#(as does zuko ofc)

[kyoshi-lesbians]

anyways. that ty lee is a weapon to Azula & in many ways treated as such in the narrative* is really such a striking parallel to other characters it drives me crazy

[grapecaseschoices]

Neon Byte MCs (@/inkwitchgames) [3/5]: Lloyd Duarte

[thatgirlonstage]

[I’m being grumpy about knowing too much about the histories of various royal families again don’t mind me]

Seeing a whole post about the absurdity of Zuko being firelord that takes his being seventeen as the most absurd element and I’m just sitting here massaging my temples bc like listen. Look. I get that having a seventeen year old running a country is not actually a good idea. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t, historically, happened kind of a lot

[mediocrearistophanes]

who knew that one of the best visual adaptations for atla would be Zuko’s ponytail

[purplestrawberrywerewolf]

Headcanon: Zuko likes pickles

[neonstatic]

my body hurts and my mood is crap and nothing interests me except a fictional cartoon character... ladies gents and hotties i have reached a new low.

[tonytoponi]

need youtube to stop recommending me videos about how bad divergent specifically is nothing is going to make me hate that series. "the worldbuilding is stupid and doesn't make sense! people are treated like they can only have one personality trait!" and i love it for that. next question !

[sunnyknight-original]

What Kind Of Monster Was He?

A @forgettable-au fan (colored) animatic

MINOR BLOOD WARNING!

*Was he the kind to do too much, or not enough?

…OK, SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS-

I had planned to finish this into a full fledged animation, but a lot of the parts I did end up finishing just didnt live up to what I imagined…I waited for more motivation to happen, but it just didnt so HERES THE COLORED ANIMATIC CAUSE IM REALLLY HAPPY WITH WHAT I HAVE and ive sat on posting this for like a 2 weeks 😭 which is an eternity in my time

Im gonna post the unfinished “finished” part on my side account @o-sunny-day though! and probably have people yell at me cause it actually isnt that bad AND IT TOTALLY ISNT I just… art. You get it. ENOUGH YAPPING! ITS TIME TO YAP!

except not yet, MORE BACKGROUND INFO HUCDHUC- but its background info on explaining the lore…

The explaining is much less expansive than in Dear My Dear just because I didnt work on it long enough to think every bit of it through. This is just a clean, nicer looking, and colored version of the very first storyboard.

I usually think about and put more effort into the little stuff while making the FINISHED bits since ive had so much more time to think about that in all the preppin n sketching.

BUT I liked the explaining format I did for Dear My Dear so im sticking with it!

The main idea for this was to do a study of Wingdings’ character from what we’ve been given, mainly focusing in on the expectations he puts on himself because holy shit the lyrics for this works so stupidly well it makes me mad LOOK AT THIS???

its ridiculous. i love it. I didnt know Jack Stauber helped write Forgettable AU???? woww!!! ANYWHO thats the gist of it, not much context is needed past that. Onto the sillies!!!! (per usual excuse the shitty quality of the pngs idk why Tumblr does that-)

Did you know love? Will you rest in peace?

Wingdings and Sans holding hands as kids, before turning to a casket like appearance for adult WD. The flowers hes holding are pretty important too, Marigolds to represent grief, Lilys, new life, and Forget Me Nots for this lovely little line I found when looking up good flowers to use-

“a promise to always remember” ….stop that.

That actually also has a double meaning in this case too. 1, ofc the forgetting of Wingdings. But ALSO Wingdings forgetting something himself. Forgetting who he is. Almost like a Zuko ATLA situation.

Did you have a family?

Who knows where theyre parents are, but this is HAPPY TIME and we’re gonna assume they were so awesome and very kind but had to leave or went to a farm in the sky for whatever reason.

The colors here I had a lot of fun with. Their parents had warm colors but the boys have cold, still with warm accents. Its said they more or less raised each other being very independent as shown in the second part with them running out the door by themselves.

