Hurry up and overdose

never gonna happen

You know, I was actually thinking about buying all the seasons on blu-ray and rewatching the series in years but now I don't think I'm gonna do that anymore.

you are not worthy anyway

the character of azula transcends the show honestly

Not my analysis but very well-written: https://the-firenation-gellary.tumblr.com/post/165136550923/nature-of-azulas-teeny-tiny-cruel-streak

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People often bring up the “Azula smiled at the Agni Kai when Ozai faced Zuko, she like to see people hurt!” argument.

Well, I think it’s more often than not shallow and short-sighted, (even though it may be the easiest way to interpret that scene), but if you’re going to claim someone has such extreme violent tendencies, we should look at the “big picture”, not “one small" scene. Focusing on the single act/event is so pointless to me, because they’re all parts of a bigger scheme.

You also have to take in mind that fanon Azula and canon Azula are different as well, and I’d wager fanon Azula, as formed over the years by fans, tends to be “darker” than her actual canon character, so we need to distinguish fanon from canon.


Note: This re-search would be a little long because we will cover Azula’s ENTIRE character arc in the show. That will include, of course, everything: her actions during the war, choices, relationships, life philology, how she treated her prisoners and different sorts of people… est.

FIRST OF ALL, narrative perspective is important, and Zuko was the narrate for most Azula’s persona. Zuko’s a cool character but he clearly has his biases. We’re not dealing with an omnipotent, non-biased narrator. We’re dealing with narrator with motives, and opinions. And Zuko is biased -as fuck- narrate.

So yeah, it’s incredibly unfair to expect him to narrate another character or his own experiences with her, because narrators capable of being uninformed, biased, and just plain wrong, like in Zuko’s case. I don’t think we should believe everything he says (or think) about Azula, as it is just his perspective (of course, he has some of truth but not all of it).

second, what is sadism? Sadism may refer to:
Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the suffering of others.

Sexual sadism disorder, a medical/psychological condition for sexual arousal from inflicting pain/humiliation on unwilling, non-consenting victims.

Why Azula in fact is not a sadist person (relish in pain of others):
I’ll start to prove this with important events people seem to always forget about:


During The Boiling Rock, Azula stopped the torture of Chit Sang and he was unwilling, non-consenting victim, because she knew it was futile. She ended the torture of an innocent guy in prison (by the wardens) because she realized he was not the guilty party, how is it possible to claim that she is sadistic in nature when she never derived pleasure from his suffering? (this act of Azula outweighs the Agni Kai scene, because she has the power to hurt someone but didn’t do it where she can easily lie or order the wardens to continue their interrogation, which proves that Azula is more of practical and not needlessly cruel).

Her prisoners, the Kyoshi Warriors, she sent them to prison safe and unharmed, and they stayed unharmed until they broke out. Suki was fine and in high spirits in the Boiling Rock episodes, these are not signs of someone being tortured or mistreated. Other than maybe felt boredom.


And Ty Lee has bonding time with the other Kyoshi Warriors, even.


If something of that sort had happened, Suki would’ve told Sokka what Azula did to them, the writers would have highlighted her villainous ways as they always do.

The same is true to every other prisoner she ever took (Sokka, Toph, King Kuei, Iroh, Mai and Ty Lee).


She hurt Ty Lee’s feelings by bluntly pointing out the real intentions of the guys who want to date her, but she immediately felt bad and apologised sincerely to her. She didn’t take pleasure in her tears or smirk villainy.

Actions speak WAY louder than words.

Canonically speaking, during her travels in the Earth Kingdom, Azula never destroyed or burnt cities or villages, and Azula has possible non-existent kill count in the entire series (and we proved this in this essay). In her own right, she has been a bloodless conqueror. Because, honestly, if they show Zuko destroy (and have no problem doing that whatsoever) and hint for massacre, why they didn’t show Azula destroy as him or hint kill/massacre on her part or does even worse? The answer is obvious, because she never restored to that, she never destroyed. Because she’s practical, she’s smart and elegant. She makes sure people fear what she could do far more than she actually does. You don’t need to be violent to be feared.

In Omashu and Ba Sing Se, she wasn’t a bloody conqueror. Yes, she is manipulative and conniving and rules through fear, but as shown and proved in the show, most of her methodology is nonlethal, and people who end up in her custody don’t end up dead or hurt either.

That said “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” -Sun Tzu
Not only does Azula not harm most people whom she takes captive (which rules out the sadistic torturer facade people keep forcing into her character), but even as she loses her mind, she’s not ready or eager to kill her servants or guards. She banishes them all, and it’s not exactly a great idea either, but she makes them leave instead of executing them or something.

Azula at her core is not sadistic, she’s driven and career-focused. Away from Zuzu, there’s no question she’s very external goal oriented.

The thing is: Azula didn’t present as destroyer but as ambitious, fear manipulator; a dominant. She expressed the desire of rule the world, control the world NOT destroy it. For her, life is a meritocracy, and the best rises to the top, and then gets subjugated to her will.

What Kind of Villain Azula is?


