#fire nation culture

[phoenix-king-ozai]

Live footage of Azulon when the son he treats like trash and obviously wants his attention to the point he legit names his kid after him but with a more feminine sounding ending kills him after forty years of him being an awful parent: Shoced Pikachu face.

Yeah you can't tell Ozai didn't want to kill Azulon but simply never had the courage to go through with it. A part of me feels he was waiting for the bastard to kick the bucket and I'm of the opinion that outside of fear, the other reason he didn't try tripping the bastard down the stairs was because Iroh would get the throne anyway and whilst Azulon's death can be brushed off as the fucker just getting old, Iroh dying at the same time would raise red flags and it's only when Lu Ten dies and Iroh retracts his birth right does Ozai dare to even try insinuating he should get the throne.

I believe that Ozai and Azulon had a very complex, turbulent, and strained father-and-son relationship. My theory regarding Fire Lady Ilah's death is that she had complications while giving birth to Ozai and died in a traumatic childbirth scenario. Perhaps, Fire Lord Azulon desired to have another child in case of Crown Prince Iroh's death on the battlefield. Ilah probably was at the age where having another child was risky in her mid-40s or possibly infant Ozai burning Ilah alive from the inside out causing the Fire Sages to perform a bloody C-Section which led to her death due to immolation, blood loss, and overwhelming pain.

If this scenario is truly the canon case regarding Fire Lady Ilah’s death. Then I could see Fire Lord Azulon scapegoating Ozai for being the cause of Ilah’s death especially if Azulon forcibly demanded Ilah to conceive another child as a potential backup replacement heir for Iroh’s death in warfare along with the return of Sozin’s comet coming in the next half century. I can see both Azulon and a teenage Iroh resenting, neglecting, and verbally abusing Ozai during his childhood due to their beloved wife and mother dying horrifically in tremendous tormenting pain. Adult Iroh probably later resents and regrets how he and his father treated Ozai during his early formative years as a child and the negative effects it had on their relationship and Ozai’s own relationship with his own personal family with Ursa, Zuko and Azula…

However, I believe that despite the hateful resentment and negatively neglectful child abuse. Ozai during his youthful childhood and teenage years greatly appreciated, admired, and respected his father as Fire Lord and Supreme Commander of the Fire Nation Military and brother as Grand General of the Fire Nation Army. Ozai probably very much idolized and worshipped his father and brother as legendary war heroes and genius strategists who followed in his grandfather's legendary footsteps in achieving absolute victory for their homeland and people against the “barbaric snow savages” of the Water Tribes and “incompetent dirty filthy” Earth Kingdomers. Ozai probably later on during his adulthood began to resent Azulon for his maltreatment and neglect of him despite him being his ultimate idol as shown by his naming of Azula after him. Ozai also probably resents how Azulon values and has a better relationship with Iroh and Lu Ten than him due to Ilah’s death. I can definitely see Teen Ozai being fanatically loyal to Azulon just like Zuko was for Ozai due his exile.

Ozai is more ruthless, brutal, and vicious than his older brother Iroh. Iroh had taken after Ilah's influence and parenting style whereas Ozai had taken after Azulon’s influence and parenting style. Iroh probably is brainwashed and naive to believe that the Fire Nation truly cares about the prosperity of the other elemental nations whereas as Ozai is extremely realistic and pessimistic regarding the so-called “benevolent” plans for the other nations by their grandfather Sozin. Ozai probably internally realized and demoralized himself regarding the Fire Nation's true brutal, vicious, cruel, and selfish desire for imperial conquest. Which is why personality Ozai is much more strict, cold, ruthless and serious than his brother due to their different outlook on society and what it means to be a parent, warrior, and Fire Prince of the Fire Nation.

