It's Really Interesting To Me How You Can Tell The Level Of Respect Azula Has For Mai, Ty Lee, And Zuko

it's really interesting to me how you can tell the level of respect azula has for mai, ty lee, and zuko through how she directs them within the confines of the fire nation's expectations of them all.

azula is someone who really values and upholds the fire nation's expectations of conformity, especially in regards to court. she herself plays her part as she's expected to. she plays by the rules her father sets for her, parrots his beliefs, renames omashu "new ozai" for her father, tasks herself with finding the avatar (zuko's fool's errand) and conquering ba sing se (iroh's greatest military failure), and is consequently ultimately hurt and betrayed when her father punishes her despite this by refusing to let her come with him during sozin's comet and giving her a meaningless title to mollify her. to her, playing by the rules that are set out for them within the fire nation, whether spoken or not, is essential, and to not play by them results in punishment. this mindset was already instilled in her before zuko's agni kai, but it was no doubt fully solidified by witnessing her brother pay for his inability to play the role he was assigned as a dutiful son and strong heir.

as a result of this, zuko is the most obvious liability of the fire nation kids in azula's eyes. he has already failed to abide by the rules once and is likely to do so again if she doesn't stop him from doing so. make no mistake, azula does not want zuko to stumble again. she manipulates him into coming home despite his wavering resolve by reminding him of what he could have and what he's always wanted (their father's respect, his honor and birthright restored, the return of a feeling of normalcy/familiarity) because she loves her brother and wants him to play the role he's supposed to successfully. if she didn't love him, she could easily have taken him home as a prisoner like her father wanted her to initially or killed him. i won't even entertain the notion that she brought him home specifically to take the heat if the avatar wasn't really dead; that is a deeply stupid thing for her to do which would result in her judgment and honor being called into serious question as she's the one who vouched that zuko killed the avatar which would be a failure in her role as the dutiful daughter and honorable princess.

so azula appeals to zuko's weaknesses to get him home because she loves him. but she still doesn't respect him because of his prior failings, so she tries to keep him on the straight and narrow within the confines of their roles in the fire nation. she confronts him about visiting their disgraced uncle in prison, tells him his actions could be misconstrued (although she knows exactly how zuko means them; she wants to remind him to play his part or suffer the consequences once more). she shuts him up in war council meetings by speaking over him so that he won't say something that would result in their father punishing him once more. she attempts to prompt him into letting her know if they should be worried about the avatar still, although he doesn't confide in her since he doesn't trust her and instead takes matters into his own hands by hiring combustion man. azula does not threaten to harm zuko herself if he fails in his role; she instead manipulates him with her knowledge of his personality and reminds him of the harm that their father will cause him if he fails.

ty lee is another problem azula thinks she needs to solve. once more, she loves ty lee, but ty lee has shown azula that she is not a reliable person to play her role as she's meant to. azula believes ty lee's failure to be even worse than zuko's, though. zuko said the wrong thing in a war council meeting because he didn't understand the rules; ty lee understood the rules, and she chose to run away anyway. this is not just ty lee being oblivious, but her choosing to intentionally disobey the rules.

so when azula comes to collect ty lee to resume playing her role, azula is initially friendly, perhaps giving ty lee the benefit of the doubt that she might have wised up, but the moment ty lee demonstrates that she is still refusing to play by the rules azula is convinced they all have to play by, azula turns to manipulations and threats of harm to pull ty lee back into line. like with zuko, azula loves ty lee but does not respect her. she knows that ty lee will not play the role society says she must unless azula coerces her into doing so. unlike with zuko, ty lee does not require multiple corrections from azula. the threat of harm once is enough for ty lee to return to her duties. noticeably, ty lee also manipulates azula a lot when she does so, showcasing her awareness of the roles they're all playing and her ability to play with the best of them.

but mai is different from zuko and ty lee. azula both loves and respects mai. yes, azula has to go out of her way to collect mai as well, but mai has moved to omashu with her parents. she never stopped playing her role. azula does not believe mai would ever stop. she respects mai's intelligence in a way she doesn't with zuko and ty lee because mai respects the rules of the game. so azula not only never utilizes threats or manipulation with mai, but she treats mai as almost an equal and allows mai to treat her as an equal. she asks mai to come along with her, and mai agrees. she promotes mai to a position of power above that of her parents, and mai obliges. she says that the trade of bumi for tom-tom is unfair, and mai calls it off. but it's not only when mai plays by the rules of the game that azula respects her and does not threaten or manipulate her to keep her in line. even when mai blatantly disobeys azula's orders, azula allows it. even when mai screams at her during the beach, azula allows it. mai knows that azula will allow it, too. she openly scoffs at the idea of azula lightningbending at her. why? because azula respects mai and her judgment. she sees mai as an equal because mai plays the game as well as azula does, including her moments of rebellion (this is undoubtedly what azula disobeying ozai by bringing zuko home under false pretenses and directly lying to him is, albeit a much higher stake rebellion than mai's refusal to search the sewers).

