We're finally up to the start of the Grand Finale in canon. Let's recap what's happened so far, since Ember Island Players.
- Aang and Zuko had an argument over who Katara belongs to, if she belongs to anyone at all.
- The Gaang, sans Aang, learned about the human cost of repelling the Siege of the North.
- The Gaang had an awkward incident with a broken bathroom lock.
- Following up on a tip they learned from Avatar Kyoshi, Aang and company went on a trip to a volcano to do some training.
- The Gaang met some new friends on the volcano and got invited to a party.
- Katara sought out some tactical intel, and instead learned about Zuko's scar, resulting in an emotional confrontation with Zuko.
- Lastly, they had another argument about how to unlock the Avatar State and deal with Ozai.
That's a fair amount for the space between two episodes, and even more if you count everything that happened before Ember Island Players (essentially half of Not Stalking Zuko). Adaptation Expansion is putting it mildly; if the fic had been going since the start of the series, it probably would have ended up being a few million words long.
I'm of two minds regarding this. Fanfiction does allow for stories like this to be made, when they're different in many regards from the original work, but on the other hand, I can't see Bryke greenlighting this, even if ATLAR was a series of novels rather than a TV series.
That said, they don't get to the comet immediately. Aang's still trying to unblock his chakra by meditating in the courtyard. Despite the Foregone Conclusion that he won't succeed until midway through the Final Battle, which makes this seem somewhat pointless, Aang still insists on trying, and banishes everyone else.
The rest of the Gaang tries to watch unobtrusively. Suki, having recovered from her hangover, pretends to help Katara, while Sokka and Zuko watch while sharing a bag of fireflakes and exchanging commentary. A candle flickers, which Sokka believes might be a good sign, and which reminds Zuko of a joke that he can't fully remember or tell well.
Sokka actually has a bit more basis for his theory, as he notices that a breeze is blowing, and wonders if it's a sign that Aang, the last airbnder, has unblocked his chakra. Of course, he also believes more fiber would fix his chakra problems, and if you remember what fiber does, it's quite a case of Getting Crap Past the Radar... or through the Avatar's digestive system, as the case might be.
Aang, quite annoyed at the running commentary, which is apparently loud enough for him to hear, tells everyone to shut up, in what Katara describes as a rude manner, before storming off to his room to do it by himself. He possibly could have put it better, but this is a legitimate request, even if the Gaang members aren't the real reason why he can't unblock the chakra.
Aang doesn't come down for dinner, so Katara brings up a plate of food for him. Despite the fact that he's grumpy toward her and the feeling is mutual, she does her best to keep her feelings inside, so that she can support him as a friend without hampering his progress or giving him any wrong ideas. Despite Katara's emphasis on the term "friend," she does sometimes come off as fairly cold toward Aang in this fic, which doesn't seem entirely due to her desire to discourage his crush. It reminds me a little of the time when Yosuke heard about how Saki felt about him In Persona4, immediately before his Shadow came out.
Aang doesn't answer, but he isn't in the middle of meditation. Katara's anger hasn't fully abated, but she feels some measure of sympathy. Aang barely acknowledges Katara, save for greeting her and thanking her for dinner. He dejectedly says that his chakra unblocking is going "Fine." Katara, knowing that he's having trouble because of his "stupid crush", decides to leave, but Aang asks her to stay.
Aang is no longer sure he can do it, and has been thinking about Zuko and Toph's less than complete confidence in him. He asks whether they should fight the Fire Nation before the comet, and Katara says they do, because the comet will vastly increase their power, which will enable them to win the war. Aang believes that they've already won, having taken Ba Sing Se. For once, Katara admits that Aang has a point, since the only unconquered land is barely worth conquering. Katara considers whether the Water Tribe is next, but realizes that the Fire Nation navy is in no shape for it. As such, the only thing left is to consolidate their hold on their colonies.
Aang concludes that waiting until the comet passes will give him time to work on his firebending. Katara refrains from saying that his earthbending also needs work (as Toph pointed out shortly before Sozin's Comet arrived, and apparently complained about at many points in this fic). Aang also wants to unlock his chakra, and doesn't see the point of fighting the enemy at their most powerful.
