#dont mess with azulas kids | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

umbrum77 · 5 months

Text

17 yo Lin slams against the wall the water bender she is fighting freezes the water around her trapping her in ice. For 6 months she had been tracking down these Criminals. Years getting ready to go to the police academy and 6 months of work and she can't even get through some dumb guards. She thought she was ready. She can taste blood in her mouth. She must have bit her tong.

Her parents had been heroes even younger then her. Why couldn't she do this! Why had she failed. Blue fire erupts in front of her and she has to close her eyes from the heat. The water bender that was in front of her is gone when she opens her eyes again and a new figure stands over her flame in hand. Lin swallows "How did you find me?" "I think I know you well enough to know when we say don't go after them you would ,of course, go after them." Golden eyes meet Lins as the ice holding her melts away. Azula smiles as Lin relaxes "You have done so well Lin." "Mother." Lin tries to get up but Azula holds her down. "Easy there. You've done so well. I'm so proud but its time to let the grown ups take over." Azula kissed lins forehead.

Lin felt her body relax. Some of the pain from earlier no longer suppressed and she leaned back against the wall. "Where is mom?" A boom sounded in the distance. Azula smiled and stood up. "she went ahead to go have fun with out me. Reminds me of our old date nights. Always had to remind Toph to save some for me. Are you going to be ok resting here?" Lin smiled and held out her arm. A blade shot out of her wrist guard.

Azula smiles. "Thats my girl."

#tophzula #azula x toph #azula is lins mother #mother azula #dont mess with azulas kids #lin running off on her own makes her moms so proud #let azula be happy.#avatar the last airbender #avatar: tla #azula #toph #lin beifong #young lin beifond

64 notes · View notes

hella1975 · 2 years

Note

wait hold on a ursa takes both zuko and azula away fic??? idk how anyone hasn’t done this concept but hella you’ve tapped into a concept that has to be explored at this point! making it zukka is also just the norm around here too.

ah im glad you like the sound of it! i refuse to believe im the first to think of that idea bc i dont think ive ever had an original thought but there's definitely a lack of ursa exploration in the fandom. the thing with this wip is that it's going to be so ginormous and so multi-faceted that it's actually really hard to explain the plot of? like ursa takes zuko and azula with her but ursa is so damaged by what she's been through and is too busy prioritising survival to be loving anymore and their life on the run is so brutal that zuko and azula - still only 9 and 11 years old which is a big reason of why their relationship is able to heal, bc they're still so young - really lean on each other to cope. initially it's a survival thing, but they grow to just genuinely get on well with and care deeply about each other. and one way they do that is that zuko starts telling azula stories! like the two of them become huge avatar nerds bc of these stories and actually i might just give you a snippet bc this is rlly hard to explain LMAO

Neither of them had any idea how to just be nice to each other, but Zuko wanted to be nice. He wanted Azula to be safe. He wanted to protect her. She was his little sister. She always had been, and she needed him. Now, more than ever.

“You know, Mother used to tell me about our great-grandfather.” Zuko said quietly into the shadows, a whisper to ensure Ursa, always so quick to anger these days, didn’t wake up. “You know he was Avatar Roku?”

For a while, it was painfully silent, to the point Zuko was certain Azula wouldn't respond. Then; “Of course I know. Some of us actually paid attention in our lessons.” Azula sniped, but she sounded a little too cutting, in a way she only sounded when she was unsure. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know what Zuko was leading to.

Zuko turned to face her direction, the cheap blanket scratching his chin and not covering all of his body. At eleven-years-old, Zuko was finally starting to grow into himself.

They were in a town on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, barely a speck on the map, and currently, their names were Riku and Aoi. Ursa has been very clear; her children were to never use their birthnames, no matter how alone they thought they were. They were living in a cottage with half a roof, their mother funding the rent by sewing patches onto dresses for a seamstress. She was barely in the house, but Zuko knew even when they left in a few day’s time – as they never stayed in one place longer than a week or two – he would still barely see Ursa. He wondered if she knew how reclusive she’d become.

“She told me stories about all the Avatars. I always wished she’d tell you them too.” Zuko said a little sadly. “I never understood why she didn’t.”

This silence was different, and they both knew Zuko wasn’t just talking about the stories.

“Tell me.” Azula breathed, so quiet Zuko almost missed it.

“The stories?” Zuko asked in surprise. He had been waiting for Azula to cut him down, to tell him to go away like she used to. But...

He realised maybe Azula wanted to be nice too. Maybe she was tired of being looked at like a monster by the people supposed to love her.

Maybe she was just a nine-year-old girl who needed a bedtime story every now and then.

“Yes, Zuko.” Azula hissed, and his name was so shocking it was like a curse. “The stories. Tell me about the Avatars.”

So, Zuko did.

“Water, earth, fire, air.” Zuko whispered, remembering how Mother told it. In the shadows, Azula’s eyes burned gold. “Long ago, the four nations lived together, but everything changed when the Fire Nation, the superior nation, began to share its wealth. The Hundred Year War began, and the only person able to stand in the Fire Nation’s way was the Avatar, master of all four elements. But when the world called for him, he fled...”

It became a tradition, after that. Zuko would lie beside his sister on the nights neither of them could sleep, and after an entire day of hiding himself, he’d turn to Azula and just talk. In Kyoshi Island, he told her of Avatar Kyoshi murdering Chin the Great. In Makapu village, he told her of Avatar Roku – Great-Grandfather Roku – battling a volcano. And in the Western Air Temple, he told her of the Avatar who never was.

“He’s out there somewhere, though.” Zuko uttered wondrously. “One-hundred-and-twelve, the last airbender. Can you imagine it?”

“You’re in your head too much.” Azula sighed. She always pretended not to care, but as the months dragged on, she allowed herself more. First, it was in her asking for a specific story. Then sometimes, she’d slip up and laugh. In the fragments of these nights handed over to ancient legends, as scraps of lies left behind in their wake with every new roof they found themselves beneath, Azula was more herself than ever. She could be, in front of her big brother. That was something she learned.

They learned other things, too. They learned that the Earth Kingdom was starving, that the Fire Nation was hated, that people weren’t rebelling; they were suffering. The story changed. When Zuko saw technological advancements that bewildered him in the Northern Air Temple, he stopped saying that the Fire Nation was the superior nation. When he saw children with burn scars and amputated limbs, he changed ‘began to share its wealth’ to ‘attacked.’ When the stories he told his little sister of the Avatar turned into a lifeline, a speck of hope in a world of ashes, ‘fled’ became ‘vanished.’

Zuko learned that a war was a war, that his father was not a hero by any means, that they got out just in time.

