A/N: Thank you very much to Atea1793, BrightWatcher, Guest, Sharpe, Black Dragon Master, AsahixMe, CrazyPhenom, IrishDreamer4, Raider, kalu23, devilfiredog18, and Aquamirra for reviewing! Yay for the successful Mako-Iroh bromance!
Also, someone mentioned that this story needs a TV tropes page. If anyone does decide to make one - or recommend this story on the TLOK tropes page (hint hint) - please please please let me know! I'd be thrilled to see what tropers do with my story!
Today's update is long - longer chapter, long author's note - so savour it!
46. Hiding sharp horns under fedoras
"This is absurd."
It's the night before their departure on their 'tour'. With wholehearted and vigorous effort from the whole of Team Avatar (including Asami, who'd arrived two days ago and immediately pitched in) plus Mai Lee, they'd plowed through the entirety of the 135 AG census and compiled a practical shortlist. All in all, they'd ended up with eight Naokis who could feasibly be his mother — not as many as he'd feared, and certainly an achievable number of residential visits.
With that settled, and with Iroh in increasingly better spirits as he became more and more certain about his course of action, he'd decided that tonight was an opportune time to try one of his other ideas.
Iroh is somewhat less enthusiastic about this one, though. The prince fidgets with his black velvet hat, constantly readjusting it over his head.
"Stop that," he hisses, reaching over to swat Iroh's hand. "If it falls off the plan is ruined."
"You know, when you said disguise, I didn't think you were going to stick me in a fedora."
"The fedora was my idea!" Varrick proclaims proudly.
Iroh shoots the older man a dirty look, and he rolls his eyes. Bolin had inadvertently blabbed about tonight's plans to Varrick, and once Varrick heard, there was nothing that would keep him away. The flamboyant businessman had immediately invited himself and taken charge, promising to show them a good time and lots of women in his favourite Caldera hotspots.
"Look, we may as well give it a go," he reasons. "You're gonna have to meet women somehow, and if you want them to know you as you, you need to keep Prince Iroh out of the picture for a while."
"But the fedora?" Iroh protests.
"Hate to break it to you, General, but your military haircut stands out like a sore thumb in this land of topknots and ponytails," Varrick points out. "You have to hide it — it's your most distinctive feature. Well," he amends, "that and your razor-sharp jawbone. Look at those lines — yeow! But you rejected the muffler, so there's nothing we can do about that."
Ignoring Varrick, Iroh says, "People don't generally wear hats to bars. How am I supposed to pass as a normal person?"
"It's either this or the Crown Prince," he retorts. "Take your pick."
Iroh sighs with longsuffering, but subsides and looks out the window of the sleek sedan Varrick had procured for this excursion. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Garnet first — that's the most happening nightspot in the city," Varrick announces. "Classy clientele, but not too exclusive — plenty of interesting people and a heap of things to do — and good news, that fedora won't stand out. If you strike out there, I have a few other places in mind. The night is young." He grins exuberantly. "Don't worry, kid, I've got it all planned out."
Iroh raises an eyebrow. "I'm only five years younger than you."
"Nuh-uh!" chides Varrick. "You're not Iroh tonight, remember? You're Jeong Lee, a bright young man out on the town hoping to find a maiden to capture his heart."
Iroh groans.
A few minutes later, their car pulls up in front of a buzzing, well-lit nightclub. He and Iroh step out and prepare to join the short line of smartly-dressed men and women queueing up at the gold-gilded entrance — only to be stopped by Varrick.
"Ah ah," says the businessman with a wink. "This way, gents."
Varrick leads them around the side and walks confidently up to the bouncer. After a surreptitious exchange of what looks to be a substantial wad of cash, the bouncer unhooks the red velvet rope and ushers them in graciously.
"This is not conspicuous at all," Iroh mutters sarcastically.
"Was that necessary?" he questions with disapproval.
Varrick raises an impish eyebrow. "Did you want to stand in line and risk someone getting close enough to recognise 'Jeong Lee'?"
