#ozai's depth

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

ATLA unpopular opinion/theory

The real reason why Iroh refused to fight Ozai because Iroh knew he’d lose to Ozai.

He drones on about two siblings fighting over the throne not being the answer for peace for he would look like a traitor seeking power. But for some strange reason, he thought everyone would be perfectly ok with another younger, more hot-blooded, less experienced traitor beating up his loyal but depressed and traumatized sister for the throne.

The comics show that, surprise surprise, not everyone was ok with Zuko on the throne and Iroh wasn’t around to keep him in check even when he’s clearly in over his head.

(I could go on with everything wrong with the comics, the series finale, and Iroh’s vendetta against Azula being a very clear sign of psychological projection at best or hypocrisy at worst but now’s not the time)

We had a brief demonstration of the possibility of Ozai being more powerful then Iroh through his lightningbending during the day of black sun. He can generate lightning extremely quickly; while both Azula and Iroh, master firebenders in their own right, require at least three motions to "charge", Ozai only needs two. Also, while Azula and Iroh shoot lighting from one hand at a time, Ozai can dual-wield his lightning. His lightning is also far larger than either of theirs and pure white symbolizing that it's hotter than theirs as well.

The only thing Iroh has over Ozai is the lighting redirection thing but I bet he feels that wouldn’t be enough. Ozai was set up from the start that only a fully-realized master avatar could stop Ozai, so I don’t buy that either Iroh, Zuko or even Azula being able to stand a chance against him, otherwise he would have been dethroned a hundred times over, Iroh woulda stopped Zuko from being scarred before it even happened.

As we saw in the finale, Zuko and Azula had to go through agni kai in order for one of them to be fire lord. That leaves with the possibility that Ozai and Iroh fought in agni kai and Ozai won, which the show conveniently left that detail out.

Everyone, even his own son and brother, actually wanted Ozai dead, while I can understand and respect Aang’s refusal to go through with it since he’s already gone through a lot as it is and no 12-year-old should have to go through such filthy business, they are not wrong. It took two deus ex machinas (a lion turtle and a pointy rock) for Aang to use to take down Ozai non-lethally, without them, Ozai would have won for sure or Aang would kill him with his own lighting. But even they didn’t seem to be enough because post-series comics show that Zuko and Azula are still heavily influenced by Ozai, there’s a secret terrorist society named after Ozai and Azula is actively trying to manipulate Zuko into being like Ozai so that she could be Ozai through Zuko.

If by chance Ozai escapes prison, either by himself or his loyalists break him out, he’d have to adapt to his non-bender skills in order to live up to his loyalists expectations. His bending being stolen would no doubt drive Ozai insane and make him even more dangerous then before and what he now lacks in firebending he can make up for with literally any/every other category.

It’s commonly theorized that Iroh was prodigy while Ozai wasn’t, which implies that Ozai became the most powerful firebender there was, even more powerful then Iroh and Azula, with influence to match, through sheer hard work, self-sufficiency and indomitable will.

I once made a headcannon that the name of the founder of the red lotus, Xai Bau, was Ozai’s alias, which means Ozai was secretly the founder of the red lotus, once joined the white lotus, before Iroh, and the new Ozai society is the red lotus itself in disguise, all things that not even Azula was aware of and would not stand for them.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Atla - Ozai’s soullessness and red lotus headcanons (or possible canon stories)

I wouldn't be surprised if his bending getting stolen also completely ripped away his soul.

There for, Ozai possesses no soul or spiritual tether to the world, essentially making him an emotionless and immortal and cannot be tracked, affected or influenced in any mystical or spiritual ways due to a lack of his spiritual essence, plus possessing bloodbending immunity, followed by adapting, attuning and mastering his non-bender skills and escapes prison on his own.

This’ll make him way worse then he already was for he’d be a terrifying, unpredictable, psychopathic, sociopathic, brutal, demonic, eldritch and virtually unstoppable boogeyman that even Azula can’t stand and is forced to fight against him. Like an avatar equivalent of Michael Myers/The shape.

He’d be secretly infiltrating the white lotus, under the alias, Xai Bau, and his new Ozai society is actually the red lotus in disguise. During Sozin’s Comet, after he had destroyed the remaining nations, he originally planned to assassinate Azula so that he’d be the very last supreme ruler and the world would be engulfed in mayhem after his time passes.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Azulaang - Join me

Aang: "What is with these mind games, Azula?"

