#and azula has a therapist | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

missaccuracy · 3 months

Text

Note: if your choice is the "other" option, please, explain in the comments what it is.

Well, here we are, "Firebending teacher" has won. I have to say, I'd go with that option too. Specifically, I'd like to combine Firebending teacher with General and let me explain why.

"An artist" Azula can be interesting, but what bothers me about this concept and its popularity, is that for the most part, it relies on the notion that Azula didn't enjoy being a great firebender and military tactician in the show, and she did it just for Ozai's approval, therefore it's toxic and Azula should get rid of her father's influence.

I just don't think it's true. Azula was under Ozai's influence, but that doesn't mean she didn't like firebending and commanding. It's important to remember that Azula is a LEADER herself, and removing that part of her character wouldn't be satisfying.

I guess people just link Azula's tactical military abilities to an imperialism, which is something she needs to unlearn. So they headcanon her doing something completely unrelated to it.

But while an imperialism is wrong, there's nothing wrong with having a military mind, because it can be used for good.

It just feels like rewriting her character from a "bad" girl, who canonically enjoyed fighting, scheming and planning, to a "good" girl, who's now enjoying "peaceful" things instead.

The same reason applies to a "therapist", even though it's an intriguing idea.

Azula would be an effective politician, but she would have to work with Zuko in this case. Not that I think they can never repair their relationship, but I just want for both Zuko and Azula to live their own lives, apart from each other, even if there's no bad blood anymore.

I personally believe that the best way to do that is to make Azula a teacher and a commander of an elite firebenders. Sort of what we saw in the comics, but doing it right, when she would teach not only fighting, but also command her warriors. Maybe she would even help her students, being kind of a therapist in the process and giving them her own piece of advice. Maybe in her own free time she would learn some arts, as well.

But everyone's free to have their own opinion. What many people have suggested in the "other" option was also very interesting to read. Thank you for voting and leaving a commentary unser this poll.

#atla #azula #redemption #poll

80 notes · View notes

sokkastyles · 10 months

Note

Wondering what you think of this take. Idk, kinda obvious that OP fell asleep during most of Zuko's arc lmao.

Here is the linked post.

What do you think?

I think this person is drinking the Azula stan abuse apologism 101 kool-aid because it always starts with "these specific cherry-picked scenes mean Zuko never grew out of his aggression, despite it being literally the focus of an entire episode and him stating on the show that he didn't want to rely on anger anymore. Meanwhile, Azula reacts to everyone around her with rage and hatred and violence and that's also Zuko's problem, somehow.

"He lashes out at Aang with firebending without talking"

He wasn't "lashing out," he is Aang's firebending teacher and he was trying to make sure Aang was prepared to fight Ozai, because they didn't tell him that they were planning on waiting until after the comet. That's also why Zuko didn't tell them about Ozai's plan before. Both of them were acting on incomplete information and that is literally resolved through conversation. To frame it as Zuko "lashing out" to try and prove that Zuko is just this out of control aggressive person is ridiculous. Again, especially when OP's baby Azula literally tried to kill them an episode previously.

"He urges Katara to kill Yon Rha"

I'm gonna need quotes, screenshots, literally anything that shows that Zuko urged Katara to kill Yon Rha. Because what I saw was Katara walking away after making the decision not to kill him herself and Zuko letting her. He didn't try to stop her if she should decide to kill him, but that is hardly urging her to kill and not at all a reflection of Zuko being aggressive, since Zuko just stands there and does nothing and remains calm the whole time. If Zuko were really as out of control as OP says, wouldn't he get mad at Katara for making a choice he disagrees with? Hmm?

Also like, he says to Aang that if he doesn't take the fire lord's life, there won't be a world to save. Same thing for defeating Azula. Stopping a violent person who is very much a danger to not just a few others, but the entire world, is hardly "aggression." I'm sorry that conservative brainrot designed to tell victims they're just as bad if they defend themselves from oppression has got OP wearing their MAGA hat, but that is reprehensible bullshit. Zuko did not "urge" Aang to kill Ozai, he asked Aang what he was going to do since to his knowledge there was no other way, and Aang kept coming up with obviously implausible solutions. Even Aang didn't know there was another way until he got a visit from the lion turtle. Zuko, as someone who was personally victimized by his father specifically because he refused to be goaded into violence, has a right to feel anxious about making sure his father never hurts someone else the way he was hurt, and making sure Aang, who is about the same age Zuko was, doesn't meet the same end, not only for Aang's and Zuko's protection but the sake of the world, and framing that as Zuko being "aggressive" is gross.

"Self-centerism" is not a word.