And it was hard, but the two had their own rebellions. Zuko and Azula didn’t get on in Caldera, but out here with a string of fake identities behind them and a death sentence at the end of it, they only had each other. Their mother was a wound, their father was a blade, and they were, through it all, still just kids. They leaned on each other in the places they used to bruise. Azula took the softness she tortured her brother over and began to protect it. Zuko took the coldness in his sister he used to despise and chased it away. When Azula drew the curtains and hid in cupboards to hold a flame in her palm and just breathe, Zuko made sure Ursa didn’t catch her. When Zuko lay beside Azula and talked to her until she finally fell asleep, Azula didn't push him away.

Azula, he whispered, and it was a promise that she could still be who she wanted to be.

Zuko, she breathed back, and it was a recognition that, through it all, she still saw him.

#the relevance of these avatar stories is that azula has heard them since she was nine years old #like it's a real theme in the fic that azula adapts to their life on the run a LOT easier than zuko and it's because she's #just the right side of too young when they run away that she forgets a lot of what life was like in the fire nation #her personality IS this new life whereas zuko still remembers a lot of their old life and is very haunted by it all #and hates all the lies and having to deny who he really is #and one thing azula builds her personality around - bc of her age - is the avatar thanks to these stories #she seriously hero-worships the avatar which is relevant bc two years after they ran away #zuko gets caught by soldiers and brought back to ozai... when he is thirteen... same age he was in the canon agni kai....#and ozai burns him same as canon to try get info bc ozai has a VENDETTA against ursa now and is determined to drag them all back #but zuko is actually really clever and LIES and says he has something better for ozai: he knows where the avatar is #so ozai sends zuko off at 13 to bring him the avatar! same as canon! and he sends iroh bc iroh has been clever and stayed ozai's ally #this whole time while working quietly with the white lotus to try and get ursa and the kids back #so ozai trusts him and sends him with zuko to spy on him effectively #so their three years together looking for the avatar is basically the exact same as in canon down to iroh trying to get through to zuko #AND MEANWHILE azula wants to find zuko but she doesnt know how until she hears that the avatar is back #her hero is alive and out there and if anyone can find her brother it'll be the avatar #so she joins the gaang! and zuko follows them and azula leaves him little clues and zuko puts off capturing aang bc he needs to get azula!#but they dont acc all unite until ba sing se and how do they do that? bc zuko starts blue spiriting and he meets sokka #so yeah. it's complicated. there's also a revolution in ba sing se that zukka started SKJHGKSJH it's all a mess #but we get protective big brother zuko and badass sokka and azula mummy issues exploration it's all so fun #ask #also i dont like the writing of this extract bc i wrote it literal YEARS ago like i started this wip before i did my fucking a-levels #so if the writing seems shitty that's my business

137 notes · View notes

moonsaver · 2 months

Text

Wait listen‐totally out of the blue but modern!au atla in a high-school or college setting. Zuko x reader btw

Listen listen. Zuko drops down from being a cool popular kid after he joins the gaang,but also? He's kinda the school's crush. Like yes, most of azula's fans and many kids in general from the fire nation dont like Zuko anymore, but many people develop a crush on him. And he's so painfully oblivious to it.

And the gaang is always making fun of his loser aesthetic, posting him on social media and forcing him to actually start using his social media account. He never does use it much except for reposting photos and statuses his friends have on there.

Until you.

He was especially struggling with a problem and awkwardly asked you for help. You were technically just polite out of general respect but you were... really nice. And he groans into his pillow at night when he realizes that small interaction has an irrational grip on him. To make it worse? Sokka from the other side of the classroom saw it and made it his personal mission to track down your socials.

With a lot of pain and difficulty (none, actually. Turns out Suki is quite media-literate), the gaang manages to find your account and send it to the group chat. For once, Zuko's.. actually trying to do normal social media things. Some of them start bickering on whether or not Zuko should send a follow request, but by the time they're done, you've already accepted it, and Zuko curiously scrolls through your profile. The gaang frantically tells him not to like your old photos, he's confused at the concept, but begrudgingly listens anyway. If this happens when they're all meeting up, then they huddle around Zuko and watch the tiny screen and point out all things about your little profile, and ogle at every tidbit of your life. If it happens when they're all at home, then they collectively cyberstalk you, sending various screenshots to the groupchat and discussing about you.

You on the other hand, only know Zuko as the kind of cute, awkward guy who needed your help with a math problem. You wondered if you messed something up while explaining the problem to him, and then brushed it off and forgot about it entirely until you woke up one day and noticed his entire friend group had viewed your status. A few of them had even liked it. (Ahem, Aang and Toph).

It's not soon until one of them actually comes up and talks to you, because Zuko is deathly afraid of messing things up, and he stutters so much everytime Sokka makes him practice talking to you, it's like a lost cause. Of course, in the end, it's Katara and Suki to the rescue! All three of you get along surprisingly well. It's only a matter of time until you actually get added to the friend group. Until then, maybe pretend Zuko's acting skills are believable as he asks for your help with the simplest problems, to borrow your stationaries, and make awkward small talk. You go along with it anyway. He's cute.

#moonink #atla #atla x reader #atla x you #the last airbender #atla au #atla zuko #the last airbender zuko #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #zuko x gender neutral reader #prince zuko

326 notes · View notes

mugentakeda · 3 months

Text

okay more runaway fire fam hcs

-zuko gets gift giving as a love language from ursa. ursa loves to go to the market after work and parooze. she loves finding shit that she thinks the kids would enjoy. knick knacks and shit. she has a fondness for earth kingdom jadeite.

-ursa gives zuko and azula little potted plants from the florist and tasks them with the assignment of taking care of them as long as they can. competition comes second nature to them, and its gonna be hard for her and lu ten to shake that off, but for now, maybe ursa can make a compromise by having them compete in nurturing. hopefully, what they learn from that will stick.

-when azula and zuko arent nosing around the town, theyre messing around in the surrounding forest. one day zuko wants to see if he can cross the water and explore air temples, but for now hes gonna scout the area. the amount of trees are good for practicing stealth, even if he doesnt have his dao.

-zuko finds a baby sparrowhawk-lynx with azula. they agree to take him home and work together to convince mother and cousin lu ten to let them keep him.

-ursa is dismayed at the idea of having any kind of furry animal around the house and getting fur on their clothes and rugs. she also swears that feline type animals all smell strange. lu ten is dismayed at the idea of having a lynx around the house because they get fucking huge. (he never makes the point that its a wild animal, and not a toy- because zuko and azula do have the discipline to care for an animal. and lu ten can trust azula to be able to defend herself and zuko if something goes wrong when he isnt around)

-they keep the sparrowhawk-lynx.

-they couldnt agree on a name for him so until they could they started calling him "Beast" in the meantime. unfortunately this ends up sticking so neither of them end up getting to pick a name.

-ursa takes all but two days to warm up to him because hes a cute little baby that likes to rub his head on her skirts. ursa is a weak woman to cute animals. she starts cradling him like a newborn and baby talking him. azula will not stand for both her AND zuko babying Beast. she keeps trying to train him to attack things or wrestle with her but he just crawls on her and licks her face.

