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@thebluespirit5
The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginning-less time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light.
Go follow @bbhfearless04 and do me a great favour!! She’s a fellow ATLA fan and is awesome and passionate about lots of things. I think you’ll love getting to know her, especially if you’re a KPOP stan. ~PSA over~
Avatar portraits (1/?): Zuko Lil painting practice, i got lazy towards the end. Today i decided to go on strike from the comic lol omg… the light in the eye is on the wrong side… damn
“An idealist with a pure heart with unquestionable honor”
The title of this post, of course, comes from Iroh’s speech to Zuko in the finale, when he tells Zuko that he should take the throne, and assures Zuko that he has indeed redeemed himself.
The description of Zuko as an idealist is interesting though. This is undoubtedly a reference to pre-banishment Zuko, the part of the boy who was lost to Zuko when his father burned and banished him, the part of himself that he had to reclaim over the course of several years.
This goes back to one of the themes I’ve talked to quite a few times on this blog which revolves around Zuko learning that mercy isn’t inherently a bad thing,, childish, or even stupid. Mercy is a virtue, and indeed a strength. Zuko the cynic thinks that mercy is bad, that death and destruction is the only way. Zuko the idealist talks about restoring peace, suggests that some prison time might help make Ozai a better person (as futile as that sounds), and most importantly stood up for his countrymen in his father’s throne room before his own father decided to challenge him to an agni kai.
Beyond that though, the whole Gaang, really, and most importantly our three central characters (Aang, Katara, and Zuko), are idealists to some extent since they, at the day, just want to see the end of this war and the restoration of peace and harmony. For them, the world isn’t caught in a never ending cycle of death and misery. Even Sokka at the end of Book 2 legitimately thought that they were about to end the war once and for all.
And of course, one only has to listen to one of Katara’s speeches about hope and restoring peace to sense her initial opt,ism and idealism. I also think most importantly of all (and one of the things I find admirable about Katara) is that despite all the times her idealism and optimism is challenged by people like Hama and Jet, or threatened by the loss of her mother or Aang, she still believes that the war can end, and she refuses to sacrifice who she is because of it.
Aang is no different. He refuses to let go of his optimism and idealism despite the war, and the genocide of his people. He still believes the war can end, and like Katara he refuses to let go of his identity just to stop the war. And indeed, it’s because of ghat very optimism and idealism that he’s finally able to bring the war to an end.
Thus, at the end of the day, Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, the White Lotus–they’re all idealists. No matter what they say. Teue, some of them might have had to go through a process to get to that idealism (or reclaim it), and some of them might have lost part of that optimism that they started with. But at the end of the day, no matter how much the harsh reality around them chipped away that optimism, idealism, or even perceived naivete, it could never get to the core of these individuals who we call our heroes.
I’m sorry it has to end this way, brother. No, you’re not.
(131/365) The Fire Nation’s boy
“In a child’s eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.” ― N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Happy Mother’s Day ♡
Gentle reminder that Avatar started like this
And ended like this
Zuko is Autistic
Since I made a post a while ago claiming that Zuko was autistic, some people have been asking for the “proof.” It seems fitting for me to provide said proof now, since it’s autism acceptance month. I’m going to try to be as comprehensive as I can, but if anyone has anything to add, feel free to do so! That said, please do not come on here to tell me that Zuko is not autistic. This is my headcanon, and these are all the things about Zuko that I relate to as an autistic person.
Alright, buckle up, kids, because Zuko is autistic af and I’m coming with all the receipts - and there are a lot of them.
Let’s start from the beginning. A lot of austistic people develop tactics early on that help us to ‘pass’ as allistic. When unsure of how to act in certain social situations, Zuko tends to mirror Azula. When he was younger, he was shown copying her sense of humor.
He threw a rock at a baby turtle duck and laughed, saying that this is how Azula feeds turtle ducks. Because Azula thought it was funny, he assumed his mom would think it was funny, too. It wasn’t until Ursa asked, “Why would you do that?” that Zuko even considered it might not be universally funny.
Zuko is shown laughing at things Azula thinks are funny more than once as a child. If Azula is not laughing directly at Zuko, he usually joins in on the laughter, even if he doesn’t understand the joke.
Another time Zuko tried to copy Azula was after she demonstrated her skills to their grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon. Zuko immediately attempted to demonstrate his own skills, even though he was not prepared.
Another thing that some autistic people struggle with is fine motor skills. When Zuko tried to prove to his grandfather that he was as skilled as Azula, he tripped both times he attempted to fire bend. He has obviously improved since that moment, but it took him a long time to do that.
