#zuko-always-lies

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you have any particular thoughts on Netflix Avatar Season 1? I haven't watched it myself but I would be curious to hear what you have to say.

I do indeed! I didn't watch it right away, but I have watched it indeed. I think there are merits to certain changes they did, I can see the sense in many of them, that doesn't mean EVERYTHING they changed was good, but it does feel like they were engaging with the original content in a far more creative way than a lot of people are willing to acknowledge or try themselves. No, it isn't a perfect remake of ATLA, but being the critic that I have been of the original show, nobody could ever convince me that the original was perfect, just as this new show isn't perfect.

I want to make a big post on the subject one day and try to get to everything it brought up... once I have more time on my hands, I'll try to do that. But, to give you a bit to chew on... I'll try to do one good vs. one bad on my part, of whatever I can remember right now.

GOOD: I actually do not mind the multiple prologues in the first episode, even though I don't think the changes were handled perfectly. I do believe that showing the genocide is not nearly as bad a choice as a lot of people pretend it is (the way it was portrayed is questionable mostly from a tactical point of view but that's just me being a freak about that... studying basic warfare really fucks up your suspension of disbelief when it comes to war scenes). Mainly, I think it IS important to show it due to the amount of people who are still convinced that Aang didn't suffer nearly as much as most other popular characters did -- that soooo many people have made these claims without a care in the world throughout the twenty years since ATLA first aired proves that the genocide was not treated with the severity it should have been by the OG show. I'm not even sorry to say it. It doesn't feel like a trivialization of violence, it feels like actually setting straight the degree of violence a genocide entails. People asking for a less intense version of genocide basically appear to be asking for the actual gravity of such events to be sanitized so they can chew on them more easily... and that's exactly what leads to it being trivialized, minimized and not taken seriously, if you ask me.

BAD: I don't particularly like the way Fire Lords are so... casual with commoners. Both Ozai and Sozin stood on the same level as a rebel/spy right before setting them on fire, no doubt it's meant to be some sort of flex, but... men of their ideologies and pride would not want to be up close and personal with anyone they consider that far beneath them. Odd choice there, imo.

MOSTLY GOOD: Aang does feel way more serious and has much more dramatic gravitas in everything he does. And this is not a bad choice, in essence. I don't particularly love that they tried to lessen it with occasional "Aang's a silly kid!" verbal reminders that don't actually have any proper visual evidence, because most the silly things he's up for are things the two older kids (Sokka and Katara) are perfectly fine with doing too, hence, he doesn't feel childish at all and it comes off out of place for him to talk about being more childish than he actually is. So... they really didn't need dialogue to try to emphasize his childhood if they weren't going to write him being a goofball. It's fine if he isn't one. He always could be a more serious character, it's only a problem when there's no further substance to him than just brooding (which is what I remember from the Shyamalan movie...).

WEIRD: Aang and Katara both had weird scenes of standing around doing nothing but smiling at their hometowns in episode 1. Maybe it was done as a parallel between them, but it felt a bit... overly theatric? If that makes sense? Like... I know we need to see their daily lives and the context in which they've lived... but it doesn't feel entirely logical for that to happen with them just standing in place and smiling fondly at their world. Most people do not do that in their daily lives...?

GOOD: ... Contrary to what a lot of the fandom seems to think, I actually like the suuuuuper slowburn Kataang here because any potential romantic payoff those two might get isn't nearly as in-your-face as it was in canon. The way their friendship is growing feels far more organic. And some of my favorite character moments in the show were actually between them. Which is not something I'd EVER say about the original show. There's a different sense of maturity for the characters here, and I like that.

BAD: I... do not like Sokka's changes. No, it's not about the sexism. It makes sense to me that this aspect of his character would be changed, updated in a sense: you can even still read him as sexist in some regards! It just isn't as simplistic and straightforward as it was before. But that's... not what bugs me the most. The show genuinely surprised me by taking him far more seriously as a character than I anticipated they would, but they absolutely picked weird choices with him in stuff like his family issues (... the Hakoda changes are just straight-up cringe for me, there's no justification for making him some sort of bitchy soccer mom who congratulates his son but then shits on him behind his back??), his insecurities as a warrior and the frequent remarks about how maybe that's not his path in life even though he does just fine at it, and... his romantic relationships. It's wild, because I actually think they did Sukka a thousand times better than it is in canon, and yet in doing so, they absolutely deadlocked themselves into a whole other problem: Sokka bonding that much with Suki and then hitting on a random Fire Nation soldier like two episodes later?? Then having the romance of his lifetime with Yue by the end of the season?? Ngl, it feels like we're watching one of those sitcoms where characters switch love interests in the blink of an eye. Changing this element of his character this way, when Suki's romance in particular was given new qualities and way more substance... may not have been a great call since it makes him come off insanely shallow, ready to get with any girl he comes across, and frankly, he didn't feel like that in the original show to me. He's also not really funny when he's supposed to be? Part of what made Sokka funny originally was his role as a voice of reason while everyone else ignored him. They occasionally tried to mimic that here... but in ways that didn't really work? Also, the Ron-Weasley-In-HP-Movies brand of comedy of "watch this guy scream, it's soooo funny" is... so trite at this point. Please, don't. Personally, this really feels like a whole other character who isn't Sokka. And some people might think that's great... I'm not one of them. Maybe I'm just experiencing the crisis a lot of people are over Katara with Sokka? But where changes with her do seem to go for things I actually wasn't fond of in her character, I don't really feel like they did better with Sokka in the least.

