A Happy Place: Guide Me Home

Hello, and welcome back to Fanfic Masochism.

After last week’s ordeal (and downer ending, but what can you do), I decided to take a break from bad fanfics. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’d take a break from reviewing (it’s too much fun), and after My Little Unicorn I felt that I needed a very nice, and very large, pick me up.

So I have turned to one of my favorite fics of all time: the Avatar: The Last Airbender shipfic Guide Me Home by Qwi-Xux.

Now, I have attacked shipfics before, but this is different. This, I believe, is the shipfic that most other shipfics wish they were like: the relationship is tender, well developed, well-paced, and just… wonderful. I love this fic enough that I consider it my personal headcanon for what happened during and immediately after Avatar: The Last Airbender (and honor few fics have).

And the best part? If you ignore the comics that came after Last Airbender, Guide Me Home fits perfectly into canon (In the fic’s defense, it was published two years before the comics).

For those of you that haven’t read it yet… WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE READING THIS?! GO FIND IT AND READ IT FOR YOURSELF! HERE, HAVE A LINK!

For those of you who don’t care… you’re horrible. Enjoy your spoilers.

Our fic opens with Ursa (Zuko’s mother) tending to her garden, picking out some herbs for dinner when a young girl burst out of the inn Ursa owns and informs her that Fire Nation Soldiers are on their way. Why? Well, because their assholes, that’s why.

The leader of the soldiers flicked his eyes over Ursa. “Ahh, if it isn’t our generous innkeeper.”

The knot in her stomach squeezed tighter. “Unfortunately, my generosity is running very low at the moment. You claimed most of my earnings three days ago.”

Did I mention that Ursa currently lives in occupied Earth Kingdom territory? I still love this story, but I have to admit that’s a silly thing. Ursa was exiled from the Fire Nation, and I’m sure Ozai’s probably not going to be too happy that his wife is still within “Fire Nation Territory”.

Anyway, the Fire Nation soldiers are on an extortion run, and since Ursa doesn’t want a fight she gives them the last of her (visible) wealth and they leave peacefully. Mykan, take note: this is how you handle problems, with logic and calm, not mindless fights that’ll cause collateral damage.

We also get well written and properly set up exposition: a travelling family asks if this is normal, and Ursa explains that the Fire Nation started patrolling this region about three months ago, and she notes in her mind that since the army doesn’t have the manpower to fully stabilize the region they resort to terror tactics and bullying to keep the locals in line. Her internal thoughts also show that she’s deeply ashamed of what the Fire Nation soldiers are resorting to, setting up some emotional drama for her later on.

As a storm rolls in, Ursa gathers some things to take to Misaki, the local old blind lady… and Ursa’s contact in the Earth Kingdom underground.

That… is a cool idea. It’s all but stated in the series finale that the Earth Kingdom will never give up, even if the Fire Nation has conquered their cities, so it makes sense that they’d set up a resistance movement or spy network of some kind.

Of course, Misaki’s still a nice old lady, so she gives Ursa some tea and snacks before sending her on her way. We also get a few more bits of insight that let us know that Ursa had stumbled across Misaki shortly after her banishment (we assume; it does say “at the lowest point in her life”), and of course that Ursa still feels bad for being Fire Nation.

After they have tea and exchange the secret package for the Earth Kingdom Army, Ursa returns to the inn and waits for her contact to show up. A little while later, a man walks in and gives the secret password.
“May the sun shine upon your path.”

“And may the moon guide your steps.”

God, I love secret passwords.

 
Yup; when Ursa gets a good look at the guy, she’s able to decipher that he’s actually a Fire Nation soldier, sent to infiltrate the spy network and most likely kill her and get the secret information. How is she able to do this? Years of living in the Fire Nation has conditioned her to read body language very well, and she could tell that the guy was a Firebender solely by how he walked.

… Cool.

The infiltrator doesn’t take too kindly to being found out and attacks, setting the inn alight. Ursa manages to escape and makes a run for it, but the Firebender is hot on her heels.

… I deserve to be punished for that pun.

But the day is saved when, as Ursa run towards the dock, three unknown warriors charge out and attack the Firebender. Once she gets a chance to calm down, she sees that they are Water Tribe, specifically members of the Southern Water Tribe under Chief Hakoda. What are they doing here? Well…

The next chapter starts with Hakoda’s perspective (a decent perspective flip? I LOVE THIS STORY!). Due to the storm rolling in, Hakoda and his men (minus Bato) are forced to pull in before their ships are too damaged. We are also introduced to a few members of the crew: Mikko, Pika, and Tamoru. What are they doing throughout all this? Well, besides trying to make sure they don’t all die they’re joking around a bit.

“Looks like it’s going to be a rough ride,” Pika shouted at him [Hakoda] from over on the second boat.

“Think you can handle it?” Hakoda called back.

“Oh, I think I can handle it. Who was it who lasted longest riding that arctic hippo all those years ago?”

“That would be Bato,” Tamoru yelled over to Pika as he walked past Hakoda with a length of rope.

“I don’t know where you get your information, Tamoru, but I beat Bato by one second.” Pika returned.

Tamoru scoffed. “Sure you did.”

See that? That’s what I’ve been missing from fics like My Little Unicorn or Legend of Skye Dumbass. These guys are interacting and trading shots with one another, and you can tell that they’ve been through a lot over the past few years. They’re friends, comrades in arms, buddies. They’re not just shallow characteristics, but actual people.

I care more for these three Mauve Shirts than I do for the entire cast of My Little Unicorn.

They manage to pull into the harbor safely, but while they’re busy checking their ships for damage one of their lookouts, a warrior named Notu, spots Ursa and the Firebender heading towards them. Hakoda and the other immediately spring into action and take out the Firebender, knocking him unconscious and tying him up for later. No calling attacks, no grand sweeping monologues, no swearing and gore, just a quick dodge and a club to the head.
A much better fight scene, if I do say so myself.

But all is not well, and we get a clean transition to Ursa’s POV and we see that her inn is on fire. Of course, by now there’s not much left to do, so she can only stand and watch as her livelihood goes up in smoke. To make matters worse, she follows a hunch and runs to Misaki’s house, only to find it ransacked, scorch marks on the walls and the old woman gone.

