#fire sibs

[prying-pandora666]

Azula And The Tides: The Most Misread Scene in ATLA

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:

“The tides scene shows how irrational and spoiled Azula is! She got lucky! She endangered her whole crew for her pride!”

Or any similar variation.

The only problem is it’s not even remotely close to true. Let’s talk about that.

Here is the scene in question for reference:

Seems pretty straightforward, right? I mean, the Captain warned Azula about the tides and she put her ego before reason and made the crew take a huge risk. Horrible leadership and narcissism on her part, right?

Except for one little detail.

Azula was right.

Remember in “The Storm” when Zuko demands his ship chase after the Avatar and his crew warns him that it’s a fool’s errand because they’ll surely perish in the storm? Zuko stubbornly insists his goals are more important than anyone else’s lives, including his Uncle, and demands they drive recklessly into the storm. Sure enough, the crew nearly perishes in the storm, just as predicted, and Zuko is humbled enough to even rescue his Lieutenant that he disrespected earlier in the episode.

I bring this up so we understand how ATLA sets up and then demonstrates its narrative cause and effect. It’s rather straightforward as, after all, this is being written to be inteligible to children.

So what happens with Azula’s ship when she demands they dock right away despite her Captain’s warnings?

The ship docks without incident or injury.

In fact, they dock stealthily enough that neither Zuko nor Iroh see Azula coming and she’s able to surprise them. How would this be possible if the Captain had been correct in his assessment and Azula had just been acting out of ego?

I’ve seen some people argue that Azula just got lucky, like a drunk person driving home in a car. Not that I expect the average person to have extensive knowledge about docking a ship, but it demonstrates a severe gap in knowledge of the subject matter. When it comes to the tides you cannot half-ass it. Either the tides are in or they’re not. Either they’re high enough or they’re not.

And if they’re not, what happens? The rocks you can’t see beneath the waves will shred your ship apart and you will get stuck or outright sink. Best case scenario, if by an act of divine intervention you avoided all the rocks, you’re still screwed because your ship is going to get beached and tip over. Especially with a ship of that size!

You cannot squeak by here. Even with all of our tech and modern day ships, if you don’t respect the tides, you’re going to have a bad time. There is no avoiding this.

It boggles my mind why people assume Azula is the one in the wrong here and not the Captain who is later shown to be so incompetent that he spoils the mission. He was talking down to her and she rightfully put in his place. Cold and ruthless as her method may have been, she was making it clear that she is not to be talked down to or to have her authority questioned. An important skill for a young leader. Look at the comparison with Zuko who couldn’t wrangle his men. They were about to mutiny and would’ve if Iroh hadn’t intervened! Azula has no Iroh to fall back on. She has to manage on her own. And she does! In this same episode we are shown that Azula is a perfectionist who can’t tolerate a single hair out of place. But somehow we are supposed to believe she is also reckless and incompetent? I don’t think so.

We also know that Azula canonically attended the Royal Fire Academy for girls. This wasn’t some preppy finishing school, it was an intense military academy with survival training so deadly that Rangi described having to eat worse than rats to make it out alive. We know Azula excelled in school. Why wouldn’t she know something as basic as how to read the tides? That’s seafaring 101.

Combine that with the fact that all their best naval officers probably perished at the North Pole and it’s easy to glean that this Captain isn’t exactly their A-Team.

So what IS the point of this scene if not to show Azula being irrational, egotistical, or incompetent?

Remember our comparisons to Zuko? The point of this scene is to show how much better and scarier of a leader Azula is. It’s a simple way to convey to the audience that unlike Zuko, Azula *can* and *does* command like a true military leader. She is therefor a more frightening and dangerous opponent for our heroes to face than the already dangerous Prince they’ve been battling since the previous season.

I don’t think this misinterpretation would’ve ever spread so far if some fans weren’t dead set on trying to tear down Azula for the simple crime of being better at things than fan-favorite Zuko.

And I say this as someone who adores Zuko.

#avatar the last airbender #Atla #avatar #azula #zuko #fire sibs #Youtube #Fandom flanderization

[firesibs]

#art by Meeyas #zuko #azula #fire sibs #fire siblings #hetsibs

[phoenix-king-ozai]

Ozai and Fire Family Headcanon!

My headcanon is that Ozai served as the Fire Lord’s Wrath for Fire Lord Azulon. He was his father’s personal enforcer and executioner.

Ozai was called the Demon Prince of the Fire Nation by his nation’s enemies. Also nicknamed Ozai the Oni or Ozai the Obliterator.