The joke about Toph bringing up her childhood trauma and trying to force a field trip with Zuko is that Zuko just spent four episodes delving deep into helping Aang, Sokka, and Katara overcome their trauma. To use this to prove that Zuko is self-centered is entirely missing the point and nitpicking something that is actually a meta joke about Zuko being the opposite of self-centered and acting as everyone's unofficial therapist. Otherwise there would be no joke and "field trips with Zuko" would not even be a thing, and Toph would not be trying to get one with Zuko in the first place. Also, Zuko is not self-centered for not immediately stopping what he is doing to listen to Toph trauma dump when everyone thinks Aang is missing right before the comet and the situation appears dire.

And again on not revealing Ozai's plan, he specifically says he thought he wouldn't have to, because the gaang didn't tell him they were planning on waiting. It's a miscommunication on both sides. And Zuko waiting to reveal Ozai's plan - and the details about his abuse - until he feels like he has to is the opposite of him making it about himself or trauma dumping. I think part of the reason he didn't want to tell them about Ozai's plan until he had to was because that also meant he would have to disclose details about his abuse that he feels shame over. He doesn't make it about himself and his pain or ask for their sympathy. He says he's ashamed that he didn't speak up. If anything, he's harder on himself than he should be about it and blames himself.

The rest of this is just like, really reductive interpretations with no specifications about what "consequences" they think Zuko should face for things he atones for in the show. And I thought Katara's "dark side" was when Zuko "urged her to kill"? So Zuko is wrong because Katara was angry at him but also wrong because she wasn't angry at him anymore? Lol what?

"Katara apologized for raising her voice at Zuko, but Zuko didn't apologize for grabbing her grandmother."

Katara apologized to Zuko for raising her voice specifically after he apologized for saying she didn't know what she was talking about and extended sympathy when she talked about how her mother was killed. See how you can just claim anything when you divorce something from it's context, kids?

The "inferiority complex" thing and the idea that Zuko has an unhealthy competition with Azula that he needs to grow out of is just utterly stupid. Azula is the one with the inferiority complex, the one who is constantly trying to prove she's better than Zuko, especially in the last Agni Kai when she realizes she doesn't have an advantage over him anymore and that sends her into a downward spiral. Zuko's goals throughout most of the show are to not be killed or captured by her, and in the final agni kai, to save the world from her. She's the one who challenges him to a fire duel, the one who thinks them fighting is "the showdown that was always meant to be." The one who collapses when she realizes she can't win. The one who built her entire personality on being better than him while Zuko learned to care about other people and the world. That is the whole point of the final agni kai and why it's a tragedy.

"He was banished in the very same day he started to learn how to be a ruler"

He was banished BECAUSE at thirteen he already knew more about ruling than his tyrant of a father, and during his banishment he learned how to embrace that side of himself that spoke out against the way the Fire Nation was running things. Being banished for having a sense of what a prince owes his people and sticking up for what was right is far from a mark against Zuko as a leader, it's an asset, and proof of the type of leader he would learn to become. That's why Iroh says what he says he's an idealist with a pure heart who must lead his people. It's not just words, it's threaded into Zuko's arc from the beginning.

#zuko

136 notes · View notes

zvtara-was-never-canon · 8 months

Note

Keep seeing this user on Reddit post the same thing over and over whenever someone praises Maiko in the slightest (probably something deep rooted there) but want you to refute it once and for all

https://reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/s/dTyKdaDKN6

Bruh, this is just pathetic.

Yes, Mai's "I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story" could lead to problems considering how Zuko NEEDS to vent all the time - however, there's a difference between Mai being an emotionally supportive girlfriend and her being his therapist. She asked a simple yes or no question, and Zuko turned into a rant about a completely different topic. His reaction caused her to be a little rude. It's not the end of the world, and it surely didn't bother either of them much, as they immediately started making out afterwards - or rather, after Mai tried to comfort him by telling him to chill and then hugging him. Funny how THE scene people use to show she doesn't care has her actually being really caring and sweet.

"Suggesting harrassing servents" WHAT? They literally didn't do that. Ever. They were cuddling on the couch and asked for some dessert so they wouldn't have to get up. Mai wasn't saying "let's be dicks to the staff to cheer you up" she basically pulled a "Wanna go get some ice-cream to get your mind off this?" Once again, she's being caring, and it only didn't work because Zuko was disgusted at himself for not speaking out against Ozai's evil plan.

And yes, Zuko was very jealous and being an asshole at The Beach and Mai breaks up with - but that same episode has them getting back together once Zuko admits that has been on the edge a lot more lately, lets his out and admits the problem is not Mai, or the guy she was talking to, or Azula, or even Ozai, it's him. He's mad at himself.

And when he loses his firebending because he lost his drive, aka anger and Sokka suggests they just make him mad, he full on says "I don't want to rely on anger anymore." He is also at much healthier place in general as he finally confronted Ozai, and thus managed to move past some of the trauma that had been eating him alive for so long, meaning Mai no longer would have to play the role of therapist, but just of a loving girlfriend, WHICH SHE ALREADY WAS.