-lu ten warms up to Beast as well but also treats him and talks to him like a human child. this is a problem because Beast is a sparrowhalk-lynx that can only understand basic words and not full sentences. so whenever lu ten tries to scold him for using their shoes as chew toys he just stares at lu ten blankly. pet idiot baby :(

-hot garlic chili oil and kimchi is something that has to be made in very large batches. theyve gotten used to the mild and savory flavors of earth kingdom style food but they also cant live without at least SOME spice. ursa is working on a whole section of her back garden that will be dedicated to just hot peppers so they dont have to keep buying it from the market

-nobody has a specific role or chore assignment in the house. they just do it as it comes. it doesnt matter who all does it, or how its done. azula likes washing dishes more than folding laundry, so zuko does the laundry with lu ten. but azula doesnt like doing dishes alone after curry dinners with their thick sauces that stick on the plates, so on those days, she splits it with ursa.

-lu ten has found the perfect spot in solitude to keep up azula and zukos training- up a tall rocky trail, near a cliff that faces where the sun rises.

-lu ten keeps azula and zukos lessons conjoined rather than doing it by skill level, because the ones lu ten took were different bending courses from the ones ozai had azula and zuko take, so its new material for them both. on top of that, lu ten has to also take the time to do life lessons with them too. instead of proverbs, lu ten prefers the approach of the way he best learns- making each lesson a group discussion. lu ten thrived in the court, and loved nothing more than waiting and listening, in order to dissect the natures of the councilmens hearts. open discussion is blunt and confrontational. lu ten likes proverbs, but doesnt see them as very effective when it came to foundational lessons. their vagueness leaves too much room for misinterpretation, and azula and zuko were never allowed to leave their parroting phase by ozai, so lu ten has to be very careful about what he says, lest he starts planting even more stupid shit in his cousins' brains without thinking.

#runaway fire fam au

42 notes · View notes

kazperthegh0st · 4 months

Text

Hi. Im writing my fanfiction on here because writing a oneshot takes more than a month and i dont want to open google docs. (Will be on Ao3 when complete).

Summary: Sokka/Zuko where they want to go on a nice, relaxing vacation but Azula just got out of the mental hospital (again) and Zuko cant leave her by herself so Katara is paid to babysit her. (Modern Setting AU). Azula/Katara.

Ill reblog with updates as time goes on.

Actual fanfic begins here:

Zuko has no idea where Azula got the baseball bat. Thats his first concern. The second is this: What the hell happened to her hair?

“Hello, Zuzu,”she greeted. Then she pushed past him.

She showed up at his door at 4 in the morning with a red duffel bag over her shoulder and a black metal baseball bat with lightning decals in her left hand.

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. But her bangs. They were completely crooked and angled and an utter mess.

She had bright red headphones around her neck and Zuko could her some shitty metal music playing.

And all Zuko could think was what the fuck.

Azula collapsed onto his couch, dropping her belongings on the coffee table, propping her feet up on the armrest, and securing her headphones over her ears. She closed her eyes.

Zuko closed the door and took a deep breath.

“Hello, Azula. Why are you here? In my house. With me. Instead of… an insane asylum,” he questioned.

She didn’t respond, only nodded her head to the music filling her ears.

He poked her.

Her eyes opened and she glared at him.

“‘Relaxation is the key to a swift recovery’, Zuzu” she told him. He hated that she was quoting Iroh.

She removed her headphones.

“Do you need something?” She questioned.

“Why are you in my apartment, Azula?”

“Did you think i was going to sleep under a bridge like a homeless person? How pathetic do you think i am?” She rolled her eyes.

“Why aren’t you with Mai? Or Iroh? Or Ty lee, even?”

“Mai kicked me out. Ty lee wouldn’t answer her phone—probably on some stupid anti technology shtick because its ‘aura is off’. And Iroh gave me your address and said i was your problem until he got back from Japan. ‘Familial bonding or whatever’.”

“Iroh sent you?” Zuko felt betrayed.

“Yes, Zuzu.”

“Hes not coming back for another month.”

“Guess im your problem for another month, then”

“I have plans, college, a life, Azula! I cant have you living here! Im leaving for my own vacation in a week!”

“You dont want me in your life, Zuzu? Thats cruel. I thought you were the good sibling. Guess I was wrong for once.”

Zuko stalked off into his kitchen. His house was being corrupted by his evil sister because he couldn’t find it in himself to throw her out.

He couldn’t take it out on Iroh. His uncle worked so hard and needed this break.

He couldn’t take it out on his dad. That evil man was in a prison cell on the other side of the country.

He couldn’t take it out on Azula. It wasn’t really her fault she was the way she was. It was their dad’s fault for traumatizing his kids.

Azula was just as much of a victim as he was.

More will be added later and will eventually end up on Ao3.

48 notes · View notes

mostly-mundane-atla · 2 years

Note

The only thing against the idea of Ozai arranging a marriage i can think of is, and i know this topic is fraught, the Search, and what it confirms/elaborates on vis-a-vis Ozai’s marriage to Ursa. If we take those comics as an interpretation of “Bryke” collective intent, Ozai was forced into an arranged marriage with a woman he never met for the purposes of his dad‘s breeding project, and it fuckin sucks. She produces one kid that he thinks is pathetic, taunts him with infidelity, and basically sounds like an extremely stressful situation to live in, knowing you can’t divorce her bcz FatherLord said so. (Not that im callin Ozai the True Victim, just sayin how his POV might look). I dont know how much “empathy” people think Ozai possessed, or his tendency for consistency vs hypocrisy, but i do wonder if Ozai would not *want* to deal with the untrustworthy wildcard of an arranged spouse for his kid- especially given that his wife killed his own father. Does this make sense or am i off base here?

I've actually played with this concept! Specifically the ways Ozai would reconcile his own experience with an unhappy arranged marriage with his right/duty to arrange successful marriages for his child (or children, in the case Zuko became useful to him).

I mainly use the Fire Nation Royal Family as a source of complicated drama because i think that fits the dynamic best, so i'll try to trim this down to only context that completely matters. Everything below is from the headcanon-laden timeline I put together for my fan writings.

When Azula was still quite young, Azulon began to have doubts about the prophecy and after reviewing it and weighing his options, he decided the safest course of action was to keep that Avatar blood in the main bloodline another generation. He arranged for Lu Ten to marry Azula when she came of age (twenty-one years old in the Fire Nation, judging by The Search) unless a more suitable match could be arranged. Everyone was uncomfortable with this, even Ozai, who coped with the news by considering it to be the most favorable match Azula could hope for and that his own grandfather married a young cousin when he couldn't ignore his need for heirs.