There is a 15-year age gap difference between Iroh and Ozai. Azulon resents Ozai for causing Ilah’s death in childbirth despite wanting another child to age into their prime for the return of Sozin’s Comet.

Ozai as second in line for the throne went on hunts looking for the Avatar as stated in Book 1 Episode 1. Ozai was the Grand Admiral for the Fire Nation’s Navy whereas Iroh was the Grand General for the Fire Nation Army. Azulon as Fire Lord of course was the Supreme Commander of the Entire Fire Nation Military.

Personality wise Ozai is very introverted and egotistical kinda like Aizen and Madara. Ozai doesn’t really care about having a romantic relationship and is very much asexual.

Ozai is actually very religious an Agni fanatic acutely. Ozai worships Agni as the Spirit of the Sun known as the Almighty, Glorious, and Divine Spirit of Flame along with Agni’s spirit animals known as Dragons and Phoenixes.

Iroh even gave Ozai his own Dragon egg to raise after he “slayed” the last dragon. Both Iroh and Ozai’s dragons were killed in the previous Seige of Ba Sing Se (there were probably many sieges of that city). However, Ozai came across a Phoenix and her eggs during his childhood and raised them.

Ozai’s teenage dream when Iroh becomes the Fire Lord in the future was to become the Head Fire Sage of the Fire Isles. Ozai also committed human sacrifices in Agni’s name of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe troops and civilians after razing a town, village, or city that resisted Azulon’s reign. The torture method is called Blood Phoenix and is similar to Blood Eagle from the Vikings in real history. Ozai does this because ancient Fire Nation customs and traditions of human sacrifice in Agni's name go as far back as the Sun Warriors and the ripping out of their enemy's hearts. This is based on ancient Aztec traditions.

Ozai truly did care for Ursa, Zuko, and Azula just like he used to for Azulon and Iroh in his teenage years. Ozai used to worship Iroh as the Dragon of the West and the famed Iroh as the Negotiator. However, Iroh and Ozai had a massive falling out during his teenage years.

Ozai deeply respects Azula as his heiress and apprentice. Ozai banished Ursa because she made him “weak” and “soft” regarding their children and his expectations of them as Fire Prince and Fire Princess of the Fire Nation.

#atla #fire fam #azulon #ilah #iroh #ozai #ursa #azula #zuko #avatar the last airbender #fire nation royal family #avatar #fire family #ozai headcanon #ozai speculation and theories #fire sibs #fire siblings #fire hazard duo #royal fire family

[prodogg]

That scene here is the most normal sibling interaction between the fire sibs, I can relate because when I ask my sister for something she just loves to include an insulting remark, like a typical sister, annoying her older brother to hell. I think without the adults in their life failing them and a non abusive household those two could have been very close, I mean the show gave us hints, with for example the blind teamwork between those two. All in all this was just peak sibling behavior.

#Zuko #princezuko #Prince Zuko #Azula #princess Azula #princessazula #atla #avatar the last airbender #pd talks #all my opinion #fire siblings #fire sibs #fire siblings meta #ofc it’s still fucked up since Zuko’s scar is still a sore spot for him and a low blow from Azula

[akiizayoi4869]

"Azula should be blamed for being the better child"

"Zuko can blame Azula for being the favored one and also being his abuser but Azula can't blame him."

...Wow. I'm not even going to bother saying who it is, seeing as my mutuals will know exactly what dumbass I'm talking about. And to anyone besides this dumbass who actually believes this garbage, I have one thing to say: fuck. you. Seriously, fuck you. Because now I'm actually pissed. I was bullied by students all throughout elementary school because I was always at the top of my class, and my teachers, to my complete and utter annoyance, would constantly use me as an example for what the other students should aspire to be. And I was constantly blamed and bullied for that for years, all because I had good grades and they felt as if it was somehow my fault that they didn't. My teachers knew about this and did nothing. Which then caused me to violently lash out at the other students as a result. You trying to tell me and literally every other kid who went through the same thing that we deserved that shit? Fuck you.

And you know what? Maybe Azula does blame him. Maybe she wanted him back for all that time but she couldn't because he was a "fuck up". And she blamed him for that.

Ever think that maybe the fucked up sibling relationship is the fault of the adults? Not hers? And that maybe, just maybe, neither one of them wanted their relationship to be that way? Azula does say this to him after all:

Ever think that they actually try to act like normal siblings when they aren't being pitted against each other? When things aren't being stacked against them? The tragedy of this is that things always WERE stacked against them.

