#maiko anti | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

maikowasalwaysbad · 1 month

Text

I think what bothered me about Maiko was how half assed it actually was, and how it had wayyy too little scenes to be considered good or well written AT ALL. User @sokkastyles made a lot of good points concerning how badly written Maiko was, and how it did Mai’s character dirty. But what makes it so funny to me is how much lack of scenes there are for it to be good- let me explain:

We never get Mai’s reaction to Zuko’s banishment. None at all. It’s almost like the writers didn’t even plan this and only mashed them together due to them being single. We see her smirk at the thought of seeing him yes, but there’s no concern over Zuko literally being thrown in prison or possibly killed. I’m not saying Mai’s a bad person but…wouldn’t you worry about your partner? Or couldn’t the writers show her reaction to Zuko literally being burned and humiliated?

Where was the build up besides ONE literal flashback that the majority of people I know forgot about??? Literally, that kiss in episode 1 of Book 3 was out of NOWHERE- it felt like the writers needed to give him a love interest so they had Mai kiss him out of desperation. 😭 But even then with that flashback it was nowhere near convincing that Zuko loved her since childhood or something. And even for Mai it was honestly….eh. It’s a cute childhood crush thing where she may find hm attractive, yes. However how is this supposed to convince me it’s long term like they want me to believe? Plus, we literally see Zuko dislike it when Azula and Ty Lee tease them about being together. There’s no implications of him deep down liking Mai or anything in that flashback. Just him getting angry at it in fact.

Where tf were the scenes of Zuko worrying for Mai after the Boiling Rock? This one I can maybe understand due to maybe not enough runtime but…Wouldn’t you worry for someone you love if they’re going to be imprisoned and possibly punished heavily by your crazy sister??? He knows what Azula is capable of along with the Boiling Rock prison in general. So why didn’t we get any scenes of him worrying for her? If the writers wanted to really convince me on their relationship they could’ve at least give me a scene of him either freeing her or worrying for her afterwards LMAO. “Erm maybe offscreen” yeah, keyword: MAYBE.

Mai never confronted the Fire Nation was wrong. Literally, when did she confront the Fire Nation was wrong? Y’all expect me to believe she’s right for him when she didn’t even see that the Fire Nation was wrong? That’s like if a feminist were to date a man who didn’t support women’s rights- it’s just….blegh. And you wouldn’t support that relationship. Literally, where did she confront Ozai was wrong? She only saved Zuko because she “loved” him. But how are they supposed to be compatible due to those opposing ideals? Seems boring and really lazy ass writing that doesn’t confront those points lmao. “She probably realized it in the room when Zuko told her” he only said “that’s not how I see it” when she told him he was betraying his country. We don’t see a scene where Mai suddenly realizes the Fire Nation is bad. “Maybe offscreen” yeah, MAYBE. And that sort of proves my point Maiko is badly written and doesn’t have enough scenes to support it or make it good.

I can go more into depth on how multiple parts of the writing were flawed whether it be the characters or just the ship in general. However I won’t make this too long and will stop here. Overall, I feel Maiko could’ve had WAY more scenes to sell it to me or be better written. It’s not just the toxic moments that annoy me, but also the lack of scenes and writing. While I do agree it had potential, elements such as bad writing, too little time, etc made it badly written and half assed to me. And I hope Maiko shippers can respect my opinions and thoughts.

