#Tenzin and his children would still be the only benders but the culture would still be alive

[tellhulla]

It's an admittedly minor thing but something that bothers me a lot about the atla comics (and LoK) is the air acolytes

Why are they all new characters?

Where is Theo, the guy Aang himself said carries the spirit of the air nomads? Where are the hippie nomads from season 2 who were already living a very similar lifestyle to Aang's people?

Are the acolytes even nomads? They seem to just live in the temples by the time of LoK, How is that passing on the air nomad's legacy? How is it keeping the culture alive when they aren't practicing half of the culture?

Why didn't Aang ask the mechanic to make gliders like Theo's for the acolytes so they could fly too? If they have re-domesticated the ski bisons by the time of Korra why don't the acolytes seem to have any? It's not like you need to be an air bender to fly on them so why it's only Tenzin who has one and not the acolytes or even Aang's other children?

It's such a poorly written mess

[prickly-paprikash]

Since the discourse has reared its ugly head once more, the simple answer is no.

Aang was not a deadbeat, unsupportive, absentee father.

He loved all three of his children and was supportive of them. When Kya came out in the comics, she mentioned straight up that Aang was nothing but supportive of her and who she was. Aang made mistakes in parenting, but he was also stuck in one of the worst situations possible for him.

For one thing, it's been stated that Airbending culture has different views when it comes to family dynamics. Never once does Aang mention his parents, and it's clear that Air Nomads did not put emphasis on the standard nuclear family organization that other nations did. From context clues alone, and many have inferred in the past that Air Nomads were communal, so it stands to reason that their parenting was communal. Monks, Nuns, Masters—all of them were most likely parents to every single child. The responsibility of raising and educating a child was shared amongst the nomads, and that there was no real difference between biological and adoptive parents. Airbenders shared nearly everything, and that meant family as well.

Imagine you're Aang, spending twelve years of life being raised by every adult in the temple. Sure, he was exposed to nuclear family dynamics when visiting other nations and befriending Bumi and Kuzon, but his exposure to their culture was most likely limited. Now, not only is he a father to three beautiful children, but he must raise them in a way foreign to him. There are no other Monks to raise his children—it's just him and Katara. I've no doubt that Sokka and Toph chipped in whenever they could to ease the burden of parenthood, but they were leaders and figures of great importance as well. Not to mention that Toph had her own daughters to take care of.

Aang is also the Avatar, the central spiritual figure amongst the four nations. His presence would always be demanded in other nations. Peace Summits. Negotiations. Ceremony. Dealing with splintered Fire Nation cells and loyalists. Aang had to lead the people of all four nations back into balance, and he was in the unique and unenviable position to heal the scars of a 100 year war due to the absence of the Avatar.

Finally, the dude is also the Very Last Airbender. Of course he'd show favoritism to Tenzin. Bumi was a non-bender and Kya was a waterbender already taking after her mother. Aang was a war hero, a political figure, a man out of time and history, the Avatar, and the Only Living Airbender. The weight of his culture and people all rested on his shoulders, and so he passed on that responsibility and hope to the only other living Airbender at the time. Aang needed to spend time with Tenzin because only through Tenzin could the practices of the Air Nomads survive.

Aang was basically having to transition from a communal family mindset to a nuclear family's; he had to balance romance, fatherhood, and being the Avatar in a Wartorn World; and he had an obligation to every Airbender in history—millions of souls and their memories, passed on from one very flawed father to his newborn son. Every part of Aang's life as a father was met with trials and tribulations, and his family still came out loving him, albeit with some resentment underneath.

No parent is perfect, and Aang could have done so much better when it came to communicating with his children.

But none of his mistakes ever meant he was an abusive, cold, distant father.

He was overworked, acclimating to a style of family not his own, and desperately reviving a century-long dead culture all by himself. The fact that every single one of his kids still loved him and cherished him only solidified the fact that Aang was a father who did his very best.

Being the child of the Avatar would always mean living in his shadow. That resentment, of Aang being needed by the world while his children sought him out, would always be there. Doubly so for Tenzin, who grew up with the Avatar as his father and continued his life-long work of breathing life back into the Air Nomads. Say what you will, but at least Bumi and Kya had the freedom to choose who they wanted to be. Tenzin, no matter what, would always grow up to be the Airbending Master because no one else could.

Aang loved his children. Aang loved his wife. And they in turn loved him. But just like every family, complications rose up and planted the seeds of bitterness and resentment. The only thing that stopped these from blossoming into actual dislike of their family was that Aang's love and respect for his children was always genuine, and that Katara stood firm in making sure their children knew they were beloved.

Aang and Katara's family would never have been ideal in the first place, but they did their best.

And their best was certainly enough.

[the-badger-mole]

Love your posts! Could you go into more depth on how Aang disrespects Katara’s/Watertribe culture?

There isn't much depth to go into, because the show doesn't touch on the Southern Water Tribe culture very much. And why would they, am I right? It's only 40% of their main heroes' culture. But what little they do give us is mostly shown through Aang's perspective, and Aang makes it clear that he isn't a fan of some of the most major components. He's disrespectful about the food and about the artifacts that come from a culture that mostly hunts their food. Bato of the Water Tribe is the most egregious display of his contempt, when he goes into Bato's tent as a guest and is sly and snide about the furs and antlers on display. That honestly bothers me more than Aang's reaction to the sea prunes.

There are a lot of people who defend Aang because he's young (his age as a defense is carrying a lot), but here's the thing. As with so many other things that he does, it's never walked back. We never see him come back to his attitude about the culture the girl he allegedly loves comes from, and think, hm...well, they are different from what I'm used to, but that doesn't make them less worthy of respect. I would not be surprised to hear that at some point in the comics, Aang makes a big show of loving the SWT culture, but first of all, Legend of Korra exists. I've already pointed out how so many things in that series points to Aang playing favorites among his children, and to the Kataang family dynamic being really unhealthy. I've also probably already pointed out how divorced Tenzin is from anything pertaining to his SWT heritage. There is no sign anywhere on Air Bender Island that he's mixed heritage. And why is that? Because his father never embraced his mother's heritage. Secondly, at one point in the comics, Aang is in support of the NWT soft colonizing the SWT in the name of "unifying" the two tribes...even though they sit at literally the opposite ends of the world from each other, so how does that even make sense? Still, even in the main series, he shows a lot more respect for the NWT culture than the SWT (or at the very least, he isn't as blatantly disrespectful). Bryke can do whatever they want to in the comics, it still ends with LoK happening.

[thinky-think-brainblast]

Am I the only one that really, really , really, HATES how mixed kids are portrayed in LOK.

Like why is their so much waisted potential, and it makes me so mad because I would really love to see one person embrace both of their parents nations therefore, by inheritance, ALSO THEIR OWN NATIONS. Like don’t just embrace the nation were their bending comes from or the nation of which they look like the most. *cough cough* Mako and Bolin.

Like we all know this is about Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin,

And like I know that Aang was the last of his people so it only made sense for Tenzin to take on more of his air nomad or air nation side, and I know it could be the parents fault that children don’t embrace both cultures, and I could get into the whole argument of *why didn’t Aang teach Kya and Bumi* and all of that, but one you have already heard that like a billion times, and two yes Aang SHOULD have helped them embrace their air nomad side more after all they are part of the few people who still carry air nation genes. And lets leave Aang bieng a better father at that (which by the way am still very mad that they wrote him like that.)

Let’s get back to the kids becuase it is the little things they could have done and didn’t do, as an example why did Tenzin not give Pema a bethroval necklace, like in my mind he did and Pema wears it but we can’t see it cause her robes hide it OR why didn’t we see Tenzin wear a Parka (I know airbenders don’t get cold just hear me out) when he was in the South Pole just because its his culture and he can embrace it down there. Or why doesn’t Kya carry around the necklace that Yang Chen, Gyatso, and Aang have, correct me if am wrong but I believe that they are used by air nomads to meditate, and she enjoys meditation even taught some of the knew air nation. I imagine she wouldn’t wear it around her neck but have it wrapped around her wrist or wear it on her hip like if it was hanging from a utility belt and then when she meditates she would USE IT. Imagine it is the necklace Aang used to wear so it would become parallel to katara wearing her moms necklace. And this are small details because I know Tenzin is the last airbender for a while and Kya is one of the few waterbenders who originally come from the southern water tribe, so they wouldn’t be able to embrace both their cultures so much. But lets talk about the other one… BUMI, in my mind he doesn’t only dress in water tribe clothes but his outfits are the perfect mix between both his cultures, he is a non-bender he doesn’t owe anyone anything, but the writers are cowards. And for me thats the bare minimum anyway, if it were really up to ME THEY WOULD ALL EMBRACE THEIR CULTURES.