Ursa was distraught at the news for the same reasons Ozai was annoyed: they weren't given the choice to refuse to give their daughter to the union, and, even if Ozai didn't want to admit it to himself, that she was going to be given to someone who outranked her, was older than her, and far more favored. You'd think this would make him reconsider the unequal relationship he has with his wife, but he continued to ignore her wishes and didn't stop touching her that night until she slapped him. Probably justifying himself with the idea that princes and princesses exist to make more princes and princesses

The general hope was that Azulon would die before Azula came of age and Iroh could decide what makes up more suitable matches. Naturally, you couldn't actually say that and the only back up was not telling Azula until she was old enough to understand and have Lu Ten be especially nice to her so the idea of being stuck with him until one of them dies wouldn't feel like a punishment.

Lu Ten dies long before Azula ever learns she was betrothed to him. The Firelord himself is found dead the next day and Ursa is nowhere to be found.

It isn't long before Ozai sets Azula up to be the princess her mother was not. It isn't long before she gets to have adult conversations with him; the kind of conversations Iroh would disapprove of if he wasn't in a state of constantly flipping between catatonic and blubbering mess over the death of his son (and father, one right after the other). Azula isn't like that, perhaps in part due to her inexperience with death, but also because her father expects more from her and her duty is fulfilling those expectations.

Ozai resents his father for many things, including the arranged marriage. He words this resentment toward the former Firelord incredibly delicately when discussing it with his daughter, but not his resentment toward his wife and the union that bound him to her. "Dissatisfying," he describes her, as well as "ungrateful, willful to the point of childishness." Rather than suggest to him that marriage is best as a partnership of equals, his experience seems to have taught him that it ought to be that one party is unquestioned and answered to and the other knows its place. He promises his daughter that she will be better off than he was, and the husband he chooses for her will be grateful for her, and he will fear her. Azula, as the ideal daughter and princess her father wants her to be, thanks him for the care he takes with her future and praises his wisdom.

A man presents himself, a smooth-talking social climber whose ambition is best kept in check and loyalty best kept enforced. He plays the simpering yesman well enough, but his reputation betrays him. Azula is still young, and prodigy though she is, she could use a bit of polishing, but in time, she will put fear in him. It's what her father taught her and what her father expects.

#response #fire nation royal family #incest mention #because royal cousin marriage but also #i don't think anything physical happened between ozai and azula #but i also find it hard to believe she wasn't subject to emotional incest because *gestures to her entire canon character*#also i think at some point zhao had to bow to her and kiss her shoes and she kicked him in the mouth while he was there #also yes that's marriages plural because if one husband becomes useless they could always replace him borgia style

41 notes · View notes

zuko-always-lies · 2 years

Note

One thing that constantly bugs me about Zuko and Azula is how Zuko has no shown positives memories of her.

Everyone in his famility - INCLUDING OZAI- has a somewhat positive moment with him. Ozai stopped Zuko from drowning, every interaction with Ursa and the three years wiht iroh (there were some nice moments in that entire mess).

With Azula we see no examples of this. Iroh gets to wax philisophicaly about Ozai and be conflicted about him despite having a significantly larger age gap than Zuko and Azula.

Sibling relationships are complicated, but you’re tellijg me that in the years before his banishment Zuko has no positive memories of Azula? Not even from when she was younger? Its fine if he viewer her negatively from the initail introduction but throughout her appearance we never see their dynaminc beyond Zuko angy and Azula trying to help.

It feels like Zuko and Azula’s relationship is a less nuanced version of Ozai’s and Iroh’s. Which makes no sense ae theyre closer in age and more likely to actively have nicer moments than the oldwr two fire princes. Why dont we get any memories of them as kids doing mischief together or being kids for the brief moments they can?

Plus Ursa got Zuko to play with Azula when she was younger. Where are any moments that arent horrible from that??

Sorry it really bugs me that out of everyone Zuko interacts he has the least amount of development with his own sister.

I'll be honest, a lot of Zuko's behavior doesn't make any sense if he doesn't have a lot of positive memories of Azula. There are at least four scenes where he pretty clearly leans on Azula for support, and he often shows vulnerability in front of her. Those are not the actions of someone who has had a wholly negative relationship with his sister. If Azula is only ever mean, manipulative, and deceptive, then this behavior makes no sense.

On the other hand, Zuko doesn't seems to be that interested in a positive relationship with his sister. He spends most of the series desperate to gain his father's favor. He spends another large portion desperate to regain his uncle's regard. He pines after and mourns for his lost mother.

But Azula? Zuko never mourns for his fractured relationship with her, never fondly and nostalgically remembers his happy moments with her. Ironically, if he's "forced to" spend time around her, he'll fall back on the rudiments of a more positive relationship, but he'll never deliberately seek this out.

Again, I think the cause of this is that Zuko's heart has been poisoned by Ozai against Azula in away that it hasn't been against anyone else(of course, Azula isn't a good sibling either, but I think that's not actually the root cause of most of the enmity Zuko feels against her). Or rather, perhaps, his mind has been poisoned against her while his heart kind of misses her.

In any case, Zuko sees Azula far more as a rival than anything else, and that is the lens through which he does and doesn't remember her.

#Azula #Zuko #fire siblings

28 notes · View notes

a-schrodingers-fox · 1 year

Text

10 Characters From 10 Fandoms

How to play: Name 10 Characters from 10 fandoms and tag people

I was tagged by the amazing @br-disaster , thank you!!! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

In no particular order. Most of them I have been obsessed with ever since I was a kid.

Nie Huaisang (CQL/MDZS) - The only reason it took me so long to do this was because I couldn’t decide between NMJ and NHS. Alas, I relate to NHS the most, he’s also an incredibly intricate character that lives in my head rent free.

Hatake Kakashi (Naruto) - Contrary to most people, I actually watched this show/read the manga until 2020 and I've been obsessed with this tragic overpowered ninja ever since. I think he is the character I have written/drawn the most about. I relate way too much to him, which is...strange. I am in love with his story and character development through the show.

Louis de Pointe du Lac (Interview With the Vampire) - I must confess I haven't yet read the book, but I watched the AMC show and I FELL IN LOVE. I have Ana to thank for introducing me to this amazing, complicated mess of a man.

Thranduil (The hobbit) - When I watched all LOTR movies, I was a kid and my aunt was babysitting and obviously I started obsessing over him and the elves when I read every Tolkien book I could get my hands on. I haven't written much about him but I do have a whole AU-Canon divergence for Oropher, Thranduil and Legolas half written on AO3. My version of Thranduil, Oropher’s line and the Greenwood elves is VERY different from the hobbit movies, though.

Ned the Pie Maker (Pushing daisies) - Tall, sensible, caring, harmless man who loves to bake and is also an accidental necromancer? YES, PLEASE.