Azula is dominating, aggressive, and quick-tempered. She has a clear vision for the future and will force everyone to follow her vision, caring little for other people’s perspectives and views (e.x force Ty Lee to join her team). She has fiery tempers and can be intimidating bully, using her quick wits and cold hard logic as a weapon to humiliate and silence her opponents (her speech to Long Feng). She will consider herself above emotions and her subjective “feelings”, but will become temperamental and wallow in self-pity when things don’t go her way (take her insecurities on Zuko, mostly). She consider the feelings and values of others stupid or silly and she is exceedingly proud of her logical “superiority” (“A true General should’ve won the war, not come home crying.”) She is incredibly direct when she gives orders to her subordinates and scolds them for incompetence/inefficiency. She likes to control other people, and enjoy using her intuitive perceptions as a way to play mean tricks on others.

She knows how to play this game and do it well. Her unique insight into other people allow her to find soft spots and push buttons, all for her own master purposes, and is motivated through self-preservation, the Fire Nation’s honor, her father’s approval, etc.

Domination is a game to her, and she is increasingly power hungry as she become more and more unhealthy.

Deep down Azula was feel guilty about this, these are the very things/bad traits that the hallucination of Ursa -who is supposed to be her conscience- is urging her to drop: seeking power and to control people through fear (and she also adds that she always loved her). But she has never shown, mentioned or hinted that she relishes in the “pain” of others. Show, canon sources, interviews, databooks: there’s no real proof of it.

On this light, we need to Clarify Some Scenes maybe some people find them “questionable”:
-In this scene, she’s warning him first of all, and she wasn’t lying about what was going to happen either way. If she was indeed rejoicing in his death, she could’ve further in this meaning e.x. “when you die, I’ll take your place and no one will remember you.” Or Azula could’ve just stayed silent… Never went to his room to warn him about she heard. If she really wants him died, she would not have told Zuko what Ozai is about to do (and it’s not like that kids understand death properly anyway), but instead she says she’s telling him for his own good, and then also adds maybe an Earth Kingdom family can adopt him, meaning she’s not “rejoicing” in his “death”, that’s literally Azula finding a solution to keep Zuko alive.


And Azula was straight forward in it (but heck, it didn’t involve murdering anyone else to keep Zuko alive…).

Alright, point being, she cares enough about her brother. The problem being, she warn him in fucked up, straightforward way because:

a) she has been at odds with him for so long now, she doesn’t want him died, she warns him to leave (probably a bit happy so her mother will finally notice her and spend some time with together).

b) since Azula -especially the little one- just access the hard, pure external facts and takes actions upon them. No wonder she has difficulty communicate with others in more personal, less professional level (that coincidenced, of course, with bad parenting).

Little Azula wasn’t being evil here, she simply twisted.. and corrupted.

- It’s no argument either way, the thing with Mai was for teasing, to make Zuko “save” Mai. Azula knew Mai had a crush on Zuko and that her brother has a knack for being over-the-top as he was. Truth is I don’t think Mai was in any actual danger (Zuko probably shuold have been able to put out the fire on the apple through bending??)


- Azula recruits Ty Lee and Mai for her team: why does Azula threaten Ty Lee that way? Because Ty Lee made it clear she wouldn’t join her in any other circumstances. What Azula did to threaten her isn’t right by any means, and it was very cruel since Ty Lee said the circus made her happy, but Azula didn’t do it because she enjoys tormenting others unnecessarily: she did it with the purpose of making Ty Lee join her. (“Trust is for fools, Fear is the only reliable way.”) Killing Ty Lee would be counterproductive, since the entire point of what she’s doing is to scare and threaten Ty Lee into joining her team.


- The entirety of Day of Black Sun is about Sokka and Azula’s intellects clashing. That lie was a diversion, nothing else. It wasn’t Azula trying to torture him, she's trying to throw him off his game. It’s Azula trying to make the Gaang waste all the time they have left after Sokka discoverd her plan. Azula’s smirking because she’s in control of the situation and Sokka fall in her trap.

Hurting someone for enjoyment or like to see them hurt for no reason, is something Azula’s NOT driven to do (in personality wise). She only ever does cruel things when it benefits her. And all the examples above prove it.

Azula’s Real Cruel Streak:


Now let’s address Azula’s undenied worst quality I’ve seen in the show: she likes to be in control of others and relishes in her ability to intimidate and manipulate them. Manipulating people through fear to put them in the line and enjoy her ability to do so, is canonically, the core of Azula’s cruel streak. However, this is what her whole character is about: Power and control. Forcing others to live under her, her father’s and the Fire Nation’s rules, respond to their demands and accomplish her goals/fire nation’s ambitions with her.

She doesn’t has much compassion and most of her inner feelings are only utilized in pursuit of what her father wants, what the Fire Nation wants and what she wants, and if others got hurt as a result, so be it. She’s morally grey and practical. Ruthless but effective.

She is characteristically ambitious, and often very engaged in her careers. More than any other character, Azula enjoys her work, especially if there were difficulties and challenges.

Azula’s free time habits:
Azula’s very busy person in general (since she has a lot of expectations placed on her combine with her perfectionist nature), but in her “free time” she does what she likes to do not what she supposed to, and what Azula is shown to do: take care of herself, visiting the spa, training Firebending or martial arts, studying, spend time with Mai and Ty lee, play games, or little mean tricks on Zuko, planning her future for world domination or protecting her Nation.

