Atla Maiko - Blog Posts

As a Mai x Zuko shipper, I am furious that they broke up in the comic, like what??? It makes no sense if you actually watched the show.

As a Mai x Ty Lee shipper...I'm okay with it.

He would tho... He is that type of boyfriend

mai: I really like strawberries

zuko: oh..

(Next day)

Mai: …zuko did u just buy the whole market’s strawberries?

My girl katara deserves the best of the best!

While I don't participate in shipwars (multishipper) i have always noticed how it is always is aang better for katara or zuko? it is never who is better for zuko mai or katara ?

Are we really still having Kataang/Zutara shipping war debates in 2024? Like I sort of thought we all agreed collectively that Zukka is the only real option.

Ah yes. Me. My boyfriend. And his 500 pound nine foot long baby dragon.

forever obsessed with this being an official illustration

To the non-maikos it’s always: mai and zuko boring. mai and zuko no passion. maiko only based on logistics. people only like maiko bc it’s canon.

To me it’s: mai and zuko share a cultural background which helps them empathize with each other. mai and zuko have a deep understanding about how the other was raised. mai and zuko take comfort in each other because of that. mai and zuko fit like puzzle pieces. mai calm and is his peace. zuko passionate and brings out her inner fire. mai and zuko are each others safe spaces. mai and zuko both made mistakes during the war and need to grow from it. mai and zuko have Fire nation roots and therefore have experiences that help them envision a better nation. mai and zuko team.

in another life, maybe it was you and me, maybe there we loved each other right

there is a serious lack of discussion about how mai is zuko’s safe space. we see this in their first appearance together (that’s not a flashback). when mai asks him a simple question, “aren’t you cold?” and zuko, who has a hard time opening up and expressing emotions that aren’t anger or angst, freely and openly starts to tell her his worries about going back to the fire nation. and while people love to chastise mai on her reply, “I just asked if you were cold, I didn’t ask for your whole life story”, I think they misunderstand her approach to this. zuko is worrying and overthinking about something he cannot change, something that will only drive him crazy and she tries to distract him with a joke. and it might fall flat, but she realises this and suddenly she is comforting him with her touch. her hand reaching out so casually towards scar like it’s not a big deal, because it’s not. they’ve known each other for a long time, they’ve grown up together and their relationship was a long time coming. and zuko leans into her hand, and her kiss, without thinking twice about it. because mai is familiar, and mai is comfort and that can be seen when you contrast it to song’s attempting at touch his scar, and how quickly he was to stop her. but it’s not only this moment that showcases mai as his safe space, but also when he’s back in the fire nation. when he’s stressed out and going through a tumultuous time, not knowing what’s right and wrong or what he should do next, it’s mai he goes to. we see this in “nightmares and daydreams” when he spends all day at her house, when he can’t stand being in the palace anymore, mai and her house and her bedroom is his safe space. and here we see her trying to comfort him, trying to say the war meeting is stupid, it would be be boring anyway, and shall we go for a ride around town? it’ll be fun… and even though he’s still sad, he goes back to her house on the day of the war meeting and she’s making him tea. and even when he does get invited to the all day war meeting, she goes to the palace with him and waits for him all day, to see if it went well and to comfort him if it didn’t. when he says that it was everything he thought wanted it to be, she’s immediately happy for him, reaching out to touch him with a smile on her face. mai is who zuko feels safe and comfortable around, even in his vulnerable moments and it’s something we should talk about.

azula is a maiko shipper prove me wrong

commission for @mai-fruit-tarts

THEY’RE SO AWKWARD I’M CRYING

Enjoy the silence. by *viria13

AGGHHHH IM ADDICTED TO THEM

i got commissioned to draw my beautiful parents ☆ commissions info here! ☆

so tired of people rushing their relationship. they’re getting back together either way and it’s best for mai and zuko to take their time.

Ashes of the Academy is on point about Mai and Zuko not being back together yet mostly because the comic takes place around a year after Smoke and Shadow. And the writer of Smoke and Shadow did say they will get together again after three years after Smoke and Shadow right? that means 2 years after Ashes of the Academy. I personally loved seeing Mai's development and her chosen career for the future. It sounds cute being Izumi's teacher at the academy and teasing her.

I do want a comic about them getting back together though. Maybe if there is a Zuko movie? or comic it doesn't matter. they do need to conclude the Fire Nation and Azula's arc.

zuko making up for his past mistakes in his relationship with mai. everything is basically set for them to begin their relationship again after a while and y’all say they won’t be endgame 🤦‍♀️

well, Ashes of The Academy was such a nice read. this part in particular stayed with me because it reminded me of their argument during the Beach episode and looked at them now learning to trust and resolve their disagreements in a healthy way 😚

Of course, this is the generation that will lead the Fire Nation down a better path.

