skillzyo asked: 6. Favorite Female Villain

Oh man, I have a lot! There’s my recent villain love for Cora Mills, there’s Katherine Pierce, there’s the ambiguous greyness of Tess Mercer but I think the favorite female villain who stands head and shoulder above the rest for me is Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

I even RP’d her in Fandom High once, I had a blast playing her. These days most villains are woobified but Azula was never this. We know her reasons for being the way she is but it was never justified as an excuse or a means to pity her but to learn of her motivations.

I love how she’s so competent at what she does and she accomplished at 14 what her great grandfather, grandfather, uncle and father failed to do: Conquer Ba Sing-Se bloodlessly.

She isn’t nice. She holds the values her father taught her close to her. She is a weapon but, in the end, she was also just a child.

tagged → #skillzyo #meme sheep #Azula
shorelle: Fire cannot kill a dragon.

shorelle:

Fire cannot kill a dragon.

themelonlordapproves: slightly-fanatic: Look at her eyes. She’s terrified. She’s just talked back to her father for what is probably the first time in years, and she has no idea what’s going to happen next. All that she know is what happened the last time something like this happened-and she can’t imagine anything worse. All her life, Azula’s world has rested on the knowledge that no matter what may happen, at least she is better than Zuko. At least her father knows she’s special. And now her father has pulled both of those facts out from under her in an instant, brushing her aside like she doesn’t matter. And if neither of these stone-ground truths, things that she built her whole life upon, are true any longer, than what is left? Who is she, when all of her self-worth has crumbled?  What’s going to happen? Just… YES. I feel like too many people ignore this aspect of her breakdown.  People focus a lot on the betrayal of Ty Lee (and to a lesser extent, Mai) and on her complicated mess of emotions regarding her mother, because that stuff is obvious. But all of that stuff was just setting up the house of cards. Ozai was the one who blew it down. See, the whole thing about why Azula isn’t too keen on Iroh stems from the fact that Iroh very clearly neither understood nor appreciated her as a child. During the siege of Ba Sing Se, he sent Zuko a thoughtful, appropriate present that Iroh knew he would love, and he sent Azula… a doll. In Azula’s mind, it was as good as saying “Even though you’re smarter and more talented than your brother, you’re not as worthy. I don’t love you as much or care about you enough to get you a present you’ll actually like. You’re the second child, you’re a girl, you’re not as important. Here, little girl, sit quietly in your corner. Go play with your dolly.” And years later, when she’s done everything, given everything, to her father because he assigned her worth on account of her prodigious skill, because he actually valued her for something, all she wants is for all that she’s worked for to be acknowledged. She’s ready to reap the fruits of her labor and stand proud by her father’s side. She’s pinned all her hopes and dreams on this exact moment. This is when she’s finally going to get the thing that’s going to validate her entire existence. But then… then Ozai says no. He turns her away. And when she protests, he tosses her the crown as a consolation prize. Despite his self-appointment as the Phoenix King rendering the title of Fire Lord worthless, he pawns it off on her to shut her up. “Here, little girl. Go play with your dolly.”

themelonlordapproves:

slightly-fanatic:

Look at her eyes. She’s terrified. She’s just talked back to her father for what is probably the first time in years, and she has no idea what’s going to happen next. All that she know is what happened the last time something like this happened-and she can’t imagine anything worse.

All her life, Azula’s world has rested on the knowledge that no matter what may happen, at least she is better than Zuko. At least her father knows she’s special. And now her father has pulled both of those facts out from under her in an instant, brushing her aside like she doesn’t matter. And if neither of these stone-ground truths, things that she built her whole life upon, are true any longer, than what is left? Who is she, when all of her self-worth has crumbled? 

What’s going to happen?

Just… YES.

I feel like too many people ignore this aspect of her breakdown.  People focus a lot on the betrayal of Ty Lee (and to a lesser extent, Mai) and on her complicated mess of emotions regarding her mother, because that stuff is obvious.

But all of that stuff was just setting up the house of cards. Ozai was the one who blew it down.

See, the whole thing about why Azula isn’t too keen on Iroh stems from the fact that Iroh very clearly neither understood nor appreciated her as a child. During the siege of Ba Sing Se, he sent Zuko a thoughtful, appropriate present that Iroh knew he would love, and he sent Azula… a doll. In Azula’s mind, it was as good as saying “Even though you’re smarter and more talented than your brother, you’re not as worthy. I don’t love you as much or care about you enough to get you a present you’ll actually like. You’re the second child, you’re a girl, you’re not as important. Here, little girl, sit quietly in your corner. Go play with your dolly.”

And years later, when she’s done everything, given everything, to her father because he assigned her worth on account of her prodigious skill, because he actually valued her for something, all she wants is for all that she’s worked for to be acknowledged. She’s ready to reap the fruits of her labor and stand proud by her father’s side. She’s pinned all her hopes and dreams on this exact moment. This is when she’s finally going to get the thing that’s going to validate her entire existence.

But then… then Ozai says no. He turns her away. And when she protests, he tosses her the crown as a consolation prize. Despite his self-appointment as the Phoenix King rendering the title of Fire Lord worthless, he pawns it off on her to shut her up.

“Here, little girl. Go play with your dolly.”

the rise and fall

the rise and fall

Almost is not good enough

Almost is not good enough

She was lucky to begin with. He was lucky to be dealt.

She was lucky to begin with. He was lucky to be dealt.