sorry I am.”

When you didn’t interrupt, he pressed on.

“Not a single day went by where I didn’t think of you. When I was in the Fire Nation, I had everything I’d ever wanted. I thought everything would fall into place...but it didn’t. Every night when I went to sleep I would see your face, how you looked at me back in Ba Sing Se. Like I was a monster.”

Your features softened at that, that part inside you that you had locked away yearning to reach out to him, to comfort him like you always had.

“What I did was so wrong,” he continued. “And I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it. But I can’t live with knowing that you hate me, that we can never be friends again because I was so stupid. And, I mean, you’re not just my friend, you’re way more than that! We’ve been through everything together, and back in Ba Sing Se everything was perfect and I ruined it, and now you hate me and now I probably can’t ever-”

He was rambling now, his eyes ablaze with the struggle to salvage the scraps of your relationship. You couldn’t stand watching him in such distress, all of the emotions you had built a wall around slowly cracking through.

“I don’t hate you, Zuko.”

The words were out before you could stop them.

His rant ceased abruptly, his eyes latching onto yours, a question lingering behind his golden irises.

“I never really hated you,” you spoke, shuffling uncomfortably in your place. “I just...”

His wild eyes calmed, replaced with an imploring gaze, urging you to continue.

“I thought I did. Every time I thought of you I felt so angry, and I thought I hated you but I don’t. I never could.” His lips parted, staring at you with such wonderment you were reminded of the way people beheld paintings. Or how Iroh looked at tea.

“Why?” he questioned. “Why can’t you?”

“I don’t know.”

You knew.

///

Days passed, and the crumbs of your bond with Zuko were slowly falling back into place. You still bore a scar from the memories, but seeing him acting as the person you had always wanted him to be filled your heart with more pride than you’d like to admit.

He moved around freely, interacting with the misfits that had become your family and smiled carelessly in the gleams of his content. Seeing the way his eyes lit up, the way his lips tugged up at the corners made your heartbeat irregular. His hair wasn’t bad either, and his insistence to remain shirtless while training Aang certainly wasn’t helping your attempts to remain impassive.

You found him sitting at the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling over the vast expanse of sky. His ebony locks danced around his face, a pensive expression resting on his brows.

He snapped around at the sound of your footsteps, an unguarded grin making its way to his face upon seeing you.

“Hi,” you greeted, your feet carrying you to sit beside him.

“Hey,” he breathed, eyeing your profile as your arm brushed against his, the sensation sending shivers up his spine.

You tilted your head towards the stars, the coolness of the night caressing your cheeks. You remained silent for a few minutes before speaking.

“I missed you, you know.”

Zuko turned to you, finding your eyes closed against the navy curtain of the sky.

“Even when I was mad. I guess spending ten years of your life with someone makes you a little attached, huh?”

His eyes traced your profile, dipping down the curve of your nose and lips and rising back to the delicateness of your eyelashes. Attached, he chuckled. He was long past attached.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Your head swirled to face him, your eyes reflecting the adoration and love they always had, the same look Zuko had passed to you so often in the shadows of your obliviousness. Your fingers rose to tenderly trace the outline of his scar, your familiar touch elicting all of the emotions Zuko had been deprived of in your time apart.

He nuzzled further into your embrace, feeling much like the boy he had been all those years ago. Just you and him, when nothing else mattered. When he was a child, and you were a child, and he loved his friend in the pureness of childhood.

And he loved you now.

Deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, after years of longing built up on a lifetime of friendship, he pushed himself forward until his lips met yours.

Your breath escaped you in a gasp, your palm finding its way to its proper place against his cheek. Your lips pressed against his with fervor, all of the emotions that you had ever felt for this boy disclosed in the desperation in which your hands grasped his shirt in a hopeless attempt to bring yourself even closer.

His arms wound around your waist, his thumbs stroking your sides as he kissed you with all the love and affection he possessed. His raven hair tickled your face as your lips locked over and over again, until the only thing you two were more desperate for than each other was air.

You breathed heavily, slowly regaining your senses. Your eyes met his with the same hesitant look that was held in his. For a moment you simply stared at each other, gazing, before grins broke out across both your faces.

Your laugh cut through the night, his own chuckles escaping him. He gazed at you fondly, leaning in to capture your mouth in a short and sweet kiss. You smiled unabashedly, pressing your forehead against his. This was long overdue. You basked in each other’s presence, soft caresses and brief pecks shared under the light of the moon. As you loved one another beneath the stars the world faded away and nothing else mattered.

It was just you and him.

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jaredstrout · 2 years

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the long night - answers

“Azula...” Sokka gasped after he swallowed the warm water she had given him and turned his head away from the waterskin.

“Shhh...I think you are over the edge, but don´t push it.” she said gently and a warm, gloved hand attempted to push Sokka down again, but he tried to sit up against her hand. “Sokka...please...you were poisoned and almost froze to death” she said and that gave him pause. He blinked at the girl...the woman, he had visited so often in that place, that was dedicated to healing in name only.

He rembered his horror as he visited for the first time, finding a surprisingly sane Azula chained and drugged by the asylum staff. He rembered his clash with an uncaring Zuko, who was certain that Azula just played one of her mind games. Sokka had to threaten to pretty much tell the entire Fire Nation that Zuko mistreated his sister to get him to fire half of the staff and make changes. Sokka had kept visiting, to make sure things never got back to what they were and to make it easier for the girl he started to know a lot better than he ever thought possible.

Azula was vicious, cruel and violent...that had been his view on her as the war ended. When his visits kept on he started to see that she was lonely, awkward in ways that made Zuko look like a people´s person...and hurt to the deepest core of her soul.

Zuko carried his scar for all the world to see...Azula tried her best to hide hers under the mask of the frightening princess. Sokka started to see past that mask. He had pushed to allow her time out in the small park of the asylum, had gotten her time to practice her bending and even gotten her to paint. She was a lot better than him, of course...Sokka hated it, but was honest enough to admit that no artist was lost in him. Azula on the other hand, once she had accepted his challenge of a painting contest, had shown to be quite capable to ban her emotions in color and shape.

And then she had fled, almost effortlessly, probably thanks to the changes Sokka had pushed for and he had felt used...and worse Zuko had blamed him for it all.

Sokka had tried to find her, tired to make up for it, fearing that she´d spark a rebellion against the not so beloved Firelord...only to find nothing. Azula had vanished and no rumor nor any group claiming to have her support turned out to be true. Not a single living soul Sokka had found in two years claimed to have even seen a glimpse of Azula...and now she was here, looking down at him with concern.

He was not used to this side of her, but granted...with the asylum she was in there had not been an opportunity for her to show anything like this at all.

“What...who?” Sokka managed to say with his tongue feeling like a piece of rock someone, Toph probably, had forced into his mouth. She shrugged at his question.

