Ya know I'm one of the first to admit that generically made main characters meant to hold a series and not be too challenging suck.

I also think I'm taking this too personally.

But it really often seems like in Avatar fandom Aang is considered a bother or a millstone. This is even when not going against Zutara.

I recently did a search for Zuko, then Aang, and then Zutara on deviantart. I found out that while Zuko was ahead it was by less than a third. Zutara had over nineteen-thousand hits. This fandom has been busy.

I'm just weirded out that it seems people are so quick to discard the character of Aang.

That said, I feel I've contributed to a lie that people interested in Zuko and the fandom as a whole hates Aang. Its more that they love Zuko and don't fangirl Aang as much, or enough in my opinion.

I suppose I can guess why this is. I've even advocated against my personal preferences for why. But the things that make me like Zuko as a character seem to never be present in the presentation of Zuko in fandom. His mistakes aren't his. He isn't cruel or murderous or kinda pathetic. He's woobified tremendously. The thing is I love how Aang's been developed as a character and even a child chosen one, especially as one. I am often saddened that AUs and multiple artworks based on his show are centered towards eliminating him from the narrative entirely or reducing him to a plot device or mascot (from say Arthur Pendragon to Nobita Nobi) for the fighting of the war.

Part of it is that, yes, Aang only really works if you take the story conceits of Avatar in as fact for a story whereas Zuko works in more places. The problem is that most characters are made subservient to the Zuko's story (he rapidly loses sympathy or even cohension otherwise with the prior Avatarverse alterings) and that makes me sad. It feels like rather than something well made and unique people would rather have more of what they can get anywhere. It has also made me disappointed with fandom which has fallen into patterns than exploring new and interesting flavors and ideas in the idea's own proposed conditions.

We have this interesting character. He's young, well traveled, gifted and trained while pressed into duty with an amazingly mature but positive take on childhood and its demands with an actual spirituality as well as hopes and dreams, tragedy and triumphs. All this and very little if no Adults Are Morons. They aren't effective but less worse than anyone in the presence of the hero.

Instead it seems essays and a number of fans are all about his flaws and implausibilities as to Zuko or even Katara when she's made sure to be paired, and thus parred down while so, to be with The Fire Prince. The interplay with Aang and Katara is wonderful seeing how it could expand or be altered and grow fascinates me at different parts of their journey. A slow and growing relationship of multiple meanings and levels. Some just don't like it, others find it implausible to a point they don't want to speak on it, and others just think it is wrong even to a degree approaching immorality. One AU that eliminated the Avatar as a whole just decided to make every single named like the Fire Nation.

I remember thinking how people liked Ranma 1/2 back before people would never think of effeminate traits let alone genderbending being cool for a comic hero and just learned and rolled with the idea. But Aang as a protagonist seems something they can't accept and won't budge on except as merely in the form of a tool or someone they can't emotionally invest in. Its not just that there are arguments. Its the style of them. the undermining, the dismissing, the invalidating. Creepy.

I think Aang is truly remarkable well made character. That he's openly declared as special and is competent but not without limits or lackings. He makes mistakes that I can both blame and forgive him for. It feels as though fandom has decided despite all the elements they see and want Zuko to have are within The Avatar they dislike him. And it always seems to circle around the fact they don't want him as the main character. They don't want him really winning the war and restoring the balance without the "real reason" involving Zuko. And they don't want him winning in love or even acknowledging his lovestory unless its to say its over, gone, lost, and was a failure.

I just never found Zuko that attractive. More into Iroh myself and even I can see why he won't save the world he just doesn't believe it requires what Aang is going to be doing.