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[[folder:General]]
* Creating all new Avatars. A common choice is an Earth Kingdom Avatar after Korra (pre-''Korra'' fics naturally had an original Water Tribe one after Aang), or one that existed between Wan and Yangchen.
* Characters being {{reincarnation}}s of other characters.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Last Airbender]]

* The war playing out in a different way because Aang never emerged from the iceberg or emerged much later. Will often feature KidHero Aang meeting the already adult Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, or otherwise ending up as TheBabyOfTheBunch if he meets up with them when they aren't adults.
** A variant of this is a scenario where Aang never ends up frozen in the first place and is present since the beginning of the War. This usually involves him never falling into the storm or Gyasto reaching Aang in time and they depart together, enabling them to escape Sozin's attack. Once the war starts for real, Aang will start his Avatar training under Gyasto's or Roku's guidance at one of the Water Tribes to master Waterbending. After that, you can expect Aang to meet up with teenage versions of Bumi and Kuzon as they become his Team Avatar to help him master Earth and Fire bending; with a water bending OC making up the final member. With time on his side, Aang is fully able to master all four elements and eventually confronts Sozin to end the war, saving the world from the full damage and destruction in the original timeline. In the aftermath, Aang usually becomes an honorary guardian to Prince Azulon to keep him on the right and peaceful path and typically lives long enough to meet child versions of Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko before dying in peace.
* Aang dying in his final battle against Ozai because he could never enter the Avatar state. This is more than often a TakeThat at the series itself by writers who feel that the final conflict was resolved by an AssPull. A lot of fanfic deals with the other characters grieving his loss, taking down Ozai themselves, and looking for the new Avatar. This sometimes means Korra is born much earlier than she canonically was.
** Following this AU idea, some versions of it also include most, if not, all of the Gaang dying as well. Most of this also comes from a TakeThat against the series by writiers who prefer the mindset of AnyoneCanDie over the show refusing to let any of the children get killed despite it also being about an apocalypic war on the horizon.
* A lot of Kataang fanfiction appears to be obsessed with the BabiesEverAfter trope. Staples involve Katara becoming an ExplosiveBreeder to help Aang repopulate Aang Nomads, Katara becoming a one-dimensional {{Housewife}} who only cares about having children, and Katara being a [[TeenPregnancy pregnant teenager]] because Kataang fanfics tend to feature underage sex and want Katara to pop those babies out as soon as possible. There was also a popular trend of early Kataang fanfics involving Katara and Aang's child being the next Avatar which doesn't make sense since the Avatar cycle relies on {{Reincarnation}}. The only way Katara could give birth to the next Avatar is if Aang died just before she gave birth and his own soul reincarnated into their child's. Since Katara is from the Water Tribe (the element to come after air), this ''is'' possible, but it's unlikely.
* In contrast to the Kataang fics which feature Katara as a broodmare, some fanfics which aspire to be more "realistic" give Aang an entire harem of women who desire to carry his children to help him repopulate his long-lost nation. This is based on the idea that Air Nomads believe in "free love" and how canonically Aang has many fangirls. With the introduction of the Air Acolytes into canon (an originally all-female Aang fanclub), some fanfics treat the Air Acolytes as Aang's harem. Most of these fanfics are [[GenFic gen]] but others are Kataang-centric meaning Katara is now just one of Aang's wives instead of being his sole wife but still the wife he is closest to.
* Fanfiction where the Air Nomads never died out and are only in hiding. It helps that Aang heading out on a journey to look for the remaining Air Nomads was actually part of the ''original ending'' pitched in the show's bible before the creators scrapped the idea in favor of truly making him the LastOfHisKind.
** A popular idea related to this are stories where it is revealed that Ty Lee is of Air Nomad descent, though it is a toss-up on whether or not she's capable of airbending.
* A lot of Ozai/Ursa fanfiction characterise Ozai and Ursa as originally being in love but had a large falling out after Ozai become power hungry. This was eventually {{Jossed}} in the sequel comics but it was the popular fanon throughout the fandom based on Bryke's comments that their relationship started out good. The now-defunct, official Avatar website which had input from the series writers also used to describe Ursa as a noblewoman who was a "perfect match" for Ozai.