GOOD: ... "Katara learned waterbending too fast", they say: she did in canon too. A month of training under Pakku is not nearly enough time to justify her being deemed a master in canon. Complaining about how she didn't get that training at all here and still got deemed a master gets a "meh" out of me because I frankly do not see it being remotely as different from what canon did as people want to think it is. Katara was fighting Pakku with way too much power in the OG show for a kid who never got formal training to begin with, and somehow nobody minds that. I don't think someone who was on that level of power in the OG show was nearly as inferior to a seasoned master as a bunch of people want to believe. So... outrage about how they sped up her learning process when we in fact see a LOT more internal growth for Katara, and a lot more depth to her bending source here, makes no sense to me.

Along with that: bending has always been connected with a bender's internal energy, which is related to their peace of mind and internal balance. This show did not invent that. Firebenders are the ones who are most explicitly shown to be connected to their feelings that way, sure, but if you needed ATLA or LOK to non-stop feature characters talking about how a person's chakras had to be cleansed and their hearts clear and their every spiritual thread cleaned up in order to reach their best possible shapes as benders? You probably have bigger problems in analyzing this show than just whining over whatever the liveaction did. A straightforward connection for Katara with her emotions and bending isn't a negative choice in the slightest to me, more so with a character who has constantly been characterized as deeply connected to her emotions: it makes sense that her bending works and evolves the way it does in the liveaction to me. Sorry not sorry.

BAD: Zhao. Uh... I've seen people say they like him here? I felt like I was watching a con artist. It's not the actor's fault, clearly he was given this concept to work with and he did the best he could with it, but the idea of removing Zhao from all prior connection to the Royal Family, making him a total unknown who came out of nowhere and rises to prominence through conniving and scheming feels like they decided to merge him with Long Feng, maybe? And it might even backfire if they DO have Long Feng next season (... they should???) and he has a very similar profile to what they did with Zhao. I didn't enjoy his characterization at all, he was just... weird. So, not a change I was big on.

GOOD: Iroh. My god. I hate the fact that I'm saying this. But I will say it was insanely cathartic to watch that EK soldier beating him up. And that's not all: Iroh actually seems to be struggling actively with right and wrong here, showing hesitation over the war, and most importantly... HAVING A PERSONAL DYNAMIC WITH AANG??!!! I never imagined I would be that happy to see that, but I was. The few moments those two had together were damn solid, some of the best in the show (and the best for Iroh, sorry not sorry, I have never ever been an Iroh-Zuko obsessive fan and I genuinely find myself more intrigued by Iroh's potential bonding with other people, never thought about it with Aang but this show 100% blindsided me with it in a good way). It seriously made me mad that the OG basically never gave them that chance besides... that one scene in the catacombs that was very much just Iroh being a fortune cookie? Aang actually being an element that basically waters the seeds of doubt in Iroh's head is a GREAT change. I said it and I'll stand by it.

BAD: Hahn and not because of the usual reasons: their characterization rework of Hahn was fine. More than fine. The actor they cast was also very pretty! All of which makes it EXTREMELY questionable that Yue somehow has this perfectly decent guy and... uh... chooses the reworked Sokka instead? Like, I know that's how the OG story went, but when you turn Hahn from an opportunistic dick to a perfectly admirable warrior and individual, and feature Yue saying he's great but he's "not the boy of her dreams" (you... dreamt about him ONE TIME?? He's never been in the Spirit World besides that, so wuuuut...??), it makes her choice in romantic interests feel extremely questionable and weird. I'm all for Yue being given more to work with, but this seriously feels like she's... a little crazy. Hahn comes off waaaaaaay too decent for her not to be interested in him... ofc, as long as she's someone attracted to men, which, considering she picked ANOTHER GUY, it's to be assumed that she is?? Ergo nothing makes sense to me. Come to think of it, a lesbian Yue rejecting Hahn is probably the only way her rejection of Hahn would make sense... and it would also not cast such a questionable light on reworked Sokka if he and Yue weren't romantic at all, right after he had that big connection with Suki back when the show began?? So, heh, maybe lesbian Yue is the only thing that would've made sense if Hahn gets reworked for the better like this, sorry not sorry....

GOOD: The full-blown, outright display of Ozai's abuse on Azula rather than subtleties and insinuations. Again, much like in Aang's case with the genocide: PEOPLE DENY AZULA WAS A VICTIM OF ABUSE ALL THE TIME. People pretend Ozai actually loved her on some weird level or that she FELT loved, ergo she was fine and Zuko's the one who was abused. This is not new. We've been dealing with people barking that kind of nonsense since almost twenty years ago. And the backlash from that exact crowd when this show made it evident proves that they refuse to accept Azula as a victim of abuse to this day. Ergo, sorry not sorry: I'm glad they handled it as they did here because it makes it undeniable that Ozai is pushing Azula to extremes and she's pressured to deliver and become the weapon he wants her to be.

BAD: ... the Mother of Faces. That may have been the most egregious offensive and bullshit moments in the entire show. I was so mad when she was brought up at all. It was awful. I hated it. It really must be my most hated moment in the whole thing. UGH.

GOOD: Katara apologized to Sokka once. You know. One time. That, I think, marks the single time in any official Avatar content where she has done that. Call me a salty asshole, but I'm genuinely impressed that they did that, so they get a point for it.

