#Ozai comes up with every aspect of the plan but the number of people who think Azula did that

[zuko-always-lies]

Sozin’s Comet Part 1:

Fire Lord Ozai: When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, used it to wipe out the Air Nomads. Now, I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom. (Cut to Zuko and the camera slowly zooms in on him. He is shocked as his Father's cruel revelation.) Permanently. (Cut to the front view of Ozai as he grins from ear to ear and walks across the table) From our airships, (Cut to the Earth Kingdom area of the map and the camera slowly zooms out as Ozai's shadow covers the East side of the continent) we will rain fire over their lands. A fire that will destroy everything. (Ozai walks across from one side of the map to middle of it) And out of the ashes, (he opens his arms to the side) a new World will be born. A World in which all the lands are Fire Nation and I am (Cut back to the front view of Ozai as he raises his arms high) the supreme ruler of everything! (the generals burst into applause.) Zuko: (Cut to the sideview of Zuko's scarred eye as he looks down) I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan. (Cut to an area behind Zuko's head as it slowly zooms in on the back of his head. The generals are still applauding and Ozai basks in the excitement.) But I'm ashamed to say I didn't. (Cut back to present day Zuko) My whole life I struggled to gain my Father's love and acceptance. (Cut to show the whole Gaang looking at Zuko who is sitting on a rock) But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. (Katara raises her hand to her forehead in despair) I forgotten who I was.

(Katara drops down to the ground on her knees. Sokka grabs Suki by the shoulder in an assuring gesture.) Katara: I can't believe this. (shakes her head) Sokka: I always knew that the Fire Lord was a bad guy but his plan is just pure evil. (Suki shakes her head) Aang: What am I going to do? Zuko: I know you're scared. (he stands up and walks towards Aang) And I know that you're not ready to save the World. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, (Cut to Zuko who is looking very serious) there won't be a World to save anymore. (Camera slowly zooms in on Aang who looks stunned and blur. Cut to commercial break.) Act II (Scene returns with Aang facing the group.) Aang: Why (points to self) didn't you tell me (turns around and walks off screen) about your Dad's crazy plan sooner? Zuko: (takes a step forward) I didn't think I had to. I assumed that you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait! Aang: This is bad. (places both hands on head in despair) This is really, (shakes his head and drops to his knees) really bad. (Cut to a close up of Aang whose face is full of worry and despair)

ATLA’s narrative, the Gaang, and implicitly Zuko unanimously agree that Ozai is the person who bears full responsibility for deciding he wants to set the entire Earth Kingdom on fire.

#Ozai #Azula #Zuko #The Gaang #It turns out the big bad #is fully responsible for the evil plan #big surprise there #Ozai comes up with every aspect of the plan but the number of people who think Azula did that #is just astonishing #Also Ozai's plan isn't very different than what the U.S. historically did to Japan and North Korea #and is likely to be just as ineffective in securing total victory as was burning down nearly every building in North Korea

[today-only-happens-once]

May we please have the detailed reasons for your atla Sides headcanons?

Yeah sure! Though fair warning: lots of spoilers and meta for AtLA below.

Also this is LONG so I put it under a cut: 

Virgil’s favorite character as Zuko: I think Virgil would connect to the way Zuko, prior to the Day of Black Sun, exists on the fringes. He’s outcast from the Fire Nation, but he’s also outcast from the “good guys” until he earns his place among them in Book 3. I don’t mean to say that Virgil’s acceptance arc is in any way a direct parallel to Zuko’s redemption arc, because I think they are fundamentally different. But that idea of loneliness and trying desperately to figure out what the right thing to do is--even if that makes you a bad guy in the broader narrative--I think is something that would resonate with Virgil. (Plus, Zuko is peak Angsty Emo Angry Teen Energy that I think Virgil would vibe with.) 

Logan’s favorite character as Sokka: I think Logan would appreciate Sokka and also feel a certain level of defensiveness towards him, because Sokka is brilliant tactically and strategically, but that aspect to his character is frequently overlooked (though the AtLA renaissance has definitely embraced that element to him more). I think Logan would appreciate Sokka’s understated intelligence. At 15 years old, Sokka: invents hot air balloons, invents submarines, breaks into a high security prison and comes up with not one but TWO extraction plans, plans (and eventually leads) the invasion on the day of Black Sun, not to mention the role he played in Sozin’s Comet. And he does all of this without the “magic” of bending. Sokka’s greatest strength is his mind and the way he wields it. And I think Logan would see that and immediately jump on the Sokka Defense Squad. 

Patton’s favorite character as Aang: There’s a number of reasons why I think Patton’s favorite would be Aang. One of them is that as much as Patton is the “father figure”, he’s also the “inner child”. And Aang, as a character, also walks this line of being a literal child while also carrying this tremendous weight with him. Everybody--everybody’s--hope rests on this poor kid’s shoulders, and nobody lets him forget it. And few people put more pressure on Aang regarding that all than Aang himself. But he still manages to carve out time to just... be a kid. As much as he is able when he’s been tasked with saving the world. My favorite interpretation of Patton’s character involve the idea that he chooses to see good things in the world despite knowing, intimately, just how dark it can be. And Aang is an example of that in AtLA. Aang is a symbol of hope in a very dark world, but he chooses to find and seek hope himself too. ALSO, I think Patton, as Morality, would greatly and deeply appreciate the inner conflict and struggle that becomes central for Aang’s character during the Sozin Comet arc, prior to facing off with Ozai. Aang’s struggle with not wanting to kill Ozai, the complexity that is brought to that narrative through the genocide of his people and how Aang is literally the only one left that can carry on the legacy of the Air Nomads and therefore wanting to do right by their teachings even when the entire world AND his own past lives are telling him otherwise... I think Aang finding a way to strike that balance would mean a lot to Patton and resonate with him as Morality. 

