Zuko Atla - Blog Posts
looks fire as fuck
no pun intended
New promotional art featuring Zuko
source
Angry again over the ATLA fandom's treatment of Ursa, one of the biggest victims in the entire series of the FN Royal Family.
People treat the Royal Family like it's just another abusive household, which results in the overly harsh treatment of Ursa, who was the most powerless person in that entire family by political standards. She was a lowborn, engaged to the younger prince as a test to merge the bloodlines of the Royal Family with that of an Avatar's. She was basically forced into an experimental arranged marriage to a disposable heir, cut off from her family, and thrown into a pit of vipers AKA the Royal Palace.
Imagine being in her shoes. Imagine having virtually no support or standing in an unfamiliar place where even the slightest mistake could result in either humiliation at best or death at worst. She is married to a horrible man who despises the fact that he doesn't even get a noble for a wife, that he is being ridiculed by being married off to a lowborn and basically being told that it was impossible for him to ever be the Fire Lord, since if he had a fair shot wouldn't they have ensured a better marriage prospect? He gains no supporters or additional backing through his wife, which he should have had as a prince, and doesn't that just sting? He's discredited in Azulon's eyes, and in the eyes of the nobility, so what chance does he have to rise above his station now?
Who do you think took the brunt of his shame and anger at his situation? Who would have suffered most at the hands of an angry young man who had no qualms with burning his own thirteen-year-old son for just daring to speak up unasked?
People claim Ursa had let go of Azula because she thought Azula was a monster and that she only helped Zuko because he was kind. Zuko was allowed to be kind because he was deemed weak, and Ozai didn't want to pay attention to him. He is only kind because of his mother's influence, which he wouldn't have had if he was up to Ozai's standards. If he had been, Ozai would have kept Ursa and Zuko separate to better control Zuko and ensure his son's loyalty. He wanted his heir to be a child that he could paint entirely in his own image to cover up the fact that their other parent was a peasant, which would cast further doubts on his rights and position within the palace.
People make it out to be like Ursa CHOSE to save Zuko, laughably assuming that this woman had the ability to CHOOSE anything, much less ANY sort of power within the palace. Even her own children outranked her in the nobles' eyes by virtue of having royal blood. She lived in the place where her husband worked and where all the servants answered to either him or his father, so she was never truly free to move or act. Every move was watched. Every interaction was noted.
Ursa was able to influence and help Zuko by showing him a form of kindness, but notice how she never said a bad word about Ozai or the Royal Family? She couldn't. She never twisted Zuko away or tried to outright call her husband wrong—she even defended some of his actions despite knowing otherwise. She could not act or speak freely. She knew she was being watched. She couldn't even pull Zuko away completely from Ozai—that's how utterly powerless she was. Her children loved a monster, and she could do nothing to stop them.
We are shown in canon that Ursa and Zuko spend time together, but that's just it. Ursa never tries to turn Zuko "good" or convince him Ozai is terrible because she CAN'T. She does her best by being stern and setting examples, and Zuko is desperate enough for love to internalize every moment with her, but the pond scene shows how Ursa was only able to do just that—play the role of a stern, kind mother.
And the thing is—if given the chance, she'd save them both. She loved them both, even if Azula reminded her too much of the monster that she married. If she had ever had the opportunity, she would have left with both. Except she couldn't because once Ozai had his prodigy, she was never going to be able to go near her child ever again. Ursa would try, through Zuko as we see in the flashback, to reach her daughter somehow, but it never worked. If she truly always thought of Azula as a "monster", would she let her "perfect son" go play with her? She could have shut Azula out completely and discourage her from ever coming close, Azula is young enough to still listen to her Mom, but we see both Azula and Zuko at her side reading the letter. Ursa doesn't lean away from her daughter. We see her hesitate but never flinch away when she is near Azula.
Ursa only spent time with Zuko because he was the only one she COULD have paid attention to, not because she CHOSE to. Ozai paid him no interest, so she was ALLOWED to spend her time with Zuko. If she had the chance, the allowance, to spend time with Azula she would have done it in a fucking heartbeat. People paint her as "saving" the one "who could be saved" or "throwing Azula to the wolves to focus on Zuko" as if she had any fucking choice, as if she didn't took what crumbs she could get to be close to her children. She didn't toss Azula aside, Ozai KEPT THEM APART. I REPEAT, HE KEPT THEM APART. He did NOT want his lowborn wife influencing his prized heir with her ways, so he kept them apart, READ THAT AGAIN.
It was never Ursa "choosing" which of her kids to save and protect. It was always her doing her best to use her limited, almost non-existent freedom of movement to reach her children in any way, and Zuko just happened to be free. If anyone was doing the whole "focusing on one kid and tossing aside the other" it. Was. Ozai.
A real post made by a real human being.
And you wonder why Zutara shippers are the fucking joke of the fandom now.