Maybe, they were afraid of each other. Because they each represent what the other could become if they fell behind. And they were terrified of that. But at the end of the day, they are still siblings, being encouraged by the ADULTS to constantly fight each other and even kill each other. And yet they still care about each other. THAT is the tragedy of these two.

Ergo, Azula is not to be blamed for being the "better child". You know who all blame goes to? The adults in their lives. The adults who were supposed to protect them, love them, etc. It is NOT THE FAULT OF THE CHILDREN YOU DUMB FUCKS.

#atla #azula #zuko #fire sibs #can you tell that I'm mad? #akiizayoi4869

[ljf613]

On Cognitive Bias

A while back, I wrote a couple of posts about memory bias. (Actually, two posts.) And I just realized that I made a crucial mistake. I didn't define my terminology. This is something I try to do any time I make an argument relying on specific wording. You cannot have a conversation with someone who doesn't understand what you mean by the words you're trying to say.

For some reason I assumed that anyone reading the post would recognize the term "memory bias," which I know is not something most people are familiar with. Which means a lot of people saw the word "bias" and assumed I was using this definition:

[ID: Dictionary definition of the word “Bias”:

Noun 1. prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. End ID] 

This is not what I meant, and I should have expressed that better.

The term I used was "memory bias". This is also known as "cognitive bias" and "recall bias."

The best definition I can find is this one from TechTarget:

[ID: What is cognitive bias?

Cognitive bias is a systematic thought process caused by the tendency of the human brain to simplify information processing through a filter of personal experience and preferences. The filtering process is a coping mechanism that enables the brain to prioritize and process large amounts of information quickly. While the mechanism is effective, its limitations can cause errors in thought. 

Essentially, cognitive biases help humans find mental shortcuts to assist in the navigation of daily life, but may often cause irrational interpretations and judgments. End ID]

All of us do this. We're not robots-- our memories and priorities are colored by our emotions. We use mental shortcuts.

And this is especially true of our childhood memories. Most people don't accurately remember their entire childhood. (For example, one of the only things I remember about middle school is sitting in the bathroom crying. Intellectually, I know other things happened during that time, that there were also positive things, but my emotion-based memory only really remembers the hormone-induced angst.)

(Cognitive bias is not necessarily negative. One of the most common kinds of recall bias is known as "rosy retrospection"-- that's when you remember things as being better than they actually were.)

Important thing to understand: victims of abuse-- especially childhood and/or domestic abuse-- are some of the most prone to cognitive bias. (I initially encoutered the term when dealing with kids in foster care.)

They have to be. It's a defense mechanism. The human brain cannot comprehend this kind of trauma without some kind of shield. And the idea that "this person who is supposed to love and care for me doesn't" is something that's really hard to understand or accept, particularly for children (whose brains are still developing and look to the adults in their lives for guidance).

And so their brains will do anything to avoid it. And the more your brain does something, the better it gets. (There was a child I knew whose brain processed traumatic events by literally erasing any memory that was too hard/frustrating to understand. This was a problem when the kid needed to pass middle-school math and could not remember ever learning the material.)

This is not the victim's fault. They didn't choose this, and it was what they needed to do in order to survive. Think of it as a form of psychological frostbite-- the body deprives the extremities of needed heat in order to protect the vital organs. Frostbite saves lives-- but in prolonged cases, it has harmful and often permanent side effects, and sometimes, you end up losing some toes.

Or, you know, limbs.

#real life #memory #cognitive bias #tw domestic abuse #memory bias #tw child abuse #recall bias #shameless self plug #avatar the last airbender #fire nation royal family #toxic siblings #zuko and azula #fire sibs

[sexybeee]

Fire Sibs HC

(in this azula was redeemed and wasn't sent to a mental hospital)

Whenever Zuko finds out that Azula was upset/sad over anything, he'd have the chefs prepare the finest mochi in the world. then, he'd secretly deliver it to her room.

#fire sibs #avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #atla azula #siblings

[dbatla]

#azula #zuko and azula #fire sibs #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender

[zefirart]

Fell Céline and Alfred

#fire emblem #fire emblem fanart #fire emblem engage #fe17 #fe engage #fe fanart #alfred #celine #céline #FIRENE SIBS MY BELOVEDS EVEN WITH THE DEPRESSION SMH CRANKED UP TO THE MAX #If u think “huh haven't i seen alfred before?” u did but i fixed up something bothering me w the og so he gets put here again

[prying-pandora666]

If I pledge on Patreon will you post another page from the Book 4 Project rewrites for The Search? Even just a script page! I’m starving for Azula vindication or at least a meaningful moment between the Fire Sibs!