“I´m not sure, they tried to form an alliance with some of the people Zuzu pissed off at home, but the guy I...questioned didn´t know much. But as far as I can say, a lot of Northeners are unhappy to loose the South...although I´d say they lost you the moment they abandoned you and your people to hide in their fortress to sit out the war.” Azula´s voice grew bitter and hard the more she said and Sokka blinked in surprise. “But anyway, they still the Southern Watertribe as their property and you have been a surprisingly well prepared advocate for their own path and leader as well. So someone poisoned your food at the last feast...I admit I didn´t expect them to go out that openly, but at least I was prepared.” Azula said while Sokka had to glulp down what he just heard. “Wha...they? My own?” he mumbled and Azula shook her head. “Not your own people...those who see your people as mere slaves for their own interests...they thought you dead and tried to dispose you in a hole in the ice...I almost didn´t get you out of that.”Azula said and looked quite shaken by her memory. “I actually almost abandoned my plan.” she said and suddenly her arms were around Sokka as she hugged him. “I´,m sorry...I miscalculated and that almost cost you your life.” she whispered. She was so close to Sokka, he could feel the warmth from her body, smell her as she lay on top of him and he felt her shivering, not from the cold, that was certain.

“You...your plan?” Sokka asked and felt like an idiot, but she just smiled softly at him. Her smile was something he had never seen. Azula used her expressions like weapons in her arsenal, to manipulate or intimidate people...but now she was just sad and happy at the same time. “As I said...I didn´t think they´d do it in a feast and I also wanted them to think you were dead...so I waited as they dragged you to the hole...I´m sorry.” she said again and her smile faded as she suddenly pressed her face to his chest, or rather the thick blanket covering him to the chin.

#Azula #sokka #sokkla #AU #avatar last airbender

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incorrectzukka · 4 years

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A:TLA Soulmarks AU 5

- zuko is a tapestry of gray marks. everyone he has ever loved has betrayed him.

- he has a dragon mask for his mother on his right shoulder, and a flame for his father on his left. he doesn’t know how he got them. most parents fondly cherish their memories of their marks appearing on their children, but zuko wonders if his parents even know he has them.

- the one mark he remembers from his childhood is a bolt of lighting surrounded by blue flames: at the centre of his small torso. he feels it burn when his little sister, three weeks old, bubbling in the royal nanny’s arms, sneezes when he touches her nose.

- zuko, who has so much love to give. zuko, who loves so deeply even his marks form a triangle around his heart. zuko, who is ten years old and has no idea what his mark looks like because not one of them have shown it to him.

- his father burns half his face off. his father sends him on what his uncle calls a hopeless quest. the mark doesn’t fade, because his father hasn’t betrayed him. zuko knows this. his father has taught him a lesson. he knows this. the mark is not gray.

- his mother leaves him, but the mark isn’t gray. she is coming back. it isn’t a betrayal, because she loves him and she will come back. the mark will not go gray.

- eventually, they do. zuko doesn’t know when they go gray, because he refuses to look at his marks anymore. he’s practicing his bending (never good enough) in the higher temperatures of some Earth Kingdom port they’re docked at, when his uncle points it out.

- he huffs and moves into his next stance with ease, but the fire at the end of his fist burns a little hotter. he searches for something in himself: anger, apathy, sadness, acceptance. all he feels is shame.

- he spares a moment to wonder why azula’s mark is as blue as ever, and he thinks of his sister, poisoned by their father. he wonders if he has a mark on azula, and if it went gray when he left Caldera.

- his uncle is the one who shows him what his mark looks like. they’re standing on the deck of the ship and iroh lifts his sleeve to show him a patch of angry skin, shot through with a gold slit. it looks like his left eye.

- he laughs, but nothing is funny. his mark of love is the ugliest part of him, because loving zuko is not a gift: it’s a curse. the laugh sounds wet, even to his own ears.

- “it means those who love you... they love you even knowing what you think are your deepest flaws,” his wise uncle says and zuko thinks it sounds overly valorous even for him. zuko doesn’t have flaws. his father made it abundantly clear that zuko was the flaw.

- he feels the burn of a mark at the meeting point of his two collarbones. when he pulls his collar down, it shows a jasmine plant growing out of flames. he doesn’t need his uncle’s wisdom to know what it means: inner peace. strength through chaos.

- after he betrays his uncle, he has nightmares of the scar on his face turning an ashen gray. he wonders if he has ruined the only mark that belongs to him in the world with his selfishness.

- the mark is not gray. his scar looks almost a part of iroh’s skin. he cannot take his eyes off it, scared that it is a dream. his uncle never lost faith in him.

- zuko has resigned himself to carrying his uncle’s mark on himself as the only proof of his love. he only wonders why azula’s mark hasn’t faded yet: she tried to kill him enough. never would he have expected five other people to carry it.

- his mark fits like a puzzle on each one of them. after their experience with the dragons, aang lifts his right arm, streaked with colour over his arrows: katara’s droplet on the back of his hand, toph’s ring around the wrist, suki’s fan on his bicep, sokka’s weapons on the back of his arm, and zuko’s scar. zuko’s horrible, ugly, scar, the reminder that he was never wanted. zuko’s scar on his forearm, fitting in the middle of all those other beautiful marks. he blinks the tears away.

- he takes off his shirt to find a blue arrow swiping from under his left armpit and pointing to his heart.

- toph asks him to spar the next day, and she seems to be winning. she sends out a rock that catches him in the right side, but the pain is punctuated by a cold burn. he knows there will be light green seismic rings surrounding that bruise for a while.

- what he couldn’t have bet on knowing was toph’s hand pushing him up onto his knees, or the way she lifted the hem of her pant and demanded to know what the complete band of five marks around her ankle looked like. his scar almost blends in with aang’s arrow, and he has never been more glad that toph is blind except then.

- after they break in and out of a goddamn prison, sokka sits next to him in the airship. he takes zuko’s hand and places it on his left bicep, where his scar wraps around it, horrifyingly disfigured. he wants to apologize for it, but he looks at sokka’s smile and he doesn’t.

- instead, he asks how he completed sokka’s set, and listens to him explain the zig zag of marks across both his arms: suki’s fan on his left wrist, toph’s rings on his right forearm, zuko’s scar on his left bicep and aang’s arrow on his right shoulder. katara’s mark is the apex of the pattern- high up on his collarbone.

- zuko lifts his shirt to show sokka the crossed sword and boomerang he felt form on his right pectoral, above toph’s rings.

- sokka gasps at suki’s golden fan, framed under aang’s arrow on his other side. he calls suki over, and zuko is infinitely glad no one mentions how odd his marks are: not on arms or backs as most are. no, all on his torso, like a freak.

- suki regards him calmly, before turning he right wrist to show him his scar. “this doesn’t mean i forgive you for burning my village,” she says, but sits down with them and jokes about how all the boys were on her right side, and all the girls were on her left.

- zuko knows where katara’s mark will turn up. by know the pattern is crystal clear: the space on his midriff, just above azula’s mark and caught between toph’s rings and suki’s fan. it forms as soon as he decides that he will help her avenge her mother.

- after it is all done, katara regards him with cool eyes and pulls away from the hug. she twists to her right, showing the entirety of shoulder covered in his scar. he sees the symmetry it forms, sokka’s mark on the back of her neck, aang’s arrow on her forehead, toph’s rings around her neck, suki’s fan on her other shoulder.

- he wonders if they all felt as unbalanced as he did without the set of five, and he decides he doesn’t care. six people. six people in the world love him, and that is enough.

