OKAY I’m new to the atla fandom but I’ve seen this concept around and I love it SO MUCH so here’s my own take on it!
Ty Lee is descended from the Air Nomads on her mother’s side. Her father’s side of the family is Fire Nation
Her great-grandmother escaped the massacre at the Eastern Air Temple, and went into deep hiding in the Earth Kingdom. She eventually married and had children, and then grandchildren (one of whom was Ty Lee’s mother). Since multiple births ran in the family, there was always at least a few of the kids who got the Air Nomad traits
By the time Ty Lee and her sisters were born, the family had been hiding their Air Nomad heritage for so long that it was simply never discussed
Ty Lee didn’t find out until she was about thirteen. Her grandmother was dying, and she spent a lot of time with her in those final days. The old woman babbled a lot about ‘the old days,’ and the more she listened, the more Ty Lee pieced together. By the time her grandmother died, her head was spinning
She spent a lot of time looking at herself in the mirror, examining her eyes, the shape of her face, thinking about how her hair was so much lighter than Mai’s and Azula’s, wondering how she’d never put it together before
She didn’t tell anyone. Not even her sisters. Partly because she was scared of what might happen if word got out about it, and partly because she wanted to keep it as her personal secret. This was something else she could use to build her own identity, separate from her sisters (even though she knew deep down that it was part of their heritage too)
Though she never talked about it, thoughts of her Air Nomad heritage were never far from her mind. Every flip, tumble and trapeze stunt brought up the vague shape of the question she’d never dared to ask: airbending?
Ever since she started learning acrobatics, she’d been able to feel the air around her, flowing over her, twining through her hands
It wasn’t airbending, she told herself. Just the childish illusion that the air around her was helping her, supporting her leaps, cushioning her landings
Just because there was a breeze when she laughed and a cold gust when she cried and howling wind when she was angry… that didn’t mean anything. It was just coincidence. That was all…
She never dared to try control it. She wants to believe it would work if she did try, but she’d be heartbroken if she tried and found she couldn’t do it. And what if it did work? Then she’d be an airbender in the heart of the Fire Nation. What would Azula say? What would Azula do to her? Maybe nothing. But maybe not
Better to live in ignorant bliss
But there were times that she used it without knowing
Like when Katara and Toph trapped her in the slurry pipeline in The Drill. For a short while there she was being bombarded with rock and water and mud with no way out, but she found if she curled into a ball she could keep a tiny pocket of air around her head so that she could at least breathe
Post-canon, when Ty Lee joins the Kyoshi Warriors, she starts letting herself think more about her heritage and airbending
She does research in her spare time, reading everything she can find about the Air Nomads (not that there’s a lot left, but she tries)
As she learns how to use the fans of the Kyoshi Warriors, she feels the air around her more and more. She learns fast, letting the air guide her motions and mold her practice
Even with the turbulent emotions that follow the events at the end of the series, the mindfulness of the practice brings her a lot of peace
She starts bending without realising it
Her fan motions start creating huge bursts of wind. The air is more reactive to her emotions than ever before. Eventually she takes out the whole group during a training exercise, and she can’t deny it anymore
Suki contacts Aang, who turns up on Appa a few days later. He’s so excited, he’s losing his mind over the fact there’s another airbender. He can’t believe he didn’t see it before!
He offers to teach her all thirty-six forms of airbending, and the ways of the Air Nomads, if that’s something she’d want
A few years ago, she probably would have refused. But she’s not afraid any more. This is a new world, and she’s ready to embrace her freedom
As the Avatar, Aang has to travel a fair bit, but when they’re not travelling, they hang out at the Eastern Air Temple and train together
They fix the airball arena and play a game there at least once a day
The sky bison are long gone (wellll, maybe), but Aang teaches Ty Lee all about them, and when they travel, he teaches her how to fly with Appa
They find materials, and Ty Lee designs and builds her own glider. It’s pink, of course
She switches up her outfit a bit, including a few touches of red and orange Air Nomad fashion to her pink ensemble
(coincidentally her colour scheme becomes the lesbian flag, which she’s quite pleased with)
Aang had to practice a lot in secret, but after a while – once Ty Lee masters airbending – he offers to give her the traditional arrow tattoos of the airbending masters
It feels like she’s finally doing her grandmother proud, carrying on her lost legacy
By the way, Mai and some of the Gaang come to visit periodically while Ty Lee and Aang are away training. Ty Lee loves showing off her new skills every time someone visits, and Mai always expresses how proud she is of Ty Lee’s accomplishments (‘I know I said I don’t believe in auras, but even I can tell how pink yours is right now’)
Ty Lee gets her tattoos done between visits from people
When Mai sees Ty Lee next, her hair is short and choppy, still growing back, but she looks happier than ever, wearing her blue arrows with pride
She’s an airbender, and now everyone can know, and she wouldn’t have it any other way
Bonus: I found a wonderful bender picrew (https://picrew.me/image_maker/429812) by @pidgedee, and obviously couldn’t resist doing a lil Airbender!Ty Lee design (definitely needs more pink but CUTE!)
