Twenty Things About Azula (DDD-centric)
This is just a place for me to jot down any head canon factoids that I think up (I have more than this, but ehhhh I'm too busy to write them all down right now), so the entry will probably be expanding to "ten things", "fifteen things", "twenty things", etc. as time goes on. Apologies for ranting, questionable grammar, and overuse of parentheses/semi-colons.
1. Azula's obsession with her appearance comes not from a desire to be pretty but from a desire to be perfect. This doesn't stop her from using her beauty to her advantage, where applicable (and with very defined limits).
2. She didn't have a loving relationship with either of her parents. Contrary to popular belief, her father didn't dote on her or spoil her any more than is typical for Fire Nation royal children (i.e., she's always had a shitload of privileges, possessions, servants, etc., but Daddy Ozai didn't cater to her every whim and give her everything she asked for- in fact, in that respect, she wasn't any more fortunate than Zuko). From the very beginning, their relationship was very much teacher/student as opposed to father/daughter. Though he did hand off the majority of her firebending training to private tutors, he often let her sit in on war meetings and the like, and was grooming her to be his heir long before Zuko was banished. Her mother, on the other hand, tried to be a good mother to her, but Azula would have none of it. Ursa spent the majority of her time with Zuko to make up for the lack of attention he got from Ozai, and Azula perceived this (along with the fact that Zuko and Ursa were very close and almost always got along well, as opposed to the strain and lack of understanding that always existed between Azula and her mother) to mean that Ursa didn't love or care for her. Azula didn't hear her say, "What is wrong with that child?" in the episode "Zuko Alone" (c'mon, Ursa said it under her breath, and Azula had already run away at that point!), but she did overhear similar things over the years. None, of them, however, were said to her face (because I can't imagine Ursa doing something like that, even in anger). Therefore, much of the contempt that she believes her mother felt for her was imagined, and then exaggerated over the years following Ursa's disappearance.
3. Her favorite color is actually a deep, royal blue, but she always wears red because a) she's the princess of the Fire Nation and b) she knows its the color she looks best in.
4. She hates getting dirty, but she won't hesitate to do so if it's necessary.
5. Regarding touch: Azula doesn't like it. At all. She's not used to it, she doesn't want to get used to it, and it makes her feel really weird and uncomfortable. The only real exceptions are Mai- who she would be much more likely to tolerate it from, but who isn't a touchy-feely person anyway so it never comes up- and Ty Lee, who she went from not hating touch from, to maybe actually kinda-sorta liking it, to occasionally not being able to sleep well when Ty Lee isn't with her, especially if it's because of a fight (usually she's fine, though; it's not like she CAN'T SLEEP OMG whenever Ty Lee's not there). There are also a few exceptions regarding the type of touch- she has nothing against handshakes or other forms of business-like contact, and doesn't mind servants touching her during massages, manicures/pedicures, etc.
6. Going with number 5- she loves to have her hair washed and combed, and makes a point of going to the royal spa for it at least once a week.
7. Azula fully realizes that she differs from most people in some very basic ways. She first heard the term "sociopath" fairly early on in her time posting at DDD, and after doing some research on the Internet, decided that it fit her perfectly (and she was quite proud of this fact; after all, it "proved" her superiority). She's curious about how other people's views/emotions/etc. differ from hers, and likes to ask questions about it (fuck yeah empathy debate), but she really has no desire to change. While she finds the way other people's minds work interesting, she ultimately sees it as archaic and inefficient.
8. After this and this, Azula secretly wondered what it would be like to marry Ty Lee. She will never in a million years admit this.
9. Despite number eight, if she didn't need an heir, she wouldn't really want to get married. She considers it to be a generally pointless exercise unless children need to be produced.
10. She is a sleep-talker.
11. Azula is extremely strong-willed, and it's very difficult (almost impossible!) to convince her to change her mind about something that she's set on (... this is probably obvious). Despite this, she's fairly good at changing her own mind about things-- if a certain viewpoint has completely ceased to benefit her, she can convince herself of something totally different relatively easily. Still, she doesn't do this often.
12. She's interested in science, especially where new technology is concerned. She also likes astronomy.
13. Azula loves traveling to different worlds-- she finds them fascinating. A lot of the novelty has worn off now that she... really can't go home, but some of the interest has still held.
14. She loves things made out of silk, especially clothes and bedding.
15. After Karen inadvertently introduced her to laundry detergent, she got her hands on some and had her servants stock the palace laundry room with it. She really likes the smell, and made sure that her pillowcases, especially, were washed with it.
16. Her hair isn't black-- it's actually a very dark brown. This fact usually isn't readily apparent unless it's seen in the sunlight.
17. Thanks to Mai and Ty Lee, Azula is pretty good at both knife-throwing and acrobatics. Regardless, both of them are better than her at their respective disciplines. She knows this. She will never acknowledge it out loud.
18. One way to get on her bad side very quickly is to tell her that she would be a bad Fire Lord.
19. For most things (such as writing), Azula is right-handed. She has, however, trained herself to lead equally well with both of her hands and feet while fighting and firebending, because having one side be weaker than the other is something that an opponent could exploit.