How was the view from the shelf? Did you ever believe in yourself?

Before, we started with the beginnings. The good things, the only thing Wingdings cares to even recall. Now we’re seeing his life really start to turn upside down- making first contact with The Player :D

He’s hesitant to reach out, but is intrigued, before getting a rushing revelation of his reality and how it isnt “real”

Rather than feeling crushing existential dread, he more feels pressured to be BETTER, to figure a solution, to do something. Thats what white represents here

WHAT KIND OF MILK WERE YOU?

We then switch to more examples of how Wingdings is taking this pressure (not well) The soft tones of yellow that were shown before, turn to way brighter, intensifying that feeling that he should be fine, he should be happy, drowning in success of being the Royal Scientist.

But he just desperately wants to just go back to a time of nice coldness.

The warm vs cold tones in this I had so much fun with, coldness is supposed to represent hostility usually, while warm is nice and happy. (same with Black and white. Scary, relieving,) But these points often contradict each other, its hard to tell what you’re feeling vs what you’re supposed to be feeling. Just like Wingdings!

WHAT KIND OF LIFE DID YOU LIVE THROUGH?

The white lab coats, the expectations, theyre on all of them. But Wingdings has essentially become his expectations.

He questions what life he wants to live, one being himself and alone (speaking in wingdings) or not himself and with company (speaking in a “normal” font) Still, he frames it in past tense as he believes theres no going back now, based on what he knows.

“One of the last happy moments they had together” stop that. (i cant find a link to when that was said but I know it was once, about them taking a photo together….)

DID YOUR LIFE RUN RICH WITH CALCIUM?

Calcium….bonesss :3 Hehehehdhehfhehehheheheh still dont know why he has holes in his hands so we’re movin on

DID THEY LAUGH AT YOU OR DID YOU LAUGH AT THEM?

Compared to the childhood Wingdings remembered, heres the sadder, bleaker, more realistic version. He always thought they were laughing at him but… maybe they werent.

DAIRY BELOVED. YOUR DAYS ARE GONE,

It doesnt matter now though. Because in the NOW, Wingdings has become consumed by his expectations of himself, seeing this has the “only option” to do the only thing that he feels will give his life meaning and purpose, establishing connection with THE PLAYER

But the grocery list goes on…

And yet life continues on without him, and his room is transformed into a more livable space now that someone is…living in it. Always hurts so much making the differences between Wingdings and Papyrus’ room. It feels like making something out of the man Wingdings COULD HAVE been. Because honestly thats just what Papyrus is,

Thank you to my bestie @fruitytrip for helping me with all of my art in general but especially the storyboarding on this :3 <3

[seyaryminamoto]

My latest completed commission may have been a bit ambitious... because I went wild with it. But I certainly relished in doing so :') Combining my favorite ship with my favorite-ever Disney movie is, uh... a dangerous concoction :'D

The commissioner specifically requested for Azula as Mulan, Sokka as Shang, and Xin Long (my OC dragon from Gladiator) as Mushu. The rest of the cast was up to me to choose, and I pretty much went wild rewatching this movie and picking out some of my favorite moments to recreate them in my style, with these characters. I came up with a lot of correlating characters between both ATLA and 1998's Mulan, but I couldn't hope to draw EVERYTHING, unfortunately. Still, if you want my reasoning for the cast correlation... check out the Read More! Beyond that, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to commission me, or if you want to join my Patreon!

The Herbalist as Mulan's grandmother might feel arbitrary but she honestly felt like the ATLA elderly lady with the most similar personality to Grandma Fa. Fickle, with a unique connection with a seemingly perfectly ordinary animal, old and sassy? Figured it fit! So for once, the Herbalist is Azula's grandma! xD strange notion, I know, Azulon/Herbalist is not a ship I ever thought I'd accidentally put out in the world but there have been wilder ships than that in this fandom...