Yue (Sakura Card-captor) - Imagine you are this super powerful supernatural being whose world gets turned upside down when the person you considered your everything dies. Imagine you get sealed inside the back cover of a book for 100 years and then inside the body of a teenager without being asked for consent and without being able to get out to live a normal life. You are also left without much of your power for a long time, and then you are given a ridiculously short amount of time to get used to everything that is going on around you while your twin and your other brothers and sisters get months to understand and process what happened. AND THEN it turns out that the dude that you loved so much didn’t died, instead reincarnated into some annoying bitch (who is now a different person than he was in his past life so meh) because he had some cosmic realization when he turned like 800 years old because being the most powerful magician in the world makes your common sense disappear, apparently...and then this annoying brat creates a cheap copy of you and your sibling, yikes. Imagine you really want to slap everyone but you dont want to set a bad example to the nice, cute girl who you depend on now, BUT DAMMIT IF YOU COULD YOU WOULD. Yeah. He's That Bitch™ and he deserves it. I support you, Yue.

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) - She is definitively the character I relate to the most, like she was 14 and learned very soon what happens if you get on your father’s bad side. She's a prodigy and what she needed in the end was some psychological help and then the throne, bye.

Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek) - I want to be a Starfleet captain so bad, ISTG. He’s so much, a drama queen, the voice of reason, a disaster waiting to happen, a feminist, queer, The Captain, a nuisance, the smartest person in the room, mister daddy issues, mister “bones get that hypospray off my face”, mister I am in love with this Vulcan, mister I am in love with this doctor, “Dammit Jim!”. Yeah, him.

Crowley (Good Omens) - I read the book when I was in high school, it was the first book I read in one sitting without getting distracted. I loved those two. I love Crowley and the fact that he is always trying to cause havoc through elaborate schemes that inconvenience the human race. Ahaha, he’s the best. (Yes, I loved the TV show).

Dorian (Almost Human) - HE JUST WANTS TO BE SEEN AS SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST A MACHINE. He’s sometimes more human than all the humans he works with. I love Dorian and Kennex, you bet I have read every single fic centered on him or both of them on AO3. I’m forever sad they cancelled that show.

I tag @pangzi and @dual-domination (only if you want to do it of course. Feel free to ignore this tag if you dont!)

#Thank you for tagging me!!!#ohh did I write too much? I have so many feelings about this bunch #tag games

9 notes · View notes

maaaxx · 1 year

Note

why do you talk about hating ihiap so much 😭😭 its not even bad

if my fics are my kids ihiap is the problematic oldest child.

There are so many plot holes and things that were written impulsively and i dont like the chapter lengths and just stupid details and I hate how i wrote azula and its a mess.

#like ihiap is the fic that got me back into fandom #and got me into writing fics and i love it dearly #i love my ocs and the general plot #but there is just so much wrong with it #im going to rewrite it some time.#im debating how im going to approach that still though.#but like i said there are so many plot holes and unnecessary story lines #and ive mentioned on here before that i know im not a bad writer #but ihiap was done very impulsively and nothing was thought through #and i didnt think more than like 12 people would read it #but low and behold 70 thousand people did #ive almost deleted it so many times #i just hate it so much #and also love it like ihiap is my baby #totp is the middle child that i keep forgetting about #cots is the youngest child that i have to force myself not to give all of the attention to #max thinks shes relevant #ihiap #asks

2 notes · View notes

ultranos · 3 years

Note

does azula call minh dad? or do they call him something else? since even tho they see nuna as a mother figure, they dont call her mom (that's still a different situation, because nuna hasnt adopted azula) (sorry if my english is bad, it isnt my first language)

They do, as it turns out. It kind of slips out one day, but it feels right. It probably starts with thinking of "Father" and "Dad" as different, and so Ozai can stay in that box separate from Minh. And later Ozai just...loses the association entirely.

It really sinks in for Azula that fully associate "Dad" with Minh when their own kids want to know what to call them.

In perfect little-kid-only-exposed-to-gender-binary logic, Yasuko knows that kids have moms and dads. Shujiao is a mom. But Azula isn't, so they must be a dad, right?

When Yasuko calls them "Dad" the first time, Azula blinks, and does not feel unease or fear. They know how to be a good dad, because they did have one. It just took 14 years to find him.

(There might be other names the kids call Azula, but for whatever reason, "Dad" is one of the ones that sticks.)

(This, of course, really does mess with people's heads when they hear it and Azula is having a day where they're getting a bit more of the "she' instead of the "they" on the pronoun side of things.

It's a cause of great amusement for the whole family.)

#atla #modulus verse #the kids see nothing weird about any of this #azula would much rather be called 'dad' than 'mom' tbh #also raksha and i decided this very early on #mostly as a joke that then became serious #as we realized we could unpack that #nos answers things

56 notes · View notes

eulaties · 4 years

Text

how i view each a:tla character

hoo boy this is a long one

sokka:

- highkey smartest guy on team avatar

- but with aang they're like the equivalent of the my two braincells meme

- boomerang, ponytail, and space sword guy

- comes up with the best nicknames and jokes

- best friends with aang

- his sexism literally saved the world

- but dw he drinks gallons of respect women juice a day now

- has the baddest gf suki who could kick his ass at any given moment

- wanted momo for a week (why??)

- sokka walked so eboys could run

- roasts zuko constantly

- officially known as mr wang fire

toph:

- baddest bitch don't mess with her

- small but will not hesitate to kill you

- I AM MELON LORD

- I emit a super sonic wave from my mouth in order to see

- AHHHHHHHHHHHH

- let toph say fuck

- secretly misses her parents

- her way of showing affection is beating you up

- "do you think friendships can transcend lifetimes?"

- literally so badass she invented a new form of bending

- the greatest earthbender alive

zuko:

- zuko, you're gonna get a kick out of this... YOUR HONOR WAS IN MY SLEEVE THIS WHOLE TIME

- undergoes the best character redemption arc of all time change my mind

- his scar is on the wrong side

- WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD

- lowkey emo

- "im never happy"

- hes always happy around his goth gf mai tho

- got his life ruined by ozai, fuck him

- uncle iroh is now his dad, ozai who?

- bad at making jokes but he tries his best

- once his anger got stripped away he just became a socially awkward person

- awkward legend

- hello, z u k o here

- gets accepted into the gaang™ and gets a new family :)

- his friendship with aang is everything

- pretends to be annoyed by aang but secretly treasures their friendship

aang:

- powerful af and can literally take your bending away

- but honestly hed rather everyone be happy

- epitome of a cinnamon roll

- he deserves the world

- mentally strong af as well, i mean he had to cope with a GENOCIDE in the third episode

- "some friendships are so strong they can transcend lifetimes"

- unashamedly so in LOVE with katara

- gushes about her all the time

- peppy

- in touch with his ~feminine~ side

- his smiles and laughs are contagious

- so freaking friendly its impossible to hate him, i mean how could you

- hes so friendly he seems like hes flirting but hes not, thats just how he is

- has the best eyebrows

- friends with everyone

- showers appa and momo with the affection they deserve

- best friends with sokka

katara:

- the mom friend™

- absolutely WHIPPED for aang god she loves him so much

- everyone looks up to her. literally was the only thing keeping the group together at some points