There. All the things that caused any kind of incompatibility between Zuko and Mai have been resolved, on-screen, explicitly. Which these people would have noticed if they were not too busy trying to look for reasons to hate on this pairing.

#pro maiko #pro mai

29 notes · View notes

erisenyo · 2 months

Note

aaajdbdbs 3 and/or 16 for the choosing violence asks

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

There are so many to choose from lol, but the wildest one that comes to mind in recent memory was a pitch to make Azula safe to receive therapy for her redemption journey by chi-blocking her (hourly? daily?) so that therapists could safely work with her without fear of being hurt.

To which I thought, damn if we're talking like needing to strap someone down to a bed and like take away one of their senses in order for a therapist to be able to talk to them, perhaps they are not in the most receptive frame of mind to receive therapy. Perhaps this is in fact a description of 'for your own good' gaslighting torture. Perhaps :)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

There's a lot of things where I go huh, don't get it, but I've consistently never understood why so many people like non-Fire Lord Zuko post-canon stories.

His whole arc is about recognizing and owning his own agency and learning to trust in himself and his own moral compass rather than seek external approval. He wants to do good and make the world a better place and he finally has the power and position and I'm just continually confused by the idea of taking that away from him right when he finally achieves it.

I understand wanting to give him a childhood or time to relax after the way, but nothing will ever convince me that *Zuko* would want those things. He doesn't view himself as a child, he views himself as stepping up to the responsibility and honor of his position, not taking on an unwanted burden. He *wants* the burden, and very vocally wanted it through three seasons.

Would he go on a vacation? Sure. Would he take like five years off? Hell no.

(For the choose violence ask game!)

#ask game #asks and answers #I just have a lot of thoughts about disempowering Zuko in general tbh...

8 notes · View notes

waywardavatarenthusiast · 1 year

Text

possible career paths/life purposes for azula.

A scientist of some sort

I don’t believe for one second that Azula never bothered to investigate why her flame turned blue. The creators explanation is a plot hole, and there must me a canon reason. I do believe she would want to study the science behind her flames and bending in general. Maybe she’d even discover her own sub-bending down the line.

A teacher (probably with younger children)

I think Azula would definitely feel that her childhood has been ripped from her when all is said and done because it has. That being said, I think she would grow to love children due to their freedom and innocence and would often wonder how her parents could look at such a pure mind and begin molding it for such a dangerous society. Also, while I do like the idea of Azula becoming a mother, I think she would feel this is a safer option to her corrupting and passing bad things onto children of her own.

A therapist

This idea is on thin-ice because I feel like one would need to tread carefully and refrain from whitewashing the Fire Nation and its institutions, but I do think Azula might want to help heal the minds of others since she had to heal her’s all by itself.

A fire healer/dancer/artist

Literally just Azula learning that her fire can be beautiful and useful and doesn’t necessarily have to be a weapon. I think her bending is one of her favorite things about herself not even because of its value in her society. You don’t get to Azula’s level of skill without a little bit of passion.

A singer/actress (credit to @newbie-i-guess)

Azula could definitely get famous all by herself. I think Azula would garner immense fame as a singer/actress and when her family hears about her and work they’re like “our azula?? that’s the one people are drooling at the thought of meeting and not because she’s royal? bonus: Kiyi is a super fan and practically faints when she discovers that the Azula is her sister.

Azula should not be:

A firebending instructor

The only person Azula might teach to bend is Kiyi because I feel she would want her sister to be as strong and powerful as the rest of the family, but Azula underwent gruesome training to get where she did, and while I think she would teach Kiyi with safe-methods only, noble-ranking Fire Nation parents aren’t really concerned with the comfort of their children above everything. They would try to push and bribe her to make their kid as powerful as she is.

A general:

Azula doesn’t belong near a battlefield at all after what she’s been through. I’m more than surprised to see the popularity of this concept. It honestly feels like turning Azula from a bad weapon to a good one.

Zuko’s advisor

For some time, at least. She also really shouldn’t be coaxed into the job by any of her family members. Azula has spent her entire life working for the Fire Nation throne. I also don’t want her to be tied down to her country and not get a chance to explore the world the way every other character has. I do think she might like the job, but she has to build a strong sense of self before taking it on.

Comments and other suggestions are welcome!