Okay, so Varrick has a point. "Ah," he concedes.
Varrick smirks and sweeps a theatrical arm around. "Here we are!"
It's nothing like the cosy atmosphere of Crystal Spirits or the seedy dive bars where triads conduct their business. Garnet is elegant, tastefully decorated with dark mahogany wood, rich red fabric, gold tassels, and geometric patterns. Warm, bright light gleams from aesthetic glass chandeliers. There's a distinct division between two different sections of the club: one side comprises a well-stocked bar near a quiet sitting area furnished with comfortable chairs and convenient tables, while the back wall holds contain red curtains hiding private alcoves; at the other end is the stage and dance floor, lit with colourful beams and pulsing with louder music.
Knowing his friend's tastes, he steers Iroh towards the sitting area where various patrons are chatting, listening to the radio, or playing cards, pai sho, or pool. Varrick follows obligingly, flicking Iroh's hat playfully.
"Told ya — this blends right in!"
It's true; while many of the men are sporting traditional Fire Nation topknots, some (mainly the younger generation) have opted for stylish hats instead.
"You've been away from home too long," Varrick tells Iroh. "This is the trend now."
"I'll go get us some drinks," he announces. "You stay here and mingle. Varrick, can I trust you with him?"
"As much as you can trust an otter-penguin in a sea full of fish," Varrick says cheerfully. "Come on, Jeong Lee, I think I see a girl you can talk to."
He lets Varrick lead Iroh away, restraining the urge to laugh at the prince's agitation. Say what he might about Varrick, but the man does know how to meet people.
Content that Varrick's roguish charm and social skills will smooth Iroh's way, he heads over to the bar to order their drinks. It takes a while, because there are many people placing orders. When he gets back, Varrick is helping 'Jeong Lee' chat up a very pretty young woman with a gold dragon armlet. He waits while the conversation runs its course, and when it looks to be winding down, he walks over.
"Nice talking to you," Iroh says as the girl sidles off.
"How's it going?" he asks as he hands Iroh a pu-erh tonic.
"No dice," Varrick responds. "I'm telling you, this man has no game. Very polite, detached, aristocratic conversation — no flirting or hinting whatsoever!"
Iroh looks affronted. "I'm not here to flirt."
Varrick shakes his head with exasperation. "Kid, that is exactly what you're here to do. You gotta show some interest or the girls are not gonna stick around."
"I am showing interest! I'm having good conversations."
"Conversation is all you're gonna get at this rate," Varrick snipes.
"Maybe that's all I want at this point," Iroh retorts.
"Thank you, Varrick, I'll take it from here," he interjects quickly. He probably should have anticipated this; Iroh and Varrick have diametrically opposing views on love and romance, so it's no surprise that there's some friction.
Varrick shrugs and heads off to the dance floor. He looks at Iroh.
"Did any of your conversations stand out?"
"You mean, would I want to know any of the women better?" Iroh sighs. "Hard to say. Varrick kept steering me away whenever he deemed that 'the spark fizzled'."
"Varrick has an…interesting take on relationships," he allows. Before his marriage, Varrick struck him as the type of man who fell in and out of infatuation — based on physical attraction and superficial interest — frequently. He firmly believes Zhu Li only managed to get Varrick to genuinely fall for her because she was the one woman who'd had a non-romantic reason to hang around long enough for him to actually get to know her.
Iroh, on the other hand, is the type of man for whom romance will only begin to be a consideration if he knows enough of a woman's mind and heart. It simply wouldn't occur to him to pursue someone romantically after a single conversation, however meaningful.
"I appreciate the idea, Mako, but I'm not sure this is actually going to work for me," Iroh says sheepishly.
"Iroh? Is that you?"
He and Iroh both whirl to face the new voice.
"Sulanna?" Iroh exclaims in shock.
The young woman approaching them is tall and slender, with fine, angular features, alabaster skin, and midnight tresses swept into an elegant bun. Her bright golden eyes gleam with amusement as she takes in Iroh's fedora.