- he never worries about azula’s mark going gray because she burns it off him herself with her lightening. he does worry about the small remorse he feels looking at his scarred skin after the battle.

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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 3 years

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

You arrive at the fire nation and things do not go as Azula planned, mainly because she didn’t expect to be putting her own neck on the line to protect you from her father...but that’s exactly what she finds herself doing more and more.

Part one here

Part three here

Part four here

Part five here

Part six here

Your POV

The ship landed just as the sun was rising and you expected to be shown to a room to sleep but instead Azula started towards the palace and gestured for you to follow. The dai li were sent down another corridor and you hesitated but Azula called your name sharply and so you turned away. You had no idea where Azula was taking you, all you heard her say was “he will want to see her” to two guards who hastily got out of her way. You were so angry and scared you didn’t take in the grand decor or extravagant wealth of the fire nation. You just followed Azula as you went further into the belly of the beast. When you got closer Azula dismissed everyone apart from you but one person didn’t leave. Her brother Zuko stayed and Azula narrowed her eyes. She yanked him to the side and they argued in whispers but eventually Azula won. You wondered if she ever lost....Zuko turned back the way you’d come and disappeared around a corner. Azula carried on walking without saying anything and anxious not to be left behind you hurried after her. You finally reached a huge throne room lined with fire and gaped. "Father" Azula said sprawling on the floor in a bow. The figure in the fire turned and looked at you both before fixing it’s eyes on you. Azula shot you a look but you made no attempt to move "you said nothing about bowing, i am still princess of the earth kingdom". Azula narrowed her eyes when suddenly the figure moved out of the fire. Fire lord Ozai loomed before you and glanced over you “so this is the princess" Ozai said coming to stand right infront of you. He lifted your chin with his hand and stared in your eyes harshly. "You are now our ally so i will excuse this lapse in judgement just this once...but in the future you will bow to me and only me. We are allies but i your king, do you understand?". He jerked his hand away but you didn’t let you chin drop, the fire lord glared at you but you matched his eye defiantly. You saw Azula watching anxiously so eventually looked away "yes fire lord Ozai" and lowered your head. "Good" Ozai replied. You doubted you had a choice. “You will rest and prepare for tonight”. “What’s tonight?” you asked and Ozai smirked cruelly “why our victory party of course”.

Azula’s POV

After you left Azula stayed, anxious to hear her father’s praises but they never came. “She is your responsibility” he said simply and Azula looked up “the princess?”. “Well who else?” he snapped “it was stupid bringing her here, you should’ve killed her when you could”. “I couldn’t...there’s no way the city would’ve allowed it, they would not have surrendered if we harmed her, the only way to assure victory was with her help”. “She is not broken and that is a problem” Ozai glared “it will be your job to break her, if you fail or if she causes even a whiff of treachery....you will face the consequence” he glared “yes?”. Azula bowed her head “yes father”. Her father made a noise and swept past her, stepping on her sleeve as he passed. Azula frowned wiping away the dirt and stood up. If you were her responsibility then she had to make sure you behaved, she had work to do.

Your POV

You were led through another maze of corridors until you were eventually released into your room. As prison cells went it was beautiful. Large and tastefully decorated you found yourself admiring the room when suddenly the door was thrown open. Servants brought in boxes and boxes of supplies and you frowned “what is all this?”. “Clothes” Azula said appearing “you need to look nice for the firelord’s presentation tonight, the servants will choose what you are to wear and help you to get ready”. “Because I am incapable of doing that myself?” you asked and Azula glared. “Because this is too important an alliance to fail, you have no idea about fire nation customs or our traditions so if I were you i’d take every slither of help I could get...”. Azula backed away from you and went to leave but you weren’t done. “The dai li, where have you sent them? Tell me or I won’t go near any of these outfits”. Azula rolled her eyes “I have taken some for my personal protection but others will be deployed however I see fit”. You shook your head worried for the guards that had left their families because you said to. “I want to have some with me, I want them to be alternated regularly so I might make sure they are being treated well”. Azula glared “you are not in the position to bargain with me”. “Am I not?” you asked “you’re smart but you know if anything happens to me...if word gets back to the dai li or to Ba Sing Sei....your alliance falls away, what would your father think of that?”. You’d picked up on Azula’s fear of her father and felt bad using it on her but given what she’d done to your people you thought it fair. The servants all paused at the mention of Ozai and looked at you with obvious astonishment you’d dare test the princess but you didn’t care. If you were so important as Azula claimed she couldn’t touch you. With visible effort Azula’s shoulders lowered and she met your eyes. “I will see to it you always have a guard of four and they will rotate monthly, now is that all?” she asked sarcastically. You nodded your head and Azula strode from the room pushing over a servant that couldn’t get out of her way fast enough.

You unsurprisingly couldn’t rest and the ball came quicker than you expected. Before you knew it you were poked and prodded into a traditional earth kingdom dress nobody even wore anymore and thrust into the middle of the fire nation nobility. You were forced to sit by the firelord’s side for the duration of a large feast where he basically paraded you around as a trophy. He claimed you were allies working to strengthen your kingdom but you were a prisoner. Pretending to not be livid was hard and you took solace hoping your people were safe at least. That’s all that mattered.

Azula’s POV

"I feel sorry for her" Ty Lee sighed watching you “she looks so...awkward”. Azula glanced over to you and realised her friend was right. Despite looking every bit the beautiful exotic princess with a wide smile on your face your eyes were betraying you. You were miserable. “Well duh” Mai replied “do you think she’s happy to be here?”. The nobles had all certainly taken to you but Azula guessed that hadn’t helped. You were dressed in traditional earth kingdom clothes and primped like a delicate thing to sit in a display case. Azula noted you did look radiant and beautiful but you had been just as stunning when she first saw you in trousers and a loose tunic only that’d hadn’t looked half as forced. This, with your hair twisted up into an odd position and a corset squeezing you into a ridiculous shape, didn’t look like you at all...just a basic princess of the earth nation.

Azula watched as her father leant in to say something to you and you flinched away repulsed. You were still smiling but it was very clear you detested him. Her father either didn’t notice or didn’t care and he kept his close proximity to you. Azula thought it unwise for her father to keep pushing you, she wasn’t sure how long it’d be before you earth bent his chair away from you for coming close to you. Azula supposed that would be bad for appearances so made her way to her father. “Father” she said bowing “may I make a suggestion?”. Ozai nodded and she moved closer. “Perhaps if y/n could move around the room...people could see her better and it would look like more of an alliance, I could show her around if you liked?” she whispered. Ozai thought before nodding “yes that is a good idea”. Azula nodded and went to step towards you when Ozai cut her off “Zuko” he said turning to his son further down the table. Zuko jumped up and rushed over “yes father?”. “Y/n wishes to stretch her legs, take her for a walk around the room, give her a whole tour of the palace if you wish just make sure everyone sees the two of you together” he said pointedly. Zuko lowered his eyes and nodded “yes father”. You had evidently overheard and stood up as soon as Zuko looked at you. You rushed away from Ozai so quickly Zuko followed you in a daze.