Roman’s favorite character as Zuko also: So, I think Roman would also resonate with Zuko but for different reasons than Virgil. Zuko, early in the series, is obsessed with this idea of honor, and of earning his father’s love and pride. That’s what he really wants when he says he wants the Avatar. And I think Roman would understand that. I think he’d relate to this idea of wanting to make the people who matter to you proud. Roman has expressed a fear in Sanders Sides canon of letting Thomas down, and Zuko’s attempt at redemption to his father in reminiscent of a similar desire. And that never really goes away as a motivator for Zuko, even if the recipient of that desire (if you will) changes from Ozai to Iroh. After Zuko confronts Ozai on the Day of Black Sun, Zuko still expresses that desire to make the people who matter to him proud of him. Zuko doesn’t truly get that conclusion to his arc until Sozin’s Comet when he is reunited with Iroh, who affirms that feeling for him. I think that moment, and that whole dynamic to Zuko’s character arc, would feel significant to Roman.

Remus’s favorite as Bumi: Okay, we know a lot less about Remus as a character so this one is admittedly not very deep or meaningful. I tried to think of the character that radiated the most chaotic energy, and Bumi was towards the top of the list. There’s a lot of complex stuff I could say about Bumi’s character, but as for why I think he’d be Remus’s favorite? Chaos incarnate. 

Janus’s favorite as Kyoshi or Azula: First, I’ll talk about Kyoshi since that is a more simple answer. I don’t know much about canon lore outside of the show, so I’m only going to address what is in the AtLA canon. But I think Janus would appreciate how Kyoshi doesn’t pull any punches in her honesty about her murder of Chin. Kyoshi, every time she shows up, is painfully honest and blunt. She tells Aang he must kill Ozai because “without justice, there is no peace”. I think Janus would appreciate that, given how hard he works (especially lately in canon) to make Thomas be more honest with himself. 

When it comes to Azula, it’s almost the opposite. Azula lies left, right, and center. Zuko repeats this to himself when she tells him that his father plans to kill him (which, ironically, is actually a moment of truth from her). She deadpans that she’s a purple platypus bear just to prove to Toph how good of a liar she is. She lies and she manipulates, but Azula does this for two reasons that are interrelated: she lies to improve her standing (mostly in the eyes of her father), and she lies to survive. Given who Ozai is, those two things are not independent of each other. If she is to survive as a daughter of Ozai, she must continue to prove herself and improve her standing. Her father ruled--and therefore “secured” his safety--through fear, so Azula learns to do the same through manipulation and deceit. I don’t think Janus would argue that Azula is a “good aligned” character. But I think there are areas of gray with her (to what extent is she a victim? In what ways, if any, might the fact that she is a victim of abuse as well excuse the mistreatment she directed at Zuko? In what ways might the fact that neither Ursa nor Iroh appeared to have interceded on her behalf the way they did for Zuko inform her upbringing and therefore her way of approaching the world? Is that lack of intercession the fault of Ozai for favoring her? etc.) that Janus would find fascinating to explore and discuss. 

#atla #sanders sides #headcanons #in which grae gets real deep into character analysis for both sanders sides AND atla #AT THE SAME TIME

[egg-and-koji]

“Shadows of a Legacy” A LoK Re-Write - Ch 1

KORRA

“I’m the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!” 

Those were Korra's first words to the White Lotus when they came to investigate the claims of the new Avatar being reborn at the Southern Water Tribe. Sure it might have been a bit cocky but at age six she could already bend earth, water, and fire; although she wasn’t able to bend more than a short puff of flames and levitate a few stones, she did have a good grasp on waterbending thanks to father, Tonraq. 

The previous Avatar, Aang, tasked the Order of the White Lotus with safeguarding the next Avatar until they’d master all four elements. Little did Korra know she’d be locked away with almost no freedom at a compound the order built miles from her home village. Not even her mother, Senna could get the White Lotus assigned to her daughter's care to loosen their grip on said freedom. Korra was grateful, however, to at least have her parents there; she may have still been in the South, but their presence made it feel more like home. 

And since her father was her original waterbending teacher and she accepted his advice openly, it was decided there was no point in anyone replacing him. Korra was tasked with learning the more spiritual and medicinal aspects of waterbending from Master Katara. However, those lessons weren’t very long. In part to Korra lacking any sort of spiritual connection and to Katara’s...withdrawal from the world. 

During her years in training, Korra learned from the best earthbending and firebending masters. Many of them claimed she lacked restraint and discipline. They cited much like Master Katara that she would not become a fully realized Avatar until she mastered the spiritual aspect of the title as well. And yet, she continued to beat every task they expected of her, mastering three of the four elements at seventeen. 

