History Fanon / AvatarTheLastAirbender

** Building on the above, some fans believe that everyone reincarnates in the Avatar cycle (Water>Earth>Fire>Air>Water), and the only reason no one knows is because the Avatar is the only person whose past lives visibly empowers them. This is somewhat supported by Beginnings, as reincarnation was never stated to be one of the benefits of merging with Raava, implying that Wan's spirit has been reincarnating this entire time without any help from the Avatar Spirit.

The ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' franchise, due to its largely implied and AllThereInTheManual worldbuilding, has a lot of this, along with [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation character interpretation]].

* Some people insist that bending ability and talent is [[LamarckWasRight inherited from one's parents' training]] and/or down to SuperpowerfulGenetics. This is shown to be believed by the Fire Sages in ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', who felt that the offspring of the Fire Nation Royal Family and Avatar Roku's descendants would produce powerful firebenders; the resulting children were Zuko and Azula. WordOfGod says that bending manifests due to a mix of genetics, spirituality, and training.
** It's shown in ''Korra'' that the ''ability'' to bend was originally bestowed on some humans by the Lion Turtles, and that the aforementioned animals taught them the ''art'' of bending, that is, how to actually control and use their abilities to their full potential.
* 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 get to give Fire Nation characters something to say when they feel like swearing.
* Saying, "[[OhMyGods Oh, Spirits!]]" (or any variation thereupon) to express frustration, is '''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".
* Female Fire Lords being referred to as "Fire Ladies" is pure fanon. "Fire Lord" is a unisex term in-series and Izumi is referred to as such numerous times, including by her own son. The title of "Fire Lady" does exist, but it specifically refers to the wife of a reigning Fire Lord, i.e. a queen consort. Though given that Fanon also used that term for a Fire Lord's wife long before such a title was used in canon, this may be a case of AscendedFanon.
* In a large number of fan-works, both the Northern and Southern Water Tribe use betrothal necklaces. In the series itself, this custom is only shown to be true among Northerners. The only time a Southern Water Tribe engagement has been shown, a wedding ring was used.

[[folder:The Last Airbender]]

* It is widely accepted Fanon that Azula is [[PsychoLesbian 100% lesbian]]; any contention about the matter is likely to be about whether she's also into men. She is shown attempting, and failing, at heterosexual dating in-canon, so the main argument is whether this is due to actual attraction or out of a desire for power/fitting in.
** 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 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.

* Zuko's season-one hairdo is called a "phoenix tail," apparently. Maybe because "ponytail" sounded too fun and perky. It does seem likely, as Sokka's ponytail is properly called a "warrior's wolf tail." On the other hand, the scene in which this is revealed makes it clear that the word "ponytail" does exist in their world.

* Ty Lee has characteristics that are considered very un-Fire Nation (a round face, grey eyes, a very bubbly personality, an affinity for gymnastics, etc), but do match up with Air Nomads. This has caused fans to speculate that she has Air Nomad ancestry going back to or even predating the genocide. This often ties into the larger fan theory that not all Air Nomads were killed off, either living in hiding in a secret village or subtly integrating into Fire Nation or Earth Nation communities. ''The Legend of Korra'' depicts no Airbenders being known to exist besides Tenzin's family [[spoiler:at least until Book 3]], though proponents of this theory argue that it just means none of the survivors' descendants had bending abilities.
* There is a theory bandied about with various levels of seriousness that Jin, the girl who asks Zuko out on a date in Tales of Ba Sing Se, was paid to do so by Iroh, in an attempt to cheer up his nephew at a difficult time.

[[folder:The Legend Of Korra]]
* ''Korra'' season three [[RandomlyGifted doesn't explain]] why these particular non-benders became Airbenders after the Harmonic Convergence, but a popular idea is that they have Air Nomad ancestry. This idea was given more weight when ''Rise of Kyoshi'' revealed that Avatar Kyoshi had an Earth Nation father and an Air Nomad mother, with the implication that others like her have always existed and that Kyoshi's own line of descent could have contributed to the new Airbenders.

* Shippers from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' were quick to create the very common fanon that Asami likes Korra, not Mako. Some have even gone far enough to say she smashed into him with the purpose to meet Korra (though that's more typically PlayedForLaughs). [[spoiler: As of the final episode, the idea that, at some point, Asami did start liking Korra and not Mako is actually canon.]]
* The idea that Kya is a lesbian caught a lot of traction. Some fans used this to [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight ship with her with Lin]], while others just liked the idea. A few fans also think that she has a wife because her necklace bares a resemblance to a Northern Water Tribe betrothal necklace, although she's single in canon. This is possibly a case of AscendedFanon, since the creators have [[WordOfGay confirmed]] that Kya is an LGBT+ individual, along with Aiwei, [[spoiler: Korra]], and [[spoiler:Asami]]. ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars'' later clarified that Kya is attracted to women.