- has a big af temper tho

- will cut a bitch

- when shes pissed off shes pissed OFF

- dont fucking hurt the people she loves or she will COME for you

- her power crawl is everything

- can literally bloodbend or heal you, your choice

- denies any relation to sokka whenever hes being stupid

- her outfit in the fire nation SLAPPED

- regularly schedules sleepovers with suki and toph (although she has to drag toph to the sleepover)

- what if we kissed? 😳 in the cave of oma and shu 👉👈 haha jk jk... unless

suki:

- sexism is no more

- takes down sokka's sexist ass easily

- strong af dont underestimate her

- sweetest gf tho

- loved the atrocious sand sculpture sokka made of her

- kidnapped a prison warden all by herself

- honestly underrated

- appa likes her

- singlehandedly saved sokkas and tophs lives

- in kyoshi we stan

iroh:

- the wisest character ever

- guides zuko into the right direction

- "i was just worried that you lost your way"

- zuko and irohs reunion made me SOB

- makes the best tea and owns a successful business, the jasmine dragon

- LEAVES FROM THE VINE FALLJNG SO SLOWLY

- IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING

- r.i.p mako 💔

ursa:

- went to get some milk 9 years ago and never came back

azula:

- the prodigy kid that all parents compare you to

- got groomed by ozai from an early age

- favorite child

- loves power and intimidating others

- top of the food chain

- can absolutely BREAK you with a snap of her fingers

- badass but not in a good way

- dont play beach volleyball with her she'll absolutely destroy your career

- wow, your outfit is so... sharp. careful, it could puncture the hull of an empire ship and leave hundreds of soldiers to drown at sea! because... its so sharp.

- mental health slipping after she gets betrayed by her two best friends

- got that quarantine bangs haircut

- honestly the last agni kai was really sad

- just wanted to be loved by ursa

- certified insane

ozai:

- ruined zuko's and azula's life

- career literally got ended by aang

- nothing else to say fuck this guy

ty lee:

- an absolute ray of sunshine

- her aura has never been pinker

- got the happy ending she deserved with the kyoshi warriors

mai:

- deadpan snark

- goth

- will cut a bitch from afar with her throwing knives

- you miscalculated

- I LOVE ZUKO MORE THAN I FEAR YOU

603 notes · View notes

umbrum77 · 2 years

Text

Azula walks into tophs office in republic city. Azula: toph what the hell is wrong with you.

Toph: well i was in jail for being crazy for a few years. Azula(scowls): careful dirt bender. Im talking about your daughter. your ten year old daughter.

Toph: lin? how is she? you hear from her? Azula: do you even know where she is!?! She is in the firenation she showed up one day at the palace. she was filthy. thank the spirits she wasn't hurt.

Toph(smirks): all the way the fire nation huh? good girl. I dont see the issue sparky. I ran away from home at 10

Azula: you joined the Avatar and i went to war at 14 that doesn't mean it was good for me or you! OR ANY OF US. what? when suyin turns 10 you are going to kick her out to?! Toph: don't tell me how to raise my kids! Lin wanted to leave so i let her! Azula(smirks):Shes 10. I told aang what you did and he will talk to you about suyin. But lin is mine. Firenation law allows me to adopt runaways. be nice and you might be able to visit. Lin loved the idea by the way. she find the royal palace fun. Tylee started teaching her gymnastics before I left. Toph: Dont mess with my family you bitch. Azula: not your family. mine now.

#azula being lins mom is one of my favorite head cannons #tyzula #toph being a bad mom is an idea i unfortunately like #tylee #lin beifong #avatar the last airbender #avatar: tla

99 notes · View notes

autistic-yuri · 3 years

Text

Okay I’ve been messing with this idea of a But I’m A Cheerleader ATLA AU and I think I’m ready to share it.

Ty Lee is a great cheerleader with a great boyfriend and the perfect life and a bunch of furniture that weirdly looks like vaginas

Yeah my girls a lesbian deep in denial. So she gets sent to Ozai’s Conversion Therapy Camp.

There she meets Mai, a sorta rude sorta hot jaded chick.

YES THIS BITCH IS A MAI LEE FIC

There’s also background Zukka and probably some other gay ships.

Zuko is just Dolph. For those of you who haven’t watched the film, Dolph is played by Dante Basco

Someone please make fan art of Zuko in that fully rainbow outfit I need to see it

Sokka is Dolph’s boyfriend who’s name I forgot.

Zuko and Sokka get caught by Ty Lee, Zuko gets kicked out and Sokka gets put in solitary confinement.

So Ozai runs the conversion therapy camp, Sozin is Ozai’s grandpa(DONT ask) and Roku is the employee who keeps making goo goo eyes at Sozin

So Mai and Ty Lee get put together as partners and while they argue at first they start to bond and then they start to fall in love.

One night, most of the kids sneak out with the help of Jeong-Jeong and Piandao, who run the local gay youth shelter.

Mai and Ty Lee kiss, it’s so romantic.

Mai and Ty Lee attempt to do the same thing Sokka and Zuko did, they get caught.

They promise that they won’t take the offer to stay in the camp, but Mai’s parents make her chicken out.

So Ty Lee heads to the gay youth shelter and finds Zuko there.

They make a plan to run away with their respective lovers during the graduation

Ty Lee does a chant to convince Mai to come with her

And they live happily ever after!

Now for just a few more additions!

Azula will probably be the goth chick from France that gets jealous when Graham and Megan get together

As for everyone else, this is where I’ll start making changes to the plot.

For Aang and Katara, they get together despite their homosexual tendencies because they still are attracted to the same sex, and get released early

Yue fakes her own death to get out of that place. Suki finds out she’s still alive and gets herself kicked out to find her.

Jet’s there. I don’t what I’ll do with him he just exists.

Toph’s actually ace-aro but everyone thinks she’s gay and so she just goes along with it.

Yeah, I love this AU idea honestly. Hope you enjoyed too!

68 notes · View notes

half-a-hetero · 3 years

Text

ATLA BATTLE OF THE BANDS AU SETUP PT. 1

oK SO I’VE HAD THIS AU IN MY HEAD FOR TWO FKN DAYS AND I HAVE COME TO EVER SO GRACIOUSLY INJECT IT INTO YOUR MIND- THE GAANG PLUS YUE AND THE FIRE NATION GALS IN BANDS. a battle of the bands au. tHINK OF THE aRt. n i’m thinking zukka and yueki, and they meet at battle of the bands but yk...we got 2 sets of pining idiots yk yk. i thought this up five (5) days ago and iM DYING

(tw: mentions of canon-typical abuse, and past death)

this is basically just the setup but i’ll add little tidbits and worldbuilding and art later

zuko (18): drums + backup vocals

mai (16): bass guitar

ty lee (15): keyboard

azula (15): lead guitar + vocals

suki (17/18): rhythm guitar

they do some group vocals/harmonies but not that often

so like azula has this really strong, really powerful voice, and that means she could do really moving rock ballads/power ballads, and etc etc. she took extensive guitar and voice lessons as a kid because of That Fucker Ozai™ and thats why she has so much control. same with zuko, except he didnt take voice lessons (he just liked singing) and quit guitar after ozai went to jail (it was a painful reminder of The Shit He Went Through) and took up drums to let out his anger and frustrations instead. Azula stuck with guitar because it was something she loved to do, despite her past.