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #atla #my meta #meta #atla meta #i will die on this fucking hill #i hope they don’t make maiko canon in the live action at least #avatar meta #anti maiko #atla critisism #avatar the last airbender critical #maiko anti #anti zuko x mai

15 notes · View notes

lilith-91 · 21 days

Text

Sometimes I do wonder if atla fandom like the REAL Zuko at all because the nonsense i'm reading about him....... 😭

"He's a prodigy" nope that's AZULA, that's the point of these two characters and he's also the weakest bender of the gaang

"He's friendly, charismatic and charming" that's Aang 😭

"He's the perfect boyfriend" he's possessive and jealous, that's why Mai dumped his ass and she was RIGHT

"He did nothing wrong" i'm not saying anything here lol

"He's the most mature person of the gaang" ??? PEOPLE BE SERIOUS

This character is crazy mischaracterized, like Aang actually 😭

#avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #aang #maiko #mai #no this is not anti zuko #because i love the real zuko #and i hate fanfiction zuko 😭#azula

877 notes · View notes

yourhighness6 · 14 days

Text

"Zuko and Katara would argue all the time if they ever had a romantic relationship"

Are

you

absolutely

sure

about

that?

#it seems to me like kataang are the only ones arguing here #except maiko is too so nvm #putting end of book three zutara interactions and end of book 3 kataang interactions side by side is actually eye opening #zutara #anti kataang #anti maiko #anti anti zutara #katara x zuko #zuko x katara #atla #avatar the last airbender

684 notes · View notes

punkeropercyjackson · 2 months

Text

I hate girlboss x malewife ships where it's a pathetic guy who's obsessed with a cool girl who's not nearly into him as he is her and people call it bisexuality.I want them BOTH down bad,i want them BOTH pampering eachother nonstop,i want them BOTH going to the ends of the earth for their love,i want them BOTH to be actual characters instead 'She's everything,he's just Ken' and acting like that's feminist instead of writing women as perfect and men as people.Forget girlboss x malewife,i want Equalit4ty

495 notes · View notes

starlight-bread-blog · 1 month

Text

Zuko Doesn't Like 𝖬𝖺𝗂's Apathy

But I already hear you say, "These lines are from fights. He's angry and says things he normally wouldn't". I would argue that even though he's angry, his anger has to stem from some truth, but okay.

Here he's trying to appeal to 𝖬𝖺𝗂, appreciaying her, and is doing so through the one time she isn't her normal, apathetic self. Clearly he likes her, but he wishes she was someone else.

But you know who does have passion? Who does express herself?

#zutara #anti anti zutara #pro zutara #zutara analysis #zutara evidence #zutara forever #zutara meta #zutara nation #zutara should have been canon #zutara supremacy #zutara was robbed #zutarian #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #anti maiko #anti bryke #atla critical #atla critisism

513 notes · View notes

iamfitzwilliamdarcy · 1 month

Text

anyway, i'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseam at this point but I'll say it again -- the show gives us two scenes of zuko expressing very legitimate worries about facing a father-figure after messing up

The Book 3 opener, with Mai on the boat, where Zuko worries about seeing his father after 3 years and how he's changed/his home has changed

Zuko anxious about facing Iroh again and discusses this with Katara

The conversations go like this:

Mai: Aren't you cold? Zuko: I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed. Mai: [Yawns.] I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story. [Zuko frowns at her sarcastic response. Mai giggles and holds his face in her hands.] Stop worrying.

(in interest of fairness, I will include that the transcript i got from atla wiki says this: The two kiss. Mai exits, and Zuko stays there with an expression of relief on his face. We return to the ship where Team Avatar is on -- however, the show just actually shows a close up of his eyes)

and

Cut back to Zuko, who becomes worried and ashamed before walking toward the tent. Cut to Zuko from behind as he approaches the tent before stopping. Close-up of Zuko. Side-view as he sits down. Katara walks up to him. Katara Are you okay? Zuko [Frontal view.] No, I'm not okay. My uncle hates me, I know it. [Katara sits down next to him.] He loved and supported me in every way he could, and I still turned against him. How can I even face him? Katara [Close-up side-view of Zuko.] Zuko, you're sorry for what you did, right? Zuko: More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life. Katara: Then he'll forgive you. He will.

