NOTES ABOUT POTENTIAL AZULA DEVELOPMENT
It's DDD canon that the Fire Nation wasn't doing so well economically in the last year of the war (close to two years after the end of the war in show canon; DDD AU's war lasted one hundred and two years instead of one hundred). Part of this had to do with the sheer length of the war, but the majority of the hardship was caused by the internal Ozai vs. Azula power struggle that went on for months, as well as its aftermath. While Ozai was in charge, he had to deal with assassins and the like sent by Azula's supporters as well as general public dissent for what he was doing to his daughter and heir; while Azula was in charge, she had to deal with assassins and the like sent by Ozai's supporters as well as the tremendous pressures that come with being a young teenage leader. After Ozai's "death", Azula was faced with being a fifteen-year-old girl who, essentially, had to lead the country all by herself-- and while she had already had some experience as Fire Lord at that point, she was neither emotionally nor mentally mature enough to handle such a daunting task. The Fire Nation enjoyed government stability throughout most of the war, but when that stability ended, the country couldn't remain solid and united. If she were older, Azula would have been able to handle running the Fire Nation alone. If Ozai had stayed at her side, she would have been able to handle running the Fire Nation even at the young age of fifteen. But since neither of these things happened, the country was suddenly being led solely by a teenage girl who, at this point, was extremely emotionally unstable and was reeling from the aftermath of the betrayal of the most important person in her life. There was no way that could be anything but a recipe for disaster. By the time Zuko came into the picture, the people of the Fire Nation were desperate enough that many of them were willing to accept an end to the war and a "traitor" as their leader, just as long as things were made better.
Without her father, Azula hated being Fire Lord. She wasn't capable of handling it at that point in time, and while her sense of duty and dedication to her country and the war never wavered (even at the worst of times, the idea that she could surrender the war and hand the throne off to Zuko or Iroh was something that she would never even have considered), she employed a fair bit of escapism. She was constantly running off to New Jersey, and she refused to allow herself to see any negative consequences that her unstable rule was having on the Fire Nation-- the reality that she wasn't doing "good enough" and that she was harming her country rather than helping it would have completely pushed her over the edge at that point in time. Even now, months after the throne was forcibly taken by Zuko, it's mostly only ever been hinted at her how much of a disastrous affect her rule had on the country. Iroh told her straight out at one point, but she didn't believe him. In order to start accepting it, she'd really have to see it for herself.
A large part of the reason why Azula still persists in trying to get the throne back and re-start the war is because she's still blind to the problems it caused the Fire Nation in its later years. If she were made to face the reality of the detrimental effect she (or really, Ozai, because he was the catalyst in the whole thing) had had on the country during her last year of rule, her reaction would be one of disbelief-- and then fury, and then despair, and then finally a determination to set things right.
Unless something big changes in her development, her idea of setting things right would not include giving up on the war entirely and allowing Zuko and his descendants to rule forever more-- but it wouldn't include rushing back in, ousting Zuko, and restarting the war immediately, either. She would recognize that stabilizing the Fire Nation on a long-term scale would be crucial, and that successful takeovers could never be implemented without first securing the homeland. Grudgingly, she'd admit that taking the throne from Zuko against his will would only cause more instability (just as Ozai taking the throne from her did the same), and she'd accept that achieving her ultimate goal (that is, a world completely controlled by the Fire Nation) would take years, if not decades.
If her mental and emotional states improved rather than deteriorated, she would eventually start expressing an interest in returning home and helping to rebuild the Fire Nation back to its former state. This would mean working as an ally to Fire Lord Zuko-- something that her pride would never have allowed in the past, but the maturity that would come with age and experience would allow her to push past that. She would work as close to the Fire Nation royal court as Zuko would allow, and all the while would quietly keep note on who would be the most likely to side with her over Zuko should a takeover happen. Nevertheless, re-starting the war would, at that point, not be anything more than an eventual goal-- she would not try to start any rebellions or encourage dissent against the current government, and all her efforts would be focused on the Fire Nation. Fostering good relations with the other nations would also be an interest of hers, in hopes that eventually, they could be convinced that Fire Nation dominance would be better for everyone and that willingly allowing a takeover would be the best way to go.
At this point in time, there has been absolutely no development that would allow Azula to come to the conclusion that an eventual re-start to the war and a world controlled solely by the Fire Nation would be a bad idea. If such a transition started to happen, I would allow for it, and I'd try to have her change viewpoints as realistically for her character as possible. However, if it did happen, it would take a long time, and all in all I think the above scenario (which would take a long time in and of itself) is much, much more likely.
Without her father, Azula hated being Fire Lord. She wasn't capable of handling it at that point in time, and while her sense of duty and dedication to her country and the war never wavered (even at the worst of times, the idea that she could surrender the war and hand the throne off to Zuko or Iroh was something that she would never even have considered), she employed a fair bit of escapism. She was constantly running off to New Jersey, and she refused to allow herself to see any negative consequences that her unstable rule was having on the Fire Nation-- the reality that she wasn't doing "good enough" and that she was harming her country rather than helping it would have completely pushed her over the edge at that point in time. Even now, months after the throne was forcibly taken by Zuko, it's mostly only ever been hinted at her how much of a disastrous affect her rule had on the country. Iroh told her straight out at one point, but she didn't believe him. In order to start accepting it, she'd really have to see it for herself.
A large part of the reason why Azula still persists in trying to get the throne back and re-start the war is because she's still blind to the problems it caused the Fire Nation in its later years. If she were made to face the reality of the detrimental effect she (or really, Ozai, because he was the catalyst in the whole thing) had had on the country during her last year of rule, her reaction would be one of disbelief-- and then fury, and then despair, and then finally a determination to set things right.
Unless something big changes in her development, her idea of setting things right would not include giving up on the war entirely and allowing Zuko and his descendants to rule forever more-- but it wouldn't include rushing back in, ousting Zuko, and restarting the war immediately, either. She would recognize that stabilizing the Fire Nation on a long-term scale would be crucial, and that successful takeovers could never be implemented without first securing the homeland. Grudgingly, she'd admit that taking the throne from Zuko against his will would only cause more instability (just as Ozai taking the throne from her did the same), and she'd accept that achieving her ultimate goal (that is, a world completely controlled by the Fire Nation) would take years, if not decades.
If her mental and emotional states improved rather than deteriorated, she would eventually start expressing an interest in returning home and helping to rebuild the Fire Nation back to its former state. This would mean working as an ally to Fire Lord Zuko-- something that her pride would never have allowed in the past, but the maturity that would come with age and experience would allow her to push past that. She would work as close to the Fire Nation royal court as Zuko would allow, and all the while would quietly keep note on who would be the most likely to side with her over Zuko should a takeover happen. Nevertheless, re-starting the war would, at that point, not be anything more than an eventual goal-- she would not try to start any rebellions or encourage dissent against the current government, and all her efforts would be focused on the Fire Nation. Fostering good relations with the other nations would also be an interest of hers, in hopes that eventually, they could be convinced that Fire Nation dominance would be better for everyone and that willingly allowing a takeover would be the best way to go.
At this point in time, there has been absolutely no development that would allow Azula to come to the conclusion that an eventual re-start to the war and a world controlled solely by the Fire Nation would be a bad idea. If such a transition started to happen, I would allow for it, and I'd try to have her change viewpoints as realistically for her character as possible. However, if it did happen, it would take a long time, and all in all I think the above scenario (which would take a long time in and of itself) is much, much more likely.