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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?

Pfwaugh, lots of emotions after that. But I think getting Azula unstuck about her father is going to do more to help her with herself, later, than the reverse.
 
[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?

I am still a little torn between [] You and [] Father, but after reading through some other people's arguments I have to go with [] You.
 
Magery said:
The one next to it, however, is not a treatise on foundational warfare but instead The Pillow Book, which strikes you as a peculiar thing for a prince to be reading about, especially as a quick glance confirms that, yes, Lu Ten's pillows are just as luxurious as your own. Maybe it was research, to learn how to re-sew them in the field?
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Magery said:
and that book that was most certainly not about pillows Lu Ten had did mention that men with deep voices are less hateful than others
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The most stunning realization of this chapter is that apparently offscreen Azula snuck back into Lu Ten's room to read through his books and got traumatized by his smut.
 
[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?
 
goodness, I adore this quest—and Magery's writing in general. And also Azula. But really really enjoy Mai and Ty Lee.

It'd be fun to see either leading options win (as is often the case in this quest; praise be), but going with this one because I think it's the first thing that needs to be done to get Azula closer to a healthy mindset.

[X] Your Father.

Because Azula is a child, as are her friends, and they're still figuring out who the hell they are—but they know love, and family, and how the families you're born into aren't always deserving of your love.
 
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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?
 
[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?

It's this or Azula, and I think Azula getting an outside perspective of Ozai and his relationship with herself is one of the most important things that she needs to have addressed. Cracks have formed from the pressure of the past, of the loops, and the actions taken during the quest. Maybe it's time to take a pickaxe to 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] 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?
 
I think all of the options have their own points, but I think You makes the most sense. After all, before you can know others, you must know yourself.

Also, the focus on their relationship feels like it might have slightly better odds of Azula going on a date with Ty Lee. Failing that, it also seems like it might result in Azula finally spilling the beans about the loops.

As for the other questions, I think it's worth remembering that Mai and Ty Lee don't just lose their knowledge at the start of the loop, they also lose their perspective. While they could probably easily answer the question at the heart of Your Father, I don't think they could do it coherently enough to get through to Azula until the very end of this loop and there's no guarantee that a new loop, with a different focus, will take them on a similar enough path or get them far enough to give her the answer she needs until the very end.

[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?
[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?

Again, great post. I like the mechanic of showing her inner truths and such, it makes it clear that these failed attempts *are* chipping away at her refusing to understand the problem, while also not having one conversation break a lifetime of abuse and manipulation all at once.
 
(2/3) Monster?

There is a lonely path in the palace. At the end of that lonely path is a room. And in that room is a girl called monster. Her name is Azula, and she struggles to understand feelings. Or family. All that is left to her is what she has been taught: and what she has been taught is to want, to take, and to not care if the taking hurts. But it does. And even a monster may grow tired of pain.

(2/3) Nothing Wrong With That Child

There is a path in the palace. At the end of that path is a room. And in that room is a girl who doesn't want to be a monster. Her name is Azula, and she's struggling to understand her feelings. And her family. So much of what is left to her is what she has been taught: and what she has been taught is to want, and to take, and to not care if the taking hurts. But it does. And you are tired of pain.
One of the reasons that I like []You so much is that Azula is just starting to accept she doesn't want to be a monster and maybe isn't one. It seems like a very good moment for her to ask the closest people to her in the whole world how they see her and what they think of her.
Epsilon Rose said:
As for the other questions, I think it's worth remembering that Mai and Ty Lee don't just lose their knowledge at the start of the loop, they also lose their perspective. While they could probably easily answer the question at the heart of Your Father, I don't think they could do it coherently enough to get through to Azula until the very end of this loop and there's no guarantee that a new loop, with a different focus, will take them on a similar enough path or get them far enough to give her the answer she needs until the very end.
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Yes, they're very much starting from scratch every time and at the beginning might even be reluctant to risk slandering Ozai in front of Azula. The ideal point to ask them about Ozai would be near the end of a loop, instead of at the start of one.

sheep-dodger said:
Mai and Ty Lee don't know the secrets of the Imperial palace or succession, but they have more than enough to offer on the fucked up way Azula gets treated by her dad. Specifically I want to drill down further on this bit, which specifically gets referenced in the vote description too:

Personally I think they'll have more to offer Azula than the Avatar-crew because they also grew up in the Fire Nation and their perspective is thus harder to dismiss.
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My point is not that Mai and Ty Lee wouldn't provide any useful information or perspective on Ozai to Azula, it's that they're much better equipped to provide feedback about Azula. And I also think that a character who grew up in a healthier family environment outside Fire Nation society would be much better situated to help Azula understand how screwed up everything is. A large part of why Ozai treats his children so poorly is because the Fire Nation's imperialist culture is incredibly toxic. This is very important for Azula to understand, yet Mai and Ty Lee very much do not have to perspective to understand that or the discourse to explain that to Azula.
 
Having watched this fic but jumping back at long last. Where to start! :rofl:
Randino Treviani said:
Another great piece Elpis. Thanks for all your hard work. Magery thanks for inspiring Elpis. You two are both awesome.
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Yessss! Elpis, these art uploads are super precious.
Uncle Iroh voice: However (sipping tea, pulling Elpis aside).That was late March, I hope more artwork happens encapsulating some of OP's latest updates. But, no pressure. And, might I join the fun…

Will edit with me own art plug momentarily!
"Arsonist's Lullaby!? Lemme listen!"




What's the vote looking like?
 
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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?
 
[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?
 
We're going back to the start of the loop, so it's the "I love Zuko more than I fear you."

"More than you fear my father as well." and, "Only my father has loved me from the start. Hasn't he?"

I have less of an idea for how [] You would play out at the start of the loop—I could be completely off on [] Your father as well, but I'm still just more interested in that.

Mai has already committed treason by the start of the loop; she might as well be hanged for badmouthing Ozai as well.
 
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