Jet from atla is so funny bc like, he's fighting zuko and taunting him being like "bet you wanna use some fire instead of those swords, dont u fireboy" which is a funny thing to say to a guy who is clearly very eager to fight using swords
sokka: woah zuko you look awful
zuko: yeah, aang kept me up all night
sokka: oh, i bet he did ;)
*last night*
aang, rolling over: do you think fish have feelings
zuko: aang it's 3am
like zuko was in the southern water tribe in s1e1/2 in his regular armor and didn’t need extra layers. and in e2 when aang airbent snow to cover the fire nation soldiers and zuko was covered in snow it started evaporating 😭
hypothermia scared of bro
Everyone loves Azula/Zuko freezing in the water tribe because they've never seen snow before and wear 8 layers of thick clothing, but I think what's equal funny is the idea of them sunbathing in swimwear in the snow because they're able to heat their bodies up so much that the snow doesn't bother them.
If Mai and Zuko don’t get back together and have at least two romantic scenes in the upcoming atla movie of the gaang as adults then what the fuck is the point?
Someone on x said Dallas 's pose looked so much like a firebender
I HAD TO DRAW IT
in another life, maybe it was you and me, maybe there we loved each other right
canon
zuko: If I had a gun with 2 bullets and I was in the room with sozin, long feng and zhao, I would shoot zhao twice
this duo needs to be talked about more i just know they were best friends
Headcanon that zuko taught lin his break dancing fighting style
what is this breed of character called
me and gang
Ch 9࿐𓂃𓂃Ripples Make Waves!
@fanboyzuko Blue & Pink Spirits
\( θ_ θ)人(⌒ヮ⌒)ﾉ
Pose ref by @albanenechi
Referenced Aang's mask for Ty lee and made it Pink! & no mane around it.
second time I've made art for a 9 of your storys that's a funny coincidence ^_^
Zuko and Azula would have been a terrifying finely oiled machine if ozai didn’t do his whole let’s pit my children against each other shtick.
They damn near killed Ang the one time they worked together.
Zuko, slipping on the Blue Spirit mask: I'm going out. If I don't come back, I want you to avenge my death. Kiyi: Okay!
i love making these johvocgcgugx
and while katara and mai are in the battle of their lives and absolutely dominating their enemies there’s a cutscene to zuko and aang arguing over paperwork
so what and who do we have to sacrifice to see this concept happen….
im sorry but ty lee and zuko as a friendship needs to be talked about more in this fandom 💔
[During The Beach]
Zuko: I'm going to get some air.
Ty Lee: There's air in here.
Zuko: I don't want your air!!!
Personal take: Even in 2025, I adore Maiko being emo teens 😄. I hope they keep their emo vibes in the future content.
Ps: imagine Izumi being a sweet girl, all smiles and giggles, while being raised by two edgy parents 😆
there is a serious lack of discussion about how mai is zuko’s safe space. we see this in their first appearance together (that’s not a flashback). when mai asks him a simple question, “aren’t you cold?” and zuko, who has a hard time opening up and expressing emotions that aren’t anger or angst, freely and openly starts to tell her his worries about going back to the fire nation. and while people love to chastise mai on her reply, “I just asked if you were cold, I didn’t ask for your whole life story”, I think they misunderstand her approach to this. zuko is worrying and overthinking about something he cannot change, something that will only drive him crazy and she tries to distract him with a joke. and it might fall flat, but she realises this and suddenly she is comforting him with her touch. her hand reaching out so casually towards scar like it’s not a big deal, because it’s not. they’ve known each other for a long time, they’ve grown up together and their relationship was a long time coming. and zuko leans into her hand, and her kiss, without thinking twice about it. because mai is familiar, and mai is comfort and that can be seen when you contrast it to song’s attempting at touch his scar, and how quickly he was to stop her. but it’s not only this moment that showcases mai as his safe space, but also when he’s back in the fire nation. when he’s stressed out and going through a tumultuous time, not knowing what’s right and wrong or what he should do next, it’s mai he goes to. we see this in “nightmares and daydreams” when he spends all day at her house, when he can’t stand being in the palace anymore, mai and her house and her bedroom is his safe space. and here we see her trying to comfort him, trying to say the war meeting is stupid, it would be be boring anyway, and shall we go for a ride around town? it’ll be fun… and even though he’s still sad, he goes back to her house on the day of the war meeting and she’s making him tea. and even when he does get invited to the all day war meeting, she goes to the palace with him and waits for him all day, to see if it went well and to comfort him if it didn’t. when he says that it was everything he thought wanted it to be, she’s immediately happy for him, reaching out to touch him with a smile on her face. mai is who zuko feels safe and comfortable around, even in his vulnerable moments and it’s something we should talk about.
I love how The Search had the dumb plot line of "omg what if Ozai isn't actually Zuko's father?!" and actually has Zuko doubting it for a while, when he is literally the spitting image of Ozai.
The writers deliberately created Zuko to make him look like Ozai, who is pretty much the adult version of Zuko without a scar, and who Zuko could have turned out to be just like if things went differently for him.
azula is a maiko shipper prove me wrong
im so funny IM SO FUNNY.
guys zuko’s not dead trust me. the slow laugh that will slowly journey from my throat to your cochlea will forever vibrate in your skull once seven havens comes out and we’ll find out that zuko’s actually chilling in the spirit world and is very very very very very alive and i am not in denial
commission for @mai-fruit-tarts
THEY’RE SO AWKWARD I’M CRYING
zuko: IF I DONT GET THAT REPORT BY NEXT WEEK, I'LL END YOUR-izumi,sweetie not right now, daddy's working,oh my god, did u draw that?
Its the best description of antimaiko i have ever seen