Mai’s POV

Azula returned to Mai and Ty lee and she she evidently noticed Mai’s expression. “I didn’t mean for that to happen...”. “No, I knew it was only a matter of time before your father put his plan in place” Mai sighed. There were already chatters about you and Mai knew Ozai was anxious to assimilate you into the fire nation. An obvious and simple way would be to link your blood line to theirs and given you were only one year younger, you and Zuko seemed the obvious option. “I told you that won’t happen” Azula said sharply “she’s a princess she won’t be sold off like cattle”. “You sure about that?” Mai asked as the whole room followed you and Zuko with their eyes, whispers breaking out everywhere. Mai wasn’t so sure Azula was right this time. A marriage would so neatly tie up this whole business, any children you had would have claim to both the fire and earth nation meaning the fire nation could legitimately take over half the four nations. With you help Ozai wouldn’t even have to wipe the earth kingdom out, he’d more than double his population and reach an insane amount of power. Mai couldn’t see how he would resist that and so watched you warily.

Your POV

You’d only been in the fire nation a day but you were painfully aware of Ozai’s plan for you and so you were wary of Azula’s brother but honestly he seemed just as scared as you. He led you outside in silence, past all the people who muttered just loud enough for you to hear. He stopped at a balcony in full view of them all and silence settled. You were aware he probably also knew what his father had planned and were pleased he also seemed opposed to it. “So...how do you like the fire nation?” he asked awkwardly and you paused. “I honestly don’t know what to make of it, I haven’t been let out of my room all day so I haven’t had much chance to look around”. Zuko looked at you awkwardly “ow”. “Ow” you agreed and silence settled. Finally Zuko sighed “look I have to mention it...I know what my father has planned as do you...but I didn’t ask him for it and I won’t be speeding up the process I can assure you...er no offence”. You smiled surprised at his honesty “none taken, it’s a relief to hear you say that...no offence”. Zuko smiled dryly and silence settled again. You were confused by what Zuko had said though, why was he acting like he didn’t have a say? You were a prisoner but he was a prince, why didn’t he just tell his father no? “Not to sound rude but can’t you do something about it?” you asked suddenly and Zuko jumped. “Me? what makes you think I can do anything?”. “Well you’re the first born and the future king! Can’t you...refuse or something?”. Zuko laughed “things must’ve worked differently in your kingdom but here...lets just say speaking out against my father isn’t an option”. You frowned disheartened and Zuko touched his scar nervously before sighing “we should move around, my father wants them to see you...”. Zuko led you back into the party and you felt like a show dog being paraded around. You followed him dutifully until Azula appeared. “Princess Y/n” she said nodding to you “brother” she said sharply to Zuko “father has retired”. Zuko looked up and sure enough Ozai’s throne was empty. “He has?”. “Clearly” Azula snapped before turning to you “all he asked is that you stay at the party until the end but that does not mean you have to spend it with my brother, I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone” Azula smirked. You smiled without meaning to but immediately felt bad for Zuko. The prince scoffed and barged past his sister most unimpressed and Azula laughed. “Not the most charismatic” she told you “but then we can’t all be so lucky to be blessed with people skills”. “You have people skills?” you asked and Azula narrowed her eyes, “just because I wasn’t trained to be a pretty smiley princess like you doesn’t mean I can’t handle people, i’m very good at getting what i want...you’re proof of that”. “Me?” you asked confused and Azula smirked “do you think you’d be here if I didn’t want you here?” and walked away leaving you confused.

1 week later

You soon realised you’d been premature to complain about your treatment on your first day in the fire nation. The day after the party you were awoken early and forced to dress and show your face around the fire nation nobles. Then you were drilled incessantly by some twin women about everything fire nation. The correct titles to use, who you must bow to, how you must style your hair....the list was endless and the women cruel and harsh. Your days were spent being prodded around by them, your evenings been paraded around whatever formal event was being thrown and the fire nation seemed to have an endless amount of events to prove their honour and pride. You soon caught on that the events were merely a way for Ozai to force you and Zuko in proximity to one another and so in response you tried avoiding the prince as much as was humanly possible. In truth you had nothing against Zuko, he seemed fine but you didn’t want to encourage any more contractual alliances, a marriage least of all. The only good thing about the situation was Zuko wasn’t the only fire nation royalty around. Strangely Princess Azula had been...helpful in that respect. Anywhere Zuko could go so could Azula, so anytime Ozai demanded Zuko go somewhere just so he could force you to do the same, Azula would also show up. So what would’ve turned into a date was just a royal outing. Even tonight, the fire lord had purposefully attempted to seat you and Zuko at the centre of the table. Azula had swiftly placed herself in the centre instead, both of you blocked by her and you found it rather entertaining. She was definitely the brains of the fire nation and for whatever reason she did not support a union between you and her brother.

Azula was oddly the member of the royal family you saw the most. On your “royal outings” you and Zuko largely ignored one another and with Azula and Zuko not getting on, it would be the two of you trading quips or light insults at one another all day. She’d also regularly appear in your schooling sessions too and when she did the women were a lot nicer to you. They obviously wanted to impress the princess and needed you to do that so went from shrieking furies to kind old women. You began to look forward to Azula’s visits in your lessons and found her presence oddly comforting in certain situations, like the formal events. Nobody dared approach you when Azula was next to you and it was refreshing. In her presence you were protected from the stares and rude behaviour of the fire nation nobels who had gotten bolder with their behaviour to you. Zuko would just look away but Azula would directly challenge anyone who showed you disrespect. She claimed it was because disrespect to you was disrespect to the fire lord but you weren’t so sure...there was something oddly endearing deep down in the princess. You didn’t see it often but when you did...you liked it.

But Azula wasn’t often vulnerable and you more often saw the harsher side of her, especially if she was in a bad mood and particularly if you were too. The two of you would clash and after a hard day of training you suspected the same could happen tonight. You’d had a bad day from being summonded to oversee the contract of your alliance you had no control over to the painful dress you’d been placed in tonight but the worst bit was Azula hadn’t shown up to your training session like she did every week and your teachers had taken it out on you. So you were already slightly miffed at her when she sidled up beside you in the throne room.

You were stood watching the other nobles lost in thought and clear confusion showed on your face. "What’s wrong with you...never been to a party before?" Azula asked. "Not one like this" you admitted and glanced at Azula. You were annoyed to see she looked nice (as always) but she was constantly dressed so formally. You hadn’t once seen her in normal clothing and it seemed as if the fire nation lived in formal wear. “So what’s with the face?” Azula asked jolting you out of your theory. "Is there no dancing in the fire nation? I’ve been here over a week and not once has anyone danced at any of these things" you said dismissively and Azula smirked "you like to dance?". You shrugged "my uncle loved it as did Bosco...it was infectious everyone would get up and dance too" you smiled at the memory "but here nobody seems to do much smiling or laughing…do you know how?". Azula narrowed her eyes "maybe if your city focused less of bears and parties it wouldn’t be ours now". You’d provoked her with your comment but you hadn’t meant to make her so angry. You’d learnt her temper could be far more fragile than your own but you were sick of appeasing it. She needed some to snap back at her and you’d give it her. You sighed deeply and glared "don’t pretend you won on merit alone you got lucky...the avatar gone, long feng over thrown, it wasn’t all your talent that won you the city and what was the point of it all anyway? Even with my city the fire nation’s still a miserable place. Nobody here seems happy or to like each other. That’s probably why you focus so much on other nations but what happens when you've conquered the world and you’re all left to your unhappy selves? At least we were happy on our own could the fire nation say the same?".

