the fire palace should hire some child psychologists

[ivy_chan]

A conversation over chat had me realizing that Mai and Zuko would be the most fail parents ever. Okay, maybe not as fail as Jet and Azula, but still pretty fail. Mai would be the most horrible mother out of all the sane Avatar ladies, because she does not seem to have that sense of...compassion? Empathy? That I think is necessary for a good mom.

Comments

[saralinda]

And here we see why most romances (as a genre, I mean) end before the life partner have kids part.

[ivy_chan]

Yeah. Honestly, I can see most of them being able to carry it through, but these two are such problematic potential parents that it's...strangely funny.

[lvsinsanity]

....God I so want fic. It'd be heartbreaking and bitter at times, but I think there would be some humor in it too.

I don't know. I just love the fics you write and that's a damn good idea imo!

[ivy_chan]

Yeah, and Zuko would be angsting about being a better dad, and Mai would be horribly bad with her kid and having trouble with her inability to empathize with anything, and the kid would be alienated and lonely and attention-seeking, and I'd have Iroh and Auntie Toph make frequent cameos.

It would be amazing.

[lalachoy]

You know, now all I can imagine is a Maiko kid pulling an Ariel from the Little Mermaid and escaping all the time.

[ivy_chan]

That kid would be a ninja, too. They're born from ninja parents who MUST have taught them mad ninja skillz. It's just natural for the kid to be a ninja.

[lalachoy]

And then Mai and Zuko get into arguments over who messed up more. "You were the one who taught them to climb cliffs!" "You taught them to throw knives!" and the guards are thinking to themselves "I think you guys both kind of shoulder this..." while having knives sticking out of their armor.

Yes. It pierced their armor. This is totally realistic I swear.

[ivy_chan]

Oh, god, seriously. Zuko would teach them stuff like how to run sideways on walls, how to fight with dual swords, how to defeat firebenders with nothing but a bucket of water, and how to swim in ice cold water without getting hypothermia. And Mai would teach them how to throw knives with unparalleled strength and precision and how to perfect the poker face. And Aunt Ty Lee would teach them how to chi block and do cartwheels.

And Aunt Toph would teach them how to swear like sailors.

[neldluva]

I agree completely, and I echo everyone above - that would be an awesomefun fic. :D

Also? Those reasons are part of why I have Sokka sticking around the palace to give that poor child a parent with actual parent/people skills. Also increased ninja powers.

[ivy_chan]

Ah, yes. Sokka. He would be a wonderful source of amazing parenting skills and ninja powers! And he and Suki's kids could give poor Maiko-spawn some friends who aren't crazy FN nobles.