The Gaang makes a lot of progress between lunch and dinner (although it's hard to tell given they don't know how far they have to go), and Katara notes how far they've come from Ember Island in the space of about a day.
Dinner has awkward silences, and not even Jun is sassing much. Instead, she asks about their plan, which, while relevant, is more troubling than anything else, since Katara knows that without Iroh, there is no plan. Essentially dodging the question, Katara expresses a belief that they can rise to the occasion with the power of teamwork. She doesn't know if they believe her, but the cynical Jun certainly does not.
Jun asks Zuko about his advice to head north, and Zuko adds that she should avoid Ba Sing Se. Jun notes that they're near Ba Sing Se, but Zuko finds it difficult to believe that his uncle would be anywhere near the city. Jun teases Zuko about how Iroh might go into the nunneries, but says, in all seriousness, that if he's inside the walls, she can't take them to him, since she's unable to set foot inside the city. That revelation elicits an "Oh" from Katara in the diary, but not out loud; no one asks about it.
Jun asks to privately talk with Zuko, which, in this fic, means that Katara (along with Suki, Sokka and Toph- the rest of the Gaang that's present) listen in on it. Jun gets right to the point, insisting that Zuko not worry so much about facing his uncle. Zuko, understandably, insists that Jun can't know for sure, but Jun apparently met up with Iroh after his escape. She tells Zuko that Iroh misses him, and is about to say that Iroh feels the same way about the late Lu Ten, and insists that even if Iroh is angry, he won't tell Zuko to "piss off." Jun insists that Zuko get over his brooding for the sake of his friends. Zuko appreciates his advice, even if he finds it hard to believe his uncle being forthcoming about "that" and finds Jun's talk about his uncle tawdry.
An hour later, they're at the wall of Ba Sing Se, and the time comes for Jun to say goodbye to them. She says she'd ask Zuko to keep out of trouble, but that isn't his style, and instead asks him to say hello to Iroh for him, referring to Iroh by name for the first time. She says Iroh is probably twenty minutes' walk away, since Nyla is twitchy. True to form, she reminds Zuko of his debt, and says that she hates goodbyes, but insists on "see you later" instead. She starts to leave but stops long enough to see them off with a sincere "good luck."
The author really shines when she writes the minor characters, particularly when she's doing what she does without any obvious agenda for the characters or canon.
Zuko decides that they've gone on enough for one day, it's getting late, and they need some rest. No one contests this decision, as their exhaustion makes them glad that someone's making decisions. Katara sees traveling days as "super-tiring," and as the others go to sleep- Sokka with Suki on Appa's "tale", Toph in an earth tent- Katara doesn't even bother to ask the others to set up camp, with Sozin's Comet coming tomorrow.
Katara then settles down next to Zuko. Naturally, this leads to another Zuko/Katara scene, as Katara notes that they've been having those chats a lot since they came to the house. Zuko seems to be doing better since his talk with Jun, much to Katara's pleasure, so she asks him how he's doing. He says he's doing okay easily enough, but then asks Katara the same question, which is much harder for her, and her face crumples, as she's exhausted from trying to stay positive all day, and more easily lets her emotional guard down around Zuko, who takes the opportunity to embrace and possibly kiss her. It's a reassuring gesture, if not a romantic one.
Zuko tries to convince Katara things will be okay, but she says they won't be. Zuko then tells her a saying from his mother- which happens to be one from her grandmother- that things work out in the end, and if they haven't worked out, it hasn't ended yet. I'd call it a Contrived Coincidence, but I've found that many people give the same sort of advice, and it's possible that the saying crossed cultures.
Zuko takes Katara's silence as disagreement, and apologizes for his "silly" advice, but Katara says that it isn't silly, albeit something that she kept telling herself, but it didn't work, and she's still upset over Aang's sudden departure.
Zuko says that Katara was "right," and Katara spends some time trying to figure out what she was right about until Zuko says it's the part about working together. They don't have the Avatar, but they have each other, especially the two of them, and Katara's tempted to kiss him after he mentions the two of them. Zuko, of course, hastily adds the other three members of the Gaang.
A "frightfully long author's note" follows, with the author pointing out that the chapter's already long enough. This is part of the reason why I'm splitting the chapters into parts, and you may eventually see an installment that solely includes the author's note.
The author thanks the readers, says that this is set in the early part of "The Old Masters," and notices Zuko and Katara sleeping close together.
Jun is the main focus of the chapter, and the author suggests that she's a tough lady, snarky, and Only in It for the Money. The main point that's brought up here that isn't in the chapter is that she knows Season 1 Zuko but not Season 3 Zuko.
The author suggests that she wouldn't be as easily convinced as she was in the show, as she was apparently convinced to help out pro bono by the threat of the world ending, leading to the negotiation for the ruby (and the IOU because Zuko can't pay up front). It's worth noting that when the fate of the world is at stake, there are times when people of worse moral character than Jun step up to fight the threat, simply because they want to stay alive and keep the world around so they can take it over. There's also the issue of pacing, as it's more efficient for the viewers to be shown how they get in touch with someone who finds Zuko without hearing about negotiations for a payment that will happen well after the threat is resolved (and giving the payment is a detail that won't fit into the denouement).