BAD: Bumi. I know some people think the rework for Bumi is great... I could not disagree more. His treatment of Aang is really unacceptable, his behavior is very irresponsible but this time in a vindictive way... I was even reasoning with the fact that he knows Aang is the Avatar, which ALSO happens in the OG, without having known it in the past! The difference? It feels too arbitrary and random that he'd know that here, whereas in the OG show, he IS random and arbitrary, yet somewhere amid so many nonsensical ramblings, he shows insight and intelligence that makes you think there's more to him than meets the eye. I may need to rewatch episode 5 of the OG show in order to confirm this, but I also think that most of the implications there regarding his challenges is that they were actually harmless even if it doesn't look that way all along. Here? They're not harmless at all, he's basically vindictively trying to get Aang to either die for his "sins" or get himself killed through him and neither thing sits well with me at all with this character.

GOOD: Gyatso, expanding on his character and making him a much more straightforward equivalent to Iroh for Aang actually is really helpful, it makes him less of a "stock character" victim to the Fire Nation, it gave him more depth and it makes Aang's bond with him feel much more real. I am very sorry to all OG apologists, but I continue to believe Aang's cheerful behavior was written primarily to appeal to the children demographic that Nickelodeon was aiming for as their audience, which meant he could not be particularly human and truly grieve for everything he had lost. This show doesn't hide that pain at all, and it's particularly good that it does that by showing what a constant presence Gyatso was in Aang's life and by letting them have a manner of final farewell in that episode (... even if I didn't particularly like the episode, but still, it wasn't a bad idea to do that).

BAD: ... call me a consistency freak if you will, but I did not spend all these years obsessively trying to make sense out of the wobbly worldbuilding of the Avatarverse to be told that the entrance to the Cave of Two Lovers is within Omashu and that it leads into the arena within Bumi's Palace. Sorry. I can't accept that. I can't. I legit laughed throughout that whole situation because that's not where the cave of two lovers was, the badgermoles would be causing earthquakes non-stop through the city, and the sewers system would not even work because they'd constantly get fucked up by the creatures (as we know, there's a scene in Book 2 of the kids climbing out of the sewers, so either they won't do the pentapox or they'll forget about the badgermoles conveniently by then...). So. No. Sorry but no. Also, why did they kill Oma??? I know they turned both lovers into women, but... precisely because they did that, why exactly was there any need to change which one died?? Either one you kill is a woman now anyway so... what's the difference? WHY the difference?? Odd.

GOOD: ... Zuko keeps a notebook on his research and investigations into the Avatar. There were many changes to his character but that's the one that stood out the most to me. He actually seems a little bit more methodical, if not smarter, but you know? Kinda smarter anyway for at LEAST thinking that keeping a book with the results of his investigations could help?? Feels like he's actually trying rather than just whining about how rude the world is and how hard he has it. Which, in the end, might ALSO come down to him actually having some hope that Ozai didn't hate him irremediably... which, too, is a good change. I've talked about it before, other people have too: a firstborn firebending male prince has no business being discarded because of incompetence unless he's just THAT pathetic, and even in canon, Zuko wasn't as bad as to justify pushing him out and treating him as shittily as Ozai did without an actual, THOROUGH, exploration of Ozai's motives. You can elaborate, but the show never really did it, and if anything, it offered a bunch of conflictive information about why Zuko thought his father liked him. Here, it makes more sense that he thinks Ozai isn't as much of a bitch as he really is: the Agni Kai is a lot more interesting because they merged both Zuko vs. Zhao and Zuko vs. Ozai into one. The fact that Ozai actually burns Zuko and defeats him BECAUSE he was punishing him for not taking advantage of an enemy's weakness? It's a million times more telling about Zuko's character than what we saw in canon, where he was down to fight an old man out of hybris and then shat himself as soon as his father stepped up instead. So... I don't like this Zuko, which tells you they're doing him right anyway x'DDDD but I find there are a few elements about him that make him at LEAST a little more respectable than he was in the OG show. Among them? He's not constantly ranting about honor but actually lashing out at dishonorable choices out of principle, which makes it sound like he has a WAY better grasp on that concept than he does in canon :'D sue me. This is a Zuko rework too, and fortunately, not ONLY geared towards sanitizing him (even though there IS a fair amount of sanitizing too... which annoys me, but what else could we expect in the era of political correction).

BAD: ... Why the fuck did they decide the way to fix Iroh harassing June was to make her horny for him? Please? Of all things??? All they had to do was just... not make any romantic/sexual implications there. At all. Was that so hard to achieve? This is probably the second worst thing for me in the entire show, ngl. I do not understand the need for it at all. Most of all when they CLEARLY changed it due to knowing Iroh absolutely was a bastard in the OG with his behavior towards her. Isn't it easier to just NOT put any implications of attraction in there? I mean, I should be happy June didn't fully harass Iroh but the way they presented it, it felt like he wasn't even comfortable with it either! This... is not the way you take revenge for a character sexually harassing another one. Bad, bad take, I don't know what made them do this but they absolutely did not "fix" this, they overcorrected it and made it gross as fuck to me anyhow, most of all with the context of knowing that Iroh was the one being inappropriate as fuck back in the OG.

