Irah

"Being a princess may be part of who I am, but it's not everything I am. And it feels like it's getting in the way."

Background
The only child of Firelord Zuko and his wife, Fire Lady Mai, Irah has had a more traditional upbringing than most of her friends. Like her mother, she attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, where she was popular and successful but made few lasting friendships. She also received extensive tutoring in a variety of subjects, including firebending; to her parents' mild consternation, she soon demonstrated the ability to produce blue fire similar to that wielded by her aunt, Azula. Although by no means unhappy at home, Irah ran off with Hayoda in search of adventure and a less confined existence.

Personality
Determined to not repeat their parents' mistakes, Zuko and Mai have always been very encouraging and supportive of Irah. In fact, they're so encouraging and supportive that she occasionally finds it difficult to tell when they're praising her because they are actually impressed, and when they're just trying to make her feel good. She knows they both love her, but wishes she could do something that would truly surprise and impress them. She also has yet to completely come to grips with the responsibilities and expectations that rest upon her as Crown Princess of the Fire Nation. Like many other princesses before her, she sometimes chafes at the restrictions that accompany her station.



Despite harboring conflicted feelings about her family and her place in the world, Irah is a very pleasant and easygoing girl. A credit to her finishing-school instructors, she is well-spoken and personable, not at all uncomfortable mingling and meeting new people. She has inherited some of her parents' reserved nature, though, and has few close friends. She also has little experience with boys (thanks in large part to her overprotective father), basing her concept of love largely on the stories of idealized, heroic romance she enjoys reading.

Irah has always enjoyed creative activities, particularly those she can enjoy by herself. Art and drawing captivated her at an early age. As kids, she and her best friend Yi Lin made up stories together - Yi Lin writing up fanciful accounts and handing them off to be drawn by Irah. Even now, in her spare time, Irah can be found looking out from the ship, or on some outcropping on a shore, painting landscapes.

Irah is sensible, calm, and collected. But because she has lived a very orderly (though not unpleasant) life, Irah has become bored over time. So, unlike Tseng (who feels a need to be the "voice of reason"), she is perfectly content to go along with Hayoda's half-baked ideas and to humor Yi Lin's crazy theories, and when she gets the opportunity to sail around the world aimlessly, she jumps at the opportunity to have a little chaos in her life before the burden of statehood eventually comes for her.

In summary, she has just as much common sense as Tseng, and can see how childish and foolhardy the whole adventure is. The difference is that she doesn't care, and just goes with the flow. For once in her life, she decided not to think things through, and she's loving it. In a way, next to the exaggerated personalities of her friends, Irah is the "normal one" of the group.

Relationships
Yi Lin has been Irah's best friend since both of them were babies. Irah enjoys the Airbender girl's sunny disposition, envies her carefree lifestyle, and loves her for totally disregarding the fact that she's a princess. Lately, she's also aggravated by Yi Lin's knack for popping up out of nowhere and ruining the mood whenever she gets to have "alone time" with Hayoda.



When they were younger, Irah and Hayoda often played make-believe, his valiant hero rescuing her damsel in distress from all manner of imaginary peril. Recently, Irah has begun to realize that her feelings for the irrepressible young man go beyond friendship, but she sometimes worries that he still thinks of her as the helpless princess from their childhood games; she's also unsure whether her parents would approve of her being romantically involved with a commoner.

Mai introduced Irah to her Aunt Azula while she was very young, over the protests of her father. To Zuko's dismay, his daughter took quite a liking to his sister (and vice versa). Irah is very impressed by her aunt, looking up to her as a role model of sorts. Although she is aware that Azula fought on the wrong side during the war, she has trouble reconciling her prickly but affectionate aunt with the cold-hearted monster that her parents and their friends seem to remember her as.

Irah's Great Uncle Iroh has been a large part of her life since she was born, and is responsible for her love of fine tea. She has visited him many times at his tea shop in Ba Sing Se.

Possessions
''This is a list of notable possessions this character has, to be used as a reference for future writers and artists. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list.''


 * "Season 1" Outfit - A set of clothes reminiscent of Fire Nation military garb. Given by Zuko and Mai for Irah's fifteenth birthday.
 * Dancer's Outfit ("Season 2" Outfit)
 * Tea Set - Given by Iroh on Irah's fifteenth birthday.
 * Jade Comb - An amazing jade comb in the shape of a dragon. Given by Hayoda on Irah's fifteenth birthday.
 * Mirror - A solid gold hand mirror given by Azula on Irah's fifteenth birthday. It is possible that Irah had to sell this (along with her other gold possessions) in order to afford the maidenhead for the kids' ship, though considering the form of the maidenhead, it was a worthy investment.

Fun Facts



 * Irah is named after her great uncle, Iroh (though this connection was originally entirely accidental).


 * Depending on who is writing her, Irah is able to bend lightning.


 * During a dance contest the kids participated in, Irah donned an exotic dancer's outfit, a somewhat revealing set of clothes that, once he found out about it, has caused Zuko no shortage of anger. Tom-Tom has received specific instructions to confiscate the outfit when he caught up to Irah and the others.