The only thing remaining is this:

Yup. As if the idea of an Earth Kingdom resistance wasn’t cool enough, the fact that the Order of the White Lotus is in on it makes it all the more awesome.

Still a bummer about Misaki, though.

Ursa wanders out, stewing in her grief and emotional pain a bit (and physical pain- she got burned in that fight, although she notes she’s suffered worse… remember that), and runs into some of the villagers. They offer to let her stay at their house until she can get a new one, but Ursa declines and says her goodbyes. She heads back down to the docks and speaks with Hakoda, properly introducing herself and explaining to him what happened.

Take note, ShayNiccals, people actually talk to other people when they have important information.

Unfortunately, more Fire Nation soldiers are spotted, so Hakoda and crew (plus Ursa) have to get out of there quickly. Once they get away safely, Hakoda and Ursa have a small chat… unlike 99% of the couples I’ve encountered in my reviews, instead of them fawning over how hot the other person is, he just treats her burns and asks how she knew the guy was a Firebender and what is so important about the information she’s carrying.

She explains that she was raised among nobility, so knows how to read body language (she leaves out that she was raised among Fire Nation nobility, but I’ll let it pass for reasons I’ll explain later). She also says that she has no idea what the information she’s carrying actually is, since she’s rather low on the totem pole. Hakoda then explains that he and his men are actually investigating the infiltrators to try and see what’s going on.

That’s… a bit convenient.

Anyway, Hakoda decides to deliver Ursa and the Firebender to General Ling, the commander whom the secret message is intended for. In the meantime he introduces her to the rest of his men (and Mikko gets a pretty good moment complaining about being regulated to “them” when being introduced) and they get ready to go to General Ling.

So, naturally we’re going to see them arriving and telling the general everything, right?

Actually, the next scene is Hakoda standing watch to make sure the Firebender doesn’t escape (Smart. Why couldn’t any of the previous protagonists been this smart?). Ursa (who’s sleeping on deck alone because ANGST!... and because there’s not much room on the small Water Tribe ship and she wants to make sure the Firebender doesn’t get away) wakes up and talks with him a bit.

“I never really thanked you for all your help,” Ursa began.

Hakoda shook his head. “We were just in the right place at the right time. But you’re welcome.” He paused, then added, “I’m sorry about your home- and your friend.”

“It’s not the first one I’ve lost.” Her voice was short, and it was clear from her tone that she didn’t want to talk about it.

The conversation goes on, but I just wanted to take a moment and point out that this scene completely blows the dramatic scenes of all the other stories I have reviewed out of the water. It’s not glossed over, like “Harry Potter turns to the Lord”, Legend of Skye Dumbass, or Healing; it doesn’t just say “Hakoda and Ursa talked about many things, such as the loss of her home”. Qwi-Xux shows us Hakoda’s concern for Ursa’s wellbeing and his sympathy that she’s lost everything, and she shows us that Ursa’s going through a lot and doesn’t really want to dwell on it in case it causes further ANGST! It’s almost like I’m watching a new episode of Avatar all over again.

To add to that, later Hakoda starts talking about the Southern Water Tribe, and he shows something that Jupiter Williams, Lightning Dawn and Dumbass never did: a feeling of loss. Hakoda really misses Katara and Sokka, and the dialogue and narration shows us that he’s hurting having been away from them for almost two years. I feel genuinely sorry for him, and I really want to see him reunite with the two and be a family again.

Tl; Dr, Qwi-Xux has made me care for these characters.

Also during this conversation, Hakoda and Notu trade some witty banter when the warrior comes to take the next watch. Like I said before, the crewmembers play wonderfully off one another, trading jabs and snark like they really are good buddies. I live in a fraternity at college, and I can say that when you get a group of guys together and they know each other well, then you get a lot of good natured back-and-forth jabs in conversations. And it feels so natural here.

I love this story.

So the two depart and head to bed, Hakoda to the captain’s quarters while Ursa returns to her little nook. Hakoda’s in a good mood, while Ursa… has nightmares. Actually, it’s later revealed that the next chapter takes place about three days after Ursa joins up with Hakoda’s crew, but what does matter is that Ursa’s having nightmares.

NO! BAD MARY SUE BUTTON! NO BISCUIT!

I know back in my review of Healing I said that dreams could be used for cheap drama and exposition, but Guide Me Home does it properly. For one, instead of just showing the action of what’s bothering the character (in this case, Ursa’s last argument with Ozai before her exile), we also see the various emotions going through Ursa’s mind at the time (mainly anger and betrayal). And, as we’ll see later, these memories play merry hell on Ursa’s mind, and her entire character arc is about breaking away from the bad memories and making some semblance of peace with herself.

Now, for specifics of what the dream’s about (it’s actually more of a bad memory, but still):

It’s shortly after Azulon ordered Ozai to kill Zuko (because Ozai tried to usurp Iroh’s birthright shortly after Iroh’s son was killed in battle, for those of you who have forgotten). Ursa is furious that Ozai would be willing to go through with this, while Ozai is so blasé about the whole ordeal that Ursa begins wondering just what the heck happened to her husband that he turned into… well, this. When she tries to talk some sense into him/ tell him that she’s taking Zuko away somewhere safe Ozai freaking slaps her hard enough to draw blood and is about to blast her with Firebending before she talks him down with her plan to get him on the throne.

Take notes, Spawn of Nerdom; this is how you do bad dreams of abuse. You show the act, you show the emotions, and you keep it somewhat reasonable so it’s tragic instead of Narmy.

Ursa gets woken up by Mikko, who’s on watch. She tries to pass it off as nothing, but since Mikko is smart he knows better and tells her there’s nothing to be ashamed of. The two sit down for a chat and Mikko spends a bit of time gushing about his wife and young daughter, saying how much he misses them and how much his little girl has probably grown since he left.

My heart is melting right now.

Hakoda comes up and relieves Mikko while Ursa goes back to her sleeping bag (she’s sleeping outside because ANGST! She’s gotten used to sleeping under the stars and feels safer if she can see the Firebender prisoner). The two talk and Hakoda talks about Sokka and Katara, which brings up Ursa’s memories of Zuko and Azula. Of course, the conversation drifts to the inevitable when concerning that family.

