NOW what do we do with her?

[Nugar]

Azula sat there in the open on the smooth stone floor, her arms bound behind her back with heavy steel manacles and her legs crossed in front of her. She hadnÆt so much as said a word of protest since she woke up, or put up any kind of resistance, or indeed done anything but exactly what she was ordered to do.

In the wake of Sokka and ZukoÆs surprise return from the horrible Fire nation prison Boiling Rock, sheÆd almost been overlooked. It was surprising not so much that theyÆd returned, since everyone had faith that the combined troublemaking aspects of SokkaÆs planning and ZukoÆs insane determination would at least keep them safe, but that theyÆd achieved success on their mission beyond anyoneÆs wildest dreams.

Sokka brought back his father some friends, and amazingly enough his kinda maybe sorta girlfriend Suki, and Zuko had brought back HIS kinda maybe sorta girlfriend, Maià

àand his homicidal sister, Azula.

Mai sat calmly, nearby but as far away as she could get on the stone platform/balcony thing everyone used as a communal meeting place. She wasnÆt in chains, but even with Zuko vouching for her, and Sokka admitting that she wasnÆt all bad, she wasnÆt a part of the main group, either. With nothing more than a vague order to stay in sight, sheÆd elected to stay close to her partners.

Oh, yeah. Ty Lee was there, too, but sheÆd made the mistake of hugging Sokka and Suki had tied her up as a potential threat, since Zuko couldnÆt vouch for her like Mai.

Ty Lee was offended for almost five whole minutes but soon forgot about it, especially when they got back to the Air Temple, which she found beautiful and exciting. She liked to get up and wander around the platform, washed her feet in the fountain, splashed water on her face, and generally acted like a tourist, albeit one whose arms were tied behind her back and secured with many wrapped layers of ropes. Mercifully, sensing AzulaÆs mood, she remained relatively quiet. Her musings might border on the inane, or insane, but she wasnÆt a chatterbox.

ôWere it within my power, I would have you both thrown into a cell in Boiling Rock,ö Azula announced aloud, drawing quick looks from both Ty Lee and Mai. Both winced.

ôI was just saving your life and keeping you from doing something weÆd all regret very much after we thought about it,ö Ty Lee replied in a chipper voice that wasnÆt quite a protest.

Azula sat there for about five minutes in complete silence before she responded. ôI know. ThatÆs why I would have let you out first.ö Her voice was carefully controlled, letting no hint of her rage peek through.

Ty Lee brightened considerably. ôAww, but youÆd let Mai out eventually, right?ö

Silence.

ôRiiiight?ö she hazarded some minutes later.

ôàeventually,ö Azula allowed grudgingly.

MaiÆs expression didnÆt change, though she did note that her heart rate slowed for the first time since Azula had spoken.

ôSee, Mai! I told you that she wouldnÆt hate you forever. ItÆs just she was already mad at Zuko and she was worked up from the fight. I think that, under the circumstances, a little anger is understandable. DidnÆt you say yourself that you wanted to cut off ZukoÆs balls and jam them up his big, fat nose when he ran off?ö

Zuko, who, along with several others of the group, Aang, Sokka, and Toph, had just emerged from a doorway headed for the platform, hissed in surprise, covered his groin protectively, and ducked back through the door. HeÆd come back later.

Sokka and Aang both winced, but bravely soldiered on. Toph snickered openly.

ôUh. Uhhhàö Aang mumbled as whatever heÆd been about to say was chased right out of his mind.

ôWell. Yes. Well.ö Sokka was no better.

ôWhat the idiots meant to say was that, for now, welcome to the team, Gloomy,ö Toph announced. ôAs long as you donÆt try to free Azula and stay where someone can see you for a while, like Sparky, your decision to stop trying to murder us gives you a place here.ö

Mai raised one eyebrow, but that was basically the extent of her reaction.

ôOooh, oooh,ö Ty Lee cried, all but bouncing in her enthusiasm. ôWhat about me? I never tried to kill any of you!ö

ôYeeeaaaah, uh, about that,ö Sokka said with a wince. ôSuki, ahem, I mean, some of us feel that without any real ties to any of us like Mai, we canÆt just let you wander around. WeÆll have to keep you tied up or in a cell. Just for the time being!ö he blurted, seeing the acrobatÆs face crinkle up like she was about to cry. ôI mean, I know youÆre not gonna try and hurt anyone, but you might try to take Azula and run away, or something.ö

ôOh, I wouldnÆt do thatàö Ty Lee protested, then paused. ôI mean, unless she told me to, but she hasnÆt said a whole lot lately, except that she wanted to throw us both in jail until she forgave us.ö

ôBut arenÆt you her friend?ö Aang asked.