Ozai's parenting style is very authoritative, demanding, controlling, and ruthless like the Fire Nation Empire itself. Ozai most definitely inherited this style of dominating and vicious dictatorial parenting method from Azulon who inherited it from Sozin. Ozai treats his children more like soldiers and pawns for the Fire Nation's grand schemes and designs. Their happiness, wishes, and desires mean nothing to him to the cost of his family's Imperial Legacy. Ozai and Ursa used to have a happy family with Zuko and Azula, but Ozai "changed" when the children became older. I believe Ozai decided to allow Zuko and Azula to have a happy and "normal" childhood that he didn't experience as a child. However, once Ozai saw a chance in becoming Fire Lord and fulfilling Sozin's dream and legacy. Ozai gave up on the lenient and caring fatherly act because it was unnatural to him given his own personal childhood and relationship with his own father Fire Lord Azulon. Along with the fact that Ozai probably believes that with Ursa gone; he finally can stop coddling his children after their childhood has ended.

Unfortunately, Ozai cares more about the Fire Nation's imperialistic ambitions than the happiness of his wife and children. At the end of the day, Ozai doesn't understand and value the unconditional and pure love of a parent because he probably has never gotten to experience it with Fire Lord Azulon probably being resentful over Fire Lady Ilah's brutal and horrific death in childbirth!

Ozai's harshness and brutal parenting style and domineering expectations are because Ozai wants Zuko and Azula to both prove themselves. Ozai doesn't favor Zuko or Azula. It is about which child will succeed Sozin, Azulon, and his legacy as future Fire Lord. In fact, Ozai doesn't want Zuko or Azula to think that they are the “favorite” child. He wants Azula and Zuko to improve through competition. Because of the “only the greatest of pressures can forge diamonds” & “steel sharpen steel” mentality. Ozai has the mentality of an imperialist warlord. Ozai isn't trying to be the world's most loving and caring father but rather continue and build upon a powerful and dominant legacy that his forefathers had created before him. He wants Zuko & Azula to be cold, ruthless, heartless, vicious, and brutal imperialistic warmongers like him (Ozai), his father (Azulon), and his grandfather (Sozin).

#Sozin #Azulon #Ilah #Iroh #Ozai #Zuko #Azula #Fire Nation Royal Family #Fire Nation Parenting #Fire Nation Culture #Fire Nation Society #ATLA #Avatar: TLA #Avatar: The Last Airbender #Royal Fire Fam Cycle of Abuse #Fire Nation Royal Family Meta

[baelconfessions]

It's a common thing in fanfics that firebenders run hot – slightly higher body temperature can't hurt you if you have this spirit blessing, right?

Weeeeell. This reproduction method of ours requires a slightly lower temperature for a healthy sperm. Does this mean that male firebenders have a higher chance to be infertile? Or do they have to consciously lower their body temperature to have babies?

You may have heard of those spas where the water helps with baby making. Just picture it. Fire Nation, a high enough mountain to actually have chilly weather, some cozy little cottages and a lake with cold water, with a bunch of firebenders freezing their balls off to have kids.

#the wives are in the common room sharing tips and tricks #making baby clothes and swearing that they won't name their kid Li #'I know it's traditional Hanako but Agni it's getting ridiculous! half of the village is Li at this point' #while the hubbies #'hey Li nice to see you again how is it goin' #'all fine my daughter is starting to speak. her first word was nanigata i'm so proud! and you? still trying for a second?' #'nah we have two son now. my wife wants to have a daughter too but blast me if i come back here for a fourth round if it is a boy again' #there is that age gap between iroh and ozai what if it is because of azulon #back to the hubbies #'good day your majesty' #atla #avatar #fire nation #fire nation culture #headcanon #i'm so sorry #bael confessing

[zuko-always-lies]

Mai: Zuko, leave her alone. Zuko: (mocking) 'I'm so pretty, look at me. I can walk on my hands, whoo!' (Zuko does a hand stand. Cut to shot of Ty Lee looking sad. Cut back to Zuko who is upside down. He lets himself fall to the sand) Circus freak! (Cut to shot of Ty Lee beginning to cry and Azula sits in the background) Azula: (laughs) Ty Lee: Yes, I'm a circus freak. Go ahead and laugh all you want. (gestures toward Azula, who looks away) You wanna know why I joined the circus?

x

Ty Lee: It is so good to see you! Azula: (smiling) Please, don't let me interrupt your... (raises an eyebrow, searching for the right word and failing) whatever it is you were doing. (Ty Lee, still smiling, flips over backwards and ends up lying on her chest, with one of her feet arched over in front of her head, the other pointing straight up into the air. In the background, three circus people try unsuccessfully to coax a platypus bear dressed in red vest and wearing a fez to move.) Azula: Tell me, what is the daughter of a nobleman doing here? Certainly our parents didn't send us to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls to end up in... (cut to a shot of the efforts with the platypus bear, Azula continues, with a slight note of contempt in her voice) places like this.