I just think there's a very clear contrast here of dismissive vs supportive. I get what the writers were trying to do- Mai even smiles a little when she makes her joke-- but it just doesn't land for me because I think Zuko's concerns are valid and ought to be treated seriously here-- who wouldn't be worried after 3 years away???? And And Zuko doesn't even disclose his real worries to Mai (he does to Azula though!-- about seeing his dad without having actually recaptured the Avatar! which I think is interesting)

And he's very upfront with Katara in the later scene, which is a very pivotal one for him-- his courage to make amends and apologize to one of the most important people in his life. And Katara doesn't try to lighten the mood or tell him to stop worrying -- she treats his concerns as valid and walks him through it-- he's sorry, so Iroh will forgive him (it probably helps that she has also forgiven him for what he did in Ba Sing Se, she knows what that means)

#zutara #atla #i'll tag this as #anti maiko #to keep y'all all of my back lol even though i don't think it's so much anti maiko as it is....#just looking at these two scenes in contrast? the writing at least

471 notes · View notes

burst-of-iridescent · 5 months

Text

ana's meta masterlist

Pro-Zutara:

the official zutara dissertation: part 1 | part 2

zuko, aang and taking lightning for katara

zutara and romantic coding

"you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun" is a zutara line

zutara and thematic significance

zutara vs jetara

zutara parallels in the awakening

zutara's narrative culmination

zutara in the crossroads of destiny:

azula vs katara

love as resistance in the catacombs

zutara in the southern raiders:

the true source of katara's anger at zuko

katara bloodbending before zuko

the narrative relevance of zutara

zutara and bloodbending

zutara's narrative symmetry

why zuko had to betray katara in ba sing se

Anti Anti-Zutara:

the official zutara dissertation (p.3)

"zutara would face too much opposition from their countries"

"zuko and katara are a colonizer/colonized ship"

"zuko and katara would fight all the time”

"platonic zutara is better than romantic zutara"

"fire lady katara is racist"

“zuko would’ve taken lightning for anyone”

“katara is too traumatized by the fire nation”

ATLA Ship Criticism:

the official zutara dissertation: part 4 | part 5 | part 6

why mai.ko was never intended to be canon

mailee is a better ship than mai.ko

how kat.aang could've been fixed

kat.aang's lack of trust in the southern raiders

emotional labour in kat.aang

kat.aang’s narrative imbalance

comparing katara and aang's parenting

why the fortuneteller does not foreshadow kat.aang

ATLA/LOK:

azula/katara parallels

katara's choice in the crossroads of destiny

was zuko's betrayal in-character?

zuko's comments in the southern raiders

zuko's comments in the southern raiders (pt. 2)

zuko is not a “bad boy”

sokka didn't feel inferior to katara

did mai fear azula?

comparing mai and toph

sexism in the water tribes

thoughts on the atla comics

gratuitous violence in the legend of korra

The Hunger Games:

zutara and everlark parallels

zutara and everlark parallels (pt. 2)

gale's arc in the hunger games trilogy

the myth of humanity's inherent evil

the ending of lucy gray

Squid Game:

individualism under capitalism

the ethics of billionaires

#zutara #anti kataang #anti maiko #zutara meta #been intending to do this forever but i'm on this hellsite so much that going through my archives took an eternity lmao #anyway here's a collection of patented ana rambles

533 notes · View notes

astriddestelle · 7 months

Text

Unpopular opinion if Zuko wasn’t attractive Zutara wouldn’t be as popular as it is. There I said it. Zuko and Katara would be horrible together, aesthetically sure whatever but actually no.

Zuko who is known for his temper and impulsive tendencies with Katara who is just as impulsive and hot headed.

Lol they would crash and burn so fast. Water and fire don’t mix, opposites attract but that’s about it.

They would argue all the time after the honeymoon phase wore off, they both yell and get angry with their partners and wouldn’t stand to be yelled out without yelling back.

