#atla ask

Aang, Ty Lee and Jet.

I really disagree. If Zuko didn’t care about Katara or her pain at all, why would he go to such lengths to make it up to her and gain her forgiveness? Why would someone care so much about getting the forgiveness of someone they really don’t care about?

Zuko already had the approval of the rest of team avatar. Katara was seen as the odd one out for still being angry at him. She also saved him earlier in the episode when he fell off the air ship by pulling him onto Appa, so her anger at him clearly wouldn’t jeopardize him because she clearly saw him as an ally to protect even though she was angry at him.

Therefore, strategically, Zuko did not need Katara to like or forgive him. The rest of team avatar already had, and Katara clearly was willing to help Zuko as an ally despite her anger at him. And yet still, Zuko really wanted her to forgive him, even telling Sokka that he cared about what she thought of him.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula+Mai+Ty Lee

Honestly I feel like we can stick pretty close to canon on this one lol I feel like all you really need to do is permanently remove Zuko from the picture (either via death or accepting his exile) for Maizulee to eventually become THE dysfunctional, mutually-codependent, toxic-yuri power-throuple XD

Like this is the timeline where Ty Lee and Mai go all in with Azula as the deadly, fucked-up polycule that might secure total Fire Nation dominance, or more likely burn it to the ground.

Have you watched the Netflix live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender?

By the way, Zuko is my number one favorite character!

I am! It's one of my favorites! It's almost weird, but I don't feel the need to participate in fandom spaces nearly as much with my favorite shows. Like, Avatar the Last Airbender is so good I don't need fics or anything to give me more. It's existence satisfies me on it's own(Fullmetal Alchemist[Manga and Brotherhood versions] is another one). Don't talk to me about Legend of Korra though. That's a dumpster fire.

I can't even really pick a favorite ATLA character. They're all really good. I'm a sucker for a good redemption arc, though. So Zuko is a strong contender.

Azula and Zuko manage to capture the avatar right after Katara quickly healed him while still in Ba Sing Se. The gaang were forced to leave without Aang, altering the day of black sun plan into a rescue mission.

Until the end of "Day of black sun pt 2", Aang is stuck as Azula's prisoner. As the main character, Aang would still have the most screen time but it gets shared with Azula and he spends the most time with her.

What do you think will happen between them? What could "The Beach" episode look like with Aang in it?

Well, this is an interesting ask.

The first most definite thing I can say is whether or not Azula and Zuko know that Aang is alive. I would wager they would capture his body which might not necessarily be conscious to show that the Avatar is indeed dead. Naturally, this could lead to a nightmarish scenario like at the start of Book 3 where Aang wakes up on a Fire Nation ship, only for it to be under the control of the Fire Nation instead of being captured.

Course, I wouldn't imagine Aang's initial escape attempt being too successful given that he just recovered from being shot in the back. Azula and Zuko would still be able to hold him till he gets to the Fire Nation where Ozai...I doubt Aang is going to be kept in good condition since killing him would just cause the Avatar to reincarnate. Therefore, I could see Ozai keeping him in torturous conditions not unlike what Zhao put him through in Book 1. Alive, but unable to do anything. Might even give Azula the "honor" of watching him since Zuko has returned to become the Crown Prince.

But let's assume that Aang is able to try and make an escape attempt a few times. I mean let's face it, he's not exactly someone who's easy to keep down. I could see Azula wanting to keep his escape attempts under wraps so Ozai's wrath would not directed towards her. Now here's where things get interesting. She starts noticing that Aang is avoiding killing anyone, isn't going into the Avatar State, and overall isn't acting like what the Avatar is expected to act like by the Fire Nation (which we can get some interesting worldbuilding by seeing how they view the Avatar from their perspective).

If we go down this avenue of thought, Azula might assume that putting the Avatar in torturous conditions isn't working since he keeps trying to break out. What she might feel work better is if he was broken mentally so he simply wouldn't have the will to fight. To this end, she might give him better conditions that are less torturous, but she'll try to break him by passing stories about his friends dying or being captured or something. Make it clear that he can escape, but break his will to fight. Maybe have daily "chats" taunting him.