There is something interesting that occurred to me about Azula and Zuko’s disdain for Ty Lee’s involvement in the circus. In both Ancient Rome and Imperial China,* being a professional entertainer was generally considered to be a low-class and unclean activity, utterly unsuitable for anyone from a good family. I think the same is likely true for the Fire Nation. Circus performers might even be socially associated with prostitution and sex work.** All of this helps make it clearer why Ty Lee being involved with the circus is such a huge deal for Zuko and Azula.

*”Imperial China” obviously is a term which attempts to conveniently collapse thousands of years of history.

**I’m not saying Ty Lee engaged in prostitution. I’m saying that it’s likely that upper-class Fire Nation citizens would associate circus performers with prostitution.

#Ty Lee #Azula #Zuko #circus and low class #fire imperialism #fire nation culture #classism

[kingoftheu]

Avatar Fic! Ty Lee and Azula go to the Fire Festival and stuff!

#avatar the last airbender #avatar #azula #azula avatar #avatar azula #ty lee #ty lee avatar #avatar ty lee #fire nation #Fire nation culture #avatar mai #mai avatar #zuko #atla zhao #ty lee atla #ty lee x azula #tyzula #lesbian #bisexual #pansexual

[atlaculture]

Cultural Practices: Pai Sho - The Game

I'm honestly a little embarrassed it took me this long to get to this topic! As always, credit goes to @atla-lore-archive for saving all the neat ATLA tidbits and concept art from the old Nick website.

Pai Sho (牌數), meaning "several game pieces" in Chinese, takes inspiration from a few different table games:

Its most obvious influence is the German game Sternhalma, known in the English-speaking world as Chinese Checkers. Like Chinese Checkers, the game is played on a circular board.

The lines on the board and the circular tiles are reminiscent of Xiàng​qí (象棋), known in the English-speaking world as Chinese Chess. The pieces often being positioned on the intersection of lines is also very similar to Chinese Chess.

The game's four player limit and visually creative tiles are reminiscent of Mahjong (麻将), China's most famous tile game. In particular, the iconic white lotus tile appears to draw heavily from the classic Mahjong one-dot tile.

Finally, the name Pai Sho was likely inspired by Pai Gow (牌九), meaning "nine game pieces" in Cantonese--- which is both a domino game and a style of poker.

Just like ATLA's animals, it seems that Pai Sho is a fusion of different real life sources. In the next posts, I'll be covering the symbolism and cultural significance behind each Pai Sho tile shown in ATLA.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #cultural practices #water tribe #earth kingdom #fire nation #air nomads

[muffinlance]

I'm sorry, this was bothering me enough to send in an ask.

The stupid question is: how strict is Earth-Kingdom-is-China vs Fire-Kingdom-is-Japan generally? I mostly ask because although none of the canon characters use real Japanese names, but it feels like everyone uses Japanese names for Fire Kingdom and Chinese for Earth, which makes Chinese Wanyi for Zuko's ship not fit in.

I mean, the waters are muddied from China's historical domination over the area, and it's a really great pun, but I woke up and my brain wouldn't let go of the entirely petty issue.

Ugh. Sorry for the stupid ask, especially since I don't come bearing any like funny trivia with to mitigate with. Please feel free to disregard as well, especially since I'm too cowardly to link to my actual tumblr account.

There's absolutely no strictness, because that's a fanon division anyway, and not one I adhere to. Fanon is fake and we can make of it what we want, and I want the pretty ship name!