Azula: "Aren't you at least bit curious of what I have to offer?"

Aang: "Be done with crime and I just might."

Azula: "How else is girl like me supposed to get your attention?"

Aang: "I've been the one looking for you. You've become a danger to yourself, you need help."

Azula: "Your interests in my well being sound more then professional."

Aang: "It doesn't matter how I feel for you."

Azula: "That's all that mattered to you since you've been chasing me around and whenever I call for you, you come alone. But you never try to fight me or arrest me."

Aang: "I never want to hurt you nor want to let anyone else hurt you but I can't let you stop me."

Azula: "Stop you? Oh no. When I failed to be fire lord myself. I've realized then my destiny was not meant to be on the throne per se. So I originally intended to make him the fire lord I tried to be, the one who's strong and rules with fear and I'd be the fire lord through him. But he's shown me that he's nothing compared to you. The avatar. For years, I was told to hate you and stop you at any cost for you for were the thing that stops our divine right to rule this world. But we've all completely missed the hint. I remembered that you master all elements, has knowledge and experience of all nations, You managed to defeat my father, the man more powerful then myself, Zuko and even Uncle and siphoned his bending with an unknown but unique and powerful type of bending. I was always taught to alley with the most powerful but who could be more powerful then the avatar? I then decided if Zuzu will not rise and rule with fear, perhaps you will."

Aang: "My role as the avatar is to bring balance to the world, not enslave it."

Azula: "I know that I'm the maternal great-granddaughter of the avatar before you. I've also learned how ruthless you can be. In the last few weeks, I've been having strange feelings and memories. None were my own, but are yours. I can feel the rage inside you. You humiliated my father, stole away from him a part of his identity and left him to die in a fate worse then death. Deep down inside, you and I are the same. You can deny it for a while but I am the source of all your burning desires and you'll eventually give in. Join with me. Together, we can unite this world and mold it into our utopia. We can dominate the earth."

Aang: "Only if we restore balance and we help people, not harm them."

Azula: "With all due respect, that's not in the cards."

Aang: "You say you and I are alike, that you can feel the rage in me, well I can feel the good in you. Ozai hasn't driven it from you fully. You can come with me. We can make a positive difference in the world instead of destroying it."

Azula: "It's time to let all things go. The borders. the nations. Let it go. We can rule together, bring a new world order."

Aang: "Don't do this Zula, please don't go down this path."

Azula: "You don't know the potential you have. I was a fool to strike you down but now that your here...it gives us a chance. Have you ever wondered why these so called monks sent you to other air temples instead of one of the water tribes as the avatar cycle demands?"

Aang "..."

Azula: "Maybe you've always known, you've just hid away, always blamed yourself for what ever wrong has been placed on the nomads so that you don't taint the idealized picture you have for your long-forsaken culture. The elders sought to exploit and use your power for their own nefarious ends and your old friends envied you and longed to see you fail. Your new friends are no different, they seek only to control you and use you to fulfill their wishes and when they no longer need you, they'll abandon you completely. You choose to be their puppet when the power of your birthright can make you invincible."

Aang: "Is that how you felt about Mai and Ty Lee?"

Azula: "..."

Aang: "What'd they say to you before they left? That your purpose with them was finished?"

Azula: "(stammers)"

Aang: "What did they say?"

Azula: (gulps, shakes internally) "She...she said...she l...loved Zuko...more then she feared me."

Aang: "You say that fear is superior but deep down you know the truth."

Azula: "Don't try to evade me!"

Aang: "I don’t need to, Zula, I can feel that you’re at war with yourself, I know you want to do the right thing."

Azula: "I don't have a choice..."

Aang: "You always have a choice."

Azula: "Zirin won't let me off that easily."

Aang: "Zirin?"

Azula: "The witch who designed the Kemurikage outfits and stealth tactics, my father tasked me to find her and her apprentices and...you know the rest."

Aang: "What does Zirin have on you? Was she the one who made you kidnap kids?"

Azula: "We made a deal, I break out and let her continue her 'uprising,' and she'd assist me and continuing the task my father placed on me on being fire lord, only it's through Zuzu. When I told Zirin the change of plans, she wasn't thrilled at first but I convinced her to give it a chance."

Aang: "You don't have to listen to her, and you know it."

