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Embarrassment in three acts: Act two.
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We all resumed our seats. Toph was most excited because her character was about to be introduced and so she sat on the edge of her seat with anticipation. Zuko slumped beside me in resignation and Aang crossed his arms in indignation. I'm sure that Sokka and Suki were having a light canoodle behind us, where they thought no one would see them. Zuko got out his program and held it in front of his face and started studying it with great concentration.
We were ready.
The curtain came up. Our stage counterparts were looking for an earthbending teacher. Stage Aang announced she was going to have a look around (quite girlishly). Aang made an angry noise. Zuko looked like he was steadfastly trying to ignore the shenanigans on stage. Toph was super excited. StageAang flew around the whole theatre (this was actually quite impressive, I didn't know the rope could stretch that far) in her search. Stage Aang landed again and said she had no luck. A booming voice said that we had to look for an earthbending teacher underground. And then the most hilarious thing ever happened.
Toph was being played by a GIANT GUY!
A giant guy with no neck – just muscles- appeared on stage – wearing a much bigger version of Toph's earth kingdom dress. We'll it is not really a dress. It's pants that look like a skirt but isn't. Aren't. Whatever. Anyway he was wearing a larger version of Toph outfit and even had her little headband. Oh My goodness! This is too good to be true! This is even better that having Toph played by an over-emotional crybaby. StageToph actually reminds me somewhat of The Boulder. All stage Toph needs to do is refer to herself in third person and the illusion is complete. I am beside myself with glee and judging from the giggles and muffled laughs of the others, they are in complete agreement with me. Zuko dropped his program in surprise as StageToph flexed her/his muscles a bit and claimed that she was called Toph because it sounds like tough and that's exactly what she was!
The play reflects the truth! Hardy ha ha! Sucks to be you Toph!
Toph was on the edge on her seat and was holding on to the bannister in excitement. Her expression looked a little baffled when StageToph was speaking. She cleaned her ear out and said, with a bit of confusion, that she sounded like a guy. A really buff guy. I told her that was she heard on stage was the truth. Now she knows how it feels. Toph is actually ecstatically happy! She wouldn't have cast it any other way! She thinks buff Toph is the coolest thing ever.
StageToph announced she could see with a Sonic Wave that she released from her mouth. And then she let out this unholy, incredibly loud scream that possibly deafened the entire front row. It was the worst noise I have ever heard! How can a human mouth produce such a sound! StageToph finished screaming and turned back to the audience and said in a completely normal tone of voice
There. I got a pretty good look at you. Toph is so overjoyed by the Sonic Wave that I fear we are to be treated to several of her Sonic Waves back home. She'll try it out just for shiggles, knowing Toph.
-?-
The play continued to be dreadful (but occasionally hilariously so.) Stage Toph did start referring to herself in third person. The Toph is going to crush you! Uncle continued to be obsessed with cake, much to Zuko's consternation. I don't understand, he doesn't even like cake that much. My character continued to flooze onto random guys. Have you been working out? Sokka's character continued to tell lame jokes, I am way funnier than that! Aang character continued to be played by a woman. Can't she just try to act a little more manly?
Zuko had discovered that this play wouldn't go away if you just ignored it. In fact his plan to just ignore the play wasn't going to work. There's no ignoring this play – how can you ignore a sonic wave from Toph's mouth? After Toph's initial scream, he didn't retrieve his program and started watching again with a very baffled look on his face. I schooched over and whispered I thought you weren't going to watch in his ear. He leaned over and whispered in my ear that this play is so bad it has hypnotised me with its awfulness and I can't look away.
From that moment on we started quietly heckling the play. It seemed like the only sensible course of action with a play this ridiculous. We made fun of the melodramatic delivery, the various inaccuracies and inadvertently hilarious shenanigans. StageMe's tearbending. Stage Toph's tendency to stay The Toph wants to crush! Crush now? Occasionally we were shushed by Toph, who was really enjoying the play. We had to scoot closer together to whisper to each other and not disturb her enjoyment of this unadulterated ridiculousness.
-?-
Something rather alarming (for Zuko) and hilarious (for me) has happened.
I am no longer the only floozy in this play.
StageMe has been joined in her strumpety, floozy ways by StageZuko, who after a slow first act on the strumpetry front – appears to be trying to make up for lost time. In the first act, most of StageZuko's scenes were with his uncle. (This play is cheeky, but it is not that cheeky) and now he has been unleashed upon the Earthkingdom in all his grumpy glory. StageZuko's love of random earth kingdom women knows no bounds. Typically one of them will wander on stage, be immediately besotted with StageZuko, who will say something grumpy/rude to them and then they will start canoodling for no apparent reason. Also, it seems like the various random peasantry of the earth kingdom have all been to Suki's school of lame punnery. The ladies in question frequently made comments like oh you're so hot, baby you can light my fire etc.