* Among the regular flavors of [[FanPreferredCouple Zutara]]: Katara [[AbductionIsLove being kidnapped]] or outright enslaved by (or for) Zuko[[note]]ironically, this was reversed by ''Fanfic/{{Enslaved|Sharkflip}}'', which is the most popular fic within this genre[[/note]], Katara's season three hatred for Zuko revealing itself to be sexual attraction, Zuko siding with Team Avatar in the Crystal Catacombs, Mai dying in childbirth and Katara comforting Zuko, and Mai and/or Aang [[RonTheDeathEater turning evil]]. Katara usually ends up as Zuko's queen in these stories (the flipside of this, Zuko renouncing his title and living at the South Pole with Katara is also a thing).
* Azula escaping from [[WordOfGod her mental institution]] to cause trouble. Alternatively, Azula ''recovering'', and either [[RedemptionFailure relapsing]] or [[HeelFaceTurn slowly becoming part of]] [[FanNickname the Gaang]]. Azula finishing out her recovery on Kyoshi Island with Ty Lee is also exceedingly common in Tyzula fanfiction.
* A common plot in Tyzula fanfiction seems to be Ty Lee discovering that Azula is being neglected/abused [[spoiler: in the mental institution]] and having her released. Generally, in these stories, Zuko will be completely oblivious because he's either never visited her or he [[IdiotBall just never noticed the bruises/how thin she was getting]], Mai will be [[RonTheDeathEater of the opinion that no punishment is severe enough for Azula anyway]] and repeatedly question why she wasn't [[spoiler:sent to prison/stripped of her bending/executed]], and no one except Ty Lee will believe that Azula can be redeemed ([[MoralEventHorizon not without reason]], but they'll be portrayed as in the wrong). This allows the author to write Ty Lee in a protector role in an us-against-the-world scenario.
* The Dangerous Ladies, or just Azula herself, kidnapping or capturing Sokka, or they're stranded alone together in the wilderness, and they come to bond romantically.
* If a fic set after the war isn't based around the gargantuan amount of reconstruction and peacekeeping required throughout the world, then it will casually mention it as if the reader should already know. Indeed, despite the series as a whole ultimately falling on the idealistic side of [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism the sliding scale]] nearly every fan reaches the conclusion that no, it isn't going to be that easy. This, of course, became canon in the follow up comic series ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePromise The Promise]]'' which shows problems include Fire Nation colonists refusing to move, lingering racism between nations and Zuko's own doubts about his leadership.
* When an OC from the [[RealLife real world]] falls into the world of ''Avatar'', one of two things are certain to happen: either she ([[AlwaysFemale it's almost always a she]]) will end up on Zuko's ship, join his mission, and fall in love with him or she'll end up joining the Gaang on their adventure.
* Quite a few people like to write about how Zuko managed to find his mother. Which, like ''The Promise'' above, is now canon in ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch''.
* There seem to be an alarming number of stories in which, after Zuko [[spoiler: has his HeelFaceTurn and leaves the Fire Nation]], Mai is forced to marry Ozai instead.
* It's all but universal practice for fics about the Fire Nation Royal Family to depict Iroh's wife (Lu Ten's mother) dying in childbirth and Zuko being born premature or an otherwise ill, fragile baby who almost died (extrapolating from the line "My father says I was lucky to be born").
* [=AUs=] where Katara and Zuko are [[ArrangedMarriage forced to marry]] to end the war.
* Fanworks where Aang has a LongLostRelative somewhere aren't that uncommon. Usually it's an [=OC=] but sometimes he's instead related to Ty Lee through the {{fanon}} Air Nomad in her.
* Fanfics that delve into the family life of Ozai, Azula, Zuko, and usually Ursa. They tend to feature more explicit DomesticAbuse[=/=]AbusiveParents than the cartoon and sometimes include ParentalIncest.
* Next Gen works were popular prior to ''TLOK'' revealing the canon offspring of the characters. Even then, some characters like Sokka, Suki, and Azula don't have any canonical children so OC kids are still commonplace for them.
* Two characters, usually Katara and Zuko, are revealed to be {{reincarnation|Romance}}s of Oma and Shu.
* Zuko/Katara fan-works where the two either meet in disguise, or unknowingly fall in love, as the Blue Spirit and Painted Lady.
* Characters being captured or otherwise sent to other nations as infants or young children, being raised amongst the natives, only to [[ObliviousAdoption find out their heritage]] when they're older. Katara raised in the Fire Nation and Zuko raised amongst either of the Water Tribes are the most common usages.
