Apparently, even after rushing to pack just in case Zuko can't thwart the planned coup, the Water Tribe still isn't quite ready to depart when the day comes for them to go to Ba Sing Se.
Katara' s desperate enough for a solution to her current problem with Zuko that she turns to Ty Lee for dating advice. Ty Lee mentions that while she's perky and friendly, Mai's more aloof. Katara, despite making a point of not wanting to emulate Mai, goes for the latter approach, knowing that it's not in hre nature, but pointing out that things aren't usually like this between her and Zuko. Unfortunately, Katara has trouble deciding whether being aloof or cranky works better (since a part of her does want to show Zuko how much an unwarranted snap hurts), leading Mai to show her how the aloof approach is done.
Katara ends up regretting treating Zuko this way (along with letting off another jab at Aang on the balcony at Ember Island Players), and forgoing so many opportunities to get together until he got together with Mai. I agree that Katara made a mistake (although she had her reasons to be hesitant), but I think the whole thing is the author's drawing out the pacing, and ensuring that Zuko and Katara don't end up together until she's hit all The Stations of the Canon first.
Katara talks with Sokka, who tells her that Zuko really doesn't understand the "aloof" approach, and Katara denies talking about herself and Zuko, and Sokka indicates that he does not believe her one bit, but suggests that they have an honest talk without referring to her or Zuko by name. Katara, on Appa's saddle with her father and brother and Aang, has some idea of what life would be like without her other friends, and doesn't like it.
The Gaang reaches Ba Sing Se, and Aang gets a hero's welcome, something Katara approves of because of Aang's need for validation and attention (as opposed to because he deserves it). The Dowager isn't so welcoming, apparently viewing the Gaang as commoners, and Katara quickly infers that she's the power behind the throne, with the Earth King being a puppet. The Gaang are treated as guests, but aren't exactly welcome, and Katara notes that this is different from people like Zuko and Iroh (but also different from people like Ozai and Hou-Ting).
Katara and the Gaang get settled into their rooms, and she's concerned that Hakoda doesn't get along with Arnook, but that isn't the worst part. She's reminded of how much more sexist the Northern Water Tribe is, when Pakku proposes that she enter into an arranged marriage with "Han," (not a typo; this is how it's consistently spelled in this fic) whom Katara reminds us is Yue's fiance, who got thrown off Zhao's battleship. Pakku points out that this is a mutually beneficial arrangement, since Katara would be marrying well, and as a "princess," she'd be worthy of Hahn, but a lot of the benefit for Katara comes from a highly sexist point of view, as Hahn reminds us that she isn't getting any younger and might not be good-looking forever (Of course, in most first world societies, she's too young to even seriously consider marriage).
Sensing that the conversation's taking a turn for the worse, Katara tries to excuse herself, saying her father and Arnook need her, but Pakku dismisses that, saying that unmarried women are of no use to either, and Katara will increase her social worth by marrying Hahn. Katara lays into Pakku, saying that women need to be treated as equals, but Pakku retorts that they aren't equal now, but if Katara eats with Hahn, she'll have a seat of honor.
Apparently, Pakku's problem isn't entirely related to gender, though. He thinks that the four nations should stick to their own. The sole exception is Aang, who as Avatar (and not, you know, as the last member of his tribe) has Pakku's permission to marry whoever he wants, including Katara. He believes that since Aang clearly likes her, the matter's settled, and Katara will learn to like Aang. Katara concludes that marrying Aang is better than marrying Pakku, but, quite frustrated, storms out.
Katara, while bending out her frustrations, accidentally bends the Earth King himself, and soon learns about Kuei falling in love with a peasant healer named Song, but being unable to admit it. He received a pendant from her as a gift, and was thus beside himself when he thought he'd lost it when Katara accidentally bended him.
Aang then sits down next to Katara, and after he says something that she doesn't hear and he wont repeat, she asks him if he likes it when they argue. He says no, and she's depressed to hear that, resulting in him trying to "make it better" by claiming they always agree. Katara doesn't find this remotely close to the truth, but doesn't want to argue with Aang, having had enough depressing conversations for an evening. Even if Katara and Zuko are going through a rough patch, the author's essentially sunk Kataang already, so would it kill her to let Aang and Katara have a meaningful conversation for once? At this point, it's hard to even see them as friends, and hard to believe the author's repeated insistence that they are.
Hakoda talks to Katara and cheers her up by revealing that he had words with Pakku, and "takes the piss out of" Pakku and Hahn. Knowing that she has her father's support gives Katara the courage to sit with Hahn at the middle of the table, so that she can say what's on her mind.
The author criticizes Aang's attitude for wanting the Fire Nation colonies out of the Earth Kingdom when they've been there for a century. She's right, and this is actually a plot point that leads to the eventual creation of Republic City (and Kuvira's invasion near the end of the fourth season of Legend of Korra). The comic nicely shows Aang's conflicting desires to keep Air Nomad teachings alive and keep the peace, and ultimately, it's Katara who helps him make sense of it all.
I'll be blunt- while people dispute the quality and canon-ness of the comics, I often find them to be much better written than this fic. Fan fiction often benefits from a lower bar for quality compared to original works of literature, but by making this a Fix Fic intended to improve on canon, the author sets the bar even higher than the original ATLA did and doesn't even come close to getting over it.
What I Liked
- For the umpteenth time, I'm not able to come up with anything.
What I didn't like
- Katara's poorly thought-out approaches to dealing with Zuko, while having the gall to judge Aang.
- The author being unwilling to let Aang say anything meaningful, much less to Katara.
- The author not realizing that Aang eventually comes around in his belief in keeping the nations separate.