Aang and Mai both are for the most part calm when their partners get angry they help calm them down (more so Aang). Let them rant etc get it all out, take no offense to words said in anger (again more Aang than Mai)

Aang being rightfully distraught upon finding out he’s the last survivor of his people and that his only companion from his culture is gone isn’t the argument you think it is. Like who wouldn’t be mad. Also using Katara helping calm Aang down isn’t the gotcha you think it it. That’s what partners fucking do like. Bfs/gfs help each other clam down when acting irrational. It’s all oh I want a man who only I can calm down that’s such an ideal trope until it’s not your fave couple 🙄

I said what I said and this is coming from someone who used to love Zutara (still likes it? meh depend on the day)

#zutara #kataang #anti zutara #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #shipping #maiko #pro maiko #pro kataang

814 notes · View notes

akiizayoi4869 · 7 months

Text

Can someone please explain to me why so many people in this fandom seem to take Mai’s joke to Zuko in the finale so seriously? I promise you it wasn't a serious death threat. Also, about her poking him being "terrible" because she could have hurt him even more than he already was....

She literally pokes his shoulder. The wound was on his chest or right below it, I can't really remember. Either way, she poked him nowhere near his injury. Also, Zuko himself very clearly didn't take her "threat" seriously at all, considering the fact that they both kiss immediately after she says this to him.

Had he actually felt threatened, he wouldn't have kissed her. But since ya'll are in the habit of taking a joke to the extremes, should we take Zuko's joke during the Southern Raiders episode about chasing the gaang around again to make it feel like "old times", seriously? Interesting to think about.

#atla #zuko #mai #maiko #pro maiko #anti Zutara

538 notes · View notes

sneezypeasy · 1 month

Text

Why I Deliberately Avoided the "Colonizer" Argument in my Zutara Thesis - and Why I'll Continue to Avoid it Forever

This is a question that occasionally comes up under my Zutara video essay, because somehow in 2 hours worth of content I still didn't manage to address everything (lol.) But this argument specifically is one I made a point of avoiding entirely, and there are some slightly complicated reasons behind that. I figure I'll write them all out here.

From a surface-level perspective, Zuko's whole arc, his raison d'etre, is to be a de-colonizer. Zuko's redemption arc is kinda all about being a de-colonizer, and his redemption arc is probably like the most talked about plot point of ATLA, so from a basic media literacy standpoint, the whole argument is unsound in the first place, and on that basis alone I find it childish to even entertain as an argument worth engaging with, to be honest.

(At least one person in my comments pointed out that if any ship's "political implications" are problematic in some way, it really ought to be Maiko, as Mai herself is never shown or suggested to be a strong candidate for being a de-colonizing co-ruler alongside Zuko. If anything her attitudes towards lording over servants/underlings would make her… a less than suitable choice for this role, but I digress.)

But the reason I avoided rebutting this particular argument in my video goes deeper than that. From what I've observed of fandom discourse, I find that the colonizer argument is usually an attempt to smear the ship as "problematic" - i.e., this ship is an immoral dynamic, which would make it problematic to depict as canon (and by extension, if you ship it regardless, you're probably problematic yourself.)

And here is where I end up taking a stand that differentiates me from the more authoritarian sectors of fandom.

I'm not here to be the fandom morality police. When it comes to lit crit, I'm really just here to talk about good vs. bad writing. (And when I say "good", I mean structurally sound, thematically cohesive, etc; works that are well-written - I don't mean works that are morally virtuous. More on this in a minute.) So the whole colonizer angle isn't something I'm interested in discussing, for the same reason that I actually avoided discussing Katara "mothering" Aang or the "problematic" aspects of the Kataang ship (such as how he kissed her twice without her consent). My whole entire sections on "Kataang bad" or "Maiko bad" in my 2 hour video was specifically, "how are they written in a way that did a disservice to the story", and "how making them false leads would have created valuable meaning". I deliberately avoided making an argument that consisted purely of, "here's how Kataang/Maiko toxic and Zutara wholesome, hence Zutara superiority, the end".

