fic: burning bridges [zuko, azula, post-series]

[albumsontheside]

Title: Burning Bridges
Author: albumsontheside
Characters: Zuko, Azula
Timeline: post-series
Word Count: 200
Summary: Zuko visits his sister only once, in a mental facility south of Ba Sing Se.

Comments

[azardarkstar]

This. Very much how I see Azula at the end of the series. Some days are good. And some... some are very bad indeed.

And I suppose, at the end, she's still just a girl who wanted to please her father. Who wanted both of her parents to love her.

Zari

[albumsontheside]

And I suppose, at the end, she's still just a girl who wanted to please her father. Who wanted both of her parents to love her.

Yes. After all, all her insecurities pretty much stem from the fact that her mother loved her brother and her father loved her abilities more than her self. Poor, damaged Azula :(

Thank you for reading :)

[azardarkstar]

I think that Ursa did and still does love Azula. It's just that Azula didn't see it that way. Ursa strikes me as the type to love both of her children equally, but it seemed that she favored Zuko more because he needed more attention than Azula did at the time. I'd say the situation is rather reversed at the moment, however.

Also, the added mental illness (since really, Azula shows most if not all of the classic signs) certainly didn't help matters either.

Zari

[albumsontheside]

Ursa strikes me as the type to love both of her children equally, but it seemed that she favored Zuko more because he needed more attention than Azula did at the time.

You think? I think she ... genuinely couldn't relate to Azula. Ursa seems like the type who preaches love and compassion, and to have a child who, from the start, is so evidently cruel ...

Speaking of, what do you think happened to Ursa?

[azardarkstar]

From my personal experiences, people can and will truly love their children even if they are cruel. Even if that fact smacks them in the face. Even if their child is a monster. Hope springs eternal, and mothers will love even bad kids until the sun burns out.

I think that Ursa might not have understood her daughter, but she never stopped hoping. Never stopped trying to reach her. And I think that Azula's hallucination in the series is evidence that she's aware of that on some level. Even if only deep down. Aware that her mother did love her, even if Azula herself couldn't acknowledge that fact.

Plus, I think that Ursa was supposed to be one of the "good" ones in the family. And just from what I observed in the show, I don't think they would've gone with the angle of father hating son while mother hates/dislikes daughter. At least not both at the same time.

As for my personal canon, I believe that Ursa is probably wandering around the Earth Kingdom somewhere. Since really, I think they would've noticed her at the poles. :)

Zari

[albumsontheside]

I think that Ursa might not have understood her daughter, but she never stopped hoping. Never stopped trying to reach her. And I think that Azula's hallucination in the series is evidence that she's aware of that on some level. Even if only deep down. Aware that her mother did love her, even if Azula herself couldn't acknowledge that fact.

This sounds quite true. I think the hallucinations were meant to show that Azula couldn't accept that she loved her mother, because if she did, it would mean that a lot of her identity and beliefs were based on the wrong foundations. She gains all the hate that the bends with, I think, because of the way she perceived her mother as favouring Zuko. And that's also why I think she worked so hard to become perfect - so that her father didn't favour Zuko too. And then she'd do anything to hurt Zuko, to make herself feel better. I think that if Ozai hadn't scarred him, she probably would have.

As for my personal canon, I believe that Ursa is probably wandering around the Earth Kingdom somewhere. Since

[azardarkstar]

I agree. I think that Azula was so driven to please her father that she couldn't understand that she really didn't have to do much at all to make Ursa happy. And I could honestly see her using that to fuel her bending.

As for the suicide option, I figure that it's a kid's show. They'd err on the side of her living somehow. Or at least, not go that route in all probability. Plus, I have visions of Iroh and Ursa riding off into the sunset together. Probably didn't happen that way, but I can still dream. :)

Zari

[albumsontheside]

And I could honestly see her using that to fuel her bending.

Yep, ever since we found out that Zuko couldn't bend once he lost his rage ...

Plus, I have visions of Iroh and Ursa riding off into the sunset together. Probably didn't happen that way, but I can still dream. :)

Oh, brilliant. Now I want to write a forbidden!romance Iroh/Urda pseudo-incest kind of thing. After all, Ozai always suspected that Zuko wasn't really his son ...

[azardarkstar]

It does make a strange sort of sense.

As for Iroh/Ursa, I've seen a story like that before. Only it wasn't Zuko. :)

Zari

[albumsontheside]

As for Iroh/Ursa, I've seen a story like that before. Only it wasn't Zuko. :)

Ohhhh, no way! Rec me? :)

[azardarkstar]

It was posted on the Pit. Let me see if I can find it again. It wasn't spectacular but not bad on a whole, if I remember correctly.

Zari

[albumsontheside]

Aha, awesome. I hope it's nothing like the idea I've got going ... *hopes*

[azardarkstar]

Here we go.

I could've sworn there was another one that was similar, but I can't find it. I read it awhile go, so it might've been taken down.

Zari

[albumsontheside]

You utter legend, thank you so much.

So, do you write any fic yourself? :)

[azardarkstar]

You're welcome. I really do wish I knew where the other one went though.

I sure do. AtLA is a relatively new fandom for me. I've only been really into the last few months, but I have a few one shots for it.

And yes, it always feels weird mentioning my own stuff.

Zari

[albumsontheside]

Really? Awesome! Any of your fics you'd like me to see in particular? :)