ôSure am!ö

ôSo why wouldnÆt you try to run escape with her?ö Aang asked.

ôCause she hasnÆt told me to,ö Ty Lee replied, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

ôAnd why wouldnÆt she tell you to?ö Aang persisted. ôShe has been trying to capture or kill us for months now, and now weÆve sort of got you captiveàö Which bothered him, really. He didnÆt like the idea of keeping someone tied up.

Ty Lee shrugged. ôWho knows? Maybe she wants to be here? Maybe itÆs a part of some elaborate plan where she always stays six steps ahead of you that can only lead to your inevitable downfall at her hands? I learned a long time ago to never second guess these things with Azula. SheÆs really really smart.ö

Everyone looked at the princess, who hadnÆt looked at them when they walked in or even twitched at her name. She stared ahead blindly, ignoring the world around her.

ôUh, yeah. Not to mention crazy as a seal-fox with a mosquito-moth in its nose,ö Sokka said slowly. He brightened. ôLook at it this way. YouÆre friends, right? And friends would help each other escape from captivity, right? Usually, I mean.ö

She nodded carefully.

ôOnly you canÆt, because she might want to be here. But you donÆt want to be a bad friend, right?ö

ôOf course not!ö Ty Lee seemed almost hurt by the idea.

ôAnd I think we can agree that MOST friends could be considered bad friends if they didnÆt help their friend escape. So weÆre actually helping you by keeping you locked up. Even though youÆre being a good friend by not trying to escape, not everyone would see it that way, so we can make sure everyone knows youÆre a good friend by keeping you from even being able to try and escape. Right?ö

ôHey, that makes a lot of sense! Thanks, Sokka!ö She beamed at him. ôYouÆre really smart!ö

He chuckled and did an æaw, shucksÆ kind of pose.

Toph nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, hard. ôConsider the source, Snoozles.ö To the two remaining captive, she said, ôWell, come on then. Katara is fixing you up a room in the temple where we can stick you for tonight. WeÆll talk again tomorrow, after everyone has had a good sleep.ö

Much to the surprise of all present, Azula continued to not protest or speak. She simply followed Toph and Ty Lee, guarded from behind by Sokka and Aang, to the room, sat back down immediately upon entering, and continued ignoring them all.

The last thing Sokka saw before Toph fused the walls together to lock them inside was a worried look on Ty LeeÆs face.

 

[Nugar]

When it came down to it, it was just a matter of timing. Azula hadnÆt managed to catch up to the escaping prisoners until theyÆd already made it to the rim of the crater and were hijacking a war balloon. So sheÆd never gotten an option to try something like having the lines cut to kill them all, she had to do it personally.

Which she was almost certainly capable of doing, by the simple matter of using a big lighting strike to destroy the balloon.

Except why was Mai dangling from underneath it, holding on to one of the mooring lines?

ôMAI! What are you doing! Get out of the way!ö Azula yelled.

Even though Mai was twenty feet above her and rising swiftly, she could still see the shrug, and hear the barely audible, utterly resigned reply of, ôI canÆt let you kill him, Azula.ö

Of course, then Ty Lee managed the highest jump of her life and grabbed onto the line as well, presumably to save Mai.

With enemies escaping and taking her girls with them, she couldnÆt just stand there. So she made her own jump, suitably powered by the rushing heat of her blue flame.

And then she was dangling from the line hanging from the war balloon. For a moment, everything seemed frozen, and she almost hoped theyÆd reached the carrying capacity, but then, as Zuko poured forth the flame inside the cabin, it began to rise again.

Soon they were too high for even her to fall safely.

Mai might prefer to stay in roughly one spot and throw knives at people, but she was as athletic as the others, and quickly climbed into the cabin. Ty Lee and Azula joined her soon after.

Then Azula was made aware of the perfidy of her two most trusted associates.

