Jae's design, and how a lot of people seem to have very closed minds
On Twitter and TikTok, I’ve mainly seen people complaining about Jae’s design—specifically regarding why his hair was so long and voluminous, his clothing, and his lack of Air Nomad tattoos
I think the reason for those complaints is that our perspective is quite biased; we have a preconceived notion of what Air Nomads—or in Jae's case, an Airbender—should look like, based on *ATLA* and *LOK*. After all, we don't see many Airbenders: in *ATLA*, they only appear in a few flashbacks, and it isn't until Book Three of *LOK* that we see more of them—and even then, they aren't the same kind of Airbenders as those from the past. So, most people have a very rigid idea: if it's a woman, she has to look like Yangchen; if it's a man, he has to look like Aang, Tenzin, or Gyatso
- In this era of Seven Heavens, Beanders are very scarce; in Elora, where Jae and Pavi live, people with Beanding abilities are recruited from a young age to serve—which is very likely the case for Jae as well
2)Jae IS a soldier, NOT a monk—not a monk like, I don't know, Gyatso
3)There is a possibility that the four nations (possibly including the Air Nation as well)—and perhaps Jae too, having been recruited at an early age—might never have had the chance to receive their tattoos, assuming the tattoo culture still exists (which I consider unlikely)
Furthermore, I’ll give examples of characters from before Aang’s era—even before Roku’s time: Jetsun, Yangchen’s mentor, didn’t have that kind of shaved hairstyle; in her official design, she has a full head of hair. Khandro, Zeisan’s fiancé, had long, full hair. Jinpa, Kyoshi’s secretary and a member of the White Lotus, had no tattoos
(Also why do so many people think Jae is a girl?)