 * Her sleeves are made of transparent fabric. TRANSPARENT FABRIC, PEOPLE.


 * Irah's artistic style was conceived as similar to Katsushika Hokusai's, from late 18th/early 19th century Japan. He's most famous for his Tsunami drawing, but his work was chiefly in the realm of surprisingly intuitive human caricature, sketches of people in motion. Example of this is pictured to the right.


 * Irah's name is written as ài lā, meaning something along the lines of "cherished jade." If Hayoda ever became hopelessly romantic enough, he would probably give Irah a letter, writing her name as 愛啣, using the character ai that refers to romantic love.

Character Interpretations
Due to the fact that the Gaang Jr. series is run only by a conglomeration of enthusiastic fans, the character personalities were made to be general and open to interpretation. For all of those who are curious or wishing for a more in-depth analysis of the characters, these interpretations have been pulled from the Gaang Jr. discussion board for your connivence. By no means are these interpretations final or even correct. They are simply a resource for any who wish to use them.

Hmm. I get the feeling that she started on this trip as something as a holiday, and it’s only around the start of season 2 or the end of season 1 she actually starts appreciating in a real way what they are doing, and then starts to take advantage of the trip properly. Because of this kind of attitude, I don’t see her as a particularly active force on the ship most of the time, generally being the calm rock which all the other characters storm around. Hey, that’s actually a pretty good metaphor! Because I can see that, if the storm gets too much, it starts eroding on the rock. I’m smarter than I thought. So, yeah, eventually I see her getting with the program more, in a more...hmm, hard to explain. Like she was a part of the group before, and great friends with people in it, but after a while it stops being something to do, and becomes something that she is, and they are. I think that this slight change in her outlook would lead to some unnecessary stress, as she becomes more proactive in trying to stop the madness that daily consumes the group, or at least more sensitive to it. At the same time, she probably finds the experience more rewarding; you get out of it what you put in, afterall. She’d also take this opportunity to work on her bending. I like the idea that she goes off privately to practice lightning, due to her wish not to injure anyone (and a slight auntish desire for no-one to see her be poor at something, and thus be shamed), but I can see her slowly getting over that and at least letting someone sit and watch her while she practices, or has no problem practising on whilst still on the boat. For serious sparring, I think she’d go to Tseng, though I can also see her taking an interest in non-bending martial arts to supplement her real talents, and would thus practice on occasion with Hayoda, for a bit o’ rough an’ tumble. Temperament wise, I imagine her to be more genial than her mother, but otherwise retain alot of her sarcasm...if well hidden beneath layers of culture. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had a cutting remark always on the tip of her tongue, yet always manages to keep it from coming out. When she does get riled, it’s usually in very short bursts...probably only a sentence or two out. She’s a little like her aunt Azula used to be, except more capable of taking emotional stress and answering taunts and the like appropriately...though I think that this also leads her to being more generally introspective and, dare I say it, more melancholy overall. Still, better that than going insane for a year or two.
 * submitted by: The Dai Li

I’ve always seen Irah as being exceptionally similar to Mai, only capable of expressing herself emotionally, probably due to growing up in a much more understanding home. I’d probably say she’s the most intelligent of the group, which is where her boredom comes from: she wants to constantly be absorbing new information. Which is why she wanted to go on the adventure in the first place. It was something new. The intelligence probably could also lend her to being more likely to develop a bit of depression, but her friends keep that darker part of her personality in check. I also see her as being a perfectionist, and thus secretly exceptionally hard on herself, which seems to run in the family. Sometimes, I wonder how much of her family history she’s aware of. She admires Azula a great deal, considering what her aunt has done in the past, and I’d be curious to know exactly how much she knows of what her grandfather did. With people like Zuko and Iroh in her life, I’m sure she doesn’t take any of those things onto herself, but still. Speaking of Iroh, I always pictured them being exceptionally close, and even her love of tea developed from wanting to be even closer to him. Possibly to the point where she didn’t like it all at first, but just wanted an excuse to spend more time with him, and it slowly became a love of hers too. Her princess-status has definitely shaped a great deal of her personality. Even though she’s nowhere near as reserved as her mother, she still holds stuff in, with manners coming first. However, I see her being like Zuko in that her emotions can definitely get the best of her. I think as adventures go on, she definitely balances this part of herself out more and more.
 * submitted by: eldestofthree

Snippets
'''Main listing at Irah Snippets. Also see:'''
 * Irah Tries to Explain Things
 * Drunk Hayoda
 * Sisfist
 * It's So Obvious

Comics

 * [[Media:Caveof2lovers_color.jpg|Cave of Two Lovers]]. Irah and Yi Lin share a magical moment.
 * [[Media:Azula_and_young_irah.jpg|Azula and Young Irah]]. Irah's aunt causes some mischief for her brother.
 * [[Media:Yilin_shipping_comic.jpg|Yi Lin Shipping]]. Irah reacts to Yi Lin's theories.
 * [[Media:Never_again.jpg|Never Again]]. The reason Irah is an only child.
 * [[Media:Family.jpg|Family]]. Two princesses are reunited with their family.

Gallery
See Category:Irah for a complete listing.