It turned out Mai was actually on ZukoÆs side! To the point she actually refused a direct order to move aside and allow Azula to roast his spleen. And then when she was gonna blast them anyway, despite the fact that there was a sword at her throat, a strong man behind her, and that even if she succeeded sheÆd just end up killing them all as the balloon was torn apart in mid air, Ty Lee had the NERVE to chi block her and leave her laying impotently on the floor!

There was some anger at this point, and entirely justified in her opinion. She didnÆt rant long. Azula was never able to get up a really good head of steam when she couldnÆt blast things at the same time, so pretty soon she was just chained up with prisoner manacles in the corner, planning her next move.

She was NOT sulking, thank you very much.

She was, admittedly, very, very mad.

 

[daniel_gudman]

So... a divergence fic, right?

Hmm. Color me interested.

 

[Raven]

It is always good to see updates from you, but I kind of feel it is too early to give a lot of constructive criticism. There was one thing that felt off to me, and I couldn't put my finger on it until I glanced over some of your other stories. The thing about People Lie, Anything and Everything, etc is that they have a very strong voice. Scenes are dominated by a specific character and their feelings, such as Hanabi's desperation, Kyuubi's malicious humor, etc.

With the scenes you have posted thus far, there really isn't a voice. It seems more of a tell, not show, even in the second scene, where you are describing Azula's feelings and actions, there isn't the sort of atmosphere in your other stories.

Example:

Hanabi kicked hard at the water.

Too hard.

Water sprayed in a sheet out from the sole of her bare foot, and after a short distance, the surface tension would condense it to little spheres. Each droplet randomly sloshed back and forth in slow motion in the heightened vision of her byakugan, as if part of it strained to be free from the rest, yet could not escape.

From the beginning, you get a sense of the frustration and impotence Hanabi feels. It isn't something that we need to be told, but something that the imagery manages to convey. If you could add more of that to this story, it would help out a lot with the atmosphere.

 

[Nugar]

Azula doesn't know what she's feeling yet, honestly.

I think a lot of her final issues in the series could have been averted if she'd had someone with the power to sit her ass down and force her to deal with her issues before they got too big for her.

One, she basically risks everything to bring her brother back. So don't tell me she doesn't care for him.

And then he leaves. No thank you, no note for her, ONLY a note for Mai...

I'd be kinda irritated, too. And we never really see her initial reaction. I bet she was kinda sad, and upset, and then covered it up with the old scorn and heartlessness. And rage.

And maybe going RAWR and trying to kill him, or have him killed, wasn't the best way to handle that. But it's clearly what she did.

And then Mai and Ty Lee appear to betray her, too, just like Zuko JUST DID. When she's already feeling kinda lonely and abandoned and what not.

Fortunately, she doesn't kill them, she just throws them in jail. Maybe someday she would have got over it and let them out. But before she had a chance to, her world collapsed around her and she went nuts.

Whoops.

This is more an idea that, with a different set of crucial events for her, she maybe could have overcome all that.

She still hasn't quite faced it yet, though. She's rational enough to realize that just unleashing the psycho bitch hellbeast within isn't what she should do, but it's still what she WANTS to do. So she's having trouble moving on to figuring out what she should be doing.

It'll come, in time.

 

[Tsuki_CB]

I knew epicness was around the corner.

Raven pretty much covered what I was going to say, except the whole bring Zuko home thing, which I agree with Nugar didn't jive entirely with her heartless attitude. We already know that Azula regrets not being closer to her mother, the fact she didn't seem surprised at seeing said mother in her mirror also raises some questions about the delicate state her sanity is in.

 

[Rakeesh]

Divergence is cool and all, but I'm thinking...when did Azula 'risk everything' to bring her brother back? Wasn't her one and only attempt to retrieve him in canon effectively a ruse to bring him - and Iroh - back as prisoners, quite possibly to face a gruesome fate?

 

[grant]

Azula doesn't know what she's feeling yet, honestly.

I think a lot of her final issues in the series could have been averted if she'd had someone with the power to sit her ass down and force her to deal with her issues before they got too big for her.

One, she basically risks everything to bring her brother back. So don't tell me she doesn't care for him.

And then he leaves. No thank you, no note for her, ONLY a note for Mai...

I'd be kinda irritated, too. And we never really see her initial reaction. I bet she was kinda sad, and upset, and then covered it up with the old scorn and heartlessness. And rage.

And maybe going RAWR and trying to kill him, or have him killed, wasn't the best way to handle that. But it's clearly what she did.

