New Fic Up!

👩‍🍳new fic up!

a Mai character study as well as an exploration of the complicated maizulee friendship (because I wanted an excuse to use the royal fire academy for girls as a setting)

main pairing is mailee (my first foray into writing them!) + a generous serving of maiko

Canonical evidence of Mai and Zuko’s unrelenting love for each other

I’ve seen many claim that in Zuko’s flashbacks we see Mai have a crush on Zuko, but that feeling wasn’t shown to be reciprocated, thereby emphasizing that their relationship came out of nowhere and was a late stage addition by the creators. But there are several details that hint otherwise, the most prominent one being that Mai was mentioned in Zuko’s flashbacks, was associated with happy memories with his mother, and was important enough to him to be an integral aspect of his childhood. And also, Zuko blushing back when talking about knocking an apple off of a head, while practicing his knife skills in front of Azula.

And of course when Azula mentions how Zuko and Mai have had childhood crushes on each other in the Going Home Again comic:

Speaking about the Going Home Again comic, Zuko explicitly mentions that “he missed seeing this side of Mai” - in reference to her carefree, outgoing emotions. Zuko’s banishment, Mai’s isolation from those her own age, and her repressive household have caused her to become a shell of what she once was. But she will always fondly remember the times she used to throw mud in Zuko’s face.

Now let’s talk about the Legacy of the Fire Nation book, which is surprisingly cited as “anti-Maiko” “pro Zutara” material as some users on the app. (As a separate aside, Iroh absolutely understands the powerful friendship between Zuko and Katara, and the other Gaang inserts can be interpreted as equally romantic (Was that all you were, or were you something more - something Iroh said about Sokka and Zuko)).

Also keep in mind the author Joshua Prett stated that he wasn’t allowed to introduce any new plot resolutions, which is why Izumi and Mai are mostly omitted save for this one golden piece of information.

I’ve seen many try and use this excerpt as hard evidence that Iroh absolutely detested the idea of mai and zuko. But the thing is, Iroh is explicitly referencing his and Zuko’s journey involving Ba Sing Se and the search for the Avatar, which is why he mentions the desert, Zuko having trouble sleeping, and finally, his relationship with Mai.

Although it’s a small mention, it’s an important one. It shows that throughout his exile, Zuko was thinking about Mai. So much so that he confided in Iroh about it.

Ive seen some try and make the argument that “living through something” means an explicit negative connotation. But let’s objectively analyze this. When Zuko feels something, he feels it deeply. So much so that the people around him are also enveloped in those feelings, like we saw in The Beach. Zuko missing and agonizing over Mai, even when she’s not there, and so much so that Iroh lives through his feelings, shows that she’s always been on his mind. Living through something means vicariously experiencing the other persons thoughts and emotions.

My personal, not so head canon: When Iroh suggests Zuko go on a date with Jin to experience being a normal teenager and shake him from his pessimism, it’s quite in line with canon to interpret this as him wanting to stop pining over Mai. Of course, that doesn’t work mainly because of Zuko’s guilt and hesitation (he will never be a normal teenager, so why the pretense) but also because Zuko isn’t over Mai. I mean we saw how he acted when Mai broke up with him and dated Kei Lo :)

Couple this with the fact that in the uncut script of the Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon, Mai gave Zuko a heart shaped rock for him to hold onto during his banishment. (Cr. Minireklamo)

But perhaps the most amazing part is when Mai is shown to be enjoying tea and pai sho with the rest of the Gaang members. The Gaang is an undeniable, essential part of Zuko’s life. He chose to share that part with the love of his life. And mai, despite being reserved and reluctant to enjoy things most times, is an active participant in this intimate part of Zuko’s life. She’s engaging with his friends. She doesn’t scoff or turn away. Zuko’s friends become her friends. She is so important to Zuko that he chooses to share this happy, comfortable moment with her. They might be from different backgrounds, opposite sides of the war, but they all love Zuko. Also Mai and Aang are besties by the way, and Aang (Zuko’s best friend and most important ally, and the most important part of his redemption and reckoning) canonically describes Mai as Zuko’s soulmate.

“I’m happiest of all for Zuko. He is the new firelord. And it seems he found a real soulmate in Mai. She’s so much prettier now that she smiles.”

Being a fan of Mai and Maiko means you are at a distinct disadvantage - Mai is not one of the main members of the Gaang and therefore has 1/8th of the screen time of everyone else. She’s not subject to the same emotional, groundbreaking journeys that the rest of the Gaang embark on with Zuko. Very little is shown of her childhood and upbringing, so the audience is left to reconcile with what we are given in canon. While the show is limited, the Avatar universe expands a great deal on the budding relationship between two childhood best friends, lovers, and soulmates. It is up to the reader individually to determine how much they want to recognize in their interpretations - but it does not change that in the canonical universe of Avatar the Last Airbender, Mai and Zuko were destined to be together and forever. PS: Seeing as fans of other ships pick up what they want to from these in universe materials as insurmountable evidence for their ship, I want to see more Maiko fans appreciate the nuggets of information we have from them.

The point is, Mai and Zuko were never written by the creators to be a random ship that suddenly popped up in Zuko’s life. We see explicit evidence of their reciprocated crushes in the show itself. We see that Mai was such an integral aspect of Zuko’s happy childhood that she’s mentioned in his fondest and deepest memories. She was introduced to the show outside of her relationship with Azula , in contrast to Ty Lee, who we see only when she joins Azula’s team. Her character was given arguably one of the coldest, rawest lines in the whole show. In universe canonical materials suggest that Mai never stops loving Zuko, Zuko never stops loving Mai, and their breakup was only temporary, given how Bryke themselves said “I wish we could turn the comics into an in between show. We were going to show a mini clip of old Zuko and Mai.”

Zuko, unlike Aang, has zero rizz or charisma.

Except when he's with Mai. Then he's spouting things like “you're so beautiful when you hate the world” 10/10 he ate.

Some Zuko & Mai doodles! The last one is a genderswapped version ;P

You know your fucking desperate when you go to FanFiction.Net to find a fic of your ship…

No one: 

Me: Mai is a fifteen year old girl who already mastered the art of throwing knives and stilettos with precision, making clear marks towards her opponents. As a young girl she suppressed her emotions as a coping mechanism because of her controlling and manipulative parents, and this was set in place by her relationship with Azula. In Zuko Alone, we first find Mai separated from Ty Lee and Azula, quietly sitting under a tree. When Zuko appears, Mai merely blushes, not verbally expressing herself, but unintentionally showing emotions at a childhood crush. Azula spots this and uses this to her advantage, ending up with Mai and Zuko falling in a fountain, showing one of the first signs of a power dynamic between Azula, Ty Lee (who was forced to remain complicit), and Mai. 

Mai’s childhood crush was banished for standing up for a righteous cause, which was defending the young soldiers in the 41st division, which could cause major turmoil for a then twelve year old girl, only giving her more incentive to suppress the emotions she keeps inside to herself. 

Despite all of this, Mai has shown signs of affection towards the people she cares about, even under the eyes of Azula. When she is able, she makes small jokes with Ty Lee, even accepting her hugs, acknowledging Ty Lee teasing her, smiling with Zuko, going on dates with him, and eventually, saving his life and the lives of his friends at the Boiling Rock. 

At the end of the series, Mai is finally able to freely express herself. She is able to show happiness, pettiness, and signs of comfort and love in the finale when she meets with Zuko, which can only carry on after the end of the show. 

To conclude, Mai is a character who went through so much bullshit and suppressed trauma, and is finally able to come to terms with expressing herself at the end of the show, and deserves so much love and attention.