Momo became Cri-Kee, I wasn't 100% sold on it but when I considered that Avatar features soooo many hybrid animals... I figured he could be a hybrid cricket-lemur. Weird, I know, but eh? Better than nothing xD

Aang as Chien-Po was a no-brainer. He's the only character I settled on instantly, never even considered anyone else for the role. Their personalities line up really well, and Chien-Po's tendency to be OP and resolve things that are outside of other people's reach sounded like he was prime Avatar material! So, while their dietary preferences are an obvious difference between them, I decided to go for it nonetheless considering all their other similarities!

Kino (another Gladiator OC) is Ling, and he actually did give me a ton of trouble to choose. I considered many characters for the role right up until I realized that Kino's personality actually lines up fairly well with Ling's, down to being a class clown type (who ABSOLUTELY would have cut gym class!) and breaking out in song about the hypothetical woman he'd like to fight for? Yeeeeah that's right up his alley xD but there's another reason why I picked Kino...

... And that is my likely unexpected choice for Yao:

ZUKO.

ZUKO IS YAO.

YES.

I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.

(For the uninitiated, Aang, Zuko and Kino are best friends in Gladiator, very often together, and they make a really good team, so that's the extra reason why Kino became the obvious choice for Ling aside from having really similar personalities, definitely closer personalities than, say, Jet, for instance.)

People have likened Zuko to Shang a LOT since ATLA aired. This is the main reason why I'm even making this huge note! I suspect it's primarily because of the aesthetic, let's be real here, and because he becomes Aang's teacher, but people have exaggerated Zuko's alleged similarities with Shang, or taken them out of proportion, in many ways. I actually remember an AMV ages ago with "Be a Man" and it was Zuko "training the Gaang"?? It... didn't feel right to me. Obviously, someone might rebuff with "well, how does Sokka make MORE sense than that, though?" And believe it or not, I have arguments for that... (when do I not...?)

Not only is this what the commissioner specifically requested (and it obviously lines up with the ship we love!), but let's examine the actual reasons why Sokka as Shang adds up:

Sokka actually had to train a bunch of toddlers who weren't paying any attention to him. You know. Kind of how Shang had to train the unruly soldiers who weren't getting anything right. Sokka has a positive relationship with his dad (Zuko, ofc, does not). Shang also has a positive relationship with his dad! And not only this, but there's a military component to both relationships, specifically with Shang wanting to follow on his father's footsteps and aid him in the war... so much like someone else I know, who jumped at every opportunity to rejoin his father in the war, even wishing to join him as a child until Hakoda tasked him with protecting their Tribe instead (kinda like Shang is tasked with training soldiers rather than joining a battlefield).

And the final cherry-on-top that I'd loooove to hear Zuko fans try to argue against... is sexism :') didn't Sokka get characterized as a sexist guy for four episodes, which made people decide that this was his main character trait even if it went away that quickly? Um, yes, that happened. Shang literally sings the memorable song that's a crazy ode to masculinity, including the rather sexist line of "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons". Shang outright abandons Mulan once they discover that she was a woman all along (while, admittedly, choosing to abandon her rather than KILL HER, which as we saw from Chi-Fu, he was NOT supposed to spare her!)...

So, is this REALLY what Zuko fans, who willfully believe their boy is a feminist king (... why? beats me...) are trying to compare their unproblematic blorbo to? :'D Me? I have no problem linking Sokka with Shang due to Sokka's beginnings and due to the fact that both Shang and Sokka have similar growth when it comes to accepting femininity is as valid as masculinity, and as they both learn to respect women as fighters and potential heroes! (I simply do not believe Sokka's ENTIRE tenure in ATLA was about that, though, and that's what I continue to clash with the fandom over...) So... all this is why I've reasoned that Sokka is a VERY solid choice for Shang, in fact, better than Zuko could hope to be.

... but this isn't all.

