chaoticsandstorm

inactive.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Mai & Ty Lee helping Azula execute her revenge against the gaang for taking away her firebending despite not personally forgiving her

in a scenario where the Gaang took away Azula's firebending, oh yes. Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula have a strange friendship where they've known each other for their entire lives. Mai and Ty Lee drew a boundary with Azula and they discovered that there are things that they aren't willing to do for her, which led to their stint in the Boiling Rock, but that's not out of a personal hatred or dislike for Azula. it's just growing older and realising that your friend has grown in a different direction to you -- one that you aren't sure you support or are comfortable with, because it's going to get someone hurt. so you step back.

but nothing would stop Mai and Ty Lee from helping Azula get revenge if her firebending was taken away. friends, ex-friends, whatever, there are things you can't sit back and watch happen to someone you once cared for.

[chaoticsandstorm]

How would Azula react to Toph "showing her affection" in her way for the first time?

she'd be weirded out because people aren't necessarily physically affectionate in the palace. Mai isn't a touchy person so she and Azula don't touch, and Zuko would literally never have contact with Azula. we know that Azula can express physical affection -- she hugs Ty Lee and holds her wrists/hands at times. but my personal feeling is that Ty Lee initiated the hugs when they were little and Azula learned to adjust to that and mirror it back to Ty Lee.

so Toph's particular brand of "affection under the guise of mock fighting" would take her a little to get her head around, but she would quickly adapt and send it back to Toph

[chaoticsandstorm]

Is this where you're most active at? You have such wonderful thoughts and if you hang out elsewhere please tell us because you're easy to want to be around🥺

i wouldn't say i'm active anywhere haha but yes, this is where i post things. i'll sometimes talk in the end notes of my fics but this is the only platform i use to specifically talk about my ideas

[chaoticsandstorm]

Does azula consider herself a selfless/fearless leader?

selfless? no, i think she considers the fact that she wants results from people and certain actions so that she can stay in power and/or please her father, depending on which point of canon we're talking about. she wants people to follow her lead because that puts her into a place of authority. it's kind of a selfish motivator.

but fearless, more likely. we know Azula is afraid of things (her father, failure, not being good enough..) but in the context of leadership she's willing to take some really big risks to get the results that she wants. so i don't think she would consider herself selfless or fearless, but she's self aware enough to recognise the fact that she's a good leader and one willing to do what others are too scared of to attempt

[chaoticsandstorm]

Would Azula hate being seen crying?

oh absolutely. she'd despise someone seeing her when she's vulnerable. i don't think she's adverse to showing a little of that vulnerability to people she trusts, but Azula hates feeling weak and she hates people seeing her as weak eve nmore.

[chaoticsandstorm]

credit to an anon on a different blog: once azula gets redeemed she should cut her hair short and ditch her topknot to show that shes free of the expectations placed on her... thoughts?

i'm personally in love with this hc and include it in my fics/writing wherever i can. culturally, women would wear their hair bound as a symbol of propriety, but the topknot specifically represents things like honour and education and pride. (loosely speaking.) we all know what a big deal it was for Zuko and Iroh to cut their hair. i think it would be freeing for Azula to cut off her own hair and realise that nothing has to define her unless she lets it.

[chaoticsandstorm]

[Image Description: a piece of paper captioned “canon evidence of Azula’s unmistakable humanity”, followed by a series of panels where a character lablled “Bryke” looks at the paper and throws it onto a fire gleefully. /End Image Description.]

[chaoticsandstorm]

Would Toph suck at flirting like Azula or would she approach her crushes in a more laid back nonchalant way, knowing regardless of the outcome, in the long run the only person she ever really needs to try to satisfy in her life is herself?

honestly i feel like Toph would just keep rough-housing with them and punching their shoulder until they get the hint.

Toph: what do you mean physical violence isn't flirting??

[chaoticsandstorm]

What is the most important thing to Azula?

winning.

because she doesn't think she can get anything else.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Azula antis really love acting like they have some moral highground compared to Azula fans when talking about her "war crimes" or liking complex characters who are far from being called a good person altogether.

liking morally grey characters is all the rage until that morally grey character is a female abuse survivor who makes their fav look bad

[chaoticsandstorm]

You said that Azula doesn't believe that unconditional love is something that can actually be achieved. But is perfect unconditional incorruptible love something that can be achieved? I think unconditional love is possible, but only because of the supernatural. Without the supernatural, love is reductively biological: it did not exist before animals, and it won't exist after us. But with the supernatural, love is eternal.

in romantic and platonic relationships, no. if we blindly accept whatever behaviour another person does, then it becomes a toxic and unhealthy relationship.

but between parent and child?? while that child is still a child and developing and living under the parent's roof?

love needs to be unconditional there. you can't choose whether or not to love a child.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Do you think Azula ever considered Zuko selfish

100%. if he had just played the game like Azula did, it's likely that he never would have been banished by their father.

Azula had her own moments where she skirted close to danger with Ozai but never to the same extent that Zuko did, and that's because she was the "golden child". in Azula's mind, all Zuko had to do was go along with what Ozai expected of them -- but Zuko refused. she struggles to understand why he didn't just put more effort into pretending, without really understanding that the mental burden of maintaining that sort of pretence was more than what Zuko was capable of. it's also against his character to try and hold an act like that.

not saying Azula/Zuko was right or wrong, but i can understand why Azula would have wanted to shake Zuko and just go: "ACT, you idiot! just say yes and move on!" while Zuko is sitting there knowing that if he pretends to be the son his father wants, any love/affection he gets will be based on a lie.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Zuko literally rolled his eyes at the idea of forgiveness in "The southern raiders". How can anyone think this immature emotional erratic teen can help Azula post-war let alone is ready to be a ruler preaching about the new era of "Peace and kindness"? THIS Zuko still has a long way to go and learn before he can be anyone's "Iroh figure", the best thing he can do for Azula for now is find her a good hospital and people who can "handle" her better while he proceeds to heal and fix his own shit. I'm not even mentioning whether he'll want to help her altogether.

agree to disagree on the hospital part but i understand what you mean there.

