[fic] Something to Hold Onto, Chapter 9: Strain This Chaos, Turn It Into Light

[wildgoosery]

Title: Something to Hold Onto [9/13]
Word count: 11,000
Pairing: Jet/Zuko
Rating: A very hard R for language, violence and sexual content
Summary: Since the day the walls of Ba Sing Se fell, the Freedom Fighters have struggled to protect what remains of the city and its people. Jet and his second command, a mysterious boy named Li, have spent the

Comments

[psocoptera]

Huh. Okay, I somehow thought after the last chapter that not only had the teashop burned down, but most of the Freedom Fighters who hadn't been at the Dai Li meeting were captured/dead. My own misreading, and I retract some of the aaaa.

This chapter: I really like the structure, starting at and returning to the creek. So physically real, the pebbles and all, and I love the parallel of how it reminds each of Jet and Zuko of a (really different) previous home.

I love the dances and songs. Such nice details of a world. I'm curious how much you invented entirely and how much is taken from someone's real dances and songs? ::pokes story for DVD commentary track::

I'm glad Zuko at least gets to learn the Dragon Dance from Iroh even if it's not quite as cool as doing it with the dragons themselves. And I'm glad he got to find out he was descended from Roku - I'd forgotten that was another thing he might miss out on in this universe. I really enjoyed the little glimpse of White Lotus backstory with Kuzon and Bumi, and the idea that the order exists to protect the art and beauty of the world - I can't remember if they ever said in canon what their ultimate goal was, but I can totally see that being Iroh's mission. Zuko's conversation with Iroh broke my heart a little and I'm now v. concerned that Iroh's not going to survive the black sun without his firebending to protect him, now that he's had such a good scene with Zuko.

And, ok: Jet consoling Zuko, when Zuko is confronting the extent to which he wasn't just not part of the solution, he was part of the problem, slowing down and distracting Aang, is the first that I really buy this pairing. Jet also almost could have killed the Avatar, Jet is in a unique place to understand where Zuko's coming from, their parallel journeys of growth and redemption blah blah blah, I can finally see how they make sense for each other. It's never made sense to me why people are so into this random minor character, but, ok, here, I totally feel him as a satisfying romantic partner for Zuko, giving him something important that his various other possible pairings would not. So, official endorsement, "Something to Hold Onto: Converting Non-Jetko-Shippers Since Wednesday Morning" or something. ::grin::

[moussajinx]

"And, ok: Jet consoling Zuko, when Zuko is confronting the extent to which he wasn't just not part of the solution, he was part of the problem, slowing down and distracting Aang, is the first that I really buy this pairing. Jet also almost could have killed the Avatar, Jet is in a unique place to understand where Zuko's coming from, their parallel journeys of growth and redemption blah blah blah, I can finally see how they make sense for each other. It's never made sense to me why people are so into this random minor character, but, ok, here, I totally feel him as a satisfying romantic partner for Zuko, giving him something important that his various other possible pairings would not. So, official endorsement, "Something to Hold Onto: Converting Non-Jetko-Shippers Since Wednesday Morning" or something."

^Yes. This.

The reason I love this story is because it's slightly plausible, and oh, so very well written.

I thought I'd long since gotten over this pairing.

Damn you ali_wildgoose! I thought I was over this!