i don't trust people who say "azula deserved it" like you can dislike a character and still have sympathy for them

spoiler for the azula comic

this broke my heart a little, and to know that Ursa doesn't give a shit about azula is even worse

A key point in Azula's potential redemption...

I have talked before about how I think that humiliating and torturing Azula in the name of redemption is ineffective, unfair, cruel, barbaric, inhumane, monsterous, ect...

I go into detail about why I think that in this post, check it out if you're interested.

It has come to my attention that people believe that Azula should be abused cause Zuko also got abused and the pain and humiliation changed him. In this post I will explain why that wouldn't work for Azula.

Mainly, it's because Zuko didn't just get abused. He got abused by Ozai. And that's a major detail, because it affects what Zuko thought of that abuse.

In Fire Nation, the Fire Lord is treated like some kind of god and everyone accepts it. People suffer due to bad economy (war and all) but it's okay because it's the Firelord's will send the Firelord knows best. Zuko being abused by said Firelord is what taught him that no, the Firelord isn't always good, he abuses his fucking kids, the Firelord can go fuck himself.

Zuko hated the fact that he was being abused and therefore to an extend hated Ozai for abusing him. That hatred is what made him able to view Ozai as an imperfect, non-godly being, that could be wrong in same cases and then helped Zuko realize that he was wrong about the war.

Zuko's hatred of Ozai's abuse is basically what triggered his redemption. That method worked for him. But it wouldn't work for Azula. And here's why.

Ozai is now out of the picture.

That's it. That's the reason why. That single detail is why the idea that Azula must suffer for redemption is logically impossible. Allow me to compare the situations:

Zuko was abused / Azula could be abused

Zuko hated his abuser / Azula will hate her abuser

Zuko wanted to destroy his abuser / Azula will want to destroy her abuser

Zuko's abuser was Ozai / Azula's abuser would be the Gaang and the peaceful society

Zuko hated Ozai / Azula will hate the Gaang and the newfound peace

Zuko helped ruin Ozai / Azula will try to ruin the whole world

Azula's redemption arc isn't happening during the war or by a character we know is bad. Especially if we say it's for the sake of redemption. Logically, the people that would want to see her redeemed would be Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Aang and potentially the rest of the Gaang.

So while Zuko's abuse made him hate a person that should have been hated, Azula's abused will make her hate people that shouldn't.

Zuko's abuse happened by Ozai and it made him Ozai.

If Azula gets abused, it will be by the good guys and it will make her hate the good guys.

Zuko's abuse was done by evil and made him turn towards good, which caused a redemption arc.

If Azula gets abused for the sake of a redemption arc by good, it'll make her hate both the idea of redemption and good in general.

You could argue that Zuko's abuse made him good but Azula's abuse would just make her more evil and that kind of defeats the purpose of doing it for the sake of redemption

Which is why humiliating/abusing- I'm sorry, "humbling" Azula wouldn't work for her the same way it did for Zuko, it'd have the opposite effect.

Thus proven.

And kudos to @hello-nichya-here for being one of the reasons I was inspired to write this post in the first place!

Azula without makeup/lipstick

On all those "Azula needs to be humbled before any redemption is even considered" takes

Stop it. Get some help😊

Here is the thing. I actually like the SET UP of Azula's role in The Search.

If they had done it well I'd even call the three comics some of my favorite! Cause there is some other, smaller things I actually liked in it. Again, if they hadn't screwed up with Azula so badly. Because yea, they totally trashed the set up they had.

The thing is, AZULA BEGUN TO ACTUALLY VENT AND TALK ABOUT HER FEELINGS WITH THE EVERYONE ON APPA. Like she ACTUALLY was talking about all of them seemingly instantly labling her as an enemy felt and how she feels on some level her mother is out to get her. Obviously not being in touch with reality there, but she is TALKING about it and not in a threating way that would shut any conversation down. Maybe a bit agressively but still, not truely threatening.

If everyone weren't so OOC, if they didn't have something insane happen every time she did this...the group with her might have even been able to work with her. Help her. Zuko spesifically.

This is why I want to have some hope for Azula In The Spirit Temple. It seems like Azula is gonna be forced to sit with these feelings and these ideas, mull over how she feels about them and what she wants. And how much those thoughts match reality. I just really hope they don't let the chance be missed again to actually move her character somewhere with that.

I don't care how small the move is, I don't chare how little it makes a difference within the comic itself. Just the littlest change after refelecting on the the things it seems she will be and I will be overjoyed.

Fanon Azula vs Canon Azula

Azula: Well, I'm intrigued. What is this about after all-

Fanon crazy!Azula: *shoots lightning next to Canon!Azula while mannicly laughing* Haha! I almost got you, mother!

Azula: excuse you?

Erhaz's canadian!Azula: Oh, sorry about this. Gosh, this is so embarassing. She's not okay, sorry about this. *turns to crazy!azula* now come here, it's okay! It's okay, mother isn't here see? She's not here!