And then Mai and Ty Lee appear to betray her, too, just like Zuko JUST DID. When she's already feeling kinda lonely and abandoned and what not.

Fortunately, she doesn't kill them, she just throws them in jail. Maybe someday she would have got over it and let them out. But before she had a chance to, her world collapsed around her and she went nuts.

Whoops.

This is more an idea that, with a different set of crucial events for her, she maybe could have overcome all that.

She still hasn't quite faced it yet, though. She's rational enough to realize that just unleashing the psycho bitch hellbeast within isn't what she should do, but it's still what she WANTS to do. So she's having trouble moving on to figuring out what she should be doing.

It'll come, in time.

I always read Ty Lee/Mai's actions as having much more of an effect on her. With Zuko she was more than willing to hunt him down and bring him back in chains/dead. She did fake the record to give him the credit for the Avatar, but stated that it was so that if the Avatar survived he'd get the blame. If you want to make her closer to her brother, I think you'd need to put in a divergence even further back (i.e. Azula blames her father for Ursa not loving her).

 

[Tsuki_CB]

Not really. Azula does give that excuse...but it was kinda week. It wouldn't have been an excuse at all if the Katara hadn't had the spirit water. They had all the reasons to believe the Avatar dead. You could make the argument that she let Zuko come back so she could keep Mai loyal, but that seems kinda far of a stretch since it means giving up her chance at the throne.

What I'm getting at is that there is enough there to look at it the way Nugar is choosing to.

 

[Himitsu the Hunter]

Ah, this was good.

I do agree with the assessment of Azula's actions toward her Brother as the implied threat seemed more of a... this is how i am... kinda thing for her considering just how betrayed she seemed by Zuko turning on her, rather than having calculated for it.

As such i really do like where its headed.


With that said... About Sokka's INSANE TROLL LOGIC... that made my eyes cross looking at it. lol.
Ty-Lee seems to me to be exaggerating her usual level of happy skippiness for some reason, and i like the implications of that. (And if she actually IS that happy and skippy here... I worry for HER sanity. heh)

 

[Da-Guru]

Nugar, you may proceed.

 

[Fellow Sufferer]

It would be cool if you managed to make Azula visit Sun Warriors, dragons and all, maybe learn a bit from them. It won't really jive with the whole 'half-mad prisoner waiting for a chance/reason to escape' part, but it would be cool.

 

[Nemi]

Azula is a hard character to get a handle on, on one hand, she has classic signs of sociopathy, on the other hand she can feel emotional hurt, love, etc. So I long ago came to the conclusion that while people on earth are born with the neurological problems that cause antisocial personality disorder and sociopathy, Azula was instead becoming one.

You've seemed to have found the goldilocks zone for her, I'm not cringing and going OOC! Nor am I turned off by her crazy--possibly because she's tied up and thus can't do anything to squick me.

 

[Nugar]

It would be cool if you managed to make Azula visit Sun Warriors, dragons and all, maybe learn a bit from them. It won't really jive with the whole 'half-mad prisoner waiting for a chance/reason to escape' part, but it would be cool.

I was actually strongly thinking of trying to come up with a way to send her with Katara instead of Zuko when Katara went to confront her mother's killer, and had the whole bloodbending moral crisis.

Because you know Azula would be like, YEAH! Yeah! Kill his ass! It'll make you feel better!

 

[Halcyon7]

It would be cool if you managed to make Azula visit Sun Warriors, dragons and all, maybe learn a bit from them. It won't really jive with the whole 'half-mad prisoner waiting for a chance/reason to escape' part, but it would be cool.

I was actually strongly thinking of trying to come up with a way to send her with Katara instead of Zuko when Katara went to confront her mother's killer, and had the whole bloodbending moral crisis.

Because you know Azula would be like, YEAH! Yeah! Kill his ass! It'll make you feel better!

I'm pretty sure that at least 96% of Avatar can be vastly improved with more Azula-logic. Example : Finding out Jet's plan.

Jet : So I'm going to destroy the Fire Nation soldiers, even if I have to take the villagers with them!

Aang : No! That's inhum-

Azula : FUCK YEAH! Now that is what I call the right attitude for vengeance. Finally some revolutionaries with some balls. Are you free later tonight?

 

[alpha zulu]

Interesting ideas, all.

Tell me, do you have any plans to have one of the group (perhaps Sokka, given his history) visit the desert for some of that delicious, quenchy cactus juice to give Azula?



