Ursa - Tumblr Posts
a Mai-Azula-Ty Lee analysis bc i have Many feelings
so this is definitely super random for my blog, but i just rewatched the boiling rock (bc ofc i did lmao) and i've been obsessed w this quote since like age ten, but it just hit different this time around and i feel the need to share:
"You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you."
so. here's the thing. this quote is objectively insane for a million reasons, but i want to talk about some of the parallels we can pull from it bc imo it makes it so. much. WORSE.
"No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!"
here comes the main theme of this post: fear, juxtaposed with love.
i do genuinely believe that Azula loved Mai and Ty Lee. not in the way typical friends love one another, because Azula is not a typical person who learned to love in a typical way, but love nonetheless.
(we can trace this back to her relationship with her father VS her relationship with her mother. Azula had a very distinctive way of looking at her childhood: she was her father's daughter, and Zuko was her mother's son. while we never saw Azula's reaction to his banishment, whether it was positive or negative, this surely cemented this idea for her. once their mother was gone, her father had no use for him. but of course he still had use for her—he loved her.
and if her father loved her, in a father-daughter relationship fueled by fear and intimidation, and her mother didn't, in a mother-daughter relationship that wasn't, what do you think she learned of love? but we'll bring this idea back later.)
she loved them, and she trusted them, and they betrayed her.
but before i really dig into the quote, i want to go over this love-fear juxtaposition, because it is a common theme throughout her character arc as she spirals further and further.
this scene is set after the betrayal, and the fact that they brought in a hallucination of her mother is very, very important.
once again, these opposing feelings of fear and love are brought back again. before, i said that Ursa and Azula's relationship wasn't fueled by fear. but is that true? Azula says very clearly here that her mother fears her and thinks that she's a monster. And this hallucination of her mother, a figment of all her worst fears and regrets and internal conflicts, brings up Mai and Ty Lee.
And then:
Even you fear me. No. I love you, Azula. I do.
"even you fear me" "no. i love you"? this is so, so crucial to what we know about Azula and her perception of love. she views love and fear to be very closely linked, even intertwined, not something to be separated in such a way.
even you fear me — but do you love me? i don't know if you do. but you fearing me does not stop you from loving me. they are not separate entities. i do not know how to be loved if i am not feared.
no. i love you — you are my daughter. i do not fear you. i love you. they can be separate. i love you without fearing you. no, i do not fear you. i love you.
and this is Azula's breaking point. tears stream down her face and she shatters the mirror. this separation of fear and love—it's too much. she doesn't know how to handle it. she knows fear without love, but she does not know love without fear.
her relationship with Zuko is another prime example. i fully believe that Azula loved her brother, or at least cared for him in some capacity. you see it in scenes such as these:
she had no reasonable ulterior motive here. she genuinely was trying to help him and look after him—but he's also afraid of her. he's afraid of what she might do or what she wants from him, even if in this particular scene that fear is unnecessary.
even when she recruited Ty Lee, she used fear to get Ty Lee to join her:
Ty Lee is legitimately happy to see Azula, but you can see the fear on her face when she turns down Azula's offer to search for the Avatar. and then, you can see that fear again when Azula tells her she'll be attending her show. and of course, Azula sets the net on fire, and Ty Lee ends up accepting Azula's offer.
i do believe Ty Lee and Azula had genuine love for one another, but Azula just never knew how to have that love without the fear.
and finally, we come back to the quote.
I love Zuko more than I fear you. / You should've feared me more.
or: I love Zuko more than I love you. / You should've loved me more.
the use of the word "miscalculated" fits perfectly here. everyone adores Azula. she's the prodigy, the crown princess, the Fire Nation's darling. no one is supposed to love Zuko. Zuko is the failure, the banished prince, their nation's greatest shame.
you miscalculated. you were supposed to love me. you were my friend. you were my ally. i trusted you. i made you fear me. you were supposed to love me. no one loves Zuko. everyone loves me.
you miscalculated. love doesn't work like that. love doesn't come with fear. fear chases love away. you made me fear you. you made me hate you. i chose Zuko, because you don't know how to love.
and it all always comes back to Zuko, doesn't it?
but i'm yours. Zuko was mother's, and mother is long gone, and see, Zuko was a traitor. Zuko was nothing. you treated Zuko terribly because Zuko wasn't yours. but i am. i am your daughter. i am your prodigy. i am your princess. i am your heir. how dare you treat me like him. like nothing. how dare you.
i also believe that this was the true final blow that sent her spiraling into her downfall. she's extremely vulnerable here: her two most trusted friends and allies have just betrayed her, and here it is, another betrayal. where she is usually cool and collected, she is snappy and hot-headed, here.
his betrayal is quickly and immediately rectified when he informs her she will become the new Firelord. see, she's not like Zuko. Zuko is banished with no crown and no legacy. she is different. she is her father's child. Zuko is her mother's. she gets the throne. he gets nothing.
but Mai still chose Zuko. and she was absolutely furious, of course, but even this she could still handle. it's what happens after that she can't.
