Lil Badgermole

Not necessarily, no.

Even if Aang and Katara were the same age, or even if Aang was the older between the two, it wouldn't work for me, personally.

Canonically, we've seen Aang at the age of twelve, fifteen, in his early twenties and late fourties. And in every stage of his life, he has been selfish, neglectful or borderline obsessive towards Katara.

At twelve, during ATLA, predominantly during Season 3, Aang objectifies Katara as something to possess (a reward at the end of the war, per say) more so than her own person. He doesn't care enough to care about consent, having kissed her TWICE without it (Episodes: The Day of Black Sun, Part 1 - first image; The Ember Island Players - second image).

During 'The Southern Raiders' Episode Aang is extremely neglectful towards Katara's wishes, feelings and pain.

[ "Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: Ugh, I knew you wouldn't understand.

(...)

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang:  don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge.

Katara: Fine, maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves!"]

Zuko who has known her for a matter of days/weeks was able to empathize and understand why Katara needed to avenge her mother. So why couldn't Aang, someone who shared that same pain of losing his family, not understand her hatred and anger?

Oh, because Aang is a pacifist.

People forget that Zuko was also depicted time and time again as merciful, benevolent and unable to kill. He attempted to save Zhao in S1, all through out S2, he gave up his own food, protection and his life, to save other people, in S3, when he could have killed his father, he didn't (even though, Ozai was the reaosn his mother was no longer in his life and was the cause for every misfortune and pain he endured).

And despite Zuko mirroring Aang's inability to kill, Aang could not mirror Zuko's ability to understand Katara.

Furthermore, Aang, throughout this episode is put off by Katara's anger. He's attracted to the soft, sweet, submissive side of Katara (the one he idiolizes in his mind) and is put off by her louder, hot-headed and brash side. Many times, Katara has to swallow her own tongue and subdue her own feelings just to appease Aang. A courtesy that Aang does not replicate.

Also a lot can be said that Aang views Katara as a prize, something to own. His jealousy towards Zuko during the play is derivative of the fact he can't handle someone else "owning" Katara. His jealousy and immaturity ultimately lead him to kissing her non-consensually and getting so aggravated that he yells in Katara's face. It's weird, it's possessive and borderline abusive.

Also, no one can convince me that the kiss at the end of the series wasn't Bryke's way of sying that Katara reciprocating Aang's feelings (even if they did come quite literally out of no where) was his reward for winning.

Aang at fifteen is no better. We Aang depicted at fifteen (a year older than Katara was during ATLA) in the comics.

And luckily enough his behaviour towards Katara in the comics can be describe in quite a few damning panels.

It's even worse.

Aang at fifteen manages to neglect his GIRLFRIEND even worse than he did at twelve...

He doesn't care enough to notice when Katara is unhappy. He doesn't care enough to allow her to finish speaking about something that is clearly bothering her. He doesn't care enough to control his anger around her.

He likes her submissive, he likes her quiet, he likes her when she cares about his feelings, his culture, his worries and concerns. He likes her as his, his girlfriend.

Aang is his early twenties is, yet again, depicted as someone still insecure about his relationship with Katara.

Aang in his early twenties still chooses to dismiss Katara's very valid and mostly always correct concerns about people.

And even in his early twenties, a man grown, Aang still needs Katara to be the one to console and comfort him. He's never the one conforting her.

Aang and Katara are residing in Republic City. Far a way from Katara's home. And despite popular fandom belief, it's not wearing a string of blue/orange fabric that symbolizes respecting your significant other's culture and heritage. To respect and honor Katara's culture, heritage and her own wishes and desires, they would be closer to the Souther Water Tribe, to Katara's people and family, to her element.

But I guess Katara's love for her people, home and tribe was put second to Aang's desires to unite the four nations. So Aang's dream are now Katara's dreams.

We don't see much of Katara/Aang during this stage of their lives, but, the little we get is still odd.

And finally, we see Aang in his late fourties and early fifties. A neglectful father to two of his three kids. A husband who leaves his wife to take care of the kids whilst he's off doing whatever the world needs him to do.

