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Arsonist's Lullaby: An Azula Timeloop Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

I think her view of Ozai is more of a loose thread to pull and unravel her toxic self narratives. Probably more productive than attacking them directly.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

Azula is still dominated by her father's will. As long as she submits to him, she won't be able to reflect on herself because she would be blind to the major issue in her life. It would be like a puppet wondering about their role without paying attention to the strings they are tied to. One who is not their own actor has no power to find their own path.

The whole reflecting about yourself and your navel happens properly only when you are ready to question all your earthly ties.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
I think all three choices will progress Azula's character development. Both "You" and "Your Father" will do it in a similar direction, even - that of unravelling "Azula, Alone?" - but in different ways. I think the "You" choice will yield her a better understanding not really of herself, but of what Mai and Ty Lee see in her and of their relationship. Meanwhile "Father" is about how Ozai is not actually on her side, or will at least nudge her into the direction of not suppressing her already existing realization of that fact. I don't know which I prefer, so I'm going to wait for arguments to convince me one way or the other.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
[X] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
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[X] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
Magery said:
Your knuckles are as white as a corpse's. "Were you actually listening? Fire is the element of power. You don't even know what that is. You've never had it. If you had, you'd never think just being good is enough to change the world."

(Of course it isn't.

Not even being perfect could do that.)
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DAMN.

What a killer line. It's interesting to me that at first glance, while a cool play on words, it seems like a fundamentally incorrect statement - Zuko's goodness is not at all related to Azula's perfection, but this makes it sound like perfection is a natural extension of goodness. I mean, maybe it's just Magery going "oh yeah this is a COOL line I gotta put this in" which, I wouldn't blame them for at all because it is cool as hell, but is there more to this that I'm not smart enough to fully realize?

Maybe something about Azula seeing perfection as its own sense of goodness? That doesn't really sound right, considering our girl has been Going Through It the entire time, that despite whatever firebending perfection she's achieved, she's still being thrown in the mental and emotional ringer.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
[X] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
[X] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

I think this is better for now. Azula needs to see her father with clearer eyes before anything else.
 
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[x] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
mouseink said:
DAMN.

What a killer line. It's interesting to me that at first glance, while a cool play on words, it seems like a fundamentally incorrect statement - Zuko's goodness is not at all related to Azula's perfection, but this makes it sound like perfection is a natural extension of goodness. I mean, maybe it's just Magery going "oh yeah this is a COOL line I gotta put this in" which, I wouldn't blame them for at all because it is cool as hell, but is there more to this that I'm not smart enough to fully realize?

Maybe something about Azula seeing perfection as its own sense of goodness? That doesn't really sound right, considering our girl has been Going Through It the entire time, that despite whatever firebending perfection she's achieved, she's still being thrown in the mental and emotional ringer.
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I think it doesn't really say much about perfection or goodness, except that Azula sees them as key traits of herself and Zuko's characters.

Consider that the parentheses signify thoughts she's repressing. She lashes out at Zuko's idealism and dedication to change the world, and then thinks about but represses the true reason for her fury - that she, herself, can't even change her own situation, even though she should be, since she's perfect. This is just another case of her projecting her insecurity and self-loathing and awareness of her weakness onto Zuko, as she always does.
 
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[x] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

Come on girl, you're so close to figure it out!
 
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[X] You. Princess Azula the Blue. Heir apparent to the Dragon Throne. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. Half Roku—half Sozin. Where you are, so is the Fire Nation in all its rapacious glory. Yours is the blood and bone of empire. All the things you should have ever wanted to be. But sometimes you think of fire dancing under the Moon; of three girls and the horizon and a flight across half the world. Is that wrong? Are you wrong to dream—to think, so briefly, of being something more?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

Ozai is the proverbial thumb on Azula's mental scale and she seems to be ready to question that state of affairs. The influence of her father's twisted ambition is a weight that keeps Azula thinking she needs to be a monster, and that is a weight she can finally put down.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?

I agree with others that the biggest thing holding her back seems to be her father currently. Asking about herself is likely to even lead to talking about her father, at least a little, since it's just such a crucial part right now, but I'd rather just get through what her biggest mental block seems to be and not risk her not having a breakthrough about it.
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
[X] Your Father. In every life, they turn from him to save Zuko. Ty Lee has questioned him again and again. Mai has said you're 'weird' about him. But he's still—he's still your Father. The only one in the world who loved you from the start. Why is that supposed to be wrong?
 
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