“I’m sure you and you wife are very proud of them.”

Hakoda’s smile slipped entirely and he stared into the dying embers. “I’m very proud of them. I’m sure my wife would have been too.”

Ursa apologizes, but Hakoda waves her off because she didn’t know better (good, people that aren’t snippy about their past). As it turns out, the attack on the Southern Water Tribe that led to Kya’s death was around the time Ursa was banished for killing Azulon (again, convenient). Hakoda makes a comment about how the Fire Nation only knows how to kill and destroyed, and although Ursa’s hurt by this she doesn’t say anything. In fact, she kind of agrees with him.

So much angst.

The next chapter opens probably a few days later. It’s Kya Appreciation Day!... Actually, it’s the anniversary of Kya’s death, and after a bit of angst from Hakoda it’s explained that it’s a Southern tradition that they get together and talk about all the good memories they have of the deceased.

Cool.

They share a few good stories, about how Kya helped Tamoru’s wife when she was in labor or how Kya scolded Hakoda and Bato when they nearly got themselves killed shooting the rapids. Hakoda’s a bit somber, but I can forgive him considering we’re dealing with how his wife has been dead for six years. There’s a little chat between him and Ursa, but I won’t go into specifics right now… okay, she admits she’s never seen anyone with this kind of friendship, and Hakoda makes a quip about being around a bunch of smelly guys.

They pack up and head to the army base (which is near the town of Gaoling; remember that now), where General Ling takes the message and questions the prisoner. He actually got the prisoner to talk using Red Spider-Fly venom, a toxin that can loosen the lips of someone being questioned but is not entirely effective (the flaws being that there no way to tell what is true and what isn’t, a person who wants to keep a secret can, and worst case scenario is that they start tripping and seeing hallucinations).

Well, not everyone can be as good an Earthbender as Toph, so there’s no way to tell through their pulse if they’re lying or not. Still, wouldn’t they have tried to find something a bit more effective?

Anyway, General Ling tells them that the information Ursa delivered actually concerns Team Avatar and their fight against the pirates in “The Waterbending Scroll”. Hakoda is surprised by this, but this gets ignored by the general’s new idea:

He knows about the breaches in the underground, and he knows about Hakoda’s mission and Ursa’s ability to read body language (I think that was explained earlier, right?). General Ling asks Ursa if she wouldn’t mind reviewing the Non-Benders under his command, just to make sure that she can actually do this and that there are no Firebenders on the base.

Okay, fair enough, but this is sounding rather similar to General Fong’s proposition to Aang in “The Avatar State”.

Ursa says she’ll give it some thought and heads off to bed, Hakoda following behind. Hakoda’s still shaken up by the idea that Katara’s out there openly fighting as a Waterbender. Fortunately for him, Ursa understands where he’s coming from.

Isn’t it wonderful when people don’t have to be all suspicious of one another?

The next chapter gives us more of Ursa’s backstory: her parents had died when she was four, and she had been raised by her aunt until she was married off to Ozai.

SEE, SPAWN OF NERDOM?! THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PARENTS DIE! THEIR CHILDREN ARE SENT TO THEIR NEXT OF KIN!

Of course, her aunt didn’t want little Ursa finding out that she’s descended from Avatar Roku, but that was corrected at some point. Ursa then thinks a little about Aang and the others (not that she knows his name), and she eventually ends up blaming herself for being so blind and letting Ozai fall so far.

Speaking of Grand Shmuck Ozai, we get another dream/memory explaining more about what happened that night Ursa was banished. She tells him what her plan is (off-screen, but that’s not the main focus) and Ozai says that the kids are staying with him or- HOLY SHIT HE FREAKING BURNS HER! And it’s not just a little burn; it’s pretty much the same thing he did to Zuko, only on Ursa’s chest instead of her face. He then declares her an Unperson, then declares that she was never his wife, and then says that if she screws up, or even steps back into Fire Nation territory, the deal’s off and one of the kids dies.

…

…

Ozai should go die in a hole right now.

Ursa is woken up not by one of her friends, but by… ANOTHER FIRE NATION SPY! *Gasp* The guy takes her prisoner and just walks her out of the base, since he’s been posing as a member of the Earth Kingdom military for so long.

“Best do what I say, understand?” he pushed her forward again. “There’s no one to help you now.”

You just had to jinx it, didn’t you? I still love this story, but this complaint goes out to villains everywhere: Why do you always have to tempt fate like that?

Ursa is led through the town of Gaoling by the Fire Nation spy when suddenly-

Toph smashes the guy with a rock and pulls Ursa into a secret tunnel… No that wasn’t a joke. Toph happened to be walking under them at the time (probably sneaking home after winning Earth Rumble again), felt that Ursa was in trouble, and rescued her.

Three cheers for the Badass Beifong!

Toph leads Ursa back to the base (this being pre-Gaang Toph, she’s a bit of a grouch about it), and after she gets back to the Water Tribe members she heads to General Ling and tells him the bad news. The general is understandably upset (doubly so since it turns out the spy was posing as a captain, and therefore had access to a lot of secrets) and asks if Ursa would be willing to do her “Detect Firebenders” thing. Ursa does so before retiring for the night, and Hakoda, being a good person, has one of his men patrol the hallway her room is in without her knowledge.

A few days pass by, and the prisoner keeps mentioning a town in his rambling. Deciding he can’t trust anyone else, General Ling instructs Hakoda to go to the base and deliver the information, Ursa deciding to tag along because she has nowhere else to go. We do get some more glossed over exposition, like Ursa being taught how to fish and finally getting a proper room, but I’m willing to put up with it more than the other times I’ve complained about authors skimming over details because, unlike AvatarAvani or Saint Abraham, these are not vitally important to the plot. It’s not saying “Ursa and the others traveled the Earth Kingdom, finding many spies along the way”, it’s just saying “Ursa was taught how to fish”. While it would be interesting to see, it’s not too vital to the narrative.

During this time, Ursa has a lot to think about; what Zuko and Azula are up to, how she’s growing to like the company of the Water Tribe sailors, how she and Hakoda aren’t so different at the end of the day.

