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(Sorry for the slowness here. New posts aren't processing that well for some reason.)

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Aaaand that's all, folks. Here's a direct download link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?icy71t6b4y77gkh

...Jeez Azula...

Re: the rest of it, to be hoenst I kind of like it. And at least there's a mystery there to be solved, as such.

More than one mystery. Also:
-We do not know if Ursa was speaking figuratively or literally.
-We do not know if Ursa was sure, or assuming.
-We do not know if Azula is Mr. Dragonmaskybutt's as well.
-We do not know if anyone will wise up and realize that Azula has developed acute schizophrenia as a result of post-traumatic stress.
-We do not know if that letter is real, or a fake that Ozai made to cut Zuko out of the loop if Ursa ever betrayed him.

A good place to start, though. I'm liking where this is going.

>>111313
>-We do not know if Azula is Mr. Dragonmaskybutt's as well.

Are you suggesting that human females can somehow store sperm in uterus for several years before allowing it to impregnate them?

>>111311
"You know, there's something you should always remember, Peter.
Francis may not have been your father,
but he raised you as if you were his own. And if that isn't love,
- I don't know what is."
-Brian Griffin, Family Guy

>>111315
I am suggesting that Ursa may have been sneakier than you give her credit for.

>>111317

I think the twist is that *Ursa* didn't want Zuko to inherit the throne, because she was trying to protect him from becoming like Ozai, so she tried to sabotage his chances of being Ozai's heir. If she knew her letters were being intercepted, then her comment about Zuko's parentage would inevitably find their way to Ozai.

...what? You think Azula inherited her ability to scheme from "Kill 'Em All with Fire" Ozai?

Who would've thought that one grammatical widget could lead to so many years of misery?

>>111315

Well, the Fire Lord's summer house is in ember island after all...

A little escapade in the moonless night with your true love...

i think it's obvious baiting and when ursa shows up she's going to be like, 'jesus christ your father thought the same exact thing'

Oh Zuko. All that time and affection wasted.

dsdsdsvdsvvsdvsd

MAURY: YOU ARE NOT THE FATHER!

Okay, Conspiracy Theory Azula is saddening.

-dat Sokka and Katara sibling interaction
-dat Aang and Zuko bromance "Your fireiness!" "It's only been a week." "WORST PLAN EVER!"
-Azula being the magnificent bastard she is, smacking Zuko's shit with the tea service tray, escaping, saving the day in the spirit wolf battle
-Azula being utterly ravaged by her mental illness to the point she curls into the fetal position when they camp out. Good lord that girl needs some love and help.
-Zuko not wanting to duel his sister again after she attacks Aang
-Aang is still getting the hang of the whole spirit world bridge thingy yet
-Appa smacking the Sprit Wolf's shit
-Ursa's backstory as a whole :( :( :(
-dat ambiguous wording of the letter at the very end. Ursa has to be referring to "our son" as in the Royal Couple's son and not her and Ikem's son. But man did this single page cause tumblr to goddamn implode on itself. I don't even want to know how /co/ took it.
-The kataang mushiness was drastically reeled in (I'm a sucker for it myself, but I can see how it would wear on some people).
-INTERIM FIRE LORD IROH AND TEA APPRECIATION DAY. YES GOOD A++++

I quite enjoyed all of it and can't wait for July! Yang has all of the character's voices down pat. I would love to hear some of the VA's recite a few pages at a con panel. Especially Grey Delisle.

Thanks for posting the rip, I'll make sure to order a physical copy once I'm back in my house. I'm still displaced by Shitheadstorm Sandy and my current storage situation is rather limited :| Comics and physical vidya have been off of my shopping list for the duration.

>>111281
Why is there still this forced tension between Suki and Zuko

>>111299
>>111295
Hahaw lordy 'dat rape face.

I was really surprised by how good this was. Not that I didn't enjoy The Promise, but it was a little weak at times. I wasn't sure if Yang would be able to pull of something as big as this, but I like where he's going.

I've noticed a curious phenomenon though: the people who don't seem to like it, curiously enough, are the ones who actually believe they are going to retcon Zuko as Ikem's kid while the people who do like it tend to be the ones who believe it is just to create doubt in Zuko's mind for dramatic purposes and that he is still Ozai's son. Odd, but entertaining.

>>111328

I don't really see how it is "forced." It's actually quite low key and so far has been completely one-sided and there's nothing wrong with Suki worrying about her friend, especially when it's part of her job.

Suki could be starting to want him, but there's no sexual tension between them.