Now I wish we had more of this. a whole series of Mai continuing to find her purpose. Starting first with teaching and then perhaps other aspects of Fire Nation society too.

the last but no the least alta power couple, completing the series ~

love them all 💚💙🧡

Mai and Azula – Twin Snakes

ASHES OF THE ACADEMY MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD UNDER THE CUT

The main theme explored in Ashes of the Academy is how censorship and toxic nationalist values are imposed upon the young girls of the Royal Fire Academy, and how it impacts their relationships with each other. The main relationship that is explored here is the friendship between Mai and Azula, who in my opinion, have one of the most underrated and nuanced relationships in the whole show. Two girls on the wrong side of the war with different motivations. Mai’s ultimate betrayal of Azula at the Boiling Rock has surprised and perplexed viewers for years, and I think Ashes of the Academy *tries* to shine a little bit of light into their complex and murky relationship, and also seems to point towards a bigger plot for Azula.

Whether or not Mai and Azula were ever friends is something that keeps me up at night. Some fans over the years have guessed that Mai’s father, Ukano, is the main reason that Mai is part of Azula’s inner circle-- something that is confirmed in Ashes.

Ukano is the one who pressures Mai into this friendship despite her reservations. Azula’s cruel actions are immediately off-putting to Mai, but she obeys her father. They don’t really become “friends,” but rather, Mai’s knife throwing abilities recommend her to Azula as an asset. In my opinion, they both seem well aware of the circumstances surrounding their “friendship.”

After that we see a few instances of Azula being cruel to their other friends, and her manipulation eventually results in two girls having an Agni Kai. Mai initially believes that the fight won’t happen because Hong and Peijing (the other girls) are friends, and that the headmistresses will interfere and put a stop to the fighting—which they do not.

Once the fight is over, the headmistress asks the girls what the takeaway lesson is, and this is Azula’s response.

These flashbacks show us that in hindsight, Mai and Azula were destined to have a rocky friendship because of the values they learned at the Royal Fire Academy. (DOOMED FROM THE START I’M SICK) Do I think this means they were never friends? No. Personally, I think it would be impossible to hang out with someone for so many years and not have any meaningful moments together. I think they were friends to a certain degree, but did not hold deep affection and care for each other. But honestly between both of their emotional repression it can be hard to tell. I’ve gone back and forth over it a lot. They’re both clever, and I think were aware that their friendship was always going to be weakened by the fact that it’s based on their ulterior motives. This results in the events of The Boiling Rock and Azula’s eventual paranoid breakdown.

Not only are the girls a product of the academy, but they are a product of their HORRIBLE fathers. Ukano and Ozai are the ultimate orchestrators, and I see too many criticisms projected onto the girls rather than these absolute rats. Their fathers mold them into an extremely harmful pairing.

We see Ukano intimidating Mai into obedience by telling her she needs to befriend powerful people for her protection. He teaches her to comply with those in power.

Ozai on the other hand has a lot of political, military, and firebending power that he uses against people. Wielding power is a behavior he teaches and REQUIRES of Azula.

Mai is taught to comply with power, Azula is taught how to use it. They are both manipulated by their fathers, and are both products of the Fire Nation and the Royal Academy for Girls. So how have they ended up in such different places?

First, Ozai is leaps and bounds worse than Ukano. Ukano is a cowardly little rat man, but is nowhere near Ozai’s level of cruelty and abuse. We see how he treats Zuko and Azula. We are shown throughout the show how evil of a man he is. Azula has much deeper wounds, and has a much longer journey back to redemption.

Secondly, and most importantly, Mai has Zuko (and Ty Lee!). Whether you ship Maiko or not, whether you think they’re endgame or not, it is canonically true that at one point they really cared about each other. It always frustrates me when people claim that “Mai never really feared Azula” because it completely undermines the intentions of both Mai AND Azula. Mai IS afraid of and intimidated by Azula, because she’s been taught to be. Azula DOES want Mai to be afraid of her, because fear and power are her insurance against betrayal. When Mai ultimately decides that her love for Zuko is more powerful AND more important than her fear of Azula, everything crumbles. In my opinion, this is Mai’s revelation and her turning point. This is the act that mentally breaks her out of the toxicity of the Fire Nation, the Academy, and her relationship with Azula. I think Ty Lee saving her by betraying Azula in turn immediately reinforces this revelation, because she sees firsthand how true friendship (or love for my MaiLee shippers out there!) can overcome fear.