Ursa and Hakoda have another chat, this time about Ursa’s ANGST and Hakoda being seemingly optimistic. It… actually works rather well; Ursa’s outlook is rather cynical, that everyone lies and nothing good can last, while Hakoda believes that there are things worth fighting for, and that the hope of something better keeps him and his men going. Also, when Ursa points out that Hakoda kind of broke her trust by having someone patrol the hallway when she specifically said she didn’t need a guard, he points out that they were staying in the same hallways and gives Ursa the same argument for why he did it that Mal gave Simon in Firefly:

As long as she’s with them, she’s part of the crew.

They say good night to one another and go off to bed, Ursa having more flashback/ dreams to her killing the Fire Lord.

Specifically, when she says goodbye to Azula and Zuko. It’s…

Well, it’s freaking depressing, for one. We see that Ursa’s seriously traumatized about what she did, and that she’s incredibly fearful of what will happen to her children under Ozai’s “care” (given how they turned out, she had a right to be scared). And of course we get lots of guilt to go with it, with Ursa not sure if she’ll ever forgive herself for murdering her father-in-law, scumbag that he was.

Ursa, do you need a hug?

The next chapter opens with them meeting up with Bato. He tells them about how he encountered Aang, Sokka and Katara, and how the Avatar is in good hands. Bato’s then introduced to Ursa and… well, he’s skeptical.

“Are you worried that she’s one of these Fire Nation spies whose purpose was to infiltrate the Water Tribe?” Hakoda asked.

“The thought did cross my mind, but I knew if it had crossed mine after just hearing about what’s been going on, then it had undoubtedly crossed yours.”

Isn’t it wonderful when characters actually talk about their fears and suspicions?

Hakoda also tells Bato a little about his thoughts on Ursa herself (Mostly via “Hakoda told Bato about it”. Again, I’m willing to let it slide because it’s not incredibly important to the plot, and those bits that are important are actually addressed). Afterwards, the crew (mainly Hakoda, Notu, Ursa and Bato) head into town, specifically near the one “The Deserter” took place in.

Meaning that Admiral “Fish Boxer” Zhao is probably in the area. This won’t end well.

On the way they see posters of Jeong Jeong and talk a bit about morality and whether or not people are capable of change, and if people who were fighting for the bad guys deserve forgiveness. Ursa says “Not likely” while the Water Tribe members say “Maybe. We need all the help we can get”. This conversation gets put on hold when they arrive at a tavern owned by a resistance member. They talk and learn a bit about what happened in “The Deserter”.

Ursa spots a Firebender sitting in the corner. When she tries to leave, blaming herself for putting the men in danger, the Firebender attacks and more Fire Nation soldiers arrive. Ursa and Hakoda are captured and taken to Admiral Zhao, and all along the way Ursa’s panicking because she feels that A) if Hakoda’s injured or killed (since the Fire Nation is after her, specifically) his blood will be on her hands and B) if they get through all this Hakoda’s going to be mad at her for not telling him about being Fire Nation.

Your trust issues are kind of becoming a problem, Ursa.

She ends up telling him, but before he can respond they’re brought to Zhao. He reveals that he’s the man behind the infiltrators, and that he and Ursa are going to have a lot to talk about.

The two are thrown into a prison cell aboard Zhao’s ship, and Hakoda… just calmly asks why Ursa left the Fire Nation. He doesn’t accuse her of being a spy, or get angry with her for not telling him sooner, he just asks why she left. She gives him a half truth that her children were threatened and she had to do something terrible to make sure they lived, and then says that Hakoda should hate her.

He doesn’t. He believes her.

And Ursa’s walls start to crack. It’s been ten chapters and almost two months in story, and she and Hakoda are finally connecting.

ShayNiccals, AvatarAvani, and Spawn of Nerdom, take note: that is what’s known as “pacing”. LEARN IT!

Ursa gets hauled before Zhao and he does what he does best: act like a total asshole. He gloats about how Zuko’s a failure and a coward, and then goes on about how he plans to use Ursa as a tool to keep Zuko in line, but not before he tortures her a little to learn her secrets.

Zhao can go die in a hole with Ozai. OH WAIT! He does! Sort of.

Spirit prisons are weird.

We cut back to Hakoda who’s trying to find a way out of the prison. As he does, he’s also thinking about Ursa and how it makes sense that she’s Fire Nation, as well as wondering just what the hell happened to her in the past. Ursa is brought back by the Fire Nation soldiers, and… well, it’s not pretty. They gave her the spider-fly venom I mentioned earlier, so she’s barely lucid and unstable. Hakoda still tries to calm her down, because he’s a good person and cares about Ursa’s safety.

Things take a turn for the better when a young soldier named Ran shows up. Why is this better? Turns out he’s a White Lotus initiate, and he’s here to break the two out of prison.

I’d call it a Deus ex Machina, but it’s established that the White Lotus has members and agents all over the world; I wouldn’t be surprised if every single commander in the Fire Nation army had one hiding in their ranks.

Ran gives Ursa a drug that will clear her head and tells the two that they’ll have to jump off the ship and swim for it. He gives them some supplies so they don’t freeze to death once they get out of the water (it’s still late winter and they’re pretty far north in the Earth Kingdom, after all), and tells them that they have to find some way to get north and warn the Northern Water Tribe of Zhao’s impending invasion/ boxing match with a fish.

They make their escape, and Ursa gets her first glimpse of snow once they land. And she gets a nice view of Hakoda without his shirt on. It’d be cute if it weren’t life or death. They head into the wilderness and stop in a cave (we also get some information that Ursa actually knows the guy who helped them, but that’s just minor information for now). They settle in for the night and… aw, they’re sharing a blanket (so Ursa doesn’t freeze to death; Hakoda’s used to being in cold weather).

The next day, Hakoda wakes up and is all “Holy crap there’s a woman sleeping next to me”. It’s only now that he realizes that he has feelings for Ursa beyond just normal concern for a woman being chased by the Imperialistic Empire. How long did this take? THIRTEEN CHAPTERS, AND ALMOST THREE MONTHS IN-UNIVERSE!

Let’s take a look at how long it took the other fics I’ve reviewed.