>>111330

Strange, I've encountered the exact opposite. People who hate the swerve are frothing at the mouth about ZUKO'S WHOLE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARC ERASED INSTANTLY and those who like it are all HOLY SHIT CALM YOUR TITS FANDOM THIS IS JUST PART 1 AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE OUTS FOR ZUKO'S ARC AT THIS POINT.

I forgot to mention that the Maury parody fanart spawned from this sent my sides to the next dimension. Fucking stunning.

>>111335

I think you misread my post, that's exactly what I was trying to say. I don't believe Zuko isn't Ozai's kid and I enjoyed this comic a lot.

People who don't like it appear to believe that they are actually going to go straight with it because "Yang is a shit writer and would do that."

>>111336

Fans are notoriously hard to please and like judging things as bad?

Like there are people I've talked to who say that Legend of Korra is LITERALLY the worst cartoon ever made. Which either means that they have no understanding of hyperbole, are kind of sheltered or have kind of a lack of grip. Flawed though it is, LoK isn't as bad as, say, Family Guy at its worst for example.

Personally I like what's been done in the search thus far, and I'm looking forward to more.

Gonna admit, I'm thankful that there were at lest a few pages of interaction between Zuko, Suki and Ty Lee. I was disappointed by it's absence in The Promise.

Still loling at how Zuko just brushes Ty Lee's attempts at getting comforted, though.

A thought occurs.

It's been previously established that the Fire Nation royal family believes in the Divine Right of Kings.

Could the marriage of Ozai and Ursa be an attempt by Azulon to put literal "divine" blood into his descendants, because even though there is not evidence that it would make more powerful benders they still would be related to a physical god in some form?

So by some twisted logic, they might have thought that just as the Avatar holds power on the world stage, being an Avatar's descendant means that they have the right to use that heritage too.

>>111339

I think the three of them might make an interesting trio.

I can also imagine all the shipper feels that would come with a Suki, Zuko and Ty Lee adventure.

>>111342
Yeah - I do wish that they'd tagged along, instead of Katara and Sokka. They're Zuko's body guards so it makes sense, and having two chiblockers on hand would also be a handy way to defuse the kind of threat Azula poses. We also get neat character interaction as a result.

>>111341

I don't doubt that may be some of Azulon's reasoning at all, but what I find weird is that Ozai is the one to give this bloodline not Iroh. The impression we were given was Iroh was the favored one. So I wonder who insisted on marrying Ursa to the younger prince, Ozai or Azulon.

If it was Azulon, then it seems like he may have considered making Ozai the heir to the throne.

If it was Ozai, perhaps Ozai thought that Ursa was the perfect opportunity to show up his older brother and have a better chance at becoming king.

>>111283
>Dual wielding swords
Laying it on a bit thick, aren't they? I'm also now imagining Zuko pretty much outright copying the Blue Spirit persona from Love Amongst the Dragons.

>>111346
The Dragon King Nuoh mask IS the Blue Spirit's mask.

>>111345
Azulon did mention that it took a long time to track down Roku's son, maybe Iroh was already married by then?

>>111345

Being the favored one could also mean Iroh was allowed to choose his own wife without an arrangement.

>>111359
I doubt it - heirs to a throne don't typically get all that much choice in the matter. More likely, since Lu Ten had already been born, the idea was to wed Ozai's descendants with Iroh's at some point before the power diluted itself to much.

>>111361

Maybe in real life, but a book aimed at Avatar's target audience of 6- to 11-year-olds isn't going to have inter-family marriage.

I wish Ty Lee came along. I won't lie that I ship it, but as someone who's been with Zuko and Azula since childhood, I think she would've been a better addition than the usual Gaang.

So Azula has rode Appa, slept in the camp and fought side-by-side the Gaang.

She's pretty much a member of Team Avatar now, right?

>>111363
Same here. Wish Suki was along for the ride as well, to show Azula interacting with a victim of hers who she wasn't close to. That and it makes sense for Zuko's guard to accompany him.

>>111345
Maybe it's because Iroh was already married, while Ozai was single. Another possibility is that Azulon thought Ursa would be more willing to marry a man closer to her own age.

>>111345
Maybe it's because Iroh was already married, while Ozai was single. Another possibility is that Azulon thought Ursa would be more willing to marry a man closer to her own age.

“Mai…Ozai’s not my father.”
“Who told you that?”
“I read it in a letter.”
“Where did you find this letter?”
“On Azula.”
“It’s a plot to usurp the throne. Ignore it.”
“Okay.”

lol

>>111369

This is why the plot required Mai's absence

>>111369
>Zuko telling people stuff

lol

>>111373
>Zuko

lol

is there anything he can't fuck up?