The thing I don't understand is why. Why would you do it?
why would you choose him? why would you choose Zuko? only one person ever chose Zuko: Mother. but she doesn't matter. she's gone. but why. why. (why do they keep choosing Zuko?)
and then, probably my favorite shot in the entire series:
Ty Lee looks at Mai, then Azula. it's barely a second long, but it speaks volumes. she's making a decision. Mai, or Azula? Mai, or Azula?
throughout our time with Ozai's Angels, it's obvious that Ty Lee is Azula's right hand woman. she goes with her everywhere. even in this scene, Ty Lee is right next to Azula the whole time.
and Mai chose Zuko. Mai chose Zuko. she says that "I love Zuko more than I love you" and she should've loved her more, and so now Azula is going to kill her. she's about to summon her lightning, and—
so Ty Lee chose Mai. and Mai chose Zuko. and her mother chose Zuko. and Azula chose her father and her nation and her ambition, and she thought her father chose her, and he did, he did.
thing about Azula: she loves. she loves Zuko, and she loves Ty Lee, and she loves Mai. but she doesn't prioritize her love the way Zuko does. her love comes last. her father comes before her love. before her father, her nation. but before all of that, her ambition.
for her ambition to ever come to fruition, she needs fear, doesn't she?
and Zuko fears her.
so she wins. right?
wrong.
she loses.
she gave up everything, absolutely everything, and she. still. loses. to fucking Zuko.
he won their mother's love. he won Mai. he, indirectly, won Ty Lee. and now he won the crown, her crown.
Azula, born lucky, born a prodigy, never wins.
Late Azula Week 2022 | Day 7: Home(?) & Mothers(?) Yay. Thanks to @bellatrixobsessed1 for hosting the event and being lenient with the submissions. And thanks to everyone else who participated. Lots of new Azula content to consume. And now that I'm done with my stuff, I can finally go through the tag guilt-free.
What, you never saw season 4? Where the gaang goes on a hunt for Zuko’s mum, they learn about his scar, he doesn’t immediately take the throne BECAUSE HES SIXTEEN, GIVE THE KID A BREAK OMG, aang has character development and reaches the avatar state through personal sacrifice, and the adults don’t leave rebuilding a post-war economy to literal children? What a shame.
anyways, give me mama-bear Ursa, who was in hiding and reluctantly takes the throne to make a better world for her son now that Ozai mysteriously died. (She has ten plus years experience of living at fire nation court, she’s got this) here
Holy crap this one was hard to finish
Fire Regent Ursa
follow up to this piece
Fire Regent Ursa takes the throne, remodels the palace (using a lot of the gold on the walls to make reforms in a post-war economy), including the throne room so that it looks nothing like Azulon’s throne, and trains Katara and Zuko (who found her, who she loves a lot, and who are both acting as ambassadors) on how to make it in politics. Zuko takes the throne as an adult, when he’s ready, thus avoiding a nervous breakdown.
ozai is mysteriously dead after the end of the war, before they find her, but the investigators don’t try too hard on that one
Toddler!Zuko, hitting Ozai with his spoon: Not the mama! Not the mama! Not the mama! Not the mama! Not the mama!
Ozai: You do that one more time and I’m gonna throw you across the room!
Zuko:…Not the mama!
[ Ozai throws him. ]
Zuko: Wheee! Oof!
Ursa: 😡
Zuko: Again!
Baby!Zuko: Un’le!
Ursa: Did he just?
Baby!Zuko: Un’le!
Ursa: Our baby’s first word was…
Ozai, crying: Uncle.
Octonauts - A new Generation
Chapter 4
Getting along
Periwinkle’s pov
Periwinkle finds it hard to make new friends. Everyone else just doesn’t have the same interests as he does. They always call him a nerd or teacher’s pet. Now he’s slowly walking to a big group of kids his age, all clearly not interested in anything other than adventure. Every now and then, Peri notices the artic fox’s hesitation as they walk side by side. Seeing how much more nervous she is kind of calms him down. After what feels like eons, the two finally reach the group of kids.