Maybe some might accept my arguments for Sokka-Shang. And then, they might ask:

WHY ZUKO AS YAO, THO??

... And the truth is it took me long to see it, myself, but HOLY SHIT, DOES IT FIT!

What is the primary thing we remember about Yao in Mulan? This guy is constantly itching for a fight, to prove himself, surely riddled with insecurities that he exteriorizes through overcompensation of masculinity. He's funny as fuck, but he's taking himself 100% seriously as a manly man all the time, and he's always ready for violence. But there's one more thing...

He treats Mulan as his RIVAL.

And more often than not? SHE SCREWS HIM OVER. Intentionally or not.

What does that sound like? Why, yes, it sounds a LOT like Azula and Zuko's sibling relationship!

The fact that Yao is a temperamental dude who lashes out easily at things (oh, something he has in common with Zuko!), that he specifically resents Mulan (in this case, Azula, just as Zuko does!) and is either constantly looking to defeat her and prove his superiority over her (... wait, just as Zuko with Azula??), that he has a black eye perpetually across the movie, and it's his LEFT EYE (just as Zuko's scar is on his left eye! :'D), that he's friends with a pacifist he has basically nothing in common with, personality-wise (just like Zuko and Aang!), and that he pretty much has a REDEMPTION ARC in which he goes from a bitter, asshole rival to Mulan to treating her as a friend and ally, to the point where he was disappointed to leave her behind and THEN joined her at once when she says she has a plan? :') I have always been critical of Zuko's redemption arc, goes without saying. But if ANY of these characters redeemed himself in any significant way, it certainly seems to be Yao to me, and with people gushing NON-STOP about Zuko's redemption? Why, he ought to be the character who goes from bitter rival to loyal friend, right?

So. I'm not even sorry. Zuko is Yao. And I'd dare say that he should be flattered by the comparison, even, because Yao ends up being cool as FUCK!

I don't really talk about this much nowadays, but Mulan was my favorite Disney movie growing up, it ABSOLUTELY had a formative influence on me as a little girl, and Mulan was my favorite female character for a looooong time. Thus, any excuse to rewatch this movie makes me happy as heck. With the wisdom of age I know, of course, that it's not perfect, it's not what China wants, it's not the most thoughtful depiction of Chinese culture or the most faithful adaptation of Mulan's poem (... but I'd also dare bring up that the 2009 Chinese adaptation ISN'T all that faithful either...), but it has a kind of magic in it, a solid storytelling flow, so many memorable moments one after the next, that I could hardly choose which scenes to depict... Disney has never again seen the storytelling heights it reached with Mulan in 1998. I don't even care if that's a controversial opinion in any way... this is their best animated feature for me, and nobody can change my mind.

So... depicting Azula, my beloved, in all these scenarios as this character I adored and idolized as a child, was so damn fulfilling for me. While some might think that, personality-wise, these two ladies don't have much in common, the fact that Mulan is sent to a matchmaker who basically tells her she looks good but is going to be the worst wife ever...? Our girl Azula, with all those insecurities about being unloveable and a monster, probably would relate big time to that.

Mulan is also an INTELLIGENT soldier rather than a brawny one, which is how she starts to make progress in the army, it's how she manages to overcome the huns with that avalanche... and Azula's primary difference with most other antagonists in ATLA is that she's smart as fuck. She is very strong, no doubt, but a LOT of that strength comes from her intelligence, from assessing situations in unique ways, from planning and strategizing. The way Mulan finds the most unexpected solutions that still pay off reminds me a lot of how Azula achieves unexpected feats through rather unorthodox means, capable of taking over a city with basically no bloodshed while her nation has spent 100 years trying and failing to do so through major army incursions and who knows how much senseless violence. Obviously, I'm not saying what Azula did is GOOD and it's kind of dumb that we always have to point that out... I'm merely comparing the magnitude of the feats, and the fact that they both come from ladies who use strategy and intelligence to achieve their goals rather than muscle and physical power.