#atla #azula #azula meta #azula redemption #avatar the last airbender

53 notes · View notes

likealittleheartbeat · 1 year

Text

Zuko’s character is crafted from the very first episode with an intense interest in striving toward moral goodness, it’s only that his concept of moral goodness is distinctly nationalistic then. Honor is the keyword for him, and his stated reason for doggedly searching for the avatar. Satisfying his father has to do with this moral obligation (to follow the patriarch’s orders and to preserve the safety of the nation which those orders entail and therefore to be Good). Zuko wants to be a good boy, and much of his initial angst derived from his father’s judgment that he’s not a good boy, when he spoke out of turn and then, worse!, refused to defend himself. His turn toward team avatar has less to do with a moral turn or even learning how to care and more to do with an expansion of who he includes within his circle of care (so that the well-being of those outside of the Fire Nation matter and he, himself, begins to matter), which coincides with his shift toward a new leader to trust with a less dogmatic relationship. Yet, his core of stringent morality remains.

Azula, on the other hand, is driven by success. Her ease with firebending gave her a taste for affection derived from performance rather than reverence. Her moral muscle is ignored and weak because of this. With her prowess and bemused charm, she got to be the Good Kid with no dark nights of the soul, no internal conflict about her place among others because she was at the top. Fans are right to be sympathetic to her experience of abuse. She’s a rich depiction of the abusive development of narcissism and the tragedy that’s required to disrupt that egomania.

I think a lot of comparison between these two responses to the abusive family dynamic places the blame on their mother Ursa. The worst takes emphasize Ursa’s passing remarks about Azula’s misbehavior as sites of abuse themselves, which ignores the high pressure environment created by Ozai and the Fire Nation Royal Family to neglect and punish vulnerability in pursuit of hierarchical power. That Azula latched onto one of these comments might be better read as Azula’s own sensitivity to criticism within such an extreme social environment. A more interesting perspective is that the development they got to experience with Ursa, the implementer of moral explanations as seen in Zuko Alone, might’ve shaped their responses. Zuko had more time with Ursa and got to experience her teachings of familial piety at a more mature age than Azula before their mother’s departure.

But I think the most all-encompassing perspective is something I mentioned earlier. Azula had the gift to perform what her abusive family valued without strain. Zuko had many things to offer but not prodigiousness, charm, or strategy—the skills his family valued. Their natural abilities (beyond their control) influenced the treatment they received from their parents (within Ozai and to a lesser but still a meaningful extent Ursa’s control). So Zuko dedicates himself to his family and to achieving his family’s expectations that are out of reach for him because he is offered no other options. He believes he is Bad for failing his family’s expectations and strives to be Good. Azula doesn’t have to work hard to embody her family’s abusive desires and knows that maintaining her prowess, beauty, and cunning is all that’s required to retain her place as the apple of their eye. She believes she is Good without concern for the possibility of being Bad.

I think those Good and Bad relationships are important for those dealing with abusive family dynamics. Therapists use archetypes to describe dysfunctional family roles (golden child and scape goat are the most familiar, but you’ll also see the mascot, the lost child, the flying monkeys, and the peacekeepers alongside the abuser and the enabler). They’re oversimplifying and force one’s attempts at self-identification towards sitcom tropes. Failing to fully identify with these rigid roles fed into me doubting the reality of my abuse. But Zuko’s relationship to morality felt familiar and I could see a similar development in my own life—the flexibility and tacit obedience my parents valued in children weren’t things I could easily offer (I’m a little too spectrummy for either of those to be easy options). Their corporal punishments did not change this, but they left me with the desire to act and be more flexible and obedient—the desire to be Good—and the shame of failing every time—the knowledge that I was Bad. It’s something I still struggle with. This categorical view of a self as inherently good or bad is a key marker for the experience of someone whose developed in an abusive, neglectful, or recurrently traumatic environment, and it’s what’s so well done throughout ATLA. Zuko and Azula provide such clear examples of what that moral coding can look like, and, as siblings, provide a really clear depiction of how and why it can be experienced and create outcomes that are so different even within one family.

#child abuse tw #tw abuse #abuse tw #zuko #azula #atla meta #y’all when I say I was going through some feelings tonight!!!

73 notes · View notes

hello-nichya-here · 7 months

Note

Mai: What's that thing you have?

Zuko: What?

Mai: You know, that little thing with the buttons that you keep pressing?

Zuko: Oh, that? It's a fidget toy my therapist gave me. It's for anxiety and all. Pressing the buttons is supposed to help or whatever...

Ty Lee: I saw one of those on e-bay! And it had some others too. One was a little box that had buttons and little levers and some spinning little balls and a light you could switch on and off.

Zuko: Yea, it's something like that...

[Cut to Azula, back home, tied to the bed and writhing and moaning as the vibrator up her pussy, that is controlled by the remote Zuko has, changed speed unexpectedly yet again.]

Oooooohhhhhhh, that's evil. I like it. Poor/lucky Azula XD

#asks #zucest #not safe for what #dom/sub dynamics

13 notes · View notes

the-genius-az · 7 hours

Note

Azula: *behaves normally*

Her omega: *leaves*

Azula: WHAT THE FUCK? *hallucinates people, cuts off her hair, growls at everyone like a rabid dragon*

Her omega: *comes back*

Azula: oh, hi, I love you, please don't leave me.