Azula’s POV

You turned and strode away before Azula could reply and she slammed her drink down in response. How dare you get the last word! It angered Azula so much she tried looking for you to continue the argument but couldn’t seem to find you. She was sure you’d disappeared on purpose and that made her even angrier. You were so spirited and had such a sharp tongue, it matched hers and that infuriated her. She had to admit you were similar to her in many respects and that made her both interested and agitated by you. "Princess Azula" a servant called and Azula snapped "what?" she yelled and the man cowered "your father wishes to speak to you and your brother...before the contract signing with princess y/n tomorrow". Azula straightened and ignored the people looking at her. She made her way to Ozai’s throne room and was annoyed to see she was the last one there. "Ah finally" her father called and Azula resisted the urge to point out if he’d have told her earlier she’d have been on time. "The contract is all drawn up, we will present it to y/n tomorrow. AIl the agreed terms are there plus an added clause for us". "What sort of clause?" Zuko asked and Ozai glanced at him "a clause that ensures y/n will always be of use to us". Azula found said clause and tensed, the clause basically signed your life over to the fire lord, he could use you however he saw fit. This meant Ozai could do whatever he wanted to you and it would be part of your alliance. Azula knew exactly what her father had in mind and he was stood across from her. Zuko looked at Azula confused as she stared at him and Zuko went to say something before she looked away. "It all seems to be in order why don’t i take it to her tonight?". Ozai shook his head "no it needs to be overseen by officials so there can be no question of it’s legitimacy". "We have a room full of them, i can get it sorted for you by tonight why wait for tomorrow?". Ozai frowned before nodding "why not" and handed it to her. Azula nodded in relief and clutched the document to her chest "i will return for you to sign it after y/n has" and she set out to find you.

1 hour later

Two dai li agents and two fire nation nobles gathered as your witnesses. You and Azula stood beside one another as she explained the terms to you. Hearing her voice made you angry again so you just sighed "give it here". Azula paused "but i haven’t finished". "I don’t care i know what we agreed to and i know the fire nation is stubborn so you obviously put it all in there, i read it before i don’t need to read it now". Azula shrugged and handed it over. You signed it and managed not to flinch as you saw your name printed on the line. "Done" you said "i’m officially fire nation property". Azula didn’t reply, she stared at the contract her mind clearly elsewhere. "Azula?" you asked and she looked at you "what?". "I was saying...never mind, can i leave?". Azula nodded her head "yes" and she sushed from the room.

That night

You were still moping in your room unable to get any sleep when you heard yelling. Your room was annoyingly close to the firelord’s and so you could hear when he was in a mood and that was often. However this one seemed particularly bad. You heard many feet running past your room to his study and frowned. You opened your down and called to one of your guards “what’s going on with the fire lord?”. The guard frowned "i shouldn’t say princess". "Is it bad?" you asked as doors slammed shaking the palace "can you tell me that at least?". The man frowned and you looked at him, he was one of your dai li, a man named Guomir that you had known since you were a child. “Guomir please?” you asked. You kept your gaze on him and he eventually sighed rolling his eyes “okay but don’t tell anyone I told you”. You smirked and gestured for the him to come into your room. He shut the door and turned to you “If the rumours are to be believed it is in relation to your treaty". "What" you cried "but i haven’t done anything, i signed exactly where they told me to". "There was a hidden clause it seems and fire lord Ozai thinks you betrayed him over it". "Hidden clause?" you asked "but i didn’t even write the contract!". "Yes but he thinks you have wormed your way to those who did, it has ruined his plans for you". "What clause is it?". "A marriage clause, it prevents your marriage to the prince of the fire nation permanently".

You were called to the throne room an hour later despite the time and you walked in with your head held high. You saw the two officiates who had been there when you signed the contract and neither of them dared to meet your eye. They stood close to the princess Azula terrified and you were sure they both figured you were doomed and you supposed you were. You’d been summoned so abruptly you knew this wouldn’t be good but you surprisingly weren’t scared. You kept your head up as a few more people appeared in the room and then the doors were sealed shut. The fire lord entered and you managed not to jump as he slammed the door. "Lets not waste time, do you wish to confess?" Ozai barked at you. You stared at him and shook your head "i had no part of this, i signed where you told me to sign". "So you expect me to believe as the only person to gain from this you didn’t do it?". "She didn’t" someone spoke up and you froze. "I added it" Azula said simply. There was silence and then suddenly Ozai reacted. “Leave us” he yelled and you saw Azula flinch despite her brave face. The men filled from the room leaving you, Azula and Ozai. "Azula! You know what this marriage could’ve done, why did you do this?". "Because y/n is more use to us than as Zuko’s wife, she is a princess and we have her loyalty, we don’t need to hand too". Ozai rolled his eyes "but whoever else she marries has claim to the earth empire that could sway her loyalties. A marriage would’ve fixed that". "No it never would’ve ensure her loyalty and actually could’ve resulted in the opposite. The earth kingdom would know her and Zuko didn’t fall in love within a week, they’d see you were selling her off like cattle and we could’ve lost the city. We have her contractual word, we do not need anything else". “If she ever shows questionable loyalty” Ozai yelled in Azula’s face “I won’t just banish you, your fate won’t be that kind...do you understand?”. “Yes father” Azula said and she stared at the ground. Ozai pushed her and stormed from the room. You watched as Azula unclenched her fists and her hands shook in fear. She was terrified of her father and she risked his wrath for what possible reason?

You intended to find out but Azula didn’t seem keen on sticking around. “Azula” you called but she strode from the room following her father. Nobody telling you not to, you rushed after her calling her name. You caught her arm and she pushed you away “leave me alone I saved you what else do you want from me?”. "An explanation, why did you do it?" you asked angrily "what do you want in return". "In return?" Azula asked confused and you nodded "well you don’t strike me as a person who does anything without expecting something in return. You must want payment". Azula’s angry expression relaxed and she looked at you "you're right i don't act for no reason but i do not expect payment actually". Your jaw dropped and it took you a few seconds to form a sentence "but....why?". Azula smiled and went to walk away. "No” you said grabbing her arm “please don’t...you’re the reason i’m here but you’re also the only one who acknowledges me and not just as someone to sell off...just tell me why you did it”. Azula brushed your hands off her and carried on walking. You sighed in defeat when suddenly she looked back “are you coming or not?”. You smirked and rushed after her.