Korra’s hopes of being free of her prison were shattered when her airbending teacher, Master Tenzin, had to, unfortunately, postpone her training. 

Which is why she took matters into her own hands and left the compound for Republic City. She had always heard stories from the fishermen coming back to the tribe after selling their hauls at the city’s port. They said the city had a glow you can see from miles and miles away. 

 And it was breathtaking! The light, the sounds. She’d never seen buildings so tall. They pierced the sky and she swears some of them never stopped growing. The streets were crowded with all kinds of Satomobiles and vendors and all types of people. She figured most who came to the city would abandon their roots, but she couldn’t believe the number of people wearing clothes inspired by the styles of their nations. Everything about the city was amazing and she found herself… a bit disheartened; Master Tenzin and The White Lotus had made it seem like the city was dangerous, but Korra hadn’t run into anything questionable yet.

She did get scolded out by a food vendor when she had no money to pay for a snack-in but her defense, Korra always had someone else take care of that. Then, she met her first homeless guy in the park, and surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one. He explained that it wasn’t unusual for people to live out on the streets. And there she thought everyone in the city was “living it up”. Then was when she met her first Equalist; an anti bender protesting in the park. How easily he got her riled up!

Korra paid him little mind and thought, ‘Whatever people like him are entitled to their stupidity. If you aren’t born a bender than that’s too bad.’

She continued her tour of the city. Momentarily struck by the distinct neighborhoods representing the three major nations. Little Ba Sing Se was not at all that “little” and the Arctic Heights were almost like home, except those buildings were made of white stone to look like ice instead. She wondered if it snowed in the city. 

When she got to the Fire Nation neighborhood, she honestly thought it was going to be “fierier”; at least with a better fitting name than Wuzho Village. But one could understand why the city decided against it. 

Even though Avatar Aang and his friends stopped Fire Lord Ozai and ended The Hundred Year War, the rest of the world needed time to recover and rebuild. After more than 50 years, some people were still mistrustful of Fire Nation citizens, more so firebenders. 

Still, some progress between the populations was being made as Korra met two brothers from a multicultural family; Bolin and Mako; an earthbender and a firebender. Bolin, she decided she could very easily get along with. His brother was in her thoughts, ‘a giant whale-walrus dick’. 

But that was before she stopped a group of thugs from harassing an older man’s business. ‘Listen, you can’t be the Avatar if you’re not ready to give an Avatar beat down’. After that, Bolin invited her to see one of their pro-bending games. 

And the criminals? Yes, she took care of them, but...might have been a bit too aggressive in the process. 

Which ended up with her destroying some prosperity…

And then getting arrested for it…

And almost being sent back to the South Pole…

But thankfully, Councilman Tenzin changed his mind. Korra thanked him profusely and expressed her excitement to begin her airbending training...until he said she had to make her first public appearance as the Avatar. 

And as best as she could remember, The White Lotus did not teach her “public speaking for Avatars.”

170AG - The Next Day

Korra barely ate dinner; not feeling quite herself.  A shame too as Tenzin’s wife made wonderful smelling food; vegetable seaweed wraps, sweet red bean buns, tofu curry. Hmm, I might have to sneak out for fish once in a while. But her stomach probably couldn't have handled any food then. Not unless she wanted it coming back up. She didn’t talk much either, as much as Tenzin’s youngest daughter, Ikki, pestered Korra with a million questions?

“Can you really eat a whole whale?  How does your house not melt if you have a fire in them? Do you have any siblings? Do you turn into a block of ice if you take a bath?”

“Uh, I dunno,” Korra shrugged. A few half-eaten pieces of food lingered on her plate that she pushes around with chopsticks then excused herself from the table early. Her heavy fur boots shuffled along with her steps as she walked out the main building to the female dormitory. The air acolytes bowed to as she passed before continuing on their way. 

Korra chews on her dry bottom lip. Give me someone to fight any day, have me talk in front of a crowd, and well…

She's careful with the sliding door to her room, and changes out of her clothes then flops onto the bed. A knock softly rattles the door to her guest room, pulling her out of worrying thoughts.

“Korra?” Tenzin’s voice comes through the paper panels, “I came to see if you’re alright, you left dinner rather early.”

She jumps up and goes to the door. “Uh, yeah all good,” she says, sliding and leaning on the frame. “Just, uh, wanted to get extra sleep,  ya know ... for the meetings and interviews tomorrow.”

She does her best to appear calm and collected. Her new mentor eyes her suspiciously; aging bluish-grey eyes searching for signs of doubt. “There’s no shame in being anxious to speak to the media. Although, I strongly recommend you stick to the notes we’ve written for you.”

“Oh come on, I’m pretty sure they’ll want to hear what I as the Avatar have to say instead of what somebody else thinks I should say.” She says with a flourish of her wrist.

“Given your  eventful  introduction to the city,” his greying bushy eyebrow arched as he spoke, “It’s in your best interest to gain the peoples’ trust.”

 “Pft,  who doesn’t trust the  Avatar ?”