20. In terms of her emotional stuntedness, inability to feel empathy and remorse, etc., Azula was just born that way. If she had grown up in a better environment, she would probably have turned out a lot more well-adjusted despite this. However, if she had been raised in a really unpleasant situation (a truly abusive home, for example), she probably would have turned out even worse.
1. Azula's obsession with her appearance comes not from a desire to be pretty but from a desire to be perfect. This doesn't stop her from using her beauty to her advantage, where applicable (and with very defined limits).
2. She didn't have a loving relationship with either of her parents. Contrary to popular belief, her father didn't dote on her or spoil her any more than is typical for Fire Nation royal children (i.e., she's always had a shitload of privileges, possessions, servants, etc., but Daddy Ozai didn't cater to her every whim and give her everything she asked for- in fact, in that respect, she wasn't any more fortunate than Zuko). From the very beginning, their relationship was very much teacher/student as opposed to father/daughter. Though he did hand off the majority of her firebending training to private tutors, he often let her sit in on war meetings and the like, and was grooming her to be his heir long before Zuko was banished. Her mother, on the other hand, tried to be a good mother to her, but Azula would have none of it. Ursa spent the majority of her time with Zuko to make up for the lack of attention he got from Ozai, and Azula perceived this (along with the fact that Zuko and Ursa were very close and almost always got along well, as opposed to the strain and lack of understanding that always existed between Azula and her mother) to mean that Ursa didn't love or care for her. Azula didn't hear her say, "What is wrong with that child?" in the episode "Zuko Alone" (c'mon, Ursa said it under her breath, and Azula had already run away at that point!), but she did overhear similar things over the years. None, of them, however, were said to her face (because I can't imagine Ursa doing something like that, even in anger). Therefore, much of the contempt that she believes her mother felt for her was imagined, and then exaggerated over the years following Ursa's disappearance.
3. Her favorite color is actually a deep, royal blue, but she always wears red because a) she's the princess of the Fire Nation and b) she knows its the color she looks best in.
4. She hates getting dirty, but she won't hesitate to do so if it's necessary.
5. Regarding touch: Azula doesn't like it. At all. She's not used to it, she doesn't want to get used to it, and it makes her feel really weird and uncomfortable. The only real exceptions are Mai- who she would be much more likely to tolerate it from, but who isn't a touchy-feely person anyway so it never comes up- and Ty Lee, who she went from not hating touch from, to maybe actually kinda-sorta liking it, to occasionally not being able to sleep well when Ty Lee isn't with her, especially if it's because of a fight (usually she's fine, though; it's not like she CAN'T SLEEP OMG whenever Ty Lee's not there). There are also a few exceptions regarding the type of touch- she has nothing against handshakes or other forms of business-like contact, and doesn't mind servants touching her during massages, manicures/pedicures, etc.
6. Going with number 5- she loves to have her hair washed and combed, and makes a point of going to the royal spa for it at least once a week.
7. Azula fully realizes that she differs from most people in some very basic ways. She first heard the term "sociopath" fairly early on in her time posting at DDD, and after doing some research on the Internet, decided that it fit her perfectly (and she was quite proud of this fact; after all, it "proved" her superiority). She's curious about how other people's views/emotions/etc. differ from hers, and likes to ask questions about it (fuck yeah empathy debate), but she really has no desire to change. While she finds the way other people's minds work interesting, she ultimately sees it as archaic and inefficient.
8. After this and this, Azula secretly wondered what it would be like to marry Ty Lee. She will never in a million years admit this.
9. Despite number eight, if she didn't need an heir, she wouldn't really want to get married. She considers it to be a generally pointless exercise unless children need to be produced.
10. She is a sleep-talker.
11. Azula is extremely strong-willed, and it's very difficult (almost impossible!) to convince her to change her mind about something that she's set on (... this is probably obvious). Despite this, she's fairly good at changing her own mind about things-- if a certain viewpoint has completely ceased to benefit her, she can convince herself of something totally different relatively easily. Still, she doesn't do this often.
12. She's interested in science, especially where new technology is concerned. She also likes astronomy.
13. Azula loves traveling to different worlds-- she finds them fascinating. A lot of the novelty has worn off now that she... really can't go home, but some of the interest has still held.
14. She loves things made out of silk, especially clothes and bedding.
15. After Karen inadvertently introduced her to laundry detergent, she got her hands on some and had her servants stock the palace laundry room with it. She really likes the smell, and made sure that her pillowcases, especially, were washed with it.
16. Her hair isn't black-- it's actually a very dark brown. This fact usually isn't readily apparent unless it's seen in the sunlight.
17. Thanks to Mai and Ty Lee, Azula is pretty good at both knife-throwing and acrobatics. Regardless, both of them are better than her at their respective disciplines. She knows this. She will never acknowledge it out loud.
18. One way to get on her bad side very quickly is to tell her that she would be a bad Fire Lord.
19. For most things (such as writing), Azula is right-handed. She has, however, trained herself to lead equally well with both of her hands and feet while fighting and firebending, because having one side be weaker than the other is something that an opponent could exploit.
20. In terms of her emotional stuntedness, inability to feel empathy and remorse, etc., Azula was just born that way. If she had grown up in a better environment, she would probably have turned out a lot more well-adjusted despite this. However, if she had been raised in a really unpleasant situation (a truly abusive home, for example), she probably would have turned out even worse.