#tyluko

[sooz-again]

Orange said Ty Lee/Zuko figure skating duo so I obliged. Just a messy sketch while I pretend I understand anatomy and consistent lighting.

[yourhighness6]

If Ty Lee Had Been Zuko's Canon Love Interest Rather Than Mai, I Don't Think I Would Be As Big of a ZK Shipper

Okay hear me out! This is a long one, but I had a thought and I wanted to see if anyone else agrees. I want to just say that I love Zutara and this is by no means anti-ZK, so just bear with me.

I can't for the life of me remember where I saw this but there was a post going around a while ago about how Mai didn't really fear Azula especially profoundly and therefore the "I love Zuko more than I fear you" line didn't make sense for her character development and it got me thinking... Mai talked back to Azula a lot. She was sarcastic to her and didn't put in the same effort Ty Lee did to obey her.

As the reader, we're supposed to infer that despite her actual actions and every appearance, when she eventually turns on Azula and saves Zuko, she was just as scared of Azula as Ty Lee because that's what the show is telling us at the time. But there's never any canonical evidence of that. The show is telling us one thing and showing us another. In my opinion, it's just plain bad writing, and part of the reason I dislike Mai as a love interest for Zuko. Her character is interesting but she's written extremely inconsistently without clear motivations other than escaping her family and gaining attention. But nothing about her character arc satisfies those goals, nor does she learn to be a better person despite them. (To be clear, I don't hate Mai! I think she was a very interesting character that isn't fully satisfied due to inconsistent writing!)

Now, let's get into what would have been actually satisfying in the infamous "I love Zuko more than I fear you" scene. If the writers really wanted Zuko to have a love interest from the FN, I think that Ty Lee was a much better option than Mai, and as the rather clickbaity title of this would suggest, I don't think I would be as much of a zutara shipper if Ty Lee and Zuko had gotten together, simply because the romantic interests in the series would have satisfied at least one half of zutara, even if kataang (barf) had still occurred. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, I still think there's plenty of canon evidence suggesting they should have gotten together, I still don't like Katara ending up with Aang, but if Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee's character arcs were more satisfied by their romantic interests or lack thereof, I might not have as much cause to hate the fact that ZK didn't end up together.

This is mostly because Ty Lee actually did fear Azula. We see this many times throughout the series, such as when she was coerced into leaving the circus, which is notably different than Mai, who immediately acquiesces to Azula's request to join her and even suggests getting the gang back together herself.

Of course, we the audience are meant to later infer that Mai, too, did this out of fear, but it makes more sense to me that she did it out of a want to be recognized and break free from the control of her parents. She wanted the chance to be her own person, which is admirable and interesting in its own right, but of course, is never explored, and in my opinion is even impeded by her becoming Fire Lady with Zuko, where she can never be free of the constraints of court life. Maybe that's just me trying to add depth to her character, but I think that would have been a more interesting direction to take her storyline, at the very least.

For Ty Lee, learning not to fear Azula, and making the decision not to follow her despite the consequences on her own behalf would be so much more interesting than her choosing between Mai and Azula in the canon scene.

Because yes, she is sacrificing herself for her friend, which is extremely noble and a good part of her arc, but I think giving her more agency in this scene would make it more powerful. She even says to Mai, "Come on, let's get out of here!" after chi blocking Azula, meaning she was under the impression they could still escape rather than learning not to run from her problems, an alternate ending which I think would improve her arc. I also think her becoming Fire Lady would give more satisfaction to her character, as she would not only have to become a leader without the influence of Azula to make her decisions for her, but also be given the individuality she never had in childhood, which she doesn't get at the end of the series due to her becoming a Kyoshi Warrior.

I think Mai actually would have benefitted more from becoming a warrior. It would have allowed her to realize her own strength without her parents or Azula, but also given her a chance to recognize and help fix the damage she caused by aiding the FN, which is something she never fully comes to terms with in the show, unlike Ty Lee, who seems to be trying to get away from her past and not do anyone harm by fleeing to the circus before the series begins.

Anyway, I have a lot more ideas on these characters and on this ship, so I might make a part two explaining how I think it would also benefit Zuko's character more, since I kind of skimmed over that in my explanation, but I wanted this just to focus on my beautiful fire ladies for now.

(Also I am tagging this zutara because I think my fellow ZKs will get me but please let me know if you think that's a breach of fandom etiquette at all. We have enough crazies invading our little corner of the internet, I don't want to be one of them.)

[mutty003]

Zuko x Ty Lee

Suggested artwork

[browseret]

Oh well it happens. Like I said I'm always open to ideas for Ty Luko art.

Well I thought it would be funny for a scenario where zuko and ty lee are arguing(like how they did in the beach episode) then deciding to kiss

you're welcome! Had fun with this :)

and remember kids:

and that goes zutara & tyzula too people!

[loopy777]

friend can you reply to my ask about ty luko

I certainly can, but I'm working through all the Asks in my inbox in the order they came, with variance based on what's easy to answer and what requires more thought. Fortunately, yours is up next and easy to answer:

Did you write any ty luko fic. Can you please say how do you think their relationship would develop

I've written a few shorts for a Ty Luko Week that happened many years ago (starting here in my short story collection on FF.net), and in one of my Maikka stories I put it in the background in the form of a love triangle with Zuko split between Ty Lee and Suki (with no elaboration of how that happened, because I thought it was funnier if we could only imagine it). But that's pretty much it.

In terms of how the relationship would develop, I think most of the work has to be on Zuko's side. Ty Lee is enough of a cipher that, combined with her blatant flirting with him in 'The Beach' (cooing at someone of the opposite gender that you're freezing is usually not a way of asking for some Firebending), we could say that she already kinda has a thing for him, or at least finds him attractive. It's Zuko who needs to come to like her (or return to liking her, if we go with my downgraded idea from his first crushing being an older sister who can't be canon now), but that's going to be a long journey, because the way he was treating her in 'The Beach' seems like he doesn't even have any respect for her.

If I had to come up with some plotbunnies, I'm partial to Ty Lee impressing Zuko while bodyguarding him. He could be going off on some journey or vacation or something where he can't take a big retinue, so he takes the most dangerous Kyoshi Warrior and one of his most trustworthy people in the world. They get to spend some time one on one, Zuko begins to appreciate her as a person, Ty Lee in turns reveals more of her true personality rather than the performance she puts on for most of the world, and they grow closer, romance ensues, etc.

If we want a comedy, I like the idea of Ty Lee actively trying to get Maiko back together despite harboring her own lifetime crush on him (while serving as Zuko's bodyguard, natch), but her antics only push them further apart while endearing Zuko to her. In the end, Ty Luko gets together and Mai marries the ghost of Yue.

I've also been considering gothic storytelling, due to the time of the year, so if you want to go in that direction, do a love triangle with Azula trying to seduce and destroy Ty Lee, and Zuko trying to seduce Ty Lee away to thwart his sister, and everyone ends up destroyed by the antics.

Everyone should feel free to reblog with their own plot bunnies! That's how you get demented committed writers to write your ship! Ensnare them with a plot bunny that won't let go of their brain.

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

Poll req:Tyluko yuri yes or no?

Tyluko Yuri?

Yes

No

Voting ended onOct 11, 2024

[azulaang-chakras]

Best Ty Lee ship that isn't tyzula or mailee

Tytara

Tophlee

Tylokka

Tyluko

Tysuki

Tylaang

Harulee

Other (if you pick this option, actually type your answer below)

Voting ended onFeb 25, 2024

[desi-pluto]

Perlex-coded

Canon Canon Canon -> the Zuko & Virgil parallels are 👌🏼