Hello! I'm SO sorry about the SUPER late update. Zutara Month is almost over, and I am just SO behind. Oh well. Anyways, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, it meant a lot to me :) Also, special thanks to Sonja Schreiber for beta-ing my first seven prompts. So, I revised them if anyone wants to go back and re-read. I tried taking all I learned from her corrections and incorporating them here and from now on. However, if you see anything, please let me know. I'm open to critique. I'm doing this to improve my writing. Thank you guys, and enjoy Prejudice!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own ATLA!
Prejudice
The war might have been over, but the work needed to be done after was far from over. There were treaties and reparations to be written and promised. There were colonies that need to be reorganized and given back to the Earth Kingdom. There were entire cities and towns that needed to be rebuilt. However, this was the easiest part.
In the attempt to bring back harmony, the Gaang was instead confronted with prejudice from all people. Even between the people of the Earth Kingdom and Water tribes, there were reprimands and slurs being exchanged, blaming each other not stopping the war earlier. The Fire Nation received the worst of the fury, but the people responded just as fiercely with old-fashioned Fire Nation nationalism and superiority. The Gaang realized that it would be a very slow process toward the recovery of people's opinions and mindsets, but they would not stop trying.
Years passed, and important events occurred that began to fight against the prejudice mindsets of people towards others. First, Republic City was established, representing the epitome of harmony between all elements. Second, legislation was passed that prohibited the belittling and segregation of people from or descendants from other nations. Third, the Republic City Council held representatives from all four nations, again, to prove to everyone that peace is possible between them.
Slowly, there were less protests and backlash from these efforts to bring back balance to the world. It was during these first stages of acceptance, when Zuko and Katara got married. Unbeknownst to them, their marriage proved to the world that love really could conquer all.