Azula led you around the palace grounds and you stared like a tourist. You’d not been allowed free reign of the palace and so this was the most you’d seen of it. You were happy to walk in silence but Azula seemed to want to answer your last question. "I don’t agree with arranged marriages" she said suddenly "my father’s first attempt to arrange one for me was when i was 12, he said he would wait a few years of course but he was still planning it all out" she spat "so i made him a deal, if i finished at the academy with the best record anyone had ever seen, beating any man or woman who came before, he would postpone his plans. He agreed smugly and i smashed every single record ever set in this nation" Azula grinned "he never brought up the marriage again". You laughed "that’s amazing...how did you do it?". "I guess i’m just the best the fire nation has ever seen" Azula boasted and you found yourself agreeing "you must be...that or you’re the most determined one to ever exist. Either way that’s impressive". Azula stared at you as you said that making you blush at her smirk. "I know" she replied and you realised you’d reached the corridor of your apartments "it is late you should retire”. You nodded your head unable to meet her eye and Azula smiled “goodnight princess". She bowed never taking her eyes off you until she had to and when she did you felt cold. The princess may be hard to read but she was making things interesting. She was quickly becoming your favourite thing about this damn nation and something told you that wouldn’t be changing any time soon...

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a-master-procrastinator · 3 years

Text

Long ass post about the Eternal family not being a copy-paste from ATLA (aka I like the memes but my god can you please stop)

Because some people truly think that Vaylin is off-brand Azula, Arcann is Zuko and so on.

It's. Called. A. Trope. (I mean how often do we come across abusive manipulative fathers in media? Mothers who couldn't much to change anything? Children, desperately looking for their parent's approval no matter what?)

Of course, you have to consider the fact that the writing of ATLA is simply better than of KotFE/ET, so this might have been one of the reasons why people say that.

Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne expansions!

Okay, so here's my unprofessional, maybe biased, not super deep take.

(not going to mention that all of them are members of royal, ruling family, kinda obvious)

What roles do they play in their stories? Well, both Valkorion and Ozai are main antagonists, but their presence throughout the story is very different. Ozai is rarely shown in first two seasons, we don't even see his face until season 3. He doesn't have a direct connection to the protagonist, they only meet at the very end of the show, and Ozai's role is to pose a threat to the world, while Aang's is to save it. Valkorion, on the other hand, is constantly on the screen, interacting with the main character, challenging their viewpoint and influencing them directly. His end goal is similar to Ozai's (destroy everything and be the only ruler of the his nation), but with one major difference - he's trapped in Outlander's mind, so to achieve his goal Valkorion attempts to take control of the main character. Their interactions play important role in the story, and we spend a lot of time with Valkorion.

In addition to that, their relationship with children are also not exactly the same. It seems like Azula is Ozai's favorite and Zuko is a failure in his eyes until he meets his expectations, and the same goes with Vaylin, Arcann and Valkorion, right? Well, partially. Indeed, Valkorion and Ozai's treat their sons in similar ways (are disappointed in them until they meet their expectation by doing something that goes against their morals), but when it comes to Vaylin and Azula, it's not that easy. See, Valkorion claims that Vaylin was always his favorite creation (even though we know it's actually his empire), and he certainly seems to take pride in her potential in the Force. But her power is the very reason he's afraid of his own daughter, and in this fear Valkorion literally locks Vaylin away and allows to put her through physical and mental torture just to make sure she won't become a threat, won't overpower him. Maybe he thought of her better than of Arcann, but she wasn't his favored child for sure. I don't want to say that Azula hasn't experienced abuse from Ozai, but for the most part he clearly favored her over Zuko. He has never shown fear of Azula's power and abilities (or at least I haven't noticed), quite the opposite - allowed her to do a lot, as long as she brings results.

I could also mention their slightly different characterization (mostly that we get more characterization of Valkorion, get to learn his motivations, views, philosophy and all that, also he's portrayed as more nuanced, even if he not really is) and role in their respective governments (ozai is one of many Fire Lords and arguably not the greatest, while Valkorion is a god to citizens of Zakuul, their only Immortal Emperor), but those are details, and I think you get the point.

What's similar: role of the main antagonist, manipulative and abusive father, goal of destruction of everything that isn't their nation/empire, relationship with disgraced son.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with the main character, relationship with daughter, role in their societies.

Senya and Ursa are even less similar. Yes, they both are mothers who love their children, but have to leave them, but these are probably the only things they have in common. Just as with Ozai and Valkorion's presence throughout the story, Ursa is only shown in flashbacks (for obvious reasons), and Senya is one of major characters in KotFE and (a bit less major) in KotET. Ursa leaves because she has to kill Azulon in order to save Zuko, and later isn't present in the story (I'm aware that her fate is told in comics, but we aren't talking about it). Senya leaves because when she tries to take children with her, they refuse, and she understands that she can't force them to, nor she can help them to break free from Valkorion's manipulations. For a long time she's absent from Arcann ad Vaylin's lives, but at the time of game events she attempts to save her children and stop the madness and destruction they've caused, and it isn't a small part of the story.

I also want to add that their relationship with Ozai and Valkorion are also different, but can't say much about Ursa. I heard that she didn't choose this marriage and suffered emotional (and maybe physical???) abuse from Ozai. I can say with confidence, though, that Senya genuinely loved Valkorion, and strangely enough, he seems to at very least respect her. But, of course, this wasn't the best marriage either.

Plus, we see more of Senya's relationship with Vaylin than Arcann or Thexan, but with Ursa we see her more with Zuko than Azula. Just a detail to remember.

(also Senya is simply a better character but that besides the point, moving on. in this house we stand Senya)

What's similar: role of loving and caring mother, abandoning their family at some point.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with husband, characterization in general.

Boy, where do I even begin. Vaylin and Azula are similar in that they are both extremely powerful (one is firebending prodigy, the other is potentially stronger than Valkorion), both are cruel "craaaaazy" (i hate that cliché), both are younger sisters, have serious mother issues (seemingly more so than father issues), both go through betrayal of people they could always rely on, which eventually leads to their downfall. But when I took a look at their personal arcs, it became clear that they aren't the same (unfortunately, Vaylin's arc is very rushed and underdeveloped, but we'll have to go with what we have and my personal view, sorry).

There's a really good video about writing corruption and madness, and I'm going to base my thoughts on it. To summarise it: a good corruption arc should have 4 components:

- the character has a specific goal (or a goal and subgoals);

- in pursuit of said goal they become the cause of a significant event that brings serious consequences;

- as the result of these consequences, character abandons their morals, ideals or a code in pursuit of goal;

- character either will not achieve their goal or will succeed, but it won't be enough to satisfy them.

And then the author brings Azula's arc as one of the best examples of compelling story of corruption (so basically, she represents it perfectly). In short, Azula's main goals are perfection and control, and subgoals help achieve the main ones. In pursuit of these goals, Azula causes Mai and Ty Lee to betray her (by pushing them too far to do something they wouldn't do), which then causes her to become paranoid, which makes her to attempt controlling everything and everyone around her, *breathes* which makes her lose control over herself and ....

Now, I thought if Vaylin's arc could fit into a corruption one, and next part will be based a lot on my assumptions and personal view of her character (plus rushed writing doesn't help), but I think yes (or at least mostly). The difference is in goals, ideals and details.

While the story strongly makes us think that Vaylin's goal is freedom (or control over her life and everything around her) or power and destruction, I think it's actually self-determination (which was said by Tenebrae in 6.2) and feeling safe. Let me explain (and here I thought this would be a short comparison). Sure, when Valkorion caged Vaylin on Nathema, he took choices and control over her life from his daughter. But let's not forget whom Vaylin blames for this (even more than Valkorion): her own mother, and I think this details tell us that the most important thing that Vaylin lost on Nathema is feeling safe. Then, after Arcann brought her home, I assume Vaylin still didn't feel safe enough under Valkorion's rule, still too afraid that he'd simply send her back to that hellish place.