#I tend to use Japanese names and culture #because I minored in Japanese and lived in Japan for awhile #I use Chinese and other Asian-country concepts as I become aware of them #the show itself deliberately mixes cultures across the board #probably because they realized making the Fire Nation == Japan would be #Uh #Rather on the nose #Historically speaking

[comradekatara]

sokka hates the fire nation but nonetheless subscribes to their logic through internalizing his own dehumanization, albeit in the name of sacrificing what is necessary to resist imperialism. on the other hand, aang refuses to sacrifice his humanity, which is intrinsically tied to the culture that was deemed deserving of extermination, and by recognizing the fullness of his personhood and his intrinsic right to exist, he defeats the tenets of imperialism on an ideological battleground. that is why it is so crucial that aang’s influence over sokka, as an air nomad, and as someone who did not grow up under the looming shadow of colonialism and genocide, is what helps him regain the childhood he had forsworn in the name of war—his laughter, his joy, and his humanity.

#aang&sokka #aang #sokka #obviously aang performs this function for every principal member of the gaang #with katara it’s immediate (see: penguin sledding 5 minutes after meeting) #and with toph it’s less pronounced (id argue that sokka is more crucial to tophs process of valuing her humanity than aang although aang #lays the groundwork for it by being the one to recognize her potential) #and with zuko he has also been dehumanized by the fire nation but like. it’s not the same of course #whereas sokka and aang have largely been dehumanized in the same way #as victims of genocide #and obviously katara too #but katara has the same viewpoint as aang from the beginning #that she deserves to exist and fights for her cultural values #whereas sokka thinks that KATARA deserves to exist. that everyone does EXCEPT himself #so aang’s influence reminds him that he’s NOT uniquely disposable/sacrificial/unworthy #he’s a person too! #and he does so through the simple bond of friendship. through joy & laughter & fun #the values that were instilled into him by the air nomads #and it’s not like sokka COMPLETELY internalizes it #or that aang is the only one who attempts to impart this lesson #but it’s why their friendship is so important #because sokka accepts imperialist logic and aang refuses to #aang’s importance cannot be overstated #which is kind of funny to say bc he is the protagonist. the titular role #but ppl like to ignore that #which is crazy . but whatever

[junotter]

Part 2 of my modern avatar au, The Gaang (part 1)

#avatar aang #atla katara #atla toph #atla sokka #atla suki #atla #avatar the last airbender #modern avatar #atla modern au #my art #atla fanart #kataang #CAUSE THEY ARE IMPORTANT IN THIS AU #lots of inner debates on how to deal with aang's tattoos and if to make him say an actual buddhist #decided that he and monk gyatso (plus a handful of others) are/were part of a largely dying religion of a nomadic group #from the himalayan/tibetan plateau region that's a mix of buddhism hinduism and other religions (plus air nomad culture) #due to the politics of region aang and gyatso traveled around the world which is how he met katara and sokka #who were on a fieldtrip in the south (of canada) #they live in the Qikiqtaaluk Region originally in a smaller northern town but to continue their schooling they moved to iqaluit #Toph is from China and she met the gaang during the first big trip sokka katara and aang took together (at aangs begging) #meet her the summer before katara's first semester of college (so she was 18 aang 16 sokka 19 toph 16) #also by 16 aang is his own guardian cause of gyatso's death so he just does whatever p much #suki from okinawa and they meet briefly another summer of college when traveling to a bunch of islands in the pacific #suki specializes in and teaches ryukyuan martial arts (she's ryukyuan) #all reunite after sokka and katara's graduation (katara graduates a year early) during aang sokka and kataras celebration world tour #where they come into full actual contact with the fire nation crew #they are all in their twenties in these expect for monk aang who is a teen #hehe i cant wait to make more for this auuuu

[ionlybleedbubbles]

#avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #atla aang #fire lord ozai #fire bending #humour #fandom culture #zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #uncle iroh #funny tweets #atla fandom problems #fire nation #arenting #parenting #parenting problems #dad problems #daddy issues #Son issues

[woahjo]

i think all the time about the line "in what year did fire lord sozin defeat the air nation army" and then aang responding "is this a trick question? the air nomads didn't have a formal army" and the implications of the history that the fire nation had been rewriting for a century. the implication that the air nomads (a peaceful nation) weren't brutally ambushed, but rather that they were ready to fight and may have even been eager to do so. absolving the fire nation of some of the guilt in a total genocide and painting the narrative that the air nomads were ready to defend themselves and/or that the attack on the air nomads was anything but a one sided ambush. i think about it a lot.

