Everyone jokes about Ba Sing Se seeing Zuko and being like, “Lee from the tea shop?” but Iroh!!! Iroh! People need to make jokes about Iroh!
Because just imagine you’re a civilian in Ba Sing Se and you, like your neighbors, and your neighbors’ neighbors, know that The Jasmine Dragon has the best tea in the city. Only you show up one day, and the shop is abandoned. Soon after, the Fire Nation invades, and you find yourself worrying less about tea and more about surviving. You hold your family close as the troops march past your house. You do what you can to stay alive.
One day, you hear a bunch of crashes, and you look outside to see a small group of men wearing robes with white lotus tiles on them. You can only stare in awe as they begin to liberate an entire city. And leading them is…
“Honey, remember Mushi, the sweet old man from the tea shop?”
“Of course, the kindest soul around!”
“Yeah…he just annihilated like fifty tanks in a single breath.”
I just imagine the majority of Ba Sing Se was like:
But then, The Jasmine Dragon opens back up?!
Just imagine what it must be like to shuffle on inside, where ‘Mushi’ happily greets you with a warm cup and a warmer smile.
“………Okay, sir, I have to ask…were you the one who single-handedly took out a dozen soldiers on the corner of my street?”
“Ah, my friend, sometimes, we’re meant to be like this tea, stagnant and peaceful, giving someone else happiness and warmth. Othertimes, we’re meant to punch the oppressors in the face as hard as we can.”
“…Would you like to hear today’s specials?”