"It is you." Sulanna smirks. "I thought I was mistaken. I didn't expect to ever find you in a nightclub. Let alone in a fedora, of all things."
He never thought he'd see charismatic, confident General Iroh blush, but that's what happens now. True to form, though, Iroh valiantly pretends he didn't hear her comment; he clears his throat and makes introductions.
"Mako, this is Sulanna — daughter of Lady Natsumi of Clan Keohso. Sulanna, this is my friend Mako from Republic City."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mako." Sulanna shakes his hand, which surprises him, because he'd thought she'd go for the traditional bow. "I presume you're the one who coaxed Iroh out tonight?"
He shrugs easily. "Iroh needs to get out more."
Iroh shoots him a look of wounded betrayal, but Sulanna laughs. "He does indeed."
"What are you doing in Caldera, Sulanna?" Iroh asks, keen to change the direction of the conversation.
"Why?" Sulanna winks impishly. "Concerned that I'm preparing for Fire Lily Season?"
"Fire Lily Season?" he questions in puzzlement.
"It's a tradition of the court," Iroh explains. "Every summer, during the blooming season of the fire lily flowers, eligible sons and daughters of noble families come to the royal court to socialise."
"Translation: to find suitable prospects for marriage," Sulanna supplies. "The Season gives us the chance to see who is available for a marriage proposal, or who we might be interested in. Most of us will find potential partners from other clans; the more ambitious ones seek a match with the royals themselves."
"Really?" He casts a sideways glance at Iroh, wondering why, amidst all his friend's complaints about the challenges of trying to meet a suitable Fire Nation woman to court, this never came up at all. It seems to him that much of Iroh's difficulty with romance could be resolved by participating in one Fire Lily Season.
Iroh correctly interprets his expression. "I did attend a few Seasons before I enlisted. And even after that, there were some years when I would come back for a few days during a Season. That's how I met Sulanna, five years ago."
"Such a shame he couldn't stay for the entirety of that Season." Sulanna sighs theatrically. "I thought we quite hit it off."
"My duties in the Forces don't permit me to here for the whole Season," Iroh clarifies for his benefit. His gaze flickers to Sulanna. "And a few days isn't nearly enough time to explore the potential for a relationship."
"Ah, but our few days were fun, weren't they?" she teases.
Iroh colours even more, and he makes a mental note to find out exactly what happened between him and Sulanna. There's a story there, he's sure — and Iroh's told him none of it.
"They were enjoyable, but they're also past," Iroh declares. "Anyway, didn't you get yourself engaged to Zoru Imeiri?"
"I called it off," Sulanna says casually. "Turns out we weren't that compatible after all."
"Oh?" Iroh sounds genuinely curious. "What happened?"
"You know I'm going to inherit administration of Shuhon from my mother. Zoru is the third child; he doesn't inherit anything but the family name. He couldn't deal with the fact that his future wife was going to outrank him."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Iroh offers.
Sulanna waves a flippant hand. "No big deal. I'm only 25; there's still plenty of time for me to find a man confident enough not to be threatened by my future title. In the meantime…" She grins. "I'm going to make the most of this opportunity. Sorry, Mako —" she addresses him, "— would you mind if I stole Iroh to catch up? He's hardly around these parts and it's been an age."
He glances at Iroh — who doesn't seem averse to the idea — and nods his assent with a small smile. Sulanna promptly takes Iroh's arm and shepherds him towards the bar, just as Varrick returns, looking somewhat more disheveled than he had been.
"Wow!" the businessman exclaims as he watches Sulanna's retreating silhouette. "Who is that lady?"
Determined to let Iroh do things his way, he drags Varrick away to explain before the latter decides to go over there and find out for himself. He doesn't need to know how Iroh's previous encounters of the night have gone to realise that Sulanna is the only female here whom he is actually interested in spending an extended amount of time with.
And he thought this wouldn't work, he thinks smugly.