“You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again.”
Zuko was at sea for three years with Iroh, seemingly doing nothing but training to get strong enough to capture the avatar. After three years, he was still working on his basics, as Iroh points out. Other benders have been shown to become masters much quicker than Zuko. Katara became a waterbending master after one episode. Aang mastered all four elements in the span of about a year. By the age of 12, Toph was already an earthbending master, and she taught herself. Zuko has had to work a lot harder than them to properly control his fine motor skills. It isn’t until he’s mastered his basics that he is able to progress as a bender.
Since Ozai was obviously not the most supportive parent, Zuko may have had to figure out other ways to hide his autism.
Another tactic he used was to practice social interactions before they happened. In this scene, he is shown giving a practice performance to a frog:
“The thing is, I have a lot of fire bending experience, and I’m considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you’ve seen me. You know, when I was attacking you?”
Obviously, this practice session was necessary, because Zuko said plenty of things here that could have easily further escalated the situation.
Even while using tools like mirroring or practicing social interaction, we all have moments where things might just feel a little off to allistic people.
Empathy
A lot of autistic people feel empathy differently than allistic people. Some of us might not feel empathy, some might experience hyper empathy, and some might just have a hard time expressing empathy. I suspect Zuko is leaning towards low empathy, or has trouble expressing empathy.
Exhibit A:
“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”
“That’s rough, buddy.”
Notice how Zuko found it easier to talk about himself. He answered Sokka’s questions about Mai, and the conversation was moving along smoothly. It wasn’t until Sokka shared personal information about himself that Zuko seemed to be out of words.
Exhibit B:
Toph just told Zuko that her parents gave her everything she ever asked for, but not the one thing she really wanted: their love.
Zuko spends half of this conversation looking the other way. When he does look at her, notice his expression. He probably has no idea why she is telling him this, so he doesn’t know how to respond. And on top of that, he was under the impression that they were supposed to be looking for Aang.
A lot of autistic people have what you might call a one track mind (which I’ll get more into later). It’s hard for us to switch focus from one thing to another.
Toph wanted to partner with Zuko because she wanted a life changing field trip, but Zuko just wanted to find Aang. He was able to have ‘life changing field trips’ with Aang, Katara, and Sokka because he was actively focused on helping them with their specific problems. He had time to mentally prepare to help them. There was careful planning involved in each of those missions. He can’t help Toph in this moment, because her problem is conflicting with the problem they already have: finding Aang.
In both of the examples above, Zuko acknowledges the hardships that Sokka and Toph went through. “That’s rough buddy” and “I know you had a rough childhood.” This may be his way of trying to show compassion, even though it might come across as cold.
Zuko takes things at face value
Catching things like sarcasm, body language, metaphors, and ‘reading between the lines’ can be difficult for autistic people. This also gives us a reputation for being gullible, because it can be difficult to tell when someone is lying without being able to read the cues.
The first and most obvious example of this is what Zuko’s entire arc revolves around:
Capturing the Avatar
Ozai had just fought his own son, a 13 year old, in an Agni Kai. He burned Zuko’s face, intentionally causing permanent damage, and then banished him. All of this because Zuko spoke out of turn. At the time that Zuko was banished, the Avatar hadn’t been spotted for over 100 years.
Knowing all of that, it seems likely to me that Ozai was being cruel and sarcastic when he said that Zuko could come back after capturing the Avatar. It would be like saying “when pigs fly,” since at that point the Avatar was thought to have been gone forever.
Iroh, of course, knows this. That’s why in the beginning of the series, he kept reminding Zuko that the Avatar had not been seen in 100 years. He didn’t want Zuko to get his hopes up. Zuko, however, spends every minute for three years training to fight the avatar, and the second he sees something out of the ordinary, he automatically assumes that it is the the avatar’s doing. It’s kind of a miracle that he was right.
Capturing the Avatar = restoring honor. This is an example of both taking what his father told him as fact, and seeing things as black and white, which is also commonly associated with autism. Ozai told Zuko that capturing the avatar would restore his honor, so Zuko became obsessed with finding and capturing Aang. He truly believed that doing so was the only way to restore his honor and return home. It took Zuko years to realize that he could restore his honor in a different way than what his father told him.
He automatically believes Azula when she says he can come home
“Father regrets?”
It had been three years since he’d seen Azula, and he immediately took what she said at face value. He is excited to be going home, and he is frustrated with Iroh for being skeptical. When Iroh points out that he has never known Ozai to regret anything, Zuko says “did you even listen to Azula?”