* The identity of Izumi's mother hasn't been revealed, but fans almost always assume that it's Mai. This is probably in part because she was Zuko's only canon love interest in the original series who lasted longer than one episode, and in part because her only [[ShipToShipCombat major rival]] shipping-wise is [[ShipSinking canonically paired with Aang]]. It does seem probable. Even though [[spoiler: Mai broke up with Zuko in the comics]], they are both shown to still love each other. Izumi's resemblance to Mai has not helped matters. Creator/GeneLuenYang (who used to write the comics) confirmed at a con in 2017 that the two of them are eventually going to get back together as well.

* The idea that the Fire Nation Shaman who helped an amnesiac Korra get back on her feet is an older and [[HeelFaceTurn redeemed]] Azula has some popularity, because of their similar hairstyles, the Shaman being about the same age as Toph and Katara, having the same eye colors, and the Shaman's obvious Firebending prowess. On the other hand, the Shaman ''lacks'' Azula's signature Blue flames and claims to have been helping raise Sky Bisons since after the end of the War, while the comics establish Azula continued her political ambitions at least three years after the War's end.

** [[TheBrute P'Li]] was the TeamMom of the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Red]] [[RenegadeSplinterFaction Lotus]] and was hiding [[CoveredWithScars multiple burn scars]] under her high-necked and long-sleeved outfit to go with her canonical DarkAndTroubledPast. P'Li being a BigEater is also a common fanon—primarily on the grounds that [[http://asexualrubyrose.tumblr.com/post/113236433243 someone of her height]] would [[JustifiedTrope require a lot of calories to begin with]], but partly on the grounds that certain [[http://asexualrubyrose.tumblr.com/post/115458892778 symbolism]] concerning the [[ThirdEye ajna chakra]] suggests that combustionbenders would probably have [[StealthPun blast-furnace metabolisms]]. (It's also an example of a humorous quirk which she can be given while [[TheStoic still written completely in-character]]...and, as of ''Literature/TheDawnOfYangchen'', combustionbenders being {{Big Eater}}s is AscendedFanon.)

* Prior to ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraRuinsOfTheEmpire'', Kuvira's and Suyin's relationship was somewhat vague. Suyin mentions in the show 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, but didn't [[WellDoneSonGuy treat Kuvira like a daughter]], which amplified Kuvira's abandonment issues and stirred her StartOfDarkness. The comic [[{{Jossed}} Josses]] this argument with the reveal that Suyin raised Kuvira in her house as one of her daughters, though Kuvira never truly identified as a Beifong, hence why she fell for and became engaged to Baatar Jr.. And while Suyin and Kuvira did have their issues, Kuvira herself refutes the idea that Suyin was responsible for how she turned out, putting the blame squarely on herself for not appreciating Suyin more.
* Many fans assume that Kuvira and the Earth Empire had a far higher killcount than what is shown on screen, in line with real life fascists and military dictatorships.
* Fanart often depicts Korra with a Raava tattoo on her back that glows when she is in the Avatar State.
* Pema being either Ty Lee's late-in-life daughter or her niece via one of her [[MassiveNumberedSiblings many sisters]] is at least relatively popular. It's even worth knowing that Pema's daughter Jinora's original design had her resembling more like Ty Lee.
* To explain the [[WhateverHappenedToTheMouse lack of Suki]] in ''The Legend of Korra'', fans often have her as having died at a relatively young age. This often goes with the idea that Sokka is Suyin's father, with the recently widowed Sokka falling for his childhood friend Toph.

* 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 at least on the edge of StatuesqueStunner territory, and official comic artist Heather Campbell putting it at 1.65m (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, and it's common to see jokes about Korra being insecure about her height, which she never is in canon.

[[folder:The Rise Of Kyoshi]]
* 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.

* Pema being either Ty Lee's late-in-life daughter or her niece via one of her [[MassiveNumberedSiblings many sisters]] is at least relatively popular.

* Ty Lee has characteristics that are considered very un-Fire Nation (a round face, grey eyes, a very bubbly personality, an affinity for gymnastics, etc), but do match up with Air Nomads. This has caused fans to speculate that she has Air Nomad in her family. This often goes with the fanon that not all Air Nomads were killed off (though some depict Ty Lee as having Air Nomad ancestors from prior to the genocide). Some escaped but ended up living as Fire Nation or Earth Nation civilians. ''The Legend of Korra'' possibly jossed this theory due to no Airbenders being known to exist besides Tenzin's family until Book 3, though fans have argued that it just means none of the survivors' descendants had bending abilities.

* Zuko’s fans, especially the ones who hate Aang, believe Zuko is just as good at Bending, if not better than Aang. When in canon, it’s been shown and mentioned numerous times that Zuko was below average. It took Aang less than 3 weeks to master moves that took Zuko years of training.

!!General

!!''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''

!!''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''

!!''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi''

* Zuko’s fans, especially the ones who hate Aang, believe Zuko is just as good at Bending, if not better than Aang. When in canon, it’s been shown and mentioned numerous times that Zuko was below average. It took Aang less than 3 weeks to master moves that Zuko years of training.

