#atla theory

[charlesoberonn]

Everyone talks about Zuko's redemption arc but nobody talks about Iroh's redemption arc. Probably because it's a lot subtler and we only see it from the outside, and only the tail-end of it.

Before his son died, Iroh was a pretty bad dude. He had redeeming qualities, like sparing the last dragons and loving his family. But he was still a general leading a campaign of conquest.

His redemption started after his son died. He clearly had a lot of self reflection as well as a spiritual awakening in the following years.

But he was still conflicted, trying to remain loyal to his nation and family while also practicing the principles he learned from his travels. But those things were incompatible.

Even after he had to actively fight against the Fire Nation when Zhao threatened the moon spirit, he still thought he could return to living in the Fire Nation.

It's only after Azula tried to imprison him and Zuko and forced them on the run that he gave up on the idea.

I think it's sometime around their time staying in Ba Sing Se that he finally decided to oppose the Fire Nation. At the price of his own freedom, eventually.

I think seeing Zuko's struggles with redemption reminded him of his own earlier struggles, and it's what finally pushed him over the edge. He didn't just help Zuko redeem himself, Zuko helped him redeem himself too.

[orbis-alius]

So, did anyone else notice a pattern in the world's perception of Avatars?

Air, they are practically revered as the best; generally, we only hear praise about Yangchen, and Aang ended a hundred-year war.

Water, they are the worst. For quite some time, Kuruk was presented to us as lazy and careless. Korra faced countless problems and is blamed by others for destroying the world, as far as we know.

Earth, Kyoshi appears to be loved except by that small pro-dictator town. We don't know much about Pavi yet, but her design looks sweet, and we could assume she'll be focused on uniting the people of a shattered world or something similar, something she could be loved for, or at least restoring people's belief in the Avatar.

Fire, We only have Roku and Szeto, and their lives seemed to be largely defined by their nation. Szeto focused on his people's politics, while Roku couldn't prevent them from starting a war.

Until we have more examples, the last two are mostly speculation, but we could say that this pattern arises from a cycle.

Air has to deal with problems that lead them to be revered once they are resolved, and their mistakes are not held against them much. Water is seen as deficient compared to its predecessor and is mostly recognized for its mistakes. Earth provides a visible solution to its predecessor's problems, which grants it enough love from the people for Fire to focus on problems with its own nation, but these lead to the problems that Air will have to face, and so the cycle begins again.

What do you think? Did I get too lost in creating my fanfic, or could it be plausible for canon?

[biconickyoshi]

What do you think about the theory that all people in the Avatar can reincarnate, provided they don't choose to remain in the dhu world like Iroh, or are forced there like Zhao, but simply don't have as strong a connection to their past selves as the Avatar does? And if that's true, whose reincarnation do you think Zuko from your fanfic could be? I can't decide which is better: Rangi or Sozin? Considering that both of these options are very good and a bit symbolic.

I’m a huge believer in this theory, as it is what makes the most sense to me lore-wise. Raava says to Wan when he’s dying that she will be with him for “all of his lifetimes”, implying that his other lives would exist regardless of Raava’s presence. We don’t see many humans in the Spirit World aside from Iroh, Zhao + the other people stuck in the Fog of Lost Souls, and the past lives of the Avatar themself. So I definitely don’t think that most humans go to the Spirit World when they die and stay there forever like it’s heaven or something lol.

Reincarnation for everyone makes a lot more sense to me. The Avatar is just the only person we know for certain reincarnates due to their ability to connect with past lives + only one person in the entire world being able to bend all four elements. I do have a theory that if a very spiritual person wanted to experience memories of their past lives, they might be able to tap into that with careful meditation, but it would not come to them as easily as it does to the Avatar due to Raava acting as a sort of conduit for connecting with past lives.

As for who Zuko might be a reincarnation of… I don’t think I would go with Sozin, as he died decades before Zuko was born. Rangi is a lot more plausible to me, since she likely had several other reincarnations between her and Zuko.

For TAatFP!Zuko in particular, however, I’ve actually toyed with the idea of Zuko being the reincarnation of Yanli, Aang’s friend from the Western Air Temple. She died the same year Zuko was born, and Aang had a crush on her back before he was frozen. If the War hadn’t happened, Aang might have even fallen in love with her and married her. So I think that it would be sweet if it ended up that Zuko was her reincarnation, though there wouldn’t really be any way to confirm this lol.

[solo-walker]

Alright, time for another batshit ATLA theory!

I have been ominously told that this girl (who i've been calling "Smug Kid"), is going to have a pretty big role in the plot, so of course, I began wracking my brains as to who she might be.

Let's look at the facts and some inferences:

She's clearly pleased by Zuko's humiliation (possibly for her own motives? be they personal or aspirational)

She's standing beside Iroh (and in the same line as Zhao)

Therefore, she's of high enough social standing to be witness to this and be in this position

She doesn't look like an adult, or like she's old enough to hold a rank that warrants this place.

Therefore, she must be somehow related by family! Therefore, I conclude...

Smug Kid is IROH'S DAUGHTER!!

And therefore, Zuko's Evil Cousin™

I considered her being Zhao's daughter, but I think there's more potential to her being Iroh's daughter (/granddaughter?). That way, she actually has a chance of taking his place if he's sent away in dishonor, and adds another layer to the relationship between Iroh and Zuko!

I imagine she might feel slighted by his affection toward his nephew, and possibly has a drive to prove herself to the Firelord (who'd be her uncle in this case) and gain a position of power in order to seek validation by that route. I think this possibility would add more complexity to Iroh, especially if he may feels she is unsalvageable or feels he maybe didn't try hard enough to turn her around (hence his attempts to "help" Zuko, which in turn worsens the rift between him and Smug Kid).

Also, he was behaving in a very fatherly manner toward the black-haired girl with the horrifying anteater-smell-detector, which beamed the idea of girl-dad-Iroh so clearly into my head that I just had to start thinking about this possibility.

[callmealioness]

Everyone theorizes that Ty Lee has air nomad ancestry because her eyes are grey, but why does no one speculate that Suki may have water tribe ancestry? She has blue eyes !!!!

And it makes a lot of sense when you take into account how close Kyoshi Island is to the Southern Water Tribe

We know nothing about Suki’s parents so I headcanon that her father was a SWT man who immigrated north to escape the genocide. Sokka was ecstatic when he found out 🫂

[queen-of-chaos-offical]

Y'know

since Sokka's first gf turned into the moon and all, do you think she ever stalks him at night from above?

And like

get jealous when he flirts with Suki?

[shishuri]

Since avatar is like getting talked about again because of the movie.. im just gonna share my 2 cents about a theory..

I absolutely hate the theory that Sokka is the father of one of Toph's child.. every single one of those people who believes that theory never took into account Katara.. Katara, the most motherly of Gaang, you really think this woman would ever leave her niece alone the moment Sokka died.. no no no.. she would have semi- adopted that child day 1 with or without toph's permission and regardless of their age when sokka died.. even if they were already adults.. she would be there for that child.. in korra they dont seem to be close to katara at all..

So no sokka is definitely not the father..

[immi-immi]

Since the Fire Nation knew the Air Nomad Avatar was a child, that's why they decided to attack the temples first. That's where the children stay.