Then again there is also the issue that whatever traditions or customs Tenzin does or practices will probably be copied or passed down to the air acolytes and the new air nation. We see this in LOK in one aspect, the nuclear family’s, Tenzin was raised by Aang and Katara in a reasonably big family ,water tribe style, this is something him himself carried on to do. This is not the traditional way to raise or procreate as airnomads, but it would have also been very hard to to due to there only being one airbender. Air nomads get raised in air temples with several other people they aren’t or don’t know if they are related too. So Aang and Tenzin did have to have a nuclear family, but the way Tenzin family is is very much representing of how he was raised. In the water tribes I ca imagine is more common to have big family’s and a little detail that is a clea water tribe family aspect I noticed in LOK is when Tenzin and Pema are sleeping in bed and we see Meelo right in the middle also sleeping until he answers the phone. I imagine this is something Tenzin learned from his own childhood, to have little kids sleep between both their parents while they are still toddlers or very young children, we can’t be sure but it will probably happen that this would be seen in Meelo, Jinora, Ikki, and Rohan, when they are older in their own families, if they have kids. Either way when we think about the air nation having a mixed of aspects of the water tribe culture we can’t ignore the fact that the new air nation will most likely also bring Earth Nation traditions into the air nomad culture, I mean Opal isn’t going to completely leave the traditions she was raised in and she is still pretty young imagine an older person having to cut off the traditions they have known all their lives. So at the end how much effort does Tenzin need to put into keeping air nomad culture as alive as it can when the changes that are going to happen to it are so clearly going to continue. I mean am sure Aang knew for a fact that air nomad culture was never going to be the same again. It wouldn’t make a difference in the world if the culture wasn’t the exact same, it would be a great loss in history and extremely saddening for a entire culture that was so different to others be changed(one of the reasons I don’t want to read Yangchens books is to not see how much of this culture was really lost), but it is not crucial to the balance of the world. What was crucial was for their to be airbenders, how this people go on about bieng airbenders doesn’t really matter to the safety of the world.

So yeah I got a bit side tracked, cause airbender culture is a whole other topic

[linnoya-writes]

Aang actually *was* a Terrible Dad (and we should stop making excuses for him).

One thing I cannot get over is how people say that Aang actually wasn't that terrible of a father, and I keep hearing the same excuses to his behavior: he didn't grow up with conventional parents, he had to focus on bringing back his air-bending culture, Katara was already a natural parent and was totally okay being the housewife/mom who let Aang off the hook with most of the serious parenting duties... ugh....

Anyway, I have three points to give:

1) Aang may not have grown up with conventional family structure, but he certainly knew enough about the world (being a nomad his whole life pre-war) to understand what a healthy family dynamic looked like. He knew enough about Toph's dad and Zuko's dad to understand what a poor father figure looked like. Aang also spent time with Hakoda, in ATLA season 3, to see the characteristics of a good father -- and this doesn't even include the time he spent traveling with Sokka/Katara alone and noticing how their dad's absence was affecting them. I put a lot of emphasis on Katara, here, because she makes it very clear in Season 3 that her father leaving the family was devastating... and this girl would want a partner who understood those feelings and do absolutely everything to keep the family together. It's what she did throughout the entirety of ATLA-- Katara was the glue that kept everyone close -- and you would think Aang would pick up on those cues, rather than let history repeat itself after he had his family with Katara. Imagine how awful it must've been for Katara, watching the man she married ultimately go off with their air-bending son on these cultural excursions, and not even consider that their two other kids might want to learn about air bending culture anyway. They're a bi-cultural family, after all, right? Wouldn't that have been a prime example for the new world, showing a blended family being together and not separate? Just let that sink in for a moment.

2) Many people say that any misunderstood family dynamics between Kya, Bumi and Tenzin came to a peaceful conclusion in LOK season 2 with a happy family portrait. Here's the thing-- a posed, smiling family portrait doesn't necessarily indicate a healthy family unit. I'm also making note of LOK Season 3, when Bumi admits that he finally feels more connected to their father after he magically gets Airbending, and also that scene when Kya/Bumi arrive to the Northern Air Temple and the acolytes are shocked to hear that Avatar Aang had other children besides Tenzin. I mean... how much effort would it take, exactly, for Aang to just mention to the temple monks and acolytes that he had two other kids? Was he embarrassed to tell them they weren't air benders? Was he ashamed? In any case, he was the Avatar and he should've demonstrated pride for the children he had regardless of their bending ability or lack their-of. It goes without saying that, while Aang did grow up differently and had many priorities being the Avatar and the Last Airbender... he still made some conscious choices about how little of a "family man" he wanted to be. Aang clearly favored the air-bending life and didn't process that he was also raising a family that was part WaterTribe (perhaps because many of their customs clashed with his air-bending way of life... but that's another conversation.)

3) Yes, Bryke are notorious for writing examples of poor father figures (Ozai/Unalaq/BeiFong/Yakone/Hiroshi) and I'm also here to tell you that they're known for writing women who lose agency and turn devoted-doting-domestic-docile once they get with their man. Pema from LOK is a good example-- all we know about her is she literally gave her life to be an air-acolyte and carry Tenzin's children (the only backstory we get is Pema secretly pined for Tenzin until it became too much and she had to say something), and be the good housewife and mother to those air bending kids. We know nothing about this woman's individual wants or needs outside of motherhood. Another example is the backstory of Yakone and his unnamed wife who-- after giving this man two sons, completely disappears from the narrative and is not aware Yakone is abusing his kids. And she's still exists, because Amon refuses to go with Noatak so as to not abandon their mom. Their mother was so unnecessary as a character after she had the kids, she became this oblivious/silent character in the background who let her own kids get abused. Another example is Unalaq's wife-- again, about a father using his two kids like his henchmen and the mother isn't even in the picture. We know she exists because after Unalaq gets destroyed... Esna turns to Desca and says "what're we gonna tell Mother?"  It may have been written as a subtle joke... but the underlying sentiment is still there.

I'd say my favorite example is the fate of Fire Lady Ursa-- a woman once determined to protect her children that she was willing to commit murder and treason -- ends up choosing to forget those same children and instead wipes all her memories of them entirely to start a quiet domestic life with her childhood sweetheart, a man who very much knows the life Ursa left behind and has the power to decide what truths he wants to tell her about the world and live like there wasn't even a bloody war happening. (Don't even get me started on how The Search disappointed me. Oy).

Perhaps Aang and Katara -- even without intent -- might have fallen into that formulaic pattern when Bryke wrote out the first two seasons of LOK, because that was during the time The Promise, The Search and The Rift comics got published, and Katara's character was definitely becoming that unquestionably-loyal/no fuss/devoted girlfriend to Aang where she would go with everything he decided and sadly sit in a corner while Aang got all the praise and attention and never considering her feelings. Bryke picked up on these mistakes, however, because in the later comics like North & South and Imbalance, you can see them giving Katara some leadership moments (particularly when Aang isn't around) and Aang more of a mature, considerate approach with Katara, saying things like "I'm sorry I just left you to fight alone like that!" and "You're always asking me if I'm okay. Now it's my turn-- are you okay?"  The effort was definitely there to make Aang and Katara look somewhat more compatible than they let on. But things didn't really seem that promising in Legend of Korra... as Katara's character arc gets breadcrumbs of acknowledgement regarding what she did for the world outside of Aang's narrative.

It seems like Katara's badass individual characteristics were written second only to whatever she needed to be for Aang, including being the primary parent to his non-airbender kids while he focused on the air-bending culture.

In any case-- I'm almost certain Bryke will be bending over backwards to "fix" all of these flawed elements of Kataang and Aang as a father figure in the upcoming animated feature films, because if there's anything Bryke likes to do... it is "tell" us that Aang was a great guy and there absolutely was no other better person for Katara.

[caripr94]

Hey caripr94! I was thinking about Aang and Katara and I would like your wise insight :)

I read a comment or watched a video saying that Aang should not have married Katara if he wanted to rebuild the air nation. The argument was basically that he should have married a non-bender like Tenzin. Since Pema is a non-bender the probability of airbender kids is higher compared to a bender like Katara bearing his kids.

Another opinion was that Aang should not have married at all. He should have impregnated as many willing women as possible.

Let's say Aang was Christian, what would be a good course of action? There should be more airbenders to regain the loss of culture and to provide future teachers for the next avatars, but being monogamous is an obstacle to that goal. There are only so many kids one woman can have. What if Katara was infertile? Korra would be doomed since there would be no airbenders to teach her if Aang remained faithful.

Well, really, it's not just about rebuilding a nation from one's children; it's also building a nation of psychologically healthy individuals. Look at what happened when Jacob built his nation from his offspring from several women. The women had to compete with each other for his affection and so did their children. Joseph was sold into slavery because of his brothers' jealousy of him, and although it ultimately turned out for the best, it still put him through years of trauma, especially starting at the young age of 17.

Even in the Avatar canon, as shown in Legend of Korra, Aang's children still had to compete with one another for his attention and affection, even when they all had one mother to smooth things over between them. If they all came from different mothers, I'm sure that it would have been harder for them, especially considering how distant Toph's daughters were from each other for 30 years when they had different fathers.

