attackfish | Going to be traveling and bored meme

I'm actually stuck between Azulon and Ursa *feels a bit embarrassed for being so greedy*. You can choose either or both or just plain neither if you're fed up.

Wow, this ended up really long.

I don't have all that much of a headcanon for Ursa, surprisingly. I have a lot of theories, but many of them are mutually exclusive. For example, one theory of mine is that she is an enormously powerful firebender, and that this is why Azulon was willing to overlook her heritage and betroth her to his son. Or he could have betrothed her to Ozai as a way to curb his younger son's ambitions to the throne. If his line were tainted with the Avatar's blood, he would be in less of a position to make a play for the throne, not that it stopped him. It also could have been a combination. I want this powerful firebender in my family, and I want to co-opt the power of her line for mine, but she's the Avatar's granddaughter, so I'll have her married to my less favored child. These could have made very different early dynamics in their marriage. Ozai would have prized her for the first and resented her for the second and third, and it might have meant that getting rid of Ursa when he took the throne (and thus any reminder that his children were descended from the Avatar, or even just more than his, might have been a nice side benefit to him.) Or she could be a nonbender, and accomplished with the dual swords (Which would make them superficially similar to Zuko and Mai. Both are are arranged matches according to Bryke, In both, she's a nonbending weapon's expert and he's a royal firebender, disfavored by the current monarch, his father.) She could be a young officer in training, raised to take part in the Fire Nation conquest, after Roku's decedents were brought to court following his death. She could have been in hiding with her family, and have only confided the secret of her heritage to Iroh... Oh the possibilities. I don't actually have a lot of theories as to what happened to her after she offed her father-in-law. I have no clue.

The actual headcanon I have for her comes in after she's married to Ozai and has Zuko and Azula, but before she kills Azulon, and to it, I'm bringing a lot of what I saw as a child interacting with the family of my first stalker, which was a lot like how I imagine Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and Azula. In her family, her father, looking back on it, was cold and at the very least emotionally abusive to her mother and the oldest son. He favored my stalker, the middle child and one of two daughters heavily, and ignored the existence of his youngest, the other daughter. Her brother had Tourette's, and I think undiagnosed Aspergers, which not only made him the family's "problem child" but also made him much more vulnerable to his little sister's constant lying. He was also very angry, defensive, and resentful, which I now realize was because of the abuse he suffered, but at the time scared me, because he was so much bigger than I was, and also because his sister lied to me constantly about how dangerous he was. These were also blamed on him by the rest of the family, and seen as one more way he just wasn't good enough. Good children didn't get angry. Her mother was extremely sweet and kind, but unlike Ursa, also saw her son as a problem, ignored her youngest daughter, and thought her middle child, a budding sociopath, could do no wrong. This is why I tend to get very angry at Azula apologists who think that Ursa was somehow evil for thinking there was something wrong with her child, or that she must have been favoring Zuko as much as Ozai favored Azula. It certainly never did my stalker any good to have her mother unable to see what she was doing, and it left her siblings utterly without protection. I had my parents. They had no one.

I don't think Ursa was the perfect mother, as Zuko clearly saw her. He lost her when he was ten, and with her, the only parent who loved him or defend him. My headcanon for Iroh is that he was so sunk into grief when he came home, that he didn't really snap out of it until the Agni Kai, and so Zuko was left for three years to fend for himself, which understandably colors his memories of his mother. I do however, think that she was married into an already deeply unhappy and deeply unhealthy family, and had to find a way to survive and raise her children within it with very little power and no support. I'm not sure she ever realized what a monster Ozai was, or she might have tried to kidnap Zuko and Azula, and anyway, younger sociopaths don't usually have the experience to hide it as well. I think she was afraid for and of Azula, and had nobody to turn for help, and I don't think there was anything she could have done.

I feel very sorry for your stalker's siblings. Poor things :(.

