In this chapter, the search for Aang begins. If you're familiar with canon, you know that it ends in failure, and all it accomplishes is wasting time and taking one possibility off the list of what might have happened to Aang.
This is why Adaptation Expansion can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can bring out the potential in underutilized storylines or characters. On the other hand, it also has a tendency to increase the length in ways that are superfluous, if not worse. Even more time is devoted to scenes that do nothing; in canon, the search for Aang didn't pan out, but it was a reasonably appropriate length, and led into other plot-relevant events, but here, they spend significantly longer while nothing else happens.
The Gaang sits down with Jun, who has met Katara("pouty's girlfriend") and Sokka("smartmouth") but has not met Suki and Toph. They're about to introduce themselves when Jun says she's not interested in their names (despite having been the one who asked), and calls them "ginger" and "tiny". The two of them seem fine with it, but Katara knows that with someone like Jun, there's no point.
Katara does, however, protest her name, and not just because of the implication that she's Zuko's girlfriend. She hates being defined in relation to a man, whether as Hakoda's daughter, Sokka's sister or the Avatar's "girl," which would also be true if she and Zuko were going out.
The tendency for female characters to end up as little more than extensions of male character, particularly as love interests, is an unfortunate one. That said, while it's good to see that writers take steps to avert this, some of them overreact, and become quite critical of canon pairings (the author, for example, claims that Katara has no agency outside of Aang, which is far from true), particularly when they have an axe to grind and use it as a way of supporting their alternate pairings. There's also the tendency for such efforts to get overly Anvilicious or preachy, and it comes across that way here (although, oddly enough, the author doesn't mention this part in this chapter's author's note).
In any case, Katara's protest gets through, and she gets Jun, who considers her too pretty for Zuko,, to call her "sweet looking thing." Katara doesn't like this "bawdy" nickname any more, and, with Toph's help, gets it changed to "sweetness," Toph's most common sobriquet for Katara besides "Sugar Queen" (although in serious scenes, Toph almost exclusively calls Katara by name). Sokka tries and fails to get "a nickname upgrade" for him.
Zuko orders Jasmine tea, and when Jun teases him for being a "lightweight" (which is somewhat accurate), he defends his decision by saying that he doesn't have time to get drunk. Jun realizes that he's talking about his "little world ending crisis." She is aware of Sozins Comet empowering the firebenders, but knows little else, and appears to be under the impression that Zuko's still trying to capture the Avatar for the Fire Nation, or as a hobby.
Jun is reluctant to get involved, remembering when she got trapped in the abbey, but the threat of the end of the world is enough to motivate her to get involved... on two conditions. First, they must give Nyla the best possible steak, in order to smooth things over with her after the perfume incident. Second, they must get Jun a huge ruby, one that Zuko's uncle talked about in one of his stories. She says it's her price for finding Aang, and they have little room to argue with her about the conditions.
Zuko proposes paying in cash instead, since he doesn't have the ruby, but Jun asks if they have enough money for it. Katara has a good amount left, but nowhere near enough. With that in mind, Jun comes to an alternative arrangement; essentially an IOU for a "giant-arse huge sparkly ruby." With that, negotiations are complete, and they head outside.
On a side note, I'd like to share a realization that I've had while reading this fic, one that I've truly come to terms with recently- it's well written, but ultimately little more than the author rewriting canon according to her preferences.
I had gotten into this fic because I heard that it was a deeper and better constructed look at Zutara, without the Character Derailment or Die for Our Ship that this part of the ATLAR fandom is sometimes known for. I'd also heard about the author's dislike of Aang's decision not to kill Ozai, but still chose to delve into this fanfic, having heard good things about it.
At first, things seemed quite good. Characterization was fairly nuanced, and even the minor characters, like Teo and The Duke, who would otherwise have a minimal role, got more depth and Character Development. But then I came to the author's note about the author's views on the canon pairings for Zuko and Katara, in which she made it clear that she disliked both pairings, even outside of their getting in the way of Zutara, and did not gracefuly accept their becoming canon. On the one hand, the author did prove that it wasn't entirely about disappointment over not getting her preferred ship, but on the other, it was proof of the author having a chip on her shoulder. The author's biases, and desire to have the work become what might be called "canon but with Zutara" became more and more noticeable over time, as well as manifest in Katara's thoughts, words and actions.
I don't think the work changed over time, but those things were there all along, just not as present, and I've come to realize that this is essentially a revision of the series for the sake of Zutara. It's better written than most, but at its core, it's a shameless Fix Fic written by a disgruntled shipper. It's certainly popular, but a large part of that comes from people who honestly hoped for a last-minute hookup between Zuko or Katara or wanted Aang to kill Ozai, two things that most likely never could have happened. Because the author plays to their biases, they don't think too deeply about it as they gush over the fic.
To make an analogy, it's a bit like a chocolate parfait that I bought at the grocery store recently, hoping to try it out with guarded optimism. The first bite was tasty, but something seemed off about it, and as I progressed downward, I noticed that it seemed oddly saccharine in taste. Halfway through it, I, realizing how much remained and how little I was enjoying it, threw it out, not unlike how I went on a short term hiatus halfway through, and a longer one a few chapters later.
So where does this leave me? I still hope to finish the fic, although I may only make progress on it whenever I feel up to it, not when I feel as though I have to update. In any case, stay tuned, check in for updates, and leave comments every so often; I certainly appreciate hearing from my readers.
