#aang slander

[ceruleanwhore]

Aang As a Father, in Response to LoK

⚠️CAUTION⚠️

This post is full of Aang and kataang hate. If you like Aang and/or ship kataang in any capacity, scroll on for the sake of your mental and emotional wellbeing. Thank you!

When Avatar: Legend of Korra came out, I remember there being tons of discussion around how much Aang sucked as a father and how surprised everyone was, even some of us who never really liked him as a character. However, I’ve been thinking about it today, and the conclusion I’ve reached is that not only is it not surprising that Aang was not a very good parent, but it was inevitable. The one thing I disagree on that I’ll get to at some point in here is how he sucked at parenting in canon as opposed to how I think he was set up to fail at it given the direction he was headed with his canon characterization.

I’d like to start by getting into that characterization and discussing some of the elements of Aang’s canon personality that I think are relevant. In the series, yes, as we all know and as Aang stans love to point out ad nauseum, he’s just a mere bitty child, but we can also see some of his flaws that, even in his 12-year-old self, have some serious consequences at times. Canon Aang is a messy cocktail of toxic positivity, selfishness, avoidant tendencies, impulsivity, and a dangerous lack of emotional control. He does things like casually throw away the fate of the whole world over his god-given right to have a crush on a girl and then, in the next season, compare that same girl’s experience of losing her mother to his radically different experience of losing his pet for a couple weeks as he tells her to get over it. He also has a tendency to go into the freaking avatar state when he’s upset about something and cause serious damage to everything around him until Mommy calms him down. Even when he doesn’t go into the avatar state, he does things like verbally abuse his friends and abandon them in the desert when Appa goes missing.

All of this is completely relevant to who a hypothetical adult Aang would be and what he’d be like because, all throughout the series, there is never any accountability from Aang. He literally never takes responsibility for the things he does and makes amends or even just apologizes in a meaningful way because he never has to — the narrative makes sure of that. That’s the key part of Aang’s flaws, that Bryke genuinely thought they made a perfect good guy and had nary a crumb of self awareness that they accidentally made him a raging asshole who is constantly being rewarded for his shitty behavior. Even when he’s clearly in the wrong, like with the Bato situation in s1, they somehow turn it around so yeah, I guess he fesses up and apologizes but, at the end of the episode, Sokka and Katara are apologizing to him and there’s no lasting consequences for the shitty thing he did. Because of this crucial element of the story and Aang’s character, it is very likely that he’d go his whole life being a dickhead while continuing to never have consequences for that and somehow managing to maintain his friendships and relationship with Katara.

I want to kind of go through these one at a time, starting with the lack of accountability. Since Aang is the avatar, literally no one in the whole world of atla actually has authority over him, at least once he’s an adult. His peers are his equals but, even though Katara, Toph, and Zuko taught him his bending, they don’t really have any tangible authority over him as his teachers. Combine that with the fact that none of Aang’s friends really ever criticize him or hold him accountable for his actions and it becomes very clear that, as a father, he will never actually be held accountable for being a bad parent. What goes with this is that he also won’t be open to advice because he assumes he always knows best and the narrative also supports and rewards that. Between the two, he’s set up so that when he inevitably turns out to be a lousy father, there will be nothing anyone can say (assuming they would even say anything at all) to help him improve.

With this in mind, let’s start into the actual character flaws that, as concluded above, won’t be corrected at any point, starting with the toxic positivity. One of Aang’s most recognizable characteristics is his bright, cheery disposition which can be a good thing but also leads to him being very dismissive of anyone else’s problems or negative emotions. As a parent, he would never take his children’s problems seriously and would simply brush them off and tell his kids to practice detachment and just let go of whatever is bothering them, regardless of how serious the issue is or how much it matters to the kid. This will teach the kids both not to even try to bring their problems to at least one of their parents and also that any problem they have is actually inconsequential, so even when they do have really big, serious issues in life, they won’t be able to recognize it as such and get whatever help they might need. It also will convey to them that their own father just doesn’t really care about them, at least not enough to engage with them in any capacity about anything serious.

Next up is Aang’s selfishness. Throughout atla, we see time and time again that Aang struggles greatly with prioritizing literally anyone else over his own comfort and desires. He was more than willing to sacrifice the whole world for his ability to avoid having to engage in conflict and then, in season 2, he showed that he was 100% willing to sacrifice the whole world for his crush on Katara. It’s not just that he tends to thoughtlessly give into his impulses and desires without giving thought to how it affects others, it’s also that, because of who he is, that has the potential to cause immense damage and he still doesn’t care. As a father, he would always put himself before his wife and his children. He would treat Katara at least as badly and unfairly as he did in canon and his children would have the lovely experience of watching that and also growing up in a household where their wants and needs don’t really matter to their own father.