Zuko is extremely confused/alarmed by this turn of events. I have laughed (maybe a bit too much) at his expense. Really I am just glad to have someone else join me in inaccurately portrayed floozy solidarity. He got a bit grumpy at the start, when he had it off with this cabbage selling lady (why StageZuko had it off with cabbage lady remains a mystery). He was most irate that people would think he was some sort of trollop for Cabbages. I reminded him that it could be worse. StageMe had it off with his Uncle, as well as all and sundry other male extras, after all. At least the actress who played cabbage lady was quite young/fetching and had a name and more than three lines. I have absconded with gents who didn't even have a name and a line. All they had to do was wander across stage and StageMe fell for them.
I shoulder nudged him and told him not to take it personally. That's what I was doing. The best we could do was just make fun of this stupid play. It was obviously mostly fiction anyway. I think having a good sense of humour about the play was helping me not to take it so seriously. If I thought this was a serious and accurate portrayal, I would be very offended. But it is just a very silly play. Zuko nodded and agreed with the play's sillyness. We started heckling our stage counterparts poor taste in the opposite sex as well as their general hussy-ish behaviour. We were both a bit perplexed as to why our stage counterparts were so alluring. All I did was cry on people and make hopeful speeches. Zuko pointed out that all StageZuko did was be rude to people and presumably eat cabbages (he had received many from cabbage lady). I told him that I found cabbages very alluring. He looked up in surprise and said really?
No! Not really, you dolt!
-?-
At one point Zuko got most irate about his uncles love affair with cake again. During a scene where Zuko had a threesome with these two random villagers and then stole their ostrich horse, Uncle had to stop to get some cake before they made their sneaky get away. Zuko said This is getting beyond ridiculous, he hates lemon and poppy seed flavoured cake. It's kind of cute that he gets all huffy about his Uncle's uncharacteristic cake eating. But still. There were many other things that I would get upset about if that were my character acting that way. Cake would be last on my list of things to get huffy about. I said that's your biggest problem? You really think lemon and poppy seed cake is the biggest characterisation error in this play? You just had a threesome with that woman and her mother and then you stole that woman's ostrich horse and I know you'd never do something like that.
Zuko made his Shameface – the one that normally precedes the guilty dance. I said You did? with some surprise. Which one, the threesome or the ostrich horse thievery? He looked surprised at my question and said of course the ostrich horse thievery -What do you take me for? Welly-well-well then, not everything in this play is completely made up. I responded with an ostrich horse thief and he crossed his arms grumpily. I made a slightly concerned face at him. Why had he nicked someone's ostrich horse? He said he wasn't proud of it and looked a bit guilty before he explained a more. He whispered to me that he and Uncle had nothing at that point and he wasn't used to being dirt poor. He sent the villager enough money to buy two ostrich horses anonymously when he got back to the palace, but that didn't make it better. He seemed so down about it.
The guilty dance was starting! Oh noes!
Zuko always feels exceptionally guilty about everything, in the history of ever! He obviously felt a zillion times more guilty all on his own than he would if I gave him a lecture about the consequences of stealing etc. If he was sulking, he wouldn't be in the mood to keep making fun of the play with me and right now, finding the hilarity in the ridiculousness was the only thing stopping me from storming out in high dudgeon. I gave him a shoulder nudge and I told him that I was sure the random peasant would have been glad to get enough cash for two ostrich horses and that really would have made it a little better. Two horses are better than one etc. Zuko nodded and seemed less sad panda about it.
We went back to watching the play..
-?-
Azula came on stage and did a ribbon dance – oops sorry- firebending demonstration and announced to us in the audience that she was the greatest firebender alive and heir to the throne (she said this exceptionally dramatically) and was going to catch the avatar and her brother and then she laughed. A little evilly, just quietly. She set about her mission. There were shenanigans and ribbon dancing and drama. Azula was cornered and she needed to get away and she distracted us with StageZuko's honour. I think it's over there. All our stage counterparts actually looked. Azula disappeared through a trapdoor and StageMe offered some exposition. She escaped- but how? I repeated this after her and included her confused hand gesture. I have taken to mocking all of StageMe's ridiculousness and repeating her very badly delivered lines if they strike me as funny. Zuko laughed next to me.
-?-
There were a few battles. StageMe declined any opportunity to be less that useless and could most frequently be found crying in a corner, occasionally over a random dude. StageZuko would managed to pull himself away from his earth kingdom trollop-de-jour and do a ribbon dance.