Yang's Azula: *wrapped up in asylum clothes and in a wheelchair humming some creepy version of children's songs*

Fanon Evil!Azula: This is so pathetic. I would pity you if I had any actual feeling. Did you see Zuzu, that insufferable pig whom I hate with all my non existent heart?

Azula: ...I choose not to be offended by this.

Fanon powerlust!Azula: Didn't see him, but if I had, would've tried to kill him again. He stole that throne from me, the bastard!

Azula: Now that's just unrealistic. I've never on my right mind purposefuly tried to actually assassinate him. Only as a prank when we were kids. Isn't there any version of me with a somewhat okay relationship with my brother?

Zucest Azula: I'm here. Zuzu and I are good.

Azula: Oh thank spirits-

Zucest Azula: We're in very, very good terms, actually... excelent terms I'd say...

Azula:

Azula: okay that's enough for me bye.

People in the Zutara fandom always talk about how Uncle Iroh would ship Zutara, but what if Azula did too? 👀 Idk, maybe after therapy, she'd be willing to say out loud how impressed she is of Katara and her strength, considering that she was the one to actually defeat her in agni kai without the help of the moon or anything. That and she knows how much Zuko cares for Katara, considering she literally watched him jump in front of her lightning for Katara.

Plus, think of all of the Fire Nation sibling moments they'd have. She'd be like all like 'You haven't confessed ur love to her yet? Damn that's crazyyyy, anyway, I can do it for u so u can get married already 🥱 everyone is tired seeing u two dancing around each other'

(Okaaaaaaay, maybe not exactly like thaaaaaaat, but stillllll 💩 she'd push him to do it and state the obvious)

Chapter 76 of The White Lotus Gambit has been posted!

In this chapter: Azula, Katara and Yue take part in their final junior Pai Sho finals, and Ty Lee invites herself along just to make sure there are no repeat performances of the Omashu threesome.

it's crazy how there are azula haters with daughters. imagine ignoring all of the information available for over 16 years and still having no empathy for a mentally ill teenage girl dealing with trauma

you ever think about how Zuko had 3 years to come to terms with the fact that his father never loved him and Azula had like. two hours. like Zuko had this whole dramatic character arc where he struggled to do right and Iroh was there to support him meanwhile Ozai was like yeah here’s a hollow title shithead. gonna go burn the Earth Kingdom without you lol. if i got done dirty by my dad as bad as Azula got done i’d start shooting lightning with my hair down too.

How has no one addressed Zuko's unacceptable behavior at this page of The Search?

So, basically, Azula was getting a bit paranoid and accused the Gaang of working with her mother to take her down. That's not an illogical assumption for Azula to make considering that Ursa "showed up" after years of missing and Azula immediately loses in an extremely important fight. That, plus the fact that Azula has severe trust issues and is mentally ill would clearly lead to the assumption that Ursa worked together with the Gaang (at least from Azula's pov)

Now, what does Zuko do when it becomes ridiculously obvious that his sister, who's mentally ill, is having a bit of a slip up? He puts his fist besides her face and starts fire bending (you can see the smoke!)

He sees his sister going through a hard time and actively threatens to burn her face if she doesn't shut up and ignore her own issues!

AND ALL THE GAANG DOES IS BITCH THAT THEIR SOURCE OF ENTRAINMENT IS ZUKO ABUSING HIS SISTER INSTEAD OF FOOLING AROUND WITH TOPH!!

LIKE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

Usually misenterpreted by the fandom, thinks of themselves to be an irredeemable demon/monster and attempts to behave as such, huge part of the fandom actually thinks that it's an undeniable fact that they are an irredeemable demon/monster (and that they should be punished / that they should be k*lled), fandom gives them some sort of mental illness to define their entire characters/personalities usually without thinking about all the trauma/pain/abuse they've been throught. They are literally just 14 years old which the fandom also tend to forget/ignore and continues to treat them as if they were adults who should have known better and that they should have behaved better, are quite the definition of "feels like i'm the worst so i always act like i'm the best", tend to mess with their own hair when upset/stressed/nervous(though this one might be a hc), are usually labelled as "always been a bad person" just for behaving acordingly to the situattion they are under, not very good at "comunicating accordingly", very good at analyzing/understanding other people but can't figure themselves out to save their lives, are actually very loyal, dedicated, caring and huge dorks deep down, have some major trust issues, have/had a "bubbly pink themed girl / friend" to give them the affection that they desperatedly need despite their usual cold/harsh attitude towards them, antagonizes themselves towards the ones they care about, the usually considered "questionable/wrong/bad/evil" thoughts/actions/behaviors that they have are understandable especially if you actually look by their point of view/put yourself on their shoes, they are doomed by the narrative and they deserve better.

(Some similarities between Homura Akemi and Princess Azula, as in how they are as characters, how part of the fandom views/treats them etc...)