History Fanon / AvatarTheLastAirbender

* A lot of fanon assumes that Hark and Jesa left Kyoshi in Yokoya because they somehow discovered that she was the Avatar, despite there being no proof this ever happened. The fans in question tend to claim that Hark and Jesa could have figured it out due to being constantly pursued by Earth Kingdom authorities searching for the Avatar, but this theory ignores that the two of them would most likely be on the move to avoid the law anyway, given how they were notorious career criminals. There's also the question of why Jesa - at the very least - didn't write anything about her daughter being the Avatar in her journal if she knew about it, given that she was willing to record her suspicions about Lao Ge, as well as confidential information about her outlaw group.
* The longevity technique practiced by Lao Ge and Kyoshi is thought by some to be an Earthbending technique. While the two individuals in question are certainly noteworthy earthbenders, at no point is bending specifically mentioned as being part of the technique. The closest thing it has to a connection with Earthbending is when Kyoshi thinks about her training with Lao Ge while using her bending to keep the Qinchao teahouse from collapsing, but if anything, her ''Earthbending'' stems from the longevity technique during the moment in question, rather than the other way around.

* Most fanfic authors also agree that Suki was tortured during her time at the Boiling Rock. This idea isn't unfounded. She was the leader of the group of warriors found in the company of the avatar's flying bison, so it makes sense that she might have some information on his whereabouts, and the guards at the Boiling Rock [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids do torture prisoners]] [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique for information]] in canon. However, some fans crank it UpToEleven, taking Azula's infamous "favorite prisoner" comment to mean that Azula [[PrisonRape personally raped Suki]]. However, many fans believe that she only made that remark [[MakesSenseInContext to get a rise out of Sokka]] and [[ConsummateLiar none of it was true]]. Suki's behavior after her rescue doesn't seem to reflect that occurrence either.

* A good part of fanon believes that Rangi is a lesbian, based largely on a scene where she disdainfully tells Kyoshi to promise not to throw her life away over a ''boy'' (emphasis hers). This could well be an intended interpretation, and Rangi certainly displays no interest in men in either of the two novels, but it's also worth remembering that Rangi had just heard how Kyoshi's [[spoiler: Air Nomad]] mother abandoned her people and culture to elope with an outlaw, the thought of which disgusted her.

* Too many fanfic writers seem to believe that Toph only refers to people by nicknames, when in canon, she [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious calls people by name in serious moments]]. In actuality, most of her nicknames ('Snoozles', 'Madame Fussy Britches' and 'Sweetness' to name a few) were just one-timers. 'Twinkletoes' is one nickname she actually stuck with, but if you believe the fanfic writers, this would be the only name that Toph ever knows Aang by. Popular Zuko nicknames seem to include 'Sparky' and 'Hothead'.

** It's pretty well accepted in the fandom that Azula and Ty Lee are together and the writers managed to sneak it under the radar, to the point where they are often listed as a canon pairing. This despite the fact that there is a scene in season 3 where Ty Lee gives Azula advice about flirting with boys, which Azula promptly puts into motion. That being said, there is a lot of subtext between the two (but both [[TheVamp Azula]] and [[AnythingThatMoves Ty Lee]] have some subtext with pretty much everyone), it is pretty clear that Azula cares about Ty Lee more than she cares about anyone else, and Ty Lee seems absolutely devoted to Azula, [[spoiler:up until The Boiling Rock]]. WordOfStPaul would at one point confirm that ''Azula'' has such feelings, bolstering this pairing. Meanwhile, WordOfGod and the comics would confirm that ''Ty Lee'' definitely doesn't, with their entire "friendship" having been rooted in fear on her part, and Ty Lee no longer wanting anything to do with the princess. (Frankly, [[ThickerThanWater Zuko]] is the only one who doesn't completely fear or despise Azula.) Naturally, the latter piece of info is ignored, and the more popular AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is that she was truly Azula's best friend, with her praise being [[LesYay infatuation]] rather than ass-kissing.

* When first introduced Toph and Aang were 12, Azula, Ty Lee, and Katara were 14, Sokka, Suki, and Mai were 15, and Zuko was 16, and by the end of the series about three seasons had gone by. Any other exact ages are fanon, especially the insanity of how someone as {{pretty|Boy}} as Ozai is Iroh's brother.

* The idea that Kyoshi [[MemeticPsychopath solved all her problems with violence]] and bathed in the blood of her enemies tends to be really common as well, all because she readily accepted responsibility for the death of Chin the Conqueror (and made it clear that she would have been willing to kill him, had he not fallen off a cliff) and counselled Aang to kill Ozai. This is effectively {{Jossed}} in the [[Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi Kyoshi]] [[Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi novels]], both of which indicate that, while Kyoshi isn't afraid to get her hands bloody, she's a lot more rational about it than her fanon counterpart, and it's far from her only way of solving problems.