Azula apologists who think that Ursa was somehow evil for thinking there was something wrong with her child, or that she must have been favoring Zuko as much as Ozai favored Azula
This. All of this. I mean, "Zuko Alone" shows Azula laughing and taunting Zuko about the fact that Azulon has ordered Ozai to kill him. Let's repeat the facts again. She is laughing about the fact that her FATHER is going to murder her BROTHER. She is NOT sorry or upset about this AT ALL. That and Ursa's previous, "What is WRONG with that child?" shows that there was something deeply wrong with Azula even then. Azula's behaviour must have deeply worried her mother. The thing is, she had no idea how to deal with it and had no one to turn to. Talking with her husband about it probably got a ,"What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with our daughter." Attempts to discipline her didn't work (and punishments were quickly overturned by Ozai, which is why Azula believed that her mother hated her).
I do believe that she loved her daughter still, despite her many problems and had Azulon ordered Ozai to murder Azula instead of Zuko, she would've still killed him.

I do like the idea that she was a powerful firebender who used dual swords. Note that Azula is the only Fire Royal who uses blue flames, which everybody knows is MUCH hotter than regular flame. Where did she get this ability from, if not from her mother? Yes, we never see Ursa firebending in AtLA. But then again, we are only seeing her from ZUKO's point of view. I like the idea that she's a dual sword user because Zuko uses dao blades and that means that she could've been the one to teach him. As some one commented on LJ, learning to use a sword requires a teacher and that dual-wielding is hard and dangerous. Which means that Zuko can't have been self-taught and frankly, I can't see Ozai getting him a teacher in that. So why can't Ursa be Zuko's teacher in dual swords? Seriously, this is why I don't like fics portraying Ursa as a battered wife. I keep thinking, "People, this is the woman who gave birth to Zuko of 'never give up without a fight' and AZULA. The same woman who murdered her FATHER IN-LAW to save her son. If Ozai tried to hit her, she'd probably hit back!"

Iroh was so sunk into grief when he came home, that he didn't really snap out of it until the Agni Kai
Yes. This makes sense. As s3 finale showed us, Zuko could still fight Azula for the throne despite the fact that Ozai named her his heir. That implies that Iroh could've done the same thing when he came back from Ba Sing Se, but just didn't do it. Him being in depression makes sense. That and he probably didn't want to kill his little brother. Then the Agni Kai occurs and he is HORRIFIED that Ozai could do something like that to his own son. He probably felt guilty about it as well as HE was the one who let Zuko in that war meeting. Zuko's reaction to Iroh deciding to come along on his exile was probably on the lines of, "??? Why is Uncle suddenly coming along? He didn't seem to care about much before this."

I occasionally hear about my first stalker and her family through friends who still live in the town. It's never pretty. Sometimes, I feel guilty for getting away from her, which is ridiculous and stupid, and also how it goes.

She is laughing about the fact that her FATHER is going to murder her BROTHER. She is NOT sorry or upset about this AT ALL.

This. Just this. Any good loving parent is going to be a little freaked out by that. And thinking there is something very wrong with your child, or even worrying that they may be a monster is no barrier to loving them. And when you are treated the way Ozai treated her by one parent, you think the other parent, who loves you and tries to make you follow rules is an evil, unloving tyrant. Doesn't make it true.

I keep thinking, "People, this is the woman who gave birth to Zuko of 'never give up without a fight' and AZULA. The same woman who murdered her FATHER IN-LAW to save her son. If Ozai tried to hit her, she'd probably hit back!"

I agree that Ursa's one tough cookie, but I have met incredibly smart, strong willed people become victims of abuse. Ursa as a spouse to a royal in that particular warped family had little power, and children to think about, and probably would have been executed for treason or something if she hit back, so would be an ideal target for an abusive husband, no matter how strong. Saying "I can't see such and such character as a battered wife because she would hit back" is just a little victim blaming, implying that abuse victims did something to cause their abuse or should have been able to end it.