It can be cute, it can be sad as in "Azula has abandonment issues". She reacts quite strongly to her omega leaving (just like she didn't quite react well to Zuko leaving, since he was still a platonic mate back then, but she had to hide the effect of part of her pack leaving like that.

I really love the Fire Hazard Siblings and would have a whole fic about them being platonic mates but not quite a required situation.)

She doesn't kill him, but she's very smug about it and about how Mai needs the total of one time with her to get pregnant and Zuko had months/years and there was no pups in sight. Let's say Mai's parents kinda push her towards marrying Zuko – since he's the crown prince (no, in this AU it doesn't matter if Zuko isn't an alpha, it matters that he's the firstborn). Maizula is an open secret but at the same time everyone assumes Tyzula is the endgame exactly because Mai's parents say she'll marry Zuko.

She'll never trust anyone fully. And by anyone, it does include Mai (she'll love her and will mate her and have kids, but full trust? Not with all of Azula's trauma).

Details about The Boiling Rock is coming in a separate ask.

Azula is like a cat owner when said cat is comfortable. You'll be in pain for the whole week, but you do NOT move.

- Ash 🔥🍌

Thanks for this, Ash!

It can be cute, it can be sad as in "Azula has abandonment issues". She reacts quite strongly to her omega leaving.

It makes me sad, come and pay me for the psychologist.

She doesn't kill him, but she's very smug about it and about how Mai needs the total of one time with her to get pregnant and Zuko had months/years and there was no pups in sight.

Did Mai do anything about it? I mean, she took pills to avoid having Zuko's babies?

Let's say Mai's parents kinda push her towards marrying Zuko - since he's the crown prince.

And? Did Mai just do what they wanted? Didn't he fight for the love he has for Azula?

Maizula is an open secret but at the same time everyone assumes Tyzula is the endgame exactly because Mai's parents say she'll marry Zuko.

What does Mai think about her Alpha being paired with Ty Lee? And Ty Lee's opinion?

She'll never trust anyone fully. And by anyone, it does include Mai (she'll love her and will mate her and have kids, but full trust? Not with all of Azula's trauma).

Are there no problems in the relationship? Doesn't Mai feel like Azula is so sad or doesn't she fully trust her? I wonder what he thinks when he sees or hears Azula cry.

You'll have to come and pay my therapist, He'll know about you, Ash!

#Azula #Mai #Maizula #Zuko #Ty Lee #ABO #omegaverse #atla #avatar the last airbender #Azula Alpha #Mai Omega #I honestly don't feel like the relationship works with so much trauma and lack of trust.#Azula must suffer from great depression for her entire life #my baby...#I just hope her children are soft and kind to Azula.#I wonder what the Maizula children are like.#Mai suffers for Azula? because I don't feel like she really loves Azula...

6 notes · View notes

azulas-daddy-kink · 1 year

Note

You don't have to answer if you don't want to since you don't have to explain your preferences, but why you hate Tyzula? Is it because how it is usually written for Azula's benefit, as well as portray Azula as someone who needs someone (Ty Lee) to fix her, and not as a mutually beneficial relationship between equals?

It's... sigh... complicated.

Part of it is just that it's everywhere and you can't avoid it which is annoying if you want to read stories about Azula but don't care for the ship.

Another reason is I just don't like the dynamics, I suppose. Ty Lee crawling back Azula after her defining character moment in the Boiling Rock, it doesn't feel right to me. And this ties into how they're portrayed in fics and by the fandom in general. Azula is all too often written as abusive (or worse, a rapist) and Ty Lee is her punching bag who just takes all the abuse. And other characters are derailed -namely Zuko, Mai, and Ozai- to make room for the relationship, forcing Ty Lee and Azula to be completely dependent on each other and ONLY each other.

Then there's the shippers. I'm not going to dance around it, they are very obnoxious and toxic. And not to say they're ALL like that, but enough of them are to have completely turned me off from it. They act like their ship is canon/superior and that everyone who doesn't like it is "wrong" and has bad taste. I have also been sent numerous rude asks about it, been left nasty comments on my stories and social media posts, and been repeatedly accused of hating lesbians for not liking it and for saying I think Azula is bisexual.

And a bit of what you said, too. That Ty Lee fills the role of Azula's therapist and it's her job to heal/fix her. Not to say that ONLY Tyzula fics/headcanons do this but it's very prevalent.

So... yeah. I could go on about this at length but that sums up the main reasons pretty well I think.