The author believes that Clink Vaults is where the Fire Nation keeps possessions of prisoners, and where some of Iroh's stuff is, apart from what ended up with Ozai. A cursory search reveals nothing, so as far as I can tell, this is simply more of the author's Fanon.
The author says that she thinks Zuko and Jun have an odd sort of friendship, founded on the days they spent together and Jun's love of teasing him (as the person she knows the best and who gives the best reactions). For Jun, the author believes that she doesn't have many friends, but she buys people drinks, signifying she doesn't like to drink alone, which may suggest that she just wants to have friends*. Of course, it took a while for her to warm up to Iroh and Zuko, but the "nun incident" would have been an icebreaker.
(*This is y interpretation, not the author's. I've noticed that the author tends to pepper her author's notes with "I think," which tends to slightly weaken her argument. I heard once that when writing essays, you should use "I think" sparingly, so that it's presented more as an argument and less as an opinion.)
Zuko and Iroh have different reactions. Zuko is hesitant to drink whiskey again (he's a bit young to be drinking it in the first place, so it doesn't raise too many eyebrows when he abstains), so getting drunk like he did all the way back in Part 1 is a rare thing.
The author points out that Iroh has two sides- the wise side and the bon vivant side- and notes that he gained much of his wisdom from living. He saw the banishment as a holiday, and hoped Zuko would lighten up, both so that Zuko would be happy, and that he himself would be, too. I agree with this, and perhaps, going off of this, this is why he saw serving tea as a good job; he most likely realized he was happier with a humbler calling in life rather than as a general who was heir to the position of Fire Lord, o even Fire Lord himself.
The author says that the idea for the scene came from Avatar Abridged. I admit I haven't watched it, but from my experience with abridged series, virtually everyone is Flanderized if not fully Out of Character, so they're not meant to be taken too seriously. As for the song, it's from Terry Pratchett. The author then suggests a side story focused on these five days with Zuko, Iroh and Jun.
Jun notices that Zuko needs a pep talk, but since she can't quite convincingly tell him that Iroh will just forgive him (although that is *exactly* what happens), since she doesn't know Iroh and isn't so forgiving herself. She instead tells him to get ahold of himself, like Katara would say to him, and has more success, particularly since she met Iroh (another thing the author will write about elsewhere). She also sees that it's important for Zuko to get his act together as leader of the Gaang, since he's the person who they look up to. This is quite a feat, since he was at one point the newest (discounting Suki, but they met her on friendly terms first) and least trusted member.
The author says that hero worship is a theme in this chapter.
First up is Toph and Jun. Toph sees Jun as a Bad Ass, and the two have a great deal in common, but Jun can't comfort Toph, and clearly has less of a moral compass than Toph does, much to Toph's disappointment. Again, there's no way Toph should have expected much idealism out of Jun from the first impression she got
Of course, Jun isn't heartless. She does try to cheer Toph up, albeit without pretending to be what she isn't. She may be cynical enough to dismiss "the end of the world" as teen drama, but once she realizes that they aren't exaggerating, she's spurred into action.
Jun is looking for an apprentice, and the author says that we should know where she's going with this- Mai is the best choice. Considering that the author implies that Zuko is attracted to her because of her resemblance to his mother, and promises to elaborate on that more later, this is clearly a way to get Mai out of the way.
The author points out that because Mai and Jun's names sound like May and June, they're both possessed with similar personalities (cynical, sarcastic, apathetic and no patience for Zuko drama), their talents complement each other, and Mai wouldn't be bored, they'd go well together.
And then there's the other Official Couple, Aang and Katara. Apparently, according to the author, both of them idealize their partner, even though so much time has passed and they've seen each other in their more vulnerable and unguarded moments; idealizing people tends to happen among those who don't know each other very well. Aang doesn't cope well with Katara letting him down, and Katara doesn't cope well with abandonment, particularly when the stakes are this high, even if she tries not to think about it. The author wonders what's on their minds during this day when the Avatar is "gone," and concludes that they allow Jun to distract them, but worry at night.
And, of course, Katara lets her guard down and stops pretending when it's just her and Zuko. The author suggests that their personalities are complementary and they can comfort each other in difficult times, even in small ways like Control Freak Zuko giving the reins to Katara.
The author mentioned she discovered tumblr, and I'm less than fond of the site, especially since it has reblogging instead of leaving comments, thus making conversation quite a bit more awkward.
In the next chapter, the Gaang will reconnect with Iroh and the other old masters.
It's been a while, so it's good to get another chapter down. 60 of the main parts of the series (the introduction, 20 chapters of Stalking Zuko and the first 39 of Not Stalking Zuko) are down and 40 remain (21 from Not Stalking Zuko, 28 chapters of Not Stalking Firelord Zuko and the conclusion).
What I liked
- Jun came off as a well-written, interesting, Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Interesting discussion of Iroh that explains his more perverted side.
What I didn't like
- Author has a habit of using "I think" too often.
- Implications of Zuko's Oedipal Complex regarding Mai.
- Suggesting that Aang and Katara idealize each other.