notably, while azula declares her intent to kill zuko after he commits treason and tells ozai that she lied to him, even when mai and ty lee take the ultimate step out of line with their roles, she doesn't allow them to be executed. i say "allow" here because she's not the fire lord, so it wouldn't be her personal decree to have them executed but rather her father's. they committed high treason. they not only aided and abetted in a prison break and the escape of some of the fire nation's most wanted but physically attacked a member of the royal family and the crown princess at that. this is a crime that's punishable by death, and yet mai and ty lee stay in their cells in boiling rock, seemingly unharmed given mai's unscathed appearance at the end of sozin's comet. ozai would have no reason to not simply execute them, but azula would since she loves them. it's entirely possible, she was on some level holding onto hope that she could coach them back into line again somehow.

but why does she hope to rehabilitate or at least preserve her friends while aiming to kill zuko? it's pretty simple: when zuko failed to play his part he did so in a way that meant azula was punished for having failed in her role as the dutiful daughter and honorable princess because she chose to play a different role that she gained nothing from playing: the role of zuko's sister. so in azula's eyes, zuko went out of his way to not only lapse in his role as the dutiful son and strong heir but to purposefully fail to play the role of her brother in a way he knew would cause her harm. do mai and ty lee also fail to play the roles of her friends while instead revealing their loyalty to someone else entirely when they betray her? yes, but them doing so does not result in ozai's wrath.

More Posts from Ihatehomework and Others

ihatehomework

1 year ago

i’ve been thinking about riordanverse demigods and their mommy issues.

annabeth, piper, alex fierro: my mom is an absent goddess who’s kind of a bitch to me and my loved ones

jason, thalia, hazel: my mom was a messed up person when she was alive

nico, leo, frank, magnus chase: my mom died years ago but she was a wonderful person and i miss her every day

percy jackson and will solace: MY MOM 🤱 is my BEST 🤩 FRIEND 👯 she is so LOVELY 🥰 and KIND 💕 and COOL 😎 and i’m having DINNER 🍽️ WITH HER ON SATURDAY 🥳💫🤪

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

another Redeemed!Azula thought…

Sokka: I need your advice

Azula: why me?

Sokka: because you’re Zuko’s sister

Azula: What did Zuzu do this time?

Sokka: Nothing! But I have a crush on Zuko

Azula: ew why?

—later—

Sokka: as my sister you are legally obligated to give me advice

Katara: that’s now how the law works but ok, what do you need?

Sokka: I have a crush on Zuko

Katara: ew why?

Azula overhears this and despite not being on the best terms with Katara, decides to bond with her over their shared judgement of Sokka’s taste in men.

They spend a lot of time together and Zukka are sweating because nobody else understands how terrifying it is that their sisters have become friends. The fear exists for months. They’re too preoccupied with making sure Katara and Azula don’t blow up the palace that they both completely miss the fact that Azutara definitely started dating.

Katara wants to tell them. Azula started a betting pool on what will finally get their brothers to notice that they’re together…with Toph and Suki. Azula thinks Katara doesn’t know about the betting pool, but she definitely does. She had Suki anonymously place money on the “Azula and Katara will have to kiss in public for Sokka and Zuko to realize” option.

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

you: suck my dick me, an intellectual: inhale my richard

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ihatehomework

10 months ago

i finished a new media so now it’s time for ATLA PRIDE HCs WOOOO!!!

so aang is unlabeled (and doesn’t identify as unlabeled either 💀💀) in all areas basically. he loves freely and doesn’t see gender or sex. he doesn’t see it in himself either. he mostly presents and refers to himself as a dude, but he found out he doesn’t mind being seen as a lady either. he’s crushed on katara and zuko during different points in his life, but he settled on katara. functionally, he’s pan and genderfluid.

katara is queer. she is the most unqueer queer ever though. she acts straight as a board I tell ya. she doesn’t really confine herself to labels much either, but she can tell you she was surprised at how much she enjoyed Lady Aang when that first became a thing.

sokka is bi. he probably thought men were supposed to marry women, but he quickly got over it when he got over his short lived misogyny. bi awakening wasn’t really a thing, he just sorta knew he always liked boys and girls. he’s had many crushes, but yue and suki are the ones that always stood out the most for him. obvi he dabbles in drag, that’s like sorta a canon thing. zuko’s autistic charms get to him and he ends up developing a crush on him.

toph is an aroace lesbian. she only dates the finest of women. she can tell she’ll read your heart with her feet.

zuko is gay like GAAAYYYY I don’t mean to bring accidental cheesy puns into this but he is a FLAMING homosexual, and I refuse to believe otherwise. at some point I said “I like zutara, but I just think atla is way funnier when in the back of your mind, zuko is gay.” anyways he’s gay and sex repulsed. zuko didn’t know he liked boys until he was 17, and he didn’t realize he was completely gay until a year later. he was very comphet and was always expected to produce a blood heir, and he didn’t think much of it. looking back, zuko noticed how he did find boys cute when he was younger and often avoided them because of it. he could sense that he and his sister were different, but he always thought that was because they were royalty. he only really started dating mai because they had so much in common, he thought that’s what was supposed to happen. when zuko, not long after becoming fire lord, realized he liked boys, he kept it to himself. a year later when he realized he only liked boys, he vented about it to mai, and she helped him through it. they broke up, but he still values her friendship. zuko finally gets with sokka in his 20s. yeah it took that long.