#this scene in particular actually devastates me in a visceral way #because it is ONLY aang alive now to remember first hand that the air nomads didn't have a formal army #that it was part of their principles and their cultural identity to NOT have one #that the air nomads largely preached pacifism #and he's the only one alive able to refute the history that the fire nation rewrote based on his own first hand testimonies. #almost everyone else who could do that is dead #and of course.. other nations know it was a brutal attack.. but there's something so deeply sinister #about the implication that aang is from the colonies followed by that scene #because it means that this is a conscious effort to indoctrinate not just fire nation citizens... but the PLANET #and aang is literally the only person who can refute it. #MAN. #i love atla

[phoenix-king-ozai]

If Azula was in The Agni Kai with Ozai instead of Zuko and he ordered her to fight for her honor what do you think she would do when she fight 

First of all, I highly doubt the Agni Kai would happen because Azula wouldn't disrespect Ozai’s general plan without being invited to the war room in the first place. Nor would Azula burst out screaming at the general in the war room in front her father and the Royal War Cabinet. She would ask her father for permission to speak and criticized the plan with any faults she sees in its execution. Azula wouldn't cared about the immorality of it given it helps the Fire Nation achieve a massive military and political victory over the Earth Kingdom.

However, if Azula ever for some reason had to fight an Agni Kai with her father. She would do her traditional cultural and religious duty of fighting in Agni's name and for the Fire Lord aka her father.

You would be branded as cowardly for trying to escape from an Agni Kai Duel and not stand on business for your honor. No matter who it is. Which is why Azula would fight Ozai without being scarred or banished after a good match. Zuko joining Ozai’s war meeting uninvited, yelling at his elderly war general, and refusing to commit sacred ritualistic Fire Nation tradition of an Agni Kai duel would have caused Ozai to kill him immediately if he wasn't his son!

Folks, act like Ozai just woke up one day and decided to challenge his son to an Agni Kai duel for no reason! Zuko broke Royal and Cultural Traditions twice during that day. If Zuko believes strongly in his convictions during the war room then he should have no issue dueling his father over them instead of an elderly old man passed his prime. Iroh didn't want Zuko to join Ozai’s war room because he knows Zuko is hotheaded and will act on his emotions instead of stoicism and logic.

There in the Fire Nation, they stand ten toes on their business!!!! 👔 🏦

#atla #ozai #zuko #azula #avatar #fire family #fire fam #avatar the last airbender #fire nation royal family #fire nation society #fire nation imperialism #fire nation culture #ozai and azula ⚡️🔥⚡️🔥⚡️🔥 #ozai and azula will always stand on business like a bank! 🏦

[toph-bi-fong]

I’m starting to see how the FN could be more inspired from Thailand than from Japan, especially when it comes to its architecture.

#it could be a mix of multiple cultures- but the architecture DEFINITELY looks similar to Thailand #fire nation

[zuko-always-lies]

What would be the gender expectations of fire nation women in their aggressive hypermasucline society?

I would expect that elite women are expected to be loyal and obedient to the families, their husbands, and their nation, to marry out of political expendiency rather than love, and to support their husbands/sons/families in politics. I think they're also supposed to show greater care toward their first born sons, since those are the heirs of the family, while raising their daughters to be loyal and self-sacrificing. I think maybe that elite Fire Nation women aren't always expected to be the most naturing, but also of course that they are discouraged from military and martial pursuits.

On other hand, Roku and Ta Min's story, Mai and Zuko's behavior, and On Ji's bio suggest maybe that marrying for love is far from unheard of, even among the elite, and it might be getting more common.

#Fire Nation culture #sexism

[asherisawkward]

I feel as though the crew needed to read on dictatorship and colonialism so they can better portray them in the show I feels as thought it a tell don’t show type of phenomena, the isles became a utopia when Belos is gone and no one was upset their ruler was missing, the rebels didn’t provide evidence that Belos was planning a Genocide, and Philip was able to one-handily conquer the isles with the guise of wild magic being dangerous because why?