Tenzin sighs, “As I’m sure you’re now aware that the situation between benders and non-benders has escalated in the past few years. The rise of the Equalists only serves to fan the flames.”

Eh, he does have a point. Remembering the protestor and his crowd at the park makes her veins boil. She grumbles, “Yeah, I know.”

Tenzin’s concern is clear on his face. He places a hand on her shoulder and gives a reassuring pat. She chews on her lip again. Sometimes I forget this whole anti-bender thing has him all worked up. Sure, I'm the reincarnation of Avatar Aang, but...Tenzin's his son; that pressure can’t be easy to deal with.’

She clicks her tongue and gives him a crooked grin, “I’ll do my best.”

With Korra’s confidence, Tenzin relaxes, looking a few years younger. He bows his head and turns to leave.

She throws herself back on the bed. Okay Republic City, let’s see what you got!

The next morning, a crowd of news reporters gathers on the steps of City Hall waiting for Korra to come out. Her polar bear-dog, Naga sticks her head through the open window in Tenzin’s office. The building has a strict “no animals allowed” rule. That’s seal crap. Her eyes follow Korra as she paces. Naga’s ears twitch occasionally and when Korra turns to face her, her tongue flops out the side of her jaws making Korra chuckle. She scratches behind her best friend’s ears, “Oh, to be a polar bear-dog and not have a care in the world.” 

Tenzin and the Republic City Police Chief, Lin Beifong are talking to a few White Lotus sentries out in the hallway. Apparently, they are working with the police to increase security in case any anti-bender protestors show up to disrupt the event. Korra grumbles and leans closer to Naga, “I say let them, I’d be more than happy to prove them wrong on any of their arguments!”

The door opens and Tenzin comes in. “They’re ready for us Korra.”

Korra gently nudges Naga to pull her head back from the window, “I’ll see you outside girl.”

Lights flash as Korra and her escorts walk out of the building. 

“Avatar! Avatar over here!” Several reports shout immediately.

Korra holds her arm over her eyes to block out more flashing lights. Being disoriented isn’t how I planned to make my big debut. Through her hazy vision, she can make out a podium with several microphones strapped around the edge set up at the top of the building’s main steps. 

Tenzin walks up and raises his hands, calming the buzz from the anxious crowd. “Good morning to you all. As I’m sure you’ve heard, the new Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City. We’ve gathered you all to hear her public announcement and to put to rest any... troubling  headlines that may be circulating.” Then he motions for her to step up and moves back to her right. Naga and the chief are at her left. 

Tenzin left the notes for her at the podium. She clears her throat before speaking, “Hello... I'm Korra, your new Avatar.”

More cameras flash and the barrage of questions come flying in faster than she can answer. 

“Avatar, does this mean you've moved to Republic City?” One asks.

“Er, well sort of-”

“Were you trying to send a message to the Triads yesterday?” Another interrupts.

“I thought that was pretty obvious-”

Then another, “Will you be fighting crime or the anti-bending revolution or both?”

“Both?”

“Will you be working with Chief Beifong and the police?”

Korra visibly cringes and whispers to herself. “Not unless I have to…”

She grips the podium, feeling Tenzin’s stress and Chief Beifong’s disapproval. Hoping to backtrack, she flips through the cards. The reporters continue their pressure. “I-uh am honored...to-” She gives up on that card and picks another. Then another. None of these sound like me.

Ugh, forget it!

She takes a deep breath, “Uh, yes, I am definitely here to stay, but honestly... I don't exactly have a plan yet. “See I'm still in training... but-"

Quite murmurs spread through the crowd. Korra continues, deciding on brutal honesty, “look... all I know is Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world, and I believe we can make his dream a reality. I look forward to serving you! I am so happy to be here. Thank you Republic City!”

Tenzin cuts off any more questions and ushers her away quickly. When they're in his office he pinches the bridge of his nose and says, “I’m not sure why I expected you to stick to the cues.”

“Eh,” Korra shrugs, “I thought I’d wing it. Isn’t that how Aang sort of dealt with things sometimes?”

“I suppose,” he gives it some thought, “but he did have trusted friends and allies for help.”

She bawls her fists to crack her knuckles, “Well, looks like I’m just gonna have to make a new team. And I think I know the first two members.”

#legend of korra #lok #korra #fanfic #fix-it #ao3 #ffn.net #wattpad

[seyaryminamoto]

Hello and first of all thank you for your great fanfiction work, I really enjoy reading what you write. Now there is a question, that bugs me for a while now. Would you say Sozin just got up one morning and decided to conquer the world, or has there actually been a reason for this? I imagine that the decentralized Earth Kingdom may have caused some trouble to the Fire Nation in the past or the islands simply had trouble to grow enough food for a growing population. What are your thoughts on it?

Yeah, your last idea is part of my interpretation. I think I had Gladiator’s Azula explaining her take on it once, back in the very beginnings of the story. Sozin, in my opinion, had two motivations: the first was the need for more territory. The way he talks to Roku about the prosperity of the Fire Nation in “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” implies things are thriving in the Fire Nation. The problem with such prosperity is that sustaining it can lead to different kinds of problems: a happier nation, with better survival rates and proper living conditions, will eventually translate into a growing population. If the population grows faster than the economy that sustains it, the prosperity will decrease: new problems arise, and there won’t be easy solutions for them.