Katara sees sense in what Aang is saying, and realizes that rushing into a strict deadline in a far from optimal state will result in some of them getting killed. Aang grows more confident in his idea to wait, and is once again, seeking validation. For once, Katara gives it to him. Aang, back to his carefree self, insists that he will tell everyone else individually.
As you may know, given the true nature of Ozai's plans for Sozin's Comet, this is quite the Hope Spot. Still, it's nice to see Katara seriously considering Aang's perspective and feelings for once, while the moment lasts.
At night, Katara's glad for the ability to relax and take things at her own pace without worrying about the deadline, and is particularly glad that she may have time for romance now. Given all the other things that she did to waste time in this fic, I believe that she was simply dodging the issue of Aang.
Incidentally, this might have been a good opportunity for the author to go Off the Rails and break from canon entirely. She could have several months of Zutara development, while Aang would have the potential to unblock the last chakra in this time. Granted, it would have required a different approach to much of the events leading up to it, but it would have fulfilled the author's wish to keep things at the beach house.
Zuko and Aang wake up "ridiculously early" for firebending practice, while Katara sleeps in. Zuko is unusually tense, even for him, and Katara notices that he's "as tense as... a really tense thing."
By contrast, Suki, Sokka, Toph and Katara are enjoying their newfound time, particularly that they don't have to spend all day every day training Aang (again, shouldn't they be putting in a little time training themselves?), and suggests going to a hot spring or day spa. Katara proposes the former to Zuko, who wonder whether she's feeling alright.
Katara makes some melon juice for Aang, who eagerly skips out of his bending lesson for it, even if it was intended for Zuko. Suki asks what's wrong with taking a break, and Zuko is quite annoyed with them lounging around like snail sloths, and stops off.
Katara considers going after him, but knows that he's not going off to mope, but for something else. Sokka suggests a beach party, and Katara agrees, noting that they spent so little time on the beach.
Katara surfs on an ice surfboard, Suki sunbakes, and Aang builds a sand Appa, while Toph watches. This reminds me; we haven't seen the (presumed) last sky bison in a while, possibly because it's been over two dozen chapters since the Gaang has had to leave Ember Island.
Katara does an impressive trick, and looks to see whether anyone saw it, but chaos has broken loose, as Zuko has arrived to break up the party. As Zuko pursues Aang, Katara gets a good look at his behind.
Katara learns that Zuko destroyed the sand sculpture of Suki and is attacking Aang. Katara reaches Zuko just as he takes an air blast to the chest, crashing into a tree and then the ground. It reminds Katara of the Fire Nation practice of attacking students, but she still doesn't like it, and had assumed Zuko (strict as he may be) wouldn't go that far with Aang.
So Katara's worried about him, but doesn't hesitate to lay into him about risking hurting Aang. Zuko responds in kind, saying that they shouldn't be having parties when Sozin's Comet is three days away. Apparently, Aang forgot to tell Zuko, and so tries to rectify it. Katara chalks this oversight up to Aang not being direct, and believes they should have done a group announcement (she has a point, the author's desire to patch perceived plotholes notwithstanding).
For the umpteenth time, it's emphasized that Aang isn't ready. Katara explains Aang's reasoning, since she doesn't believe he'll do it himself, as she believes that things can't get any worse after the fall of Ba Sing Se.
Zuko insists that they can get much worse, and summarizes the scene in which Ozai revealed his true plan, prompting a "Holy crap!" response from Katara. Zuko apologizes for not speaking out against it (although considering what happened the last time he spoke out against a ruthless military plan, it's probably for the best), and says this was the moment when he realized he'd have to lose himself to get his father's acceptance.
Katara considers what it would mean to destroy an entire kingdom, and Sokka realizes that this is evil, even for Ozai. Aang perhaps takes this worst of all, and this isn't helped by Zuko telling him that if he doesn't defeat Ozai, there won't be a world left for him to save. The rest of the Gaang, however, helps him regain his composure by offering to take on the Fire Lord together.
The Gaang then has a group hug, which Zuko is reluctant to participate in, because he isn't particularly fond of it. Katara, however, wants him to join in, because she hugs him the most and he feels left out, and gets him to join in. Appa and Momo, however, come in as well.
