"You were just not meant to be an Airbender, Bumi. . ."
ART BY @yikes-kachowski
This drawing has me in a choak-hold, Istg, the artstyle, the emotion in Bumi's face, the way he painted the Air Nomad tattoo ink onto his skin to feel less of a failure.
I feel Bumi would see himself as a failure and try to make up for that in other ways. He just feels he'll never compare to anyone, especially Kya and Tenzin since Katara focuses on teaching his sister waterbending and Aang focuses and teaching his brother Airbending.
He feels he doesn't amount to much and isn't as loved as his other siblings - pushed aside and left to his own thing.
I always thought Bumi would go through a Rebellious phase where he would run off and hang around the wrong people, being well aware their not the right people for him to be around but they make him feel accepted and worth something.
Or in another case he spends all his day training for the United Nations, thinking unless he pushes himself past his limits he'll never get anywhere, wearing himself out to the point he's physically and emotional tired.
Just imagine a young Bumi, after spending hours of training in different fields, trying with his fists and swords or other combat weapons and his fists being bruised and bloody - sitting alone in his room as he contemplates his next session and what he can do to improve.
Then, in walks Kya. She's staring at how beaten up he looked. Bumi looked up at her, his knee bouncing as he just exchanged a silent look with her, a cut on his cheek from his sword fighting practice. He looks tired. He sniffed, wiping some blood from his nose as he now avoids her eyes.
Tenzin comes to find his elder siblings for dinner, raising his brow at Kye before looking into Bumi's room himself.
Bumi refuses to look up at them, feeling their stare, the same stare his parents gave him when he was younger and covered himself in the light blue ink, tears falling down his face.
"You were just not meant to be an Airbender, Bumi."
Aang said softly, kneeling down and putting his hand in Bumi's shoulder before glancing back at Katara, frowning at his wife.
"How about you wash up for dinner, sweetie?" Katara suggested, standing at the door, holding Tenzin in her arms.
Bumi didn't answer and looked down, clenching his fists as he looked at him. Bumi feels his fathers hand move away and shuts his eyes tightly as Aang leaves the room and then looked up at the mirror as the door shut, blue ink falling down his forehead as he sniffled and hiccuped.
Bumi looked up at them, narrowing his eyes and his brow before getting up, storming towards the door and slamming it in his siblings face.
He grits his teeth before sliding down against the door, pulling his knees to his chest and sobbing.