So I don't think that having more children with more fertile women to rebuild the Air Nomads would have been worth forgoing the stability and commitment that comes with monogamous marriage and reproduction. Besides, I don't think that it would actually be necessary to rebuild the whole Air Nation anyway. Like many others have said, there's no way that the Fire Nation could have wiped out a whole nation in one day, even with Sozin's Comet. Some of the Air Nomads could have escaped and hid amongst and intermixed with the populations of other nations, so they could have descendants in those other nations with their genes and maybe even airbending abilities. Considering that, Aang could have gone to one of those women and have his kids from her for better chances of airbending offspring, and those kids could have intermixed with those other descendants.

[loopy777]

So another Aang parentage question. Do you think it would have been better to write Bumi's resentment of Tenzin as a result of Bumi desperately trying to fit in with his father's culture when he was younger, only to feel like he never truly could due to being a nonbender(And eventually going his own way), and having a lowkey simmering, underlying dislike for for his younger brother for managing to fit in with his father, for no other reason(As Bumi saw it) than winning the genetic lottery?

It seems that way it would have been way easier for the writers to play up any ambiguity on the part of Bumi's different recollection than Tenzin's. The big problem with the current one(one of them anyway) is that the way it's portrayed it's so different that it seems one of them had to be completely wrong, and Aang seems to be a fundamentally bad dad, dde to Tenzin and Bumi recollection things fundamentally differently, rather than just the details/the way they interpreted things.

As you yourself pointed out, by simple temperament, it really does seem like if any of his kids would be Aang's natural favorite, it would be Bumi, not Tenzin, so why not play up with that? Like Bumi used to be the closest to his dad, and despite not being a bender, he followed his culture... Only for his youngest baby brother to be born, and as youngest children often get, Tenzin got way more attention than the teenage son, but more importantly for Bumi, Tenzin was an Airbender, and so was able to truly live his father's culture in a way Bumi(rightfully or not)felt he never could, and Bumi always had a complex about that.

Then have Bumi and Tenzin's arc be about Bumi reconciling with Tenzin, and bury the hatchet, finally overcome their issues... Only to himself become an Airbender as a result of season 2, and reveling in the ability to control the winds... Only to come to the realization that this hasn't fundamentally changed who he was, and that all those years envying Tenzin and Aang's relationship(Instead of embracing on the great relationship he himself had with his dad while he was still alive) was a stupid waste of time.

I dont know, it seems like this would fix most of the issues with the way the show handled Aang's kids and their relationship with him, while also exploring the realities of mixing family dynamics, intercultural unions, and superpowered genetics. Not to mention while there is a conclusion, it's not necessarily a happy one, instead being a melancholic reminiscing and acceptance about past mistakes.

Yeah, I love the sound of that. It removes Aang from the dynamic and recenters it on Bumi and Tenzin. And even though it pretty much puts the onus on Bumi, I think it improves him as a character and makes him more relatable. I like Bumi, in general, but he really suffered from being pushed primarily as a comic relief character, and I think giving him a real chip on his shoulder -- a kind of need to prove himself in some way, or a perception that the world is expecting him to prove himself -- would have helped center him in a relatable way. It would even play well with his tendency to tell his old war stories, turning it into a solid need for attention and validation.

[kidnappedbycartoons]

The Legend of Korra isn't a bad show, but when compared to Avatar, it's definitely weaker in damn near all aspects. That being said, one of the main criticisms of the show is how the original gaang get treated. And the main one I want to talk about is Katara.

I want you to think about the Katara we are introduced to in Avatar. The girl from the Southern Water Tribe who had to take on the maternal role in her family after her mother was murdered. The girl who wasn't scared to stand up for what she believes is right. The girl who was the glue of the original gaang, because you know that they would've fell apart if she wasn't there. The girl who worked her ass off to become a master water bender. The girl who loved her culture, but still respected others. There's more to say, but this is one of those "a thought came to me and I had to put it down" posts.

What kind of future do you see for a girl like that? She would be involved in politics right? She would be seen as a hero along with the original gaang considering that she defeated Azula, right? She would become one of the most important members of the water tribe, considering that she became a master at the age of fourteen and challenged the traditions of the Northern Water Tribe, right? Her children would know about their Water Tribe side, because Katara would be ecstatic to teach them about it, right?

Well, what does LoK do? They give everyone in the gaang a statue except for her (and Suki). We see both Water Tribes and neither has a statue of her. She's not respected as a water bender. Sure, she taught Korra, but think about how Zuko and Toph are treated. Zuko is still fire bending in his eighties, has a whole statue, and is shown respect by members of the new Team Avatar even though he has abdicated from the throne. Toph is still regarded as the best earthbender for creating metalbending, has a whole statue, and helped get the mercury out of Korra's body. But Katara?

In book one, she is unable to bring back Korra's bending. In book four, she is only able to heal Korra to a certain extent because of the PTSD that Korra is suffering. She is basically used to show the severity of the actions. We are told that Katara is one of the best, so if she can't heal it, it must be impossible! We see Bolin fanboying over Zuko and Toph, but not Katara. She has no statues. And then her family life.

Tenzin is completely removed from half of his lineage, completely embracing the Air Nomad way of life. The relationship he has with Katara feels very strained too, especially compared to Kya and Bumi. We know that Tenzin spent more time with Aang and since he was expected to be the next leader of the Air Nomads, it makes sense that he would throw himself completely into that part of him and reject the Water Tribe part. Kya, on the other hand, seems to have more balance with her Air Nomad and Water Tribe sides. We see her meditate and she seems to know certain aspects of the Air Nomad culture, even though she is more connected to her Water Tribe side due to being a water bender. Bumi seems almost completely removed from each side though.

Sokka gets a statue, Aang gets a statue, Toph has a statue, Zuko has a statue, but Katara doesn't? Not even in the Southern Water Tribe, where she was canonically known as the last water bender of her tribe? Sokka is involved with politics, being the chairman of the United Republic Council. Aang was the literal Avatar. Zuko was the fire lord who led the Fire Nation after the hundred year war ended. Toph becomes a cop for some reason. But Katara? We get no hints of her being involved with politics in LoK except for that throwaway about her helping to outlaw blood bending. We see Bolin fanboyinf when meeting Toph and Zuko, but not with Katara. What is Katara in LoK?

[bloodbenderz]

I think at some point you talked about Jeong Jeong and his complicated relationship with fire, I'd like to hear your thoughts about his character in comparison to the fire nation and its ideals!!

SO sorry that this took me so long lol

jeong jeong is very interesting! from childhood he was taught that fire=violence, and thats the basis of his later defection: when he rejects imperialist violence he also rejects fire.

i think jeong jeong does more work in thoroughly rejecting the fire nation than any other fire nation character on screen. his objection to the fire nation isn’t JUST ideological, it’s organized and physical. contrast this with iroh’s decisions. jeong jeong deserts the military not just because he can’t stand to wage war against the world anymore, but as a political act. he was a decorated admiral before his desertion, and he absolutely could have retired with grace the way iroh did if he didn’t want to contribute to imperialism anymore. the fact that he was the first to desert and lived made him an enemy of the state, and he was willing to accept that danger because he was also the first deserter who was capable of setting an example for other fire nation citizens. he REJECTS all the comforts of the fire nation, refuses to live off stolen wealth, refuses to serve as inspiration for the war machine, and there’s no character that commits to it the way he did.

like, jeong jeong did the work! and that’s why i think his relationship with fire as an element is SO fascinating. ive talked at length before about element+bending playing a role in reifying borders and race in avatar, especially as a tool of fire nation propaganda, but certainly by the “good guys” as well (ex. all the airbenders in lok suddenly becoming citizens of the air nation, the idea that the four nations have to exist but the crimes of the fire nation lie in expanding from their predetermined borders). and the interesting thing about jeong jeong is that he’s the only character we get who really illustrates how miserable it can be to equate element to nation.

he’s absolutely right to reject the fire nation in its entirety! but his long history of intimate involvement with the fire nation and its violence made him internalize the lesson that element=nation, and although he was able to unlearn all the OTHER imperialist propaganda, he wasn’t able to unlearn that bit, so when we meet him in canon he’s rejected firebending itself. this is interesting for a lot of reasons!

we know that bending is almost universally considered extremely precious to benders. katara says that losing it even temporarily felt like losing a part of herself. and with its obvious association with culture and nation it then follows that jeong jeong, in rejecting firebending, has made an awful sacrifice: that he’s lost the ability to draw pleasure or comfort from his bending, and sees an intrinsic part of himself as vile and horrific. jeong jeong will literally never be at peace with himself as long as this dissonance exists.

i mean, think about that. bending and its proposed equivalence to nation literalizes a person’s tie to their nation. no wonder so few fire nation deserters exist; aside from the fact that they risk being hunted down and killed, they’ve internalized this lesson that the fire nation is part of them as much as they are a part of it, and that rejecting the fire nation in its entirety would mean rejecting firebending, which would mean repressing a fundamental part of themselves. it’s actually a pretty astute observation about nationalism in imperialist countries (or it would be, if they did it on purpose): that so many people consider Americanness or Britishness or Whiteness as such an important part of their personhood that to reject any of these constructs would be to reject their personhood.

the show does Some work in deconstructing the element=nation concept with the sun warriors and saying that fire isn’t inherently or exclusively destructive, but ultimately firebending is still something that is associated with the fire nation. really, by the end of the show, the fire nation should not exist anymore, but there’s no exploration of that option, because the idea of the four elements in balance is a stand in for saying that all four nations MUST exist within their predetermined borders. this is something else that legend of korra could have explored and said more about: is mako fire nation just because he’s a firebender? are his and bolin’s ethnic identity dependent on their appearances and bending statuses? are tenzin and his children the only “real” air nomads, given their bending status, and to what extent do kya and bumi identify with air nation culture? but legend of korra disappointed at every turn including that one, so.