#ask response #atla #discourse #fandom fuckery #azula #ty lee #anti-tyzula

24 notes · View notes

avikats66 · 2 months

Text

In Defense of Ursa…

I don’t doubt that Ursa loved Azula when she was born, or that she still loved Azula throughout her childhood, though certainly that love became strained and damaged - even diminished - in ways it never did with Zuko. It was a tragedy that a wedge developed between them after Ozai took interest in Azula - in an entirely self-serving and not out of any genuine care or love way - because he wanted to use and exploit her as his daughter and a fire bending prodigy for his own power and pride. He groomed Azula - not sexually, but as the person he wanted her to be. A daughter and heir loyal to him, who would shared his values and traits, who would serve him and his wicked goals, who would be merciless and brutal like him.

Ursa was there as this process took place over a period of years, but we should consider the position she was in too. She certainly didn’t have equal power to her husband, who would have done his best to isolate her from Azula and prevent her from being turned away from his influence. And for a young child who’s got one parent praising and rewarding them for certain behaviour, then the other discouraging and disproving that same behaviour - even if not in abusive or unkind manner - that child is going to respond to and seek out the former with the greater positive feedback, without yet the knowledge or reasoning ability to evaluate the behaviour being taught to them on a critical or moral level.

Not only does Ursa not share equal power over the upbringing of her children (Azula even more so than Zuko given Ozai’s interest in her as above mentioned), she just a normal person in an awful situation no mother should ever have to be in. She is not a child behaviouralist or therapist, with knowledge or training about how to best go about helping a child in Azula’s situation; nor does she have access to anyone else who is. Indeed, she is surrounded by people who likely all either support or are unconcerned by/with the way Firelord Ozai is raising his daughter, or those who have even less power to possibly oppose him than she does, who could suffer grievous consequences or their very lives even for trying.

Ursa is trapped as the wife of the Firelord, unable to leave and take her children away from this PoS man and father. And she can’t stop him from doing his best to twist their daughter into a cruel and wicked person like himself; doesn’t know how to best help her even when and where she can, being blocked from or otherwise unable to try and intervene in the first place. And the older Azula grows, the more and more Ozai corrupts her, the less Ursa knows how to deal with it, the less hope she has of being able to heal it, and the more strained their relationship becomes. It’s a viscous circle: Azula learns a toxic behaviour/idea/belief from Ozai, Ursa tries to discourage her from it or teach her contrary, Azula is off-put and returns to Ozai where she will continue to receive clear and unambiguous positive affirmation and reinforcement, Ursa becomes more distraught and struggles to connect with Azula, Azula senses this and again goes to her father, etc. etc.

Could Ursa have done better, tried harder, done something differently in order to help Azula more? Yeah, probably, but I think she also very honestly did as best she could as can be reasonably expected of her given her circumstances as explained above. It’s very easy for us to judge her as viewers far-removed from this fictional situation - especially if we have never been in a similar sort of situation ourselves.

This is, of course, merely my personal headcanon based on limited canon information. There are many different interpretations and opinions on Ursa and her relationship with Azula; these are just some of mine.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #my thoughts #ursa atla #azula avatar

2 notes · View notes

attackfish · 2 years

Note

Can you say more about younger than canon zuko au please? Poor fire siblings will need so much therapy. And does uncle still sends his baby nephew a knife?

Continued from: [Link] and [Link].

Uncle Iroh in fact does not send his infant nephew a knife. Instead, he sends him a badgermole shaped teething toy. This has the added benefit of not being something Azula wants, and the tragic downside of giving her a chance to make fun of her baby brother and compare him to a poodle-monkey puppy in front of their mom, for the very short period in which Ursa and the glorified chew toy for babies are both present.

As for therapy. Yeah. Yeah. That's a given. For example, while Azula is concious of her fear of her father, and protective of her brother, she isn't, exactly nice, or loving and protective in a healthy way. Just imagine the rage Azula shows toward her tiny brother when Zuko does something that makes her scared for him. How dare he make it harder for her to keep him safe! Please get both these kids somewhere safe, wrap them in blankes, and hire them several qualified trauma therapists.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #zuko #ozai #uncle iroh #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #zuko is a dweeby little turtleduck #azula needs her own warning #noodle lord ozai #i ship iroh/tea

38 notes · View notes

bellatrixobsessed1 · 2 years

Text

Sokkla Saturday: Sokka Dresses Azula

Summary: In an attempt to get Azula to face her social anxieties, she lets Sokka pick her outfit for the day.

Sokka stoops down and pushes a pair of what she presumes are sunglasses–but realistically, are probably ridiculously large circle framed glasses–up the bridge of her nose. “And…done!” He announces enthusiastically. “You can look now.”

She isn’t sure if she wants to. But she lets him guide her to the mirror. He spins her around so that she is facing it and she almost lets out an audible groan. The man really has done his worst work here. She is, indeed wearing huge glasses, ones that are much too big for her face, let alone her eyes. He has styled her hair into several braids that wouldn’t be so bad were they not lopsided and adorned with a cluster of mismatched dragonfly hair clips, neon in color for extra eye searing.