It's when Valkorion is struck down Vaylin finally has a feeling of personal safety, even if she isn't the one on the throne. Why? Because back on Nathema there were two people who haven't turned on her - Arcann and Thexan (yes, this is also a huge assumption, bc the game states that only Thexan visited her, but it doesn't make much sense).

I've always noticed (and I'm not alone in this) that her behavior in Fallen Empire is different from the way she acted in Eternal Throne. Most likely bc of rushed writing, but I see a character driven reason here. In first of these expansions, Vaylin is the second person in power on Zakuul, and with Arcann being in charge, person she can trust more than any other living being, she feels safe - she can test her power, and now Valkorion won't prevent it, she can do pretty much everything she wishes, and the most Arcann will do about this is mildly complain (without blaming her). Really would be nice if we got to see any normal hobbies of Vaylin (like wasn't there something about books or art?), but I digress. She might have some questions about Arcann's tactics, but they get along just fine. The important thing to note is Vaylin not seeking to hunt the Outlander personally, to rule or conquer the rest of the galaxy, or trying to achieve absolute freedom or power. She's kinda there.

This, however, changes when Arcann doesn't allow Vaylin to kill Senya. Their relationship was getting somewhat worse towards the end of KotFE, but this is a turning event Vaylin caused by attempting to strike her mother. By saving the person Vaylin blames for all the trauma from sending her to Nathema, Arcann threatened her feeling of safety. And now Vaylin starts to believing that to achieve safety she now needs to kill people who hurt her (that's why she's so determined to find Senya and Arcann), take the throne and hunt down Outlander (she was manipulated by SCORPIO to these subgoals).

(The following is the weakest, I'll admit, but I hope I can at least express what I see). So, in trying to achieve goals she didn't want before Vaylin loses in self-determination, being either driven by overwhelming anger or manipulated by others (SCORPIO or Commander on Odessen), desperately trying to accomplish anything, or even goes against her morals (like by erasing GEMINI's free will protocols, when earlier she agreed that freedom to choose is important; or breaking the deal on Odessen). All of these result in her downfall.

But even this isn't the end. The key difference between arcs of Azula Vaylin lies in it's resolution, or that Vaylin have a chance to overcome corruption in the main narrative (and Azula doesn't. again, not including comics here, sorry). After death, Vaylin is again controlled by Valkorion in Outlander's mind. First time physically (she can't resist it), second time mentally. This is where Vaylin has to choose - kill brother who betrayed her and Commander who killed her, or go against Valkorion, person responsible for almost all of her pain and trauma. She has t choose by herself, and I think it's a good start.

Now, before 6.2 we all thought Vaylin was dead for good, but that story update hinted at possibility of her coming back to life. What I like to think is that now that she dealt with people responsible for her trauma (helped defeat Valkorion and actually for once listened to Senya), Vaylin can now have a different life, finding herself with support of someone she doesn't hold a grudge against and who treats her well (Satele, I mean).

I'm so sorry for going into details, but I needed this long explanation to present the point (and I suck at explanations). As said before, this is my version of her arc, and most likely wrong interpretation, but even with personal freedom of choice, Vaylin character differs from Azula a lot.

Need I mention that Vaylin relationship with Arcann and Valkorion are drastically different from those between Azula, Zuko and Ozai?

(Also a little detail - with royal family of Fire Nation, Azula is the golden child, while with Tiralls it's actually Thexan, not Vaylin).

What's similar: role of extremely powerful, emotionally damaged daughter with little to no regard towards others, close people betraying them, resulting in their downfall.

What's different: characterization, role in the narrative, relationship with father and brother.

Arcann and Zuko is the most difficult part, but I still believe that calling Arcann just a cheap copy of Zuko is incorrect.

So, they fall into role of less successful son, always getting disapproval from father, being in shadow of more talented sibling, both obsessed with capturing the main character but ending up helping them end the war after going through a redemption arc with help of caring family member. Even both have scars on left side of face. Yeah, seems similar. I still think they are different characters.

Let's start with their relationships with family. In Valkorion section I said that his attitude towards Arcann is similar to that of Ozai towards Zuko, so not going to spend too much time here. However, there's slight difference - Zuko didn't kill his father even he had a perfect opportunity (bc it wasn't his goal), Arcann did (bc it was one of his goals), which says something about their characterizations.

Zuko and Ursa were shown to have a good mother-son relationship, and it played a role in Zuko's character. With Arcann and Senya, we don't really know (not much was shown in expansions). We know Arcann didn't hate his mother, but possibly didn't have warm memories of her either. The reason is most likely, like Senya said, her children wanted nothing to do with her (which is a bit untrue about Vaylin, but okay) and leaned more towards Valkorion. We need to remember that on Zakuul Valkorion isn't just one of many great leaders, he's the greatest, and seen as a god by most citizens, so safe to assume the same would apply to his children as well.

Zuko and Azula's siblingship (i'm out of words) is a bit similar to Arcann and Vaylin's in way of brother knowing that his sister isn't good, but still caring about them (even if not showing). At least it's what I saw. What's different is how Azula treats Zuko, compared to how Vaylin treats Arcann. I think Azula showed compassion or concern for Zuko maybe twice, but I'm not entirely convinced that it was 100% sincere. Vaylin, on the other hand, seems to trust and care about Arcann (with bits of sass and questioning his life choices), and switching to complete opposite after him saving Senya. Also, I don't she ever called Arcann a failure in their father's eyes.

Now I want to say that their roles in stories aren't the same either. Sure, both are introduced to us as antagonists, but in reality, Zuko was never a true antagonist (we get to learn this somewhere mid-season 1), when Arcann remains the main antagonist for whole of KotFE. Zuko didn't start a war and didn't participate in conquest of other nations too much, his main goal was to capture the Avatar so to restore his honor (and deserve his father's forgiveness). Honestly, I think it's safe to say the Zuko is one of two main protagonists of ATLA. Why does Arcann want to capture the Outlander? Solely because his father's spirit still lives inside this person's mind, and the best solution to keep Valkorion away from the galaxy is not letting the Outlander free (hence the carbonite freezing). And Arcann doesn't want or need Valkorion's forgiveness when he attempts to kill him (or kills him, depending on your choice. anyway, his action directly leads to Valkorion's "death"). And right after that he becomes a ruler of Zakuul and begins the conquest of Republic, Sith Empire and everything he can reach (the reasoning behind this is still unclear to me though; maybe because he was raised with ruling Zakuul in mind and he didn't anything else, idk). Point is, he's responsible for war and main's character imprisonment, which makes him the main antagonist of KotFE. They have it the opposite ways - Zuko starts as disgraced prince, supported by a little group of people, and in the end he's recognized and appreciated by his nation, and Arcann starts as respected by his empire, later becoming less and less loved, until some groups start rebelling his rule, and in the end he doesn't get to rule Zakuul again.