[shifuaang]

Rewriting the Cloudbabies Conflict in LOK

Here’s how I would rewrite the Cloudbabies conflict so that it would align with the established characterization of Aang and Katara and not recycle the same bad parenting tropes as ATLA:

I actually like the majority of the personality traits that were given to these characters, so they will mostly be kept intact. 

Bumi is still the eldest and a non-bender, but he’s the one who really takes an interest in the restoration of the Air Nomad culture. He steps up and becomes involved with the Air Acolytes and is the most enthused out of his siblings about field trips to the different Air Temples. The whole family goes on these trips, not just Aang and Tenzin when he’s old enough. Aang and Katara are proud to share their heritages with all of their children.

Bumi reflects Aang’s happy-go-lucky personality and great sense of humor but can also be spiritual and in tune with nature when the occasion calls for it, so he naturally meshes with his father’s culture and traditions. He’s one of the first people to be matched with a sky bison after he helps Aang find a surviving herd. The one belief he doesn’t adhere to is being a vegetarian because, in his own words, “mom’s two-headed fish soup is just too good.”

At the start of the series, he lives on Air Temple Island and has married another non-bender. They have teenage twins a little older than Korra - a boy waterbender and a girl airbender. 

Kya, the second oldest, is a waterbending master like her mother but very much considers herself half-Air Nomad, half-Water Tribe. She delights in the fact that she gets two bending teachers and that her bending is diversified by her father’s knowledge as the Avatar, as he incorporates other elemental styles into her lessons. 

Lin is Kya’s childhood best friend, and there are definite romantic undertones to their relationship. Because Kya knows about the Air Nomad’s acceptance of all forms of love, she is unashamed of her sexuality. She is extremely close with her Grandfather Hakoda growing up, and once she is old enough, she assists him in continuing to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe. 

She is child-free at the start of the series and living with Lin in Republic City but frequents the Southern Water Tribe often. She also has a spare room so that her mom can visit her whenever she likes.

Tenzin, the youngest, is an airbending master, but takes longer to get there than he would like. He is serious and disciplined and can become hot-headed like his mother on occasion. Tenzin does not fall as naturally into Air Nomad culture as Bumi, (after all, air is the element of freedom), so there is a bit of tension between the two brothers. In spite of this, his love for his parents runs deep. In times of trouble, he gravitates towards Katara as he feels she can relate to him a bit better. 

While he isn’t an airbending prodigy like his father, he does end up receiving his tattoos in his late teens. He marries Pema (though let’s make their age gap less significant and not have their power dynamic be mentor/student), and their children are still Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo at the start of the series.

Because Katara and Aang have to navigate raising a family, uniting the four nations, and rebuilding their own cultures, things are going to get rocky at times. Family vacations, outings, and schooling are often interrupted by duties that they need to attend to, and their children get dragged along to political functions and events. Though Katara and Aang do their best to shield and protect Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin from the more serious issues in the world, it’s impossible not to let things seep through the cracks sometimes.

The central conflict for the three siblings then becomes less internalized and more societal. "Mom and dad did their best to give us a normal childhood, but we can't pretend that we didn't hear some of the things said in those council meetings or whispered outside of the carefully curated safety of our home.”

Tenzin feels pressure as the only remaining airbender besides Aang to carry on that lineage. Kya, as a woman, also feels pressured by society to conform. They bond because of this, and are somewhat resentful of Bumi’s ability to forge his own path forward. 

When Aang passes on, it’s heartbreaking for all of them, most especially Bumi who felt that he could rely on his father to be around to help him with his two children when it came time for them to learn how to bend. The siblings remain close in proximity but become emotionally distant and carry the sadness of losing their father too early in life. Because Kya is the most balanced of the three, she thinks she’s responsible for their fallout when she can’t find a middle ground this time around.

Bumi begins to feel inadequate, especially as his twins grow up and, like most teenagers, are less interested in the knowledge that he can offer them about Air Nomad culture and more interested in things like Pro-bending and showing off for their new friend, the Avatar.

This brings us to the beginning of LOK when Tenzin becomes Korra’s airbending teacher. After struggling to connect with her and find a method of teaching that works, he reluctantly asks Bumi for help, as he knows he can help bridge the gap between Korra’s inherent desire for freedom and lack of discipline. The brothers are forced to work together, especially when Bumi’s twins start to gravitate towards their bending aunt and uncle and Tenzin’s children become attached to Bumi.

The twins get captured while spying on an Equalist Rally and publicly get their bending taken away by Amon. (Though in my version, he can only bloodbend and take away bending on the full moon.) Bumi’s children are devastated, particularly his daughter who is not only mourning the loss of her bending but also feels she let down the world as they lost one of the few remaining airbenders. Bumi is offended by the notion that non-benders can’t pass down Air Nomad traditions, and Tenzin mumbles something unhelpful about how at least now she won’t feel obligated to do so. 

Everything comes to a head then, and the siblings are forced to confront the emotions and issues they take with each other. Tenzin has to come to terms with his jealousy of Bumi’s easy relationship with Air Nomad culture and society’s expectations of him. Kya has to reconcile with the fact that she can’t always do the emotional labor for others and it’s unfair that she placed that burden on herself for all of these years. Bumi has to recognize that he needs to let his father go and live his own life and that his love for Aang can be reborn in his love for his siblings.

After a long, emotional shouting match (and maybe some petty fighting a la Katara and Toph in The Runaway, because that’s always fun), they get some much needed catharsis, and they go on to form a plan with Korra about how they’re going to take down Amon together.

[struggling-author]

How are each of the Azulaang kids like? (bending, personality, etc)?

sorry I left this waiting for so long. I‘m really passionate about these characters and I wanna do this right but I simply don’t have the time for it right now. So here’s a short sum-up for all of them, and I hope to do a more detailed version at some point.

Ursa

the oldest, firebender, and quite skilled, but she hates using it and will only do so in absolute emergencies like when her family is in danger, a peaceful soul and much more low-energy than the rest of her family, likes reading, culture and politics, is about the same age as Izumi and her best friend and later advisor, she’s very interested in airbender culture, but more involved in fire nation politics, her cultural heritage gives her a unique perspective on most matters and she’s made it her life‘s mission to improve the fire nation by integrating that perspective into her politics, she’s a big advocate for the merging of cultural ideas and especially interested in air nomad and fire nation unity, she’s a lesbian (like kya in the original) but I haven’t thought about who she‘ll end up with yet, she loves playing pai sho and other board games and is very good at it, also yes her name means Azula has reconciled with her mother, but it took a lot of time and effort on both sides, naming her daughter after her was azula‘s way of showing how far they‘d come and Ursa (sr.) could not have been happier

Zuki

the second oldest, airbender, suki likes to joke she was named after her but everyone knows it was actually after zuko, a bending prodigy, she’s basically a mini-azula but with aang‘s playfulness, an absolute menace who constantly keeps her parents and everyone else on their toes, I first wrote her mainly as a way for Azula to reconcile with her own past and also to show how she might have turned out with a happier childhood and better parents, but she grows into her own character later, she really picks up the air-nomad way of life, focusing on the nomad aspect, and travels all around the world on her bison-dragon (yes, Appa falls in love with Azula’s dragon and a new species is born, it’s Avatar, their animals are all like that) she really is that cool wine aunt and Idk if she ever settles down, Aang was obviously delighted to have an airbender and fostered and supported those ideas in her, but Azula made sure he didn’t push her into anything she didn’t want and that he never gave any of his children preferential treatment (because she knows all too well how that feels) this is also how Ursa came to learn all about airbending culture and customs, while Zuki mostly dozed off during those lessons, her sister often made Zuki play board games against her, which she hated at first because she hated sitting still and her sister would always win, but her ambitious nature drove her to continue trying and eventually she got quite good at it

