#zutara canon au
Katara is the girl who travels the world to help establish healthcare and human services for underserved communities across the Earth Kingdom – primarily villages that were overlooked because of the war.
She is talked about like a legend, everywhere she goes: a young ambitious girl forging her own path, or “the one who turned down the Avatar.”
It’s rarely both.
Katara is the girl who decides to wait for love, despite strangers commenting how she’s using up her prettiest, most fertile years alone… like an aimless wanderer… and the elder women joke that if she waits too long, there will be no man left for her to take. They’ve dubbed her “the hopeless beauty” but Katara is too preoccupied to see any of their disappointed eyes.
And anyway… she has never been one to lack hope.
There are just too many things to do in the world before even considering settling down, and besides… she had already spent most of her life taking care of others, setting aside her own self-care, her own deep desires. She deserved this time in the world, now that the war was over, to finally examine her wants, build her identity.
Thank goodness, her friend Fire Lord Zuko seems to understand her. He is the only friend who writes during her journey of self-discovery (as Aang is offering some distance and going through his own personal growth, Toph isn’t much for writing, and Sokka and Suki have gotten preoccupied with their own roles in Kyoshi Island and SWT and their relationship). Perhaps this is Zuko’s way of living vicariously, as the Fire Lord rarely has the chance to leave his homeland.
In any case, Katara enjoys writing to Zuko, telling him about a new herb she has added to her healing practices, a new economic proposal that could benefit a local village, a new problem she’s encountered with a town’s water supply or agriculture or infrastructure and how she’s brainstormed solutions for it. In the occasions where she does decide to be adventurous and share a meal with the son of a local merchant, or farmer, or government official, Katara doesn’t hesitate to share these less-than-perfect experiences with Zuko because it feels nice to know someone is listening, even if he does just write back something like “I’m sorry that happened, but I’m glad you showed him how clever you are. Don’t ever hide that fire in you.” She smiles at her friend’s commentary, that humorous voice of sincerity with a flare of wisdom.
Sometimes, along with her letters, she sends Zuko tokens of her travels — mostly calligraphy ink or tea samples, but sometimes a poster illustration or a festival mask— always addressed to the Fire Nation palace with a wax water tribe seal. And when Zuko writes back to her, Katara always perks up, even as his letters sound formal and to-the-point by comparison to hers.
She likes getting these letters because when she reads them, it’s like he’s speaking to her… stern face, soft eyes, secret smile… a sense of understanding that didn’t need to be seen to be heard.
She knows it’s him writing these letters to her, too (rather than some scribe), because only Zuko would write “honorable” and “brave” so many times in a letter. And only Zuko would tell her to look out for a certain star constellation out in the night sky this time of the year… knowing how late she stays up as the girl who “rises with the moon.”
Katara knows how busy Zuko is over there, in the palace—too busy for things like writing letters to friends—and yet, he is still her friend.
She finds comfort in that solidarity, that they share that same desire to serve the world as they look for their own sense of peace.
***
Zuko is the boy to dedicate his young life to restructuring his homeland, setting a good example for the next generation of peacemakers.
It seems that with every council meeting, the temperature of the room deems him as “the idealist” or “the young, naive, idealistic usurper who will bring this country to the ground.” Still, having kept track of all the attempts on his life before even gaining the crown (five), compared to after (none) he considers himself lucky that his advisors and Fire Sages are giving him a chance. He has not visited his father since the arrest, and Uncle Iroh has remained loyal to him, staying at the palace since the coronation day, and that certainly helps, too.
Zuko spends the early morning hours meditating, drinking tea, reading new tax bills and approving trade agreements … and yes, also confirming his attendance to regal affairs across the Fire Nation. He’s still getting used to all of this attention, and isn’t so naive as to not know that these formals are also meant to introduce the young handsome Fire Lord to eligible, pretty Fire Nation noble girls. What he had with Mai, after all, is ancient history, and other noble houses have jumped at that window of opportunity. Zuko is courteous, yes, and makes sure to write thank-you letters to the noble families like a gentleman, assuring that their hospitality did not go unnoticed. He also manages to remember each girl’s name, giving them his regards in every letter.
His advisors have begun pushing him to secure an heir, as the country would be at risk without one, no matter the progress. Zuko knows this… he understands what’s at stake the longer he remains idle, alone… but it doesn’t make him any more interested in marriage right now, much less raise children. He’s tried writing about this to Sokka, but the young man seems so smitten and mature with regards to his relationship with Suki… and there definitely isn’t any underlying pressure with them to have children right away. He’s never written about this to Toph, either, since even the various, formal agenda letters he has written to her at the Bei Fong Academy doesn’t compel her to write back. And Aang… well… Zuko has sought to avoid the subject of romance with him, ever since he and Katara broke up, although he’s happy the young Avatar has seemed to come more onto his own with his destiny.
And so, it’s ironic really… how, in spite of all of these friends he’s made, it seems like the one who once despised him is the one who understands how he feels.
He looks forward to the moments his post manager announces the arrival of a new letter with that same water tribe seal… because he can’t help but emotionally dive into the multiple pages of words Katara writes, talking about her experiences out there “in the field.” The girl could writebooks with her knack for storytelling, if she wanted to. Zuko appreciates the gifts she sends him as well- particularly the caffeinated tea for his early morning routine, knowing full well he is a boy who “rises with the sun.”
Determined to not send letters empty-handed, he always sends Katara little trinkets from his visits in the Fire Nation: seashells from the islands… hand lotions and spices from the mainland… meditation candles from the palace (knowing she’s trying to make that an everyday practice).
He doesn’t hesitate to write Katara about his own “dating” experiences with these noble girls, how an emotional connection seems almost impossible with a social class who stood by his imperialist family for so long, that perhaps he’d be better off marrying below nobility or even outside his nation. And he likes that Katara seems to listen, telling him that over time, people will realize that Zuko was the best thing to happen to the FN in a hundred years, and to not give up on connections (regardless of social class or citizenship)— as giving up is not exactly his style, anyway.
He laughs. He can feel Katara’s sincerity, warmth and sense of humor in her letters. Whenever he reads her words, it’s like she’s speaking to him right there… calm voice, hopeful eyes, sweet smile… a sense of understanding that didn’t need to be seen to be heard.
He remembers how she once wrote to him that there is always room for true love when everything else is in order. She advised him to make the most of his position as Fire Lord and not give up on real, true love for the mere sake of duty… that, just as finding the Avatar and bringing an end to this war came to be, destiny will compel people to act in good time.
Zuko smiles at this, hopeful, and he continues his work to building the peaceful, progressive world he, and Katara, and all of their friends believe in.