My Immortal: Unknown, due to Egongy and Draco possibly being together before the fic began.

Legend of Skye Dumbass: About eight chapters, less if you consider Dumbass kissing Zuko to be the start of their relationship.

Voices: two chapters, one day.

Healing: Three days and half a chapter once Kaldur and Jupiter actually met.

Legolas by laura: Guh.

My Little Unicorn: One. Paragraph.

Sorry Hakoda and Ursa; you’ve lost the “fastest couple to get together” race. However, you get the consolation prize for being the most rounded, mature, and realistic couple of the lot.

Even then, he decides to just take it easy, since he’s only now starting to gain Ursa’s trust. WHY COULDN’T THE OTHER COUPLES DONE THIS?!

They head out later that day, and their next stop Hakoda keeps chipping away at those walls and asks Ursa about her husband. Ursa doesn’t say her husband was Ozai, but does say he was an asshole. This also pisses Hakoda off, because remember he’s starting to see Ursa in a romantic sense. Remember this.

They arrive in a small village and are helped out by some villagers. They get fed, and we get a cute scene of Hakoda and the family’s kids, that gets even cuter when Hakoda gives the little girl one of the beads in his hair (and it’s kind of bittersweet because it reminds him so much of Katara when she was little). They depart and we get a nice gem from Ursa:

“You know… seeing a family like that reminds me that I’m not just fighting to end pain in this war. I’m fighting to keep the good that’s already here.”

Spawn of Nerdom, are you reading this? Psychological issues aren’t done away with in just one little conversation. They take time and counseling for them to heal. Guide Me Home does exactly that; Ursa isn’t immediately better, but she’s healing. She’s still a shut-in, but she’s beginning to heal.

WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THIS WITH JUPITER WILLIAMS?!

They spend a week travelling across the Earth Kingdom trying to find the others (or at least an army base so they can let the Northern Water Tribe know Zhao’s coming). During this time, they talk about their kids, their homes, things like that, and we see that Ursa’s really opening up to Hakoda now (she even tells him that her grandfather was Avatar Roku). They also get into a little conversation about “moving on” and living with the pain of losing loved ones.

So much angst.

“I don’t know how to let go… I don’t know how to forgive myself, and I’ve been wandering so long that I don’t know if I have any idea what home is, let alone how to get back to it.”

Hakoda’s hand was on her shoulder again, and part of her wanted to just push it away, but she didn’t. “That’s when you have people you trust to help you find your way. Those are the people who will come find you even if you steal their boat and deliberately ram it into an iceberg.”

Ursa turned back to face him and searched his eyes. “I had lost faith that those kinds of people existed.”

“‘Had.’” He echoed meaningfully.

Then they kiss.

What do you think this is? A fic written by AvatarAvani?

The next night, the moon goes wonky. Why?

You should know this by now

They gather up their stuff and head to an Earth Kingdom base. The general fills them in on everything that happened while they were walking around and bonding and lets them stay the night until they can locate the Southern Water Tribe fleet. They also learn that Ran was sent by Jeong Jeong to spy on Zhao.

Cool. We’ve got counter spies to go with our spies. Yo Dawg, I heard you like spies! *is shot*

Afterwards, Hakoda talks to Ursa and asks what she plans to do: the Earth Kingdom general offered to escort her wherever she wants to go, and Hakoda offers to drop her off at a friendly village. Ursa says she wants to go to the North with the others, and then Hakoda asks what she plans to do afterward.

She responds thusly:

Like this, but with Ursa and Hakoda

So, it’s taken us Fifteen Chapters before they even become an official couple. FIFTEEN CHAPTERS! That’s like a record or something. Of course, the next day Ursa tries to apologize for it, but Hakoda says he’s not sorry. They then tell the others pretty much everything that happened, and the crew is mad… because Ursa keeps beating them at cards. They actually don’t mind that Ursa’s Fire Nation and welcome her back with open arms.

I love these guys.

The next chapter opens some time later. Bato comes to Hakoda and talks about Ursa, and how he totally called it that they liked each other back when he first met her.

I tolerate this more because Bato’s acting like a grownup… even if the other men have a betting pool on Ursa and Hakoda’s relationship. There’s no teasing or “Hakoda’s got a Girlfriend”, they respect that he’s in a relationship and that they’ll take it at their own speed… not that they can’t have a little fun on the side.

The next day Ursa comes to Hakoda with a request: she wants to learn how to ride a horse she wants to learn how to fight. She cites that since she’s traveling with them, and she’s had a pretty rough time the last few months, she needs to know how to defend herself. The guys are all for it and teach her some basic defense moves.

Things go wrong when, during a sparring match, Hakoda accidentally pins Ursa and touches her burn scar. Ursa panics and…

Nails Hakoda in the crotch. It’s not funny because Ursa is totally mortified that she did it.

Ursa apologizes later and the two make up (and out). Our next scene takes place when they finally reach the Northern Water Tribe (Hooray!). They meet with Chief Arnook (and learn that the Gaang left two days earlier. Haroo.), and he discusses the recent battle (which is not easy for Ursa, considering Zuko is still kind of a bad guy at this point) before getting them settled in. During their stay, Ursa notices a lot of the unmarried Northerners flirting with Hakoda.

Is someone jealous?

Fortunately, Mikko comes to her rescue with BOOMERANG!... Okay, boomerang lessons, but still BOOMERANG! It turns out Ursa isn’t half bad with a boomerang, since the throwing technique is similar to that of a game she played back in the Fire Nation.

Clever.

During this time Ursa gets used to some of the customs of the Water Tribes (It’s not incredibly important to the plot, so once again I’ll let it slide), including arranged marriages. Ursa is of course not entirely on board with the idea, considering how her own marriage worked out, and is further aggravated by the fact that women are still flirting with Hakoda.

You know Ursa, you could just do something about it. Hakoda likes you, I’m sure he’ll understand if you just talk to him about it.

She doesn’t yet, and instead stews in her mixed emotions. However, she’s later injured during training and Yugoda, the healer that Katara spoke to in the show, gets Ursa to open up a little about her feelings (well, somewhat. Yugoda points out their love is about as obvious as Aang’s tattoos). Ursa does have the epiphany that she loves Hakoda, but then starts arguing with herself whether or not she should just leave and let Hakoda settle down with some other woman.