“Hi Peri, hi Ella”, Pinto happily greats his companions.
“Please don’t call me that”, the fox practically whispers.
“Sorry”, Pinto replies.
“What’s your name then?”, Orson asks.
“Stella”, the fox replies.
“And you’re Periwinkle, right?”, Ursa asks.
“Y-Yeah”, Peri answers.
“We were talking about our families and our homes, would you like to join us?”, Orson asks.
“Yeah! Join us!”, Ursa enthusiastically adds.
Peri shoots a glance at Stella to see what she’ll do. She avoids his stare and looks at her shoes.
“What are your interests?”, Squirt questions, noticing the hesitation of the sea otter and the fox.
“W-Well”, Periwinkle begins after Stella still refuses to look up from her shoes, “I’m interested in marine biology, just like my mother and my uncle. I’d like to travel around the world, discover new things, maybe even have the opportunity to name a new species the way my uncle named the Vegimals.” Peri could feel himself getting jumpy with excitement. He had completely forgotten why he agreed to come out of his comfort zone until now. With hope that the same will happen to her, Peri returns the question towards Stella.
“Oh, uhhh…I’m interested in science, specifically biology and physics. I’m also interested in exploring.”, she said calmly. It certainly was not the type of reaction Peri was expecting, but it will have to do.
“What do you do in your free time?”, Squirt asks.
“Reading mystery books!”, Koshi yells in excitement.
“Trying to build the tallest watchtower out of snow”, Pinto says proudly.
“Polar bear wrestling!”, the twins reply in unison.
“Helping my mom”, Peri answers while rubbing the back of his neck.
“Cool! I love reading science fiction books. What about you Stella?”, Squirk asks. The whole group turns towards the pup. Her face goes from white to bright pink at an alarming rate.
“Oh, uhhh…I also like reading. A-And I like helping my uncle”, she stutters in response. The group does not keep their stare off her; they can all tell that she’s not done listing what she does in her free time. Stella nervously shifts her gaze rapidly from one group member to the other.
“Okay, fine, I also play the guitar and write short stories”, she quickly answers. Silence fills the room as the group processes what they’ve just heard.
“You write stories?”, Orson slowly cuts the silence. After a few more quiet seconds, everyone else starts bombarding Stella with questions and requests to read her stories. Noticing the clear uncomfortable and panic in the pup’s facial expression, Peri pulls her out of the small crowd. The plan was to comfort the pup and tell the group to calm down, but now that he’s got everyone’s attention on him, he froze.
“Um, maybe we should leave her be?”, he manages the squeak. The group says their apologies towards the pup. Peri tries to read her facial expression, but all that he can see is her left side, which is covered by her hair. Despite this, he can tell that she’s still a little nervous by the way she’s squeezing his hand. Not knowing how to comfort her, all that he could think of is returning a small squeeze. Her grip slowly loosens and she becomes less tense.
“It’s fine”, she finally manages to say to the crowd that was still apologizing. Koshi and Squirt still look guilty, and Pinto refuses to accept that ‘it’s fine’.
“It’s fine, really, it’s normal to get excited. I don’t blame you one bit”, Stella said in a soft and calming tone. The twins exchange a look. Awkwardness fills the room once again. Peri shoots a glance towards Squirt, hoping that he still has some questions left. The octopus notices the unspoken requests and awkwardly asks another question: “So…is there a particular reason why you joined this Octonauts training?”
“Our uncle of course!”, Orson exclaims with joy.
“Speak for yourself. I joined simply because I want to explore the Ocean”, Ursa says with a dreamy tone.
“I joined for the mysteries. And to help other creatures of course”, Koshi says with a twinkle in her eye.
“Explore, rescue and protect. That’s the Octonauts motto, and that’s exactly what I want to do. I’ll swashbuckle and shwash-bandage! Kwazzi and Peso taught me that”, Pinto explains proudly.
“I joined because of my uncle. It sounds cool to be able to discover new things”, Peri says, before mumbling to himself: “Although I’d prefer to help mom.”
“I joined because I would love to have the opportunity to help others and explore the open Ocean”, Squirt answers. All attention is once again shifted on Stella.
“ *sigh* It was a last minute decision done by my uncle. I think he wants me to make more friends my age or something like that”, Stella replies, while noticeably avoiding eye contact. Despite this, it is clear that she’s getting more comfortable speaking to the group.
“So…you don’t want to be here?”, Pinto asks, slightly confused.