ALRIGHT. I know there's bound to be more, and I probably could think of more soon but I think I'm giving you this for now or else I'll end up making my major post here x'D

All in all, I don't think this show is unwatchable, I absolutely understand people who think it was fun, I also understand people who couldn't get used to the changes and outright dropped it. What I can't understand/accept is either pretending this show is the greatest thing ever (much like I don't think the OG ATLA is...), or pretending that it's the worst one either. This show engaged with a lot of elements in different ways than the original did: not all of it was a miss, not all of it was a hit. And I feel like it's a matter of fundamental, human decency and respect not to go completely berserk taking a ten-ton dump on this show, which to this date is the biggest production in Hollywood with a primarily Asian cast and crew of all time, from what I know, by pretending it has destroyed this franchise completely and that any support for it must come from brainwashed idiots or "not true fans". The gate-keepy attitude comes as absolutely no surprise in this fandom, ofc, but it's still disgusting to see. You CAN be critical of this show with dignity. You CAN do it while respecting other people who enjoyed it completely. It's not too much to ask. I may have learned that lesson the hard way with the ATLA comics, but even then, it wasn't my M.O. to jump into every single comics-positive post to tell people why they sucked and how dumb they were for enjoying them.

That's what I've got for the time being :'D hope it's enough for now.

#zuko-always-lies #natla #it's not perfect #neither is the OG #oh I didn't mention it in the final paragraphs but #I find it particularly hilarious when people rage at the new one #for things the OG did too #like I'm sorry here but you can't come to me and praise the OG for the exact stuff you hated the remake for #at least be consistent?? #anyway anyway there we are for now

[loopy777]

I apologize if you've answered this question before, but what are your general opinions on Faith Erin Hicks's writing vs. Gene Yang's for the Avatar Comics? Hick's seems to be significantly more faithful to the characters from my perspective, but I've only read a couple of her works(Suki Alone and Azula in the Spirit Temple). On the other hand, I'm not blown away with ideas behind these comics, with Suki Alone particularly failing to do anything remotely interesting with Suki's character.

You know, I don't think I've ever posted anything on Hicks's comics in general. I've 'reviewed' individual comics of hers, but never spoke on her overall level of writing, characterization, and/or style.

Basically, I think her work is infinitely superior to Gene Yang's in every way while never quite hitting a home run.

What's become an outlier to her overall body of Avatar work is the first thing she got to write for the franchise (although she'd previously drawn a short story that Yang wrote), the Imbalance trilogy. I think she absolutely nailed the characterization of the gAang, created intriguing original characters, wrote dialogue that sounds like something human beings would say while also capturing individual character voices, and successfully depicted a world that has progressed beyond the cartoon's finale. I also think it's the only thing in the franchise that successfully engages with the idea of Aang's ability to take away bending.

But that story was also hobbled by being an explicit prequel to LoK, saddled with that nonsensical Bender Vs NonBender conflict. Hicks did a fair job trying to explain it and manifest it, but it's still mostly nonsense if you stop and think about it for a second. We also have an eye-rolling moment where Toph discovers how great it is to fight with metal cables, but at least it's a quick moment that wouldn't have stuck out if the narrative hadn't stopped to call it out.

I also think the final act of the comic was a bit of a fizzle. I can't say anything is really wrong with it, and it doesn't try to resolve things by claiming all the problems are solved forever, but it still feels like it doesn't quite live up to the questions and conflicts it raises in the first two parts and ultimately ends in a non-surprising way. It's not bad, just a bit underwhelming. I never got around to reading the final part of Hicks's Nameless City trilogy, so I don't know if that's common for her. But, you know, it's far from the worst thing in the world to be a storyteller whose worst trait are endings that merely satisfy instead of wow.

Unfortunately, this is around the time the franchise decided that new cartoons are back on the menu and Avatar Studios is a thing, so all of Hicks's other work has been hit hard by the company mandate that Absolutely Nothing Matters Unless It Is Animated. So I can quickly zoom through the rest of her oeuvre with a + and - for each:

Katara and the Pirate's Silver + A cute little adventure that nails Katara's character. - There's not enough material here for the full pagecount, so a separate and very stupid subplot with the rest of the gAang is thrown in to absolutely no consequence.

Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy + There are some amusing gags here. - This is hit hard by the one-two punch of being saddled with a lot of characters created by Gene Yang and also dealing with lore created by LoK.

Suki, Alone + A great little character study of Suki. - Utterly pointless and even goes out of its way to provide absolutely no confirmed details about Suki's family.

Azula in the Spirit Temple + Exactly the story Azula needs at this phase in her arc with delightfully solid characterization. - So open-ended that the next Azula story can easily ruin her character again, thus it feels more like we're poised to take the next step rather than actually taking it.

When all we're getting is stuff designed to be as inconsequential as possible, not matter how well-characterized, it's hard for the stories to feel like they have an impact. Now, I'm not saying I'm against the concept of 'filler,' as they can be great episodes, but the problem is that these comics are dealing with characters whose arcs have already been fully detailed for us, the audience, and we've already seen the characters' best stories. We're treading ground that's already been covered, and it takes a very clever storyteller to really wow with that kind of setup. Hicks, while a good storyteller who gets the characters and franchise, has never shown (at least in what I've read of hers) that snappy kind of cleverness.

Ironically, Gene Yang has -- consistently -- in his original graphics novels that I've read. But he really did not bring it to his Avatar stuff.

So, overall, I like Hicks, and while her comics don't excite me in the way the novels do, I'm so traumatized by Gene Yang that I relish getting stories about the gAang with good dialogue and no stupidity like expecting me to believe that the Rough Rhinos pose a threat to post-finale Aang.

