Ooh! *Raises hand in class* (also, ahem, hi) - I was just talking about the non-bending Ursa issue on my journal, and saying that the reason I can never imagine her as a bender is that their entire take on her was so very much a matter of 'here is the docile noble wife mama-bear who lives for her children (or, well, at least one of them) and will also kill for them' that seeing her do something as flashy as firebending is beyond me. But then they also went and made all the Fire royals (apart from Zuko for most of the show, oh Zuko) super-awesome benders, which unless we're meant to assume they're blessed by Agni or something suggests breeding for fieryness and confuses the issue no end. But anyway! Sadly I too have found no decent Azula-redemption fic. Alas. I feel your explanation may be the correct one, as well, gah.