some of my fave atla post-war Azula headcanons (AKA I like to cry):
Ozai doesn’t live long after the war - he starves himself out of spite. He is cremated and his ashes are scattered across the hillside. Zuko and Iroh are the only people who attend the ceremony.
After Ozai passes, Zuko makes a point to see Azula every day. Months pass. She doesn’t say a single word until Zuko enters with a small cake Aang baked with a single candle. After he’s finished humming the traditional birthday song, Azula looks at him and says, “i couldn’t remember when my birthday was”. Zuko cries himself to sleep that night.
Years pass before Azula is trusted to take unsupervised trips away from her jail/hospital. When she sees a fire lily for the first time in years, Ty Lee and Mai see her cry for the first time in their lives.
By the time the assassination attempts have subsided and Zuko has gained a decent amount of control over the nation, Azula joins his ministry as an advisor. she is invaluable. when she nearly dies protecting Zuko from a particularly skilled and stubborn assassin, Katara heals her and calls her “sister”. Azula cries for the second time in her life.
The first time Azula laughs at one of Sokka’s awful jokes, you can hear a pin drop before Sokka laughs so hard he cries.
Katara will not let him forget that Azula is the only person who finds his jokes funny.
Toph and Azula have arm wrestling contests almost every day.
The gaang + Mai and Ty Lee learn quickly that Azula actually loves beach volleyball and make it a point to play it as often as they can
The first time Azula steps foot on Ember Island after the war, her and Zuko stare silently at the family house before Zuko says, “we’re home”. Azula dusts the pictures of her mother off. Zuko packs away the portraits of their father. Every year on her birthday, this is the only place Azula wants to be.
Eventually, Zuko gives Azula full property rights to the Ember Island house as a birthday gift.
For his wedding, Azula gifts Zuko their parents’ simple gold wedding bands he thought his father had no doubt thrown away. He weeps.
It takes a long time, too long Katara argues, but one day Azula wakes up in her prison to Iroh sitting outside her cell. This continues for weeks until she finally tells him to go away. He looks at her with tears in his eyes and says, “i have failed you, Azula.” it’s not exactly an apology, but the next day, Azula accepts the tea cup he offers her. forgiveness, she learns, feels nearly the same as grief.
Katara and Azula enjoy doing morning stretches together.
Azula is actually, like, stupid good at art???? Sokka hates it.
Azula earns enough from her art and royal duties to buy her own small estate off the Fire Nation coast, where she spends the majority of her time.
the gaang shows up uninvited way too often and Azula will die before admitting she looks forward to their impromptu visits
Azula and Aang play a dumb amount of pai sho together. like, a stupid amount of pai sho. their games last days.
when Zuko hears rumors of a dragon egg, he takes his sister with him. when they discover two, she takes the other and dotes on it so much, Sokka is both perplexed and amused. the rest of the gaang are just vaguely bemused. the dragons are spoiled rotten nonetheless.
Azula lives a long life, free from her father and abuse. she is free. she is happy. she is content. she heals. Zuko and her heal together and she gets to have a family that loves her. all is well.
