Drabble: Form Over Function

[attackfish]

Author's Note: After all that running around after and then with the avatar and his brave companions, I can just see Zuko coming home and being really genre savy.  This is item number one on the evil overlord list, actually...  I don't know, it feels like he's channeling Gen from Megan Whalen Turner's books here, playing innocent and stupid most of the time, and then WHAM, oh yeah, that's why he's Fire Lord.


Form Over Function

“Tell me,” Zuko asked, “Why do Fire Nation troops wear face masks or helmets with visors?”

“They protect their faces and intimidate our enemies,” one of his generals replied, suppressing a sigh.

The new Fire Lord’s eyes flicked over the tax reports on the table and then narrowed on the general.  “Really?  Because I always thought they just made it easy for people to infiltrate our armed forces.”

The general flinched, finding himself missing Princess Azula.  No one ever forgot she was terrifying.  “My lord, I don’t...”

“It was really useful during the war," he deadpanned.  “Thanks, by the way.”

Comments

[floranna.livejournal.com]

This drabble is wonderful. It always manages to make me laugh.

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

You really got to pity his court, though... Lol.

[beboots.livejournal.com]

“Really? Because I always thought they just made it easy for people to infiltrate our armed forces.” SO TRUE.

Also, I liked this moment: "No one ever forgot she was terrifying." Normally, Zuko is so Failko, or at least pretty affable or, well, not about to shoot lightning at someone for little to no reason. But every so often, if he feels that strongly about something, well, he proves that he IS of Sozin's line. ;)

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Yeah, most of the time Zuko's a pretty eager to please and idealistic Firelord, but every so often, you find him glaring at you wondering why his father or sister never killed you. He might be whimpering instead of glaring while he wonders it some of the time.

I wonder why he was thinking about the uniforms. Maybe Sokka used one to sneak up on him to slip ice cubes down his back?

[beboots.livejournal.com]

I can also see Fire Lord Zuko having little tolerance for people who speak of, say, Water Tribe barbarians or dirty Earth Kingdom peasants or whatever. Or warmongering. I think that he would be rather strict to suppress such thinking.

That sounds like something Sokka would do. ;)

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

There's always that one guy on the council who thinks an army is the way to deal with everything...

[lita-of-jupiter.livejournal.com]

i could so see him doing that...

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Zuko: let's not make all the same mistakes my friends got to exploit while fighting us, K?"\

[lita-of-jupiter.livejournal.com]

oh yeah... he gets to remind people that while he is the good guy... doen`t mean he is nice... just nicer than his sister...