Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson.
Author's Note: Ugh, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm getting to the more difficult songs. For the record, I'm not terribly fond of this song, but I thought of it right after Zuko's date with Jin, so I just had to give it a try.
Shipoopi
Well,
a woman who'll kiss on the very first date
Is usually a
hussy,
And a woman who'll kiss on the second time out
Is
anything but fussy.
Jin seemed a perfectly nice girl, Zuko reflected. She clearly liked him a lot, and he had certainly taken a risk to make her happy on their date. For his first experience with this sort of thing, it hadn't been at all bad. However, something just didn't feel right. He'd had several reasons for fleeing from her, of course: the knowledge that spending time with her was essentially giving up on ever regaining his position, his overall discomfort with displays of affection, and the realization that nearly everything he'd said to her that evening was a lie.
Even understanding all this, though, Zuko had the feeling there was something else, a niggling little detail he couldn't quite put his finger on. After a few days, he finally decided to broach the subject to his uncle.
"Uncle?"
"Yes?"
"Is it…usual for a girl to kiss you the first time you go out together?"
Iroh looked at his nephew with his eyebrows raised, clearly a little surprised at the question. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
"Well, I'm not familiar with Earth Kingdom customs, and it's been a long time since my youth," he hedged.
"Uncle…" Zuko admonished. Iroh sighed.
But
a woman who waits 'til the third time around,
Head in the
clouds, feet on the ground!
She's the girl he's glad he's
found,
She's his Shipoopi!
"Well, the ideal would be for you to kiss each other without any planning," Iroh began.
"How does that happen?"
"I don't really know. You just move towards each other and sort of…do it. If it doesn't work that way, she generally expects you to kiss her, but in my experience, girls don't allow that until about the third date."
"So, what does it mean when she kisses you?"
"I would say that she really likes you."
"That's it? This third date thing, it's not a rule?"
"You will find that women have all kinds of rules that they don't feel the need to share with us," Iroh laughed.
Shipoopi!
Shipoopi! Shipoopi!
The girl who's hard to get.
Shipoopi!
Shipoopi! Shipoopi!
But you can win her yet.
"Well then, what would other women say about it?" Zuko persisted, trying to get a straight answer. He still had the feeling that something wasn't right, and he hoped Iroh could help him to figure it out. Iroh paused, considering his response. When he finally spoke, he didn't answer this directly.
"It has been my observation that a man only values something he has to earn," Iroh began obliquely. "This applies to their relationships with women as well. Most men, even if they wouldn't say it quite this way, prefer to put forth some effort to win the woman of their choice. They find it less meaningful if it's a little…too easy."
"Too easy," Zuko repeated quietly. That actually made some sense. He considered that the something missing with Jin seemed to be the chase. There was no challenge involved.
"Women usually know this," Iroh went on. "For their part, they strike a balance where they provide hope of success while remaining just a step out of reach."
"I think I understand," said Zuko slowly. "Thank you."
Walk
her once just to raise the curtain,
Walk around twice and you make
for certain,
Once more in the flower garden,
She will never
get sore if you beg her pardon
After joining Azula in Ba Sing Se, pursuing a relationship with a citizen of the city became an impossibility, even if Zuko had wanted to do so. However, Zuko found himself thrown in with Mai for the first time in several years. He even tried taking up with her for a little while.
Aside from the fact that they were both too quiet, Zuko found that he was still missing the challenge of pursuit. They could sit there for minutes, practically hours, without saying a word, yet he never had any doubt that she was his for the taking. It wasn't what he wanted. When it came to that, he wasn't even sure that supporting his sister was what he wanted, and the fact that Mai didn't seem to have any ethical struggle about this troubled him.
Zuko even spent some time thinking about the conversation he'd had with the waterbender in that cave under the city. He didn't really harbor any romantic inclinations for her – although he had to admit that she was pretty, there was too much history and animosity between them. Besides, after the way she had greeted the Avatar when he came to rescue her, Zuko had a feeling that his uncle would have put her under the category of "unattainable." Some amount of uncertainty was acceptable, but you had to believe you at least had a chance.
Do
re me fa sol la si do si la sol fa mi re do
Squeeze her once when
she isn't lookin',
If you get a squeeze back, that's fancy
cookin',
Once more for a pepper-upper,
She will never get sore
on the way to supper.
Finally, Zuko had had enough. Enough of taking orders from his sister, enough of wondering if he'd done enough to win his father's approval, but mostly enough of betraying everyone who'd ever shown him kindness.
Zuko began by freeing his uncle and delivering him to the Avatar. After all, he reasoned, if the kid were still alive, he would need to learn firebending. Zuko exchanged a glance with the waterbender but little else, and he didn't stay long. He wished he could do something for Lee and his family, but it was too likely he'd be recognized, so he gave that village a wide berth.
As he crossed the Earth Kingdom, Zuko worked odd jobs to get by. His last stop was the modest house of Song and her mother. It took him a long time to get there, and he didn't have much of an idea what was happening in the war in the meantime. None of that seemed to matter anymore. He and Iroh had been forced to sell the ostrich-horse before heading to Ba Sing Se, but Zuko had been careful to reserve enough money to at least pay the women back.
Zuko and Song exchanged only a few words when he humbly made his offering. He bowed and retreated as soon as he pressed the coins into her hand. When he lifted his gaze, there was surprise in her eyes and curiosity, but also a hint of something else, something almost…inviting.
Zuko turned and walked away thoughtfully. He perceived that this girl was what he had been looking for: a challenge, but not impossible. He actually felt himself smiling a little.
Someday, he would return for his third visit, and then, he would find out if he was right.
Shipoopi!
Shipoopi! Shipoopi!
The girl who's hard to get.
Shipoopi!
Shipoopi! Shipoopi!
But you can win her yet.
--
Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Avatarwolf, Strix Moonwing, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, and honorary member SnakeEyes16.
Author's Note: I'm still open to ideas about "Pick a Little, Talk a Little" about women gossiping about another woman they think is improper, brazen, doesn't fit in, etc.
Review responses:
frozenheat: Thank you; it's funny how some of my best works seem to be the sadder ones.
TTAvatarfan: I think there are about 19 songs, but I'm not going to do all of them. A few are just a little too specific to the show.
Amira Elizabeth: Aw, thanks.
Aangs fangirl1214: Yeah, that's the way I like it; romance with just a little sex. I think that was part of the description of The Princess Bride.:)
Kumori Doragon: Well, I think there's so much potential for passion between those two that I like to write it now and then, especially since the show's making us wait so long to see it realized.
Justcallmewolfy: Come on, I can't just do Kataang all the time, no matter how much I love it!
Kimbalynn616: Oh, I think Katara and Aang will be together, but I also think it's likely that events will separate them for a while before that can happen.
Snows Of Yester-Year: I can relate. I just finished my final semester, and I expect there will be an explosion of new fics from me starting in May.
cacman2: Yes, I've read Breeze. I don't really like to do ideas other people have done unless I come up with a new and (to me, at least) irresistible twist. Anyway, I doubt any of the songs for this collection will fit, but I could do a standalone if the mood strikes.
chocolatecoveredbananacheese: Yes, it is a good show, and I'm glad you've found this collection.
Kataang's-Loyal-Devoted-Slave: I've thought about your idea, but I don't think it actually fits with the lyrics. However, you have given me a potential idea for a new chapter to add to the long-dormant Boys & Girls collection. I also got another suggestion that it be women at the South Pole gossiping.
