For anyone who has been following this blog, you should know that I have a...very adverse reaction whenever the topic of Azula's breakdown or her writing in the comics or how badly handled she overall was. And it should also come to no surprise that I also have a mental illness of my own (autism), and that I identified with Azula's poor treatment, the ableism, and whatnot. Also also in that I additionally identify with knowing what it's like to be raised in a very militaristic society and how hard it can be for the psyche, while acknowledging how that aspect of her character got butchered.
None of this is new, either to me or any of my followers.
However, it was after watching a movie recently (Godzilla Minus One. Great film by the way, check it out now if you haven't already), that I think I may have come across part of my problem and my frustrations with the series as a whole regarding Azula. It's not merely the fact that this had happened in the past. That this is old news, happened years ago, yadda yadda yadda. I get that.
What gets me is that I get scared to death that it's going to happen again.
Think about it: the same guys who let Azula's derailment go through are still in charge of Avatar Studios, and there hasn't really been any course correction outside of a few lines and a single one-shot. That's not enough for me to start trusting them again. Especially when they keep doing the same things that they've been doing in the Yang comics while portraying Azula as comically evil in other media (see Avatar Legends and that awful Firelord Mode).
And that's not even going into those sections of the fandom that keep bringing up some pretty awful arguments regarding Azula. They're still around. So I don't feel comfortable in those spaces because I don't want to get into another confrontation.
None of this is even touching on the Netflix remake, which I've heard mixed things about. ESPECIALLY these last few days with the release of the new season.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that all the ingredients that led to my being burnt out with the franchise and being extremely angry with almost every aspect are still there. And as long as they're there, that means there's a good chance that it'll happen again.
Now obviously this is not a healthy mindset. At all. I get that. Especially when I'm writing an ATLA fanfic and I hyperfixate a lot on Azula. Which is why I'm typing it down, so at least it's out there, and I can come back to it. It's also why I'm sort of avoiding anything regarding NATLA for the immediate future. I'm going to have to deal with it eventually, but at least I can give myself some time to get my thoughts together and not completely crash out.
Will this work? I dunno. But at least it's giving me some breathing room to formulate some kind of a response or gather my thoughts.