For Azula on the other hand, this is her undoing. She always tried to be powerful and fearsome so that she would always be able to overcome anyone who betrayed her. In my opinion, the actual act of being betrayed by Mai is not what shocks Azula, but rather the pain it causes her. The fact that she has spent her whole life trying to grow powerful and fearsome enough to be above the possibility and pain of betrayal and ultimately fails?? This leads to her unravelling. The power and values instilled in her are not enough to protect her from pain, even though they seemed to be enough before. There’s also the compounding betrayals of her mother, father, Iroh, Zuko, and pretty much everyone else that destroy her. Azula analysis is so complex I can’t even begin to do it justice here. I am depending and COUNTING ON a good Azula story in the future because she is so tragic and is overdue for her story.

Between the two, I think Mai is simply luckier with her circumstances and relationships. To me, this parallels Zuko’s relationship with Azula as well. He is able to learn and heal because he had Iroh, and I think the same can be said for Mai. To me, that is why she can accept these new values and have a desire for change much quicker than Azula. Do I think her changed worldview absolves her of wrongdoing? NOOOOOO!!! Despite the material that’s given to her, Mai is a complex character who is unlearning years of compliance and deeply instilled values. Not many people have ever really valued her as a person, and she is coping (badly) with the effects of that. Ukano’s involvement does not free her from blame, and I think Mai herself is still wrestling with her past actions. By agreeing to be a teacher, she is trying to help undo the harm that she caused, and the harm that was done to her.

The story has a hopeful ending with Mai finding something that gives her a sense of intrinsic fulfillment and value. Something that will hopefully help her heal from years of being used by other people. I can only hope Azula’s turn will be next.

Overall, I think Ashes of the Academy was trying to give us insight into several of the other factors that shaped Mai’s and Azula’s friendship, which it does… to a certain extent. In my opinion, all of the grace extended to Mai in this comic is grace that should also be extended to Azula in future material. I am deeply hopeful that they are trying to set up an eventual redemption for Azula, although the path is rocky so far, and they seem determined to heap tragedy on Azula with every new comic. Ashes takes several unnecessary whacks at Azula in my opinion, and then on the next page is soft on Mai. I can’t tell if this is on purpose and they are doing Azula SO dirty, or if the comments about her are coming off harsher than intended.

All things considered; I enjoyed the comic, but I think it really only scratches the surface. The Mai/Azula puzzle is very captivating to me and is one that I’ll probably think about until the end of time. Their relationship is twisted, and they’ve both caused extremely deep harm to each other. They’re both secretive and calculated, and their stories mirror each other’s in many ways. I think there’s SO much to explore there, but the comic barely takes us there. Mai is a more nuanced character than people give her credit for, and I wish that the comic went a little deeper. But considering that normally we never get Mai content… it was hard not to be excited about any content for her.

Welp we're definitely getting more fire nation food in the future 😂 they are cooking something with Azula, Ty Lee, Mai and Zuko.

People really try and say Katara is Izumi’s mom like honey?? That baby looks nothing like Katara??? Someone got Zuko pregnant and I know for a fact it wasn’t Katara

They don't necessarily say Katara is the mom, but they try to go "Oh, Maiko broke up in the comics, so Mai can't possibly be the mom" even though Izumi literally has the same face.

It's a blatant attempt at downplaying the fact that Zuko chose Mai over Katara or whoever they ship him with.

And let me be clear, I don't mind people just using the character of Izumi, or at least the name, in fics and making her the child of Zuko with some other woman, I do that too. The problem is the blatant denial of reality.

She's a Maiko baby. Plain and simple.

zutara runnn for your life…

this power couple

Mai really said "I stand with my cancelled husband"

THEY’RE SO AWKWARD I’M CRYING

i fucking hate him loll

Zuko has far more restraint than I do.

Because if I was Fire Lord, and this son of a bitch was rubbing it in my face that he was with my ex ... that's an instant Agni-Kai ... or a public execution.

my gosh im so excited im gonna piss my pants ok

Happy Ashes of the Academy Eve to all who celebrate

IHATE KEU LO I HATE KEI LO I HATE LEI LO I HAYE KEI LO I HATE KEI LO I HA

i hate when people treat mai and zukos break up like it was permanent like this is not something you do if you are over your ex im sorry 😭😭

i cant wait to see my favorite divorced couple get back together for the kids

I’d marry you with paper rings

Don’t be ridiculous I’m buying you a diamond

AAAGHHHH