And for these particular reasons the point I am trying to make here is: sometimes there are evil characters in fiction who are feared because they’re bloody and brutal.

Azula is NOT one of these characters.

Her uniquely comes from her duality. From being forceful, but not brutal, from being intimidating but not bloody, to be swayed by her affections and uncertainties. From her arrogance, her escapism, her vulnerability and coldness. The fact that all these aspects of her can coexist without eclipsing the other.

Threats and mind games suit her style much more than physical violence. Violence is not an alien to her character, of course, since her greatest sin is her wrath. And here is why Ursa shames Azula’s control of people through fear rather than hurt someone for no reason.

The thing is: there’s no solid point in the story back up that Azula has show sadistic desires . Her desire was for power, perfection, and to control -not control solely for enjoyment- but first of all and priority is to keep both system and order, and in case her few bonds is for acceptance.

▪Okey, but why does Azula choose/use fear?

This is something all her predecessors in the last one hundred years (or maybe more) were: fear-mongers who ruled by the strength of their wraths in order to gain the blind affections of their people and the total respect of the countries around them.

Therefore, this proves it’s just a headcanon, misinterpretion or a theory isn’t proven true– the fandom founded. Maybe because she has long nails, wears red lipstick, and smirks, or because they extend her damaged relationship with her brother to cover all other people, which is a mistake.

So, Azula is Lawful Evil, “Dominator". And is great for it. It’s the best Alignment you can put her in:

“A lawful evil villain methodically takes what [she] wants within the limits of [her] code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. [She] cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. [She] plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. [She] is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve.”

The Fire Nation Traditions and Philosophy during the Military Age:


Interpreting the Agni Kai’s scene without considering the inherent violence in the current Fire Nation culture is also a mistake.

The Wiki article about the Agni Kai rules say “It is a fight for one’s honor and is won only when one opponent burns the other.” See, if you continue to read what the wikia states, it says that since Sozin’s time the Agni Kais became lethal more often. Sparing your enemy was seen as weakness (which in fact is something curious, and it makes me wonder what did Ozai’s Agni Kai with Zuko look like to their people?). But Sozin’s traditions only make Agni Kais more violent, rather than the other way around. Burn your opponent is legit, one burn is enough to declare the Firebender victory. And of course Ozai won’t hold back.

Azula’s Perspective Toward Zuko’s Persona (keep in mind this is anti-Zuko’s narration post)

[Azula’s Tale databook].
For Azula, Zuko is someone never proves himself (fails a lot because he doesn’t try hard enough), never stands up for himself (always needs protection from their mother or Iroh), never grew up (emotional wreck, useless, clueless of the world around him, self-centred, throw childish tantrums). She’s the perfectionist, self-controled, hard-working one (and she’s indeed, she’s one of the most devoted at training herself and mastering skills, to near-obsessive degrees and has cold, flawless demeanor for most the series) who needs no love nor protection from anyone unlike Zuko, and measured herself not to be like Zuko.

Azula tends to see life in terms of confrontations and rising to the challenge. There are causes to serve, struggles to be overcome, battles to be won. She likes to be on the front line with her trusted comrades, and strongly value both courage and loyalty.

I hate to say this but her disdain of him is deep, and she has very low opinion because he keeps disappointing and anger her. Disdain and jealousy are too different things here. These are things she despises, she has high expectations for herself and for others too, and voices disdain to anyone she deems inferior. In her eyes, Zuko should not be like this.

as a side note: there’s an important substantial trait in Azula’s personality:

Under stress/sadness, Azula prone to attack others, often over the very issues she’s insecure about (mostly Zuko). Becomes a workaholic and ignores feelings of deep dissatisfaction (as she uses her jealousy, perfectionism, and fear of failure to fuel her abilities), or stops giving a crap about anything.

This was direct affect of her parents twist upbringing + environment + her overly-competitive, perfectionist nature. The sad thing here too is that Zuko most likely never tried getting closer to Azula nor be a good brother either, because Ozai’s negative influence on him/their sibling relationship, it’s nothing but all based on rivalry. [Point fully explained under the cut]. (click on “source” if the rest of the post isn’t shown)

The Agni Kai Scene
Logically -not sympathetically- speaking, Zuko made many mistakes that landed him there, but the main one was refusing to fight his father. If he had fought despite knowing he would lose, he wouldn’t have seemed dishonorable. He would have stood up for himself, for what he did, for how he had acted.

When he begs for mercy, it’s a sign of weakness that the Fire Nation society, since Sozin’s time, does not tolerate. Ozai demands that Zuko fights, and Zuko refuses. The burn is a punishment for his refusal to fight and it signals the conclusion of the fight, and in case it wasn’t clear, the person shown looking away from this scene is only Iroh (after losing his Big Battle, throne and son, Iroh looked at Zuko as a sort of adopted son. If he could just help this poor boy whose father had kinda abandoned him): Zhao smiles the same as Azula, and the other characters in the background don’t even flinch. That is to say, fire is NOT considered a problem in the Fire Nation, not for firebenders (who literally burnt people alive). Getting burned or a scar as punishment is probably common (Jeong Jeong was the only one who thought fire is harmful after years of contemplating). As laws, this is the consequence of not fighting in the Agni Kai. The reactions of joy or support of Ozai’s actions are considered acceptable in the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War.