Zuko takes what Azula says as fact, just like he has always done. This is why, as a child, he had to constantly tell himself, “Azula always lies,” because she probably had a habit of fooling Zuko. But now that it has been so long, without the constant reminder that Azula always lies, she takes advantage of the fact that Zuko trusts her so easily, and he falls for her lies once again.
He doesn’t catch on to Jin’s body language
In the episode ‘The Tales of Ba Sing Se,’ Zuko meets a girl named Jin. He immediately is threatened by her, because she keeps looking at him (eye contact is another thing that can be a challenge for autistic people). He assumes she knows they are fire nation. Despite the fact that he has seen her constantly smiling at him, he is completely surprised when he finds out she has a crush on him.
When Jin asks Zuko on a date, he shows up looking like this:
I think most people would catch on that this is Not A Good Look. But when Jin messes up his hair, Zuko gets frustrated. He says, “It took my uncle ten minutes to do my hair!”
So, Iroh told him this was a good hairstyle, and Zuko trusts Iroh, so he took his word as truth, and went along with it.
Later on in the date, Jin tries to kiss Zuko. Just before their lips touch, he holds a coupon in front of her face, exclaiming that he brought her a gift.
Zuko likes Jin. He risked a lot to light up the fountain for her. We know he wanted to kiss her, because when she kissed him later, he let her, and he even kissed her back for a moment before he bolted. But in this moment here, he missed the signs that said she was about to kiss him (the hand holding, Jin closing her eyes, leaning forward, etc), so he moved the conversation along in a way that he felt was natural, by giving her a gift.
He doesn’t realize that Sokka and Suki want time alone
Zuko runs into Suki when he’s about to go into Sokka’s tent. She’s clearly embarrassed, but Zuko doesn’t catch on.
“Sorry, do you need to talk to Sokka, too?”
Suki says no, so Zuko enters Sokka’s tent, to find Sokka like this:
There are roses everywhere, candles are lit, Sokka’s hair is down, he’s posing. Sokka was waiting for Suki to arrive, not Zuko.
But Zuko doesn’t catch on to that, either, so he sits right down and asks Sokka for advice, totally oblivious to what was supposed to be going down.
He can’t explain what is ‘off’ about Azula
A lot of autistic people have trouble recognizing patterns. Zuko has known Azula his whole life. He knows what her hair usually looks like. He knows what her makeup usually looks like. She doesn’t usually have dark circles under her eyes. She usually has better posture. I could go on.
Azula challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai looking like this:
“I can’t explain it, but there’s something off about her.”
This is something I struggle with, too. If my mom dyes her hair, I can tell something is different, but it may take me a few days to figure out exactly what has changed. I think this is what was going on with Zuko here. He knows something is up, but he can’t immediately recognize that Azula has cut her own hair poorly, or that her makeup is different because she did it herself, or that she has dark circles under her eyes, or weird posture, etc.
Sensory issues
Sensory issues are also associated with autism. This can manifest in sensory overload and strong reactions to physical contact, among other things.
One way I’ve learned to avoid or come down from sensory overload is to self-isolate and meditate, which is something Zuko does very often. This can also be a way to recharge spoons or mentally prepare for something that might be exhausting.
This explains why Zuko would react so strongly when someone interrupts his alone time. He needs that time to prepare for every other moment in the day. When this time is interrupted, he lashes out, and has trouble containing his emotions.
Physical contact
Zuko doesn’t always seem to know how to react to physical contact and affection. He reacts negatively if he isn’t prepared, or if he isn’t comfortable with the person. Even if he genuinely likes the person who is touching him (Jin, Iroh, Toph, Katara, etc), he still doesn’t seem to know what to do.
If Zuko is comfortable with the person who hugs him, he allows them to do so, but he still almost always looks flustered. He doesn’t always hug back, and when he does, it sometimes takes him a moment to process that he’s being hugged before he is able to return the gesture.
Difficulty Changing Plans
As I mentioned before, autistic people sometimes have a one-track mind. We may have difficulty changing plans, and may tend to see things as black and white, with no gray areas. All of these things describe Zuko to a T.
Zuko tends to get frustrated over any change of plans, but there’s one example I’d like to focus on.
Let’s talk about that angst coma. You know, that time Zuko got physically ill after he did something that completely altered the course of his life?
That’s the one. The thing is, change is hard. And it can be especially hard for autistic people. Zuko spent the last few years working towards one thing, and one thing only: capturing the avatar. Then, in one day, everything changed. He made a decision to free Appa, which was completely counter to what he has been working towards this entire time.