A lot of different stories have trouble portraying the power struggle and difficulties that arise as a result of a strong government with tight control of the people being removed.

In Avatar the Last Airbender, they did an incredible job of portraying the loss of culture and distinct boundaries due to the colonial behavior of the Fire Nation and even the way it affected the livelihood of towns and cities under it. They didn’t have time to also depict the way that the political structure would shift to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. This has led to a feature generally referred to as “The Good Successor” or something similar. The basic premise is that there is a descendent of the big bad who assisted the heroes and will take over after the fall of the aforementioned villain, allowing for a more satisfying resolution with less worries about the future while it’s implied that changes will happen after. In the example I used, Zuko would be this character.

The Owl House….did not do this. They don’t talk about the various ways that cultural traditions and history were erased by Philip’s actions and control of the government. From what we saw of Elsewhere and Elsewhen, he didn’t need to change much, anyway. The Isles already conform to the European and Colonial behaviors imposed by most wide-spread colonial empires, so there doesn’t appear to be a great loss of information history or culture, although there were mentions on the restriction of knowledge. They don’t mention any of the ways that the dissolution of the Covens affected the Isles or even what they did to counter that. It feels unrealistic and, quite frankly, lazy. Bad things don’t just go away because the person with the most power does; actual changes need to be made.

#The Owl House #TOH #Philip Wittebane #Emperor Belos #Destruction of history and culture #Dissolution of imperial powers and structures #TOH criticism #TOH critical #Avatar the Last Airbender #ATLA #Fire Nation Empire #Effects of colonization and imperial control #Prince Zuko #transition of power

[lazyveran]

About the azutara political marriage u have said katara is a jealous person . I want to ask why do u say katara is super jealous and does katara ever fight ty lee or is it just azula who gets the complains. Also Is azula jealous and possessive with Katara too?

so outside jealous katara being canon (my beloved...) i think in the context of the au katara is only really allowed One Person. azula is her State Mandated Partner and it's extremely frustrating when people, cough ty lee cough, undermine that and make her feel insecure about her position within court. wider, katara is very unsure and insecure about her place in fn culture PERIOD, and ty lee's familiarity with azula is something that challenges her pre-conceived notions (or guesswork) about FN marriage and their social customs around that ect, as well as her own cultural norms when it comes to a married couple.

so it's not fun for katara at all. its confusing, azula's attitude is confusing, and ty lee is also really nice? outside of azula? katara is upset and angry and CONFUSED about all of it. so she goes and yells at azula. multiple times. because ultimately azula should be the one telling ty lee no, as SHE is the one thats married, and so the responsibility falls to her. its all a little excrutiating telling azula her relationships are weird.

azula herself is. weird about her possessiveness. she doesnt percieve anyone below her rank as a threat because, well, in azula's eyes they aren't. shes arrogant like that. she's so used to the court flirting-flattery that if katara is on the recieving end of it, its normal. azula only acts on her possessiveness if its to protect katara's honour, curbing toph and her very... generous... comments, or as egotistical power plays to lord over people that katara is hers, thank you very much. she's also subtly possessive on a day to day basis, trying to dress katara in her household symbols and blues, physical tokens of affection, touching her hair in public, that sort of thing. katara doesnt recognise those little acts until way later into their relationship

#fire nation culture my beloved. its so quietly romantic #azutara #political marriage au #anon ask

[atlaculture]

Cultural Practices: Pipa

Other than the fictional tsungi horn, the pipa is the instrument that gets the most attention in the ATLAverse. A pipa (琵琶) is a traditional Chinese lute. The four-string pipa is quite an old instrument, being over a thousand years old. As a result, the way it has been played has evolved quite a bit. During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), the instrument was played horizontally, like a guitar. Nowadays, the pipa is played vertically, like a cello. It’s interesting that Jee plays in the modern style, while Iroh and the Flamey-Os play in an antiquated style. Maybe it’s a reflection of class? Iroh and the school children are well to do, so maybe they had to learn the older, more rigid way. Jee might be self-taught, so he could have learned to play from observing street performers.

Just a little headcanon of mine. Anyways, enjoy some nice pipa music below:

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

#avatar #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #fire nation #cultural practices #mood music #earth kingdom