This isn’t an excuse for Ozai’s cruelty, because it was an act of cruelty indeed, and especially it was cruel to take it so far when Zuko’s mistake was minor. But this is the way the Fire Nation has been built up during the years of war, and they believe might is right. The environment brushes off the bits of conscience, morals, mercy and love as low-grade concepts.

And since Azula was her father’s favorite since birth and raised by him, for her, Ozai always represented absolute power and perfection, qualities which she desired to acquire. Anything he does and says is right.

The show is in Zuko’s favor, of course, and maybe this is why it didn’t state the rules at all (I myself didn’t even know them until recently). Agni Kais are presented as cruel, violent duels, so a show that’s going to end the war through “peaceful” means (I mean, it was as peaceful a conclusion as it could be) would naturally present the Agni Kais as proof of the Fire Nation’s cruelty.


Azula’s apparent apathy in Zuko’s burn is a product of this society and this upbringing by her father.

Ozai didn’t burn Zuko because he enjoys it but because Zuko deserves it and the rules demand it. So, it’s no mistake that Azula -who completey identifies with her father and even adopts his behaviour- would share the same thought with Ozai + her own personal issues with her mother and brother + comply to the laws of the Agni Kai and Fire Nation philology (according to her lawful evil code “You shall not aid the weak”-“You shall follow the law.”)

Azula hates a lot of things in Zuko -and also jealous of him a suppressed or restrained manner- She was like “Yes Zuko, face the results of your own actions for once, instead of running back to mother or Iroh seeking protection. No one can protect you now.” Oh, since Zuko is the weak, whiny little boy who never grew up, he needs to go through the hard way to learn instead of being protected, means he needs to suffer (“And suffering will be your teacher.”) I don’t understand why people expected Azula to side with Zuko when she has always been at Ozai’s side.

Due to the how sperated the sibling raised, neither Zuko nor Azula develop emotional brotherly bond with each other, as they only saw one other as a rival more that a sister or brother. So, Azula’s ambitions most likey play part too, the first born son who in the second line to the throne has legally/legitimately prove his incompetence in front their father and the Royal court, her path to the throne has cleared. She shall rule as the stronger sibling who can lead the Fire Nation to victory (according to lawful evil code: “You shall harm the innocent to advance yourself or promote order.”)

It’s not just Ozai hurt Zuko, it’s Ozai hurt Zuko and not her. Every time Ozai insulted or injured her brother, it cemented Azula’s position as the favorite child. And she had to stay the favorite child because she’s seen what would happen to her if she wasn’t. Deep down, she knows just how conditional her father’s positive regard is. I see her trademark coldness and “Yes, he deserves it.” Body language attitude. Absorbing her father’s cold-heartedness and his hard, unforgiving demeanor into her personality made things worse. If it was pure sadism then her eyes and face should’ve been more passionate (such as make her eyes glisten) or licked her lips. Sadistic and sexual pleasure are deeply connected as mentioned above. So no, I see cruelty and coldness.

But one scene interpreted out of context, or from a very narrow point of view, is no evidence of Azula’s sadism.

If her alleged “sadism” was real, there would be more proof for it during Books 2 and 3 before her breakdown. Instead, we find many opportunities when her supposed sadism could have shined brightly, and yet she does not resort to violence for most the time but fear. Most of her methodology is nonlethal, and people who end up in her custody don’t end up hurt or dead either. Its mostly intentional that she comes across this way, and projects this aura onto people, because she is under the impression that fear is the surest promise of loyalty. However, that doesn’t change the fact that She has not done much killing or destruction so far.


Azula has goals of power, position, and privilege at the forefront of her mind. As a princess, she sees this need for power with her position and bending as a responsibility “We’ve done it Zuko. It’s taken one hundred years, but thanks to us, the Fire Nation [not “I”] has conquered Ba Sing Se.” And she tries to reach her goals of superiority, power and perfection in order to reach her “comfort zone". The main reason Azula succeeds to match her father’s high expectations more than Zuko does is because: these things were what Azula wanted for herself, she thought her father made her “strong”, but Ozai took this to extreme and only shattered her instead.

▪"because it’s kids show, they didn’t…“ “Nickelodeon is anti-violence, that’s why…” arguments


Finally, there’s many who say that Nickelodeonwould not allow Azula to torture people on-screen because they were anti-violence. But they didn’t hold back when showing the torture Hama was subjected to. They didn’t hold back when showing how the Dai Li captured, tormented and brainwashed Jet and other servants. They didn’t hold back when showing Aang suspended in chains by Zhao, and didn’t shy away from the tragedy of Kya’s death by Yon Rha’s hand when addressing Katara’s memories and Jet’s implied death, and when Ozai burnt Zuko. Even if the scenes aren’t explicit at all times, they imply the nature of what happened without a problem.