Another key factor when it comes to Aang’s personality is his avoidant tendencies. We see multiple times throughout the series just how far he’ll go to avoid doing things he doesn’t want to do, like preventing the world from complete destruction. In his household, I imagine he’d want no part of any of the real, ‘messy’ aspects of parenthood and would just have Katara do all those things. Anything to do with the mess of child care (changing diapers, cleaning up spit up, any sort of wound care for scraped knees, etc.), conflict resolution between quarreling siblings, or correction of misbehavior would fall to her. He, like plenty of real men, would only want to do the cute, fun parts of parenthood, like taking the kids to Disney, while making Mom the ‘bad guy’ who has to do all the real work. 

Then there’s also the impulsivity. Aang tends to get these ideas of things he wants to do and then, without any further thought, just goes and does them. This can be pretty harmless when it’s something like wanting to go penguin sledding and then going off and doing it but, as we’ve seen, there’s plenty of times where it isn’t, like when he hides Hakoda’s correspondence from Katara and Sokka in s1 because he’s feeling pissy. In parenthood, I think this is where we ended up with the unfair treatment showed in LoK because it’s his impulsivity driving it, but I don’t actually think he’d be out here treating his kids differently based on bending abilities, I think they’d all be pretty equally getting the short end of the stick from him. 

The way I see his impulsivity coming out with his family is either with grabbing the kids to go do something on a whim (like riding the elephant koi) or going off on his own or with Katara on some spur of the moment trip that leaves their kids alone or drags them away from home for weeks at a time with no notice. If they’d leave the kids alone while going off without them, that could lead to trauma around neglect and abandonment while, if they take the kids with them, the kids get stuck being dragged along and then ignored while Aang goes off to do all the stuff he’s there for that the kids weren’t really ever supposed to actually be part of. I think that, with stuff like this, the avoidance, and the toxic positivity, he’d think that he’s setting himself up to be the cool, fun dad with Katara being made out to be the ‘bad guy’ when, in truth, he’s out here fucking up his children and they’re going to know and hate him for it in the end.

The last part is the matter of his inability to regulate his emotions. It’s bad enough for anyone to have to sit there and watch as the same toxic positivity dickhead then struggles with anger issues he never even so much as apologizes for, but for his kids, I’m sure it’s unbearable. My dad has struggled with anger issues my whole life, as have I, but we take responsibility and we’ve both spent over two decades working on ourselves, trying to get better. Aang would never do that in any capacity. For his children, they’d get this environment where they can never be upset at all because it bothers Dad but then Dad can fly off into the fucking avatar state as soon as he’s even mildly inconvenienced. This model of ‘you being upset is just a little inconvenience you need to get over but when Dad’s upset it’s a huge deal and he’s actually allowed to be upset’ would be downright infuriating to live with and would definitely contribute to their children’s childhood trauma. It’s not just that you’re not allowed to be upset, it’s also that you always have to be walking on eggshells trying not to set this guy off.

Another thing I would add to this last point is something I learned from my family that I think is relevant here. My dad genuinely thought he was totally normal and didn’t have any anger issues until my brother and I were born, and he also was always really great with other people’s kids and never had problems there until he was working on the railroad with two babies at home. Yes, we’ve already seen Aang’s anger issues in canon, but I would also speculate that his mood and stuff would get worse once Tenzin’s born. This could either lead to him being absent for most of the kids’ early childhoods as he’d just avoid being around them if they’re triggering him or his anger issues could get worse and more prevalent once there’s kids in the mix. Either would be detrimental to his children’s mental health.

So I guess my point here is that LoK having it so Aang’s whole issue with fatherhood is that he treated his kids unequally doesn’t really cover the ways in which he’s set up to be a terrible father. I really don’t think favortism would even be an issue (I think all 3 kids would get dragged around to air nomad stuff, not just Tenzin) but Lord knows there’s other issues to be considered here. As a father, Aang would be selfish, impulsive, dismissive, thoughtless, and hypocritical as well as probably struggling with completely unchecked anger issues. His children would have trauma because of him and they would hate him, but not because he would leave two behind while dragging the eldest around on vacations. The cherry on top of the shit sundae of Aang’s fatherhood is that he would have no self awareness whatsoever as all of this would go unchecked by his wife and friends, so he would genuinely believe that he’s a good, fun, loving father all the way up to the moment of his death.