That would either cure her or make her more of a headcase than she already is.

Glad to see this idea hitting the light of the Web.

 

[Himitsu the Hunter]

... I just got the image of Kitara with a little Azula on her shoulder cheering her on for the blood bending, with a beat up looking Aang, head to the floor, groaning on the other.

 

[zeebee1]

Azula did risk a lot to bring Zuko home. She might up a story of how Aang was defeated. But despite the fact that her mission was to capture or kill Aang she came home without him. And her story would have crumbled apart the moment Ozai found out Aang was alive. And Ozai would know that Azula lied to him.

 

[Da-Guru]

Well, I really don't think that Azula stands much of a chance. She's genre savvy, but also wrong genre savvy. She thinks she's in a much darker world than she is. But based on her raising, it does seem that way. But she's wrong. She doesn't realize that in her world, the villain can only win temporarily. They can win battles, but not the war. They never stood a chance. When even the damn mystic turtle dudes are against your war, you're through.

 

[alpha zulu]

Well, I really don't think that Azula stands much of a chance. She's genre savvy, but also wrong genre savvy. She thinks she's in a much darker world than she is. But based on her raising, it does seem that way. But she's wrong. She doesn't realize that in her world, the villain can only win temporarily. They can win battles, but not the war. They never stood a chance. When even the damn mystic turtle dudes are against your war, you're through.

You are aware that Azula is not interested in the war as such - only in what she can get out of the war, right?

If her father wins, she would kill her father to take over. If her father loses - as she seems to suspect he will toward the second half of the Fire arc - then she would logically switch to salvage mode to gain what she can from the collapse of the war.

How would she do that, realistically speaking? Well, for starters, she would need to distance herself from the losing side. How about spin herself as an unwilling underling who did what she did more for a sense of familial obligation than for bloodlust? Or maybe as the better alternative for leader than her brother after her father gets what is coming to him?

She is playing as much a political game as she is a military one all through the series. If her father weren't such a maniacial head-case, he would have realized what was going on earlier. Even as a little girl, she was a schemeing bitch, and it only got worse with age, it seems.

In all honesty, the Avatar team is pretty much helpless if the fight shifts to the political side of things. Why? Because they just don't know enough about how real politics work in the world, while Azula DOES. Note how she took down the Earth Kingdom capital with ONLY herself and her two flunkies. And she did it without PERSONALLY dirtying her hands fighting. Political maneuvering can be a powerful tool, after all, and the Avatar and his group of heros are laughably incapable of realizing that due to many reasons.

Yes, Sokka and Katara's father and uncle have SOME grasp of it, but the only one in the group who REALLY 'gets it' is Iroh. He tried to teach Zuko, but the fucker just wouldn't learn. Azula, it would seem, is a MUCH better student.

So, Azula would find this situation to be to her advantage. She is in a position to leverage events to her advantage, provided she uses the RIGHT approach. And she even has her two flunkies with her, so she is actually in a pretty good place to begin lining up events AFTER her father gets his. Really, she would quickly realize that her situation has only improved no matter WHICH way it plays out.

Avatar and team wins: she can play along for the last five minutes of the game and walk away with a nice prize - ranging from Fire Lord (if she can undermine her brother enough to convince the others that she would be a better ruler than he would) to at least a general or maybe the head of the Fire Nation military or Firebenders.

If her father wins, well, her traitor brother kidnapped her, and she did all she could to weaken the Avatar's group and undermine their plans (that is how she would tell it in this event), and she could PROBABLY end up with Aang's or Zuko's head to bolster the claim if necessary so she could realistically find herself Fire Lord under her father's Phoenix Emporer scheme, but at the LEAST she would have a high position in the new order.

For her, her situation is win/win - the only question is how she will maneuver herself into position and move the others into the positions she wants them to be in to give her what she wants (or even just feels is her due).

The biggest risk she faces is that she will find herself...UGH!...BONDING with the Avatar group like her brother.

 

[clockworkchaos]

Well, I really don't think that Azula stands much of a chance.á She's genre savvy, but also wrong genre savvy.á She thinks she's in a much darker world than she is.á But based on her raising, it does seem that way.á But she's wrong.á She doesn't realize that in her world, the villain can only win temporarily.á They can win battles, but not the war.á They never stood a chance.á When even the damn mystic turtle dudes are against your war, you're through.