Zuko has a scar on his face, Song has burns on her leg, Bato had burns all over his body: they could have given any such injury to Azula’s prisoners, but they never did. The writers would have highlighted her villainous ways as they always do. They never seem to shy away from heavy topics like that. If Azula did hurt anyone off-screen for pleasure, then the writers would have mentioned or highlighted it, they always do. The mirror scene too could work as the perfect opportunity to highlight Azula’s cruelty, they could have Ursa say “you hurt innocent people for enjoyment” as example.

So I don’t see why they wouldn’t make mention of any heavy topics in Azula’s part. They are focusing so much on her dark side in the show anyway, no matter how terrible the act was, they always show it ON-screen. Always. This show had enough portrayals of cruelty, and LOK has even more of them.

Therefore, “Azula likes to torture people” isn’t true. And canon itself constantly and repeatedly proving that Azula’s worst quality is “control people through fear”. Azula’s well-rounded character, she doesn’t need to make other people suffer for pleasure to be completed.

TL;DR The fact of the matter is, if there’s no sign of Azula torturing people (or kill for fun), it’s because she didn’t do it. She is not a sadist person. Maybe Azula believed she was a monster, but her actions and choices proved that she’s not as bad as she thinks she is.

Quote from: Carmen on February 01, 2019, 06:31:52 PM

Um okay?? I masturbated to images of her when she was fucking older than me. I've masturbated to a lot of things, and the age of them isn't what's getting me off. Jesus christ, I don't even want to talk about this. I'm not a creep, I don't sexualize ANYONE, and I definitely don't think of Azula in that way. She is not a child in my eyes, she is not someone I want to be with or control. I want to BE her. The fact I'm getting pedophile accusations is so fucked up and honestly Verbatim you and Desty can fuck off.

so what were you doing posting r34 images of her in anarchy as an adult

did you think anyone would like that

how do you think that makes you look to a normal person who has never masturbated to that

because I am fucked up dude

she's a beautiful woman and I am a FUCKING HUMAN. I am not perfect. Jesus Christ, nothing about what I liked about her was related to her youth. I like older women. Winona Ryder got more beautiful as she aged because she was growing as a person and worked out her klepto issues. I am NOT attracted to little kid bodies and I think it's so fucked up that you're riding the hate train against me insinuating that.

Quote from: Carmen on February 01, 2019, 03:48:18 PM

her age is meaningless

the reason I got off to her had nothing to do with her age

says every pedophile ever

no one who isn't a pedophile says things like "age doesn't matter"

the point is that it does

how do you not see you're going on a witch hunt

what other underage characters have I been fascinated by? Let's take a look at the characters I love and identify with:

Azula — Age 14
Britta Perry — Age 39
Dale Cooper — Age 64

You can't get over the fact that she happens to be 14 in canonical age. She doesn't fucking act like a 14 year old and her age isn't representative of the political and physical strides she makes throughout the series. In the newest canon, she's 17, but like I said, it doesn't fucking matter. God forbid I like a female character for her mind and personality who is underage. Honestly, after everything I've been through and all the connections I've had to her on a personal level, do you genuinely feel that I only like Azula because of her age? Ask yourself that and try to come up with an honest answer.

there is a special place in hell for those who sexualize their favorite characters

I sexualized her when I was a horny teenager, sure, but I also knew how amazing she was in her mind and actions, and that's what I still like about her now. She's not a sexual symbol to me whatsoever, she's a symbol of who I want to be. She's a symbol of everything that's right in the world. She's a symbol of perfection and what I strive to progress towards. Almost isn't good enough.

you have posted r34 of azula in anarchy, and it's been heavily suggested that you've pleasured yourself to it

being indifferent towards her age is one thing, but not being deterred in any way by it is more than a little troubling

why would I be deterred? her age is meaningless completely, all that matters is her mind and her actions

obviously I've gotten off to her, I'm a human male and I'm falliable, but the reason I got off to her had nothing to do with her age - it had everything to do with her dominant, amazing presence

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/97mjya/azula_did_nothing_wrong/

Azula has a body count of zero, and she consistently chooses the least violent option, so her service to the Fire Nation actually saves lives. She is a better person than you think she is, and she is a much better sister than Zuko deserves. If that sounds ridiculous, read on for evidence.

Azula has a terrible reputation. People call her a sociopath, a sadist, and a murderer; they assign her infinite cruelty, ruthlessness, selfishness, and ambition. Even her defenders usually concede that she is obviously a villain; they just argue that she deserves a redemption arc, or that she is a product of her environment.

People are wrong. Azula is neither a sociopath nor a sadist nor a murderer. She is neither cruel nor ruthless nor selfish nor ambitious. Azula is not a villain. She is patriot and a peacemaker who serves her country and always looks out for her brother.

Seriously. Look at her record. Azula never kills anybody. In fact, she consistently chooses the least violent option.

When her father sends her to capture Zuko and Iroh, she tries to bring them home as honored guests. When Zuko attacks her on the ship, Azula simply parries his strikes for almost the entire battle; she chooses not to hit back. Later, in Ba Sing Se, Azula again tries to apprehend Zuko and Iroh nonviolently. Iroh again strikes first, Zuko again wants to fight Azula, and she again refuses to fight him.