#zuko-always-lies #faith erin hicks

[comradekatara]

these lines provide some of the most telling insight into azula’s character throughout the whole show. while she claims she “doesn’t actally care” that ursa “always preferred zuko,” that her “own mother thought [she] was a monster,” it’s clear she does care, deeply, that she’s belying a core truth about her psychological landscape that is ultimately revealed by the mirror scene in the finale. these lines are the closest she ever gets to being honest with herself before her breakdown. so let’s actually take the time to unpack them.

my own mother thought I was a monster.

much ink has been spilled on whether or not ursa was a good mother to azula, whether she actually thought azula was a monster or whether ozai simply convinced azula that she did to further isolate her. personally, i think it’s something of both. ozai isolated her and molded azula into an extension of himself; thus, he made both azula and ursa see her that way, until ursa was not only afraid for azula, but also afraid of azula. ursa thought that ozai was a monster, so azula, as a projection of ozai, became regarded as a monster as well, even if logically ursa knew that azula was an abused child and not simply an extension of her husband in any ontological sense. ursa had no choice but to let ozai mold their daughter to his image, as she could not disentangle her daughter from her father without also facing his wrath. she was faced with an impossible situation, and she hurt azula as a fellow victim of ozai’s abuse, regardless of whether or not that was ever her intention.

she was right of course.

however, an aspect of these lines that I think gets overlooked and misunderstood is the fact that azula readily admits that she sees herself as a monster. flippantly, even. “she was right, of course.” most people assume that azula is simply acknowledging that she’s the villain of the story. “of course she must know she’s the villain, she clearly relishes in being evil.” but people neglect to acknowledge that azula truly believes that the fire nation is right. azula has been indoctrinated into this ideology since birth; she has no reason to think that she might be on the wrong side of history. when azula admits that she thinks herself a monster, it is not because she thinks that she was wrong to conquer ba sing se, wrong to capture the kyoshi warriors, wrong to kill the avatar. no, azula thinks that she is a monster for the same reason ursa did: because she is like ozai.

but it still hurt.

let’s say, for argument’s sake, that azula did know that the fire nation was evil, that she did bad things for a bad cause. would that actually change anything? no, azula would continue down her path of imperialist conquest, never entertaining the notion that she even had another choice. like zuko, azula is angry at herself. and as we have just seen, she is not just angry; azula hates herself, despises herself, considers herself loathsome, ghastly, monstrous. because as much as she projects an image of supreme power and confidence, wherein she is at liberty to do whatever she wants at all times, azula is ozai’s obedient servant. and azula is paralyzed by the fear of leaving one hair out of place, of straying even a millimeter from his path.

azula was shaped in ozai’s image, with no iroh or ursa or anyone else for that matter to present her with new paths, with ways of escaping her abuse. even zuko, who did receive support and other options, took years to unlearn ozai’s conditioning. azula had no other options, no real support system, nothing to define her identity besides her abuser’s dictums. she has seen what happened to her mother and brother when ozai perceived their treasonous inclinations (i.e., contradicting his narcissism by expressing loyalty to other human beings besides solely himself) and she is paralyzed by fear that the same could happen to her. she rationalizes ozai’s violence by convincing herself that his victims deserved it for being “weak,” but deep down, she knows that she is also weak, that she is also a victim, even if she cannot fully admit it to herself.

so she sees herself as a monster, for being ozai’s shadow, for being the servant of the man who destroyed her family. her proximity to monstrosity appalls her, even as she tries to convince herself that it is proximity to godhood, that she is not an extension of abject violence but a messenger of the divine. zuko can only recognize ozai’s abuse for what it is once he deconstructs ozai’s imperialist ideology, but azula still buys into that ideology, so she cannot put a name to his abuse. but it’s clear she still fears it, still feels disgusted with herself for being victim to it, still feels like a monster even as she tries to convince herself that she is an angel.

in fact, she has to tell herself that she’s a monster, because if she’s not a monster, then she’s a victim, weak like her mother who got what she deserved. if she’s a victim then that means she and ursa (and zuko) were all destroyed by the senseless cruelty of an egomaniac’s petty whims, that all the love she has ever known was ruined for nothing. so she has to be a monster, because at least then she has power, at least then she has agency. ozai shaped her in his image, and she has to be proud of that fact, because otherwise she’d shatter.

and when that realization overtakes her, she does. when she takes inventory of all the love she’s lost, of all the people who cannot look her in the eye, of all the ways in which she has been perverted by her father’s abuse, she is disgusted by herself, for being both monstrous and weak, feared and afraid, victim and perpetrator. and it hurts.

#id in alt text #azula #ozai #ursa #zuko #azula&ursa #azula&ozai #analysis #something that gets me about this too is the fact that she just brushes it off as if she's joking. as if she doesn't even mean it #when we know from the finale that this tension and fear and despair consumes her #azula !!!! always !!!!! lies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #babygrill……

[bee-treehouse]

Azula always lies

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #fanart #atla azula #avatar fanart #azula #atla #artists on tumblr #my artwork #azula child #zuko's agni kai #agni kai #azula always lies #headcanon #avatar art

[muffinlance]

Fellow Prisoner Li, Part 10: Things Sokka Didn’t Want to Overhear

Latest chapter || Read from the beginning

“And what,” said the Fire Princess, “will this Hahn bring to the position that you cannot? Besides a penis.”

“Azula.” Princess Yue giggled in a most scandalized manner. 

“You bring a lifetime of political training, the blood of the royal line, and a documented blessing by your people’s patron spirit; half the population can bring what he has. You can afford to be selective.”