Kuzon

third oldest, firebender (or maybe non-bender) here’s where it gets a little scarce, he’s kind of based on Bumi in LOK but I really haven’t thought too much about him yet, he’s a lot like Zuko in the sense that he’s not as naturally talented as Zuki and struggles to learn new things, at the same time he’s more naturally kind and empathetic, he still loves playing with his older sister and chasing after her but he often falls and can’t keep up, he also likes spending time with his other sister Ursa who at first is kinda annoyed by it as she’s in her teens, but essentially does a full 180 later and becomes the most supportive big sister, often reading to him and encouraging him even when he fails at something, he especially loves his uncle zuko and looks up to him, as you can see he spends most of his early childhood looking up to other people and chasing after his sisters, so it comes as a real suprise (and maybe much needed confidence boost) to him when his younger brother is born and seems to idolize him, again I’m passionate about all these characters so it makes me sad to have so little on him but I hope to develop him more later, maybe he joins the united forces when he’s older

Tenzin

I loved Tenzin in LOK so I really didn’t wanna change much about him, he has a great bond with Ursa since they share the same interests, and this bond continues later in life when they often work together on political matters like organizing the air and fire unity festival (the day of the massacre is a day of mourning in both nations, the festival follows the day after to celebrate their newfound unity, it’s a little weird the first years but quickly becomes an established tradition, I like to imagine that the air and fire nation grow to be closer than ever in the future atla universe) he and Zuki kind of represent the two sides of airbending culture, she stands for freedom and the nomad way of life, he is more concerned with repopulating the temples and the spiritual side of things, as said before, as a child he idolizes and clings to his older brother and they stay great friends all their life

That’s it for now, it ended up being much more than I expected. If you wanna learn more, @resplendentgoldenwings wrote another post that lines up with my ideas quite well, and is honestly just a great and heartfelt read. Find it here:

https://resplendentgoldenwings.tumblr.com/post/629372835478028288/r%CE%B9s%CE%AD-%CF%83f-%CF%84h%CE%B5-r%CE%B9%CF%82%CE%AD

and you can read two short fics featuring the kids on my AO3 (link in bio) with another one planned rn and hopefully coming soon

[theotherace]

What was the dunebabies childhood like? I remember you saying Taang won't be bad parents, how does the dunebabies see their mom and dad? Did they have a permanent place to stay?

The kids' most permanent home is Appa's saddle, because travelling both kinda comes with Aang's job and is in both of their natures. He does travel alone, too, if whatever conflict he's been called to solve or look at is too dangerous to take the kids or if it's a quick, close-by thing, but mostly, where one Beifong is, the rest can be found easily. Which doesn't mean, of course, that they have no place they'd call home outside of that. They visit their grandparents a lot, and every kid has their own room at their house. They stay at the Air Temples (and most often the Southern) regularly. Aang and Toph have friends in all four nations that always have a bed over (and, in Zuko's case, probably an entire palace wing). So no, the family doesn't technically have a permanent place to stay at, but they have a lot of ... well, homes, all over the world.

The kids don't mind the travelling, for the most part. Kavi and Bumi love absolutely every second of it, and Tenzin, while he enjoys visiting his grandparents and having all his stuff in one place, also couldn't really do without it. Asha and Norbu don't resent their parents for the travelling, but it's also not a decision they'd have made for themselves. They treasure the experiences they make and wouldn't have wanted to miss them, but they do better when staying at just one place. Less stress. They enjoy life more when it's a little more predictable.

(And now a cut, because this got so long. Thanks for the ask, by the way! Feel free to send me more, haha.)

Bumi probably has the least idealized view of his parents growing up. He's the oldest, a lot of things still have to be figured out with him, and they're lucky he's a responsible kid by nature and not a big trouble maker at all, because he'd definitely have had ample opportunity to screw around. He babysits his siblings when Aang and Toph need to be away for an afternoon (they don't leave him alone with them much longer than that, though), and while he admires them both greatly, all the great things they've done, he also realizes pretty early on that ... well, ... they're people. And people make mistakes and people aren't perfect. His expectations of them aren't as high as his siblings', I think. He loves them very much, but they can be scatter-brained and impulsive at times, and he probably wishes that weren't the case. He loves living all over the world. He doesn't appreciate the planlessness of it all.

Norbu admires both his parents greatly. He loves hearing their stories, he loves watching them bend and learning from them, and he's an absolute Momma's boy who follows Toph around whenever he can. His parents are a source of inspiration for him, people who took destiny into their own hands, who endlessly support him and his dreams. Plus, they saved the world once and continue doing so all the time. Yeah, they're pretty awesome. He's the boy who goes around bragging about his parents. He's an easy kid to handle, not very demanding, easily satisfied, he likes being left alone with his projects every now and again, and I think that probably colours his perceptions of them greatly. Attention having to be divided by five doesn't bother the boy who doesn't like receiving too much of it, anyway. If he needs some extra time with either of his parents, he's not afraid to ask for it, and they usually give it to him as quickly as they can.

Tenzin looks up to especially his father. He loves Toph, too, of course, but growing up, he really just wants to be like Aang. Unfortunately for him, he is not the most naturally talented bender, and Aang, who things always came easy to and who is otherwise only really teaching Norbu at this point, who picks up quickly on things, and helps out with Bumi, who is unconventional but talented, and Asha, who bends just like her mother, isn't quite equipped to handle that. He tries, of course. They both try. But Tenzin is a stubborn kid, and there's ultimately only so many times you can hear: "We all learn at our own pace" before exploding because it feels like you're not moving at all. Tenzin admires his parents, but he also resents them, especially as a teen, because it feels like they're not trying at all, it feels like they're holding him back (when really, they're keeping him from running himself ragged), it feels like they don't want him to achieve his dreams and goals like they always preach. He'd have benefited greatly and definitely needed more attention than they were realistically able to give him. Their relationship suffers greatly when he's in his teens, because they don't quite know how to reach him and he makes it seem like he doesn't want to be reached in the first place. Ultimately, he makes the decision to move to the Northern Air Temple when he's sixteen, and while Aang and Toph aren't necessarily excited about him leaving (feels like they're losing him), he does get their blessing as long as he writes at least once a month. And this move does them all a lot of good. Tenzin isn't only surrounded by insufferably talented benders anymore, he can more fully immerse himself in his culture, and there are teachers around who aren't his father, who can help him improve in ways Aang and Toph couldn't. They talk it all out, eventually, and he knows they always tried their best with all of them, but he's never quite as close to them as he was as a kid or as his twin still is, and he's closer to Toph as an adult than to Aang. Doesn't change that he loves them, though.

Asha grows from a tiny admirer of her parents into a somewhat moody teenager deeply annoyed by the fact that all people ever want from her is to ask about her parents. She's a social butterfly, she likes to make friends, and it's disheartening when every third new buddy she makes actually is just curious about Mom and Dad and doesn't care about her at all. She absolutely vibes with Aang and she loves Toph, no questions asks, but she wishes they were just two randos sometimes. Life would be easier then. It's maddening, and for a while, it definitely builds some resentment, which is talked out after a lot of cold shoulders and silent treatments. Other than that, she's pretty cool with her parents. Sure, they're annoying sometimes, and sure, it would be nice if they didn't have to divide their attention by five kids and the rest of the world, but they're both annoyingly supportive (trying to rebel doesn't go well when Mom's like: Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let me get your brothers, we'll make a family day out of it), and while she understands Tenzin's plight a little better than Norbu does, she still doesn't really ... get it. She doesn't think her parents are perfect, but she knows they'd do anything for all of them, because I really think that's something Aang and Toph would tell and try to show their kids all the time.

Kavi has it best in terms of attention. He's the baby with quite an age gap between himself and all his siblings (twelve years younger than Bumi, seven/eight years younger than the twins and Asha), so everybody's always looking after him, Mom, Dad, and all the big siblings. He's a Momma's boy like Norbu and admires his father almost as much as Tenzin does, at least as a kid, and he enjoys hanging out with the both of them like no twelve-year-old should. They've learned a lot about being parents by the time he comes around, they've raised four kids before him, after all, and even if every kid is different, he absolutely benefits from that. They're more relaxed with him. They know what's okay and what isn't. Relaxed is a fairly good word to describe his relationship with them, honestly. He loves them and they love him and he knows he can always fall back on them and they know that he's a good kid who they can trust to make good decisions.

So ... conclusion of all this, is that I think Aang and Toph would try to give their children to best childhood possible, and sometimes, they mess up while doing that. Kavi and Norbu probably come closest to calling them perfect. Tenzin always knows they love him, but sometimes, love isn't quite enough. Sometimes, you do your best and your best isn't enough. And I think that's something Aang and Toph would have to realize, especially with Tenzin, but really with all of their kids. Some things they just can't give them, and that's okay, but I think they'd struggle a bit with admitting to themselves that maybe somebody else could help their kid better in this situation than they can.