We are told Aang favors his sole airbending child through the mouths of his other two children. Aang who prioritized sharing his culture and heritage to ONE of his three kids, instead of involving all three of them. Aang who didn't care enough to be present in Kya and Bumi's childhood nor try to share the Southern Water Tribe culture with Tenzin.

Aang who allows Katara to forget about her goals and aspirations and is content with seeing his wife, the once youthful and fiery woman who had big dreams and a larger fight, become a hollow shell of her former self, a stay at home wife who was merely a good healer, no longer remember as the strongest water bender to live. Hell, she didn't even get one statue in her honor whilst Aang had how many?

So no, Aang doesn't get better at any age, unfortunately. His selfishness towards Katara wouldn't dissapear if he was older or the same age as her.

And the same can be said for Zuko. People don't ship Zutara simply because Zuko is older than her... Zuko is mature, empathetic, sees Katara as a person and doesn't idealize what she symbolizes. If Zuko were aged down to Katara's age, I believe the appeal would still be there.

Katara, the most out-spoken character in the GAang, becoming submissive and quiet to appease her partner, holding her tongue as to not hurt her boyfriend/husband's feelings and always prioritizing his feelings over her own.

Katara, who deeply values her culture, heritage and home, choosing to reside far-away from her family and friends, just so her husband can be closer to Republic City.

Katara, who taught the Avatar, who mastered water-bending in less than a year, who helped defeat Azula and ended the one-hundred year war... Not being honored with one statue, being reduced to the Avatar's wife and mother of his children, becoming known as a healer when she was one of the best benders of her time.

How exactly was it the best option for Toph?

In the original series, Toph cared very deeply for her friends and her family.

The GAang was her family and she went to hell and back, put her life on the line, multiple times, over and over again, just to protect them. She was twelve fighting a war, just to protect the people she loved more than anything.

Additionally, despite popular belief, Toph cared for her family. In the original series, her choosing to abandon her parents (even though her childhood home was very oppressive and isolating) was a tumultuous and difficult choice for her. Before she ran away, she pleaded to go with Aang, and when they wouldn't bend, she decided to flee. This decision is one that weighs down on her across Season Two and Three (with her wanting to meet up with her mother in S2, and, in S3, deciding to write to her, in hopes of salvaging their relationship) - she wants to have a good relationship with her parents.

She's always been family/friend centered. That is why she's the one to ask Aang if their friendship will last a lifetime. She craves these bonds. Toph is an adventurous and free spirit, yet, she still holds onto those she truly sees as her family.

She does want a family. Be it her adopted family or her blood-related family. Family is important to Toph.

It is one of the pillars of her character.

So, how exactly, does Toph having two baby daddies, who are absent from her and her daughters' lives, the best outcome for her?

Toph in LOK is miserable. Her daughters are miserable. She doesn't have a support system to help her in her tribulations of raising two kids all on her own. She's alone, struggling. And people truly think this is the best outcome for Toph?

Toph chooses to runaway from her family, something that in the original show, was one of her greatest struggles and something that weighed her conscious down with guilt.

People truly don't see Toph beyond the badass, ass-whopping tomboy. They don't see her as this emotionally mature character that values her friendships and family.

They see her for her little bits, the small little jokes that are often through at her expense.

Oh, Bryke make jokes about her slight crushes (such as Sokka and that one dude from the comics, who I cannot remember)? Oh, yah, so that totally makes sense that she would be okay with the fathers of her children being absent and neglectful!

Oh, Toph is a tomboy who isn't naturally nurturing nor motherly like Katara? Oh, so it totally makes sense she would value her job over her own children, ultimately abandoning them in the future and leaving them with mommy issues (so much so, her eldest doesn't even call her mom.... BRYKE ARE YOU INSANE?!?)

I don't enjoy the fact that Toph, the only tomboy of the group, was portrayed the way she was in LOK.

I didn't need Toph to be a stay-at-home mother. I didn't need Toph to be family oriented.

Her being a single-mother would be great if they had handled it with much more care.

But Bryke's own biases about motherhood and femininity bled through when they wrote Toph the way they did in LOK.

It's infuriating to see, once more that people (not even Bryke themselves) care enough to see Toph beyond her exterior layers. She's much more than this amazing earthbender.

Why would someone who was isolated all her childhood, choose to isolate herself from her own kids?