A tournament to determine Zuko’s peak form @peak-zuko-tournament - Tumblr Blog

Final Round!!!

That's right folks! The final round is official upon us! Which Zuko will prevail? That is up to YOU to decide-- happy voting!

Here's the final matchup:

"Hello, Zuko here" vs "That's rough, buddy?

The final round will be posted in a couple minutes

#also sorry for the delay #i had a lot of things to do in the last week and... yeah. sorry about that #peak zuko tournament bracket #peak zuko tournament #atla zuko #zuko #avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #atla #tournament poll #zuko tournament #not a poll #zuko sweep #thats rough buddy #hello zuko here

joodeegemstone

i love zuko's transformation from homicidal maniac with bad hair to homosexual maniac with great hair

#zuko posting

deactivated-user-00008915842310

I cannot get over what a people-pleaser zuko is at heart. that boy did NOT want to go on that date with jin!! he ONLY went on that date because iroh wanted him to go and zuko wanted to make his uncle happy!!

listen to me. EVERYTHING about that date was zuko trying to make iroh happy. zuko went on the date (he did not want to go on the date). zuko wore the fancy earth kingdom clothes that he CLEARLY did not feel comfortable in and had not picked out for himself (he did not want to wear the fancy earth kingdom clothes). zuko allowed iroh to style his hair WITH HAIR GEL (he did not like the hair gel) and sat still for TEN WHOLE MINUTES until iroh was satisfied with his look (he did not want to sit still).

and he went on the date (he did not want to go on the date). zuko ate the noodles (he did not like the noodles) and tried his hardest to make small talk (he did not want to make small talk). and then. during the course of the date that wasn't his idea and that he didn’t want to go on. zuko firebends lights up the lanterns at the fountain, just to make jin smile, because she was sad and he couldn’t stand to see her unhappy.

and then he came home and told iroh the date was nice (it was not nice). because he knew that saying so would please iroh (he wants to make iroh happy.)

zuko wants to be a good boy SO BADLY!! and that’s what makes his attempts to please ozai so tragic. he can never make his father happy; zuko is destined to always fall short for the simple reason that there is nothing zuko can do that will ever please ozai.

and meanwhile, iroh is so ready to be thrilled and appreciative of every tiny little half-hearted step zuko makes in his direction, but what iroh really wants is for zuko to find a happiness that's his own choice, not just whatever he thinks will make iroh happy with him.

and zuko just doesn't get it; he's so often frustrated because he can't figure out what iroh wants from him. so instead he steals pastries and golden tea pots and he eats the congee with a smile and sweeps the floors and serves the tea and goes on the date and does whatever he thinks iroh will approve of, in order to earn iroh's affection (he's never had to earn it) (he's never understood that).

#zuko posting

sokkagatekeeper

my dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “ember island” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

me: yeah whatever. i don't feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude i swear i just saw some kids our age living a life far more normal and enjoyable than our gilded cage could ever be

my buddy zuko pacing: my father is lying to us

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gremlinsbooty

For all my folks who live is US and UK.

Do you think prince Zuko slurps noodles really loudly

And his crew never tells him because they don't wanna get yelled at

But then later Toph makes fun of it constantly and he had no idea and he gets all embarrassed

muffinlance

Okay but

REAL WORLD TRIVIA TIME!

Whether slurping is considered rude is cultural

In Japan, it can be rude not to slurp, because slurping shows how much you're enjoying the food

So this could be:

Zuko on his ship: *slurps*

The Cook: *quietly pleased that even Prince Brat likes his cooking*

But this could also be:

Zuko at the Western Air Temple: *sllluuuurps at everything the Gaang serves*

Katara: *eye twitch* His mouth is full of water I could do it, I could murder him right now

Sokka: Not until he teaches Aang please

Toph and Aang: *pause a moment, then start SLLLUUUURPPING*

muffinlance

@lizardlicks added these very important tags:

#Actually it would be really funny if that was one of the things that gave Zuko away as fire nation #yes they're all peasants but that doesn't mean he can abandon his manners!

So I present to you:

Zuko on the ferry: *slurps now that he has decent ill-gotten food*

Jet: *playing 4D chess against himself on "peasant manners" v "Fire Nation manners"*

iiryebreadii

muffinlance

[id: Drawing of short-haired ferry Zuko slurping noodles from a bowl with the help of chopsticks. Next to him are an intensely staring Jet and Smellerbee, paused mid-bite over their own food, math calculations behind their heads. End id.]

#zuko posting

allgremlinyaps

new Avatar Legends (mobile) official Zuko art fruity hip-cock limp wrist with hat dot png

#zuko posting #ALSO THERES A MOBILE GAME????#downloading it rn hell yeah

thevastnessof

if only everyone could know that zuko is a prodigy like his sister, unfortunately his special talent is called "breaking and entering" and he can't tell anyone about that

#zuko posting

gahdamnpunk

When Zuko apologized to uncle Iroh in the tent cause he was so ashamed of his actions and what he’d done to the only person who unconditionally believed in his ability to do good >>>>>

opinions-about-tiaras

So okay, I’ve given this rant before but this is another good time for it.

Structurally speaking, ATLA did something important with Zuko that, in a purely mechanistic sense of narrative development, I think a lot of people don’t notice immediately, and that even fewer people who want to emulate what was done with him get.

Which is Zuko is made a protagonist VERY early, and the show goes out of its way to continually place Zuko into situations where the audience empathizes and roots for him.

This happens in literally the second episode of the series, if we count the two-part premiere as a single episode, which I think we should. The A-plot of that episode, “The Southern Air Temple,” is Aang reckoning with the genocide of his people… but the B-plot?