Ursa, you’re great and all, but sometimes you can be really dense.

Fortunately, Ursa thinks about it, and decides that it’s worth it. Later that night Hakoda comes in to talk with her, and Ursa pretty much says that she plans to make this work.

Sex ensues.

Now, ignoring the debate about whether or not sex out of wedlock is right, I’m putting this image up because it’s taken seventeen chapters for them to finally break out of the UST they have. It’s not rushed, and Qwi-Xux has made me care about them enough that I’ve been waiting for them to finally give in and become an official couple… That happened three chapters ago, but STILL! Now they’re okay with it and Ursa can stop apologizing all the time.

And, more importantly, Ursa’s emotional trauma can keep on healing properly.

Things continue on as normal, except that now Ursa and Hakoda are sleeping together (and the rest of the crew can trade winks and nudges. At least they’re not obnoxious about it, Krysta and Rhymey.

But the good times are broken when General Xu (the guy who found Hakoda and Ursa after they escaped Zhao) arrives from the Earth Kingdom and informs them that Omashu has fallen. The general speaks to Ursa and reveals that he’s a member of the White Lotus, and a personal friend of Misaki, and lets her in on a few of the Order’s secrets so they can aid her on her quest.

Cool.

They head south and arrive at General Fong’s base... You know, the guy who almost killed Katara trying to get Aang to go into the Avatar State?

...

Yeah, that’s sure to go over well.

Needless to say they don’t stick around long, and Hakoda’s naturally worried about Sokka and Katara. During their talk later that night, Ursa’s thoughts start drifting towards Zuko and Azula, and if they’d even know who she is anymore.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

The next chapter starts with a montage of things as the Water Tribe heads to Chameleon Bay. They learn about Azula’s arrival in the Earth Kingdom (which is not good for Ursa’s emotions), the possibility of Toph joining the Gaang, Ursa encountering the family that had left her inn before it got torched, things like that. Normally I’d object to just glossing over these encounters, but again, I see it as more of a montage.

Had AvatarAvani done this when Aang and Dumbass were heading south, I would have been more tolerant.

They arrive in Chameleon Bay and set to work preparing for the Fire Nation; Ursa works on her boomerang practice (Mikko even has a special boomerang made for her once he feels she’s ready), she helps Hakoda set up Stink and Sink mines (eye roll), and she makes the crew a nice Fire Nation stew.

Extra Spicy, of course. To be fair, she did warn them.

The meal’s cut short when a Fire Nation ship hits the mines. The Water Tribe warriors scramble and easily defeat the ship (nifty fight scene ahoy! Ursa even nails one of the Firebenders with her new boomerang). That night Ursa and Hakoda are having their cuddling time, and Ursa thanks Hakoda for not “coddling” her.

“I trust your judgment, Ursa. If I ever tell you to stay out of a battle, it won’t be because I doubt your capabilities- it will be because it’s best for the strategy and the mission.”

Why can’t more fanfic couples have this kind of trust?

Oh, and Ursa’s still having nightmares. Not bad memories, legit nightmares, about her family (sans Ozai) dying horribly. We don’t see the dreams, but we do see that Ursa’s deeply disturbed by them, and that’s more than enough.

We’re interrupted from this moment by FIGHTING! The bay is attacked by more Fire Nation ships, and in the battle Mikko is stabbed and badly injured. Ursa and a few others take him to a nearby town to seek out a healer (although they picked up a few Waterbenders in the North Pole… Then again, can Waterbending healing work on major wounds like that?), and while she’s gone Sokka arrives at the camp (meaning that this particular part of the story takes place just a few days before Azula’s coup in Ba Sing Se).

Back with Ursa, she’s still with Mikko worrying about him and blaming herself for not getting to him in time (she managed to just deflect the sword so it didn’t stab his heart). Notu gives her some words of encouragement and sends her to get food (not for them all- Ursa’s been worrying so much she forgot to eat), but while she’s out and about she sees this:

To say she takes it badly is like saying people get wet when it rains. At least she has the knowledge that he’s with Iroh right now.

…

Ah… heh, about that, Ursa…

Anyway, back at camp Hakoda and Sokka are catching up on things. It’s mostly light fluff, although Hakoda doesn’t spring the whole “I’m sleeping with a Fire Nation woman” thing on Sokka just yet. He just says that Ursa joined them a few months ago and that she’s been a great help. Sokka is cool with this, citing that given who he’s traveling with, he should be objecting.

Anyway, another Fire Nation attack is in progress, but Sokka has to go back to Ba Sing Se because SEASON 2 PLOT! Back at camp, Ursa makes another breakthrough with her emotional trauma; she realizes she’s not to blame for some of the things that have happened, and that it was Ozai’s decision to be a power hungry jackass that led to Zuko’s scarring and banishment, not her decision to save Zuko by killing Azulon.

However, the timely arrival of two disguised Firebenders interrupts this train of thought, and leads to a very bad discovery. As it turns out, there’s a network of tunnels leading down to the beach that refugees use to escape detection from the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation can use it to ambush the Water Tribe fleet while they’re busy battling the incomming ships.

They do exactly that, and although the Water Tribe manages to fight them off Ornu is killed.

If you think things can’t get worse, they do. Later that night the Gaang (plus Kuei and Bosco) arrives with news that Ba Sing Se has fallen, with Azula and Conflicted Angry Jerk at the lead. Shaken by this, Ursa tells Hakoda that she has a plan: go to Ba Sing Se and talk them out of following the Fire Nation.

Oh yes, march right into the recently captured city that is crawling with Fire Nation soldiers who have probably been told that you’re a massive traitor. That’ll work out well.

In Ursa’s defense, she knows that she has a pretty big chance at failing miserably, but hey, A for effort and all.

She says her goodbyes to Hakoda and heads for Ba Sing Se. She sneaks in and makes for the nearest bar… So she can get in contact with the White Lotus, of course. Her contact helps her get some Fire Nation clothing, and as she’s brought to the palace she gives the guy her boomerang and a scroll, instructing him to send it to Hakoda in the even she’s killed.

Touching.