As he watches Iroh and Sulanna strike up an animated conversation at the bar, he prides himself on a great idea, and devotes the rest of the night to keeping Varrick out of trouble.
A/N: Sulanna's name is derived from that of Lady Sulan (also of Clan Keohso) from the Shadow of Kyoshi novel. I originally conceived Sulanna to be a dignified, reserved sort of noblewoman, but she decided she wanted to be a flirty vixen.
Now, let me explain a few headcanons of mine that were developed while writing this chapter.
#1: Fire Lily Festival is an actual celebration in the Fire Nation. I made up the tradition of sending young noblemen and noblewomen to the Imperial Court during the season in the hopes of finding someone to court — or at least to forge connections. I figure all these noble families — being on different islands — wouldn't have much opportunity to meet each other otherwise, especially pre-Korra era when there were no cars or airships.
#2: I feel like Iroh is extremely charismatic and capable as a leader, but he has old-fashioned ideals of romance. As in, he's the type who doesn't really believe in modern dating (and has no idea how to go about it) and would much prefer to approach every girl as a friend, and only start thinking about potentially making it romantic after a few months of knowing her and realising that he likes spending time with her. He would be somewhat more at ease with the idea of romantic pursuit during Fire Lily Season, when everyone is aware that courtship is a primary goal — but I still don't see him making any moves until he's had a few weeks at least to develop the friendship — and by then the girl may very well feel that he isn't actually interested romantically at all.
In a nutshell, Iroh is generally just TOO courtly when it comes to women. Thus, a specific combination of factors — A) he doesn't want an arranged marriage; B) he doesn't know many women; C) he is uneasy about going out specifically to meet women to date — make his love life incredibly stuck. Contrast with Mako, who — though rather awkward, and not a womaniser by any stretch of the imagination — at least knows how to date and is fine with asking a girl out even if he doesn't know her that well. For extra contrast, see Varrick, who comes across as a casanova.
Which brings me to headcanon #3: Obviously, we don't know much about Varrick, but it's pretty clear that before he got with Zhu Li he was a massive flirt and probably had more than his fair share of relationships. I hold the view that his various affairs were always shallow but never callous, and usually genuine for the short time they lasted.
About today's song — 'Grand Hotel' by Regina Spektor — it's a whimsical, very listenable piano tune with rather deep lyrics. It would take a whole essay to sum up my interpretation of it for this story, but let me see if I can do it succinctly.
On the surface, the song is about a grand hotel — a jazzy, fancy place where socialites meet and carry out leisure activities in comfort and luxury — the descriptions of which call to mind a 1920s-style nouveau riche setting, which matches TLOK's vibe. The hotel (nightclub, in this case), however, is built on some olden culture that was both hedonistic: 'where old devils danced and kissed'; and brutal: 'piercing fair maidens' chests with their horns'. This is very reminiscent of a fae world and can be applied to the Fire Nation pre-Zuko's reign, in the sense that they were magical (firebending), brutal (Hundred Year War), and presumably had their own fair share of pleasure-seeking activities (which may or may not have agreed with the sensibilities of the rest of the world). The remnants of the old culture are still there — as seen in the Fire Lily Season and the continued presence and influence of the nobility — but now 'no one comes up for the souls anymore; they come for some comfort and for the dance floor'. Which is to say, the Fire Nationals are leaving behind certain things in the past, 'hiding sharp horns' (the legacy of war and old traditions) 'under fedoras'. 'Do not disturb signs instead of a chorus' is another particularly fitting line, because the Fire Nation is now isolationist and no longer '[screaming] in chorus' at the rest of the world.
Moreover, the theme of something light and pleasant hiding something deeper and more intricate (not necessarily nefarious, mind) dovetails well with Iroh's fedora disguising his identity, and with the casual conversation with Sulanna glossing over their previous interactions during a Fire Lily Season. IS there something deeper going on there? Who knows…well, I do. But you don't (yet) — so stay tuned!