Rewatching ATLA and I forgot how much I love Mai. She’s genuinely one of my favorite characters
From her first appearance we get this like edgy goth girl but she’s clearly so smart right off the bat- Ty Lee tried to deny Azula when Azula wanted her to leave the circus and then caved when threatened, but Mai gave her the reins immediately so she wouldn’t feel the need to assert her control, yet she keeps a lot of her own agency the whole time. She gives the vibe that she’s totally down for this but gives up just enough that Azula doesn’t suspect her loyalty, so that when she does take a stand against her for the sake of someone she loves, Azula is totally caught off guard- if she’d planned for Mai’s betrayal, Zuko almost definitely wouldn’t have gotten away. She plays her cards in a really smart and careful way and it’s subtle but so admirable to see.
She’s also a genuinely good friend in a way that’s easy to miss! Like she’s edgy wearing all black speaking monotone acting bored but the second she sees Ty Lee after Azula forced her away from the circus she’s like oh hey what are you doing here you were doing something and I know it made you happy! Azula acted dismissive of the circus but Mai didn’t at all, and she knew all about it, meaning that she kept in regular touch with her friend (Azula heard about it from somewhere else, but Mai specifically quoted Ty Lee’s feelings about it. One has to wonder if a reason she was so salty about her father’s job was because it tore her away from close friends). And there are scenes where Ty Lee is being Ty Lee and bouncing being silly, and you don’t notice at first because she’s being deadpan but Mai is playing along!
Idk I just really like her. I feel like she’s always just considered the edgy goth that gets in the way of Zutara but I think she’s awesome
