Thread by @izumiturtleduck, why i think the events of smoke and shadow show that maiko [...]

why i think the events of smoke and shadow show that maiko is endgame/going to reunite: a thread
(lots of spoilers)

mai: for break up with zuko in the promise, it was done out of trust issues and her fear of getting hurt by him again, like he did in the tv show. in the comics after this we clearly see that she’s struggling to move on from him and really misses the bond they shared-

-but also craves love and affection, so that’s why she decided to go on the date with kei lo. obviously the first one didn’t end well, and after mai found out he was against zuko’s rule, she fake dated him with the sole purpose of protecting zuko, showing how deeply she loves-

-loves and cares about zuko (and not kei lo, she’s not even attracted to him). after kei lo sort of switches sides, and helps out zuko once, i think she feels guilty for using him, and gives him a chance because he likes her a lot and she still craves affection and stability,-

-however it’s pretty clear that she really doesn’t have feelings for kei lo, as she brings up zuko around him and forgets about him a lot throughout the entire comic. when she hugs him it was because he saw her holding hands with zuko (the best panel was the hand hold), and when-

-she really shows any affection to kei it was because he was being whiny about being lonely. she eventually breaks up with him at the end and since the comics ended with that i think its quite clear a maiko reunion is incoming. but lets’s talk about zuko’s feelings towards mai-

zuko: i always viewed zuko’s mission in this comic to be showing mai how deeply he values, loves, and wants to be around her, which counteracts why mai broke up with him. he’s respectful of her wanting to stay away, but gets so excited when he knows he can see her again, thanks-

-to suki (who thoroughly ships them), and eventually drops everything and goes to see mai when tom-tom goes missing. he respects her boundaries and her being with kei lo, but clearly misses her, and goes out of his way to spend more time with her. he also shows how he wants to-

-be there for her when he holds her hand (out of both support and affection in my opinion) and checks on her first after azula attacked her, kei lo, and aang. he smiles all the time around her and shows how happy he is to have her back in his life. now for the themes in this-

-themes: the library edition has an annotation from gene talking about how a central theme of this comic is fear. for mai, that fear is getting her heart broken again, especially since she’s been so hesitant with her emotions and zuko has always known her the deepest. when zuko-

-says that he misses her, she blames herself for letting him break her heart, and says how she settled for kei lo essentially because she was afraid about loving someone deeply like she did with zuko, out of fear of heartbreak. this shows her core fear in the comic, yet we see-

-her overcome it in the end. after seeing zuko protecting and wanting to be there for her, she says “love hurts” to kei lo, as she looks at zuko, right after zuko prioritized her being okay over chasing azula, showing how deeply he loves about her still, and she sees that. i-

-think that her going from “i won’t ever let myself get HURT like that again” to “love HURTS” shows that she understands true love can come with emotional pain like she had with zuko, but if you love the other person as deeply, you can overcome it together. also, it shows her-

-overcoming her fear of hurt through heartbreak, which fits along perfectly with the theme of fear that gene mentioned. so through her overcoming that fear, and breaking up with kei lo, who she dated out of that specific fear, it paves the way for a maiko reunion. other things-

-suki: a lot of people speculated that suki flirts with zuko, which i can understand, but i think everything she did was in character for her, because she’s just a good friend to everyone. she saved toph from drowning without hesitation when she didn’t even know her for a day,-

-she comforts and encourages people constantly (see shells comic and imbalance part 3), and i think she feels guilty for telling mai that zuko was meeting with ozai, which caused their breakup. it’s clear that her and zuko ended the show as friends, and she most likely wanted-

-to support him out of that guilt, and also just because it’s so in character for her. also she still canonically loves sokka, (see kiss in the promise, hug in the search, imbalance in general) and i could never see her as being the kind to cheat on someone she loves that deeply-

- so to me the fact she was clearly dating sokka before, during, and after her comforting zuko shows that it was solely platonic. also it’s clear that she roots for zuko and mai getting back together, and seems excited/happy when he talks about her in front of him. also-

-we started the comics with mai and zuko being apart, went through them arguing, and ended with them hugging for three panels, holding hands, and smiling at each other while holding their little siblings (foreshadowing for izumi me thinks), and a kei lo breakup, so if that’s-

-not them overcoming their flaws in the relationship, idk what is. additional that shows maiko is endgame include:
-gene saying that a couple who broke up gets back together three years later (literally who else would it be)
-izumi meaning fountain
-izumi having the mai genes -

-this was so long and honestly how i coped with me being so upset that they broke up and hoping that they get back together, so thank you for coming along, i hope you see the truth light, in conclusion maiko rights

i love you all so additional crumb sponsored and created by the mai worship circle (specifically @maikosupremacy ) but look at the family resemblance between mai and iroh ii, that’s on the mai genes

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