Please! The crumbs you posted have me chomping at the bit!

Ah geez. I reeeeally shouldn’t. I’ve gotten lightly reprimanded for being over-eager to share before haha!

The writing team is so good too. They don’t leak anything. It’s a bad look when the head writer is the one leaking.

Look, I’ll hold you to it, but this has to be the LAST ONE for the time being. I suppose I didn’t get to show any Zuko and Azula interactions so let’s try one.

As I said in my previous post, we changed the letters to a diary, using this as the framing device for the flashbacks and allowing the siblings to actually talk about these revelations:

(Blurry quality because I can’t release the final versions.)

So here is a scene where Zuko and Azula do just that! Right after reading the entry where Ozai accuses Ursa of Zuko being Ikem’s son (this plot point is significantly reworked), Zuko shuts the diary in frustration and we get this:

Book 3 was originally going to have a forced engagement arc for Azula (no, really, you can still find references to it in the wiki) that was cut, likely for time, so we added it back in! That’s what Azula is talking about here.

Azula negotiating for Zuko is also from the prequel manga! So we incorporated it:

Anyway, I hope that scratches your itch without giving too much away, Anon.

As always, scripts aren’t the finished product so don’t judge anything too harshly. I promise we are working very hard to bring the episodes to life! If you can afford to help us, consider pledging on Patreon. Otherwise, just signal boosting so we can stop getting buried by the YouTube algorithm would be a HUGE help!

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #book 4 air restoration project #azula #zuko #Fire sibs #The search

[firesibs]

‘There’s a fine line between love and hate.’

#prince zuko #princess azula #fire sibs #hetsibs #zucest #art not mine

[shiftywing]

actually really annoys me that we know next to nothing about moorhen's siblings. all of the other royal families have so much drama going on at all times & the mudwings are just. there

#as they are for 90% of the series but it still bothers me #i just hc bullfrog to be one of her sibs because at least that's SOMEONE #tui couldn't even bother with names?? #wof #wings of fire #moorhen #moorhen wof #wof moorhen #queen moorhen

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

i've convinced myself that Sunny is a serial gossiper, except the only other dragon that knows is Clay bc they're best buddies <3

#also click for better quality tumblr sucks and i draw small #hc that when they lived in the caves she'd just be constantly gossiping to clay #he wouldn't gather his own gossip but he'd keep up with her ramblings #sunny keeps it up at the academy and they have end-of-day gossip sessions #except this time he's started actively participating because he has his own tea now #im having feelings about these two as you can see #but im pretty sure sunny was consistently using clay as her personal jungle gym #so i think it'd be super cute if she's always just on him. they're the most tactile of the sibs i think #so for gossiping she'd just drape herself over his neck so that she can whisper and be understood #OH NO IM HAVING THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DRAGONETS' CAVE DAYS AND THE CHARACTER DYNAMICS/SHENANIGANS #my art #dragons #wof #dragonets of destiny #wings of fire #scribble salad #also i think their dynamic is like pike & grog's if youve watched vox machina #im slowly falling back into the wof pit send help and a rope please #mostly bc im fuckin around with dragon designs #like i based sunny a little off of a hognose snake + gave her speckling bc of thorn and qibli #and then with clay i want to go crocodile/bison??? except his horns turn down obviously #they stick out a little too #i want mudwings to have more goat/ram geared horn shapes #i havent read the books in years so forgive me

[ecoterrorist-katara]

It’s so funny reading Zutara and Azutara/Kazula fics at the same time bc the Fire Sibs’ responses to Aang could NOT be more different

Zuko: but he’s our friend, how do we make him feel better about this

Azula: “can’t wait til he reincarnates into a more pleasant individual”

#azula quote paraphrased from measure each step to infinity (and she’s so valid for this) #zuko reaction inspired by any number of ambassador katara fics #But one commonality is simping does run in the fire sib family and I love that #Zutara #azutara #kazula

[sharenalovemail]

i cant believe i havent seen this meme with them yet

#i have never drawn something as fast #fire emblem #fire emblem heroes #feh alfonse #feh sharena #sharena #alfonse #feh #askr sibs #tortilla arts #barbie mugshot redraw #barbie mugshot meme #i got new pens and they did wonders for my motivation apparently

[grissdarling]

my take on the solm sibs 🦅🏜🏝

#timerra #misutira #fogado #fogato #fire emblem engage #fe engage #fe17 #fire emblem #fe #engage #solm #solm sibbies #solm sibs #my art #doodles