* A popular notion in fanfiction is that citizens of the Fire Nation worship the Sun Spirit as a god and call it Agni. Several factors contribute to this bit of Fanon: 1) As waterbenders are empowered by the moon, and the Northern Water Tribe worships the Moon Spirit, so firebenders are empowered by the sun, therefore it seems logical that the Fire Nation would worship a Sun Spirit. 2) Agni is the name of the god of fire in Hindu mythology, and the Fire Nation has a custom of firebending duels called "Agni-Kai." 3) You have to give Fire Nation characters something to say when they feel like swearing. This was later clarified. The original firebenders the Sun Warriors worshiped the sun as the source of firebending, but the Fire Nation forgot about the sun, and instead drew on personal rage and drive to fuel their firebending. No mention of a god named Agni has ever come up, but that's to be expected since the ''Avatar''verse has spirits, but no mention of gods, and for the most part, mortals don't know the names of spirits either.
* Despite no one in the show ever saying, "[[OhMyGods Oh, Spirits!]]" (or any variation thereupon) to express frustration, it's '''extremely''' common in fanfiction. This seems to have become AscendedFanon as of Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi, in which a waterbender uses the expression "Tui's gills!" to indicate shock, and Kyoshi claims to have sworn an oath of vengeance "by the spirits that turn this world on its axis".

* In a large number of fan-works, both the Northern and Southern Water Tribe use betrothal necklaces. In the series itself, this custom seems to be exclusive to Northerners. The only time a Southern Water Tribe engagement has been shown, a wedding ring was used.

* That everyone reincarnates. It's [[OffscreenAfterlife unspecified in canon]] what happens to characters when they die. The Avatar reincarnates, but it's unclear if they're special in that respect or that they're only special in that they know who they reincarnated from (also the souls of their past incarnations still exist as separate entities from the current one, so the exact meaning of "reincarnation" is somewhat hazy). WordOfGod is that Momo was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally intended]] to be a reincarnation of Gyatso, but that was scrapped in development.
* There are some fans who feel that bloodbending can be used for healing. At no point is this ever stated to be the case in canon, and in any event, waterbending already has a dedicated healing subskill.

** There is a certain level of truth to this, in that at least this is what is believed to happen in-universe. According to ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', the Fire Sages felt that the offspring of the Fire Nation Royal Family and Avatar Roku's descendants would produce powerful firebenders. The results were Zuko and Azula, the latter considered a success, the former a failure.

* Some people still insist that bending ability and talent is a case of LamarckWasRight and/or SuperpowerfulGenetics. This is despite the fact that Katara and Toph are the only benders in their families (at least, that we know of,[[note]]Toph has a bender ancestor in ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi '' but that takes place roughly 400 years before the show [[/note]] there being a set of twins where only one was a bender, it being said that people first learned bending from non-human sources, and WordOfGod speaking to the contrary ''several times'', saying that bending manifests due to a mix of genetics, spirituality, and training.

* Many fans are under the impression that Korra is much shorter than she actually is. The closest we have to a canon height are unconfirmed claims that Bryan put it at 1.70m (5'7) which would put her in StatuesqueStunner territory, and official comic artist Heather Campbell putting it at 5'5", which would make her absolutely average. It's not that Korra is short, Asami is just ''tall''. Still, many fanworks portray Korra as a PintsizedPowerhouse.

* Many fans are under the impression that Korra is much shorter than she actually is. Her height is 1.70m (5'7), putting her in StatuesqueStunner territory. It's not that Korra is short, Asami is just ''tall''. Still, many fanworks portray Korra as a PintsizedPowerhouse.

** In addition its common to find in fan stories that Zuko was born in the middle of winter, more often then not on the winter solstice. This is seen as a bad omen to the fire nation.

** In addition its comon to find in fan stories that Zuko was born in the middle of winter, more often then not on the winter solstice. This is seen as a bad omen to the fire nation.

** In addition its commen to find in fan stories that Zuko was born in the middle of winter, more often then not one the winter solstice. This is seen as a bad omen to the fire nation.

** Another theory is that Sokka did have a kid with Suko, but that the child [[OutlivingOnesOffspring died]] at some point long before the events of Korra, and that the rest of the family doesn't like bringing it up. While not as popular as any of the above theories, it also has the ''least'' risk of running into FridgeLogic or contradicting the show.

For a mockery of all this, see the episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEmberIslandPlayers The Ember Island Players]]".