The giggling intensified. 

“This a serious talk,” the Fire Princess said. “I am being serious. Just because his family has influence doesn’t mean you should sell out your family’s claim to the dynasty, particularly if such things travel solely on the male line. If you really must get a son out of him, just take him as a concubine.”

The Northern Princess laughed so hard she wheezed.

Story summary: 

Early-Season-One Sokka finds an undersocialized firebender in the brig of Zhao's ship and brings him back to the Gaang, as one does. Good thing they've nailed down Aang's firebending teacher so early, this quest is going to be a snap, and definitely not involve any betrayals by any elemental teachers. Nope. Not a one.

(Other ATLA fics || Original works)

#Sokka: So Li. you’re important enough that the Fire Lord personally celebrated your disappearance? #Zuko: uh #what were you some noble’s kid? #Azula: personally I always thought of him as my personal servant #but he was really more of mother’s #it wasn’t too long after she left that he was banished #isn’t that right Li? #Fellow Prisoner Li #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #Zuko #Azula #Sokka #Hama #Katara #Yue

[zuko-always-lies]

I followed your blog for azula content but literally all you ever post about is zuko

I've always posted a lot about Zuko, along with Mai, Ty Lee, Iroh, Ursa, etc., since I find his character interesting to analyze and he's very closely connected to Azula. In fact, when I'm trying to come up with new things to say on my blog, sometimes it's easier to think of something involving Zuko, since there's so much canon material featuring him. By contrast, writing about, say, Ty Lee is much harder.

I will say that I have might quite a few posts with new material about Azula over the last week or so, around 20 by my count, which is a lot by any standard.

However, you are perfectly welcome to stop following my blog if you don't find what I'm saying to be interesting or worth reading.

#my blog #Azula #the name of my blog is literally 'Zuko-Always-Lies'

[sokkastyles]

The Azula stan(s) sending stupid takes in your inbox are really just giving you the perfect platform to expose their poor reading comprehension and rebut all of their favorite (wrong) interpretations of Azula. Love your analyses and responses to them!

Tbh I'm not even sure it's an Azula stan so much as just a sad, obsessive troll trying to drum up discourse. And then you inevitably get someone completely removed from the discussion going "guys, why are we pitting Zuko and Azula against each other, uwu" as if "Azula is selfish" or talking about how Zuko is a better person than her and that it was a good thing that he defeated her is at all a controversial take.

#azula #zuko #azula stans are stupid #the discourse #these are actual azula stan takes though #a lot of them are copypasted from zuko-always-lies or wingsfreedom #azula standom take care of your trash please

[lesbianjarjarbinks]

frank “it’s like a broken clock” iero

#what’s that scene from avatar where zukos like ‘azula always lies azula always lies’ #bc that’s me rn #mcr

[lostheather9]

Idk if this one is accurate but imma let this drop

#dad is going to kill you #this is exactly what uncle iroh sees #prince zuko #princess azula #they must hate eachother but there is lil bit of love whithin these two #- azula #azula is slipping #zuko just wants his honor back #hello zuko here #azula always lies #but zuko believes :")

[icangiveitback]

Everytime a gentle hearted but war-hardened earth kingdom oc adopts zuko in fics I am healed

#misc #well. usually zuko adopts at least one dai li agent so. #theres that #i dont know there always seem to be at least one #i love it

[coffeeflavored-tears]

shoutout to my new favorite ship dynamic

fairly popular polyam ship in the fandom BUT with an addition of one of the character’s somewhat ex lover who half of the very few people who like the ship say shouldn’t be involved with the one in the polycule with fire powers and the other half says they should kiss. oh and also the new addition to the polycule died and has some white hair

#this has happened twice now and i’m scared #this is about zuko sokka suki and yue #and also karl quackity sapnap and wilbur #girl how do they have this much in common #my post #there are fucking NINE zukki+yue fics that are finished and don’t just feature them as a aside pairing #wait i lied only 8 cuz one is a pod fic #and then 19 karlburnapity(terrible ship name) #that are finished and almost all of them are one shots #and literally like 2/3 are by the same person #who stopped writing cuz they were scared of their digital footprint coming back to haunt them #so i am starving in a desert out here #like yeah fiancés and zukki will be above the others for me always #but like i still want to see the others :( #also why the FUCK is it 1am

[floatyflowers]

Dark Platonic! Fire Nation Royal Family x Non-bender Reader Part Two

Part 1

With Ozai

You never imagined returning back to the fire nation, it felt so foreign for you.

But your father was there to receive you with open arms.

Ozai felt pure happiness to have you back home, his favorite child is back under his care.

Yet, you grew up into a young lady who came to realize that Ozai is not kind, but rather manipulative and evil.

Yet like any girl, you missed your father, being in his presence gave you a secure feeling.

You missed how he spoils you, how you get whatever you want with just one signal.

However you don't miss his creepy possessive attitude.

"I will burn the whole world down for you, my sweet child"

With Azula

Azula lied to her father about Zuko killing the avatar all just to have you return home.

Once you are back home, she is overjoyed and tries to spend as much as time with you.

However, when you go to spend vacation on Ember Island, she makes sure to terrorize anyone who comes to speak to you.

When she felt that you and Ty Lee became friends, she made sure to jab at her friend with harsh words.

Sometimes Azula take the overprotective big sister role to an extreme where she burned a guy just for flirting with you.