“I thought that the dragonflies suited you more than butterflies.” He sounds much too proud of himself.

And that is just her face and head. She had also, rather foolishly, trusted the man to dress her up as well. And for it she is suffering a pair of high-waisted plaid pants. Fashionable under any other circumstance, he has instead fitted her with a pair that is meant for someone several inches taller than she. But he has looped a belt around just beneath her sternum to hold them in place. Of course, that wasn’t secure enough so he has also fashioned her with some suspenders and a fanny pack for good measure.

“I know that you like coming prepared to any occasion which is why your suspenders have clips for all of your post it notes and your fanny pack has many pouches!” He justifies his choice. The worst of it is that he is right in terms of practicality of the outfit.

“You would know, right? You strike me as a chronic fanny pack wearer.”

“That’s right!” He says without a hit of shame or irony. “They are super useful, I have a whole collection of them and I would like you to know that I love you enough to permit you to wear my very favorite one.” He again gestures to the abomination fastened around her waist. It’s highlighter orange fabric is truly eye-catching and truly blinding. “This bad boy can fit so many pencils and art supplies and some snacks if you’re feeling daring.”

She supposes that she is feeling rather daring considering that she had agreed to let the moron dress her. The shirt he chose is the only thing that isn’t a crime to society and that is only because it is a simple button down, long sleeved white shirt with a pocket on the breast. But he had gone and ruined that by fixing her with a polkadot neck bow.

Decidedly, he will not be allowed to choose her footwear, lest she find herself clomping down the street in heeled crocs or some monstrous scuba flipper-uggs hybrid. But he has fitted her feet with mismatched socks that flash potted cacti with sunglasses.

“Sokka, I look stupid.”

“Yes! Exactly!” He shouts unhelpfully. “It’s called a shame attacking activity!” He declares. “And I know how much you love attacking things!”

“I don’t love attacking things.” Azula grumbles, folding her arms across her chest. “It’s just that some things deserve to get attacked.” She pauses to fix him with the most deadpanned stares she can muster. “And right now you are one of those things, Sokka.”

He sings an arm around her waist. “But you love me very much and would never do such a thing.”

She quirks a brow. “You’re pushing me to extremes.”

His demeanor changes so suddenly and she begins to sputter something or another about how she was only joking but he continues. “You mentioned last night that your therapist was recommending that you try to hold yourself to such high standards, right?”

Azula nods.

“And that you’re worried about how people are going to treat you if you don’t look and act one-hundred percent perfect?”

Azula swallows and nods again.

“Well I read the worksheet that you left on the table.”

“You ass…” she mutters.

“You left it on the table! Like right in the middle of it, face up!”

“Fair.” She admits.

“And one of the methods on there was to try a shame attacking activity. It’s like the direct exposure method of facing a fear of being perceived!”

“It’s called social anxiety, Sokka.” She rolls her eyes.

“You did really good with regular exposure therapy, so I figured we could try this.”

“We? This is a thing that I am doing and you are watching. Much too gleefully, might I add.” She offers him a frown deeper than the last. “You don’t really think that I’m going to step out of the house like this, do you? I look ridiculous.”

“Yes! Exactly! That’s the point. To look as silly as possible. And then when people still talk to you and treat you just fine, you’ll realize that it’s okay to walk outside without makeup on sometimes.”

Azula bites the inside of her cheek.

“You’re not scared are you?”

“I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work.” Because she is actually quite scared, not that she will actually admit it. “But no, I am not scared.”

“Well that’s great because I told Zuko, Katara, and Suki that we’re just heading out and that we’re meeting them for ice cream.” She hates that stupid, sly smile. Perhaps a year back she might have pulled a few strings, would have found a way to have him demoted from his student council president role. Found some way to wipe that lopsided grin off of his face.

Instead she sputters a soft, “you did what?”

“That’s right, I told them that we’d be there in ten minutes. So now you’ll have to choose between facing your fear of wearing dumb clothes or facing your fear of showing up late and looking rude.”

Oh she is going to kill this man.

She is going to hurt him in ways that will make the late night news.

He already knows her answer because he is taking her by the hand and leading her to his car. He knows that she knows that lateness is a bigger social offense than dressing ridiculously in a casual setting.

.oOo.

He thinks, at first that he had indeed made a terrible mistake. That he had maybe gone a touch overboard.

It starts with a snort from Zuko that he tries to mask and Suki spitting her soda with a laugh and an, “oh my…you I think I just got soda up my nose.”

Azula’s cheeks are very vividly red.

“You let Sokka dress you this morning, didn’t you?” Katara asks.

“A mistake, I assure you.” Azula replies stiffly.