The B-plot is the introduction of Zhao, and more specifically, his introduction in a way that is calculate to shift the audience, whose introduction to Zuko did NOT engender a ton of sympathy to him, directly and forcefully onto his side. They want Zuko to kick Zhao’s ass.

This continues all through book one and book two. Remember, Zuko is never, ever the main villain of this series. That’s initially Zhao, followed by Azula and Ozai. (Plus various temporary players like Long Feng.) Whenever Zuko isn’t placed into direct conflict with the other protagonists, he’s always written and presented in a way that is careful, VERY VERY careful, not to make him too monstrous, and to make us root for him. He’s placed right next to Iroh, who is designed for people to like, and that reflects back onto Zuko; we want Zuko to be better than he is because we want Iroh to have good things.

Put aside for the moment whether any specific character, including Zuko, deserves their redemption. If you’ve decided you’re going to do that, you have to erect the proper narrative scaffolding around them, and it extends to far more things than “did this person not do things that were too horrible” and “is this person genuinely sorry and is working really hard to atone.” There’s a difference between protagonist and white hat, but if you want someone to eventually wear that white hat, you REALLY need to establish them as a plausible protagonist early on.

helly-watermelonsmellinfellon

Yeah, it was made obvious from the get go that Zuko is definitely nowhere near Zhao’s level of nasty, which in turn means he’s nowhere near Azula’s and nowhere in the scope of Ozai’s.

1.)

He made a deal with Aang to leave the Southern Water Tribe alone if Aang went with him. When Aang escaped with help from two of those tribe members, Zuko didn’t demand they go back and destroy what was left of the tribe as revenge. He didn’t even think of it as an option. There was no split second where he went, should I/shouldn’t I?

2.)

This is repeated. He corners the Avatar somewhere, causes some damage to the area in the ensuing fight, but does not stick around to raze the village/monastery to the ground and kill the people when he doesn’t get what he wants. Doesn’t consider this a necessary action even once.

3.)

The Iroh&Zuko relationship is juxtaposed with the Zhao&Zuko relationship. Both older men have more power over him. Iroh is a retired War General and Prince who is not banished. Zhao is a Commander in favor of the Firelord, who is also not banished. We could tell early on that Iroh is wise and despite being on the bad side, seems to be pretty chill. We took a liking to him immediately. Zhao is the opposite. He is very much like early!Zuko. Impulsive, rude, loud, cocky, etc… But why is he more annoying? Why do we root for Zuko as opposed to him?

Because we see what Zuko is like with his Uncle Iroh. Iroh does not rub in the fact that he’s banished. He doesn’t use that when reprimanding him for his attitude or his failings. That is a hot iron and he knows it. It’s to the point where Iroh can bend fire in Zuko’s face and Zuko is perfectly relaxed over it and doesn’t once believe his uncle will hurt him. There is a lot of faith in Iroh, from this angsty teenager, and it’s very obvious with their interactions.

Zhao is not trustworthy from the start. We’re shown this by how both Zuko and Iroh are hesitant to interact with him and don’t want to linger in areas he has control over, for too long. They even lie to him despite him obviously having more favor in the Firelord’s eyes than either of them do. Zhao’s personality opposes both Zuko and Iroh. And as we like Iroh, we want him to win and have nice things, as stated above. But Zuko&Iroh is a package deal. And as Zhao reveals himself more and more to be nasty even if it’s subtle, we want Zuko to win even harder.

And even when Zuko wins and he’s in the prime position to do to Zhao what Ozai did to Zuko for also ‘speaking out of turn’… he doesn’t do it. He walks away. He is the bigger man in that scenario. And Iroh further puts shame onto Zhao when he goes against the sacred rules of the Agni Kai because he can’t handle a loss to a banished teen. We are shown that Zuko follows rules and has honor, which is reinforced by Iroh’s, ‘even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you’. Iroh’s Word is basically Law at this point. Sf he says it is so, then he must be right and the audience accepts that. He knows Zuko better than us and hopefully we’ll get to understand more as the story progresses.

Already by the 3rd episode, we’re shown that Zuko is in no way the worst person from the Fire Nation. In fact, we’re given a sort of scale now from the four major Fire Nation people we know of. Iroh–Zuko——-Zhao–Firelord.

We’re also hoping that Iroh rubs off on Zuko enough for him to also become wise and learn to chill out.

4.)

When “The Storm” finally rolls around, we’re pretty invested by then in the Iroh&Zuko relationship and that episode gives us so much more info into Zuko’s character and we are shown that Iroh is right. He has honor and he cares for others. And yet it’s obvious the Firelord doesn’t because we see Zuko do the right thing(protesting the plan to treat new recruits as cannon fodder) in the wrong place, and then his face gets burned off by his father because of it. And further, he’s banished for refusing to fight his own father. What sane parent wants to do battle with their own child? What sane parent banishes their child for speaking out of turn at the defense of their own peoples’ lives? What the fuck is wrong with the Firelord?

Zuko was punished severely for showing compassion and having a kind heart. And Iroh(and the ship crew even) is properly mortified by the punishments his nephew received for it, which in turn affects the audience’s perception of this situation. Iroh doesn’t like it, it’s especially bad then.

Now we start wondering why does Zuko wants to go back to the guy who burned his face off?! Iroh, talk some sense into him! PLEASE!

Halfway through S1, they got us to the point of wanting Zuko to have a redemption arc.

Making the audience want a character to be redeemed is also very important in this. We were shown he has redeemable qualities. We want that pay off! Do it justice!