Fanfiction: The Conqueror (Avatar)

[nebroadwe]

Title: Drabble: The Conqueror
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Character(s): Iroh and Zuko
Pairing(s): None.
Rating: G
Word Count: 100
Warnings: Spoilers for Iroh and Zuko's side-job in season 2.
A/N: My first foray into this fandom, written on the back of a shopping list during my evening commute (must remember to carry a notebook in future, in case of inspiration). Concrit welcomed with tea eggs. Crossposted from nebroadwe to avatarfans, avatar_fans and avatarfic).

---

      There are times, when the tables are full and the sweets run short and his nephew pleads with him in grating accents to hurry a pot of tea which cannot be hurried, when Iroh chuckles, though he knows the sound risks snapping Zuko's racked nerves. At other times he counsels a sensible patience: those who come to taste "the finest tea in the city" won't begrudge the wait, once the tea proves as fine as its reputation.

      But when his patrons clamor for more, Iroh cannot help but smile. At long last, he thinks, I have conquered Ba Sing Se.

---

[Acknowledgments: Avatar: The Last Airbender was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; copyright for this property is held by Viacom International, Inc. All rights reserved.]

Comments

[artemisrae.livejournal.com]

Nuh UH. You seriously wrote Avatar fic. *goggles*

I am seriously thrilled, and somehow not at all surprised that Iroh was your first choice for a writing subject. I'll tell you what I really appreciate - the little tiny bit of Iroh that you hint at: he's never shown anything but remorse in the show for his actions in the war, but I like the idea that a little part of him is vaguely regretful for the what-could-have-been, for better or for worse.

(Oh hasty hasty Zuko. He'll never learn anything about the finer arts.)

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Nuh UH. You seriously wrote Avatar fic. *goggles*

Yah-HUH. Well, with your example before me, and tobu_ishi's, how could I not? :-)

I am seriously thrilled, and somehow not at all surprised that Iroh was your first choice for a writing subject.

We old folks have to stick together, after all. :-) I hadn't planned this; I've mostly been turning scenes from the show into words in my head, which I'll do with pretty much anything theatrical that I like and doesn't usually lead to 'fic. But there was Uncle Iroh, making tea and chuckling wryly about the way fortune works out. Yue's father also seems to have things to say about his daughter, now ... but first I have to finish my Tsubasa gift-'fic for my offline beta ...

(Oh hasty hasty Zuko. He'll never learn anything about the finer arts.)

I can imagine him mellowed out, but only in his late middle age, when he's been thoroughly schooled by love as well as suffering. It would probably surprise him at first, to discover that where he is at a particular moment is exactly where he wants to be -- no need to rush off and get somewhere else (or become someone else). He's not playing the tsungi horn in public, though. Some reversals are impossible for anyone short of a spiritual master. :-)

(And, having said that, I expect to hear any minute now that season 3 does have him playing a tsungi horn in public. Oh, the irony ...)

[artemisrae.livejournal.com]

Yah-HUH. Well, with your example before me, and tobu_ishi's, how could I not? :-)

*blushes furiously* Some of those fics were written when I first ever started writing fanfic. I think I might be a little embarrassed to try and see how they hold up now...

But there was Uncle Iroh, making tea and chuckling wryly about the way fortune works out.

HA. Exactly. He just seems like your sort of character. I also admit that I thought you might enjoy playing around with Katara and Sokka's dad, and Long Feng, and maybe hopefully Ty Lee. So you have been enjoying the series? Might I see a review post where you actually discuss things? I'd really love to know what you think of some of the characters and the plot.

(Can I also admit that I read your comment below and just wanted to clarify that I got that the drabble was black humor? I know it might not have come across in my comment, because I was halfway going off of my own little personal fanon re: Iroh and I was really excited but I really couldn't bear the thought of you thinking I was kinda dumb. Or um... even dumber. But the fic really was perfectly IC for Iroh! I just fail at leaving fully fleshed out comments!)

(And, having said that, I expect to hear any minute now that season 3 does have him playing a tsungi horn in public. Oh, the irony ...)