When Azula defeats the Kyoshi Warriors, she merely imprisons them. She does not execute or torture or otherwise harm them. On the other hand, when the Kyoshi Warriors capture Aang, Katara, and Sokka, Oyaji at first intends to use the three of them as sea monster chum! Furthermore, on several occasions, we hear horror stories about how the Fire Nation treats internees, so Azula could actually be atypically merciful.

When Iroh besieged Ba Sing Se, his efforts cost probably thousands of lives. When her turn comes, Azula finds a way to take the city almost peacefully. Even the king, his generals, and Long Feng survive. There is no collateral damage, which is frankly incredible! Sure, Aang spares Ozai, Katara spares Yon Rha, and Sokka saves a village from Jet; those all are noble moments, but Azula manages to conquer an impenetrable city with practically no casualties! If a massive offensive by the Fire Nation against Ba Sing Se was inevitable, and Sokka says that it was, then her brave, bold, brilliant scheme saves countless lives on both sides!

True, she nearly kills Aang, but that comes after Aang enters the Avatar State. Azula knows that Aang rampages uncontrollably whenever he enters the Avatar State, and the cavern is on the verge of collapse, so her attempt to kill him is arguably the right call. Sorry, Aang.

When the eclipse comes, and Toph finds the secret bunker, does Azula send wave after wave of depowered redshirts to delay her enemies? No. Does she run away? No. While her father hides, she faces Aang, Sokka, and Toph without the ability to firebend. She deals with the situation in the only way that puts only her at risk.

When Sokka, Suki, and Zuko hop on the gondola lift to escape the prison, Azula chooses to give chase rather than to cut the line. She chooses the riskier non-lethal option.

When Mai and Ty Lee turn against her, she imprisons rather than executes them. Her father vows to punish treason with death when Zuko confronts him in the bunker, so the fact that her erstwhile friends survive implies that Azula keeps the Fire Lord in the dark. Mai and Ty Lee hurt her, but she still protects them. Is this the behavior of a bloodthirsty demon-creature of spite?

To recap, Azula never kills, avoids violence whenever possible, and treats her defeated foes well. She accomplishes her military objectives with methods that are, if anything, implausibly humane and conscientious.

Now, I realize that this is, in some ways, a show for children. Remember, though: Long Feng murders Jet, Sozin committed genocide against the Air Nomads, and Ozai carpet bombs the Earth Kingdom. A villain kills in this world, so the fact that Azula never kills is significant.

Even Katara and Sokka have higher body counts. Katara kills a bunch of soldiers when she slices apart a balloon. Sokka kills hundreds more when he crashes the fleet of airships. I would mention Iroh and Zuko, but they each undergo a metamorphosis, and people generally consider them redeemed or reformed. Nobody explicitly questions what Sokka and Katara did, though. Nobody requires them to atone. Apparently, their methods are acceptable.

My point is not that Sokka, Katara, and the Kyoshi Warriors are secretly evil; my point is that Azula does not act like a villain. Her tactical decisions are significantly more pacific than those of our nominal heroes. What about her big-picture decisions, though? Are those evil?

Azula is a princess of the Fire Nation, and she dares to do her duty as a princess of the Fire Nation. Yes, the war is unjust, and the Fire Nation was the aggressor, but the war predates her birth by more than eighty years. Sozin never asked Azula whether the Fire Nation should attack. For her, the war is immutable. Would you condemn every good soldier who serves her country in a controversial overseas conflict?

Moreover, when her brother offered his two cents on the war, their father scarred and exiled him. Azula knows that her only options are (1) to take a principled stand against the war or (2) to fight for the Fire Nation.

If she chooses to take a stand, then she becomes powerless, and madmen like Zhao run the war. She retains her moral purity and can feel delightfully self-righteous while thousands of soldiers die in futile offensives against Ba Sing Se. Zuko grows old in exile because nobody in the Fire Nation cares to redeem him.

If she chooses to fight, then she has a chance to make a difference. If she is in command, then a general who sacrifices battalions of new recruits is not.

Now, if your country wages an unjust war, and you do not have the power to cancel it, but you do have the power to win it without any further bloodshed, then is it not your moral obligation to win the unjust war and thereby save lives on both sides? If your only options are (1) ceaseless slaughter or (2) immediate victory for your country, whose cause is suspect, then is it really wrong to choose immediate victory for your country?

Azula chooses to fight. She does not open a new front, as Zhao did; instead, she ends the endless battle for Ba Sing Se. She wins the unjust war and thereby saves lives on both sides.

If her big-picture decisions are defensible, and her tactical decisions are ethical, then Azula is only a villain because she is an unpleasant person, a nasty woman. We therefore should examine the charges against her personality individually.

People call her a sociopath or psychopath, but she always fulfills her obligations, always plans ahead, consistently chooses the least violent option, generally avoids risks, rarely puts her allies or countrymen in danger, and never acts impulsively. She is demonstrably remorseful and empathetic on Ember Island. Sure, she feels superior, but she is royalty and exceptionally competent at practically everything, so that is pretty understandable. She is mean to her friends on a few occasions, but if that makes her antisocial, then most young teenagers are antisocial.

Is she sometimes abrasive? Does she sometimes declaim like malice incarnate? Yes and yes, but context is important.