#anti aang #aang critical #aang slander #aang salt #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #avatar meta #atla meta

[hadesisqueer]

Avatar Wan created the Avatar Cycle

Avatar Szeto unified the Fire Islands

Avatar Yangchen kept peace in all nations

Avatar Kuruk battled dark spirits

Avatar Kyoshi stabilized the Earth Kingdom and stopped Chin the Conqueror

Avatar Roku

Avatar Aang ended the Hundred Year War and helped create a new nation

Avatar Korra brought back the spirits and helped rebuild the Air Nation

#avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #kyoshi novels #avatar aang #avatar korra #avatar yangchen #avatar kyoshi #avatar kuruk #avatar wan #avatar roku #avatar szeto #roku slander is so funny tbf i wonder what he even did in his time we need more of him

[zukkaart]

Aang: I need an elite group of bending masters to help me save the world

Korra: *picks up the three sexiest bitches she can find* nice

#and she was so real for that #I support her #I love Korra #I will not stand for Korra slander #avatar the last airbender #atla #lol #the gaang #the krew #legend of Korra #Korra #aang

[katy-89]

the way avatar fandom would let zutaras live in their delusion if they weren’t freaks about the ship, aang, katara and mai

oh well

#aang #avatar the last airbender #atla #katara #mai #anti zutara #anti zutara stans #the slander is 100% deserved

[comradekatara]

there's a post going around about how katara is misunderstood by fans who claim that she "whines too much about her mother" and "unfairly friendzoned aang" and how people who say that are doing a disservice to such a great character. and obviously i agree. even though i've never actually seen anyone say those things firsthand, i'm positive that they do, and it is a gross misinterpretation of her character. i'm glad people are defending her from slander. but i also can't help but feel disappointed by that post, because in an attempt to defend her from bogus allegations, they end up actually reducing her themselves. and that makes me so sad, because katara would not actually be as special and wonderful as she is without her flaws. of course, her response to aang's affection and the way she brings up her mother are not flaws, but she does have them. they're what make her such a good character! putting her on a pedestal is just as reductive as calling her whiny or whatever.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose (sic) been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

okay so the thing is... i do think katara is kinda right when she says this line. it's cruel, but it's not exactly wrong. katara has placed so much of her identity into kya's sacrifice. perhaps sokka and katara loved their mother equally, but they did not grieve her equally, they did not feel the same loss. kya's death was personal to katara in a way it was not to sokka, and in that moment, when she says that, it's upsetting, but understandable.

that said, katara gets to be insensible, reckless, and childish constantly. it's a cornerstone of her character. that doesn't mean that she isn't often reasonable, practical, sensitive, and comforting, but that's not all she is. she's a kid and she acts like it! her immaturity, raw emotion, and anger are some of her defining characteristics. we see those wonderful traits of hers as early as the pilot, and they never go away. so i'm confused by the claim that she is denied that. she just simply isn't.

she's also not the only one who is thrust into adulthood. even if you ignore azula, since she's a villain, we literally see hakoda say to sokka multiple times that he left sokka behind to care for and protect katara and their village. and sokka takes that very seriously. he and kanna face down katara and aang in episode one chastising katara for being irresponsible enough to accidentally send a flare that locates the fire nation to their village. sokka tells katara that she put them in danger and kanna says "sokka is right." katara tells sokka that he's making a mistake, but he says, "no, i'm keeping my promise to dad. to protect you." sokka's mentality is one of protecting katara, of being responsible for her, for his village, and then aang, and later toph. he was thrust into adulthood at 13 when he was "the only man" left in the tribe. i don't understand how anyone could see that and say that katara was the only one forced to grow up too fast. she was forced to grow up too fast, and it's tragic, but she also clings to her innocence and childhood, and that's an integral aspect of her character. why would you erase that?

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

lmao i don't really think people understand the complexities of azula and sokka. zuko, yes, definitely, much ink has been spilled on zuko's strife. but if you know where to look, people write about katara as much as they write about azula and sokka, which is to say, not as much as they do zuko, but nonetheless a fair amount.

she is given time to process her trauma, though. she talks about her trauma constantly. not in a whiny way, but in the sense that her grief defines her in many ways, and since she is the main character, arguably on equal standing with aang, her trauma is explored a lot throughout the show. she certainly discusses it with more than simply zuko (who immediately goes on to betray her). she does have that beautiful scene with hakoda, but she also talks about her trauma to aang, jet, haru, hama, and of course sokka. she never talks about it directly with toph, but sokka talks about her to toph.