Zuko has a lot of personal growth to do post-war and he's not necessarily in the best position to help Azula with her own recovery. maybe this is just me, but although Zuko can be emotional and erratic, i think the same can be said for each ATLA teenager at various points, just to different degrees. post-war, Zuko is in a position of greater responsibility and that brings you to your wits a lot more quickly than if you were left to mature organically.

but i agree that Zuko isn't the best person to help Azula immediately post-war and he's not a magical guardian figure or a perfect preacher who can somehow pull Azula from her ~darkness~. he's stubborn and finds it hard to put himself in other people's shoes and too-often assumes he's right without any proof.

that being said, at the end of the Agni Kai i think he finally showed some signs of understanding what Azula's life must have been like and how they didn't have to be enemies. Azula consistently tried helping Zuko and integrating him back into their family, so if that effort was returned by Zuko then personally, i think that could be beneficial for both of them with their healing and growth.

which is where i think some people encourage the idea of Zuko being her "Iroh figure" post-war. you're right -- Zuko is not in a place to be anyone's main mentor/guardian/figure, but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't be involved with Azula at all. they're both still growing up and you can do that together.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Hot take Azula is more of a hardworker than Zuko

that's just fact at this point.

Azula was a natural prodigy but she actually seemed to understand that you have to work if you want to grow. she knew that talent can only get you so far if you don't nurture it. Azula's first few episodes established her as someone who works closely with her tutors/teachers (Lo and Li) and who spends a lot of time training and perfecting her skills without accepting any mistakes. natural talent gave her a boost, but she worked hard to get to where she is.

on the other hand, Zuko made the common mistake of thinking, "i'm never going to be as good as Azula is naturally, so what's the point in even trying?"

which, sadly, is a common theme between siblings when one seems to excel.

[chaoticsandstorm]

Not trying to sound rude but your interpretation of how Mai calls Azula coward smells like hypocrisy on Mai's end to me. Mai acting all superior over Azula bc she chose to leave what was wearing her down, looking down on her for doing the same, meanwhile Azula was the one who provided her with this opportunity on a silver plate in the first place.

I mean, what's Mai's excuse exactly? She didn't exactly look like whe was about to snap and leave at Omashu, starting a new life. She looked like she knew she was rotting away for months and has been wasting her life for years, yet– what did she do until Azula showed up? What did she say? Did she say a word of objection to her parents, that she didn't want to move to Omashu where she'd be even more miserable? That she's her own person who should be free to decide for herself and she's sick of being their doll daughter/political tool? The difference between Mai and Azula's family fuckeries is that Mai wasn't manipulated and gaslighted into loving her abuser/s, and believing that her value and free will are defined by, where do I even start? Her status in life, her culture, her nation's legacy, her father's, the Fire Lord's will, the list goes on and on and on.

Mai should try walking a mile in Azula's shoes. She should try having Ozai raise her when she has to constantly operate under fear of getting burned, banished, disowned or disclared a wanted outlaw. I'd see how much braver and freer Mai would be in Azula's place, if she had Ozai's mind-fuck no jutsu anchoring her back to her abuser who's like, the only family member she'd have left.

For someone whose character is supposed to revolve around freedom Mai isn't exactly the epitome of freedom herself. Knowing you're being exploited by your family that doesn't appreciate you, only putting on resting bitch face facade as a cover that she's somehow above and not affected by it? Not far from Azula's level of cowardice and patheticness if you ask me.

"Azula avoids her feelings", "Azula never mentions her mother", "Azula doesn't stand up to her father" Boy, sure reminds me of someone else.

But seriously whether they like it or not, Mai and Azula are insanely alike. Mai, unlike Azula, may realize that she's not happy and chooses other people's happiness over her own, but she was just as coward to change that until Azula showed up to pull her out of her misery and provide her with everything she could ask for. How lucky and convenient for her.

To be fair, Mai is not that mature to understand what abuse does to people and the degree Ozai's influence over Azula and why she chooses to do things the way she does. Arguably, canon Mai doesn't really even understand that she herself was mistreated by her parents, so I can actually see her calling Azula a coward either way. Because in Mai's eyes, come on, she's Azula, not a helpless, poor, pitiful meow meow, she knows her better than most people.

Regardless, even if Mai knew and understood the full extent of Azula's "situation" that makes her a coward in her eyes, even if Mai understands why exactly Azula continues to do what she does, she's not going to put up with Azula's bs and be under her heel forever. Mai has self-respect and dignity regardless of Azula's daddy issues or whatever tf she forces people to go along on her missions for.

Mai and Azula are very similar and it's easier to cast stones at your reflection than at yourself

[chaoticsandstorm]

did you ever read more of that one atla fanfic?? dominion??

it took me a second to remember what fic you were talking about which should be answer enough lol

i don't think it gripped me enough to keep reading?? i'm not saying it was a bad fic or anything, i think it just wasn't what i was looking to read at that moment so i didn't continue

[chaoticsandstorm]

anon just read the first chapter of the fight chooses you and holy shit... anon heard grey delisle's voice when listening to azula's dialogue during their reading session, amazing job

it's not often that someone brings up my ao3 on here so i had to take a moment lol. my heart is all warm and glowy <3 glad you liked!

(for the record, the final chapter IS getting written, i'm just working through it slowly.)