The dunebabies have a good childhood, filled with lots of adventure and lots of love and lots of imperfections, and they maintain a good relationship with their parents throughout their lives, even if there are some ups and (occasionally very low) downs.

[guiltysecretpasttime]

Contentment

So here’s a thought that became a Lin Beifong one-shot. If someone’s reading this... let me know what you think 🤷‍

---

Ever since she made it to Chief of Police, she found that she was able to take more control of her schedule. Nonetheless, quiet Friday nights at home like these were rare.

Using metalbending, Lin Beifong peeled her armor off and placed it in the cabinet beside the shoe rack, a reminder that she will get to its maintenance before going to work on Monday. She wiggled her toes and continued into the house barefoot, enjoying the feel of the cold marble floor against her skin. She headed towards the kitchen, tossing her work bag into the study along the way.

The paper bag of take-out food was plonked on the dining table and an old battered kettle with water was soon on the stove. She stretched her arms languidly then reached to turn on the radio, if only to fill the silence with white noise.

Plucking out some spice canisters from the shelves and taking out the vegetables she sliced earlier, Lin set about to prepare dinner. Humming softly with the radio tunes, she cleared a portion of the table and opened the containers of sliced vegetables. She sat down and unrolled a piece of cloth, intent on assembling a couple of vegetable wraps on the mat.

After decades of preparing vegetarian meals, Lin had learned to appreciate the cuisine and tweak it to her taste. She added spicy pickled kelp and sprinkled chili on some of the wraps. She made a mental note to ask her sister to bring more kelp on her next visit. (The older Beifong would never admit it but she dearly valued exchanging recipes with Suyin’s ex-pirate chef.)

The kettle let out a high-pitch whistle (which her husband hated and had thus more than once offered to buy a replacement kettle; which she adamantly refused to do so since her mom made it for their housewarming party years ago) and she took it off the stove, placing a steaming pot in its place. The earthbender tore open her take-out paper bag and dropped the store-bought dumplings into the pot.

She then arranged the vegetable wraps on the serving plate alongside the fried puffs she purchased from the vendor beside headquarters (“Assorted crab and tofu puffs, please”).  With not enough time to make dessert, she figured her husband would have to settle for some chilled moon peaches from the icebox.

As she waited for the dumplings to reheat, she decided to make herself a cup of coffee before dumping some tea leaves to steep in the kettle.

-----

It was a quaint and cozy scene that greeted the last airbender when he got home. A scene that still brought a lightness in his heart even after being married for fifteen odd years.

Leaning against the kitchen counter was his wife, apparently fresh from the shower as evidenced by the dampness of her short grey hair. Tenzin continued to observe her quietly as she absentmindedly continued to stir something in a saucepan while reading a book propped at the side, page held in place by an empty coffee cup. Barefoot and clad in a plain tank top and shorts, the stern protector of Republic City was barely recognizable in the casual setting. He smiled as Lin made a face, probably scoffing at the plot of her novel.

He made his way towards her, landing a kiss on her exposed shoulder from behind, effectively startling her.

“Spirits, Tenzin!” Lin raised the spatula in shock, landing whipped cream on her face and on his robes.

Tenzin grinned. He loved that he was the only person in the world who could surprise the otherwise vigilant metalbending chief of police. It was a testament on how comfortable she was with him that she never felt the need to be on her guard.

“Hello, dear.” He kissed off the cream from her cheek and was rewarded with a slap on the arm. “You seemed engrossed there, good book?” 

“Oh Agni, no.” His wife snorted as she marked her page in the book. “It’s just one of those trashy books that Su sent me, in the hopes that I get in touch with my inner dancer or something.” She placed the saucepan beside the peaches on the dining table.

The airbender accepted the napkin given by Lin to clean up his robes. “Still trying to convince you to join her dance group?” He turned to the counter, opening his paper bag of food.

“Yes, claims it would make me more flexible and limber - as if I don’t have enough training at headquarters.” (”Or in bed,” Tenzin muttered, getting swatted on the arm for his contribution). She offered her husband assistance as he poured the soup he brought home into a serving pot. “I have to constantly remind those children running the precincts that I am not old.” Her hand flicked in irritation. “And apparently, the only way I could assert that is by beating them down. While hanging on the ceiling. With my metal cables.” Little tremors were felt on the floor as she punctuated her statements with barely perceptible stomps of her foot.

Tenzin chuckled, guiding his wife into her seat in the dining room as she scowled. “I’m sure you enjoyed putting them in their place,” He added the pot of soup on the table. “Come now, I wouldn’t have thought a bunch of new officers would get you down. It’s the weekend!” He sat down, pouring tea for the two of them.

Lin shrugged and proceeded to pile Tenzin’s plate with two (bland) kale wraps and a few dumplings.

“This one’s new,” He lightly touched an angry red cut on her forearm.“And so is this.” He grasped her wrist when she placed his plate in front of him, gently massaging a darkening bruise on her elbow. “Where...?”

Having been raised and grown up in Air Nomad culture, Tenzin feels discomfort whenever his wife arrives home with another souvenir from work on her body (often temporary, sometimes somewhat permanent).

“A new group of non-benders instigated a faceoff with some benders near the cultural center today,” The metalbender downplayed the encounter, removing her arm from his hold. “Good thing we got there just in the nick of time.”

“And got yourself something which is more than a nick,” He frowned at the four-inch long scarlet mark that was a stark contrast against her pale skin. “Lin,” He quickly ladled some seaweed soup into a bowl. He knew it had properties good for blood loss. “Please be careful.” He pushed the bowl towards her.

“I always am.” She caught the sober tone of his reminder. “Don’t worry, I make sure to assess the risks beforehand. I’m no longer that reckless and brash detective who attempted to arrest her sister.” She tried to make light of their conversation.

As if on cue, as with any other time that her scars or the origin of her scars were brought up, Tenzin delicately cupped her cheek and gave her a soft kiss. He was a husband seeking a reminder that all was well. He felt the familiar pressure on his lips as his wife pressed back to deepen their kiss. 

They both ended the kiss, breathing heavily. She smiled, finally accepting the soup.

The rest of the meal continued uneventfully. Tenzin complimented his spouse on her thoughtfulness on the meal. They talked about how their day went (”Tarrlock, that chattering hog-monkey, would not stop about this new ordinance he wanted to pass. I was sorely tempted to ring Mother and Fire Lord Izumi to influence their representatives to vote against it out of spite.” “Oh Tenzin, but you wouldn’t. 10 yuans on you that you would not push through with that.” “You’re right dear,” A sigh was heard. “I wouldn’t have.”) and how their respective families were faring (”Mom hasn’t still gotten in touch with Su and I.” “Should we be worried?” “I don’t think so. Lord Zuko is out travelling as well - 10 yuans bet that they’re out on a life-changing field trip.” “Lin, what’s with you and 10 yuans??”).

-----

The couple decided to finish their dessert in the study.

Lin tucked her legs under as she got comfortable on the couch while Tenzin cleaned up (”You go ahead and relax, I’ll take care of the kitchen and dining table since you prepared the meal - well, most of it at least - ouuuuch woman, stop hitting me.”). She pulled out her (Su’s) novel to bide the time (yes, bide the time, she was not invested in the story of the lone ballerina who captivated the king in that one-night-only performance, nope, not invested at all, thank you very much) while waiting for her husband.

She had made it into a chapter and a half by the time Tenzin joined her. She got up to make space for him, then laid her head on his lap to continue reading while he elected to tackle his correspondence.

They passed the time in that position, with Tenzin alternately feeding Lin and himself some of the sliced moon peaches. The only sound was the occasional flip of pages and parchment being discarded on the side table.

Half-way into the book, Lin was making mental note to ask her younger sister if she had a copy of the sequel when the airbender released a deep breath.

“Is something wrong?” She lifted her eyes from the book and directed her attention to the face of the man above her, albeit a bit concealed by the beard from her point-of-view.

“The new Avatar has mastered Earthbending.” He indicated the letter he was perusing.

“That’s good news, right?” The earthbender sat up on her heels, taking her mother-in-law’s letter to go through it.

“It says here they’re inviting you to train the Avatar as her airbending master in five years time,” Lin felt her excitement building as she read Katara’s update. “Provided, however, that she passes her Firebending mastery test by then.” She knew how important this was to him. “Ten-!” She looked up and saw his faraway expression.

“Hey,” Lin tenderly took his face into her hands, looking into his eyes. Green met gray. 

Earth and air - their elements and their personalities were as opposite as they can go. While Lin Beifong learned early on how to master her emotions (which several times proved to be necessary in her line of work, sometimes even a matter of life and death), the man in shades of saffron and red before her wore his heart clearly. Even at the age of forty-six, he exuded an air of artlessness. Some of his detractors saw it as a weakness but she recognized it as his strength, the ingenuous sincerity which coated each of his interactions appealed to the constituents. Nonetheless, Lin knew him for as long as she was alive and she knew something was troubling him.