And while anyone would rage at me for the comparison between Fa Zhou (her dad) and Ozai, the truth is the dynamic between them CAN be compared, if loosely: Mulan literally goes to war to keep her father safe. Azula goes to war under her father's orders. Hell, she makes herself BAIT in the Eclipse to make sure the Gaang won't get to her dad?? While it's very much possible to say that both characters have different personalities and attitudes in life... I'd also bring up that their contexts are evidently completely different. I wouldn't say for certain that Azula, had she been raised outside a Royal Family, would be EXACTLY like Mulan... but they might have more similar traits than one might expect. Ultimately, though... I love them both. And this opportunity to swap their places was pretty much a dream come true!

Alright, that was plenty of rambling xD ultimately, I had a blast doing this commission, as I'm sure is obvious by now. So! If anyone wants to commission me, feel free to check out my prices right here and hit me up if you're interested!

[eponastory]

Hold the phone here...

Zutara is a 'self insert because girls find Zuko hot'

Girls... Zutarians... do you find this to be true?

How can it be a self insert if the character is already developed and does not share any of your own traits?

If it were a self insert for the reasons mentioned above, that's why Zuko/OFC or Zuko/Reader exists. I'm just saying, if I was self inserting to Katara, which I'm not, because I'm keeping true to her character. Not mine. That defeats the purpose of writing Zutara which is Zuko/Katara...

Ugh... people need to go learn about character development, personality, and contrast. Along with how character dynamic works within a pairing or group.

Anyway, on to writing a perfectly good story.

[dualcordie]

zukka HCs that hit me in the middle of the night:

- Sokka cooks, Zuko bakes

- caffeine makes Zuko slow down enough to focus but completely knocks Sokka out

- they’re both into skincare, but Zuko is more about long term care whereas Sokka is just a sucker for sheet masks

- Zuko misses having short hair (for the practicality ofc) but he keeps it long so Sokka has something to play with while he’s busy reading

- Zuko actually learns to self-regulate his emotions really well and just stays silent for a while to collect his thoughts, but that all goes out the window when Sokka hits him with a “C’mon, use your big boy words.”

- Zuko gets tension headaches all the time and refuses to do anything about it, but Sokka remembers that the magic combo to make him feel better is a hot bath + ice pack on the head so he always has them ready to go

- Sokka jokes about his trauma, but it makes Zuko genuinely upset (like frowny face, chest poking, pouting, getting in Sokka’s face, and telling him to “stop that!”)

- Sokka loves telling Zuko “It’s a non-bender thing… you wouldn’t understand” (especially when he does something cool with a weapon that Zuko doesn’t know how to use)

- Sokka found out about compatibility quizzes and makes Zuko take them with him all the time but still acts shocked when they get high scores/high compatibility

[linn-kou]

one of my favorite parts about ATLA is the fact that Azula and EVEN Ozai not just pure evil, how villains are usually represented in cartoons

well okay Ozai is a pure evil

I mean that moment where Gaang saw his baby picture. He was an innocent child. And yet he became a monster

It's just a reminder that we are all born harmless, but our environment makes us that way. Ofc this does not justify all his inhumane actions

Azula was a genius from birth, she had unbridled power. If her cruelty was restrained, directed in the right direction, and not encouraged sadism by her father, everything would be much better...

If only Ursa had ALSO given Azula the same attention and love that Zuko had... Yet it was Ursa(and Iroh) who instilled moral values in Zuko, as Ozai ignored him bc of his weak spark

Uh

Crazy family

They all needed hugs in childhood

[spaceflower07]

taang in the comics part 2

Last panel is literally THE taang panel fr. Also, the third pic is literally the only in-character moment of them. Even if Toph were canonically against the past so strongly (which she isnt the show,, she just wants her parents to love and recognize her properly. never does she want to run away from her past, she faces it head-on, like she does with everything else), THAT is how she would've done it. She would've at least explained herself like that, communicating about what she feels, instead of going straight to cruel behavior and rude insults. Is this rlly the same girl who felt so guilty about Appa, even though it wasn't her fault and she had done her best?