>>111376
He's certainly completely incapable at keeping his sister under wraps

>>111376
You know, I don't really like the way Yang writes Sokka, in the comics he seems much more like the Ember Island Players parody of Sokka than the fully developed character from the end of the series. But I've got to tell you, Bad Decision Lord is the perfect nickname for Zuko.

>>111387

Sokka was a comic relief character but he was also the voice of reason a lot of times when his friends acted dumb or reckless.

Yang did have that little thing by the campfire between he and Zuko, so I don't think Yang of writing the more serious side of Sokka. The stories so far in the comics just haven't seemed to call for it I guess, at least not from him.

>>111388

>*is incapable of writing

>>111376
Treachery

>>111369

Ha!

Mai not being around to advice Zuko is the Avatar equivalent of not being able to get a cell phone signal when the monster's stalking you through the woods.

>>111387
I think the real issue is that Yang just isn't very funny in general. A lot of his jokes rely on people being WACKY and Sokka just has to fall into that role even though sarcasm was always Sokka's main tool for comedy. Sarcasm can be written if it's done well enough, but so far it's been completely absent.

The art is simply gorgeous.

>>111393

Is it just me or does Zuko look prettier in the issue?

>>111394
I think that it's the reduced stress load.

I'm out of touch with the fandom, what's the general reaction to this?
I'm liking it far more than The Promise, but I hope the flashbacks and letters are just red herring.

>>111396
general consensus seems to be "it's better than the promise but not by much", plus a lot of freaking out over the twist at the end. tumblr also doesn't seem happy about how azula's mental problems are being handled.

and the flashbacks probably aren't a red herring, since they explain some things about ursa like why she always made the family to go ember island, but the letter definitely is.

I was really luking forward to this...THAnks a ton!!!

>>111397
>tumblr also doesn't seem happy

Quelle surprise.

>>111397

I'm seeing a lot of people really enjoy it actually. There is a divide though about that letter. Most of the people who enjoy the comic thinks it's a red herring.

But I'm seeing a lot more people get into than the Promise. Tumblr's shit about Azula's mental illness is just their woobifying waifu bullshit.

>>111400
>>111399
i actually kind of agree with tumblr on this one, something about it is just rubbing me the wrong way (and not in the sense that you're supposed to be able to tell just how messed up azula is), but i don't think yang is a hack because of it. mental illness is probably really difficult to write well for a kid's comic, and yang isn't even all that good of a writer to begin with.

>>111401

Well, for one thing, with all the supernatural stuff in this comic series, it's possible Azula's insanity is far from conventional and the result, at least partially, of some external force.

And I don't really see the problem since she's not really acting any different than how she was in the finale and people who actually have experience with the mentally ill that I talk to have no trouble categorizing her sickness.

I think we can all agree on the pacing being a lot better this time.
Even the fights look more dynamic and fun, maybe because there's Azula involved instead of random characters/boring OCs.

I know the twist at the end is thrown in there for the sake of drama, but when you really think about, it makes so many things make a lot more sense from Ozai's perspective.

Start with the fact that his arranged marriage was the result of them wanting to combine Sozin and Roku's bloodline in hopes of producing some kind of nazi-youth-uber-bender... Then the daughter you know is part of that bloodline starts to easily outperform her older brother, the son that he has doubts about because of that letter years ago... At this point that was probably all the proof he needed. The prodigy Azula was clearly his real offspring. Her natural talent being proof of her pedigree. While Zuko is just some peasant's bastard. Cue a lifetime of Ozai favoring Azula and shunning Zuko.

Seriously, as far as forced twists go, and keep in mind that I'm not suggesting that Zuko actually isn't Ozai's son. I believe he is. However, it makes a ridiculous amount of sense, and puts Ozai's actions in a much more understandable context if he believed it to be true.


And just to be clear, don't confuse "understandable" with "justifiable". I simply mean that in context to his character, it makes a lot more sense for this to be the fuel of his animosity towards Zuko rather than 'just because'.

The Search - Part 1
Dante likes it. And I've been avoiding tumblr like the plague, but I'm sure Grey commented and voiced something too.

I'm just going to say that the facial and bodily expressions in this are fucking gorgeous. And you'd never really guess Ozai would become winner of the 'Worst Douchebag Father of the Year' award 5 times in a row from his face the first time you see him in this. He even calls off those guards for Ursa!