#* canon divergence.

[fyrbends]

THE MESS™

a summary of plot points that are integral to zuko's canon divergence and affiliation with katara ( @kakiaktok ) and mai ( @kakushiha ). when there's a mention of either of these two characters, these are the blogs that are referenced. these are also plot points that are important to the narrative of who these characters are and how they relate to each other in a post war world. more will be added as it is developed with them and other neighboring characters as it fits.

mai and zuko date after the war and following his coronation. following prompting from fire nation chamberlains and in combination with how long they've been together, they become engaged.

katara and aang also date following the war.

katara is an ambassador of the southern water tribe and helps shape policies within the fire nation.

mai and zuko have many fights within the palace walls about katara specifically his feelings for her, which he denies, as he's engaged to mai and katara is with aang.

after a gala, katara and zuko drink too much wine and expose harbored feelings they've been avoiding for years. zuko is still engaged to mai and katara is still with aang during this night.

after their interaction with the southern raiders, in the heat of the moment, they shared a kiss. they never speak of it again until they're adults.

mai and zuko do eventually break up for the betterment of each other. she's able to explore her identity away from zuko and he is able to come to terms with his life and feelings.

katara and aang eventually break up. after spending time with her family and traveling to focus on herself, she ends up spending time in the fire nation full time as zuko's ambassador.

zuko dates others out of obligation since his break up from mai but none compare to katara.

zuko and katara eventually end up together and have five children.

mai becomes a very important confidant for zuko post break up. they are much better as friends.

zuko and azula have been writing letters in her travels and during her recovery when he couldn't visit. he doesn't confide this information in anyone besides iroh.

[azuheir]

after the war, azula was presumed dead. in an effort to shield her and assist with her healing in peace, zuko never states anything to the contrary. to the world, the princess of the fire nation is dead.

she writes to zuko frequently while away on her travels.

while traveling, she makes the conscious decision to not rely on her bending and to keep any use of it to a necessity. she lives under an alias.

she meets her best friend and platonic soulmate, akuma ( @kakushiha ), on ember island while attending a play there.

although there’s much speculation on azula and her romantic life, the former princess is gay.

[azuheir]

CANON DIVERGENCE

my portrayal will be canon until the end of the war and that is where the similarities end. nothing post canon will be followed on this blog and will be heavily thought out and plotted.

after the war ends and zuko is crowned fire lord, he seeks to help azula rather than jail her with his father. this is where her healing begins. she is fourteen.

azula spends the next three years with experienced healers and therapists. under zuko's protection and reign, she bounces from the fire nation to the northern water tribe. her first year is heavily guarded both for her protection and others. she is under watchful care and escorted to every place she needs to be. the next two years, the protections are still in place but are less rigid and her freedoms have increased as she's gotten better. she opts to spend most of her time in the northern water tribe with their healers in their facilities. this is where she meets yuka.

yuka is a northern water tribe woman that has been sick since she was a child. the healers of the north aid her in delaying the inevitable and easing the pain she's in for as long as they can. old enough to be her mother, the pair form an unlikely bond that teaches azula about love and kindness that she's never experienced before unconditionally and uncorrupted. yuka's eventual death sends azula into a bought of grief she's never experienced before and is crucial in her understanding of love, grief, and life.

on her seventeenth birthday, she leaves the confines of the facilities and goes on her own. promising to continue the work she's been doing since her breakdown at fourteen, azula travels throughout the world to gain a better understanding outside of her protection. she spends the next five years traveling under an alias connecting with people, experiencing the world, writing to zuko, and learning about herself.

she returns back to the fire nation to live in the palace at the age of twenty two. this is where our story begins...

[fyrbends]

BOOK ONE BOOK THREE : CANON COMPLIANT.

POST WAR : CANON DIVERGENCE.

this has been heavily built with @kakiaktok's katara.

zuko continues to date mai well into his reign as fire lord and rebuilding of the fire nation. it was during the agni kai and its aftermath that zuko solidified his feelings for katara but respected her decision to be with aang and he chose to be with mai as it seemed the obvious choice. there is no conversation regarding getting together, they simply fall back together after her release from prison and they jointly work together with the rest of the team to rebuild the world and the fire nation. zuko works closely with all the members of team avatar to help restore balance and create peace but he heavily relies on katara's input as an unofficial ambassador.

MAI : he does care for her deeply and knows that his actions in trying to stop his father and join the avatar hurt her. this is the reason he chooses to never break up with her. he acknowledges how perfect she is for the fire nation, how great she is in the role as his girlfriend and liaison for the fire nation but it becomes apparent to her as the years go by that his heart is elsewhere. there are constant arguments and fights about his friendship with katara to which zuko reaffirms that they are just friends since he's with mai and she's with aang. he is unconsciously gaslighting her throughout the relationship regarding his feelings for katara. in his mind, as long as he's dating mai and not physically cheating there's nothing to discuss ; he's vowed to be with her for as long as she'll have him. it does become glaringly apparent to her, however, that his feelings for her will always eclipse what she has with zuko and she decides to leave zuko citing that whether he means to or not, his feelings for katara will always get in the way of any relationship he tries to have.

FOLLOWING KATARA'S BREAKUP WITH AANG. katara finds her way to the palace and without hesitation zuko allows her to stay for as long as she needs. they continue to work on diplomacy, treaties, and the overall aspect of creating a world where everyone lives together. eventually, they realize their feelings for one another and end up together. they do speak to both mai and aang about the relationship in the hopes that those relationships and people will still be in their lives and eventually, over time, everything does work out for everyone involved.

zuko and katara have five children. they split their time between the fire nation and the southern water tribe. zuko makes a conscious effort to incorporate what he can from the southern water tribe into fire nation traditions. they make a conscious effort to involve their children in all aspects of diplomacy both in chambers and outside palace walls. thye allow their children to have advocacy at a young age and foster that education to make sure the mistakes of the past don't effect their future. zuko also makes a conscious effort to devout time to all his children and wife accordingly so there's no neglect or favoritism. when he abdicates his throne to one of their children, they fully retire to the southern water tribe.