Why am I not willing to be the fandom morality police? Two reasons:

I don't really have a refined take on these subjects anyway. Unless a piece of literature or art happens to touch on a particular issue that resonates with me personally, the moral value of art is something that doesn't usually spark my interest, so I rarely have much to say on it to begin with. On the whole "colonizer ship" subject specifically, other people who have more passion and knowledge than me on the topic can (and have) put their arguments into words far better than I ever could. I'm more than happy to defer to their take(s), because honestly, they can do these subjects justice in a way I can't. Passing the mic over to someone else is the most responsible thing I can do here, lol. But more importantly:

I reject the conflation of literary merit with moral virtue. It is my opinion that a good story well-told is not always, and does not have to be, a story free from moral vices/questionable themes. In my opinion, there are good problematic stories and bad "pure" stories and literally everything in between. To go one step further, I believe that there are ways that a romance can come off "icky", and then there are ways that it might actually be bad for the story, and meming/shitposting aside, the fact that these two things don't always neatly align is not only a truth I recognise about art but also one of those truths that makes art incredibly interesting to me! So on the one hand, I don't think it is either fair or accurate to conflate literary "goodness" with moral "goodness". On a more serious note, I not only find this type of conflation unfair/inaccurate, I also find it potentially dangerous - and this is why I am really critical of this mindset beyond just disagreeing with it factually. What I see is that people who espouse this rhetoric tend to encourage (or even personally engage in) wilful blindness one way or the other, because ultimately, viewing art through these lens ends up boxing all art into either "morally permissible" or "morally impermissible" categories, and shames anyone enjoying art in the "morally impermissible" box. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people responding to this by A) making excuses for art that they guiltily love despite its problematic elements and/or B) denying the value of any art that they are unable to defend as free from moral wickedness.

Now, I'm not saying that media shouldn't be critiqued on its moral virtue. I actually think morally critiquing art has its place, and assuming it's being done in good faith, it absolutely should be done, and probably even more often than it is now.

Because here's the truth: Sometimes, a story can be really good. Sometimes, you can have a genuinely amazing story with well developed characters and powerful themes that resonate deeply with anyone who reads it. Sometimes, a story can be all of these things - and still be problematic.*

(Or, sometimes a story can be all of those things, and still be written by a problematic author.)

That's why I say, when people conflate moral art with good art, they become blind to the possibility that the art they like being potentially immoral (or vice versa). If only "bad art" is immoral, how can the art that tells the story hitting all the right beats and with perfect rhythm and emotional depth, be ever problematic?

(And how can the art I love, be ever problematic?)

This is why I reject the idea that literary merit = moral virtue (or vice versa) - because I do care about holding art accountable. Even the art that is "good art". Actually, especially the art that is "good art". Especially the art that is well loved and respected and appreciated. The failure to distinguish literary critique from moral critique bothers me on a personal level because I think that conflating the two results in the detriment of both - the latter being the most concerning to me, actually.

So while I respect the inherent value of moral criticism, I'm really not a fan of any argument that presents moral criticism as equivalent to literary criticism, and I will call that out when I see it. And from what I've observed, a lot of the "but Zutara is a colonizer ship" tries to do exactly that, which is why I find it a dishonest and frankly harmful media analysis framework to begin with.

But even when it is done in good faith, moral criticism of art is also just something I personally am neither interested nor good at talking about, and I prefer to talk about the things that I am interested and good at talking about.

(And some people are genuinely good at tackling the moral side of things! I mean, I for one really enjoyed Lindsay Ellis's take on Rent contextualising it within the broader political landscape at the time to show how it's not the progressive queer story it might otherwise appear to be. Moral critique has value, and has its place, and there are definitely circumstances where it can lead to societal progress. Just because I'm not personally interested in addressing it doesn't mean nobody else can do it let alone that nobody else should do it, but also, just because it can and should be done, doesn't mean that it's the only "one true way" to approach lit crit by anyone ever. You know, sometimes... two things… can be true… at once?)

