#shihan

So basically she is Wu's distant cousin. She has spent lots of time traveling and has received a lot of education! "Numerous degrees", guest lecturing—she is very well read! Also 'vivacious' and in her late 40s.

Here's my headcanon territory. I'm not convinced she and Wu were terribly close during his upbringing. With her having traveled so much, she was probably not in Ba Sing Se often enough or for enough time to form a very close connection to Wu. She probably met him a handful of times during his childhood, but I doubt they knew each other well!

I specifically headcanon that she is Wu's forth cousin, once removed, and was a member of Earth Kingdom's nobility but her family line branched off before King Kuei, so she is not considered a member of the royal family. Therefore, she has no claim to the throne. Additionally I headcanon that she forfeited all claims as earth kingdom nobility when she settled in Republic City and became a citizen of the United Republic of Nations.

I do think maybe there was a little bit of nepotism involved in Wu getting accepted into Republic City University. But I think it was because Queen Hou-Ting was fed up with Wu and demanded Shihan accept him into the university-so it was more along the lines of she made sure he was accepted to keep Queen Hou-Ting from retaliating against her (i think the two of them probably had a contentious relationship in their youth before Shihan started traveling).

So I think once Wu was at the University, perhaps they did get to know each other, and I think they got along just fine! But I think she's probably aware of how it would look if she spent a lot of time with a student who was also her relative (and royalty!) so she probably kept a respectful distance. I'm not sure she would have known how to initiate a relationship with him given all the circumstances-he's much younger than her, she barely knew him as a child, she's mindful of her position as Dean and wants to avoid looking like she has favorites, and also I think Wu was probably desperate to fit in and build friendships with other students, and generally you don't do that by hanging out with the faculty.

I also have a little headcanon that Hou-Ting would send Dai Li operatives to check up on Wu—not in a making-sure-he's-doing-ok way, but in a invading-his-privacy way. I think Shihan probably had a couple of run-ins with Hou-Tings agents and perhaps would kick them off campus any chance she got, in an attempt to give Wu a little freedom from his Aunt. I don't think Wu was aware of this so maybe this is just a little behind the scenes way that she is trying to look out for him.

I think, after the assassination and the realization that Wu is the only remaining heir, that he would have been put into protective custody and had to withdraw from the university. At that time I think Shihan probably wouldn't have had much contact with him.

I think what really got Shihan's attention was Wu's announcement that he wanted to democratize the Earth Kingdom. Given that she is well traveled and very educated, I think she has a really rounded view of politics and felt she could contribute in a meaningful way by assisting Wu with his goal. I headcanon that she reached out to him to offer assistance in drafting policy, and that he travels back to Republic City frequently to work with her. I think this is when they get very close, and I think he learns A LOT from her.

I love her description as "vivacious" and I hc that she and Wu have some similar mannerisms- lots of big, sweeping arm movements, a lil cringe and awkward sometimes, kinda loud. I hc that she is a big hugger and maybe a little bit flighty-loses her train of thought, easily distracted, etc. Just a real eccentric academic type.