I think Sozin’s Fire Nation was already on the verge of new problems arising. He didn’t reveal it, didn’t admit it, but that he acted on his plans regardless of Roku’s disapproval meant that, at first, he wasn’t scared enough of the Avatar’s threats. He considered Roku’s negative wasn’t a true deterrent for his ambitious plans. But when Roku tears his palace halfway to the ground and Sozin sees his friend’s threat is SERIOUS, he actually heeds it. I think it’s implied he doesn’t act on his conquest urges until Roku is dead. He makes the decision to let him die in the volcano for his own personal gain, and to see his dreams of extending the Fire Nation across the whole world coming true.

The direct attack on the Air Temples came from Sozin’s second motivation, directly related to Roku’s rejection of his plan: Sozin knows the Avatar will get in his way. Destroying the culture that the next Avatar will be born to would mean the Avatar would die before mastering all elements, and even if the Avatar is reborn to a Water Tribe later, a new Avatar would only be able to master three elements if the airbenders are all dead. This decreases the threat an Avatar can pose to his plan. Obviously, Aang escapes and he’s already an airbending master, so Sozin’s plan ends up backfiring despite it seemed so iron-clad.

None of this analysis is meant to take away the horror of Sozin’s actions, no military strategy could ever validate something as gruesome as the genocide of an entire nation, but I do believe there are possible interpretations that can point us towards why Sozin chose to wipe out Air Nomads instead of choosing the Water Tribes or the Earth Kingdom. Technically, as far as our idea of “overpopulation = need more territory and resources” goes, the Air Nomads are by far the least convenient option to destroy. There’s no Fire Nation colony in any Air Temple, for obvious reasons: they’re in remote locations that surely have very little to offer, as far as resources are concerned. The only new settlement there is in an Air Temple is that of the Mechanist and his people, who are Earth Kingdom refugees from the last years of the war, not descendants of early Fire Nation settlers who might take advantage of those temples. Therefore, Sozin’s attempt to exterminate the Air Nomads definitely obeys his fear of Roku’s power and the knowledge that a fully-developed Avatar could easily end his quest for expansion.

Now, looking at the actions of Azulon and Ozai, I think both of Sozin’s motivations carry on to his progeny. Azulon certainly wages war on the Earth Kingdom... but he takes all Southern Water Tribe waterbenders as captives, torturing them in the worst possible conditions he can conjure. Why the south, and not the north? Partly, the north is shown as a stronger, unified nation, which means it should be protected better. But as far as the cycle of the Avatars is concerned, it stands to reason that the Water Tribe Avatar alternates between North and South per cycle: the last Water Tribe Avatar was Kuruk, a northerner. The next Water Tribe Avatar should be a southerner... and as far as canon is concerned, Korra birth in the Southern Water Tribe proves that’s the case. Ergo, Azulon follows his father’s footsteps by trying to kill a potential, waterbending Avatar before they can learn new bending arts. With a war split in two fronts, Azulon has to take charge of battling in the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe without any Sozin’s Comet bonus to aid him. He can’t afford massacring the Southern Water Tribe completely without sacrificing other aspects of the war, but he can afford doing away with all the waterbenders to further hinder the Avatar’s potential growth: if the airbending Avatar did die during Sozin’s wipe-out of the Air Temples or some time afterwards, then the next one would be born in the south. Take all waterbenders captive and if one of them was supposed to be the Avatar, they’ll be annulled and restrained: one less threat to worry about.

As for Ozai, I suspect half of what’s going on during his tenure got started during Azulon’s (he’s depicted in his portrait as the Fire Lord of the technological advancements, seen by the many factories depicted around him, but the factory in Jang Hui actually has been in place since Azulon’s time, if I recall correctly...). But even then, the Fire Lord’s rule we see most clearly in the show is obviously Ozai’s. One village we see Ozai’s army has taken over is Haru’s: the soldiers tax the villagers, and as it’s a mining village (even if the mines are abandoned), it stands to reason that the village was singled out because of its potential usefulness for mining. There are several other villages in the Earth Kingdom that haven’t been touched by the Fire Nation (at least not yet), so why Haru’s and not the Fortuneteller’s or Kyoshi Island? Why would Gaipan village (the one in Jet) be taken too? Well, Gaipan is close to a big forest, and the wikia describes it as a “quiet town of woodsmen and loggers”. Again, resources! As for Senlin Village, from “Winter Solstice Part 1″? Again, as written in the wikia: “Due to a lack of strategical advantage, the Fire Nation did not occupy this former Earth Kingdom village during the Hundred Year War.” There was no plausible logging advantage here after they literally burned down the whole forest, so...

Now then, why do we mostly see Fire Nation soldiers instead of actual, full-blown occupation in every village? Because, irony of ironies, war is a pretty effective means for population control. Send out an army to conquer and unless you’re some sort of miracle strategist or you have a weapon of wonders, you will sustain losses. As large as the Fire Nation army had to be to achieve all it did, they absolutely didn’t have the manpower to occupy the entire world all along, and all the other nations certainly fought back, meaning that the huge army didn’t wipe out everything with no opposition. While the comics establish that there have been colonies around for ages, for longer than Aang has been alive, even (which, um, undermines the whole matter of “Sozin stayed put for as long as Roku was alive because he was afraid of repercussions” thing established in the show, but that’s none of my business...), the show offers us a different, perhaps more realistic take on the subject: there are Earth Kingdom towns untouched by the war, there are some merely occupied by soldiers, and there are others that are fully conquered colonies.