I’ve had “angst comas” before, and I know other autistic people who have had similar experiences. Sometimes you really do just need a few days in bed to recuperate and adjust to big changes.
some side notes that are worth mentioning:
Zuko takes Iroh’s metaphors literally
He repeats Iroh’s metaphors without understanding them, and they come across differently
It took him a minute to realize when Aang insulted him, because the insult was dressed up like a complement. “Hey, that was actually pretty smart of you.” Zuko’s first reaction is to smile proudly at the praise.
That scene when Aang wants to sit by Katara (bc he likes her) and Zuko is all, “I don’t get it, what’s the big deal? Just sit next to me.”
He saved Iroh’s smelly sandal when he was separated from him
He has a special interest in dao swords
Inaccurate self image (in his imagination he pictured himself without his scar)
He replays memories in his head of times when he thinks he may have said the wrong thing
He has meltdowns when things don’t go as he plans.
He sometimes messes up jokes when he’s trying to be funny
He paces back and forth a lot, perhaps as a way to stim
In conclusion Zuko is autistic af. I rest my case.
Interesting concept. I noticed all those things individually, but put together it does really look like autism or something similar.
“I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided, but with the Avatar’s help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace.” ________________________________________________________________ - Prince Zuko (Sozin’s Comet: Part 4 - Avatar Aang (2008) The gif is from “The Legend of Korra”. A statue of Fire lord Zuko.
getting back into the drawing flow ma boys with a zuko
Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.
Quick sketch of Zuko!! I love him in the color blue ☾☾
Ozai lets Zuko beg and plead his heart out and then he burns half his face off.
Iroh doesn’t even let Zuko finish his apology before he embraces him.
It’s been awhile
I’m back in the game and I want to reconnect, not that I was really connected with most of you before, so I put together a “get to know me” list that you can ask me from or feel free add your own or request more!
1. What is your middle initial?
2. What is your zodiac sign?
3. What is your favourite radio station?
4. What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
5. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type?
6. What is your favourite hobby?
7. What TV show would you recommend?
8. What is your favourite movie to watch when you’re feeling down?
9. Do you play video games?
10. What is/are your phobia(s)?
11. Cats or dogs?
12. What is your favourite season?
13. Are you in a relationship?
14. What was the last book that you read?
15. What is your favourite animal?
16. What are the top 5 tumblr blogs everyone should go follow?
17. What superpower do you wish you had?
18. Are you afraid of heights?
19. What is your biggest pet peeve?
20. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
21. What fictional world would you like to live in?
22. Are you scared of the dark?
23. Do you sing?
24. What is your favourite place on the planet?
25. Early bird or night owl?
26. Do you drive?
27. Earbuds or headphones?
28. Have you ever had braces?
29. What are your favourite comic books?
30. What is your favourite subject in school?
31. Do you have siblings?
32. Can you juggle?
33. Do you prefer outer space or the deep ocean?
34. Are you allergic to anything?
35. Can you curl your tongue?
36. What is your Hogwarts house?
37. Do you/will you get any piercings or tattoos?
38. Do you have glasses or contacts?
39. Do you want children?
49. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter?
50. How old are you?
Sorry the numbers got weird there- just ask me the question if you’re unsure 🙃
It’s been awhile
I’m back in the game and I want to reconnect, not that I was really connected with most of you before, so I put together a “get to know me” list that you can ask me from or feel free add your own or request more!
1. What is your middle initial?
2. What is your zodiac sign?
3. What is your favourite radio station?
4. What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
5. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type?
6. What is your favourite hobby?
7. What TV show would you recommend?
8. What is your favourite movie to watch when you’re feeling down?
9. Do you play video games?
10. What is/are your phobia(s)?
11. Cats or dogs?
12. What is your favourite season?
13. Are you in a relationship?
14. What was the last book that you read?
15. What is your favourite animal?
16. What are the top 5 tumblr blogs everyone should go follow?
17. What superpower do you wish you had?
18. Are you afraid of heights?
19. What is your biggest pet peeve?
20. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
21. What fictional world would you like to live in?
22. Are you scared of the dark?
23. Do you sing?
24. What is your favourite place on the planet?
25. Early bird or night owl?
26. Do you drive?
27. Earbuds or headphones?
28. Have you ever had braces?
29. What are your favourite comic books?
30. What is your favourite subject in school?
31. Do you have siblings?
32. Can you juggle?
33. Do you prefer outer space or the deep ocean?
34. Are you allergic to anything?
35. Can you curl your tongue?
36. What is your Hogwarts house?
37. Do you/will you get any piercings or tattoos?
38. Do you have glasses or contacts?
39. Do you want children?
49. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter?
50. How old are you?
