Shipping Meme #26

[eastofthemoon]

Day 26 - A pairing that you hated and ended up loving?



I didn't hate Mai/Zuko when I first saw it, but I wasn't enthusiastic about it. I blame the writing. Before this pairing officially started, the writers didn't give much personality to Mai (at least to me) besides her being a bored teenager with a crush on Zuko. Also, when she and Zuko got together, a lot of the writing... felt a bit rushed and cheesy to me.

However, my opinion on Mai and the ship changed after the boiling rock episode. For Mai to still save Zuko after how he treated her takes a lot of character, especially if you're facing Azula and Mai knew exactly how Azula would react. Also, after the season finale, the pairing has grown more on me and now I find it cute.

With that said, I do wish the show had given Mai more show time and character development. She's really grown on me since the show ended. It would have been great to see her and Ty lee interact with the gang more as friends than enemies. Actually, there wasn't much interaction between Mai and the main group at all. Oh well, at least there's fanfiction to read.



Day 01 - What is your current favorite ship?
Day 02 - What was your very first ship?
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now?
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry?
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry?
Day 06 - The best kiss?
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene?
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage?
Day 09 - The most believable relationship?
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life?
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing?
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding?
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing?
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing?
Day 15 - What is your favorite real life pairing?
Day 16 - What is the absolute worst pairing?
Day 17 - A pairing you thought would never work out, but did?
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing?
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning?
Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension anymore" pairing?
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why?
Day 22 - A pairing you hate and no one else understands why?
Day 23 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out great?
Day 24 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out badly?
Day 25 - A pairing that was/would-be adorable, but could never work out?
Day 26 - A pairing that you hated and ended up loving?
Day 27 - A pairing that you loved and ended up hating?
Day 28 - A pairing that you will never understand?
Day 29 - What ship had the best proposal?
Day 30 - Your favorite ship forever and ever and ever?

Comments

[noseless-wonder.livejournal.com]

Another good choice. I agree. The "I love Zuko more than I fear you" line was great and the episode really showed another dimension to her character. I thought they had only used her as a plot device until I saw that episode.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

That has to be my favorite line of Mai's. It would have been great if the writers could have developed her character more and give her more show time.

[beccastareyes]

Oddly enough, today I posted on Mai/Zuko, too.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

XD Great minds think alike!

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

Ditto on all this.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I really wish Mai and Zuko's first date/love confession had taken place in the actual show instead of just being shown in a comic in an issue of Nickelodeon magazine (the comic is cute, btw. I can scan it for you if you haven't seen it ~_^). Before their first on-screen kiss, the audience only gets a few small hints of a childhood crush between Zuko and Mai. So when I saw them kiss for the first time, I was like "Wait! WTF? When did THAT happen!?" O_o


The Boiling Rock was such a great moment for Mai. It gave us a glimpse of her emotional side without sacrificing any of her badassery. And "I love Zuko more than I fear you" is one of the greatest lines in the whole series. That sentence was the point at which Azula started descending into paranoia and madness. You can't get any cooler than that!

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

I have the magazine with the comic actually. It would have been nice to see that side story animated.

And I do respect Mai for that one line alone. You can't get more badass than that.