I believe most of what Ozai and Azulon could afford to send into the Earth Kingdom were soldiers who occupied towns and forced the native population to work for them, to pay taxes and whatnot, until the Fire Nation population had been restored to its previous, excessive numbers. By then, they’d have enough towns and cities in the Earth Kingdom under their control, and it would be possible to send groups of people to live and take advantage of those occupied lands.

In the end, ideology is of course an important element in Sozin’s decision to conquer the world, for there’s no doubt in my mind he was a Fire Nation supremacist and thought himself better than everyone else. But I believe the ideology angle was emphasized and overblown just to masquerade some far more mundane motivations, which included his deep fear of the Avatar and the repercussions he’d face if a fully-fledged, four-element bending Avatar like Roku ever rose again to put a stop to his project of Fire Nation world-wide expansion.

#jaredstrout #granted there's so much mixed information about all this #that sometimes it's two steps forward one step back with any interpretation #like Sozin allegedly establishing lots of colonies without Roku's awareness #or else it means Roku did know #and simply didn't do crap #I had been willing to give him some credit honestly #because it looked like his threat worked and Sozin waited for Roku to be dead... #... now I'm not so sure #o_O #oh well #me and my many complaints about the Avatars and their procedures (?) #it never ends

[seyaryminamoto]

How does Sokka and Azula make sense? Not bashing just confused. I have attempted, really, REALLY attempted to read the fanfiction with them but I can't fathom it. Personally I can see Azula and Aang or Azula and Ty Lee better...

Oh, boy. Gotcha, I understand you’re not bashing, but this is going to be hard to explain if that’s what you think makes a better match for Azula.

What I’m getting from your preferences is that this really is a matter of tastes. You may be choosing Ty Lee and Aang over their gentleness, maybe? You think they’re happy, they’re sweet, so they’re ideal counterweights to Azula’s cold, abrasive nature? If that’s what you’re thinking, naturally you won’t see how Sokka and Azula make sense. This may be how you’re looking for Azula’s “happy ending”, if we may call it that, and I’ll say there’s nothing wrong with you thinking that way, Anon. You are allowed to have your own opinions and shipping tastes, regardless of what they may be. 

But, alas, as it must be obvious, I find Azula’s “happy ending” can be very different from what Ty Lee or Aang could provide, and it happens to be extremely fulfilling for me to see Azula and Sokka together instead. Below, a longer explanation of why I choose Sokka and Azula over any other ship for them.

For starters, it must be obvious that I disagree with you. I absolutely adore Sokkla, with the force of a thousand suns, and I’ve never found a pair that suits each other as well as Sokka and Azula do. And I mean in any other fandom, too. Matter of tastes indeed, but this is how it’s been for me up to date.

So, of course, that means I find other Azula ships to be less satisfactory than Sokkla. And here I’ll explain a few things where, in my opinion, Sokka surpasses Ty Lee and Aang as partners for Azula:

Personally, I don’t like Ty Lee’s history with Azula. While Ty Lee can be very sweet, she also has proven to be one character (along with Mai, truth be told) who can lie to Azula’s face and Azula will swallow it all without having any clue of what’s going on. Ty Lee has learned how to lull Azula into false senses of security, and she betrayed Azula, something Azula will have a lot of trouble getting over, if she ever does. The way I see it, Ty Lee and Azula would have no walk in the park fixing this relationship, because Azula’s likeliness to trust her friend again isn’t very good. Especially when Ty Lee, canonically, isn’t interested in fixing this relationship. So… as I see it, canonically, Ty Lee’s dishonesty is a major problem that won’t be easy for Azula to overcome. While she could be very loving if she feels like it, the show (and then the comics) press that Ty Lee doesn’t really feel like being loving with Azula, at least ever since Azula yanked her out of the circus.

Sokka doesn’t offer the same problem. Sokka is ridiculously honest, blunt to the point of insensitive: this is something I personally think Azula needs. He won’t pull his punches, he’ll tell her what he truly thinks about anything. Whether she’s going about things right, whether she’s going about them wrong, he won’t hesitate to tell the truth because he also has a very bad sense of self-preservation. I mean, Azula shoots a fireball at him and yet he still stands there waving at Ty Lee because she smiled at him? In clear shot? So yes, no self-preservation. He’d tell Azula blunt truths and only think “Oops, she didn’t take that well” a little too late.

But the thing is, Azula would appreciate his brutal honesty. Her closest friends lied to her, betrayed her, chose someone else over her. If someone like Sokka, honest to no end, picks HER? She knows he’s for real. She may think he’s wrong to want a monster, may hesitate, may be unsure of how this will work out, but she’s going to know he means it. It’s not going to be empty words or shallow promises with him. This in particular is something I emphasize as a quality Sokka provides in this relationship that is hardly paralleled by any other ships (also, if he ever did try to lie about anything it’d be obvious too, so Azula would be able to tell immediately, that’s how I write it anyways).