All in all, I HATE the Rift. I read it just for the smallest taang crumbs of seeing them side-by-side, even if it meant enduring the never-ending 'sweetie' of Kataang—Not that im entirely against Kataang, its just in these comics theyre so😭 like omg there is a time and place for that and its not here!!

Butchered my girl Katara so bad. Like theyre so...overly affectionate, kissing every few panels, calling each other 'sweetie' (im sorry thats so cringe), and its every soft romance wattpad I've ever read. Katara in the GLY comics is like those memes where the girl is so uwu crybaby-ified. I was a few pages into the Promise when I screamed WHY IS SHE JUST STANDING THERE. And when she finally did fight, she had to ruin the moment with "Don't set my boyfriend on fire!" girl...just fight they dont need to know Aang's ur bf omg, as if the sweetie wasn't obvious enough.

But honestly,, the worrying part for me is that the in-character Kataang IS the GLY comics imo. If Katara and Aang from the show were in a relationship, it's the GLY comics. Katara suppressing her feelings (like in the Promise with those fangirls) and apologizing to HIM even when he's the one in the wrong. Aang being irrationally angry and going into the Avatar State in emotional ways (like in the Promise,, again. Can you tell I HATE the promise). Katara having to calm him down with 'sweetie this isn't you🥺pls calm down sweetie🥺for me🥺🥺' the way she has to calm him down in the show (ofc not the sweetie part,, but she still has to, as if it's her responsibility). Her being damselled for the sake of Aang's development (like, again, in the Promise. When Zuko gripped her wrist a lil too tight to stop her from attacking his people, you know damn well Katara wouldve smacked the shit out of him with her own waterbending. But no, instead we got 'ow zuko ur hurting me!!' and Aang going into the Avatar State for it. No wonder he died early; the State shaves years off ur life, and he kept spamming it irrationally. And again in the Rift, when she was with Toph in the cave under the rubble. I feel like Katara was put there with Toph just so Aang would actually care. When he heard from Sokka that "Toph and the others are down there," he only asked about Katara, and visited them twice to, yet again, talk to Katara. And that's why he had sent for Toph's students to get them out. And! When they did get out, Katara ran straight to start making out with him instead of healing her friend, who passed out from saving them. Like hello?? There is a time and place for that. The Katara I know would've healed Toph first. No one, except her own students and dad, showed gratitude or worry for Toph for literally saving their lives. Another Appa situation I see.)

Another problem with Kataang I have in the comics is also in the Promise. Aang was about to ban mixed families bc he felt offended that a few well-meaning fangirls tried to participate in his culture, yelled at them, and ran off. He only changed his mind after he realized it would mean he and Katara couldn't be together—basically realized it would affect him too. Also rubbed me the wrong way that a girl who's such an activist looked at a family facing injustice and didn't feel defensive on their behalf (which she would be in the show—if she weren't with Aang), but instead, imagined herself having a family with her boyfriend. Its not too bad ig but it just rubbed me the wrong way when I read it. Like, why is THAT what you thought of when u saw them girl😭

Unfortunately, I believe that's how they would be canonically in a relationship, as their personalities in the GLY comics are regrettably more on par with the show (I can imagine Katara's character becoming like that post-show...unfortunately. Aang's influence.)