“Do you,” Like any earthbender worth his or her salt, she faced this head on. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Tenzin,” She knew they had made peace with it in the past but she needed to ask, yet again. “Do you regret it?” Do you regret choosing me - the unsaid question hung thickly in the air.

-----

The last airbender covered her right hand with his and leaned into her palm. “Never.” He knew she can feel his steady heartbeats as she held him. After a beat, he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his.

Lin Beifong, while a confident woman, did need reassurances which only her husband can provide. He knew that she still experienced vestiges of guilt from time to time.

He saw it when she was reading the newspaper and an article called out the Chief of Police as a hard-ass with a heart of stone, unbending with the law and unbending in rehabilitating an extinct nation.

He saw it through the years as she accompanied him in various city council formal events and got asked on multiple occasions when they were going to start trying for kids. She would pleasantly smile, with a poise that would make the late Poppy Beifong proud. Then she would sweetly reply something along the lines of no, thank you, we’re not trying for kids but rest assured we’re frequently engaging in exercises that might (if we were not careful) result in one. Now, that (and the subsequent choking noise made by whichever pompous guest who dared ask) would make Toph Beifong proud.

He saw it whenever the entire family gathers at Air Temple Island to celebrate someone’s birthday and the Air Acolytes seem to walk on eggshells around her, never mind that technically she was the first lady of the nation.

Everyone else saw her smirk or her stoic blank face; no emotion betrayed by the absence of hunching of the shoulders or the lack of a furious blush on her complexion.

But Tenzin, her partner for most of her life, saw the little indicators - the tightening of her jaw, the stiffening of her spine, the whitening of her knuckles as she dug her nails into her palm... 

They simply did not know. They did not see her as a terrified child, fresh from being abducted by a convict on parole that her mother had put into jail years before her birth. It was the day that she first showed signs of metalbending as she broke off the chains the bound her. She was seven.

They did not see her stay up late as a teenager, waiting on the roof of one of the buildings in Air Temple island, scouring the horizon in the hopes that her mother might be coming home soon from a raid.

They did not see her collapse after returning to headquarters, after being beaten up (close to death) as a police captain caught in a turf war, getting more heat because of her ancestry. (”Bonus points in taking the metal woman down - her mother is the esteemed chief of police!” One of the fire-bending hooligans had spat.).

They did not see her weep neither did they hold her in their arms after a particularly difficult day on her job. She had murmured to him that she will never want to put a child, her child, in dangerous situations just because of the consequence of having her a mother. That would have been selfish. It was simply not an option.

Her (their) decision not to have children was publicly discussed and dissected. More than once, the usually calm Tenzin had blown up at the press to leave them alone. These only resulted in new heated rumors published the next day that he was probably selecting Air Acolytes across the Air Temples to impregnate to repopulate the Air Nation. If anything, while he was infuriated, Tenzin was glad to see Lin laugh out loud upon reading about it in the paper. His eldest brother Bumi had even called over just to check its veracity, volunteering to scout the United Republic in the next years in search for thick-eyebrowed large-nosed airheads cooped up in libraries across the temples.

Tenzin also dealt with the aftermath of these public set-downs once they returned to their home in Republic City. He would willingly offer the reassurance that only he can give her at her most vulnerable.

Even as the last airbender, Tenzin would do anything to make his metalbender happy.

-----

Satiated and relaxed, the couple adjusted their position on the couch, with Tenzin airbending the throw blanket over them. He noticed Lin fingering the letter from the Southern Water Tribe again.

“It’s just that - they’re asking us to move to the South Pole for the duration of Korra’s training.”

Lin raised her eyebrows at this. “Oh.” 

“But no,” Tenzin moved to put an arm around her as she sat in his embrace. “I wouldn’t want to uproot you. It’s not for a few more years; we’ll figure something.” He distractedly finished the rest of the peaches and cream from the crystal bowl. Between the two of them, he was the one with the sweet tooth. “I could start training Oogi for frequent long distance trips to the South Pole, if only to ready him for my frequent back-and-forth to you in Republic City.”

The sound of the scraping of the spoon against the bowl echoed in the companionable silence.

“Or, Tenzin, maybe - what if,” Lin played with the smoothness of the blanket. “You invite her to Air Temple Island?” She avoided his inquisitive gaze. “I mean, we can reinstate the White Lotus around the temple for security and prepare the island for airbending training. You’ve probably have enough in the coffers for a refurbishment on the Island, given that it’s been a while since your family lived there. But those would be best put into use in rebuilding the other temples; I have enough money to add from the Beifong inheritance, we could use that - it will be my home too, you know -.” She was interrupted by a tight embrace and a kiss.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” The response he got was just a laugh. “But, really, are you sure about this?” He rubbed her side gingerly, taking care not to hit any of her bruises.

“Of course,” Lin grinned at him. “But you better start training again - sounds like this Korra would be a tough kid to manage.” She patted his chest.

“Train you say?” Tenzin had a glint in his eye. “Why don’t we start now,” He picked up his surprised wife as he carried her in the direction of their bedroom. “Let’s get you all limbered up and flexible then let’s give your sister a call so I can give her a blow-by-blow account on how you need not be a dancer to limber up.” Laughter trailed behind him as Lin made sure to metalbend their door close.

Yes, they treasured quiet Friday nights at home like this.

=====

Related:

Follow-up fanfic: The Airbender’s Wife:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4

[linnoya-writes]

KaTaang vs. Zutara: on the basis of Cultural Imbalance.

Despite how much the ATLA showrunners do mental gymnastics to tell us Katara was totally fine being with the Avatar without taking a second to wonder how that would affect her personal wants/needs, it’s still apparent that the relationship had a cultural imbalance.

Everything about the narrative post-ATLA implies that Katara at some point had to set aside her dying Southern WaterTribe customs and focus on Aang’s practically extinct customs.  Just as an example, see Katara’s behavior in The Rift comic, compared to Toph’s, when it comes to following traditions unquestionably.  She supported Aang’s traditions and customs without even understanding where they were coming from, or wondering if they were outdated or went against things she believed in.

Also, to put things more in perspective about a woman of the SWT being with a young monk from the Air Temples...  

Imagine, for a moment, that you were from a meat-eating culture and starting a relationship with someone whose not only a strict vegetarian... but someone who has a strong, deeply-rooted religious set of principles on how they see living creatures, conflict, and the universe in general-- not to mention, the only person in the world left behind to preserve and pass on this ancient way of life.

Yeah.

No way could Katara ever eat meat, or wear furs, or hang pelts in their house.

If anything, she would have her own separate SWT room to honor those things in her own private time.  If she’s lucky, she would share these things with Kya and Bumi but definitely not Tenzin.  Aang would not want his next of kin around anything that would taint the air-benders’ way of life.  (It’s implied in Legend of Korra that Tenzin’s cultural upbringing was strictly air-nomad, too.)

Let’s not deny it; Katara was proud of her SWT heritage -- we see her passionately demonstrating so in episodes like “Imprisoned,” “Bato of the Southern Water Tribe,” and “The Puppetmaster” -- and there’s no convincing me that the Katara we saw in ATLA wouldn’t have fought hard to play an active part of the SWT cultural reconstruction, keeping those traditions alive not just in her homeland but in her own everyday life.  I have a hard time believing that Katara and Aang didn’t fight at least once about this.  

And you better believe that things got worse when they started having kids.  

By then, Katara would be trapped in a relationship with the Avatar and the Last Airbender, internally dealing with the auto-forfeiture of her culture.

Furthermore, exploring the concept of parenting, Aang didn’t grow up with parents.  He didn’t “get” the concept of co-parenting between a mom and dad.  He didn’t really stay at the temples long enough to understand discipline - Gyatso seemed to go pretty easy on him on that regard.  All Aang knew was mentorship from the monks, learning to deal with community and conflict in a peaceful, non-consequential way.  Aang ran away at the age where he should have started learning about accountability and responsibilities... but he won the arrested-developmental lottery when he met Katara.

Katara was always vouching for Aang’s decisions, defending his behaviors, protecting his child-like innocence.  Aang was comforted in this notion that Katara would always be there, at his side, with everything.  She would always be there to physically and emotionally “pick up after him”.  Katara groomed Aang to focus only on his duty as the Avatar and whatever he personally wanted/needed, setting aside her own needs and keeping any possible opposing opinions to herself. (This is grossly apparent with their behavior in the post-ATLA comics.). 

This is the kind of behavior that validates why Katara’s character in Legend of Korra is placed in the sidelines, all of a sudden... only seen as the Avatar’s wife and mother to the Avatar’s children.  She doesn’t carry an identity enough in the narrative to be praised by any of her accomplishments other than what she did for the Avatar. 