And the loving aspect Ty Lee provides is something Sokka could provide too. Just look at him in his relationship with Yue, how he defends her even when Toph wasn’t even attacking her outright. If you ask me, Azula deserves someone like that. Someone who’d stand up for her regardless of whether she’s listening or not. Someone whose dedication to her is absolutely genuine. And Sokka can very easily be that someone, if their relationship is developed properly, of course.

Now, as for Aang, does sound reasonable to some degree that the most morally and ethically correct character would influence one of the more morally corrupt ones, I guess? But the thing is that Aang’s morality is very… uh, extreme, I’d say. Azula has always been ends-justify-the-means, and I don’t think Aang could tolerate this easily at first (which would make relationship development a lot more complicated for them). Aang didn’t want to kill Ozai at all, refused to (although, uh, he kinda has killed other nameless people before, surely, soooo… that was kinda hypocritical, but the show let it slide), and he also reacted explosively when the others insisted that it was the only way (sure, they were wrong, but at the time they seemed to be right). Whether Aang is ethically correct or incorrect, the fact of the matter remains that he’s very strict with his sense of morality.

Meanwhile, Sokka’s morals are top-notch if you ask me, even though he doesn’t see the world in black and white. He dares trust a Fire Nation old man from as early as episode 10, and he challenges Jet because he knows is doing the wrong thing. This isn’t to say Sokka is exempt from making morality mistakes, but he’s usually a lot less preachy about his ethics, too. He has his principles, but he doesn’t really force them on anyone. He tried to convince Katara not to kill Yon Rha because he knows it won’t bring their mother back, but he doesn’t hesitate about doing what needs to be done to protect his friends and family. He will blow up a bunch of tanks off the Northern Air Temple if he has to. He will kill Combustion Man. He will tear down all the airships he can if it means stopping them from burning down the Earth Kingdom.

The basic difference is that Sokka doesn’t LIKE resorting to drastic measures, but he will do it if he thinks there’s no other choice. Aang instead won’t ever want to resort to those drastic measures, and if backed into those situations he’ll likely always try to find another way out. The way I see it, Aang’s strict mentality that won’t accept murder, for instance, as a resource to put an end to a menace or two, won’t sit well with Azula. Instead of leading her to rethink her own ethics, it can lead her to dismiss him as childish, innocent, idealistic and whatnot, and as I said above, this would cause rifts between them. Sokka, instead, will kill if death is the only way (but he will always choose another way if there’s another one). His cold blood in these regards is not too different from Azula’s: but his morality is a lot better than hers. In matters where she might think “If the enemy won’t comply then we threaten them…”, Sokka will stop her if he can think of another alternative to achieve success. And she will listen to the alternative, because maybe it can be more effective than what she wants to do. But Sokka won’t stop her with “No, this is so wrong!” but rather, “You don’t have to go to those extremes when this is a perfectly feasible alternative where nobody gets hurt”.

Sokka serves as a moral influence on Azula really well, if you ask me, because of how much of a pragmatist he can be. In those regards, he won’t be too different from her. But he will never pass a sentence on someone just on the basis of where they came from (old man from the Fire Nation, as an example), he won’t preach morality in a strict way even if he will certainly try to stop her from making bad mistakes and treating people wrongly. But she likely won’t feel like he’s a goody-two-shoes, the way she might with Aang. And I think that would make her a lot more receptive to what Sokka would say about morality than what Aang would.

But there are also other reasons why I suspect she’d listen to Sokka, and respect him, and it’s involved with one of the most powerful reasons why, I think, people ship Sokka and Azula: They have a huge number of things in common! 

First off, their families are fairly similar, only, Sokka’s isn’t a toxic mess while Azula’s is. The two of them admire their fathers (as usual, let’s not focus on the awful things Azula’s dad did…), gravitated towards them instead of their mother, from the looks of it. And they are the trouble-making, teasing siblings. Sokka will mess with Katara a lot, usually gets bitten back for it, Azula will tease Zuko to no end and Zuko explodes: both Sokka and Azula are, thus, the pragmatic, intelligent siblings with a sense of humor to siblings who are emotion-oriented, constantly striving to do the right thing, and whatnot.

So, their families are similar, and also they both have sense of humor. A major, seriously important factor, though, is intelligence. Sokka and Azula are both the smartest people in their respective groups (which, interesting, also turns them into the leaders). Azula certainly seems smarter, going by how her long-scale plans tend to pay off flawlessly, but therein lies the difference, the way I see it: Sokka likes long-term plans but he’s not so good at executing them. Instead, the show presents us a Sokka who can improvise rather quickly, who can analyze situations very fast and come up with solutions to handle every obstacle on the way. So, we have two tacticians here, but different kinds of tacticians: she’s good for long-term planning, he’s good for short-term. Imagine the unbelievably badass team such pair would make in a battlefield. I tell you, not a lot of people could stand against such leadership and tactical power.

