Drabbles: Moments of Truth (PG; AtLA)
Oct. 14th, 2010 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupPG; Avatar: the Last Airbender. Reaction drabbles #16. Through 3.15 "The Boiling Rock - Part II".
Taking a Chance
After everything Sokka's done-- botching the invasion in the first place, planning a suicide rescue mission, getting Zuko and Suki involved, planning too loudly in public, and then passing up a perfectly good escape attempt because war prisoners were finally arriving-- his dad just has to be there.
That's the other side of leadership, he realizes distantly: what comes after strategic decision-making and giving orders. How the consequences of his choices affect other people.
But Sokka can't think about that right now. Here, in this moment, only one thing matters:
He holds his breath as the gondola door slides open.
Drawing a Line
Ty Lee's eyes dart between Mai and their princess in dismay.
She's known her place at Azula's side since she was very small. Circus detour aside, she's always felt that given kiwi-lemons, she may as well enjoy the taste of kimonade; Azula can be a lot of fun at times, and friendship with Azula has always included Mai.
Until today. Mai's defiance still echoes in her ears: 'I love Zuko more than I fear you.'
Azula has found Mai's limit. And in doing so, has also-- unexpectedly-- uncovered hers.
Ty Lee blinks tears away, then shapes her fingers and moves.
Taking a Chance
After everything Sokka's done-- botching the invasion in the first place, planning a suicide rescue mission, getting Zuko and Suki involved, planning too loudly in public, and then passing up a perfectly good escape attempt because war prisoners were finally arriving-- his dad just has to be there.
That's the other side of leadership, he realizes distantly: what comes after strategic decision-making and giving orders. How the consequences of his choices affect other people.
But Sokka can't think about that right now. Here, in this moment, only one thing matters:
He holds his breath as the gondola door slides open.
Drawing a Line
Ty Lee's eyes dart between Mai and their princess in dismay.
She's known her place at Azula's side since she was very small. Circus detour aside, she's always felt that given kiwi-lemons, she may as well enjoy the taste of kimonade; Azula can be a lot of fun at times, and friendship with Azula has always included Mai.
Until today. Mai's defiance still echoes in her ears: 'I love Zuko more than I fear you.'
Azula has found Mai's limit. And in doing so, has also-- unexpectedly-- uncovered hers.
Ty Lee blinks tears away, then shapes her fingers and moves.
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Date: 2011-09-08 04:47 am (UTC)After everything Sokka's done-- botching the invasion in the first place, planning a suicide rescue mission, getting Zuko and Suki involved, planning too loudly in public, and then passing up a perfectly good escape attempt because war prisoners were finally arriving-- his dad just has to be there.
Gone is the kid who was so worried about the possibility of failure, and instead, here's a guy who has failed. A lot. And with his friends. But just keeps coming up with more ideas. Persistent. Clever, Knowing that one failure doesn't mean the end. It just means that you start again, with more energy. He refuses to dwell on that, and that's WONDERFUL. And so true about him. I really, really liked that section.
AND THEN YOU TRUMPED IT! Your first Ty Lee piece was perfection. I was quoting the entire thing and telling you why I loved this, aside from teh fact that you got her voice perfectly:
Ty Lee's eyes dart between Mai and their princess in dismay.
She's known her place at Azula's side since she was very small. Circus detour aside, she's always felt that given kiwi-lemons, she may as well enjoy the taste of kimonade; Azula can be a lot of fun at times, and friendship with Azula has always included Mai.
It's all the details you put here--calling Azula "their princess" from the start, indicating that to Ty Lee, that relationship always came before everything. She knew "her place" by Azula's side. She was a servant, in a way. Her doing something she loved at the circus was a detour from her path, a distraction. That so sad!
She knew Azula wasn't her friend. She was her princess, ruler. But she was Azula's friend, and the kiwi-lemon analogy let us know that she just made the best of a bad situation. And that Mai was the best part.
Then Azula said my favorite line from the series, perhaps (thanks for the quote) and then you did THIS line: "Azula has found Mai's limit. And in doing so, has also-- unexpectedly-- uncovered hers.
Ty Lee blinks tears away, then shapes her fingers and moves."
It was a great moment in the show, and you just stretched it out and made it even better. Ty Lee, the girl who would fight for Azula, incapacitate people for her, stand by her, moved against her for the first time. For her friend.
LOVED. (could you tell?)
Miranda
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Date: 2011-09-11 09:27 am (UTC)Ty Lee-- I had a hard time getting any depth of characterization out of her before that moment, but that scene grabbed me, and I had to explore her reaction. And Sokka-- for me he's a lot like Ron Weasley; a lot of people seem to ignore the personal growth and the strategic thinking when they handle them in fic, but that's one of the things that really grabbed me about them.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-15 01:04 am (UTC)And your line still gets me, about Azula finding Mai's limit, which meant she found Ty Lee's too. The way it's worded (and played in the show, is that even Ty Lee didn't know that was her limit. Azula didn't. And neither did Mai. I think she surprised them all by finding something that she wouldn't do for Azula--turn against Mai.
It was just wonderful. I wish you had more reiviews!