A girl who was obviously meant to be gloomy hairbuns had a big smiley-face belt. This struck me as incredibly funny and Zuko made a bit of a face and said she wasn't even that Gloomy. Sokka piped up that he was just blinded by fruit tarts. Sokka had joined in our heckling conversation and would make occasional interjections that he thought would be especially funny. Stage Ty Lee was another fellow floozy (and then there were three)- but she knocked people unconscious with her kisses – StageMe just made them wet from her tears and StageZuko just made them frustrated (and not always sexually).
-?-
In the drill scene I started to doze off a little bit. Azula was gloating evilly (actually she does this is real life as well. Maybe the writer did get one character right). StageAang was throwing rocks at her uselessly. Real Aang got a bit grumpy and said that it hadn't even happened like that and he hates this play. I think he hates the play very much because it makes him seem effeminate and useless. However, not as effeminate and useless as my character who was tearbending over one of the terra-team during the whole drill sequence.
Sokka, our fellow heckler, was confused by this. Who even is that random guy. I shrugged and said I had no idea. I had been kissing random characters who don't even have names now for most of the second act. Zuko shrugged and said So have I. Sokka thought I protested a little bit too much and started telling Zuko about how keen I had been to heal all the terra-team back in Ba Sing Se.
Oh my god! Shut up Sokka!
This was embarrassing. Okay they were all quite good looking with their shirts off. Fine yes! I admit that. But that wasn't the reason I was keen to heal them. I was keen to heal them because I am a healer and they were injured. But Sokka went on (and on and on) about it while I steadily grew more embarrassed and cranky. You know you were hot for them. You were all oh yeah! let me put my healing hands on you there- you big strong earthbender you – at that point StageMe said almost exactly the same thing and Sokka was very very amused.I was not. I took (snatched) Sokka's fireflakes and poured them on the ground and stomped on them (quite spiritedly) over the sound of his protestations. I sat back down smugly. Sokka's not so funny without his snacks! Sokka made a few comments about my meanness re:fireflakes.
Real Toph shushed us at the same moment that StageToph stopped the drill with her sonic wave. By the combined forces of the Tophs, we are shushed. You simply cannot bicker over that dreadful noise.
-?-
StageMe canoodled with Jet for a bit (and also Stage Long Shot- the hussy). Then we all went to free Appa from Lake Laogi. StageJet hid behind Stage Toph for a sec and put googly eyes on. He was now brainwashed. Apparently. Suddenly a rock fell on him and he crawled under it a little. Zuko seemed a little perturbed and sat back in his seat and glanced in confusion at the rock on stage. Did jet just... die? he asked a little uncertainly. I'm not sure actually. Either on stage or in real life. Sokka answered for me and said You know it was really unclear. Zuko didn't seem quite satisfied by this answer.
Toph shushed us again.
-?-
The scene shifted and StageZuko and StageMe were in the crystal catacombs.
Oh bollocks!
This was going to be bad. Knowing our stage counterparts, the scenery would melt with the combined power of their floozy-ness. Both of them were such tarts in this play. They both just threw themselves at any random person. Perhaps they were meant to be together. Strumpets unite!
I knew where this scene was going already. If they made it throw more than two lines of dialogue before canoodling- I would be surprised. StageME floozied onto him (as she does) and StageZuko acted all aloof and grumpy (as he does). Seriously, being grumpy seems to be part of StageZuko's charm. StageZuko just grumpies at the various womenfolk and they love it!
Wow. This was going to be awkward. I glanced at Zuko out of the corner of my eye at just the same moment he glanced at me. This was friggin weird. Seeing stage versions of yourselves get snuggly. Zuko gave me an imperceptible nod and we schooched away from each other at the same time. We had been sitting really close to each other (on account of whispered heckling etc). But this was going to be so ludicrous and embarrassing already. Us sitting right on top of each other was only going to make it more so. Sometimes you just need a bit of space. Neither of us could think of anything funny or witty to say about this scene. It was really hard to see the funny side of this scene.
StageMe declared that she only saw Aang and a brother and she didn't see him in a romantic way. And the snuggle off was on! StageMe and Stage Zuko fell behind the rock they were sitting on in the throws of passion. I actually don't think the fall was deliberate. It was a rather graceless stack. I gestured that Zuko might want to cover Aang's eyes and ears at this point, but he pointed to the empty seat beside him and said Aang had just left to get fireflakes for Sokka. Okay, I am nothing like StageME. She is a useless floozy. But we are in agreement on one thing. I don't really see Aang in a romantic way. I don't know if I ever will.
-?-
Okay. All those times that I wrote- this was the most embarrassing thing ever- Scratch all of those. This what just happened, just then, is the most embarrassing thing ever. I was less embarrassed when I drunkenly licked Zuko. At one point StageMe protested slightly and said You know you can't just be a jerk to me and then just kiss me and... StageZuko kissed her and she said Bugger it! Let's get it on!