* Some people insist that bending ability and talent is [[LamarckWasRight inherited from one's parents' training]] and/or down to SuperpowerfulGenetics. This is shown to be believed by the Fire Sages in ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', who felt that the offspring of the Fire Nation Royal Family and Avatar Roku's descendants would produce powerful firebenders; the resulting children were Zuko and Azula. WordOfGod says that bending manifests due to a mix of genetics, spirituality, and training, essentially making it no different from most artistic talents.

* Some people insist that bending ability and talent is [[LamarckWasRight inherited from one's parents' training]] and/or down to SuperpowerfulGenetics. This is shown to be believed by the Fire Sages in ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', who felt that the offspring of the Fire Nation Royal Family and Avatar Roku's descendants would produce powerful firebenders; the resulting children were Zuko and Azula. WordOfGod says that bending manifests due to a mix of genetics, spirituality, and training.

** 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.

** [[TheBrute P'Li]] was the TeamMom of the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Red]] [[RenegadeSplinterFaction Lotus]] and was hiding [[CoveredWithScars multiple burn scars]] under her high-necked and long-sleeved outfit to go with her canonical DarkAndTroubledPast. P'Li being a BigEater is also a common fanon—primarily on the grounds that [[http://asexualrubyrose.tumblr.com/post/113236433243 someone of her height]] would [[JustifiedTrope require a lot of calories to begin with]], but partly on the grounds that certain [[http://asexualrubyrose.tumblr.com/post/115458892778 symbolism]] concerning the [[ThirdEye ajna chakra]] suggests that combustionbenders would probably have [[StealthPun blast-furnace metabolisms]]. (It's also an example of a humorous quirk which she can be given while [[TheStoic still written completely in-character]].)

* 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, and it's common to see jokes about Korra being insecure about her height, which she never is in canon.

** In addition, it's common in fanfics 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.

* ''Korra'' season three [[RandomlyGifted doesn't explain]] why these particular non-benders became Airbenders after the Harmonic Convergence, but a popular idea is that they have Air Nomad ancestry.

* Some people insist that bending ability and talent is [[LamarckWasRight inherited from one's parents' training]] and/or down to SuperpowerfulGenetics. This is show to be believed by the Fire Sages in ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', who felt that the offspring of the Fire Nation Royal Family and Avatar Roku's descendants would produce powerful firebenders; the resulting children were Zuko and Azula. WordOfGod says that bending manifests due to a mix of genetics, spirituality, and training.

* Saying, "[[OhMyGods Oh, Spirits!]]" (or any variation thereupon) to express frustration, is '''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".

* Some people still insist that bending ability and talent is a case of LamarckWasRight and/or SuperpowerfulGenetics.
** 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 resulting children were Zuko and Azula.
*** It's shown in ''Korra'' that the ''ability'' to bend was originally bestowed on some humans by the Lion Turtles, and that the aforementioned animals taught them the ''art'' of bending, that is, how to actually control and use their abilities to their full potential.

** Related, many assume said counterpart to have been the series original energybenders, their apparent rarity explaining why the bending of spiritual energy is a lost art, and Pathik's teachings being all about altering the chakras within oneself.
* That everyone reincarnates. It's [[OffscreenAfterlife unspecified in canon]] what happens to other 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 can also bend all four elements. WordOfGod is that Momo was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally intended]] to be a reincarnation of Gyatso, but that was never stated in the show.

* A relatively less likely to be contested one is that Jet's Freedom Fighters all go by nicknames assigned by their leader Jet.
* 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.
* 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 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.

** Going hand-in-hand with the above point, the idea that Ty Lee is bisexual has become quite well-accepted. She is not generally interpreted as a lesbian, probably because she is shown to clearly be interested in men on a relatively regular basis and makes passes at both Sokka and Zuko, but her behavior toward Azula is eyebrow-raising enough that it seems no one really thinks she's straight either, despite the gender of the person she is being shipped with. It doesn't hurt that she [[AmbiguouslyBi flirts with]] [[AnythingThatMoves anyone and everyone]].
* Smellerbee (a member of Jet's [[LaResistance Freedom Fighters]]) is a trans girl, based on a scene in which Iroh mistakenly calls her a boy, which causes her to have a breakdown and need to be comforted by one of her comrades, in a way that implies that this is a common occurrence.

* Toph only refers to people by nicknames.
* 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. This was made worse when ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'' revealed that [[spoiler:Ursa was forced into an ArrangedMarriage with Ozai against her will, with all the implications of MaritalRapeLicense that come]].
* 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 take 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.

* Momo as Gyatso's reincarnation. This comes from scrapped plans for the series.

* Smellerbee (a member of Jet's [[LaResistance Freedom Fighters]]) is a trans girl, based on a scene in which Iroh mistaken calls her a boy, which causes her to have a breakdown and need to be comforted by one of her comrades, in a way that implies that this is a common occurrence.