“No, no, I don’t mind. I’ll certainly learn a lot from this experience”, Stella quickly replies. Pinto gives her an uncertain look. Peri himself is not sure wether he believes her. “I’m telling the truth!”, she exclaims in an effort to make the others believe her. The doubt in the crowd does not change. Stella sighs as her gaze falls upon an Octo-shoot. Noticing this, Peri tries to stop her from leaving by grabbing her hand, before noticing that he never let go of it in the first place. He simply squeezes her hand to grab her attention. She looks away from the Octo-shoot and shifts her gaze towards her shoes.
The kids continue talking to each other for a while, trying to learn more about each other. Peri and Stella stay quiet, only talking when spoken too. After what feels like a decade, the group is finally called to the HQ by captain Barnacles.
“Welcome aboard the Octopod, future Octo-agents. Each and every one of us is glad that you have decided to spend these next few months with us. We hope that you feel comfortable here and enjoy your time being an Octo-agent in training. We are currently traveling to Octo-agent Min to help her with her work. This will give you the opportunity to experience what it is like working in her field of expertise. You will have the opportunity to do the same with the other Octo-agents and the rest of our crew while we travel around the world exploring, rescuing and protecting along the way.”
The twins started applauding as soon as their uncle finished his speech, while the others speak excitedly amongst themselves. This training program is starting to sound more and more interesting. No wonder this was a valuable excuse for missing school, one that the principle accepted. The fact that they would be studying with the Octo-agents also meant that Peri would be able to spend some time with his mother during this program after all.
Maybe this won’t be as bad as he thought it would be.
Other chapters
The tallest tree in the royal gardens
I do wonder if abuse is a strong word, and I think that’s what I keep coming back to. Idk if it’s abuse, and I don’t believe Ursa did it intentionally. The word abuse gets thrown around so flagrantly that anything and everything is abusive behavior. It’s a larger conversation of the dynamics in a family run by a narcissist.
What bothers me more is that the narrative doesn’t call out Ursa for failing her daughter. Or she doesn’t recognize how she wronged Azula and instead places the blame on the child and not the adults who failed her.
I do think Ursa has her own issues that caused her to coddle Zuko and ignore Azula (at least that’s how I write her). In all honesty, the comics with Ursa are a mess and I take them with a grain of salt.
Please reblog for larger sample size, I'd particularly like to see what people outside my circle think. Also @atla-polls if you'd be kind enough to reblog, I'd appreciate it.
Wound
[Go check out Dogs In Love 2 on JelloApocolypse’s YouTube Channel!!]
This has probably been done a million times, butttt.......
AU where Zuko was born a Water Bender.
Call it the spirits fucking with Ozai, call it "technically the avatar is the master of all four elements and Zuko's a descendent of Roku".
Zuko was born a Water Bender. Zuko kept it secret from his father at the request of his mother.
Ursa went out of her way to hunt down a Water Bender to teach her son in secret, lying and saying that the Water Bender was just a nanny because Zuko required more work than Azula.
She got Kya, of the Southern Water Tribe.
Kya, who isn't actually a Water Bender.
Ozai knows his son is a bender, but he thinks he's being spited because Zuko refuses to Fire Bend near him. When he challenged Zuko to Agni Kai, he did it to "teach his son a lesson", but also to finally give Zuko an excuse to Fire Bend.
But Zuko didn't.
Zuko got burned and banished, and Kya went with him and Iroh.
Girls when they think about how Kubo's mother couldn't walk so she dragged herself to him and how Camila Noceda gave Vee all the love she had even after she lied to her pretending to be Luz and how Moro knew she was dying and planned to use the last of her strength to kill Lady Eboshi but threw all that away when she saw her daughter in danger and how Ursa protected Zuko believing she would never see him again and when Sally stayed with an abusive man to protect Percy and then they remember their own mother saying "I am trying to love you!"
i love this type of AU so much!! Like, Ursa running and taking little Zuko and Azula to the south pole is such a cool idea. I read an AU on ao3 recently where when Ursa realized she was going to have Azula she faked her death and took little 1 year old Zuko to the south pole. The AU also had Ursa running away when she was 7 or 8 from her parents and ending up on Kyoshi Island and meeting Kya and they dubbed each other sisters in that AU, but this post reminds me of that
au where ursa takes the kids and runs and goes to the south pole because idgaf and then she meets single mom kya whos husband tragically died in battle and they become fridged mom powercouple and also we have one set of siblings who have to go and save the avatar