attackfish

Ever since Mako and Bolin's parents died, he has been taking care of his brother, and he has done everything he can to make sure that Bolin had everything he needed and always felt safe and loved. Because of this, he is somewhere between an older brother and a parent to Bolin, and also, he has never had the space to feel safe himself. He never got the chance to mess around with other kids his age, so he doesn't get a lot of the social things, and misinterprets the signals people send him, and the ones he sends out. He also never learned how to have equal friendships. He has been the only person he could rely on. This is why he gravitates to women in need. It isn't, as huge amounts of fandom speculate, because he likes weak women, it's because he feels more comfortable and secure when he's the one being relied on and not the other way around. Even in relationships where both people rely on each other, he is always subconsciously going what if they leave? What if they die? If they need him, they won't leave him, and if he doesn't need them, if they do, he won't be left in a lurch again. Plus, he's used to being needed by Bolin, so it feels comfortable.

Unlike my other headcanons, which I'm perfectly happy never making it into canon, I really think this or something like this needs to be made explicitly canon, because fandom really hates the poor guy and is calling him an abusive monster when he's really just a bit of a jerk.