#mai x koh the face stealer

[picnicbitchsokka]

updated version ⚔️

[uh-ohspaghettio]

Ok but imagine if you will: Koh the face stealer up against Mai

She’d be unbeatable

[avatar-wtf-weekend]

Welcome Back!

We're glad to see you again. Even if the characters are a bit aprehensive.

What is Avatar WTF Weekend?

This event is dedicated to ultra-rare pairings from the Avatar: the Last Airbender universe. While the spirit of the event is around what's known as crack pairings, any pairing with fewer than 10 fics on AO3 is allowed.

When is it?

The third edition of the event will run the last weekend of summer from Friday, August 30th through Sunday, September 1st.

Schedule of events is as follows:

Prompt Submission begins: April 19-May 3.

Prompt Voting: May 5-19

Prompt Reveal: June 1st

Avatar WTF Weekend: Friday, August 30-Sunday, September 1

How to participate?

Making content! This can include fics, art, moodboards, playlists, gifs, or any other art medium. If you have a crack pairing you’ve always wanted to show off, now’s your chance!

When you post, be sure to tag the blog or use the hashtag #avatarwtfweekend.

You can also add your works to the AO3 collection here: Avatar_WTF_Weekend

What pairings count?

Any pairings from anywhere in the Avatar universe - including ATLA, LOK, comics, and novels - with less than 10 tagged fics on AO3 will count for the purpose of the event. But don’t let that deter you from trying to come up with something entirely new! Note: We've also amended this rule to exclude incest pairings from the event.

Are platonic relationships allowed?

For the purpose of the event, we are asking for romantic pairings only (even if the pairing isn’t explicitly dating — they should be romantically interested in each other). Platonic background relationships are allowed.

What about polyships?

Yes! Absolutely. As long as the poly relationship as a unit does not have more than ten fics in the tag on AO3.

Can we have crossovers?

No, submissions cannot be crossovers from other fandoms. Only Avatar universes and characters are allowed. However, you are free to do crossovers within different eras of Avatar. Throw the Krew in with the Gaang and see who gets a crush! As long as the pairing meets the rest of the rules, go nuts!

Is NSFW allowed?

Yes, the event will accept M and E rated fics so long as characters are 18+ or aged up, the works are properly tagged and rated, and nsfw content shared to Tumblr is placed under a cut with proper tagging. No non-con or CNC.

To share a mature work to the blog, please include the tag #spicywtfweekend.

Prompts

Avatar WTF Weekend 2024 Prompts

Day one: Noodles / "I never thought I'd do that" / Recovery

Day two: Abandon / "Dance with me" / Hand in unlovable hand

Day three: Smoke / "Well, no one died" / Behind closed doors

Other Rules

Be kind. No ship-bashing, ship wars, homophobia, transphobia, racism, or any other kind of hate will be tolerated.

Have fun! This event is meant to be a fun, silly event for people to explore new or extremely rare pairings and maybe push themselves creatively. Enjoy yourself!

In case it helps, here are some examples of pairings suitable for WTF weekend:

Toph x Yakone

Ursa x King Kuei

Jet x Cabbage Man

Suki x Smellerbee

Iroh II x Kuvira

Korra x Koh the Face Stealer

As you can see, this event will require some out-of-the-box thinking! Please send an ask if you have any questions about pairings or what qualifies for the event.

[breeeliss]

i heard some people don’t know about the Taang/Kummi theory

So this was originally supposed to be a response to an ask I had gotten about this ATLA theory, but because Read More links on Tumblr asks seem to break once you edit them, I’m reposting so that people can actually see the post lol 

For anyone who wasn’t a part of the Toph x Aang LiveJournal fandom in the early 2000s, buckle up, because this bugged me out as a 13 year old. 

Remember the end of “The Swamp” (Book 2, Episode 4)? We find out the swamp isn’t haunted, Huu was just protecting it the whole time, and then he explains to Katara, Sokka, and Aang why the swamp is so mystical and sacred.

The swamp is just one big banyan grove tree that’s grown out over miles and miles. All the branches and trees they see are connected because they’re one big breathing organism. And that extends to life as well. We’re all living beings. We all share the same roots. We all are from the same tree, even if we don’t act like it. Everything is connected! Cool stuff.

