Hi! Thanks so much for sending this :)

So I didn’t initially think of them as a ship, funnily enough. It was one of those things that a buddy had indirectly told me to check out in one of her fics as it was a secondary ship in the story. But once I read the fic, I was so intrigued that I started to ship it lmao. So yeah, I blame my friend for that *stares at Stitch*

Immediately after, I had started writing some fics with Azulaang as secondary/tertiary ships. I find them so fun to write, their dynamic is interesting, they have such different personalities that temper each other, and I find that it’s such a fun flow to explore in my writing. The opposites attract element of their relationship is something that caught me from the jump, and seeing Azula have a soft spot for Aang in that way is so sweet. There’s a lot to explore with them and I love it. I also enjoy the way I write them particularly. It’s fun imo

And not only is the writing amazing in the fics I’ve read, the art is beautiful. Everyone is so talented in this fandom, but I’ve always been particularly drawn to Azula art, so yeah, call me obsessed loll

Regardless, even if they’re not your cup of tea as a romantic ship, the idea of their friendship is something I find intriguing as well. And I just like thinking about good things for Azula :))

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Thanks for the ask <3

lol I know it’s really unpopular for a lot of people but I enjoyed it! Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship has always been the core for me and I think the meet up was good!

I know Alicent’s turn seemed surprising to a lot of people, but honestly I think it had been pretty set up. She’s never been particularly devoted to the Green cause and went back and forth on it quite a bit last season so her still being unsure and unreliable makes sense to me.

And like, I didn’t mention this point often because I worried I’d get jumped for it. But I’ve always been a big believer that Alicent strongly resents her kids and sees them as a prison. I believe she loves them, but that love has always been bogged by hatred and fear and anger and resentment. She’s sacrificed so much for them and kind of hates them for it. And I think to a certain extent, she always viewed them as extensions of herself. Any anger she felt on their behalf was mostly just anger in her own behalf. When it feels like their goals align then it’s easy for her to get along with them. But once they prove to be their own people and work against her wishes, she’s quick to grow cold.

Once Aegon proved unreliable to her council and Aemond proved to be actively dangerous to everyone around him, it’s not surprising Alicent would pull away. Alicent probably isn’t even sure Aegon will survive. And with Lucerys’ death, Aegon’s “accident”, Aemond becoming regent and immediately firing her, AND Aemond trying to force Helaena into a situation that could get her killed or even more traumatized, it’s clear Alicent has lost any faith or affection for Aemond. She crowned Aegon to protect her children and now all that’s being proven to her is that crowning them has simply brought about their deaths a different way.

Alicent doesn’t know who she is. She been her father’s shadow and Viserys’ childbride and her children’s unwilling mother since she was so young that she’s never gotten to truly discover who she is. In season 1, she was always acting for the benefit of others. Acting how Viserys wanted her to in their early marriage, acting how her father would want her to in ep 6-7, and then acting how she thought the Seven would want her to in the last few episodes. And season 2 was about her figuring out how she wants to act. And struggling with what being herself even actually means for someone who has never been allowed to be her own person.

Rhaenyra is, to Alicent, the one person besides maybe Criston that she’s felt she’s ever truly been herself around. And last she saw Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra literally snuck into King’s Landing just to appeal to her. And if she’d gone to Rhaenyra before the dragonseed situation, it’s very possible Rhaenyra would have been even more receptive. So Alicent isn’t acting on baseless information for the idea that Rhaenyra could still be talked with.

Her sacrificing Aegon is horrible, and it’s meant to be. That she’s forced to choose between her daughter and her son, and is choosing Helaena. It’s Helaena she’s clung to all season, as she is alienated from everyone else she used to rely on. She doesn’t want to sacrifice Aegon. But she made the choice to put him on the line the second she put the crown on his head. She doesn’t think she can save Aegon or Aemond, but maybe she can save Helaena. And maybe she can finally save herself. It’s selfish and awful and I like that.

And like, I get why people have problems with it or disagree with where her character is going, but I strongly disagree that it’s ooc or “ruined” her. There’s a clear through line to her character in both seasons. I understand disliking the choices, but I get it and I enjoy it.

Fanfic Ask Game:

3. All time Favorite Pairing?

Lightcannon. Jinx and Luxanna Crownguard are adorable together. It’s pretty much an entirely fandom pairing as they seldom meet in any official content. But those two are dorks and love each other.

6. Favorite Headcanon?

Azula is big into sweets, always has been. But she doesn’t eat them often so has a hard time controlling herself when she does have them. Resulting in one time at a sleep over where she ate so much Mochi that she got sick and had to have Ursa pick her up. Post war her sweet tooth becomes common knowledge to the gaang and others. So if they need her help to do something theirs usually a box of Mochi, or some other preferably cherry flavored sweet, involved.