[avatar-legends-confessionblog]

Out of all the Gaang boys, Zuko is by far the most traditionally masculine, idk why the fandom insists on making him the feminine one. Sokka's has an entire arc about growing out of his toxic masculinity, specifically the unreachable hyper masculine ideal he set for himself, not to mention he canonically did drag and is pretty flamboyant (even if he's insecure abt it) despite his best efforts to be a macho man. Again a part of his character arc is him shaping his own manhood, even if it isn't the traditional brand of masculinity he aspired to achieve at the start of the story. Aang is also not a particularly traditionally masculine character (he also did drag!), to a point his perceived flamboyance is mocked in Fire Nation propaganda, having him portrayed by a woman with a full face of makeup during Amber Island Players. I would not say Aang is necessary feminine, he does have plenty of masculine characteristics, he's outgoing and bold, confident socially, etc. though it is more boyish than masculine because he is 12. He's just not one to follow arbitrary social norms, esp considering they are from an era and culture(s) he wasn't raised in. And then you have Zuko. Don't get me wrong, Zuko is not hyper masculine by any means, he's a socially awkward dramatic theatre nerd, and clearly a mama's boy. But he's also way more in line with what one imagines when they imagine masculinity, compared to the rest of the Gaang boys. He's definitely not feminine though, even by the end of the show. His masculinity just went from toxic (refusing to introspect emotionally, rejecting help out of a fear of vulnerability and being weak, coping through aggression, etc.) to healthy (he's basically the same guy personality wise but is working on his aggression issues and is trying to allow himself to be vulnerable). I think the reason the fandom likes imaging Zuko being feminine specifically is because Zuko's masculinity (which is so intertwined with his most toxic traits) is in part formed from his trauma, so taking away his masculinity is seen as a form of healing. However I don't think this is all that compatible with his characterization within the show, though it is fun to imagine and I fo enjoy it! But deep down I know the main reason Zuko gets feminized is because he's the most easy to yaoify out of the cast, being an angsty traumatized light skinned Asian who canonically grows out his hair post canon and eventually becomes the shortest guy of the group. Like ofc ppl picked him to be the twink. I'm disappointed but not surprised.

X

[sapphic-agent]

So someone on twitter said they like NATLA!aang more than cartoon!aang and someone else followed it up by saying that they didnt like how cartoon!aang was acting towards the water tribe food in that Bato episode, and now aang stans are excusing it with “he’s a kid!! He’s 12!” “characters aren’t allowed to have flaws now? Lol”. So when Zuko was disrespecting aang’s culture in the Southern Raiders episode, the fandom rightfully calls him out for being disrespectful…but ofc when aang does it as a comedic gag towards another culture ofc the fandom will scramble to excuse him.

I'm so sorry, I didn't see this!

I haven't seen NATLA in its fullest, but I actually did start taking a liking to NATLA Aang myself. Mostly because unlike with original Aang, they seem to be hammering in that Aang can't run from his responsibilities. It's setting him up for great character development. His feelings towards Katara are also way more platonic, which I love. Do I like him better than original Aang? Can't say yet, but I definitely see where they're coming from.

So, my response to the excuse that Aang is twelve is, "So you agree? He's not mature enough to be with Katara?"

Not even just for his actions in BOTWT either. Aang stans have a nasty habit of excusing all of Aang's actions with "He's 12/13!" And yes, that's true. And yeah, we can make the argument that he deserves leeway for that. But if Aang is too young to be respectful of Katara's culture, mindful of his emotions around her, and conscious of how his actions effect her, he doesn't need to be in a relationship with her.

Aang stans need to realize they can't have it both ways. Either Aang is too young to understand his actions and too immature to be in a relationship with Katara, or he's mature enough to be in a relationship with her and needs to be held accountable as such.