Azula lives in a hyper-masculine, hyper-patriarchal warrior culture. Zhao is so aggressive that he literally kills the moon. Ozai scarred and banished Zuko for disrespect. Before his epiphany, Iroh made jokes about his intention to raze Ba Sing Se; he sent young Zuko a knife and young Azula a fashionable doll. A few years later, Azula is a young girl who commands veteran warriors twice her age. Please, let me know how many other female officers of the Fire Nation you see on the front lines.

In context, can you condemn Azula for some over-the-top rhetoric? Perhaps she worries that her speeches must be twice as fiery to intimidate or inspire half as effectively, and her rivals will use any sign of weakness against her. Doubtlessly she knows that her father respects only strength, and she is just a few compassionate moments away from banishment or worse. This is a “Nixon in China” situation.

Her over-the-top rhetoric has a further utility. If her opponents believe that she is insane, then they believe that she is capable of any atrocity at any time, so they give up or give in. In Ba Sing Se, her plan works because her enemies truly fear her when she threatens the Earth King. Paradoxically, her bellicose style saves lives.

We should not condemn Azula because her words are harsh; we should commend her because her actions remain so restrained. It speaks to her essential goodness that she never carries out her many ostentatious threats. In fact, her consistent eschewal of bloodshed conceivably leads to further over-the-top rhetoric as she seeks to preempt charges of softness.

What about her purported selfishness and ambition, though? Well, this is where the case against her personality really fails. Azula never pursues her personal interests. She never seeks the throne. Instead, despite the fact that his death or disgrace makes her accession more likely, and that his return to the Fire Nation jeopardizes her position, she continually works to help her older brother.

When Azulon ordered Ozai to kill Zuko, Azula warned her brother. She told the truth, but he called her a liar. Luckily for him, Azula also warned their mother, which saved his life.

Years later, after the conquest of Ba Sing Se, although her orders were to capture Zuko, she instead affords him the opportunity to join her and restore his honor. When they return to the Fire Nation, she delivers a report to their father. If she lies, then Zuko joins Iroh in prison, but she vouches for him, and their father welcomes him back.

Azula brings Zuko home, and he repays her kindness with a major deception; he denies that there is a chance that the Avatar is still alive. Azula senses the deception, so she gives him the credit for the death of the Avatar. Is Azula therefore a bad sister? No. If the Avatar is dead, then Azula is a wonderful sister who sacrifices personal glory to help her brother. If the Avatar is still alive, then Zuko is an awful brother who damages his country to hurt his sister.

Nevertheless, Azula looks out for Zuko. She advises him not to visit Iroh in prison, but he ignores her, and she apparently never reports him.

On Ember Island, Azula follows Zuko to their old house, comforts him, and helps him understand his anger. In response, he expresses exactly zero interest in how she feels. When he learns that she believes that their mother loved her less and considered her a monster, he is silent. When his little sister cries out for somebody, anybody to care about her, to console her, to tell her that she is not a monster and that they love her, he is silent. Her big brother is silent.

When Zuko does not receive an invitation to the big meeting, Azula assures him that Ozai wants him there, but he again calls her a liar. Now, there a few possibilities. Either (1) Ozai wants Zuko there but inexplicably does not send him an invitation; (2) Ozai wants Zuko there, and somebody intercepts the invitation for no good reason; or (3) Ozai initially does not want Zuko there. It seems most likely that Ozai initially does not want Zuko there. Of course, in the end, Ozai refuses to start the big meeting until Zuko arrives, which implies that somebody changes his mind. Who except Azula could and would do that?

Again and again, Azula supports her neglectful, miserable sibling. She puts her love for him before her personal aspirations, and that ultimately costs her everything.

When Zuko betrays the Fire Nation, Mai gets a scroll. Ozai gets an earful. Azula gets nothing. For the second time, her big brother is gone, and he does not care enough to tell her why.

This was sadly predictable, of course. Zuko always envies and misrepresents Azula.

Zuko claims that she always lies, which grossly distorts her behavior. When she warned him about the plot to murder him, she told the truth. When Ozai sends her to capture Zuko, and she tells Zuko that Ozai wants him back, the deception was necessary to avoid an unnecessary battle. When she assures Zuko that Ozai wants him at the big meeting, the possible falsehood should comfort Zuko, and Azula makes it the truth after the fact.

Angelic Aang tells just as many whoppers! He conceals the map to Hakoda, invents the “Wei Jin versus Jin Wei” story, and even breaks an Avatar promise to cut out the Toph-based scams!

Zuko complains that Azula was born lucky, whereas he was lucky to be born. Of course, he was born a prince of the Fire Nation, so he grew up in wealth and comfort, but that speaks less to his opinion of Azula than to his boundless self-pity.

Sure, maybe Azula was born with natural talents, but she works hard to make the most of those talents. Unlike Zuko, Azula paid attention in school; on two occasions, she recites history that he forgot. When Azula trains on her ship, she is dedicated and self-motivated. When Zuko trains on his ship, he is uncoachable and impatient.

Rather than recognize his flaws, Zuko blames everything on Azula. He even wants to blame Combustion Man on her!

Now, I realize that there are some who interpret each apparently noble deed that Azula does as the next step in some obscure, serpentine evil scheme. For these people, the hatred of Azula is totally reasonable even in the absence of evidence because Azula always covers her tracks.