Anyway, if anyone reading this far has recognised that this is basically a variant of the proship vs. antiship debate, you're right, it is. And on that note, I'm just going to leave some links here. I've said about as much as I'm willing/able to say on this subject, but in case anyone is interested in delving deeper into the philosophy behind my convictions, including why I believe leftist authoritarian rhetoric is harmful, and why the whole "but it would be problematic in real life" is an anti-ship argument that doesn't always hold up to scrutiny, I highly recommend these posts/threads:

In general this blog is pretty solid; I agree with almost all of their takes - though they focus more specifically on fanfic/fanart than mainstream media, and I think quite a lot of their arguments are at least somewhat appropriate to extrapolate to mainstream media as well.

I also strongly recommend Bob Altemeyer's book "The Authoritarians" which the author, a verified giga chad, actually made free to download as a pdf, here. His work focuses primarily on right-wing authoritarians, but a lot of his research and conclusions are, you guessed it, applicable to left-wing authoritarians also.

And if you're an anti yourself, welp, you won't find support from me here. This is not an anti-ship safe space, sorrynotsorry 👆

In conclusion, honestly any "but Zutara is problematic" argument is one I'm likely to consider unsound to begin with, let alone the "Zutara is a colonizer ship" argument - but even if it wasn't, it's not something I'm interested in discussing, even if I recognise there are contexts where these discussions have value. I resent the idea that just because I have refined opinions on one aspect of a discussion means I must have (and be willing to preach) refined opinions on all aspects of said discussion. (I don't mean to sound reproachful here - actually the vast majority of the comments I get on my video/tumblr are really sweet and respectful, but I do get a handful of silly comments here and there and I'm at the point where I do feel like this is something worth saying.) Anyway, I'm quite happy to defer to other analysts who have the passion and knowledge to give complicated topics the justice they deserve. All I request is that care is taken not to conflate literary criticism with moral criticism to the detriment of both - and I think it's important to acknowledge when that is indeed happening. And respectfully, don't expect me to give my own take on the matter when other people are already willing and able to put their thoughts into words so much better than me. Peace ✌

*P.S. This works for real life too, by the way. There are people out there who are genuinely not only charming and likeable, but also generous, charitable and warm to the vast majority of the people they know. They may also be amazing at their work, and if they have a job that involves saving lives like firefighting or surgery or w.e, they may even be the reason dozens of people are still alive today. They may honestly do a lot of things you'd have to concede are "good" deeds.

They may be all of these things, and still be someone's abuser. 🙃

Two things can be true at once. It's important never to forget that.

#zutara discourse #the colonizer argument #anti anti zutara #text post #long post #anti maiko #anti mai #tagging just in case #anti purity culture #this is not an anti-ship safe space

261 notes · View notes

opalsiren · 26 days

Text

man the atla finale is still sooooo bittersweet to me. zuko taking a bolt of lightning for katara, she takes down azula and heals him through tears. sokka and suki and toph taking down the airship fleet. aang defeating firelord ozai through conveniently-placed rock chiropractory and a hastily thrown together final twist. sokka and katara being reunited with their dad. ty lee joining the kyoshi warriors. mai and zuko getting back together, for some reason. zuko becomes firelord. toph is also there, but the question of her relationship with her parents continuing remains unanswered. zuko going to confront his father about his mother's whereabouts. iroh opening a tea shop in the city he besieged for a year instead of advising his beloved nephew in his new role as firelord. the final scene is a twelve-year-old tongue kissing a fourteen-year-old, for some reason. truly the epic highs and lows of the atla finale cannot be overstated

#tagging as #anti kataang #just in case #.txt #atla #avatar the last airbender #anti maiko #zutara

328 notes · View notes

rifari2037 · 24 days

Text

7. What’s your favourite Zutara moment from the show?

I love all Zutara moments, because it shows development in every season. But, I would never forget how June being Zutara shipper in every appearances. This is my random thought! Very random thought!