where azula has a bold voice, zuko has a raspy-yet-smooth-at-the-same-time one that matches azula’s really well. while she’s off singing power notes, hes singing the lower, raspier undertones and it sounds really nice.

zuko also took up art classes and is genuinely proud of his work.

he’s secretly (its not that much of a secret) an art nerd

zuko, azula, and suki wrote a few songs together, kinda

for lack of better explanation, ozai was (canon-typically) abusive, and he got drunk one day and got mad at zuko and pushed him. zuko fell into the fireplace, and boom. scar.

azula got mainly mental trauma because zuko would take the blow for her, but she got therapy and theyre both for the most part better (there are still some relapses)

azula’s secretly a DC nerd

zUkO wEaRs riNgs

the canon-typical atla “ozai pitting them against eachother sibling rivalry” comes into play through guitar (hence why zuko drops it. he wanted to let his sister have something she loved for herself. also, he didnt like it). ozai was a classical guitarist and famous [the money and the “royalty” canon aspects]

should i….mullet zuko?

aro azula and toph >>>>

ty lee is still from the circus, except this time mai was there too, which is where she learned knife-throwing. they both ran away from the circus summer after freshman year and met azula though mai’s bass lessons (alternatively, they met at martial arts classes). theyre 14/15. they moved in with azula, zuko, and iroh around the middle of sophomore year (grade 10) when ozai was arrested. the azula and ty lee were 15, mai was 16, and zuko was 17 at the time, around the ages they were in the show when the war ended (i think??)

azula said it didn't matter cause they had a huge house. she says it was half-empty, anyways, but mai and ty lee know that meant she liked their company.

they get along really well with suki

everyone realizes they can all play instruments, the core parts of a [rock] band. they start playing together, and eventually decide to become a band

their band is called ‘the kyoshi warriors’ (or something idk this is off the top of my head) in honor of the girls’ martial arts instructor, master kyoshi, who passed away

WAIT SJITGHHFSD FAN THE FLAMES IS A GOOD NAME TOO WHAT (although i can see that being more of a song name) credits to boom ( @boomerangsandadora) for that (go check out their ideas on this au)

theyre inseparable

together, mai, ty lee, suki, azula and zuko look fucking menacing. just imagine that. fucking bamfs

mai skateboards. just. this is a kind of important plot device. shh.

suki joins their friend group gradually. first, she’s attended azula’s martial arts class since they were in second grade, and moved up the belts like wildfire (along with azula). she tried to befriend azula a few times, but gave up over the years because azula wasnt interested in friendship (no thanks to ozai pressuring her to always be first. azula saw her as a rival, suki saw azula as a particularly competitive classmate and but equal in skill). She was zuko’s classmate since freshman year (grade 9) but only became his friend in sophomore year through a literature assignment the two were paired up in. she was really his only friend, cause everyone was too busy sizing up his scar. the two became inseparable then on.

she plays rhythm guitar because she loves guitar but agrees that azula is better at being in the (relative) spotlight

on the outside, suki and zuko looked tough, but underneath that, they’re two bumbling, pining gay idiots

suki’s parents both died in a fire, so she grew up with her “cool gay aunt” who was also a feminist and a mixed martial arts instructor.

suki spends her time teaching the beginner classes at the dojo

she met azula + the girls thru martial arts and zuko

overall thingies:

even though zuko is oblivious to sokka’s reciprocate feelings, no one else is. mai, azula, and ty le are just like “zuko wtf you’re more blind than toph”

he thinks the rest of his friends dont know about his crush bu he forgets who his sister is. honestly. all he talks about is sokka, it isnt hard.

unlike a lot of other bands, they actually have more complicated and interesting bass riffs, and a lot of times when writing songs they start with bass and build up from there

azula and toph get along becaus theyre the only sensible ones around. all their friends are pining idiots and they bond over their mutual superiority 🪄🧃🧃

mai skateboards at the same skatepark as sokka and aang. she’s long since past trying to teach zuko (he’s an uncoordinated gay mess) (who can somehow still play drums ??what???)but once she sees him agree to learn to skate from sokka she knows what’s up

suki’s birthday is during th time this fic happens, and she invites yue to the party (she tells zuko he has to invite sokka because even though she loves her bestie, he really is dumb)

“hey yue, we’re having a little get-together for my birthday, and i was wondering if you wanted to come?” compare to zuko’s “uh—hey sokka? i, um. suki’s birthday is pretty soon, and, well. we’re having a get-together to celebrate? and i—she asked me to invite someone? andifyoudontwannagothatstotallyfineimsorryforbotheringyou-” (includes much stammering and heavy blushing)

on the outside suki’s all calm (someone has to be the “i’m a mess but i dont look it” friend🙄🙄. honestly)but on the inside she’s like

“oh my gOD is that dyed hair hOLY FUcK thats so badass and she pLAYS BASS TOo that’s hOt”

“WAITWHATTHEFUCKISSHESPEAKINGTOME- ?? she’s laughing now she’s gORGEOUS- ThE giGGLEs i CANt bREatHE-”

“hOLY mOtHEr of kYosHi sHe’s wEAriNG lEsbiAn riNgS sHIT and her voice is so nice too fUCK i think i’m in love-”

42 notes · View notes

mugentakeda · 2 months

Note

Sorry if this is long but I wanna know your thoughts. I am a staunch believer that Lu Ten studied law in the modern AU to try and find a loophole and find a way to get the kids out of Ozai’s greasy hands, only for him to eat shit and go into a long term coma(cause I need him to interact with Gaang and Ozai’s Angels [<- I have beef with that name]) so Ursa has to kill Azulon instead. Also if you’re comfortable with sharing, what brush do you use to color and render your drawings? Again, sorry if this wordy 😅

if lu ten fighting to get zuko and azula from ozai without causing a political and court catastrophe was possible in the regular atla timeline then he wouldve done it. so trust that in a modern au where there is no royal family he would most definitely be scheming. (dr umar voice) im telling you right now. I have plans that I cannot share with you right now, because the haters will sabotage me. i have PLANS that i CANNOT share with you right now. because the haters will sabotage me. ALSO. i just use the blurring marker on ibis!!! i have tweaked some of the brush settings though. i dont really color or render (<- CUS IM NOT GOOD AT IT) so i just use one brush for everything for the most part? and if i do try and mess around with other brushes theyre just picked randomly with no rhyme or reason lol

#mind you he does it with like zero plan on what he'd do if he wins #like yeah kids will probably be mad at me but ill cross that bridge when i get there #how does he eat shit and go into a coma. does he get in a car crash. Was it planned. is he the princess diana of atla <-joke #asks

