Katara's bed in the home where she's squatting belonged to someone named Kira, who was in love with a person named Azo, and felt the need to carve it into the bed. Katara wonders what happened to the two of them, an interesting touch concerning what might think about, even if she and the readers won't find the answer.
Katara's not just thinking about the couple, but also many things with the letter F- fireflakes, friendship and forgiveness. She also thinks about whether they should fix the creaky house up, but knows they're already thinking about where to go next, even if they haven't decided yet. Katara finds Zuko Exiled to the Couch, and sneaks up on him. He's annoyed, but admits that he's the one who taught her that.
Zuko makes some tea for Katara, hoping that, as Iroh suggests, it will help her sleeps, but says that the tea won't help with sleeping on the couch. Katara's annoyed with her brother for sexiling Zuko, but Zuko says that it's nothing compared to actual exile- he's presumably slept in worse places than on the couch.
Katara brings up Kira and Azo, and Zuko mentions that in the Fire Nation, couples are allowed to be in the same company but not the same unit. He says the Fire Nation has women in its armies, just not on the front lines, saying that they often train in different fighting styles and perform roles such as espionage, giving Katara hope that Kira is still alive.
Katara finds it strange that Zuko talks about women in the army as though it's normal, recalling her own struggles with getting Master Pakku to train her, and only succeeding because of Kanna's betrothal necklace (Incidentally, I have to wonder how Zuko feels about the time he picked it up and using it to track down Katara after hearing this).
Zuko naturally disagrees with this, saying people should learn self-defense, even women, nicely fitting with how he felt about teaching The Duke how to defend himself early on in the series. Of course, Katara then points out how the genders don't exactly have the same roles, and Zuko says that you'd have to be built like a tank to carry all those spears. The women have roles at home, such as law enforcement and combat instructors, and Za Jei, the woman who gave him the brutal firebending training he mentioned earlier, is his favorite teacher aside from his uncle.
Katara laments how things are in the Northern Water Tribes, with Yue in an Arranged Marriage with Hahn, and Yugoda, despite her confidence, becoming nothing more than a healer. Zuko says the latter is important, and helped with treating his injuries; I agree, but while my recollection is fuzzy, it seems unfair that women are barred from learning how to fight, while men are not necessarily barred from learning how to heal. Zuko, talking about the former, mentions how his parents were in an arranged marriage, but weren't happy (As of The Search, this is quite the Under Statement).
Katara concludes that in the latter regard, the Fire Nation is better than the Water Tribe, a somewhat understandable, if not necessarily correct, case of finding the grass greener on the other side of the fence. Zuko doesn't quite agree, saying that it's because of the war and the need for soldiers that women are allowed to fight. The war has gotten bad enough that everyone has lost someone, so Katara asks about who Zuko lost; after some hesitation, Zuko answers- if you've seen the show, you'll know that his "someone" is his cousin, Lu Ten.
Zuko says Lu Ten died in the siege of Ba Sing Se when Zuko was 11, and Iroh never got over the loss, as you can see in the heartbreaking "Leaves on the Vine" sequene. Katara can't think of anything more meaningful than "I'm sorry," an understandable reaction when hearing about the death of someone you never knew; I wonder if Zuko felt the same way hearing about Katara's mother's death. Zuko mentions that he didn't know Lu Ten all that well, but he taught him to swim.
Zuko then gets an idea; to hide out from the Fire Lord at the abandoned summer home where he learned to swim in the past. Katara is skeptical of whether it would work to hide from the Firelord in his own home, but Zuko points out that it's in an isolated part of Ember Isle, and no one ever goes to the house anymore. Katara worries about "creepy Ozai vibes," but Zuko reassures her there won't be any, although Katara wonders whether Zuko can tell which "Ozai vibes" are the creepy ones.
It's also indicated that part of the motivation is that everyone has their own room, and Zuko won't be Exiled to the Couch. Katara suggests that Zuko just say no to Sokka, but Zuko says that it would be against the bro code (yes, it's in bold), and with the future uncertain, it's not fair for them not to let Sokka and Suki enjoy their time together while they can.
Katara then invites Zuko back to her bed, apparently forgetting the room part. True to form, she clarifies that he can use Suki's unoccupied bed. After being convinced that it's not improper and Toph wouldn't mind, Zuko acquiesces, and falls asleep quickly once he hits the pillow.
A long author's note follows, mentioning that this was about gender dynamics. She said she saw a movie called Made in Dagenham, which inspired her to write about gender equality.
The author mentions that Katara has had to struggle to prove that she, as a female, can fight alongside the males, and since she had to work so hard to do that, she feels strongly about the issue. The author suggests that the Water Tribes are the most patriarchal of the four societies, the North more so than the South. The author suggests that Sokka was "a bit sexist" at first, largely the result of the cultural values he had, since he's left in charge of them as the oldest male, which seems largely true. Of course, the author suggests that this pales in comparison to the Northern Water Tribe, with Pakku in particular.
The author cites the Northern Water Tribe's arranged marriages for people outside the nobility, which Kanna only got out of by running away, and how Pakku refused to train Aang because he was passing on his lessons to Katara. The author points out that this is an egregious case of Skewed Priorities, since Aang was their best hope of saving the world, and, as Katara pointed out, her necklace is the only thing that changes his mind, but the author's intention is not to bash Pakku. Katara prevailed, but she's still a rarity in the Water Tribe, and change will take a long time.
The author cites how societies allow women to participate more in war, especially in a century-long war like the one the Fire Naton has been in since Sozin's reign. Of course, there is still a glass ceiling for women, as the author notes the absence of female generals, and the aristocracy is very much in favor of the men, so the author concludes that the war is the only reason for this change.
As for how this affects Zuko, he's confused by the Water Tribe's customs, but is trying to follow his uncle's example and learn from other cultures. Let's hope he learns the right lessons.
All in all, this was a nicely nuanced treatment of gender equality issues that fit with what we know about the series and didn't go into anti-sexism preaching.
After the rant, as well as another YMMV disclaimer, the author thanks the reviewers, pointing out one known as Donnacrunch who said Suki didn't get much characterization other than "Sokka's girlfriend" and "Bad Ass", and the author hopes to rectify this. Suki's hardly the worst case of a Satellite Love Interest, but it might be nice to see what the author can do for her. Donna also mentioned that Sokka might get Suki pregnant, and the author confesses to not thinking much about it. To be fair, neither do most writers of kids' shows; one entry on the Reality Ensues page for Western Animation, for a series that isn't ATLAR or Legend Of Korra (I won't mention which one, since it's spoiler tagged), also indicates that the possibility isn't shown much in fiction. She then mentions that it's given her a "foolish plot bunny."
The next chapter will include arguments (the author feels the need to point out that they're not between Katara and Zuko this time), the Gaang moving to Ember Island, and Katara using her healing waterbending to get close to Zuko.
What I liked
- Good callbacks to earlier events.
- Treatment of sexism and gender roles that is so far more nuanced and less preachy than some fics (*cough* Team8 *cough*).
- Showing more characcter dynamics
What I didn't like
- Suki isn't as much of a Satellite Love Interest as the reviewer suggests.
Comments
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