This scene also had the freaky bonus of being incredibly surreal as well as incredibly embarrassing at the same time. StageMe and StageZuko were really, kinda, going for it. Various costume accoutrements were being scattered joyfully by the actors who, ostensibly, were very rapidly getting to a state of undress (they were still mostly behind the rock).
It is one thing for me to have these daydreams in the privacy of my own head but an entirely different matter too see them acted out on stage. In front of my brother and friends. And the boy in question.
I have never previously experienced this level of embarrassment.
If I were home I would pull the covers over my head and never come out again. The Haru scene was bad, the Jet scene was really bad, the Uncle scene was just disgusting. (this is not to mention all the other random guy scenes). But I didn't have Haru or Jet or Uncle or a host of random guys, sitting next to me while the scene was happening. Zuko was right next to me! The Zuko scene was so much worse because of this. As it was I blushed and me and Zuko moved even further away from each other out of intense embarrassment.
Even with the us scooching away from each other- I could practically feel Sokka's assumptions going haywire. I could feel all the various comments he was going to make. I didn't need to turn around to know that Suki's eyebrows had risen to the top of her head and that she was going to browbeat me later about what is going on between me and Zuko. Toph was shaking with silent laughter. Aang thankfully hadn't come back at this point.
To make matters worse (as if they could get any worse)– there was no dialogue in this scene now and Toph pretended that she was having a hard time following what was going on. She asked me to explain it to her. Err. I told her that StageMe and StageZuko were...wrestling. Then StageMe called out quite enthusiastically oooh harder, you bad boy. Zuko (the real one) groaned and hid his face, which had gone bright red, in his hands – which he rested on the bannister.
Our stage counterparts started moaning eagerly. Toph made a face at me and said that it didn't sound like any wrestling she'd ever heard before and that Zuko and I don't make those noises when we wrestle on the beach every night. Just at that point, Stage me called out that's not how your uncle does it from the stage.
I am dead from embarrassment.
I will never recover.
Yue, Just smite me now.
-?-
No one else will ever understand this, except Zuko, but what actually happened in that cave was more intimate than any cheeky time between our stage counterparts could be, in my opinion. Our stage counterparts just get cheeky all the time. Being cheeky means nothing to them. Me and Zuko really talked in that cave and that will always mean something to me.
-?-
This is really strange to say, but I was actually glad when Zukop betrayed us in the play because it put an end to dreadful, terrible, ridiculous scene. Zuko hadn't moved from his slumped on the bannister position and was still trying to hide his face. When his Uncle and Azula were both on stage and trying to convince him to make a choice, his shoulders slumped further and he looked so sad.
StageZuko wandered over to his Uncle and gave him a huge shove and said he smelled and StageZuko would hate him for all time. My Zuko looked, if possible, even more depressed. Ooh and his guilty face was back. He didn't actually say that, did he? He said I might as well have and turned his face away from the play and sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
I reached out across the space between us that our schooching had created and took his hand in mine. I gave his hand a little squeeze. He squeezed back and let go of my hand and sat back in his seat. We schooched a little closer together again. And I whispered it's just a stupid play okay in his ear. He nodded, but didn't look any happier.
-?-
It was time for the second intermission. Zuko was slumped against the wall in his super mopey pose. I kneeled next to him and he said that he knew I meant well, but he kind of wanted to just sit quietly and mope in peace. I rubbed his shoulder and got up. He was really down. He'd probably talk about it later over tea, when it was just the two of us. He doesn't like to have big touchy feely conversations with a audience. I didn't want to be seen paying too much attention to him after that scene. People (Sokka) would get the wrong idea. We'd talk later and I would try to cheer him up then. Everyone else seemed okay, mood wise. Toph was gleeful, Sokka was only mildly irritated and Suki hadn't been in the play enough to get upset over anything. Where was Aang?
Suki was making a comment about how we barely make it out alive from most of our situations. Sokka fired back something about being captured by Azula and she made a frowny face at him and asked if he was trying to get on her bad side. Retreat Sokka! I had a quick look around, but I couldn't see Aang anywhere. Out of all of us, even Zuko, he seemed the most upset by this play. I should go find him and see if he's okay. I asked the others if they had seen him but nobody had. I told them that I was just going to have a quick look outside.
-?-
It didn't take long to find Aang. He was on the balcony looking at the moon. It was nearly full. I felt like waving at it. This play has got me thinking a little about Yue. Beneath us it looked like the earlier session of the play had let out. Crowds were pouring out of the lower theatre of The Dragon Twin. Everybody seemed happy and there was much hilarity and laughter as they quotes pieces of dialogue to each other. The play must end well then.
Aang looked grumpily down at them. I asked him if he was okay, with a lot of concern. Aang is always happy and cheerful. It is one of the things I love about him. I hardly ever see him so angry. It always worries me when Aang is angry. He told me he was angry enough to be in the avatar state and I don't know if he was kidding. I told him that even though it was upsetting, I thought he was overreacting.