the idea that aang and sokka cannot empathize with her grief is actually pretty absurd. aang knows what it's like to be the chosen one, to be the last of your people and expected to carry the weight of your entire culture on your back. sokka knows what it's like to lose their parents (they lost. the same parents) and be expected to replace that parent and bear their legacy (even if with sokka he is attempting to replace hakoda while katara is attempting to replace kya). and just because zuko is the only one who bears the guilt of knowing that his mother sacrificed herself for him in the same way that kya sacrificed herself for katara, doesn't mean that aang and sokka are completely blind to her grief. they do want to help and support her. helping and supporting katara is sokka's number one priority at all times. and although katara's support is invaluable to aang, that doesn't mean that their relationship is all giving and no receiving. he also supports her. he inspires her and helps her and would do anything for her. yes he's kind of awkward when it comes to navigating his feelings for her, but he's also twelve years old. and he's not a selfish monster. katara would not love him (platonically or romantically) if he were.

the idea that sokka isn't put in the position of being a substitute for everyone's parent but katara is doesn't make sense to me either. if anything, they take on equal responsibilities. and okay. sokka does not actually say that he sees his sister as a mother, but i do understand why that is a common interpretation of his speech in "the runaway." i just don't think it really makes sense to say that considering he never actually treats her like a mother. if he does see her as a mother, then why does he always treat her like a little sister? i'm not going to repeat my take on this scene since i've already discussed it enough, so just read this post.

^guy who sees his little sister, who is the most responsible girl in the world and never does anything reckless or irresponsible in the name of justice (no sir!), as his mom

i know i've talked about this before, but it makes me really sad when people diminish katara's character in a misguided attempt to defend her from racists/misogynists who unfairly malign her character. she should be defended, by all means, but erasing the traits that make her interesting and good, at sokka and aang's expense no less, is not the way to defend her. she is worthy of praise, but there is no need to remove entire chunks of her character and slander other characters to do so. i want more posts lauding katara for how amazing her character is, but i want those posts to be accurate. she deserves to be appreciated for her flaws as well as her virtues. she deserves to be honored properly.

#id in alt text #katara #this isnt really analysis it's more like #hot takes #sokka #aang #hakoda #katara&sokka #aang&katara #why cant ppl ever just defend and praise katara #w/o acting like she's some flawless mother who never makes mistakes #as if that would not make her a bad character. if she were. #sad!!!!!!! #sokka slander? also sad! #it's all. SAD

[the--firevenus]

Defending aang on the Internet is not enough. I need a gun.

#Wym it's almost two decade atla release and my boy still get unnecessary slander #Free him??? FREE MY BOY????? #I mean like I know aang slander is not new but also like wtf y'all drinking to get to the conclusion that you did huh #venus rambling #atla #aang #One more person call him an incel and or deadbeat father I will run to your house and shake you in the blender

[mantees]

okay look I get that op’s tone and delivery in their tweets makes them look like a phsyco but let’s be real here they’re not that far off… kishi would rather kill himself than write one happy moment between skra and sasuke so I don’t see why op’s getting flamed

#DON’T LET THEM SILENCE YOU #one of the users slandering op is someone I follow but I’ll let it slide coz they’re my fav aang defender sooo #anti sakura #anti sasusaku #pro sasuke

[transboysokka]

i get so annoyed at people who are like 'aang is so childish and immature in the beginning of the series'

like

yeah

thats the point

he's a kid who grew up to be a kid, full of innocence. he hasn't experienced anything really terrible yet, so he wants to go ride hopping llamas and elephant koi and play

contrast that with sokka, katara, and even zuko who were born into war and have experienced terrible things

they're not kids anymore

we're supposed to notice that because it really is so tragic

#AANG HAVING GROWN UP DURING A TIME OF PEACE informs his entire personality and character arc OKAY?? #i will not tolerate anymore aang slander lol #atla #text #aang

[jasontoddssuper]

This is their canon height difference right

#this is a zuko and aang friendship supremacy post if you slander aang this ain't for you and zuko hates you for picking on his bestie <3 #aang #zuko #aanglove #atla geekery #brotp:platonic soulmates #letters from summer

[everythingismadeof-cardboard]

Korra gets so much unnecessary hate it's almost humorous to watch her antis trip over themselves just to downplay all of her accomplishments

#like yalls hatred is SO LOUD #just let people enjoy things #if you dont like her or her show just shut up and LEAVE #also can't we have a civilized convo/debate over her character without bringing up aang? #i get that he's her predecessor and past life and all but they are two different characters #who told different stories with different lessons #they cannot be compared #tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #atla #avatar aang #korra avatar #anti-korra #aang and korra #korra appreciation #korra slander

[scortchedtoast]

I like Aang better than Korra

#unpopular opinion here on this site I know but I'll stand in my truth #side note this video cracks me up everytime #the music is what gets me but when the camera cuts to candiace I lose it every time #Now this isn't any shade to Korra I love her but lets be forreal her character and the show in general was all over the place #I know I'm being a hypocrite cause I said i'm done with the atla and korra discourse and I am #but I need to voice my opinion theres too much aang slander

[thirstyvolleyballhoe]

I laugh when I see posts that imply Katara and/or Aang aren't bending prodigies of their own elements. Like hate to break it to y'all, but in the bending side of the gaang I'd say Zuko is the only one who isn't considered prodigious.