Azula: "You don't understand! Zirin's titles, 'the witch' and 'mistress of fear' aren't just for show! It was my idea to capture children but I at least kept them safe and secure, as opposed to her suggestions! Her viciousness is nothing you've ever seen!"

Aang: "Why would Ozai talk you into working with someone so dangerous?"

Azula: "He told me she was an important part of the uprising."

Aang: "And you don't know what the uprising is?"

Azula: "From what I can tell, it must because of my task to carry forth my father's legacy."

Aang: "Legacy? If Zirin is as dangerous as you say she is and Ozai’s working with her, then whatever 'legacy' he has in mind, it can't be good. I know your better then this, you can face them but you don't have to do it alone. You and I can face them together."

Azula: I’m...beyond saving. Your purpose is far greater then mine. To be the one above all. But with me, we'll be two above all. You must join me...please..."

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Team avatar’s new uneasy ally

Here’s my take on how Azula joining team avatar might look like.

Aang and Azula stand in front of the rest of the Gaang. Sokka jumped, and threw a boomerang at Azula but she dodged so it hit the ground. Katara then bent the water from her bottle and used it to knock her down.

Aang: “Guys! Wait!”

Katara: “What’s the matter Azula? Giving up already?”

Azula: “Sorry to disappoint all of you. But I’m not here to fight. I’m here to help.”

Toph: “We don’t need your help, nor do we want it!”

Azula: “Yes, you seem to have everything under control don’t you? My father and the red lotus need to be stopped.”

Sokka: “Whatever your selling, we’re not buying!”

Azula: “Think of me what you will. But what Ozai, Xai Bau and Zirin are doing, even I wouldn’t wish on this world.”

Katara: “What do you care! Your the one who gave the idea to destroy the whole earth kingdom! You shot Aang with lightning, nearly destroying the avatar cycle! You kidnapped dozens of kids! When has anything ever been ‘too far’ for you!?”

Azula: “You mistake my actions for sadism Ms. Peasant. I wasn’t going to hurt the children. I truly believed that the 100 year war was justified. We thought we were the perfect civilization and we intended to unite the world. I used to think if the nations had just pledged their loyalty to us then there'd be a lot less bloodshed and the world would have the same pleasure of perfection as we did.”

Suki: “What about the air nomads?! Did you give them that chance?!”

Azula: “I used to believe it was a necessary cruelty just like the death of the earth kingdom. The death of the avatar meant nothing would stop our nation from gaining our ‘right to rule.’ Our arrogance has obviously made us the flawed being we were afraid of. Ozai, however, cares not of such ideals. He attends to inflict chaos for the sake of chaos because he knows just how far the fire nation has gone but doesn’t believe it can be better, since the air nomads has bitten the ashes, he thinks that balance is truly lost and there’s nothing we can do to reverse it, not even the avatar. He’s a psychotic pessimist.”

Sokka: “It’s a little late for you to be dishing out apologies.”

Suki: “Why are you really here? What’s in it for you?”

Azula: “Perhaps you should ask the avatar.”

Everyone turns to Aang confused.

Aang: “(sigh) When urgently Zuko summoned us from Cranefish town. He asked for my help in tracking down Azula and wondered if I in any way knew how. Remember in the swamp when I used energybending to track Appa down? I did the same for Azula but I accidently gained more then I bargained for. Our spirits and energies briefly combined and I entered her mind. I was able to learn all of Azula’s memories, wisdom, skills, knowledge and point of view. It was an intense experience but I never the less told Zuko where she was, Azula then learned about Sozin’s real past and how she relates to Roku.”

Azula: “My original intention was to mold Zuzu into the fire lord my father intended for me to be should I fail to get the throne myself. The kidnapping of children was a testament to that. But then Zuzu reminded me of how the fire lord is nothing compared to the avatar. I know about the promise he made the avatar make, I know about the avatar’s ‘outbursts’ during his loss of control of this avatar state, I know some of you feared his power. This information had yet given me another epiphany of sorts. I decided if Zuzu will not rise and rule with fear, then perhaps the avatar will. I let the red lotus know about these change of plans and I think that’s when they’ve grown suspicious of me and I’ve began questioning their intentions.”

Toph: “So what made you change your mind about that?”

Azula: “When they had officially betrayed me. They said non of you cared of I live or die because of all the bad that I’ve done. But when they locked me away and left me to die alone. You all came and saved me, brought me here and made me as comfortable as possible. I shouldn’t be here. Unless it was for a reason. Mai was right. I’ve miscalculated.”