Look, not that I want to get into a whole thing about who was portrayed worse in the play, but really Aang got off easy. So he was being played by a woman. So What! At least he wasn't made out to be a completely useless hussy with not talent (only tears). I have fought so hard to be taken seriously as a bender and warrior and to be portrayed like that...look the best thing for me to do was to try and take my ridiculous portrayal in stride and not let it get me down. That would be the best thing for Aang as well.
We both looked at the moon for a little. Oh Yue, what do I say. I never know quite what to say. Boys can be so sensitive about their masculinity. I don't really relate to it. I can find the words for most other situations, but aside from telling Aang to cheer up and not take the play seriously, I didn't know what else I could do for this particular little snit of his.
Aang turned to me and asked if I meant what I said in there. In where? What did I say? He started talking about how in the play I had said he was just like a brother to me. Oh for goodness sake! It's just a stupid play. For the last time, it is not real. I told him that I hadn't said that, an actor said that. Aang was still huffy and said it's true, isn't it. He said we had kissed and the invasion and he had hoped we would be together. But we weren't.
Were we really going to do this? Here? Now? In the intermission for some stupid play? I have been successfully avoiding this conversation for so long. I had kind of been hoping that Aang would grow out of his little crush on me and we would never have to have this talk. Look, the crush you have when you are 12 is fleeting. When I was 12, I was convinced I was going to marry my dad's friend Bato. I thought he was dreamy. But I grew out of that pretty quickly. Why couldn't Aang?
I didn't want to hurt him. I turned away and looked and the beach and said that I didn't know. Aang asked (quite insistently) why don't you know?
I do not want to make Aang sad at all, especially now. We are so close to Sozin's comet and Aang needs all his concentration if he's going to beat the firelord. Aang is quite emotional. A rejection from me would send him into a woe-is-me funk and we can't have him flaking out like he did when Appa was taken right now. But at the same time, I couldn't lie to him. The odds of me and Aang getting together are quite slim after all. I do see him as a brother and I have tried to make this clear through my actions. I've always been rather maternal with him. I've never intentionally romantically encouraged his affections. I do love him, but just not the way he wants me too. I had hoped just loving him like a friend and brother would have been enough for him.
I told him that were were in the middle of a war and we had other things to worry about.
THIS IS TRUE!
We should be focussing on winning. Not our love lives. The future of the whole world is resting on Aang's shoulders and he is getting huffy at me over some stupid play and some stupid crush. There are things I would like to do, if we were not fighting a war, but in my opinion the fate of the world deserve my focus more than any feelings I have (that I might want to act on).
This is just so awkward and we shouldn't have to talk about this now. We shouldn't have to worry about this now. I told Aang it wasn't the right time. He said when is the right time? – like he expected me to say 3.17 pm next Thursday. Life is more complicated than that. Maybe it would never be the right time. But how do I say that to someone like Aang? I couldn't. I backed down to lies. I said I was confused. I pulled on my hair again. I do this when I feel embarrassed and awkward. I turned away from Aang slightly. I hoped Aang would understand the delicate, gentle no in that sentence.
Aang did not.
The next thing I knew, Aang had put his face in mine and was kissing me. Just a light touching of the lips. It was a chaste kiss really. But it still made me mad. After what I had just said! I had tried to let him down as gently as possible. Hadn't Aang been listening to me at all! I had put up a very clear boundary! Did he not respect that! I was quite mad. I am not used to being mad at Aang, so this was an unusual feeling. I snapped that I said I was confused. Saying I'm confused is not an invitation to kiss me! I turned away and loitered for a second. What was I even doing out here? I didn't even want to look at Aang right then, I was so cross at him. I said I was going back inside and practically ran away from him, from this awkwardness and from this conversation. This was awful. This whole night had turned awful.
-?-
I ran back to the hallway and caught my breath for a second. When I had composed myself, I went and looked for the others. I found Zuko and Toph, sitting cross legged in front of each other, next to the doorway to our box. Toph asked can I feel it? Zuko looked away torn for a second. A huge range of emotions went over his face before he turned back to her and said okay. He took her hand and placed it on his scar. Toph gasped. She ran her fingers over the perimeter very gently. More gently than I knew Toph had it in her to be. What on earth was going on here? How did it happen? Toph whispered in a surprised tone of voice. Zuko frowned and said I don't like to talk about it quite firmly and repressively. Toph took her hand away and leaned back and said Well it feels like it's always been on that side to me in her usual Toph tone of voice.
