Avatar Couples You Support - Part 13

[Loopy]

I support the fanfic framing Suki as Zuko's much savvier bodyguard. I would read that in a heartbeat. Please just post the weirdly disjointed vignettes so I can get my fix of this premise.

Warning: You will regret this. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7615495/1/A-Flame-of-Thrones

Here is another idea: Suki was adopted into the Royal Family when she was just a baby and grew up alongside the siblings. She is now accompanying Zuko on his quest to find the Avatar because she rather spends time with him than with Azula. Plot twist: Suki is still the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, and from 103, the KWs become Zuko's very own Elite Mooks (you gotta admit, they complement his Blue Spirit persona very well).

I'd read it. Lavanya Six came up with a comedic premise where the Kyoshi Warriors are the victims of budget cuts and wind up working for Zuko as expert Avatar consultants, but it was just a short and didn't go anywhere with the idea. I'd enjoy the idea if just for Sokka's reaction when Zuko orders a squad of teenage girls into action against them.

Was this widely discussed in the fandom? Was it ever resolved in the comics?

I only wish there would be something - anything - Suki related widely discussed in the fandom  . But yeah, Suzuki is as close to it as it can get.

I think it got most of its actual discussion in context of whether people preferred it to Maiko. But mostly the attention was from people trying to decide if it was real, with evidence slowly mounting (at least of something on Suki's part, but Zuko is barely taking any more notice of her than he did with Mai), and nothing has come of it so far. And all of Suki's scenes with Sokka depict them as a loving couple with no doubts.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it started out as a misinterpretation by fans, and then Gene Yang found out about it and decided to use Kiyi to tease us all, with no intention of going anywhere with it.

[noblebender]

I support the fanfic framing Suki as Zuko's much savvier bodyguard. I would read that in a heartbeat. Please just post the weirdly disjointed vignettes so I can get my fix of this premise.

Warning: You will regret this. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7615495/1/A-Flame-of-Thrones

I regret nothing. Now you have me shipping Suzuki even more. If I had an account, I would favorite it for sure. I love how you paired Suki's capability with Zuko's personality and role, something that works in the show as well as in your AU. And I definitely like the AU concept of Suki becoming Zuko's bodyguard even earlier than in the comics - they work as a pair on both levels. Thanks for linking.

[Loopy]

I posted some thoughts on MaiLee on my tumblr:

The dynamic is easy to see, because they’re already friends and the cartoon shows them bouncing off each other in an entertaining way. Of course, they’re just another iteration of the classic Buddy Duo that we see all over the place- one is smart and cranky and out of touch with her feelings and given to obscuring dark clothes, the other is stupid and friendly and overly obsessed with her feelings and wears exhibitionist bright clothes.

What I really like about these two, though, is that the cartoon shows exactly why they’re friends. In so many other cases of these Duos, we are just shown that they are friends, and usually the implication is they’ve been around each other for so long that friendship just became inevitable. We don’t see how Mai and Ty Lee became friends, but we definitely get clues as to what that friendship is based on.

Put simply, they’re both outcasts who have suffered under the same systems and people. Mai and Ty Lee might be opposites in so many ways, but neither one fits in, and they both see each other as kindred spirits in that regard. Ty Lee eventually ran away from Fire Nation society, while Mai’s withdrawal was internal in order to numb the pain. And, of course, both of them shared that twisted friendship with Azula where they suffered her abuse but also got to enjoy adventure and power she shared with them. And both of them were eventually nearly destroyed by it, but survived and emerged into better lives together.

The end result is a friendship that survives them being half a world apart for periods of time, and I think it would be very easy to transform that into a romance.
 -- https://loopy777.tumblr.com/post/184422219419/what-do-you-think-of-maity-lee-as-a-romantic

So has anyone around here seem some good fic for that ship? After typing all that out, I'm jonesing.

[hmweasley]

Put simply, they’re both outcasts who have suffered under the same systems and people. Mai and Ty Lee might be opposites in so many ways, but neither one fits in, and they both see each other as kindred spirits in that regard. Ty Lee eventually ran away from Fire Nation society, while Mai’s withdrawal was internal in order to numb the pain. And, of course, both of them shared that twisted friendship with Azula where they suffered her abuse but also got to enjoy adventure and power she shared with them. And both of them were eventually nearly destroyed by it, but survived and emerged into better lives together.

This made me wonder if Ty Lee and Mai actually became friends first, bonding over the similarities you mentioned, and Azula only commanded herself into the group later. The origin story of their friendship could be really interesting, as could seeing it evolve into a romantic relationship. I think it would also be interesting if a romantic relationship between them made Azula jealous (not necessarily because she liked either of them romantically but just because her friends were closer to each other than to her). Now I really want a fanfic like that too... Unfortunately, I've never seen one. (Though I'm starting to feel motivated to write it myself.)

The way they have similar life circumstances but entirely different personalities could make things especially fun.

[Loopy]

I can see the recruitment working either way, really. Azula probably recruited them because of the uniqueness that drew them together. Chicken or egg.