DOH! Man... here I was waiting and waiting for you to post a new chapter or magicbending... and hoping that you hadn't abandoned the story since you've also started that thing with Kouji, A Fool for Love, that Matrix story, the one with Song... I thought maybe you'd quit this story TT_TT

And it turns out I had just missed this update somehow?!?!?! Dang. I could have read/reviewed a long time ago. :(

So - ok. Love that Haru slugged Malfoy. AND beat up Crabbe and Goyle! XD Sweet. And he did it without magic? That makes it even better (though he did a little earthbending the Slyths don't know) since I've always wanted to see Draco get kicked. HARD. Plus for those aristocratic Slytherins, having an opponent who doesn't duel so much as brawl has to be disconcerting.

Upside: They'll fear Haru's wrath even more now because expelliarmus won't stop him. Downside: They won't underestimate him as much as before.

Granted, he still has earthbending as his ace in the hole... but every little bit helps.

I guess no one filled Ron in on what exactly Haru punched Draco for... I'd love to see his reaction when he finds out that Haru was essentially DEFENDING his father. Please let them fill the Weasley's in at some point. Haru could use a few more Gryffindor friends who'll trust him in the battles ahead.

Zuko - nice to see him go after Haru. Misplaced guilt? Do you mean that he'd feel guilty for Fire Nation actions against Haru's father? Or did I miss something. Figures that he'd be able to stand the cold a bit longer than Haru though. ^_^ He has that whole breath of fire thing he can draw on to warm himself in extreme temperatures.

Apparently not enough to avoid getting sick though. :P

I would love to see Teo's plans to improve the Floo Network! hehehe... he has enough distance from the magic world to be able to see things differently and improve them accordingly... even if he doesn't realize that's what he's doing. XD I like that. And he's just such a cute kid.

Ty Lee was as great as ever... though I think she's got it a little backward when she says Zuko did something wrong when he got his scar. Does she know the whole story at this point? Because speaking up to defend his people from actions of callous generals is not wrong to my way of thinking. It's certainly more honorable than standing by and allowing them to sacrifice green soldiers as cannon fodder.

Grr... that issue hits one of my buttons. :P Sorry for the rant.

Anyways, loved the chapter. Hope to see more SOON. (Seriously. Update tomorrow :P ) And I'll be back for more. I'm going to go read the 3rd chapter of the Kouji story since I think I missed it too. (I'd read the others, but I don't like Song and have no interest in Matrix fanfics... sorry)

(Reply) (Thread)

Actually, the Matrix fic is an edit/repost -- my co-author and I finished it back in 2006. =D Just before Dragon*Con, no less.

As for earthbending, Haru is still trying to keep it on the down-low. So rather than earthbend directly at Malfoy to avoid taking a jinx, he just shook the whole castle. Slightly less suspicious. =D

Only Zuko and Ty Lee know why Haru punched Malfoy. As far as the Slytherins know, the seventh-year just snapped and lashed out. They don't know about his issues regarding wrongful imprisonment.

And yeah, that's exactly it with Zuko. His people, his responsibility. Or something. Even though it's more his father's fault, but whatever.

As for Ty Lee, she's partly right. But where Zuko did wrong (to her mind and in Fire Nation culture) is in directly confronting the general and speaking out like that in the middle of a meeting. It would have been far better to go to the general privately. See what I mean?

As for updates, well, I don't have time to self-beta and post right now (I have to get off to work in like... eight minutes), but I'll definitely update before I go off to California.

And don't worry about abandonment between the fics - Co-Author and I just worked out a rotation schedule for our fics to make certain nothing is left behind.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Yeah, I figured he was still being sneaky about the bending... and hm... I still think that someone needs to clue the Weasley's in on Haru's reasons for lashing out. Even if Ty Lee is the one who has to do it. I doubt Zuko would because he's pretty closed off to most of the world... doesn't really care to share personal info. But it'd be bad if the Slytherins ever figure it out. :P They'd just try to use it against him.

I guess from that perspective Zuko's actions COULD be construed as wrong, but I still support his choices. Ozai was the one who messed up in how he handled the situation. Permanent disfigurement is not an appropriate punishment for a child who spoke out of concern for his people. Even if it meant he showed disrespect.

But yeah, you already covered that... Ozai crossed the line. Now if only the rest of the Fire Nation knew the truth Zuko would have their backing. Even the soldiers serving under Zuko during his exile didn't know the truth until Iroh filled them in.

Wheeeeeeee! Continuous fics! :P Good, cause I'd hate for there to be no updates of this story forever. ^_^

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Honestly, if I thought I could work that kind of game, one of the Slytherins WOULD figure out Haru's underlying Issues and try to play him. But that leads to Xanatos roulettes and before you know it people are dying of heart attacks while someone goes "Just as planned."

Oh, I support Zuko's choice as well. Ty Lee's interpretation of the wrongness is partly cultural, I believe. And she did admit that Ozai went overboard in dealing with the 'disrespect'.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

I understand. Those things get tricky so they're often best avoided... ^_^ I'll never quite grasp some of their cultural issues because mine is just so different... and in a lot of ways the Fire Nation seems to be the more forward-thinking nation. They let women in their army. And they have no problems with their princess leading military matters... yet they still have SO many problems. ::sigh:: It's messed up.

Anyways, that has nothing to do with this chapter so go write some more! ;D

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)