Zuko looked up and saw me and smiled and waved me over. I sat crossed legged with them. Zuko smiled dropped when he saw my expression and he made a concerned face at me. I waved him off and asked what they had been talking about. Zuko started complaining about some kid who'd told him his Zuko costume was great, but his scar was on the wrong side. This has made him a grumpy panda. Sokka and Suki came back. Sokka was crowing about his success backstage. Apparently he and Suki had snuck back stage so Sokka could give some tips to StageSokka. He told us the next Act would be much funnier. I don't think that even a riotously funny third act can save the evening at this point. The bell for the end of intermission went and we all got up and filed back into the box. Aang still hadn't come back. This is probably a good thing. We both just need a little space.
We sat down and Zuko took my elbow gently and whispered are you okay? I nodded. I didn't really want to talk about it now, in the middle of a crowded theatre, seeing a ludicrous play. I said I'll tell you about it later. Zuko nodded. Toph piped up next to me hey where's twinkletoes? I said that I was sure he was coming.
And the curtain rose again.
-?-
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Authors notes: long and rambly as usual. Includes bonus hand-wringing about religion and a small tirade about Kataang.
Lovely wonderful readers who I adore! You have made it to the end of Act two, hopefully with your dignity intact. I hope you enjoyed it. Huge, giant enormous thank you to all my wonderful reviewers – snuggles for you all! The lovely Irako of the desert wrote a wonderful review about religion in the firenation and it prompted much thought from me. Not being religious myself (I love all the denominations equally), I don't know how fit I am to comment on this. But if you want to read my rambly thoughts, here they are:
Irako had the idea that there had been a shift in religion to a more monotheistic (one god called Agni) during Sozin's time. I love this idea. Sozin's a bit like Henry the 8th with the reformation. He's changed the country's religion to suit his own purposes and crushed anyone who disagreed. It's always easy to win an argument when the alternative is crushing. I actually think this make a great deal of sense, canon wise, while all the other nations seem to have stuck with a polyteistic-spirit-and-seasonal-worship, the firenation have gone on a different path. The firesages now serve the firelord rather than the spirits and there is one god (Agni) who is on their side. It's easy to send people into battle when you have convinced them there is an all powerful being who supports them.
I'm not sure about the fine details of how Agni-ism, I imagine there would be a great deal of patriotism and superiority of the firenation involved. I do think that whatever faith he was brought up in, Zuko has now lapsed in his belief. A lot of bad things have happened to Zuko and he has had his eyes opened to different perspectives and ways of seeing. He's seen the power of other spirits and has grown to respect other peoples. But I still think some things, like respect for military dead etc would have stuck. That's why he says Agni rest his spirit when he first mentions Zhao. It's out of very engrained habit.
Moonspirityang: asked me how I felt about the anti-zutara comic con video (the one where they say Zutara fans will have doomed relationships). In all honesty, I didn't know it existed until a little while ago. When I first saw it, it made me rather cross and it struck me as exceptionally rude of bryke. I think it is just in very poor taste to troll you own fans. I know they love Aang etc, but they should not love Aang to the point where they alienate and insult their other very dedicated fans (who also buy merchandise, dvds etc). Who thought this was a good idea? Who thought this would be funny? It just struck me as a very immature and dumb thing to do. Like a frat boy prank. Why couldn't they have taken the JK route and just said 'it's nice people care so much'. Just have some class guys.
That said, the actual canon ships, Maiko and Kataang, both strike me as exceptionally dysfunctional and maybe if that is what bryke see as an ideal relationship – shrugs shoulders- we will just have to agree to disagree on that point. I have actually taken the 'selective ignoring policy' when it comes to bryke. I actually think ATLA would have stood much better if they left those little shippy bits (those ones that make no sense) out of the final and just let people make up their own mind. But I will get to that when I am writing the Sozin's comet arc.
In this chapter we have the second act. Many lovely reviewers pointed out that Zuko is also a fandom bike (everybody wants a ride on the grumpy express) and I thought why not? Most of his lady folk happen in the second and third series. So Zuko got a giant slutty upgrade for act two Zuko, Katara and to some extent Ty Lee really get around in fandom. So they are all hussies in the play. Zuko can join Katara in inaccurately portrayed floozy solidarity. And they can bond! I think they both have to start heckling and making fun of the play's ridiculousness for their own sanity. They are like those heckling muppets in the muppet show! Only they heckle much more quietly and mainly to each other.
I think they take the sluttyness in stride. In the show Katara is the most level-headed about her character, even though in my opinion she had the right to be the most upset. I think she understood it was just mostly fiction and had found a way to laugh at it. I had Zuko join her in this mature attitude. However they both still get a bit upset when something strikes too close to home, or has more than a grain of truth in it. Katara gets embarrassed when Sokka is teasing her about the terra-team. I'm not judging honey. She is a 14/15 year old healer, and they were a room full of very fit shirtless guys who needed some healing. I get it. I get it. Still she doesn't want Sokka teasing her about this, esp in front of Zuko.