You are aware that Azula is not interested in the war as such - only in what she can get out of the war, right?

If her father wins, she would kill her father to take over. If her father loses - as she seems to suspect he will toward the second half of the Fire arc - then she would logically switch to salvage mode to gain what she can from the collapse of the war.

I disagree. That stance was defensible pre-season three, but looking post DoBS/comet it's not realistic.

First, on the DoBS she had the means and opportunity to kill Ozai. If she had wanted to take control of the Fire Nation it would have been easy. His Firebending was out, simply send the Dai Li to assassinate them (something that shouldn't be hard). Then blame it on whatever party you want; earth kingdom infiltrators, the avatar, heck if she made sure the body wasn't to closely examined before creamation (not something that should be hard for her) she could even have it by Zuko. Instead she went out to face the avatar with no bending in order to buy her father time.

Secondly, in the finale it's clear that Azula value's her father. Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal may have started her madness, but it was her father's rejection that sent her spiraling off the edge. If she was simply waiting for a chance to take over, she wouldn't have been so distressed by him not allowing her to go with him, not would it have sent her spiraling further. Azula may be a manipulative little bitch, but the finale shows that she at least valued her father. Azula isn't just in it for power, she wants her father's approval, (the line "you can't treat me like Zuko" is fairly telling).

 

[Azrael]

4 mouse clicks away indeed.

Good show Nugar. :mmm:

 

[zeebee1]

This story is about the fact that Azula is crazy and that there are consequences for her actions. She's not just going to take over. It might happen, but she has to lose some of the crazy first.

 

[alpha zulu]

I disagree. That stance was defensible pre-season three, but looking post DoBS/comet it's not realistic.

First, on the DoBS she had the means and opportunity to kill Ozai. If she had wanted to take control of the Fire Nation it would have been easy. His Firebending was out, simply send the Dai Li to assassinate them (something that shouldn't be hard). Then blame it on whatever party you want; earth kingdom infiltrators, the avatar, heck if she made sure the body wasn't to closely examined before creamation (not something that should be hard for her) she could even have it by Zuko. Instead she went out to face the avatar with no bending in order to buy her father time.

Secondly, in the finale it's clear that Azula value's her father. Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal may have started her madness, but it was her father's rejection that sent her spiraling off the edge. If she was simply waiting for a chance to take over, she wouldn't have been so distressed by him not allowing her to go with him, not would it have sent her spiraling further. Azula may be a manipulative little bitch, but the finale shows that she at least valued her father. Azula isn't just in it for power, she wants her father's approval, (the line "you can't treat me like Zuko" is fairly telling).

I don't buy that arguement about her 'facing the Avatar without firebending to buy her father time'.

Why?

Because she FLAT OUT TOLD THE GROUP where her father was, and at NO POINT did she try to STOP them from going after him. All she did was toy with them - like a cat with a mouse. That is NOT 'facing' the Avatar. She wanted the Avatar and the rebels captured for her OWN ends.

Her reasons for not killing her father then was most likely and logically that she understood the potential in allowing him to run free FOR THE MOMENT. Politics is a nasty game based on the LOWEST HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

Consider this:

She has control of the Dai Li, but only has a handful of agents with her. Her father KNOWS they work for her. Furthermore, her father is trying to become the ruler of all the nations. Her father is VERY unpopular in MANY places - including within the Fire Nation.

How would she turn that to her advantage?

How about by doing nothing (or close to nothing) while her father deals with the messy and unpleasant task of conquering the world and handling the avatar, saving her strength and resources until AFTER he has solidified his position enough to name her Fire Lord and to set up the governance channels - not the GOVERNMENT, mind you, just the CHANNELS - before he succumbs to a tragic and unforseen accident, leaving her the last one standing and next in line for the Ruler of the World title.

Why would that be the logical way?

Because it would make sure SHE was far less likely to have a tragic and senseless accident (of someone else's makings). By letting her father do the work and make the enemies, she sets herself up to be the 'Liberating Hero' as it were to the nations.

SHE gave her father the plan to torch the Earth kingdom from the air, but HE was all to happy to claim full credit, so history would paint HIM as the tyrant and war monger and everthing else vile and evil, while she hid in the shadows until it was time to collect on her investment. Remember what Iroh said to Zuko about there being no point to him taking the throne of Fire Nation from his brother? Same thing.

