Zuko's advisors meet, and first on the agenda is the coup. Unfortunately, they find out that being certifiably insane doesn't disqualify him from the throne any more than being unable to bend does, since a lot of his predecessors had the former problem.
With a lot of people at the meeting complaining that Ozai should have died in the Grand Finale, Aang's understandably not taking this well, but how does he react? I'll see if you can figure it out.
- A)He comes up with a clever idea to dissuade the conspirators without killing anyone.
- B)He convinces everyone that killing Ozai would not have been a solution
- C)He apologizes and defers to the judgment of Zuko and his advisors.
- D)He whines about how he still thinks it's the right decision.
If you picked Choice D, you're correct.
Za Jei tells Aang to shut up, and that the world doesn't work the way he hopes it does. Katara feels bad for him(and nothing more than that), but concedes that as rude as Za Jei is, she has a point. The good thing about this fic is that all sorts of unlikely and unpleasant individuals tend to make valid points from time to time. The bad thing is that Aang is virtually never one of those people.
The conversation shifts to how to deal with the coup, and Za Jei proposes arranging an accident for Ozai. Aang naturally takes umbrage, and Za Jei is on the verge of reminding him of the time when he (actually, the Ocean Spirit possessing him), destroyed the Fire Nation fleet, but Zuko cuts her off. That said, Zuko suggests that Aang leave, and when Aang plays the Avatar card, Zuko fires back with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how Aang should have done his duty, and if he has nothing more than "empty sanctimony" to offer, they don't need him.
Despite the fact that the idea of killing off Ozai was the catalyst for ejecting Aang from the meeting, it's tabled fairly quickly, since Zuko is not like his father, and that fact is the source of good will. As such, they table it in favor of arresting the ringleaders for treason and dealing with everyone else. It's nice to see that this sort of solution has practical issues, but apart from the fact that Aang's intelligent enough to recognize them, this seems like nothing more than an excuse to make Aang look immature.
After they decide that making the trials open will prevent the conspirators from becoming martyrs, and show them as opportunists and profiteers (when, in fact, a lot of Zuko's supporters think he's better for him), they move on to disqualifying Ozai to prevent any other attempts to enthrone him. There are two offenses- fraternizing with koala sheep or committing a grave dishonor, such as murder. They decide to go with the latter, but while they have proof that over 200 people disappeared in Ozai's reign, they don't have any proof that he killed any of them himself. Toph decides to interrogate the imperial firebenders, Zuko goes to see Azula over Iroh's objections, and everyone else prepares in case they have to flee the country.
Katara, after going to see her father, finds Aang crying with Appa, and feeling bad for him feeling excluded, goes over to talk wit hhim. She informs him that they decided against killing Ozai, but while Aang momentarily gets the impression that Zuko might take his opinion seriously, he's disappointed, as Katara goes into yet another lecture about how what he did was wrong. This ties into a recurring trend about Aang- compared to the rest of her friends, Katara seems to regard Aang as someone she pities more than she actually likes, and someone she puts up with rather than she genuinely enjoys being around.
Katara doesn't go all the way through, as Hakoda steps in, and asks Aang why Zuko should listen to him, and when Aang says that it's because he's the Avatar, follows up by asking what being Avatar means to him.
Canonically, I could see Aang stopping to think a moment before giving his answer. He'd start off by saying that back when he'd first been announced as being the Avatar, he'd thought of it as an onerous responsibility that meant the end of his carefree days and separation from Monk Gyatso and everyone else he likes. After emerging from the iceberg 100 years later, and seeing his home destroyed, and that of his new friends threatened by invaders, he'd started to realize that he'd have to do his part to end the war. He'd come to realize that he would have to fight many battles and make difficult choices, but the power to save the world and protect his friends and other innocents was worthwhile.
But of course, this is Stalking Zuko, and the author's biases shine through. Hakoda ends up controlling the discussion, and seemingly lectures Aang about the Avatar's responsibilities, as though he has more of an understanding than the Avatar himself. The debate is extremely one-sided, with Aang feebly protesting that he has a right to his beliefs, while Hakoda lectures him about how not only was his decision the wrong one, but Aang should take responsibility and listen to others when it comes to their own nations. Katara is pleased with how eloquently Hakoda put this, since Aang seems to be listening, but is disappointed when Aang runs off again.
This is indicative of another trend with this fic. Characters, especially Aang, take a long time to learn their lessons. Character Development should not happen overnight, nor should it, but it also shouldn't drag out too long, lest the characters come off as thickheaded and stubborn. In Aang's case, I can't help but think that the author makes him so reluctant to learn his lesson so she can have Aang get lectured and scolded that much more while the other Zutarians cheer at the Aang-bashing.
Zuko then approaches Katara, and says Azula wants to see her and Mai. Katara's confused, and Mai initially outright refuses to go, (understandably) unwilling to listen to Azula's request. Mai also is skeptical about the idea of Zuko and Azula's relationship improving, since she suggests that even the twin-fish, siblings who eat each other by the time they're juveniles, would find it "messed up."
Azula reveals to Zuko that she has good and bad news, but with a very twisted definition of good, as the former is that Mai was spying on Zuko, which infuriates him to the point that he doesn't want to speak with Mai, and shocks Katara, who'd started to think that maybe Azula was becoming kinder after all. After Mai slaps Azula and promises to never come by again, Azula seems hurt, but then gives Zuko a note indicating directions.
While Zuko and Mai's relationship was never very stable in this fic, I can't help but think that the entire spying business was thought up as a contrived excuse to break them up, and a way for Zuko to no longer want to see Mai, even for honor's sake.
Zuko and Za Jei have a sparring session and a heated argument about Aang, complete with an actual Cluster F-Bomb by Za jei, and with Aang around to overhear. Once again, similar to JJ vs. Zuko, it's "Aang is incompetent, immature, etc." vs. "Aang is Just a Kid," without even a consideration for "Aang isn't perfect, but he did succeed in saving the world." Even worse, Za Jei wins the argument, and Katara decides to stop coddling Aang, which likely means that she'll no longer even pretend to be nice to him.
Katara rejoins Zuko, and notices that he's dismayed at the prospect of having to go to the Dragon Catacombs, even if she doesn't know why yet. Katara offers him a hug, only to accidentally grab his ass instead, and when she apologizes for being sweaty, he says he likes her moist (if he's talking about "down there," that might just push the fic past even an M rating).
In the author's notes, the author once again goes into her usual spiel about how Aang needs to learn responsibility, including various misconceptions (e.g. Aang killing Ozai would be "self-defence"). Considering how long these are and how much the author's views drive the texts, a part of me wonders if this is essentially a Zutara essay described as a fanfic.
Keep in mind that I actually like the Zutara parts of this fic in and of themselves, since the author has a good amount of chemistry between them and nicely contrasts Zuko and Katara's personalities. The fic's at its strongest when it's a story and not a way of bashing characters, correcting canon's mistakes or espousing the author's views. Perhaps a good deal of the series' more than 800,000 words would have been lost by removing all those elements, but a great deal would have been gained.
What I liked
- The fact that they didn't go with offing Ozai...
What I didn't like
- ...but that they tabled it soon after Aang left, making it seem pointless.
- Aang being not allowed to give a good defense of his position.
- Mai's spying on Zuko being introduced and used as an excuse to end the Maiko relationship.