Zuko for his part, gets very sad panda about anything to do with his uncle, or anything that he actually did do that he feels guilty about (the ostrich horse thievery etc). Zuko's had a really tough journey to get to where he is now, and along the way he lost his Uncle. He still hasn't had a chance to make peace with Iroh and I think that weighs heavily on him. He misses Iroh a great deal. Thematically it makes sense that this was a journey Zuko had to make on his own, but it's still rough for the poor kid. For Zuko, seeing all his past mistakes paraded in front of him is just recipe for the giant sad panda mope he has with Toph.
So I think that Katara and Zuko can laugh about all the ridiculousness, but the minute the play comes close to the truth, they both struggle to see the funny side.
That scene (you all know the scene I mean) was a always going to be a giant awkward sandwich. Both their characters have been getting their hussy on for the last 40 minutes (or however long these acts are). The minute they are on stage together – both Katara and Zuko know where this is going. In the show they schooch away for each other at this point. Some people thing this is proof that there is nothing going on between them. I beg to differ. If there was nothing going on, there would be no need for schooching. If there was nothing going on, they would not be sitting right on top of each other. They schooch because it would be embarrassing on so many levels to go see a play that depicts a scene of you and the person you fancy doing the nasty – especially before you Haven't even had a chance to do the nasty/are unsure of your and their feelings etc. Zuko and Katara are in that awkward mutual crush/but nothings happening phase and then suddenly on stage there is a whole bunch of something happening. I mean, who wouldn't be embarrassed. Who wouldn't schooch away a little bit. Especially if your brother (who is very prone to inappropriate teasing) is sitting right behind you. I think the fact that they are sitting right on top of each other and schooching is necessary is more of an argument for Zutara, rather than against. But that is just me.
At the end of the act, Katara goes maternal and just wants to make sure that everyone is okay. Zuko is having a mope, but she knows he won't want to have a big old lets share our feelings chat about this, in public. Also I do think Toph's tough love was what he needed to hear a bit more. So she figures they'll talk later and goes to look for Aang. She has noticed that Aang is exceptionally upset over his character and wants to cheer him up.
Okay, Aang really thinks the play is real, even though he must know it's all fake. I mean obviously. He's not actually a woman is he? Aang had done this before (at the firefestival in season one, where Katara was the volunteer from the audience.) Is this an immaturity thing on Aang's part? Being unable to distinguish fiction from reality? What are they trying to show us? I'm not 100% sure. Maybe he already had some doubts about Katara and her feelings and the play just reinforced those doubts. Getting exceptionally grumpy over these doubts is not a mature reaction, it is an understandable reaction, but not a mature one.
Small tirade re: Kataang.
That scene with Katara and Aang on the balcony, is hands down the most awkward thing I have ever seen on television, ever! I felt like really embarrassed for Aang when I watch it. It was like watching someone on fire. I wanted to go wrap him in a blanket and roll him on the floor. Abort Aang. Abort! Abort! Katara had been giving him no romantic signals what so ever. She had been giving him a giant ass-ton of friendly/maternal signals and I was sure that this was not going to go the way he hoped it would. When I first watched it, I thought I was watching the death knell of Kataang. Because it is a hot mess of Awkward. Katara clearly doesn't feel the same way. If she felt even a smidge of what Aang felt for her, it would have been less awkward, she would have given him a little ounce of hope. But as it stands, in that scene Katara is clearly shutting him down as gently as she knows how. The scene ends with an inappropriate kiss (and not the good kind of inappropriate) and Katara storming/running away from him in high dudgeon.
They do not have another scene together, just the two of them, again. Until the kiss in the final.
WTF!
Really! This scene is what gives me so many thoughts and issues with Kataang. I dealt more with what I thought Katara's pov on the whole mess would be in my chapter. But I have some thoughts of the Aang side of Kataang for those of you who are interested in reading my rambly tirades.
I don't want to judge Aang. He's twelve, it's his first crush. Normally I would say bless his cotton socks. I think Toph's crush on Sokka is a bit adorable. However, Toph never forces her feelings on Sokka and never makes things supremely awkward for Sokka and herself. Is Toph just more mature and better at reading social cues? I don't know. But this scene only reinforces Aang immaturity especially when it comes to romantic issues.
Why does a immature 12 year old end up with and exceptionally mature 14 year old? It is just weird. Age differences mean a lot to teenagers and there is a giant maturity gap. I do not think this sort of thing is easily overcome. It's not Aang's fault, but he is too young for Katara in all the different senses of the word. I don't think anybody ends up with who they had a crush on when they were 12. that's why I have Katara mention her crush on Bato. She grew out of that, she hoped Aang would grow out of this.