10 notes · View notes

runephoenix6769 · 4 years

Text

ATLAB / LOK and Nickelodeon’s Enforced Gendered Viewership.

https://thesummoningdark.tumblr.com/post/619001411756310528/gayna-scully-prokopetz-silkktheshocka With regards to this long ass post. (And I’m gonna slightly deviate from the original topic.) The really messed up thing with Nick, with concern to Korra. I read somewhere that when they were first doing concept designs for LOK, that the Nick execs railed against a female avatar cause they thought/(wanted to market) Avatar Last Airbender as strictly a Boys show. When faced with the designs of a really buff, muscular Korra, Nick wasnt overly keen, because they thought her supposed lack of femininity would put boys off

They wanted her to be more feminine (even though Korra was meant to be a more physical Avatar in comparison to Aang.) And Mako would be more front and centre in aiding Korra. Guess what they found when they market tested the designs? Girls were absolutely thrilled. And the boys? The boys couldn’t give two shits about Korra’s supposed lack of femininity. They loved the fact she could punch through shit. They thought Korra’s design was ‘cool’ and ‘badass’!

(my opinion) So whilst the Nick execs were all patting themselves on the back that their fucked up view and enforced gendering of viewer ship still carried some weight, they obviously didnt think to actually look/take on board the actual content of ATLAB and maybe wonder why exactly it was so immensely popular and who exactly the fandom base was made up of.

ATLAB had some of the strongest, most well rounded female characters on tv at the time. There’s a reason why Azula, Katara and Toph are so popular. Why Suki, Ty Lee and Mai are so beloved.

Not a single one of them is a damsel in distress. Hell, more often than not they handed the boys their ass in a fight. Azula and Katara are bending masters in their respective element at 14 and Toph, a blind girl, at 11, in a world that it is heavily implied that most bending Adults have not reached that level of skill. Toph creates her own off shoot of Earth Bending by being the first metal bender. Azula is seen as an outlier by being able to create and bend lightening, never mind her signature and unique blue flame. Katara, under duress, masters the rare ability to blood bend, (being second person to do so that we know of in ATLAB) and has such a command of waterbending she can quite literally suck moisture out of the ground creating a barrier that torrential rain cannot penetrate.

Even in the small snippet we get of Avatar Kyoshi, she is ruthless and takes no prisoners. (and one of the main reasons why people have been clamoring for Kyoshi content spawning the books the ‘Rise of Kyoshi’ and the sequel that is following this year, ‘Shadow of Kyoshi’.)

If the Nick execs had cared to take notice of the themes and arcs of some of the characters they might have seen how part of Sokka’s character arc was growing from an ignorant misogynist to a young adult who learned over time and regularly took a hefty gulp of respect women juice. (A message that the Nick Execs might have benefited from when dealing with LOK.)

Aang, the titular protagonist learns bending from two of his female peers and often defers to their superior skill and knowledge, until he masters them. Were the Nick execs that dense that they genuinely believed that all these amazing female characters, created by Bryke and colab narratives by Ehasz, were there to appeal only to boys? To represent boys? The ratio of male to female main heroes/villains is 3 boys, 6 girls and 2 male adults. (one adult we dont even see until the last season.) The ATLAB fandom was massively made up of girls, and by virtue those girls would more than likely migrate to LOK, specifically because it was a female Avatar hoping for the same depth of character and positive representation, which makes Nick’s whole fucked up enforcing of gendered viewership all the more baffling. Again, had the Nick Execs not watched ATLAB if they thought they could tout it as ‘just’ another action show and its subsequent spin off LOK?

ATLAB at it’s core is about the interpersonal relationships, the struggles one faces when growing up, dealing with dark themes in a way that kids can understand and older viewers can relate. The war is the back drop, the action part of the draw but not main spectacle.

Had they not done their research, saw the trend of who exactly the audience consisted of and thought, ‘hey maybe its a good idea to maybe stop enforcing, dictating gendered viewership?’ and maybe not continue to labour under the belief that ‘girls dont like action’! Legend of Korra and ATLAB are still being discussed to this day and not only because it has the industry standard of redemption arcs by which all redemption arcs since have tried to emulate and hold a candle to. (SPOP I’m looking in your direction, congrats btw.) but also because of its representation, strong female characters and compelling villains. Outside of Korra (/Asami), guess who are the most popular characters? Kuvira and Lin Beifong.

Now getting back to the actual content of the OG post. There aint alot or ATLAB or LOK merch in general outside of comics and plushies. (There was a poor attempt made at merchandsing on the M Night Shabigamoo’s god awful adaptation..... but shhhhhhhh, we aint even gonna get into that.) But of the merchandise that is available one in particular stands out as being in high demand.

I typed into google ‘Azula Funko Pop’ and this is the first image!

(Look at that price, it’s insane!)

Now that might be a case of price gouging because she was a US Gamestop exclusive but it in no way detracts from the fact that FUNKO POP is aware of just how popular Azula is therefore by virtue she is a prime candidate for exclusivity and would have collectors clamoring to buy her.

Even Aang in the Avatar state isn’t an exclusive nor is the new Legend of Korra funkos that were meant to be released this June/July ,( which now might be pushed back Covid19 pending).

Now, who exact was Azula created for? Yes, a foil for Zuko and a way to explore familial dysfunction, a mirror to what Zuko could have been if he hadn't been banished and had the support and guidance of his Uncle Iroh. Her subsequent mental breakdown is heart wrenching and a compelling take on what goes on underneath a villain’s impenetrable armor, that the ravages and victims of war are not just found in the body count.

But for most of the show, Azula is flouncing round the world with her two more than capable and dangerous in their own right, sidekicks, Ty Lee and Mai thrashing the gAang for the most part, kicking ass and taking names whilst also successfully heading a relatively bloodless coup of Ba Sing Se.

How on earth with all that could Nick still be so bull headed as to continue to double down on maintaining it be a show strictly marketed to boys and then get pissed when it when girls flocked to it? And the comments made in the OG post are correct. Nick showed their displeasure by fucking around with LOK’s time slot on more than one occasion, claimed it’s ratings were dropping (no shit sherlock, wonder why?) before moving it to the web. (where ironically, it thrived.) and then they slashed it’s budget forcing Bryke to trim the animation in places, namely the outfits of the characters, so they could put the money towards the animation of scenes they had been building up to such as Korra’s style of metal bending, which would be more fluid given her OG element was water.

Now imagine the show we might have gotten if Nick hadn’t been a bunch of arseholes, hadn’t tried to enforce their outdated misogynistic views and thrown a massive hissyfit?

Roll on the live action re-imagining with Bryke at the helm. I’m sure Netflix wont be trying to claim or market it as ‘a show strictly for boys’! And thankyou to Bryke, for this.

#atlab #lok #avatar the last airbender #legend of korra #gendered viewership #korra #azula #aang #toph #katara #zuko #sokka #bryke #bryan konietzko #aaron ehasz #michael dante dimartino

243 notes · View notes