This is similar to the way that REAL history plays out time and again. Politics is more about image and spin as truth and fact.

I won't say that the argument about her wanting her father's approval is without merit in canon, but in the situation that Nugar is working with, it is immaterial.

Even in canon, while she does want her father's approval, her issues go much deeper than doing all that to seek his favor. She comes across wanting more than favor or recognition. She wants everyone to FEAR her - even her father. The reason is likely that her mental condition and childhood have scarred her to the point where - as she said in several episodes, 'fear is the only way to reliably control people' and 'my own mother thought I was a monster. She was right of course,'.

In the end, even if her father had told her he loved her, she wouldn't have been able to accept that, which makes a pretty good mess of her 'daddy, acknowledge me!' argument.

 

[clockworkchaos]

I disagree. That stance was defensible pre-season three, but looking post DoBS/comet it's not realistic.

First, on the DoBS she had the means and opportunity to kill Ozai. If she had wanted to take control of the Fire Nation it would have been easy. His Firebending was out, simply send the Dai Li to assassinate them (something that shouldn't be hard). Then blame it on whatever party you want; earth kingdom infiltrators, the avatar, heck if she made sure the body wasn't to closely examined before creamation (not something that should be hard for her) she could even have it by Zuko. Instead she went out to face the avatar with no bending in order to buy her father time.

Secondly, in the finale it's clear that Azula value's her father. Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal may have started her madness, but it was her father's rejection that sent her spiraling off the edge. If she was simply waiting for a chance to take over, she wouldn't have been so distressed by him not allowing her to go with him, not would it have sent her spiraling further. Azula may be a manipulative little bitch, but the finale shows that she at least valued her father. Azula isn't just in it for power, she wants her father's approval, (the line "you can't treat me like Zuko" is fairly telling).

I don't buy that arguement about her 'facing the Avatar without firebending to buy her father time'.

Why?

Because she FLAT OUT TOLD THE GROUP where her father was, and at NO POINT did she try to STOP them from going after him. All she did was toy with them - like a cat with a mouse. That is NOT 'facing' the Avatar. She wanted the Avatar and the rebels captured for her OWN ends.

She told them right after the firebending was back on. After the danger had passed. Furthermore, she had a sword to her neck either.
1) She had a good enough grasp of the group's psychology, that she was utterly confident she knew what they would do. Ergo she knew they would retreat even after she told them, and did it simply to taunt them.
2) She wasn't able to entirely predict their actions. Ergo, she was risking her life in order to delay just long enough to get the firebending back on.

Her reasons for not killing her father then was most likely and logically that she understood the potential in allowing him to run free FOR THE MOMENT.á Politics is a nasty game based on the LOWEST HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

Consider this:

She has control of the Dai Li, but only has a handful of agents with her.á Her father KNOWS they work for her.á Furthermore, her father is trying to become the ruler of all the nations.á Her father is VERY unpopular in MANY places - including within the Fire Nation.

Capslocked WORDS, in RANDOM PLACES do not an argument MAKE.

SHE gave her father the plan to torch the Earth kingdom from the air, but HE was all to happy to claim full credit, so history would paint HIM as the tyrant and war monger and everthing else vile and evil, while she hid in the shadows until it was time to collect on her investment.á Remember what Iroh said to Zuko about there being no point to him taking the throne of Fire Nation from his brother?á Same thing.

Then why was her entire point of distress in the finale the fact that he wouldn't let her come with him? If she wanted to paint him as a tyrant, wouldn't it have been more useful to... I don't know, not freak out over being left behind.

Even in canon, while she does want her father's approval, her issues go much deeper than doing all that to seek his favor.á She comes across wanting more than favor or recognition.á She wants everyone to FEAR her - even her father.á The reason is likely that her mental condition and childhood have scarred her to the point where - as she said in several episodes, 'fear is the only way to reliably control people' and 'my own mother thought I was a monster.á She was right of course,'.

Please point to anything, anywhere in canon that remotely indicates she wants her father to fear her. Her general musings about people do not count, since she displays different actions towards her father than everyone else.

Furthermore, this argument is inconsistent. First you talk about how Azula wants to "look good". Yes you also argue point out that she thinks the only way to control people is through fear. These two things are mutually incompatible. It also shots another hole in your argument, as Azula in canon has never, ever shown any inclination towards looking good/nice.