In all honesty, I do think Aang would grow out of his feelings for her. Aang is a very flighty and adventurous. Aang loves to try new things and have new experiences. Aang loves getting amongst it all. Someone like Aang should have many lovers, many girl-adventures and break a few hearts as well as his own before he was ready to settle down.
This is just something I want for Aang. I want Aang to experience life, in all its richness, before he settles down.
Actually, Aang's a friggin nomad. I don't even know if he wants to settle down. And that is fine too.
What is not fine and will always sit a bit weird with me is Kataang.
I think Aang is delightful. I think the fact that he wants to ride a different wild animal in every place he goes says something about his character. What this tells me about Aang is that Aang SHOULD NOT settle down with the girl he has a crush on at 12. Ending up with Katara is almost against all of Aang's other character traits. It contradicts who bryke have established Aang to be. Aang needs more than one lover. Aang is all about variety of experiences. And I think when he was older this love of variety and adventure would translate to his love life. I'm not judging.
Katara, on the other hand, is steady and stable and I think she would want to settle down and feel safe and secure in a relationship. Aang loves the thrill of the chase and the thrill of new experiences. She would not get this stability from Aang. I think she and Zuko are very similar in that they both just want to feel safe and loved and secure. They are both more steadfast people. They have adventures because it is required of them, but I think if given the choice, they could be equally happy just chilling out together. I think that they could give each other the loyalty and security that they both want. But this is a tirade about Kataang, so I'll get back to that.
Aang really forces his feelings on her, even when it is really clear that she is not reciprocating. I cannot handwave this. I know he is only 12 and was raised by monks etc. BUT STILL. Katara has drawn very clear physical and verbal boundaries. Seriously, watch her body language in that scene, even without the dialogue she is making it very clear that she does not want. She is perpetually turning away from him and moving further back from him and crossing her arms to protect herself. Aang does not listen to her and what she wants and needs and is instead only focussed on his own desire. Then he totally crosses a line and it is not cool. Look I know Aang's young (see start of my rant), but this sort of behaviour is never a good sign for a budding relationship. Aang wants Katara, but he doesn't respect or listen to her and I just can't see how this would be romantic.
Note: Some more militant zutarians equate the kiss to some sort unclassified face-rape. I don't go that far. Much love fellow Zutarians, but chill out. It's just a peck. I do love Aang. I don't think he's a bad kid. But I do think he's just a kid. Katara is a young woman. The kiss is actually just a very chaste peck on the lips. I actually don't think Aang thinks about things going any farther with Katara anyway. As soon as she very clearly says no, he backs off and gives her space and doesn't come near her again for the rest of the episode. He's not a giant jerk. He's just a self-centred and impatient kid. Seriously, the way he says' when is it the right time' sound so much like a kid saying 'are we there yet'. The kiss is still not cool to do. It's still showing a lack of respect etc. but Aang doesn't mean any harm by it. He just wants Katara to love him and the only way he knows how to do this is to force his affections of her.
This scene for me, really just showed how messed up a Katanng relationship would be. If it is this awkward at the start, what happens further down the road.
The mind boggles.
Katara and Aang are both good people. But they are very different people with very different wants and needs. They are not the opposites attract sort of different. They are the you-two-make-no-friggin-sense-together-different. They would not make each other happy in the long run. I want them to be happy. I think both Katara and Aang deserve better than each other.
So I am making my own fic to make the ending more palatable to myself and hopefully you guys too!
*End tirade*
It also struck me when watching the episode that when that kid says to Zuko 'your scar is on the wrong side' it is the first time anyone mentions the scar in front of Toph. Toph cannot see people with a sonic wave (though she will try later on). In my imagination, Toph doesn't even know he has scar until that point. She's never touched his face before after all and none of the gaang mention, talk or tease him about it. Because I think all the gaang are nice people and they cantell it is a touchy subject. I think part of Zuko's growth is learning how to let people in. He's doing well with Katara and really trusts her. But I think he has quite a strong (but very different) bond with Toph. He has to learn to let other people (not just katara) in as well. Prior to this, Katara is the only person he willingly let touch it and it just made sense in my head that if he would let anyone else touch it, it would be Toph. They would have had a conversation about it after the kid ran off. Toph can't see it and doesn't know he had it until that point. She's a bit curious. She would have asked if she could 'feel' it. And Zuko let her. Because she is his friend and he trusts her and they have just had a very nice conversation. He lets her feel/see it, but he still doesn't want to talk about it. With her or with anybody. She can sense this and tries to make a small Toph joke to clear the tension.
Zuko can tell the minute he sees Katara's face, that she is upset about something. But he waits until he can ask her quietly (whisper in her ear) about it. They will talk about it (and a few other things) next chapter. Til then lovely readers...