* Many fanfictions deal with Zuko telling the Gaang how he got his scar. Or rather them pestering him about it until he breaks down.
* A very specific plot that has been explored is an AU where Azula's sociopathic tendencies are focused around her love of Zuko, turning into an obsessive protectiveness. This AU frequently sees Azula murdering anyone who threatens her brother, including Azulon (though Ozai or Urza may get to him first, depending on the author) and Ozai.
* There are a few fics centred around Katara getting Hama repatriated back to the Southern Water Tribe.
** Some fics focus Hama and Kanna's friendship, sometimes giving them a RelationshipUpgrade and making them lovers.
** Hama and Kanna finding Aang and breaking him out of the iceberg.
* There are several fanfics where Katara as a young child is taken from her tribe by Fire Nation soldiers and imprisoned in the same way Hama was. Usually these have her learning bloodbending to escape, sometimes with Hama as the EvilMentor.
* One of the ''other'' main characters being the Avatar instead. Usually this comes about through Aang not surviving to the point of Katara finding him in the iceberg, ending his turn as the Avatar. This can range from Aang not running away from the Southern Air Temple and instead being killed or captured in the Air Nomad genocide, to Aang escaping (usually with Gyatso) and dying much later while somehow not succeeding in defeating the Fire Nation, to Aang dying in the iceberg or just after being released due to the strain on his body. The most common characters made the Avatar in his stead are usually Katara or Zuko, the former probably because she's the main character from the next element in the cycle and the later probably because of the [[TomatoInTheMirror drama potential.]] If it's the latter, expect the Fire Nation to have committed horrors onto the last few Avatars to heighten the drama and explain why the cycle's back to Fire so quickly.
* A common plot in Sokka/Zuko fics is Sokka becoming a Water Tribe ambassador to the Fire Nation, thus giving him a reason to be around Zuko for an extended period of time.
* Moon Spirit Sokka, where Sokka is blessed by the Moon Spirit instead of Yue and grows up as a sheltered prince with MysticalWhiteHair. Alternatively, he is blessed by Yue when she becomes the new Moon Spirit at the end of the first season.
* Official Avatar RPG seems to have one in form of popular idea for a campaign about Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se, with the unspoken assumpition player characters will somehow cause the death of his son.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Legend of Korra]]
* Seeing how the show ends with [[spoiler:Korra and Asami entering a portal to the spirit world together, linking hands and looking romantically into one another's eyes]], along with [[spoiler: Bryke confirming that Korra and Asami fell in love over the course of the series]], an incredibly common fanfic topic is exploring what happens immediately following the finale, namely [[spoiler:Korra and Asami's vacation in the spirit world together.]] ''ComicBook/{{The Legend of Korra Turf Wars}}'' eventually showed what canonically happened.
* [=AU=] works where Asami is an Equalist, which originated from fans theorizing that this would be the case during Book 1.[[note]]It was debunked, but the creators [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally planned this]] before turning the character into a RedHerringMole.[[/note]] The usual setup is that Asami infiltrates the group to gain intel, only to [[BecomingTheMask genuinely come to enjoy their company]] and fall in love with Korra, it it even being common for Asami to skip an orchestrated MeetCute with Mako in favor of approaching Korra herself.
* PointOfDivergence fics where the Red Lotus succeeded in kidnapping Korra as toddler and raising her as one of their own. It's common for this plot to be used in conjunction with the Equalist Asami concept, with both characters ultimately breaking away from their respective groups by the end of the story.
* Zuko and Katara [[DecemberDecemberRomance hooking up as seniors]].
* Kuvira's past isn't given much depth in the show itself. All that's noted is that she was abandoned by her parents. She ''might'' have been taken in by Suyin as a foster/adopted daughter, but the wording is vague. As a result, many fan-works try to give Kuvira more backstory. Usually she was raised by Suyin but treated more like an apprentice than a daughter, which left her feeling rejected and didn't help her abandonment issues.
* [=AU=] fics where Lin and Tenzin never broke up.
* Stories set when Suyin, Lin, Kya, Tenzin, Bumi, and sometimes Izumi were growing up together are very common.
* Korra in [[SweetPollyOliver disguise as a man]].
* {{Kid Fic}}s where Korra and Asami adopt children.
* Bolin and Mako's childhoods aren't discussed much, so many fan-works focus on their youth on the streets.
[[/folder]]