** [[PunchClockVillain Ghazan]] was [[MinionShipping in love with Ming-Hua]], although whether or not it was requited is a matter of debate [[spoiler:(in fact, [[DespairEventHorizon guessing that she was probably dead]] is thought to have played into his decision to [[DrivenToSuicide drop a cavern on himself]])]]; he's also often speculated to be either of sandbender heritage, the [[MixedAncestry son of an Earth Kingdom/Fire Nation union]][[spoiler: like the one other confirmed [[MagmaMan lavabender]] in canon]], or both.

* While Ozai was indeed [[AbusiveParents physically and emotionally abusive]] (physical abuse toward Zuko, psychological abuse toward both Zuko and Azula), fanon enjoys tossing in [[ParentalIncest sexual abuse]] into at least Azula and Ozai's relationship. He's also made physically abusive towards Azula.

* A good part of fanon believes that Rangi is a lesbian, based largely on a scene where she disdainfully tells Kyoshi to promise not to throw her life away over a ''boy'' (emphasis hers). This could well be an intended interpretation, and Rangi certainly displays no interest in men in either of the two novels, but it's also worth remembering that Rangi had just heard how Kyoshi's [[spoiler: Air Nomad]] mother abandoned her people and culture to elope with an outlaw, an idea that disgusted her.
* A lot of fanon assumes that Hark and Jesa left Kyoshi in Yokoya because they somehow discovered that she was the Avatar, despite there being no proof this ever happened. The fans in question tend to claim that Hark and Jesa could have figured it out due to being constantly pursued by Earth Kingdom authorities searching for the Avatar, but this theory ignores that the two of them would most likely be regularly running from the law anyway, given how they were notorious career criminals. There's also the question of why Jesa - at the very least - didn't write anything about her daughter being the Avatar in her journal if she knew about it, given that she was willing to record her suspicions about Lao Ge, as well as confidential information about her outlaw group.

** Another theory is that Sokka did have a kid with Suko, but that the child ^^OutlivingOnesOffspring died]] at some point long before the events of Korra, and that the rest of the family doesn't like bringing it up. While not as popular as any of the above theories, it also has the ''least'' risk of running into FridgeLogic or contradicting the show.

* It is widely accepted Fanon (for [[YuriFan whatever]] [[AmbiguouslyGay reason]]) that Azula is [[PsychoLesbian 100% lesbian]], and if not that, that she is at least [[BiTheWay bisexual]]. Any contention over Azula's sexual orientation will likely ''not'' be over whether she is into women, but whether she's also into men. She is shown attempting, and failing, at heterosexual dating in-canon. The main argument is whether her flirting with men is due to actual attraction or due to a desire for power/fitting in.

* It is widely accepted Fanon (for [[YuriFan whatever]] [[AmbiguouslyGay reason]]) that Azula is [[PsychoLesbian 100% lesbian]]. She is shown attempting, and failing, at heterosexual dating in-canon. Any contention over Azula's sexual orientation will likely ''not'' be over whether she is into women, but whether she's also into men. The main argument is whether her flirting with men is due to actual attraction or due to a desire for power/fitting in.

* Though it's never explicitly stated what her sexuality is, a good part of fanon believes that Rangi is a lesbian, based largely on a scene where she disdainfully tells Kyoshi to promise not to throw her life away over a ''boy'' (emphasis hers). It's certainly plausible that this was an intended interpretation, but it's also worth remembering that Rangi had just heard how Kyoshi's [[spoiler: Air Nomad]] mother abandoned her people and culture to elope with an outlaw, an idea that disgusted her.

* The idea that Kyoshi [[MemeticPsychopath solved all her problems with violence]] and bathed in the blood of her enemies tends to be really common as well, all because she readily accepted responsibility for the death of Chin the Conqueror (and made it clear that she would have been willing to kill him, had he not fallen off a cliff) and counselled Aang to kill Ozai. This is effectively jossed in the [[Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi Kyoshi]] [[Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi novels]], both of which indicate that, while Kyoshi isn't afraid to get her hands bloody, she's a lot more rational about it than her fanon counterpart, and it's far from her only way of solving problems.

* Kuvira's and Suyin's relationship is vague. Suyin mentions that Kuvira was "like a daughter" to her, but that phrase can mean [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation multiple things]] ranging from Kuvira being her protege to Kuvira being her surrogate daughter. Most fans interpreted it as meaning that Suyin adopted, or at least fostered, Kuvira. She however didn't [[WellDoneSonGuy treat Kuvira like a daughter]], which amplified Kuvira's abandonment issues and stirred her StartOfDarkness. ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraRuinsOfTheEmpire'' later revealed that Suyin raised Kuvira in her house.