#and i love him for that #'ive never been a natural all i do is try try try' #that line was written for him actually #atla #avatar the last airbender #also esp aang #aang is literally the youngest airbender to get his tattoos #esp aang as in he gets way too much slander #and also for katara she just got a late start in learning how to actually properly waterbend since there was no one to teach her!!

[some-bear-out-there]

Damn, watching a fiIm theory about the Avatar universe (something that I know a lot about) makes me realize just how much M4tPat pulls out from nowhere or willfully ignores to make his point. Going to guess he didn't watch The Legend of Korra and he just skimmed the wiki.

#The Legend of korra #Legend of korra #I was yelling at the screen at some points #He really doesn't seem to like Korra and he loved putting Aang on a pedestal #��The non-bender issue is considered solved after Korra defeats Amon” #The political system of republic city changed to better represent non-benders #We see Korra do a great job at conflict resolution in books 3 and 4 which is kind of the avatar's job #Korra slander in 2023 is cringy

[zukkaart]

“This is amazing Roku! You’re battling a volcano! And you’re winning!”

Aang, my dear sweet love. You literally did that in the first season and managed to not die in the process. Be so real.

#this is a Roku slander account #lol #avatar the last airbender #atla #aang #avatar Aang #Roku #avatar Roku #the avatar

[lifewtr]

Sunday to Sunday | M for Mature | 1/15

Summary: Aang and Zuko need a tour guide. They find love instead.

Zuko blinks when he scrolls again and is met with digital resistance. Aside from the links provided at the bottom, that’s it; that’s the entirety of the website. Still, as minimalist as the website is, Zuko finds that the simplicity of it has only enticed his curiosity to grow. In no time he has tapped through the TOURS tab, encouraged instantly toward the ABOUT page after finding quite a few activities that he hadn’t seen on any of the previous travel agency sites.

ABOUT YOUR HOST, the page reads under a thin banner of well photographed foliage, Captain K. Kyason of the SWTCG has maintained the ultimate command and control of The Blue Diamond vessel for over 7 years, and has been offering private, personalized tours of Nunavi in cooperation with the Congress of Ingchi Island, Center for Research in Energy and Environment (CREE), and the Beifong International House of Customs (BIHC) for over 5.

Captain K. Kyason is a postgraduate alumnus of Yang University of the Northern Water Tribe. The Captain is also a lover of food, a lover of art, and a proud fan of the Kyoshi Warriors.

Zuko pauses, both admiration and amusement starting to bubble in his chest. While the host of Get Lost’s ‘about me’ section is full of the exact kind of charm that Aang is a sap for, he is far more impressed by the affiliated institutions that have been listed. Yet, he absolutely can’t lie to himself about his intrigue on the more charming parts of the Captain’s narrative: the Kyoshi Warriors are good but he is more of a Sun Warrior guy, and he most definitely could debate about it. What kind of food and what kind of art? How does one achieve postgrad completion while actively operating under one of the world’s most prudent military branches?

What is a captain from the Southern Coast Guard doing selling private tours of some tiny island in the Southern Isles of the Air Nation?

[Read the full chapter on AO3!] / [@zutaraangtastic]

#zutaraangweek #zutaraangweek2022 #zutaraang #zutaraang fic #atla #atla fic #avatar the last airbender #zuko x aang #aang x katara #katara x zuko #what it says on the bloody tin #behold by og atla ot3 #no i am not accepting criticism at this time #nor slander >_> #thanks for coming to my ted talk #[i wrote 8k overnight after not knowing it was zka week somebody take google docs away from me] #[15 chapters are u fucking kidding me????? i'm beating my own ass] #atla fanfic

[starthem]

avatar: the last airbender is so full of easily understandable themes and morals and so many of y’all willfully ignore them! stop being stupid

#if i have to see one more shipping discourse thing imma lose it #or posts slandering katara and saying shes annoying #tell me you dont understand how 5 man bands work without telling me you dont understand how 5 man bands work #'anti aang' bitch! get off tumblr #atla