“You don’t say.” Zuko comments.

He thinks that Azula is going to backhand he and Zuko both. But instead her hand tightens around his. He isn’t sure if he should contribute this to rising anxiety or a need to hurt him in some way, even a simple one.

“I don’t know, I think that it’s kind of cute.” Suki shrugs. “In this adorably geeky kind of way.”

“I can pick an outfit for you too, Suki!” He suggests.

At this, she bursts out laughing. “Do I get a fanny pack.”

He nods way too eagerly. “Everyone gets a fanny pack!”

“Fuckin’ sweet!” Toph shouts from behind. “Nice of you to invite Aang and I.”

“We didn’t extend the invitation because we knew that you’d show up anyways.” Zuko shrugs.

“I can’t believe that they tried to keep us from the fanny pack party, twinkle toes.” Toph throws her hands up. Sokka is fairly certain that she is genuinely disappointed about this horrific offense.

“Toph, you have never seen a fanny pack.” Azula grumbles. “You aren’t missing out on…”

“Sokka makes them sound pretty exciting.” She shrugs.

“They are!” He declares. “I love them very much. A very underappreciated form of storage.”

“Would you like to wear mine?” Azula offers much too eagerly.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Toph shouts, drawing the looks of several tables–namely Hama, Lo, and Li’s bingo table. He sees one of the bingo balls roll off the table and clink quite loudly in the newfound silence of the ice cream parlor. “B-6.” Sokka announces helpfully.

Still eyeballing Toph, Hama places a bingo chip over ‘B-6’, clears her throat, and mutters, “bingo.”

Azula looks much more than relieved to have the attention off of her and wholly on Toph instead. She finally settles into her seat and drums her fingernails upon the tabletop, one of her very subtle nervous gestures.

“Geez, all of this over a fanny pack…” Katara snickers. “How are you, Azula? Aside from Sokka being Sokka, I mean.”

“Hey!” His head whips around. But at least Katara is finally warming up to Azula. He supposes that it really hasn’t been all that long ago since Katara was bickering with her and accusing her of only hooking up with him to humiliate him later by dumping him at the homecoming dance.

Evidently, Azula still doesn’t seem to know how to handle this new, less combative dynamic. Her fingernails tap on the table a touch quicker. “I’m fine, I suppose. Although the entirety of my day has been Sokka shenanigans.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.” Suki cuts in. “If you ever need to talk, Katara and I have a Sokka support group.”

“A what?” He sputters, torn between this discussion and watching Aang try to convince Toph that bingo is in fact ‘badass’ and that they should take Lo and Li up on their invitation to join them.

“It’s a group for individuals who have to put up with you.” Suki shrugs. “So far we’ve got a sister and an ex girlfriend. Current girlfriend might be a good person to have on our list of attendees.”

“Azula would never!”

“Azula would definitely.” She grumbles.

.oOo.

Normally, Azula would wish that he hadn’t been right or, at least, would be disgruntled to be happy that he was right. But this time there is only relief. This time she thinks that she is simply glad that his stupid antics weren’t as silly as they had seemed.

Not for the first time since getting home, Sokka declares, “see, I told you they wouldn’t care!”

But it wasn’t an indifference at all, they seemed to love it. Toph more than anyone else but Jet too. Jet of all people. Jet with his boy band charm and his fashionista flare. He had remarked that the outfit was oddly enduring, and kind of cute.

This, of course, is not her aim but it is much better than being called hideous or unappealing.

All the same, she is more than ready to rid herself of this abomination of an outfit. The glasses and the shirt she could live with. The braids, minus the flashy hair clips are fine too. But she is more than content to be back in her own clothing; a loosely fitting sateen pajama set, cherry red in color with a pair of panda bear house slippers for comfort’s sake. Granted, the house slippers don’t exactly match but if she can wear that other fashion crime out in public then she can don a pair of unmatching slippers in the comfort of her own bedroom.

She wraps a blanket around her shoulders and finally decides to come out with the question that has been on her mind since entering the ice cream parlor. “It’s snowing outside, why are we still meeting up in an ice cream parlor?”

“The vibes.” Sokka answers.

“Exactly what vibe are we going for with that?”

“Funky adventurous vibes.” He replies.

“Confusing vibes, more like.” She takes a sip of her hot chocolate. And thrice as confusing when factoring in the continuation of bingo night and her wardrobe related–entirely unethical, she must say–social experiment.

“It went well and don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy the vibe.”

Azula shrugs. “We’re never doing that again. Unless, of course, I’m dressing you up.”

“Well it just so happens that I am already a man of no dignity. Do your worst.” He challenges.

And oh she plans to…

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Sokka #Azula #Sokkla #Fanfiction #sokkla saturdays 2022 #Sokkla Saturday

32 notes · View notes