June looked closely when Zuko showed Katara's necklace. Since she was from earth kingdom, she probably didn't know it was a betrothal necklace. But, very clear the necklace belong to a girl.

But, she was a bounty hunter, she worked for anyone who paid her, they could be from anywhere . So, there was possibility she learn about other nation cultural like betrothal necklace from Northern Water Tribe.

A prince using a (betrothal) necklace to looking a girl? (Maybe he made it for her, but she run away?) Well, the conclusion was, "What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?"

And Zuko didn't deny it.

June was right, the necklace belong to a girl. A beautiful girl! “So this is your girlfriend. No wonder she left, she's way too pretty for you.”

And again, Zuko didn't deny it!

June didn't know what happened after that, but the Prince Pouty came again to her and now TOGETHER with the girl. Not only that, June saw Katara wore her necklace.

What sense situation except, "I see you worked things out with your girlfriend."

This time they denied it!

But, what a reaction if there was nothing between them?

Zuko never give a f*ck before every time June teased her with Katara, why he suddenly so shy and denied it? And Katara made the same reaction as she denied her relationship with Jet! Something fishy!!

And in the very same night after someone assumed that they were together, they slept like this! Remember, Aang was missing that time, no one knows where he was or was he okay. But, look at the little smile on Katara's face! I wonder, what were they talking about before they say good night?

#zutara #pro katara #atla zutara #zuko x katara #zuko and katara #anti anti zutara #antikataang #anti maiko #zutara forever

223 notes · View notes

maikingsenseofit · 8 months

Text

There’s so much discourse from people who want to misconstrue Zuko and Mai’s relationship (to further their own personal shipping agendas) and how they understand Zuko’s decision to leave Mai in the fire nation.

No, he DIDNT want to leave her behind like he did the rest of the gala and glamor of the fire nation . No she did not make it easier for him to leave because he truly had no attachments to the home that spurned him.

In fact we see in CANON (not your fanfiction, sorry you have to come to this reckoning) that Mai is the one thing that ties Zuko to his old life. His one regret. His heroic sacrifice for the greater good.

The writers (The Ehasz couple mind you) literally go the extra length to include Mai when Sokka and Zuko deepen their friendship in The Boiling Rock. This was a pivotal development for Sokka and Zuko’s characters.

Sokka asks Zuko if he had anything or anyone he cared about left in the fire nation. Zuko says, “I did have a girlfriend Mai.” And when Sokka remembers her in a somewhat positive way, Zuko can’t help but smile the biggest most lovestruck smile he’s ever shown in the show. Clearly this man loved her.

Then Zuko volunteers this next piece of information without provocation, where he says “Everyone in the fire nation thinks I’m a traitor, I couldn’t drag her into it.” CLEARLY the dialogue shows that he had considered involving her but he couldn’t because he knew she would object and he wanted to protect her.

We literally see a poignant scene where he takes off all of his armor, portraying him in the rawest and most vulnerable state, when he writes her a letter (this is after he visits his mom shrine too). He takes his time writing it too. The authors deliberately used this scene to show that this wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right decision Zuko had to make.

His dialogue “I’m sorry Mai” is a direct parallel to when Aang apologizes to Katara for his own sacrifice.

Compare that to Zuko leaving JIN or Zuko abandoning Katara in the catacombs. These supposed “love interests” are not even spared a second glance, a grimace of regret, or anything showing that Zuko truly cared about them (when they were not directly in front of him). Zuko completely forgot about why Katara was upset at him (you literally betrayed her trust) and doesn’t even remember Jin until he runs into her again in Going Home Again (thank you AE!)

Alas people will continue painting canon as they see fit and then deluding themselves into a circle jerk. But THATS where I come in.

#mai #zuko #avatar the last airbender #maiko #atla maiko #atla #pro maiko #anti zutara

559 notes · View notes