Zuko helped her with that.

"How dare you say that filth to my dear sister, now you shall rot in the ashes of your despair!"

With Zuko

He regrets returning home when he sees how much time you spend with Azula and Ozai.

One of the main reason why he wished to capture the avatar was so he could prove himself worthy of protecting you.

But now, Zuko feels envious and jealous.

Even during your journey to find the avatar, Zuko couldn't bear the thought of anyone close to you.

His hatred for the Gaang increased when saw Sokka try to become close with you.

Now he came to realize that Sokka is a lesser threat than his father and sister.

The shock that came is when he found that you ran away.

You ran away to help the avatar and his friend.

Which made Zuko take the decision to support you, by helping himself and his uncle to escape.

Despite Ozai and Azula who threatened to murder the avatar and his team just to have you back.

"Don't worry, (Y/n), I will always be by your side and support you"

#tw: toxic relationships #reader insert #yandere avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #yandere zuko x reader #yandere ozai #ozai x reader #yandere azula #platonic yandere

[akiizayoi4869]

Zuko's mantra "Azula always lies" becomes way more interesting when you realize that it has less to do with her lying (since as we clearly see throughout the show, Azula tells the truth more often than not) and more to do with Azula telling Zuko a harsh truth that he just didn't want to hear.

#atla #azula #zuko

[atla-polls]

As always please reblog. @zuko-always-lies

#atla polls #avatar the last airbender #atla live action #atla netflix #Youtube

[prying-pandora666]

The Real Reason Azula Smirked When Zuko Was Burned is…

A lot of ink has been spilled over why Azula smirked when Ozai burned and scarred Zuko.

Some argue whether Iroh’s flashback was reliable. Let’s assume for the sake of argument—as uncertain as it is in canon—that it happened exactly as Iroh remembers and describes it.

How could an 11 year old child smirk while her brother is burned and brutalized in front of everyone?

There are many conflicting arguments.

Argument 1 - She’s a monster.

Some say she is a sadist or a psychopath and it’s as simple as that. She just enjoys watching her brother suffer.

But this doesn’t track with what we come to learn about her later, and is outright contradicted by materials that actually give us insight into her POV such as the comics and novelizations, as well as writer interviews.

The novelizations which were written contemporaneously (and thus aren’t a retcon) show us an Azula who cares about Zuko, even though she’s competitive with him and jealous that mom favored him. She thinks Zuko is weak and brings misery upon himself and she is willing to turn on him to protect herself. Yet she still wants to help him get stronger and take his place as Prince. She still wants his love. She takes the risk to lie on his behalf at Ba Sing Se for him. She didn’t suspect Aang had survived until later.

The comics take this further, showing that in Azula’s ideal world, Zuko was never banished or burned at all. He is happy and loves her and isn’t abused or scarred.

Even the head writer who designed both Zuko and Azula’s arcs claimed she loved Zuko more than anyone except their father.

So then what is it?

Argument 2 - It’s A Coping Mechanism

Some point to “Identification with the Aggressor”, a well documented psychological coping mechanism in which victims of trauma—especially children who are especially malleable and vulnerable—will mirror their abuser and conform to their ideals in an attempt to stay in their good graces and be spared. This isn’t always a conscious decision either, it’s often done subconsciously, which only confounds this further.

I’ve written more about this and how it pertains to Azula here.

However, outside the the knowledge that this is common in abused children and Azula’s behaviors meet the criteria, we don’t have any direct confirmation that this is the case.

Argument 3 - She Is Brainwashed

Others point out that every adult in the room is complicit in this act if not outright enjoying it in the cases of Ozai and Zhao.

Azula is a small child that’s been brainwashed from birth to believe this is right. After all, Ozai is their unquestionable despotic leader as well as her only remaining parental figure. Why would she question? How would she even know this is wrong if she’s been taught this is right by everyone surrounding her?

Does she even understand the full impact of what is happening here or does she think this is Zuko getting his comeuppance for being “weak and lazy”, with no concept that he’s actually being scarred for life and is soon to be banished? After all, not even jolly Uncle Iroh is objecting or moving a finger to stop this. He only looks away.

This is supported by the fact that Iroh laughed about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground even as he was killing them. Zuko and Azula both laugh at this joke and Ursa doesn’t chastise them. She only smiles. Clearly this kind of violence is normalized in the Fire Nation.

We also know Azula attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, which in the Kyoshi novels we are told is quite violent and that it wasn’t uncommon for adults to encourage students to duel on Agni Kais. Students sometimes died. So there is reason to suspect this is a product of her culture.

Argument 4 - She is Faking It

“Azula always lies” they say. She is shown to be an excellent liar, but more importantly that she represses her vulnerabilities and feelings.

This is shown when Toph tries to sense Azula’s lies only for Azula to completely repress any reactions and prove Toph can’t determine when Azula is being truthful.

The Beach gives us a more sympathetic example, showing us an Azula who empathizes with her brother and tries to cheer him up when he’s sitting by their old family beach house in depression. She calls him to join them at the shore, and then proceeds to walk all her friends and Zuko through their traumas with surprising gentility.

When it’s her turn however? She dismisses her own trauma with a flippant joke. Masking the moment she starts to feel emotional about it.

It’s even shown when Zuko makes Ty Lee cry by calling her a circus freak. Initially Azula laughs, but when she realizes it’s upset Ty Lee, Azula’s face changes to one of remorse and sadness. However, the moment Ty Lee turns to look at Azula, Azula quickly hides this expression and masks it with a look of indignant petulance.