Now here's where things get interesting: Aang won't break. He knows Azula's lying to break him...but in the process, she inadvertently starts letting him know about her upbringing by divulging what her worldview is. Maybe even starts to feel a bit sorry for her than anything. I mean he did feel bad for Zuko even when the latter was trying to kill him, so it's completely in the realm of possibility. Which in turn befuddles Azula since everything she does to break him doesn't work, and she knows he's sympathizing with her.

Which leads to the Ember Island. This could be Azula's last chance at breaking Aang, showing how pathetic he is for sympathizing with a monster and not even attempting to escape when he has a chance. It backfires since Aang knows enough that Azula is NOT a monster, and tells her this. And the reason he doesn't want to escape is because he's afraid that Ozai's going to come after her for letting him escape (which isn't out of the question since Ozai is becoming more and more frustrated with Azula's lack of progress). As badly as he wants to escape, he doesn't want anyone else to suffer on his hands. Not even Azula.

Now here you can go a few routes. For me, Aang would eventually escape once he realizes that Azula won't budge. But he times it during a time where her back is turned, like the Day of the Black Sun so there's a reason for why her security is lax. Or he comes into contact with the rest of the Gaang and he escapes during the Black Sun Invasion so as to make it look like a rescue instead of incompetence on Azula's part. Either way, I do feel that Aang would advocate for mercy on behalf for Azula or at least make sure she doesn't rot someplace after Sozin's Comet. Azula would obviously assume that Aang abandoned her like everyone else, but Aang coming back and telling her the truth would give her a bit of a mental safety net and possibly lead to the road for recovery.

Katara is also just a kid, and it's hard to imagine her not getting tired of Azula's distrust (and Azula, being at her lowest, won't want to trust an enemy even if the enmity is questionable at this point), but I still think this could go somewhere, and at the very least I am bewildered that no one mentions Katara saying anything about Azula being locked in the asylum?? I haven't read the comics and I'm not going to, so idk if that's 100% on the writers or there's something that the fans ignore there, but it's so out-of-character to me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, but honestly I just needed to get it out of my system, I'm totally okay if you just delete this ask or something.

Hi!

First, I'd like to start by saying I got nervous when I saw the ask because I thought it was a hateful one and I'm really, really glad I read it and realized it wasn't because I 100% agree with you and I think a couple of my mutuals do as well.

Personally, I believe that Katara would rightfully be distrustful and upset for some time, because it's hard to trust someone who has hurt you and your friends, even if you feel sympathy for them. But at the end of the day, you and I both know that she'll never turn her back on people that need her.

And Azula most certainly needed her at that time. Well, not specifically her, but she needed someone...

Preferably, I prefer it when that someone is Zuko but no one could ever convince me that Katara wouldn't care at all, or even worse, that Katara would be happy about it. Because that's just so ooc for her. She might not be Azula's biggest fan but we never see her be indifferent or glad to see someone in pain.

But neither Katara nor Azula would trust each other. At least not in the beginning. However, I don't think that would discourage Katara at all and at some point (50 years down the road or somth XD) Azula will have to accept that no enemy puts this much time and effort for you if they still view you as an enemy.

I'm delighted you haven't read the comics, they are terrible. Those comics don't feature the Katara you and I know, but a Katara that not only doesn't feel even a bit of sympathy (which is just basic human freaking decency at this point) but makes an effort to add to that pain Azula is feeling. Which is just not Katara at all, as we both know.

I actively encourage you to keep not reading the comics and keep on being so polite and pleasant when you interact with people. It can be very refreshing for bloggers ☺️

Are you going to watch legend of Korra? I like it but it is definitely not on the same level 🥺

Yeyy!!! It must have felt so good and nostalgic to you rewatching it. Yes, I was so confused when Zuko and Aang stepped side by side in the earth kingdom as well. Honestly, I can't wait for the adult gaang show that is coming in 2025(I think). It will be so interesting to see all of them grown up occupying important positions.