Katara and Zuko enter the kitchen, where there's more light to read the letter. Apparently, Lu Ten calls Zuko "snugbug," short for "snugglebug," and nicknames Zuko "dragonfly," which she hates. It seems a bit odd for Lu Ten to have that tendency, but since we haven't seen much of him in canon, we can't say that he doesn't do that, either.
Zuko goes into his mopey pose, and lets Katara read the letter. The letter begins by saying that if Zuko is reading this, Lu Ten is dead. He says that the war is nothing like what he expected, and the Earth Kingdom soldiers are more like them than they thought. Lu Ten asks Zuko to look after Iroh (who he says would take his death hard), Ursa(who he calls a "gentle lady") and Azula (whom he says needs a big brother, lest she turn out like Ozai).
Lu Ten's tone turns surprisingly grave for someone using nicknames, and says Ozai is "gunning for" Zuko, and that Zuko may not believe it now, but it's true. He advises Zuko to hold his tongue if necessary, avoid making Ozai angry, and if all else fails, aim for his left side, since according to Iroh, Ozai's bending is imbalanced. Lu Ten says that should Zuko get an audience with Azulon, he'll need to be polite and succinct. Since the author brings up all sorts of stories, it reminds me a little of one event I heard about at my college, in which business students got a chance to make a pitch about 60 seconds long to someone in business.
Lu Ten says that Zuko's talents lie in Dao swords and stealth (adding that he should keep a dagger on him at all times), and he shouldn't get frustrated with the fact that he's inferior to Azula in firebending. Lu Ten suggests that Zuko will get better at firebending through persistence and discipline.
Lu Ten says people don't change, and Zuko should stay like he is. He suggests that Zuko's like water, and if the drain is pulled, he'll go down the drain. Of course, water does react to changes in the environment, making me wonder if it's at all a good analogy. Lu Ten then concludes the letter, saying that Zuko shouldn't forget him or be consumed by grief for him.
Katara turns to Zuko, and isn't sure how to start the conversation other than saying that he and Lu Ten must have been close, and Zuko says yes. They then share a silence, albeit not an awkward one, for a few moments.
Katara then asks Zuko about what he means about Ozai coming for him, and Zuko describes how teachers might attack their students to test their defenses, like Piandao did with Sokka. Zuko suggests that the incident in which he got his scar was not the only time this happened.
Zuko first gives a condensed version, but Katara uses her wiles to get him to elaborate. Zuko said something that got on Ozai's nerves, causing him to attack him. Zuko fled, only managing to exacerbate Ozai's anger. Ozai cornered Zuko, but Lu Ten intervened, and attacked Ozai. Iroh then intervened, though, resulting in a "three way fight" (I can see Iroh vs. Ozai as well as Lu Ten vs. Ozai, but I'm not sure how it got to Iroh vs. Lu Ten). Azula eneded the fight by setting tapestries on fire(which sounds fairly amusing even if it isn't clear how it happened), and Lu Ten got away with Zuko while the others were distracted.
Zuko says everyone liked Lu Ten (Katara does, too), but his death caused things to go bad- Azulon died, Ursa vanished and Ozai became Fire Lord. Zuko had hoped that his cousin would have answers for those questions, but now that he has the answers he'd hoped for, he doesn't like them (although it doesn't seem as though Lu Ten could have predicted what happened, even if he has some understanding of Ozai's basic character).
Katara found Lu Ten's advice to be good, but Zuko's bothered by the idea that people can't change, especially when he has been trying so hard to do so. Katara, on the other hand, tells Zuko that Lu Ten is saying he doesn't have to try so hard to be better, and that she likes him the way he is. Zuko is fairly touched, leading to a tender moment, until Katara gets embarrassed and points out how Lu Ten's analogy doesn't hold true and she can make water go any direction she wants.
Katara has a dream about Zuko, which is weird enough for her to remember it. Zuko's in his prison outfit, and a prisoner of Ba Sing Se showgirls under Master Pakku's leadership. Katara intervenes to save him from whatever showgirls do to boys, and has to choose between kissing him and never kissing anyone else. Zuko wants Katara to kiss him, but she and Master Pakku (who has switched sides) defeat the showgirls and save Zuko, carrying him off on a palanquin borne by Jets.
Katara wonders if she's weird for having the dream, as well as if Zuko has the outfit. She considers telling Sokka, since they usually share a great deal, but she reconsiders at the last moment, lest he tell Zuko.
The Gaang comes together, and Aang, after talking about courage, says the game is one "of honesty and bravery." Katara asks if he means truth or dare, and knows that her and Sokka's games of that devolve into "dare," since they know everything about each other (but today, Katara has a dream that she hasn't told anyone else, and is fair game for anyone who thinks to ask about it). Suki played with the Kyoshi warriors, while Zuko played with Azula (and doesn't want to talk about it). Katara understands why he doesn't want to play with Azula, and Zuko points out that he'll join if it makes Aang happy, but Aang says it's about including everyone. Toph is the only one who has never played, because of her upbringing.
Of course, Katara realizes the problem of playing the game with someone like Toph, who can tell when people are lying and has no qualms about calling them out on it. She also likes embarrassing people.
Katara hears and sees various things. Suki admits to not liking elephant rats, and jumping into the sea fully clothed. Sokka fits two whole apples in his mouth and likes alphabetizing the library. Toph doesn't like abrasive noises, can fit into a small cupboard, and will let Katara teach her how to swim. Zuko can't juggle and is unnerved by clowns, something Aang hopes to rectify. Aang can't stay quiet for longer than three and a half minutes (out of five), and is willing to take dares.