This is frankly nonsense. Either Azula helps Zuko because she wants good things for him, or she helps him because she wants bad things for him. Remember, after the conquest of Ba Sing Se, Azula does not derive personal gain from her support of her brother; she actually risks personal loss. Therefore, either Azula works to restore his honor, his title, and his bond with his father because she wants him to be happy, or she does all that to hurt him in some way at some point in the future. Which explanation makes more sense?

If Azula is not a monster after all, then what should we think of how the story of this brave, humane, hyper-intelligent, hyper-competent leader concludes?

Her (terrible, terrible, terrible) mother left her when she was a child. Her mistrustful, ungrateful, spiteful brother betrays her, which leads Mai and Ty Lee to follow suit. Azula did everything right, and everybody still leaves her. Even her (terrible, terrible, terrible) father leaves her, and she becomes the Fire Lord. Good for her. She earns it but never seeks it. Somehow, against all odds, the heir to a hereditary monarchy is actually the most qualified candidate. For once, nepotism works!

At this point, her brother asks Katara, “How would you like to help me put Azula in her place?” Not “put her down” or “stop her” or “defeat her” or any of a hundred other formulations. “How would you like to help me put Azula in her place?” Zuko never learns to handle the fact that his little sister is his superior in practically every way.

What happens next? Well, suddenly, the tough, smart young woman who took down the Earth Kingdom daintily eats cherries and obsesses over foot hygiene. The warrior who nearly ended the Avatar spends her time in front of a mirror, frustrated by her hair.

The trope of the hysterical woman claims another victim.

Zuko arrives at the palace, and Azula again deals with the situation in the only way that puts only her at risk; she agrees to an Agni Kai, a non-lethal duel. The siblings clash, the flames are really awesome, and she bends lightening despite her supposed breakdown. After Azula burns Zuko and wins the Agni Kai, does she at any point move to finish him off? No. She knows that her brother is alive, but she just bombards Katara.

Now, Azula is the duly decreed Fire Lord, she wins the Agni Kai, she never commits a crime against humanity, and she never hurts a citizen of the Fire Nation. There is no justification for regime change. Nobody elects Zuko, and he never wins the job. We have no reason to believe that this moody teenager is particularly well-suited to the throne. His only qualification is his allegiance to a foreign power, which makes him nothing more than a puppet, a mere stooge.

Furthermore, the whole knock on the Fire Nation is that they want to control the world. Aang and his allies set out to restore balance, so how can they turn around and repose Azula? It is hugely hypocritical, and we should not root for it.

All in all, Avatar: The Last Airbender is the tragedy of a strong, brilliant, patriotic young woman whose downfall is her unstinting devotion to her undeserving brother.

Please, bring on the counter-arguments. I want an excuse to present my unused evidence. For example, “Azula is totally evil. Just look at the volleyball game on Ember Island! She burns down the net and delivers an insane speech about total annihilation!” “Okay, well, by that standard, Aang is totally evil. Remember how he beats Sokka 7–0 when they play airball? Remember how he hits the ball so ferociously (at his close friend) that it likely cracks a few ribs? Sokka is in terrible pain by the end of the match.”

To close, I just want to say that (despite my negativity) I really like Avatar: The Last Airbender in general. I do not hate Aang, Katara, Sokka, or Toph; I do not root for Ozai; and I do not believe that Johnny Lawrence is secretly the protagonist of The Karate Kid.

ITT: class once again outs himself as a pedophile and tries to deny it.

You can be in love with someone for reasons other than her age. Take a look at my post on reddit a few hours ago that goes into detail about why I like Azula so much. Bryan could say Azula is an eleven year old and I would still love her, he could say she's actually been 73 this whole time and guess what -  my love remains the same. Keep trolling dude, I won't let it get to me.

Quote from: Carmen on February 01, 2019, 09:30:01 AM

Quote from: Desty on February 01, 2019, 09:25:45 AM

Quote from: Carmen on February 01, 2019, 08:41:24 AM

Quote from: Desty on February 01, 2019, 07:05:56 AM

you know she's 14 right?

Uh, no? She's 17 canonically.

both your pfp and the image in the wiki is using pictures of her when she's 14. She's 14 in the series, and in some comic books that take place later on she's 17. Have you even read those comics? I haven't ever seen your post shit like her burning up the letters or her trying to make Zuko be more like her

I haven't read the comics yet, they came out recently and I've been pretty broke. I can use whatever image I want of her lol. Believe me once I have enough money to buy The Search and Smoke & Shadow I will outclass you in Azula lore

Haha that's not the point, she's 14. Stop saying she's 17

No, she's canonically 17. Why do you want her to stay at 14 lol? That's kinda creepy.

you know she's 14 right?

Uh, no? She's 17 canonically.

this better not be a challenge because I win no contest

In school you look decent

LOL liar

Your eyes were normal-sized when you were a kid

yeah and now they're mega sized for extra cuteness

Looks like you've had some eye opening experiences since you were a youngster.

yeah I've had to enlarge my perspective

pretty sure noelle is comfortably male again fam

yeah why the fuck am I being compared to noelle fuckng whatsoever

thats so fucked up