If he's playing the tsungi horn in public, it's not willingly. Not that he has or anything.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

*blushes furiously* Some of those fics were written when I first ever started writing fanfic. I think I might be a little embarrassed to try and see how they hold up now...

I like seeing people's talents in embryo. It's why I have all twelve volumes of The History of Middle-earth and why I'm currently drooling over The History of The Hobbit.

He just seems like your sort of character. I also admit that I thought you might enjoy playing around with Katara and Sokka's dad, and Long Feng, and maybe hopefully Ty Lee.

Well, um, [foot-shuffling], I actually haven't watched season 2 yet. It's in the mail. I have got a general idea of what goes on in it, though, and have tripped over a few specifics ... Mind you, I wasn't having fanfic ideas until I started trying to put together a review post for season 1. Thinking deeply about story-structure seems to start other wheels turning in my brain.

So you have been enjoying the series? Might I see a review post where you actually discuss things? I'd really love to know what you think of some of the characters and the plot.

It took me a good half of season 1 to really get into the story -- it's pitched much lower than the SF drama I usually watch, and the exposition-and-set-up bits that comprise most of the first eight episodes (through Roku's revelation of the main plot goal) were a bit of a slog. I started perking up in the neighborhood of "The Waterbending Scroll" and fell absolutely in love during "The Blue Spirit." The latter half of that episode pushes every button in my brain: Jason Isaacs underreading Zhao perfectly (it would be so easy to send him cackling over the top, but it never happens -- Isaacs does the same thing with his "I am a legend now" speech in "The Siege of the North" and I just want to kiss his feet for pulling it off); the animators storyboarding out the perfect chase-and-escape sequence, both for grip-test-passing action and allowing Aang to show his instinct for having his partner's back even when he doesn't know who that partner is; the combination of animation, sound design, and voice acting during the confrontation at the front gate (the swish/ZING! when the swords go to Aang's throat says everything about how utterly serious that threat is, and helps make Zhao's response more credible than this sort of thing usually appears); the revelation that it's Zuko under the mask (which caught me completely off-guard, and that doesn't usually happen); Aang's response, from his backward scuttle to his hesitation and decision; and the Aang/Zuko colloquy that points both to the current polar opposition of their views (Aang the universalist, friendly and peaceful, and Zuko the Fire Nation loyalist, alienated and at war with the world) and the possibility that they might fight through to an understanding -- of course Zuko responds to Aang's question with an attack (his psychological state demands it) but his demeanor afterward has more than a touch of that "I've been treated as a friend by my enemy -- what do I do now?" ambiguity to it. To be followed up, of course, by Aang's exhausted and unhappy, yet also ambiguous, response to Sokka in the temple. (Oh, and I can't forget to mention the beautifully-placed frogs. Only the duck in "The Fortuneteller" comes close to those frogs for comic timing.) After that, the only question in my mind was, "Where do I sign up for this fandom?" :-)

Continued below, because I've hit the comment character limit again, argh ...

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Continued from previous comment ...

Overall, the thing that draws me to this story, despite being a good thirty years older than its target audience, is its use of archetypes -- that's what keeps fairy-tales fresh for me, too. If I weren't up to my neck in RL, I'd have an essay written by now about, frex, the use of doubling in season 1 -- not just Aang and Zuko doubling each other or Aang doubling himself via Roku, but also Sokka and Zuko (in their response to different types of paternal rejection), Iroh and Aang (in their mastery, shared slackerdom and rejection of parochial loyalties), and Katara and Zuko (both benders-in-training, both volatile in temper, both pinning their hopes for the future and for their self-realization on Aang, without quite recognizing how much larger his destiny is than their personal desires, which I think helps explain the popularity of the Katara/Zuko 'ship beyond the facile "ambiguous villains are hot and girl viewers identify with Katara" analysis that gets bandied about so much), as well as Zhao and Iroh doubling for Ozai. (Useful, that, because it keeps him fundamentally present while he's dramatically off-stage, so that he can make his entrance late in the game with maximum effect for having been so long awaited and yet so well-known through his proxies. I gather Azula gets to stand in for Ozai in season 2 ... ) I can't wait to see how the story opens out in the next set of episodes; I gather that the stage gets wider and the plot/theme issues become more complex and that Aang gets some character development (he's been all about character revelation in season 1, IMO, as we find out who he is and what he can do, but I suspect he's due to have more issues growing into his role now that the bulk of the exposition is out of the way). The post office cannot deliver season 2 too quickly ... [taps fingers, waiting ...]