(The third ideal option would be that he has the capacity for growing and learning to be a good partner- not just for Katara, but anyone- he just needs to acknowledge and own his actions and make that change himself. But of course, that didn't happen: not in Book 3 or the comics)

But yeah, I hate the excuse that he's a kid. Not only is everyone else also a kid, using that as an excuse for his actions instead of a reason for him to learn to be better is doing Aang's own character an injustice

[zentriii]

non-avatar aang au where the reason aang survived wasn't bc of the avatar state [which he shouldn't have been able to access anyways iirc bc he wasn't a master of all four elements at that point. so yay past avatars/spirit interference isn't far fetched] but bc someone had to survive to teach the avatar airbending n they had to be a master to do it ofc

so normal set up katara's temper explodes -> they find aang -> zuko tries to capture the avatar -> aang denies being the avatar, but this time, he's telling the truth.

aang's just a 12 year old kid fully unaware of the war. like he'll refuse to believe his people are killed all the same but i think katara will still seize the opportunity to possibly make it to the north pole via appa to find a waterbending teacher [n because if aang's not the avatar, then he'll have to go to the north to teach the avatar airbending. sokka figures the avatar could be in any nation by now but he can't let katara go by herself either so off they go!]

smt smt aang being the last of his people n when he truly takes this in, he has a choice. live in hiding, yk, the thing that spared him alone [ooh survivor's guilt exploration] or set aside the nomad way of nonviolence [what else does he has left of his people?] to end the war. and he has to grapple w that from the start instead of re: killing ozai or not. n mayb he's not the avatar mayb he doesn't have destiny to tie his hands w duty but he has the shame of abandoning his people in their time of need. he can't cast that aside now can he?

(unlike avatar aang. he can't even talk to yangchen, the previous nomad avatar. it's just him left)

but he can't break down forever. katara has to go to the north pole to get a waterbending teacher bc isn't the south pole just like the southern air temples?? their benders are down to just one and while their people live on, katara too has to bare the weight of her people's bending living on through herself. and unlike aang, there are people who can teach her.

so mayb he's still figuring shit out, but he can do this at least.

the avatar isn't in the northern tribe.

things still play out roughly according to main canon events but now katara's determined to find the avatar n for aang to teach them airbending. [aang makes peace with having to do something, even if only fighting non-lethally and teaching the avatar to airbend. it's the perfect solution! surely the feelings he buried to come to it aren't something he still has to work through. surely.]

now the earth kingdom's big ! but eventually they still end up in ba sing se, surely the place the fire nation lead a siege against, desperate to break through to, is important? perhaps the avatar is being protected here [cue sokka grumbling abt how the avatar is meant to be the one doing the protecting]

they pick toph up on the way before this ofc. and if aang lies saying it's bc he's the avatar n needs an earthbending teacher while still being honest abt airbending. well i think that's good enough for toph to run away over in this au [ofc she immediately confronts them abt it after joining up]. everyone assumes aang's the avatar anyways. i mean come on, air benders don't just pop out of thin air these days.

ozai is still defeated in the end bc they've run out of time n who even knows how old the current avatar is or what nation they're from. they've got to fight n while it goes down differently and aang still doesn't kill ozai or unlock his fancy bender-bending. he still fights.

what happened to his people can never happen to others again. he doesn't run away this time.

anyways regarding who the avatar themselves is i propose ty lee. like there are quite a few avatar zuko/azula/lu ten takes [w the cycle going back to fire] n a few of airbender/descendant of air nomads ty lee takes [i mean look at her. her eyes are grey n her nose looks like tenzin's kids'] but i've never seen an avatar ty lee one?? this au doesn't need her to be the avatar necessarily but i think it's fun if u have zuko hunting the avatar [aang], the gaang looking for the avatar [could be anyone] n azula + friends hunting the avatar [aang]. meanwhile one of said friends is the avatar all along.

[man everyone's stealing zuko's thing n hunting down the avatar these days]

if ty lee is really a descendant of air nomads, her first element could be air instead of fire, hence the nonbender label. smt smt if the fire sages have become sell outs n the past avatar spirits trapped aang in a block of ice, it's not impossible to think they'd hide her avatar status from the sages for abandoning their ways.

anyways they don't exactly figure this out until after the war. possibly a celebration dinner turned silly food fight turned ty lee trapping a plate of food flying towards her midair. bumi style :)