But of course, there’s a lot they’re not equals on. Their origins are vastly different, and even though Sokka is somewhat a prince, he was raised humbly while Azula wasn’t. Water Tribe, Fire Nation, bender, non-bender. But see, curiously Azula doesn’t discriminate races or nations. At most she is classist, since she does call others “peasants”, but she takes the Dai Li into her service just fine because she sees how useful they can be. She discards a whole procession of firebenders and chooses to travel and finish her mission with two non-benders. So, if anyone’s thinking “She’d never want a Water Tribe non-bender”, the evidence really says the opposite. She’d be able to see what he has to offer, no matter his origins or lack of bending.

The encounter during the Eclipse also speaks for something that I don’t even need to headcanon as a possibility. Azula notices Sokka’s leadership, singles him out as the one who needs to be stopped. She might have tried a different strategy if she had seen Aang was the leader (like “At this moment, my forces are preparing to attack as soon as the sun is clear again, and your precious friends won’t survive… that is, unless you help them now instead of playing around with me”, for instance). She doesn’t. She goes for Sokka. And Sokka pushes her to that wall, glaring at her with defiance, and she responds with the same challenge in her eyes. Fact is, he’s not afraid right then and there. He’s fierce, he’s strong, and she’s seeing into the eyes of a man who will stand up to her if need be. Only when she attacks does he back off, and even when she ran he briefly wanted to stop her before realizing he’d made a terrible mistake by falling for her trap.

What this scene makes me think, in conjunction with the Boiling Rock’s fight, where Sokka and Zuko fight her, is that Azula would have no trouble in genuinely respecting Sokka, just the way she respects Mai, for instance. Sokka actually could have killed her in Boiling Rock, you know? There are moments where he’s just holding Space Sword inches away from her face or throat. Azula struggles keeping him at bay, and you can see he’s making her struggle. Basically: respect. As a warrior, as a leader, as a rival tactician, Azula absolutely would grow to respect Sokka because she already did in the show. And frankly, this sort of intellectual-warrior-respect bond isn’t something I can see in her canon or potential relationships with any other character in the show. This level of equal standing between them, the whole fact that the Day of Black Sun turns out to be Sokka vs. Azula (both physically and intellectually, since it’s his plan vs. her response to his plan), it tells you there’s potential. Lots of it.

Now, I cannot and will not deny they’ll butt heads, A LOT. Something else they have in common is stubbornness, no doubt. Neither Aang or Ty Lee are this stubborn, so maybe this is one of the reasons why you feel those two would match Azula better. Thing is, if Sokka and Azula find a rhythm, figure out how to handle their differences, how to balance each other, they make a brilliant match regardless of their stubbornness (if anything they get like Gladiator Sokkla as they are right now: their conflicts become lighter, sillier, and they just love it). I, personally, write them to make this happen. I write Sokkla to give them balance, not for one to overcome the other in any way. I want them equals, never uneven.

Truth is, the reason I jumped fully on board with Sokkla was because I ended up concluding this was the relationship that, if handled well, could make Azula the happiest. Sokka would get her, you know? He’d influence her in regards of morality, encourage her towards being better, but not by preaching how to be a model citizen to her, and he’d also be a challenge in regards of intellect: just imagine the board games, the two of them testing each other, working to beat one another and figuring out the other’s weaknesses and strengths. Sparring-wise, Sokka already proved in canon that he can be a challenge to her, and Azula is clearly aware of how deadly his sword is. Whether you do what I did, by having it so Azula hadn’t be taught how to use swords and Sokka teaches her, or whether you make it so she always knew, they can spar and have lots of fun with that too. And heck, a recent headcanon I thought of was Hakoda, Sokka and Azula having a bad jokes competition that everyone else flees from (it is known Hakoda and Sokka have the same sense of humor).

In short, I see a future with Azula and Sokka that holds endless adventure for them. If their potential wasn’t this great, I assure you, Anon, I would have never written a fic of the size of Gladiator. I’m nowhere near done with it. There’s so much story to tell with these two, and it’s amazing to rewrite ATLA completely with these two at the center.

(Also, I answered another ask about why I think Sokkla is the perfect match for Sokka, and not just for Azula, so if you’re interested in that side of the matter, here you go. Better than repeating myself.)

You are allowed not to ship Sokkla, nobody will stone you, nobody will be disappointed in you (plus, you’re anonymous, so who’d even know? xD). If you don’t see it after all I wrote here, that’s fine. If you still think Ty Lee or Aang make better matches for Azula, that’s fine. People can indeed agree to disagree and not clash about it, right? Only, if you follow me you should know (if you haven’t realized it yet) that I’ll always be posting Sokkla, so I warn you already that, um, you may not enjoy yourself much here if you can’t wrap your head around the ship. But really, you may just be like I am with Toph and Sokka. I have never been able to ship that, even though I tried at first. It just doesn’t work for me on some fundamental level, so if that’s what’s going on with you and Sokkla, I get it. Just, keep in mind the reasons I described are as valid as anyone else’s ideas for shipping Azula with someone else. I think the amount of fanfiction that has been written for them speaks for itself regarding how much potential Sokkla has.

Anyways, thank you for coming into my askbox to ask this out of genuine interest, and I hope my answer wasn’t rude in any way. 

#anon #also in case anyone misunderstands #this ask has been waiting to be answered for weeks #it's not involved with what's happened the last two days