PERFECT. I have been searching for a good Azula fic forever, and this one, Life Lessons, shows her childhood perfectly. No overt abuse, just lots of harsh training. This is exactly how I imagined it. Thank you so much for the mind-blowing fanfiction!

Okay, I really liked this, and it's favorited, but I'm a bit confused on one minor thing here. Are the parts supposed to be in order? Cause in "life" Azula thinks that "Mother abandoned them too" suggesting to me Ursa is banished at that time. But in "Love" Ursa is apparently still around.

So, is that a mistake, or have I missunderstood the mention of Mother in "life"?

Anyway, with that said, this fic fits very much with how I imagine Ozais parenting, and I like it a lot.

So sad. but amazing

and that is how you make a puppet

Somehow, I can picture this all happening. And it makes a lot of sense.

Wow this was just- wow just wow. My mind is like numb. This was absolutely superb you my friend have very nice knack for writing. I really really like this *puts in favorites* I would love to see a sequel perhaps? Maybe more in depth details? Becuase this was amazing.

I've heard enough fans theorizing that Ozai is at the root of Azula's issues, but this is the first time I've seen the process written out in a believable way. This was actually painful to read because you depict the tactics of a controlling parent so well. This is exactly what they do, use the child's bottomless yearning for parental approval as a hook and then tear away the child's coping mechanisms and capacity for independent thought, making her unable to trust people outside the family or even other family members, instilling a fear of the world, imposing unachievable standards of perfection so she'll never be free of anxiety or the need for approval, confusing her with arbitrary and capricious discipline, hurting her by berating and devaluing her and depriving affection when she displeases, controlling through physical (such as meaningless repetition) and psychological terror and guilt, and making the child ultimately unable to trust herself. The result is a fearful, unbalanced human being who is too afraid to think for herself or ask for help and looks to the parent for sole authority and validation, exactly the way the parent wants her to be.

Ozai appears fully in control of himself and to be doing these things deliberately, but often parents do this to their children unconsciously due to their own unresolved trauma and compulsive need to control an unstable world through their child. I can easily imagine a psychopath using these tactics in a calculated manner, however. It was a masterstroke on Ozai's part that he didn't even have to visibly maim his daughter to make her fall in line. He sent a strong enough message through his son, which is frequently the way targeted abuse works.

I also loved the writing here, the description of Azula's hunger which actually gave ME pangs, the weight of Ozai's hand, the dialogue throughout. The juxtaposition with Azula's lines from the show was brilliant, and the way you split "the beginning of the end" to foreshadow the inevitable endpoint of Ozai's upbringing was both tragic and chilling. This was just excellent, thanks for sharing.

I'll admit, this story made me shake a bit as I read it. The creators have said that Azula is not inherently evil, and I've always shivered when thinking how Ozai must have manipulated her, assembling his own little perfect soldier in Azula since her early childhood. You have successfully shown how Azula became a ticking time bomb of crazy. Her breakdown in the series finale just seemed so.. inevitable. Really, Ozai's most impressive feat as a villain was molding Azula, and most of this was done off-screen and before the show's start - in all other aspects, Ozai was a rather bland antagonist. Your portrayal of him is chilling. Nice work. I'm still a bit shaky right now, to be honest.

Ozai is an asshole, and you are amazing. This was a really good fic. Good job. :D

Raising your very own sociopath 101.

Gave me chills.

Sooo... insightful 3

...Ozai is a real (unacceptable language) how can he do that to his daughter? I know about prepareing to be strong and vigilent but seriously?

Great fic, the little quotes were a nice touch

Wow.

This is... Wow. I really don't know what to say. You absolutely nailed this. Ozai would definitely manipulate his daughter this way. Heck, manipulate anyone this way. It really sent chills down my spine.

And then there's this line:

None of them are smiling; Azula had been determined to make it as realistic as possible.

Oh, gosh. I mean, she needs to draw then not smiling to make it realistic? And she just accepts that as normal. Just... Wow.

Azula definitely did some nasty, inexcusable actions... But I still pity her. Fabulous job.

I'm extremely glad I thought to look at the Avatar archive. This is amazing! I love the bit with the kitchen boy—coincidence or not? XD

Anyway, very good fic here. I enjoyed it immensely. :)