Ursa arrives at the palace and gets in the old fashion way: browbeating the Dai Li guards about not showing proper respect and saying that she’ll tell Azula if she’s kept waiting. Since an angry Azula is pretty damn scary, they let her in and take her to a private room so she can speak to Azula.

It… goes poorly, to say the least. Azula accuses Ursa of parental favoritism and treason and has her thrown into the dungeon. She gets especially mad every time Ursa says she loves her.

And it’s made doubly sad when you remember the Season 3 finale. This would be one of Azula’s last chances to change and become a better person, and yet here she is throwing it away. Worse, remember that hallucination she has with Ursa in the mirror? Not a hallucination; she’s remembering this particular conversation, only she’s a bit too far gone now.

Ouch.

Back with the Water Tribe, Hakoda has started putting two and two together and coming to the realization that Zuko and Azula are Ursa’s children, meaning that she’s Ozai’s ex-wife… Well, he doesn’t reach that conclusion just yet; after all, there are probably dozens of people in the Fire Nation who have two children and a brother-in-law.

Good, more pacing.

As he’s musing about this, they get a message from the white Lotus saying that Ursa’s been captured and they’re working on an escape plan. Three guesses as to who’s in Ba Sing Se, and if you guessed “That kind from thirteen chapters ago” you win a cookie.

…

No, I’m not going to give you a cookie. Just go out and buy one for yourself and say it’s on me.

Back in jail, Ursa gets into a conversation with two other prisoners? Which two other prisoners?

These two other prisoners, of course!

Okay, one problem I have with this story is that it’s got a lot of characters. Normally that’s not a bad thing, but sometimes it’s hard to keep track of who’s where and who’s who. I think next time I read this I’ll need a flowchart or something.

Let’s see, so far we have:

Hakoda

Ursa

Misaki

Bato

The rest of Hakoda’s crew (Mikko, Tamoru, Pika, and a bunch of others I can’t remember off the top of my head. See my problem?)

Ran

Longshot

Smellerbee

The Gaang

The other White Lotus members (General Xu, Gue and his family, Ran's girlfriend).

And there’s probably more I didn’t mention. Long story short, THERE’S SO MANY CHARACTERS TO KEEP TRACK OF!!!

…

Let’s move on, shall we?

Hakoda and his men are busy preparing for the Day of Black Sun (remember, this is canon compliant, so it won’t end well). During this time, we learn that Ursa is on Hakoda’s mind, and he’s worried about her… Aw, he even made her a betrothal necklace.

So glad it took TWENTY FIVE CHAPTERS! And I’m being serious here. This is a new record. And It’s both awesome and a bit disturbing: awesome that Qwi-Xux has managed to make this engaging and well-paced, disturbing that 90% of other writers out there can’t do this when it seems… rather simple. You don’t have to force your characters together the first time they meet; they can and probably should be friends first and slowly grow more and more attached to each other before they take the plunge and become an official couple. Imagine how much better Voices or Healing would have been if the relationships were properly paced.

…

Nah, they’d still suck.

Meanwhile, Ursa has made friends with Longshot and Smellerbee when Ran comes to bust them out. ABOUT DAMN TIME! WE’RE BLEEDING CHAPTERS HERE!... Actually no, take as much time as you need. No need to rush the story.

Ursa and the two Freedom Fighters are taken to a safe house in Ba Sing Se. It’s there that she gets the bad news: the invasion failed and Hakoda’s a prisoner of the Fire Nation. She does tear up a bit, but she’s gotten stronger over the course of the story so she doesn’t fully break down. She agrees to help Gue and his family (Ran’s contacts) in any way she can, which will most likely involve coordination the White Lotus in preparation for Iroh’s liberation of the city.

We cut to Hakoda in jail. While he’s there, he runs into Misaki… Okay, that’s a bit convenient. Their meeting is broken up because SEASON 3 PLOT! The events of “The Boiling Rock” happen off-screen, and afterwards Hakoda and Zuko have a chat (ooh, this’ll be fun!). Hakoda asks Zuko about his mom and pretty much confirms that yes, Hakoda’s been banging the Fire Lord’s ex-wife.

…

Well, this is awkward.

That night, Hakoda’s lying awake thinking about Ursa and all she told him about her family. Naturally, you’d expect him to be upset that Ursa didn’t tell him sooner, right? Well… he’s actually not angry about that. Really, he wants to cave in Ozai’s head all the more for abusing his family and generally being an asshole to the woman Hakoda loves.

Of course, he doesn’t have time to tell the Gaang about this because AZULA! After they split up, Hakoda decides to head to Ba Sing Se with some of the others and find Ursa, getting in contact with General Xu first in order to get ahold of the White Lotus.

Surprised he’s still around and didn’t get caught up in the coup at Ba Sing Se.

Hakoda heads to Ba Sing Se with Teo (wheelchair kid) and The Duke (short Freedom Fighter; do we really need more characters). They link up with Ursa and the other White Lotus members and…

Well, hugs and tears are exchanged. Some because Ursa and Hakoda have been reunited, and some because Ursa just learned that Zuko’s a good guy now. Hakoda tells Ursa that he knows she’s the Fire Lord’s ex, and he doesn’t care.

Common fanfic drama would be that he’d get hung up about this, but Qwi-Xux is good enough to not fall into such clichés.

“I told you once that you could tell me anything without fear that I would betray you or your trust. That hasn’t changed, Ursa. That won’t ever change.”

He then asks if she’ll marry him. Not right away, of course; they still have some logistics to plan out for the coming battle against the Fire Nation, but when all’s said and done he asks her to marry him.

She says yes.

…

Excuse me, I need to go cry tears of happiness.

…

Okay, I’m good.

We get another montage of things happening: the group spends their time preparing for whatever it is that is coming, Hakoda acts as the minister in Ran’s wedding to a nice young Earthbender he met in the White Lotus (long story that I won’t get into now. Besides, the main couple is Ursa/Hakoda), things like that. Then a call goes out that the Masters are on their way, and Ursa has a nice reunion with Iroh.

Tea was probably involved, even if we don’t see it.