Toph: “How do you expect us to trust you if even I can’t tell if your lying?”

Aang: “Because me going into Azula’s mind and combining our energies has created a side-effect. Azula and I have a close and strong spiritual bond. She has become predictable to me. Anything she says or does, I’ll see it coming, I’d also know when she lies. The same is true for Azula in my case.”

Azula: “And I know you all trust the avatar. I know what your thinking. If I take one step backward, one slip up, I give any reason that I still might be on the wrong side. All of you would do your worst to me. Like Avatar said, anything I do, he’ll know it but better safe then sorry right? I don’t expect you to welcome me with open arms and I know you’ll think of me too dangerous to roam free. So, to save you all the migraine, I shall surrender as your prisoner. I’ll do as I’m told without question and I won’t even speak unless given permission to. So long as I’m on my way into earning your forgiveness.”

Katara: “We won’t be letting you out of our sight.”

Azula: “Of course, but what’s your say in this Zuzu? Do we have an allegiance? After all, you did rescue me despite my stubbornness. My gratitude by the way.”

Zuko: “I did rescue you because I promised you that no matter how bad or messed up our family is, I’ll never turn my back on you. And I KEEP my promises. But that does not mean I’ve automatically given you my trust, you still have to earn it. And your right, you will occupy as a prisoner. For now.”

Azula: “You got yourself a deal. I’ll do whatever it takes to gain atonement, even if it takes a life time, for it is all I have left.”

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Ozai’s chaos

What I'd give to see Ozai adapt to his non-bender skills thus is a non-bender one-man-army, he escapes prison, secretly orchestrates the creation of the red lotus by breaking Xhi Bau from the white lotus and the red lotus was secretly disguised as the “New Ozai society” of which Ozai and Xai Bau keep their real society a secret from everyone, even from Azula. Chi-blocking, swordsmanship, agility, stealth, bomb expertise, archery, strategy, mind games, mechanical engineering, knife throwing, whatever non-bender skills Zaheer had that made him dangerous enough to be isolated completely. Anything Ozai needs to show that with bending or without it, he's still an unstoppable force to be reckon with.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Truth

I came up with a short scene where Azula gets to call Ozai out. Same as Zuko. Feel free to reblog.

Ozai: "Your chakras have been cleansed. Curtesy Aang I assume.

Azula: "It matters not, I now see you for the fool you are. Zuzu told he told you exactly what's in his mind about you. I shall gain the same satisfaction."

Ozai: (slowly shakes head) "Here we go again."

Azula: "For my whole life. I thought I only wanted power because that's what you wanted too but really. It was just to please you. Because you were my father. You made me believe compassion was for the weak. You tutored me in the art of deceit but little did I know that you used some of your lessons against me. I looked up to you. Idolized your ambition. I thought you were the best thing to ever happen to the fire nation. Every bad thing I've done was all in your name. You were everything I wished to be. You told me that fear, manipulation and control go hand-and-hand with companionship and trust but that was a lie just like everything else. You said the fire nation was perfect in everyway, that fire is the superior element while the other nations were failures and everyone who lived there were inferior, selfish savages. When my cousin Lu Ten died. I blamed it on the earth kingdom and my uncle for not avenging him. When I visited ba sing se for the first time, I thought your suspicions were confirmed and the other nations were beyond saving and they deserved to be burned to the ground. When Zuzu arranged a private meeting between me and you out of hopes you could tell me where mother is and thought I'd tell him. It was you who told me it was up to me to uphold your legacy and that I should kill my own mother so I'd be free from the torments of my own mind but you also gave an idea to use Zuko's authority to my favor and uphold your legacy for me should the former plan fail. But then Zuzu told me he and I are the descendants of the avatar before Aang and the avatar is more powerful then any authority figure can hope to be. Me remembering how the avatar vanquished you and even stole your bending, Zuzu was right and I decided to make the avatar the tyrant YOU wanted me to be. 