(Yeah, Katara was a healer, and she did outlaw blood-bending... but did that really do anything?  She wasn’t able to heal Korra either time she attempted to do so, and blood-bending was running rampant despite the outlaw.  Plus, this is just a fraction of what Katara’s passion in the original show could’ve shown us.  Our girl could’ve moved mountains for the new world, had her narrative been able to carry its own weight outside of the Avatar’s narrative.)

Compare all of that to Zuko, who understood fatherhood and learned about the qualities of kind, loving father thanks to his time with Uncle Iroh.  He learned about the qualities of a healthy, supportive relationship based on partnership and honesty... because let’s be real: Zuko spent enough time with Sokka/Suki to know that was not the kind of relationship he had with Mai.

Zuko and Katara understood each other, communicated honestly and openly, and respected their wants/needs without forcing any ideas or principles on them.  Zuko learned to respect and appreciate the SWT culture because of what his people did trying to conquer it... and I strongly believe he would help bring that nation back to fruition.  

And, Katara and Zuko both come from meat-eating cultures.

Of course, Aang would feel hurt and bitter about Katara choosing Zuko at the end of the story... but I still imaging Aang growing out of that attachment, finally seeing what Katara wants and needs.  He would support that relationship of his two best friends. The most selfless people he ever met.  His mom, and his dad.

[ebhenah]

ATLA, LOK and Aang as a Dad- a parent’s perspective.

I’ve been seeing some comments about how LOK did a disservice to Aang in how it portrayed his parenting- or more accuartely, how his children remembered his parenting. It makes me sad that people don't seem to realize that the show wasn't saying he played favorites. That was the perception of his children in a large part because of the time and attention given to (and arguably required for) nurturing the gifts and talents of the very rare air-benders. 

Shockingly, children's perception of their parents are not always accurate. I have no doubt that Aang adored all of his children- but they were three very different personalities, with very different needs, different learning styles, different talents, different goals and dreams and fears and flaws. Aang was the Avatar, but he was also an imperfect human just like anyone else. There are going to be people that make more or less sense to him. There are going to be people that he finds it easier to teach, to understand, to support, and to nurture. 

Most parents of multiple kids find that they resonate differently with them. It's not about loving one more than the others, it's simply that children are not cookie cutters. Each parent-child relationship is unique. It's sad and poignant that they were unable to deal with the hurt they carried from their childhood with their father before they lost him, but that is how life works sometimes. 

I have 3 kids- 2 are a lot like me, and their brains make sense to me. I know how to reach them and we share interests. The other child is not much like me at all, and we don't hang out as much, but I love them every bit as fiercely as their siblings. They amaze me and surprise me all the time and I am beyond proud of them. Kids need a wide range of things from us as they grow up. Sometimes, those needs conflict and parents end up having to prioritize one child's needs temporarily for reasons that don't make sense to the kids and just hope that it all balances out in the long run. 

Aang and Katara clearly loved their children. We see the legacy of that love in how they treat their own loved ones. Sometimes, sadly, love doesn't translate very well through disparate love languages. "Easy" children can feel ignored and forgotten compared to louder, more demanding siblings. "Challenging" children can feel like their parents see them as too much work. Shy kids of outgoing parents can feel like they get lost in the shuffle. Outgoing children of shy parents can feel isolated and lonely. Athletic children of artistic parents and artistic children of athletic parents can feel like they aren't understood or appreciated. 

Beyond that, people experience shared interactions differently, so a passing comment made my a tired or stressed out parent might cut much deeper than they ever know. A human mistake like a broken promise or not being able to afford something the child wants can stick with a kid. 

Parents (even Aang) are just people. 

No one can be all things to all people. No one is perfect. We change and grow and learn. We screw up and fall short and overreact. It happens... and it has almost nothing to do with how much we love our kids. We can be great parents 90% of the time and still our children will remember the 10% of the time that we weren't what they needed.

I don’t think it is all that surprising that Bumi and Kya feel like Tenzin got more attention. Tenzin was the baby of the family and it is a common refrain of older siblings that the baby of the family got more attention, fewer punishments, and generally treated differently. A big part of the reason that is such a frequent complaint is that parents learn. Parenting has a steep learning curve, and the big screw-ups carry the potential to have huge consequences. Over and above the fact that we tend to get better at something the longer we’ve been doing it (like caring for children), our life situations change over time. For example- my eldest sometimes complained that my younger children have a more constant/stable home and get more attention than he did at the same age. This is because when he was that age I was still in the workforce and we were still renting apartments with roommates, and since then we’ve settled into a family home and I no longer work outside the home. Those external changes allowed for major shifts in how I parent. Kya’s comment to Tenzin that he was the only one who travelled with Aang in response to his fond memories of ‘vacationing’ with their father is no doubt true, but doesn’t automatically prove favoritism. Bumi appears to be about a decade older than Tenzin. By the time Tenzin was old enough to be forming those memories, Bumi and Kya very likely had busy, bustling lives that would be disrupted if they travelled with Aang. Friends, schooling, hobbies... roots. Some children don’t travel well. Additionally, the world very likely needed different things from the Avatar when he started his family than it did over a decade later.

And, let’s not forget that Aang was literally the only person who could teach Tenzin how to access and hone his air-bending. When faced with the conflict of being needed in another part of the world but also needing to be available and present to train his air-bending son “bring the kid along” is the only real solution- but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t feel like he was choosing one kid over the other to the children, themselves. Even if they understood on a logical level, the hurt and resentment could still linger.

Legend of Korra could be (and likely is) very accurately portraying how Aang's children remember him without that meaning that Aang was a bad father or that he played favorites, because there was an entire lifetime that happened, and the things that hurt are the things they need to heal from. His children are not going to remember every single time that nothing bad happened to them, because those periods are normal and boring.

They were raised by parents who had gone through a lot of traumatic stuff at a very young age and who were always under extreme pressure and scrutiny. They grew up in a world that was recovering from war, genocide, and oppression, and was reforging itself into something new and better. They were surrounded by people who idolized their parents and saw them as larger than life. Whether the kids were aware of it or not, they also grew up in a world where they were at risk of being targetted because of who their parents were. That risk likely factored into many of the decisions Aang and Katara made about who went where when. (IE- keeping one child safe during travels is a lot easier than keeping three of them safe. Taking care of two children while your spouse is travelling is easier than juggling the needs of three of them.) All things considered, if the worst parental baggage Bumi and Kya carry with them decades later is that the two of them feel like their father loved them but he loved the child with talents that tied him to his own childhood, his own culture, and every loved one he had before they were massacred a little bit more then I think Aang probably did an exemplary job as a father.

[loopy777]

I suppose it's a difference between cultural views, and personal experiences. In my country(or at least within the parts and communities of it i grew up in) it's basically accepted as fact that there will always be a favorite in a family with more kids. Like... its ubiquitous, and everything i've seen over the course of 30 years on the earth has told me that regardless of what parents say, it simply is human nature that one kid will be the favorite, to a lesser or greater extent. The only thing that's different is to what degree one kid is favored over the others.

Of course, who said favorite is, is always a matter of debate within families. Within my direct family, of my mother's 3 children, i would say it was my brother, my brother said it was my sister, and my sister said it was my brother, but has probably changed opinion over to saying it was me due to some developments and personal fallouts.

I get though, how other cultures and countries have very different opinion on the matter, and how it makes them judge the idea that aang(probably unconciously) had a kid he gave more attention than the others, way more harshly than i do.

...then again, related to how you pointed out, this was made with very deliberate intention, by americans, who's values probably alligns more along the lines of your views than mine, so who the hell knows.

Regardless, i think we can both agree that the way it was actually handled made Aang seem WAY more directly and blatantly favoring Tenzin, is simply far, far too unbelievable when compared to everything else we know about him and his personality.

Also, something else that struck me, is that there is also the age factor to take into consideration.

Tenzin is far and away the youngest of his siblings, with both the other two being considerably older than he is, meaning that even if Aang was the most perfect parent in the world, Tenzin would still get a lot more attention than his big siblings as the baby of the family... But with how the subplot was written, i honestly think the writers didnt consider that fact when having his other siblings pick on him for being daddy's golden boy.

Honestly, it would have been absolutely hilarious if they talked about all of this with Katara, and she revealed that what actually happened was that the reason Aang took tenzin on more trips than the others, is because when they became moody teens, they stopped wanting to go on field trips with dad anymore(while Tenzin did), and they had conveniently rewritten that part out of their own recollection of events... But i really doubt thats what they were going for.

Yeah, there's just no way to work this story so that someone doesn't come across as a complete jerk. XD

Interesting point about favored children in different contexts, but at least in my experience, while parents are certainly human and could like one child more than the others, it's considered the worst kind of parenting to let the children perceive it. It also certainly doesn't help that Aang is favoring the child who matches his own ethnic identity, making him look kinda racist and a Bender-supremacist. If I had to pick a child for Aang to favor, it would be Bumi, who actually seems to sometimes know how to have fun in a way that doesn't involve bullying people, so that it's at least about compatible personalities.