Toph then dares Katara to kiss Zuko, upsetting her, as she believes that the First Kiss should be a reverent, private and appropriately romantic occasion, not part of a dare. She also denies thinking about kissing Zuko.
Aang then decides to call Katara "his girl" (emphasis added), enraging Katara enough to agree to kiss Zuko rather than accept Aang's claim on her. Toph didn't specify where the kiss has to be, though, so Katara puts one on Zuko's cheek, calls everyone else immature, declares her participation in the game over, and storms off. While the others are off doing their own things, Katara's trying to get her thoughts together.
Lunch is awkward, and Suki offers to do a fan demonstration, like how Aang dances when he's feeling awkward or in public, or, for that matter, fairly often. Suki's fan demonstration fulfills its purpose and removes the awkwardness between them by distracting them.
All three teams get 10 points for doing their dares, making this round a draw.
Katara and Aang's healing lessons begin, and Katara, despite being cross with Aang, puts her feelings aside and focuses on the task of teaching Aang healing (which seems to be an attempt to "correct" a mistake the characters made in canon). But it soon becomes clear that the effort is not being reciprocated, as Aang is not paying attention.
Aang asks why she kissed Zuko, when he could have stepped in and gotten her out of it. She says he doesn't need to do so, because she is "a person, not a possession," and can take care of herself. He says he just wanted to help, and Katara tells him to help by paying attention. He tries harder at learning healing, but is still struggling.
After his lesson, Aang flies around on Appa, Sokka reads LATD, and Suki and Toph are playing a Kyoshi game. Katara looks for Zuko, whom she hasn't seen since lunch. Katara finds Zuko moping near the mango tree, and an argument ensues over how opposed Katara is to kissing him. Katara gets very frustrated, and finds herself in a quandary- she likes him as he is, but wishes he would be less obtuse and willing to draw the most negative possible conclusions from everything. But if that changed, would he still be her Zuko?
This reminds me about how the author argued against Zuko and Mai because of their mutual desire for the other to change, and how people should love others for who they are. The latter is a good principle, but it also fails to take into account how people change over time, especially while growing up, and possibly as a result of being impacted by their loved ones. Perhaps Katara's not wrong to hope Zuko grows out of his pessimism; maybe she believes it will make him a happier individual. Perhaps Zuko is right, and Mai's becoming more expressive will make her truer to herself.
Another author's note follows. Em Dixon remarks that Ursa most likely had a hand in raising Lu Ten, since Iroh's wife was never mentioned, and most likely dead, a conclusion that I also find myself reaching. The author points out that Ursa, a Mama Bear (yes, she uses those words), was devastated to hear of her nephew's death. Of course, he was also present in her children's lives despite being significantly older than Zuko or Azula, and, being in line for the throne, was viewed as "a golden child".
Lu Ten tried to be good to his cousins, and even though it was easier to do so with Zuko, he realizes Azula's fairly young, and there's hope for her. On the other hand, things are bad between them and their father, not unlike Simba and Scar. Lu Ten knows that Ozai treats his children horribly, but finds it difficult to tell Zuko outright, so he instead tries to teach him what he knows. Of course, if Lu Ten dies, he can't teach Zuko anything more, and so he decides to outright warn him about Ozai in the letter. The author mentions in passing that Ozai is a powerful bender, but not an efficient one.
Lu Ten, as said before, also wants Zuko to look after their loved ones, but more importantly, be true to himself, especially since he's heard Zuko often told that he should be more like Azula. Unfortunately, Zuko's abusive childhood has caused him to believe that being himself is a bad thing, and to take his cousin's message the worst possible way- as a sign that there is no hope. Perhaps this is realistic, but it's still a little depressing to see Zuko react like this.
The author reiterates that Zuko's life "went to hell in a handbasket" after Lu Ten died, and that he had counted on Lu Ten to have all the answers, but is disappointed that they weren't the ones he'd hoped for. But it gives him an opportunity to show something very personal to Katara, who responds with a touching show of support.
The author mentions in passing how "ridiculous" Katara's dream is. She then points out that Aang is an attention seeker, and hoped to show off with Truth or Dare, but didn't see it backfiring due to Toph being a Troll, and making the kiss dare much to Katara and Aang's mutual displeasure.
Katara and Aang dance around the conversation of Aang's massive crush on him, and rather than outright tell him that she doesn't feel that way, Katara seeks to disprove that she belongs to him.
Unfortunately, Zuko also reaches the worst possible conclusion about the kiss, and does not allow Katara to get a word in edgewise, leaving her to angst about it. It can be somewhat unfortunate how often cause for angst develops in this fic, without the characters being given the opportunity to solve it.
The next chapter concludes the week-long festival.
It does seem annoying that this fic, which seems to be set between Aang's major acts of heroics (although from what I've heard, the author doesn't seem to consider his defeating Ozai without having to kill him a good accomplishment) seems to relegate Aang to the role of being a slacker who's too idealisic to make any meaningful contributions to discussions, and whom the rest of the Gaang reluctantly indulges. Again, the rest of the Gaang had their personalities expanded on and fleshed out in a believable and sympathetic manner, so why couldn't Aang have gotten the same treatment?
What I liked
- Lu Ten's letter and backstory.
What I didn't like
- Aang's attitude toward Katara.
- Zuko's tendency to reach the worst possible conclusions.