But when Katara asks what her seeing her mother and what Sokka seeing Yue meant, Huu explains that “in the swamp, we see visions of people we lost, people we’ve loved, folks we think are gone, but the swamp tells us they’re not. We’re still connected to them. Time is an illusion, and so is death.” So Katara never really lost her mother and Sokka never really lost Yue because the connections we make in life transcend death and time. They’re not gone. They’re still a part of us. The swamp reminds us of this.

Now, to keep in theme with this, we probably would’ve expected Aang to also see visions of people he’s lost and loved before (Gyatso, the other Airbenders, his culture, etc.)

But for some reason, Aang sees...Toph. Someone he doesn’t know.

Huu doesn’t really give Aang an explanation for this, he sort of just lets Aang figure it out for himself. And what we’re left is “okay well if time is an illusion and this isn’t someone I’ve made a connection with yet, it’s someone I will make a connection with.” We’re made to accept that as viewers, but why was Aang’s vision so different? Was it really just to lead him in the direction of his Earthbending Master so that he can continue on with his destiny?

Or was it because, unbeknownst to Aang, Toph actually was someone that he had loved and lost before? Just not in this life. In another life. A past life. When he wasn’t Aang, but rather Avatar Kuruk, the Southern Water Tribe Avatar that came before Avatar Kyoshi.

✨Basically the theory is that Toph is one of the reincarnations of Ummi, the southern water tribe woman that fell in love with Avatar Kuruk and had her face tragically stolen by Koh, the Face Stealer.✨

Stay with me, because it gets way deeper.

Who are Kuruk and Ummi you ask?

We formally meet Kuruk during “Sozin’s Comet Part 2: The Old Masters” (Book 3, Episode 19) when Aang is appealing to his past lives for wisdom with regard to what to do with Ozai. Kuruk was a “go with the flow” (lmao) Avatar and sort of just let things play out and it seemed to work for him. He met a girl named Ummi, they fell in love, they were gonna get married, cool.  

According to the comic books, Koh I guess was kinda off-put by Kuruk’s arrogance? So as punishment this spirit straight up abducts Ummi on their wedding night and steals her face (ultimately killing her). He blames himself, saying if he’d been more attentive and active he could’ve saved her. He tried to kill Koh out of revenge over it, but could never do so. Koh alludes to this when Aang visits him in “The Siege of the North Part 2″ (Book 1, Episode 20) and shows Aang Ummi’s face. All in all, super tragic.

The Avatar never really “dies.” He’s constantly being reborn. The reason Aang is able to consult his past lives for wisdom is because all of his past lives are him. If the point of the swamp is to get you to understand that death is an illusion, then the swamp understands that the separation between Aang and Kuruk is also an illusion. They’re different people but also the same person all at once. They’re still connected.

So, assuming that Aang was no different from Katara and Sokka and was also seeing people that he’s loved and lost in the past while in the swamp, maybe Toph really is someone he’s met and known before. He just lost and loved her in a past life that neither of them remembers back when they were both completely different people.

But wait, what’s the proof that Ummi is one of Toph’s past lives?

This theory hinges on the assumption that the Avatar isn’t the only one who is capable of being reincarnated. So if you keep with that assumption, there are a few moments highlighted by the theory that connect Toph and Ummi.

The most obvious of which is that Toph is blind. Seeing as how Ummi lost her face when she was a human (and Koh still has it), it would make sense that her future reincarnations would potentially have some kind of loss of their senses attributed to, you know, getting your face ripped off. BUT, another detail that is, in my opinion, a little more interesting is one of Aang’s anxiety nightmares from “Nightmares and Daydreams” (Book 3, Episode 9). Specifically the part of the nightmare where Toph is featured looking like this:

(so creepy ;A;) But why does Toph manifest in Aang’s dream this way, devoid of life and devoid of a face of all things?

This dream that Aang is having is over his anxieties/fears over losing his friends. Sokka, Toph, and Katara all succumb to some sort of horrific end in this dream and Aang is unable to save them. It seems like his anxieties over losing Toph manifested through showing us Toph as a lifeless husk with...no face. Maybe when Aang was having this nightmare, some of the fears and anxieties felt by his previous lives were bleeding in. It would make sense that Kuruk’s greatest anxiety/fear would be losing his loved ones as well, after he failed to protect Ummi from having her face stolen.