That being said, I don't see her as a victim of physical abuse from Ozai. Emotional, hell yes, because Ozai emotionally abuses everybody he can, but given how hands off he seems with his children, aside from the whole face burning thing, I don't think it's his MO.

You can teach yourself something like dual swords if you have a strong basis in other martial arts (both my marital arts masters taught double stick fighting to near beginners to teach us to move multiple parts of our bodies in tandem), which we know the royal sibs had, but why did he pick that weapon? Maybe the swords he used as the blue spirit really were antiques? Belonging to his mother?

uko's reaction to Iroh deciding to come along on his exile was probably on the lines of, "??? Why is Uncle suddenly coming along? He didn't seem to care about much before this."

This is going to show up in Kindle the Wind. Mostly from Iroh's point of view, mind.

Ursa as a spouse to a royal in that particular warped family had little power, and children to think about, and probably would have been executed for treason or something if she hit back, so would be an ideal target for an abusive husband, no matter how strong.
Point. You're probably right about the emotional abuse. I can see Ursa and Ozai having a lot of fights. Most of them were probably behind closed doors, though.

You can teach yourself something like dual swords if you have a strong basis in other martial arts
Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks for the information :).

This is going to show up in Kindle the Wind. Mostly from Iroh's point of view, mind.
Looking forward to it ;).

I only know that because of my own martial arts experience. Nunchuks are another matter, however.

Oh the Fire Nation royal family. So much headcanon, so little time.

According to Bryke, Azulon was born the same time as the Air Nomad Genocide, and that he led troops into battle. I imagine that he was a sort of Alexander the Great (or better still, the Russian scholar in me wants to say Ivan the Terrible) who took a very personal role in the conquest, like Iroh. I don't think he understood Ozai at all, and that Ozai was always more of a politician than Azulon. Iroh had a political side, but Azulon could connect to him through their shared military experiences, and I think he was less of a politician when he was younger. In some ways, Azulon had a temperament more like Zuko's, though much crueler. He was quick to anger, quick to punishment, not prone to reflection, and his plans and tactics tend to be short term affairs.

He was quick to anger, quick to punishment, not prone to reflection, and his plans and tactics tend to be short term affairs.
Definitely can see where Zuko gets it from ;).

I don't think he much liked or cared for Ozai OR his grandchildren by Ozai. If not, he wouldn't have given that order to Ozai to kill his own son. I think he was trying to get rid of both Zuko AND Ozai when he gave that order. If Ozai HAD killed Zuko, he would've probably gone, "Alas, my second son has gone insane and murdered my poor innocent grandson! Guards, seize him!" It's only Ozai's word against his, after all.

I hold that there was a HUGE party at the South Pole when they heard that Azulon had kicked the bucket. Then they found Ozai wasn't any better :P.

If Ozai HAD killed Zuko, he would've probably gone, "Alas, my second son has gone insane and murdered my poor innocent grandson! Guards, seize him!" It's only Ozai's word against his, after all.

This. I don't think he thought enough about Zuko to want him dead, but I don't think he would have cared much. And I'm not in the camp that thinks it was all some secret test of character, or that he was going to give Zuko to Iroh. I'm willing to believe he had gotten a little senile though.

The rest of the world was like "Shit man, they make them WORSE over there?"

I'm willing to believe he had gotten a little senile though.
Well, the man WAS 93 or so when Ursa killed him.

The rest of the world was probably VERY confused when Ozai became Fire Lord. "Wait, shouldn't IROH be the Fire Lord? Who is this Ozai anyway? Never heard of him before this. Well, he can't be any worse than Azulon."
Later on..."OMG, this guy is WORSE than his father!"

95, according to Bryke.

Seriously. Ozai managed to up his family's evil quotient. That's a real accomplishment, all things considered.

Going to be traveling and bored meme

Please feel free to ignore this if you've had enough

Ursa 1/2

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