[artemisrae.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeeeesssss. This is so exactly totally what I was hoping I'd get from you :D

It took me a good half of season 1 to really get into the story -- I started perking up in the neighborhood of "The Waterbending Scroll" and fell absolutely in love during "The Blue Spirit."

Oh yes yes. That's exactly true. Believe it or not, that majority of season 1 I can take or leave - notable exceptions are the Blue Spirit and the Waterbending Scroll, the Fortuneteller, and Kyoshi Warriors (I adore Kyoshi so much) - but the latter half of it is so much stronger than the first half. The first season finale is a thing of beauty - it STILL takes my breath away. The Blue Spirit has more significance in Season 2 (which you really must watch quickly, because its my favorite season of any tv show ever produced ever in the history of the world) and the way it facilitates the Aang/Zuko dynamic (which impacts season 3) just.. guh. Amazing.

but also Sokka and Zuko (in their response to different types of paternal rejection)

If I didn't already love you, I would forever just for mentioning that. A lot of fandom adores Zuko the big woobie (my feelings have evolved from general ambivalence to grudging fondness) with another faction dissing on Sokka, and a lot of people forget that they've faced the same losses. For a long time I'd intended to write a fic with Sokka just... basking in the presence of Iroh while Zuko kinda being baffled in a "What, that's just Uncle?" sort of way, because it always sort of bugged me that Sokka was seen as screwball comic relief. (He gets much more depth in Season 2, in case you were wondering).

Katara and Zuko (both benders-in-training, both volatile in temper, both pinning their hopes for the future and for their self-realization on Aang

Ho yeah. I always thought Zuko and Katara could be BFF if they could work through their issues. They certainly should be able to relate to each other in a way that others cannot relate to them - they're not nearly as on opposite sides as a lot of fandom likes to play up. I won't get into the actual shipping side of it, seeing as that's a whole different kettle of fish and... again, season 2 comes into play here.

I gather Azula gets to stand in for Ozai in season 2 ...

Azula is brilliant and amazing and easily one of my favorite characters for being... you know. The villain. I suspect you'll also have fun with her and the various gender issues that seem to be implied with her.

[mulzrule.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THIS! Iroh and Zuko are the bestest. I hope you devle further into this fandom. Iroh needs some love and we need some new eps.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Nick's fulfilling that last wish with a vengeance this week (though, sadly, I do not have cable and must wait on the release of the DVD box set in September. I am attempting to resist spoilage, but it's hard). I keep having minor character inspirations since I started in on Avatar -- the strongest half-an-idea baking at the moment has to do with Yue's father, back in season 1. Iroh's punchline kind of popped up out of nowhere while I was commuting in to work one morning, fermented all day, and produced the drabble more or less intact on the ride home. I was pretty sure he's ironist enough to justify it, despite all the angst and trauma involved in losing the siege. I'm just hoping I can get away without having to stick the adjective "wry" in there anywhere to make sure everybody understands I see this joke as a touch black.

[mulzrule.livejournal.com]

Oh I think we get it. *grin* Iroh's a bit flexible that way. Or I guess I should say wise. Now I have to look up the tv schedule since you've said that.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Have fun! :-)

[lalyari.livejournal.com]

*BIG GRIN*
Of course Iroh would see it like that. And Zuko has a lot to learn about subtlety of power ^_^

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

He certainly does. (There may be a drabble or two in that, as well ...)

[spazzyjazzy81.livejournal.com]

Very enjoyable! I love Iroh fics.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- glad to oblige!

[arthoniel.livejournal.com]

Oh wow... nice!! I love that last line... :D

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

That line came first -- I just had to figure out how to get to it after that.

Your icon, btw, is filled with win. [applauds appreciatively]

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

i really like it