Azula does indeed seem to fake negative reactions to hide her vulnerabilities.

Argument 5 - It’s a combination of 2-4

Perhaps there is some truth to all of what we have seen in arguments 2-4. Azula is clearly brainwashed and does identify with her abuser to the point of being inappropriately enmeshed with him and suffering total ego fragmentation when he discards her. She does repress her emotions until she finally unravels. She was also quite young when this show happened and it’s possible she didn’t know just how serious it was all going to be.

But consider this…

Still that isn’t enough for detractors, who claim that even given her environment and the circumstances, it’s still too sadistic and cruel for her to grin here. That she should’ve shown some outward sign of disruption.

If you are or ever were one of these detractors, let me ask you this.

Did you feel any sympathy when Azula fell apart, uncomforted by her newly granted power, arguing against her own conscience in the form of her estranged mother, telling her that her methods are wrong? When Azula replied “what choice do I have?” did you feel any remorse for this child who had been exploited for her skill and groomed into living weapon by her power-hungry father, with no regard for her psychosocial development or emotional wellbeing to the point she cannot even relate to kids her own age normally? Did her desperation to use fear and control to keep others close because she knows no other reliable way, because such skills are taught and she’s only ever learned manipulation and coercing and fear, showing us exactly what Ozai uses to control her just as used violence and estrangement against Zuko, move you?

When she laid broken and sobbing and screaming at the end after Zuko and Katara “put her in her place” as Zuko put it, did you feel any pain in your gut?

Or did you cheer?

Were you glad to for her to get her comeuppance?

Did you feel justice was served and Zuko triumphed that day?

That he was right, he could “take her” by exploiting how “off” she was aka her mental illness and spiral into psychosis?

Because if you did, then you know exactly why a person would smirk while watching someone who needs help get brutalized.

If narrative framing can persuade you to believe that an unloved, mentally ill, abused and exploited child soldier being brought to sobbing, screaming, chained up, broken tears… is the RIGHTEOUS result! Imagine what a lifetime of propaganda from birth and programming from your own father with no one to show you another way would do to you.

Why did Azula smirk while Ozai burned Zuko?

You already know the answer.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #azula #zuko #Youtube

[sulkybender]

here’s a lil T-rated story about Zuko taking care of Sokka, after the war <3

“Hey sweetheart,” he says, kissing Sokka’s shoulder. “Bad hip day?”

Sokka makes a muffled groan under the pillow he’s thrown over his face.

“Magic hands?” he pleads.

“Magic hands,” Zuko agrees, smiling. He settles next to Sokka on the bed, pressing a kiss to his collarbone, warm hands settling at the socket of his hip.

“Ah, fuck, Zu.”

“Too much?”

“Fuck,” he says. “Yeah, but don’t stop.”

“You sure?” Zuko bends down to kiss his chest again and Sokka chokes a little, feeling the shape of Zuko’s mouth through his shirt.

“I’m sure,” he says. “A little more heat?”

Zuko grins.

“Oh, you want more heat?”

He slides his leg over Sokka’s, hands massaging deeper into his cartilage, and Sokka could weep from the release of it. “Baby,” Zuko murmurs, pushing heat into Sokka’s hip.

“It’s not that bad,” Sokka lies.

Zuko doesn’t argue with him; he’d do the same if he were in Sokka’s shoes now, and has. When neuropathy makes his face ache and sting, he rubs at it silently while he works, until he feels Sokka’s fingers settle around his, pulling his hand away. And Sokka doesn’t try to get the truth out of him either.

Bad day? he’ll ask.

It was fine, Zuko will say, one eye winced shut.

“I’m gonna take you to the hot springs one day,” Zuko says now, kneading. “We’ll take the week off and spend the whole time in the water.” He leans down to kiss Sokka’s chest again, lingering. Sokka lets out a little moan. “And I’ll hold you in my arms the whole time, sweetheart.”

“Zu,” Sokka says weakly.

“What?” he says. “I will.”

He wants to sit in the water with Sokka in his lap, arms around his waist. He wants to hold Sokka safe there while the hot salt takes his pain away. It feels monumentally unfair, looking at someone he loves so much suffer so much. Sokka’s the best person he’s ever known.

Zuko would take it for him if he could. He would take the pain for himself. It seems like he’s always suffered, and as long as he’s meant to suffer, why can’t he do it for Sokka? Why couldn’t he—?

“Baby?” Sokka mumbles sleepily, and Zuko realizes he’s gone still. He hums and starts massaging again, kneading warmth into Sokka’s hip. I love you, he thinks, watching Sokka’s sleepy, trusting face. I’d take it for you. And at the same time, in the way Sokka gives under his touch, in the way he smiles at Zuko in the mornings and nuzzles kisses against his neck, he’s started to think he doesn’t have to suffer at all.

After a while he can feel everything loosen under his hands, enough to back off. He kisses Sokka’s hip and lays down next to him, holding him.

“Never wanna move again,” Sokka mumbles.

“I’d carry you there,” he says, slotting his face against Sokka’s neck.

“It’s an island.”

“I’d get wet,” Zuko says stubbornly, and Sokka snorts.

“I love you, Zu.”

Zuko squeezes him tightly for one moment, two.

“I love you too,” he says. “More than anything.”

#zuko #sokka #zukka #atla #chronic pain #disability #acts of care #zukka fanfic #fire lord zuko