The Gaang goes to make plans while Sokka gets stuff from the library. Katara sees to Zuko's ribs, under the guise of making tea, since he had a nasty fall, in spite of Zuko's insistence that he's fine. It gives Katara a nice chance to look at Zuko's chest, although she's also frustrated that all the feelings that she hoped to act on to the back burner.
Katara and Zuko then start to actually make tea. Zuko's upset about being left out, but Katara explains that they decided last night, and that Aang must have "chickened out" of telling him. Naturally, Zuko is not happy with the implication that he's "scary," but Katara reminds him of the fight he had with Aang the previous day, and tells him not to be too hard on Aang.
Zuko apologizes, and says that he'd hoped they could have defeated Ozai before the comet, so that his evil plan wouldn't have come to pass. Katara, however, believes he still should have told them about it, and he says it's because he's ashamed that he didn't speak up. Katara knows what happened the last time, but doesn't bring it up unless Zuko does. Still, she insists that Zuko doesn't have to be embarrassed about staying silent, but he still feels that way, particularly since the man behind this atrocity is his father.
Katara says Zuko is very brave. Zuko starts feeling better, and decides to get going before people think they're making out, resulting in a great deal of awkward backtracking and excuses on his part. Of course, Katara says she knows what he meant, since she doesn't have time for anything like this
An author's note follows, thanking the reviewers.
The author says this is her attempt to explain the Gaang-wide "communication fail." She doesn't find it plausible that the Gaang would fail to communicate something like this, (you'd be surprised at how often things like this happen), so she came up with this explanation... essentially dumping the lion's share of the responsibility for it in Aang's lap.
The author states that as much of a confrontation-avoider as Aang is, the decision makes a lot of sense, if not for Ozai's "crazy plan." She also believes that it's time that he made his own decisions, even if said decisions involve putting off other decisions until later, and would try to unblock his chakra himself (which, naturally, ends in failure). It's good that she's trying to put in some Character Development for Aang, even if it's for the purpose of purging what she sees as his flaws, but it's quite unfortunate that it makes no difference in the short term.
The author says Aang confides in Katara because of a maternal bond with her, and believes that he can't tell the difference between that and romantic love. It's also because Katara's most likely to agree with him; it's getting quite repetitive how often Aang seeks validation. Katara doesn't burden Aang with her cranky side, because, according to the author, Aang doesn't understand those feelings, and because Katara is someone who picks her own battles for the sake of the common good. The author says that Katara puts her feelings regarding Aang aside "purely because he is the Avatar" (yes, her words).
This goes back to my earlier points about Aang being treated as a tactical asset, and his feelings being given no weight. If Katara's only conceding what she does because Aang's the Avatar, then I have to wonder whether there's even a maternal bond between her and Aang.
The author considers a Kataang argument saying that Katara doesn't act on her feelings for Aang because of the war, and says it applies to Zutara, before getting into Katara's inviting Zuko to do an activity.
The author points out that Zuko's attack on Aang didn't get nearly as much of a reaction out of Katara as it would otherwise have, which is why she had Zuko bring up the teachers attacking students bit earlier. Of course, Katara still isn't entirely happy with it, which is reasonable.
The author also indicates that Katara makes a grumpy face at Aang (although I wonder whether it was actually at Zuko), which she believes is because Aang didn't tell Zuko.
Of course, Zuko also didn't tell people about the crazy plan (and he had much longer to do so in this fic), which the author believes is due to shame over not speaking out. He's ashamed of his father now, in stark contrast to his desire for Ozai's approval for much of the show.
The author reiterates that Zuko's injury accounts for his reluctance to do a group hug, and what "making tea" means. The author also mentions Zuko's dork moment, which is also somewhat redundant, but she then notes that the OTP of the fandom is Zuko/Dorkiness.
What I liked
- Aang getting to have a point for once, if only for a moment.
- The group hug.
- Interesting foresight with the combat lessons.
What I didn't like
- Katara's attitude toward Aang seemed almost callous at times.
- The idea that Katara is solely motivated by Aang's status as the Avatar.
- The author bending over backwards to fix plot holes.
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