This leads me to their morals. See, Zuko didn't have the worst morals in Fire Nation, even more, he expressed care for loyals soldiers of his nation before getting punished by Ozai. During first season (and about a half of second one) his views on other nations are what he was taught before. However, these views are challenged by travelling in Earth Kingdom, witnessing people suffering from war Fire Nation started and hating its people (you already know all of this), and with this he comes through final stage of redemption when he's back home. Unfortunately, Arcann doesn't go through this, and he's shown to be more ruthless.

Alright, when it comes to their redemption arcs, well let's say they are different (both in quality and the way they go through it), I'm just a bit tired of long explanations at this point. Zuko's arc is one of the best ever put on television, and Arcann's... well, it definitely has potential, but is criminally underdeveloped (there are other people who will explain it better than I ever could).

What's similar: role of disgraced son, living in shadow of their sibling, serious injuries on the left side of face (though with different meanings), obsession with capturing the main character, having a redemption arc.

What's different: role in the narrative, role in their society, characterization, relationship with sister and mother, different end goals (before redemption), paths to redemption.

#ah. ofc it didn't show in the tag bc of the youtube link. ofc. gonna be down bc of this)#hey look at me rambling about something only maybe 2 people take seriously #also i noticed that parental characters are better in swtor and children characters are better in atla. do what you want with this #it's 3:30 am i should be sleeping but here instead writing this #(forgive if i have some spelling mistakes. brain shutting down but i won't be at peace if i don't post it right now)#okay so if you have thoughts on this... you really don't have to waste time on this #i really only wrote this because i was annoyed by some peeps on reddit claiming vaylin is off-brand with a straight face #(and then posted this on tumblr bc i don't want to suffer those people on reddit)#what am i doing with my time #(not gonna tag atla bc it's not really about it)#swtor #arcann #vaylin #valkorion #senya tirall #kotfe #kotet #pauletta's babbling #pls send help #(or oc aks to give me some free serotonin but no obligations ofc)

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theemptyskies · 3 years

Text

Real talk.

Note that this is all my own opinion.

In an Azula Redemption fic, in my opinion, she would not have to apologize for anything she did during the war to anyone. Not Aang for shooting him with lightning. Not Mai or Ty lee for imprisoning them. Not the Gaang for chasing them. The only one I might concede is targeting Katara during an Agni Kai.

What she probably should do, is apologize for the way she treated Mai, Ty lee and Zuko when they were children. If it takes place post smoke and shadow then she should apologize for what happened then as well.

She does not owe Ursa anything. While Ursa did love her, she very much neglected Azula which left her feeling that something was wrong with her. She has every right to never let Ursa in her life again. There is no argument that can be made against it. Azula's feelings are valid. She was neglected by her mother. Ursa's personal feelings don't matter. She may have loved her but I don't recall any instance where she actually told Azula that, or spent time with her, or showed even close to the same level of affection. Ursa did kiss her on the cheek the night she left, however I will point out that she woke up Zuko and made sure the last thing she said to him was basically I love you while she left Azula unconscious, unaware of the action. We never even see a scene where Ursa says "I love you" to her.

It's what makes the hallucinations so tragic at the end of season three. Those scenes can be read in a multitude of different ways. My reading of them, examining Ursa's relationship with Azula, noting that every interaction they had was shown to be confrontational, referencing "The Beach" where she did show that Ursa's relationship and abandonment did hurt her deeply, implying that she did want her affection, is this.

Ursa's neglect of Azula throughout her childhood caused Azula to develop feelings of inadequacy. This feeling pushed her to try as hard as possible to earn Ozai's affection, where she succeeded until he left her behind before the final attack in the Earth Kingdom. Coupled with Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal, this caused her feelings of inadequacy to resurface stronger than before. Everyone left her behind. Her mind conjured the image of Ursa, the origin of her feeling, saying "I love you Azula, I really do.", things we never saw her say.

I read these scenes as the hallucination saying things Azula always craved to hear. Affections that were always withheld from her, hammering away at her already fragile psyche. Reminding her repeatedly that she was never good enough for either of her parents.

So no. I don't think Azula ever needs to forgive Ursa or give her a chance and there isn't an argument that could be made to convince me. At most, I think Azula should confront her as the core of a majority of her trauma, similar to how Katara did with Yon Rah.

For me, an Azula redemption is about her coming to terms with her trauma. It's about her finding her place in a post war world. Her rebuilding her relationship with Zuko, the only family she was ever truly close with. It's about her seeing through the lies and manipulations implanted by Ozai from a young age. It's about her gaining a good, healthy support system that won't give up in her.

It's about her, in the end, finally finding peace, whatever that happens to mean for her in your particular fic. If it involves romance, that's great. A lot of people who make "shipping tier lists" rank almost every ship with Azula at the bottom, often saying things like "nobody deserves to deal with a relationship with Azula" which, as someone who grew up in an abusive household who also relates a lot to Azula, I gotta say it kind of hurts hearing people say those things. Everyone deserves love.

If your fic doesn't include romance and focuses on her familial relationships then that's also great. She definitely has a lot on her plate and building that healthy support system is an amazing route to take your fic, leading to a great heartfelt ending.

Please note, Azula's misdeeds should not be overlooked. Anyone you want to have her connect with, she will have to earn it. But I feel like it's important to understand why some people behave the way that they do. Not excuse thier actions, but to help map out how they can make up for them. That's why we were shown Zuko's tragic past while also seeing him burn down a village and threaten defenseless elderly people.

With the way she's portrayed, it easy to forget this powerful, intimidating character, is just a child. She's just 14 years old. It's something I think a lot of people who write off her character as irredeemable don't account for. Whenever I dig past her surface level "bad guy" traits with this in mind, admittedly, I'm often brought to tears. She's very much a product of her environment. It's because of that, that I think she can learn to be a better person.

To recap, an Azula redemption in no way shape or form NEEDS to include Azula trying to make the Gaang like her. It was war and every one of her actions during it have no bearing on her, from her perspective. If you want her to connect with them then you can, just don't be someone who talks bad about a redemption fic because she doesn't. 🙂

She did treat Zuko, Mai, and Ty lee very poorly as a friend and sibling. So she does owe them an apology and they are also under no obligation to give her another chance.

Ursa does not need to be forgiven, nor should it be portrayed that Ursa did nothing wrong. Azula's feelings are valid.

The core of a redemption fic (for me) is character growth, in this case for Azula.

Romance is ok in an Azula redemption fic. I personally enjoy Azutara fics where she helps Azula through her mental health recovery and trauma. Citadel is an interesting fic that takes place several years into Azula's stay in a mental institution. Here's a link if you wanna check it out. Keep in mind, it's nine years old so comic events aren't a thing 🙂 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6939866/1/5

Not having romance is equally ok. There are a multitude of great fics both post canon and AU that follow this route. Here is a fic recommendations for it. This one is an AU taking place during the war.

Her actions should not be excused because her story is a tragedy. She still did bad things.

Hopefully you all enjoyed my little ramble that I also hope is understandable. I tend to go off on tangents a lot. Considering it's 6:30 am where I'm at and I still haven't slept, this probably has horrible grammar and is likely riddled with typos. So I'm sorry about that bit lol 😅

#princess azula #azula deserves a happy ending #azula redemption #azula #this feels a bit ranty

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