Funny enough, the avatar uses a special type of bending that he used to remove your bending called energybending to track me down but he accidentally enters mind, he sees and learns everything about me. My memories, experience, wisdom, skills, knowledge and point of view. He knew about me more then I even knew about myself. Due to me being the descendant of the avatar's predecessor, Roku, He and I have a strong spiritual thing he likes to call a "bond", which allows us to understand each other on an empathy level, allows them to come closer then they have with anyone else, he somehow would know when I'm lying and vice versa. Something not even blindy could do. Little did I know that you still kept on trying to make a fool out of me while Zuko was trying to help me and show me the truth. I've then learned that everything you said about emotions is wrong. They don't weaken you, it takes incredible strength to control them. gaining help from others is not a weakness either, how Zuzu and Katara defeated me during agni kai was because of there trust in each other and there willingness to help each other when needed. The avatar's friendships were his power. I think deep down I always knew that. My love for you made me stronger, my desire for mother to love me was what motivated me, I had not realized before how much I deeply cared about Mai and Ty lee until I lost them. 

Just when all was lost for me, Zuko was there. (feels her eyes glossing but blinks tears back) despite it all, my brother Zuko believed in me when no one else ever has. Not even uncle Iroh. An even bigger surprise was that the avatar had the same amount of faith in me...maybe even more so then Zuko...despite everything. I lied many times and thanks to you, I'm almost the best at it. I've even been lying to myself the whole time. But you are the true liar for everything I believed in was from you but they were all lies. Worst of all! You had plans on murdering me! Both during that night where you were ordered to kill Zuko and you'd try again after you have ended the earth kingdom! I once begged you not to treat like Zuko but you've done nothing but treat me like him my whole life the whole time! Not only did you betray me but you betrayed all of the fire nation! We were all your pawns! eventual victims!"

Ozai: "The four nations are doomed! With the air nomads destroyed, balance will never be regained. I only wanted the throne so I'd have enough resources to destroy all the world governments. When only the fire nation is all that's left, I would remove myself from phoenix king and watch as the fire nation is engulfed in mayhem. Your sacrifice would have been honorable."

Azula: "Your going to destroy billions of more lives!"

Ozai: "Only a cynical human being would call what the current human race has 'lives' since the reign of Avatar Wan. Tyranny. Anarchism. Racism. Fascism. Conflict. Division. Greed. Despair. And then there are those who overly rely on the Avatar and take his power for granted. This is not humanity's true potential. Ever sense Vaatu has been in prison. Only light has been remaining free. Destroying the ideology of the yin-yang forever. But even then Raava and her various host have ended there missions in failure. Wan was obviously the first to acknowledge that. Koruk's incompetence led to the death of his loved one and his attempts to rescue her have failed. Despite Kyoshi's ruthlessness. She only gained only a piece of impact. Roku underestimated Sozin's ruthlessness and that lead to his demise and the demise of those self-righteous air nomads. The list goes on and it all involves avatar. The red lotus is what the white lotus is meant to be but they lost there true purpose a long time ago. That fool Ukano tried to turn Xi Bao's society into an egotistical one in my name which served no purpose. When something or someone reaches peak of their decadence, We'd rise and restore the balance."

Azula: "The physical world isn't beyond saving. Give us more time. The Avatar and Zuzu are not as weak as you make them out to be."

Ozai: "Aang was defending and Zuko was ruling a nation so corrupt and disorganized that we infiltrated every level of its infrastructure. When I told you about your mother..."

Azula: "You mean when you lied to me about her."

Ozai: "When I said what I said, you were lost. But I believed in you. I took away your fear and showed you a path. Look what you've gained while under my wing. You conquered an entire capital on your own, something no one from the fire nation has ever done. You almost slayed the avatar. You were a true prodigy. You'd be nothing without me. You've come this far. This could truly be your chance to stand by my side as we change the world."

Azula: "I always wanted to stand by someone who loves and cares about me unconditionally and that I'd be shown what love is so I can return the favor. Now that’s happened, I'll be standing where I belong. Between you and the rest of the world."

Ozai: "No one can save the world. Not even the avatar. When a forest grows too wild, a purging fire is inevitable and natural. Everyone can watch in horror as their precious nations destroy themselves. Once a new world begins to be born out of the ashes, the movement back to true harmony will be unstoppable this time. And no misguided idealists will get in the way. Like your uncle and brother, you now gained new perspective but still lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart."

Azula: "I'm gonna stop you!"

Ozai: "You never did learn to mind your surroundings! I made you my apprentice, all my knowledge, all my power, all for you but the only thing you care a about is your WORTHLESS, OBSOLETE, FREINDS!"

Ozai jumps on top of a canon. Turns it and points it at the Aang and fires a canon ball. Azula dashes in front of it. Tried blowing it up with lightning. There was an explosion, Azula was on fire and flew five feet into a river.