OTHER CHARACTERS THAT AREN’T GAANG THAT COME TO MIND!!

azula is a LESSSBIAAAAN that is a lesbian

I wanna say suki and ty lee are dating

smeller bee is definitely trans I don’t wanna hear it

uncle iroh doesn’t care. he loved his wife whatever happened to her, and he would also date a man.

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

Dear captives.

Hello.

As you all know, I tend to keep people in my basement. Probably not the best thing to do as ive come to grow as a person. Really. I pledge to no longer keep people in my basement. Look, I know its a dick move i'm sorry.

From now on, I will free my captives and no longer hunt you down. Obviously, im not happy about this but I will try. Or like, do it less? Love Stupid green owl.

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

just thinking about how percy's plans look like he's actively trying to get himself killed because he doesn't take the time to explain his plans to anyone else because they are time-sensitive. and how annabeth never needs him to explain anything because she can recognize battle strategy from a mile away. and how she knows that percy only diverges from a collective plan when he sees a flaw in it and is about to do something that'll confuse the opponent long enough for them to gain the upper hand. and how annabeth will only take over when she sees a flaw in his plan and guide them back on track. and how percy gives her the space to play on her strengths instead of fighting her over it because he trusts her judgment. and how all of this basically happens wordlessly because they understand each other.

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

sometimes think about how the hell dallas & ian ended up being #1 zukka endorsers like did netflix encouraged/adviced them to in some ways or they just came to netflix HQ one day with a 57 slides presentation and a thick ass thesis and was like "guys, guys, hear us out—"

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ihatehomework

9 months ago

ok yapping in ur inbox again but I LOVE THE PERCABETH JILY PARALLELS !!! def my fave jily variant, along with peraltiago from b99 and pipravi from agggtm.

i don't even necessarily think the characters have parallels. like sure, both lily and annabeth are smart and caring and have a need to impress people (their families, their friends, etc.), and sure, both james and percy are clever, funny, and deeply loyal, but i think the parallels come in more with their actual relationship.

jily and percabeth are so devoted, and yes they have flaws, but they care about each other. for both ships to work, there has to be a slowburn + individual character arcs, and GAH the mutual pining and obliviousness ?! they're also js very similar in the way they interact and joke around lmao

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YESSSSSSS!!! okay i love you i literally posted a video on my tt abt jily variants today so i think i manifested this ^_^ i wholeheartedly agree with everything you said i think we are practically the same person atp

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

MORE THINGS I FORGOT TO ADD:

YES, the la was rushed but hello they got 8 episodes? og was like 20+, and the episodes from last are not over 2x in length

C'MON AZULA'S PRETTY GOOD, like the way she acts is soooo azula. the la isn't a carbon copy of the og, ofc azula will be different. personally, i'm excited if they elaborate on her complexities a little more. also, fat shaming? seriously???? like wtf shes a young adult? plus, shes absolutely gorgeous, and the og azula looking normal doesnt really strike fear into my heart, it gives more literal princess vibes. its only when azula is smirking/being serious that i find her scary

GUYS I THINK THAT THE LA ATLA IS PRETTY GOOD GUYS LIKE.

YES, katara isnt angry enough but is it really 2010 bad? its also the writers fault not the actress like kiawentiio is SOOOO katara in all of the interviews etc

YES, ozai is hot BUT thats seriously doesnt excuse THE CHILD ABUSE!!!! yall can simp for him but dont condone his actions :))))))

YES, zuko is sassy af THATS HOW HES SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE. did we seriously watch the same show

SOKKAS' ACTOR IS NOT WHITE, like if he was and he got the role, it's the casting directors's fault. they didn't know what they were auditioning for, so i don't see why he would've lied about his background. plus, he really doesn't look white, like at all. and seriously, how would you feel if someone told you that you were lying about your race

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ihatehomework

1 year ago

wait what. what. literally what. neither of them look white???? iroh's bad actions are never explicitly shown and none of us are smart enough to think about it too hard??? yes i kinda agree with the zuko one cause we just glossed over and focused on the redemption arc but still. i also think that we dont give aang enough shit about yelling at toph (the library thingy) and non-consensually kissing katara (still adore kataang dw). i dont think that toph gets enough shit for being so blatantly rude all the time. and i think we truly dont remember sokkas misogyn (yes it is fixed but still) they all committed bad actions and all of them have their bad actions glossed over by everyone but their haters but i dont think it has anything to do with race because NONE OF THEM ARE WHITE and i'd argue that neither of them are really that masculine. at least i don't view them as such. sokka, hakoda, jet, ozai, zhao and honestly kinda toph are arguably more masculine. yes i do think that their wrongdoings are not focused on enough but i don't think it's because of their skin colour or masculinity

Crazy how the only 2 major characters in ATLA that don't get ridiculously scrutinised for all of their wrongdoings are both the lightest skinned and most traditionally masculine characters in the show (zuko and iroh). Probs just a coincidence tho

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