Iroh debriefs them about Ozai’s plan to watch the world burn, Zuko’s plan to confront Azula, and their plan to retake Ba Sing Se for the Earth Kingdom. Hakoda agrees to join a strike force to take the palace while Azula and Zuko have their duel, while Ursa decides to stay with the White Lotus and help the civilians and the injured in the coming battle. Also, she takes some time to talk to Iroh about all that happened, and how she was the one who offed his father.

Since this is Iroh, he’s willing to forgive her and doesn’t blame her for what’s happened.

Now, we get a battle with TACTICS! Oh, I’ve missed tactics so much! They hit the prison first, catching the Fire Nation off guard since most of the soldiers are out burning the Earth Kingdom, and hitting the prison is smart because that way they can release all the prisoners and get instant reinforcements. They head to the palace, but before they can get into a drawn out fight with the palace guards Zuko comes out and orders them to stand down. Since he’s just defeated Azula and is now the closest thing to a ruler the Fire Nation has, they listen.

Back in Ba Sing Se, Ursa’s acting as a nurse to Yugoda and the other healers Pakku brought with him. We don’t see a lot of the actual fighting, but safe to say that, if you’ve seen the Season 3 finale, you know what happened. Once it’s all over, Iroh arranges for an airship to take Ursa back to the Fire Nation.

Why yes, that does mean we’re in for an emotional reunion between Zuko and Ursa… and Azula too, even if she’s nuts.

Zuko and Ursa do have their reunion, and… If I described it I wouldn’t do it justice. If you have that link I posted above, go to Chapter 29 and read it for yourself.

…

Have you done that? Good.

Zuko’s so happy that he arranges for the rest of the Gaang to meet Ursa. Hakoda, who’s there for Zuko’s coronation (that happened off-screen), needs to speak with Zuko about something (presumably that he knows about Ursa). They meet up and…

Well… Okay, rundown time:

Hakoda and Ursa are happy to see each other again, so happy that they start making out right then and there.

Katara’s miffed that her dad is making out with another woman, and is apparently engaged to her (you know her feelings concerning her mother).

Zuko’s miffed that his mom is making out with some guy (and that Sokka never told him that he’d heard about Ursa).

Sokka’s miffed that Hakoda never told him that Ursa was Zuko’s mother (to be fair, it’s not like he knew at the time).

Aang’s worried because his friends are at each other’s throats right now, and he might have to break up a fight.

Toph’s happy because she sees Ursa’s okay (guess her cameo back in chapter eight wasn’t just for awesome).

Mai… is Mai.

After everything settles down, Hakoda and Ursa take some time to recap the entire story and how they met. And of course they apologize for not telling them sooner, because when you’re fighting a war such things do tend to be neglected.

Although, Hakoda did have three months between Ba Sing Se’s fall and the beginning of Season 3 to tell Sokka and Katara…

Whatever.

Everyone seems to be on board with this new development… except for Katara. She just storms off and accuses Hakoda of just forgetting about Kya (or not even caring for her) when he goes to confront her.

Geez, that’s kind of harsh.

Later that day, Ursa’s wandering the palace and decides to go feed turtleducks (because why not? She needs something familiar to go back to). Katara comes out and they have a small chat, just the two of them feeding turtleducks and talking about things. Eventually, Katara says that she’s still frustrated and confused, but she’s willing to accept Ursa and Hakoda’s relationship. The next day, as Ursa and Zuko go to check on Azula at the mental ward, Katara goes to Hakoda and they settle their issues.

SEE?! PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THEIR PROBLEMS AND FIND A WAY TO SOLVE THEM!

Meanwhile, Ursa and Zuko arrive at the mental ward Azula’s being kept in. Ursa sees Azula and… well, there’s a running theme about Ursa’s interactions with Azula. Read: they go badly. Azula spends a lot of time screaming at Ursa for abandoning her and that she (Azula) hates her, while Ursa just holds Azula close and tells her she loves her.

Later, she decides that she has one more person to confront: Grand Shmuck Ozai himself. That… actually makes sense. Ursa needs to make peace with her past, and Ozai’s the last thing that she still has to deal with before she can fully move on. Their meeting is brief, and now it’s Ursa who says she washes her hands of Ozai and, more importantly, not waste time hating him anymore.

She is letting it go.

... I had to.

We get another montage, and chapter 32 ends with Ursa paying Azula another visit (one of many, actually. MONTAGE!) Azula’s getting better, but she’s still not entirely stable and still having mommy issues.

And… I’m okay with it. Just like Ursa’s relationship with Hakoda, and her issues with Ozai and her past, Azula needs time. Time to heal and reintegrate with society. I’m glad that she’s not instantly stable and happy, and I’m glad she’s actually getting a chance to heal and be a normal person for once. It might take years, she might never become whole by the time Legend of Korra rolls around, but at least she’s healing.

Chapter 33 is Ursa and Hakoda’s wedding. Everyone that isn’t mentally unstable, dead, or evil is there, and they all cheer the two on as they take their vows. Ursa even notes that, a year ago, she was the one saying that vows were meaningless, and yet here she is.

When she hadn’t known where she fit in, when she hadn’t known how to find her way to a place of belonging, his love had been the light that guided her home.

And that was Guide Me Home, ladies and gentlemen. Final thoughts?

I found this review rather hard to do because… well, there’s not much to criticize. The plot is wonderful and well-paced, Ursa and Hakoda’s love is persistent and does not fall victim to the pitfalls that many fanfic relationships suffer from, every character that shows up has a well-rounded personality, and what action there was actually felt like a real fight instead of… whatever it was Mykan was trying to do. I will say that my one biggest criticism is that Qwi-Xux brings in a lot of people and they come and go so often that it’s hard to keep track of who’s who and where they are, but it’s only a minor criticism.

And, sadly, this fic does make me angry. Not at Qwi-Xux or the fic, that’s amazing, but that stories like this one are so rare. It seems that for every one fic like Guide Me Home there are ten fics like Legend of Skye Dumbass. And if people just paced themselves a little, those fics could be good in their own right, but people keep making the same mistakes over and over again and never seem to get the idea that “Hey, maybe this might make some people upset”. Is it really so hard to just pace a story?

…

And I just realized that I have to go back to reading badfics now. Now I’m sad.

But at least I can always keep an eye out for the good fics in life.