21. Favorite Trope?

Easily by far is reconciliation, particularly when it is caught up in the bounds of familial love. It’s what got me into fandom in the first place. Wanting to see Ursa and Azula meet again and over come the forced separation and years of pain and resentment only clouded by the love and hope they still have for each other.

omfg sundream the one true pair!!! 😂😂 sunfyre entering the pit and dreamfyre just sitting with like. idk tessarion who is all like

meanwhile sunfyre:

Well, @mayimorr met me once, and I met her twice. Let me explain.

We talked via fanfiction dot hell PMs after she reviewed some of my SasuSaku fic. I thought she was hilarious and brilliant, and we were becoming friends!

But then my mom died and my life fell apart. I took about a 6-month hiatus from all fandom things and pretty much lived under a rock.

After I came back, I met a lovely person on tumblr whose handle I didn't recognize. She had me laughing all the time and one day I realized that she sounded a *lot* like my friend on FFN whom I'd lost touch with during my hiatus, and she also had some real-life things that lined up too.

I asked "wait are YOU...?"

She thought I knew already, but no, I'd missed the memo.

And that's how I became friends with the same person twice!

oh man okay uhh -- let's do. Azulaang. But specifically I'm gonna choose to do my HCs from Azula travels with Aang after the war au. ye.

Aang and Azula don't stay together:

Okay ironically this goes for all of my Azulaang Aus LOL

I love this ship but I think that ostensibly they're really different people, and while they're what one another needs for a while in any of my aus, I think at the end of the day they're the sort of ship that's meant to change each other and then move on.

This is mainly because I HC that Azula doesn't want kids, and Aang really really does, and also that Azula isn't exactly the type of person that would willingly marry Aang (esp given their statuses as Avatar and [deposed (imo)] princess of the Fire Nation). Mind you, I also don't think that Azula wants to not be with Aang? She likes things the way they are but Aang wants things to change between them -- which I think is a breaking point for many of Azula's romantic relationships.

2. Azula and Aang don't advertise their relationship:

It's a surprise to the gaang when they eventually kind of suss out the fact that Azula and Aang are an item and not just travelling companions. In fact the only reason Zuko specifically finds out is because he happens to discover them kissing in the garden when they think no one's watching.

I think if asked, Aang would happily tell anyone about it, but Azula's way more tight-lipped and definitely doesn't accept a lot of PDA so it's not immediately apparent that they're a couple.

3. Azula adopts Air Nomad clothing colours to show Aang that she's serious about their relationship to one another:

While Azula initially continues to wear reds (despite having cut her hair after the disgrace of losing the Agni Kai), eventually she begins to wear yellows and oranges as well, especially when she and Aang end up being the only two left consistently travelling together.

She's acutely aware that she kind of hides away the fact that they're together, and doesn't want Aang to feel she's ashamed of being with him (since it's very much the opposite), so she begins to wear his colours as a show of her connection with him.

4. The thin gold bracelet that she wears was bought for her by Aang:

Before they were even together, Aang noticed her admiring it at a market they were passing through. When asked about it, Azula expressed that it would be an unnecessary bauble and she doesn't need it when they could get more rice for the extra coins that they have.

When Azula isn't paying attention Aang buys the bracelet for her and then later when they've set up camp for the night he slips it on her wrist as a surprise. She's never taken it off since.

(the bracelet is a thin gold bangle with a 2d engraved lotus flower at its center.)

5. Azula really cannot cook to save her life, so Aang does most of the cooking.

It's mainly vegetarian, which Azula hates, but she's willing to put up with it because she knows she lacks in that area of skill. Still, she complains every time and every time Aang just cheekily replies that she's free to cook dinner if she wants.

Controversial takes I'm not sure of, because the community I'm in now may agree, but the larger fandom might not. Thing is about ATLA is that I think every take has its share of supporters, so there's not really much I can say that would be controversial. I'll try, anyway.

Besides the tragedy of Azula's downfall and the Fire Siblings making my heart hurt (and the stunning music and visuals ofc), the Final Agni Kai isn't actually that interesting as a fight. Which, yes, in terms of the narrative it's great. But the fight itself is just kind of underwhelming in terms of what happens. Unlike Aang vs Ozai, which kept throwing twists and turns, set pieces and involved both of them interacting with the environment around them, Azula and Zuko just throw big fire blasts at each other.

From the moment Azula is first mentioned, we're clearly building up to a fight between her and Zuko in the finale. And hell, every time we see either of them fighting (whether against each other or other characters), they're some of the best fights in the series! But like, you get to the final fight, and it just feels underwhelming. Especially the Katara part. I love Katara, but. Like. She deserved a better fight against Azula than just running away from her until the grate scene.