And if we assume that Toph actually is Ummi (i.e. a reincarnation that Aang subconsciously remembers), it would make sense that Aang would see Toph standing there in the darkness. Her face stolen. Helpless to save her.

And then in “The Avatar and the Firelord” (Book 3, Episode 6), after learning about Zuko’s lineage and Avatar Roku’s relationship with Sozin, it’s Toph who remarks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”

It’s interesting that Toph would be the one to ask this. And it’s interesting that Aang is the one that reaches out to hold her hand first and tell him that he doesn’t see why that can’t be possible. Because these connections that transcend lifetimes aren’t limited to just the Avatar. They’re apparent in everyone’s lives, no matter who you are. And the fact that Toph and Aang were able to share that brief moment and give each other that reassurance makes sense if you consider that, several lifetimes ago for them both, they were a lot closer than just mere friends.

And are there other connections between Taang and Kummi?

The theory supports some interesting parallels between Kuruk and Ummi’s relationship and Toph and Aang’s relationship. Kuruk and Aang are very similar in that they both avoided their Avatar duties. Kuruk because of his lackadaisical nature and Aang because he was afraid.

Ummi ultimately ended up being Kuruk’s punishment for not being able break from this passivity and actively pursue his responsibilities as the Avatar. But, by contrast, Toph ended up being Aang’s greatest asset with regard to helping him break from his passivity and learn to face things head on no matter how impossible they may seem.

The Earthbending portion of “Bitter Work” (Book 2, Episode 9) is exclusively about this. Aang is passive by nature, hence why Earthbending is such a hard element for him to master. As Toph so eloquently put: “You had a perform stance, and a perfect form, but when it came right down to it you didn’t have the guts.” The whole episode she’s goading him into being strong and firm. She mercilessly lays into him for not being direct. For being a pushover. For not facing his problems. For not standing up for himself. For being passive. The very thing that was Kuruk’s downfall.

But the pushing works because Toph unlocks something very powerful in him. Toph taught him how to be active. To face his struggles head on. To not flinch before responsibility or danger. That moment where Aang stands up to the moose lion and promises Sokka that he won’t leave him alone (that he will be there to protect him, and he’ll stand staunch in the face of danger) is a really important emotional milestone. It’s a role that’s very different from the one that Katara plays in Aang’s life, but it’s no less important.

Katara has always been someone who cared deeply for Aang’s emotional needs, who understood the reasons why he was afraid, why he wanted to run away, why he wanted to avoid responsibility. But Toph was very much someone who took a much rougher approach to Aang. Because Aang needed it. Because Aang’s inactivity also threatened to be his downfall in this life because it got in the way of him mastering the Earth element. Toph and Aang became a victory instead of a tragedy. Toph wasn’t used as a way to hurt Aang, like Ummi was used to hurt Kuruk. Toph was one of Aang’s greatest sources of strength.

And it was their connection to each other -- their connection that transcended lifetimes -- that brought them back together as friends.

And maybe more if you feel like adding a ship to your repertoire.

[silentfcknhill]

Are there any ships in ATLA (canon or not) that you like?

Oh boy, you just opened a whole can of worms xD I'll try not to ramble too much here but asfjgfgkj yes. Yes I do.

Originally I was really happy that AtLA was making a comeback because it's on American Netlfix now and available for a new audience of mostly Gen Z and I was hopeful that maybe I'd see some good ships become popular because when I was growing up everyone like Zutara or Tokka or Jetara (not against them but they weren't my thing).

....But then I realized that all of the new popular ships are also ships that I don't really care about like Zukka (don't hate it either, just not my cup of tea). So I guess I'll just be over here with my unpopular ships until the end of time. xD Apparently I like villain ships the best.

Also I don't know if you meant just AtLA or the whole Avatarverse, but I included tLoK too because it's all one shared universe with some of the same characters.

This is probably deeply cursed and random so I'm sorry in advance. |D Lists in alphabetical order because I'm OCD:

Characters I pair together but I'm not actively invested in (mainly canon ships tbh):

~Aang x Katara (so sue me xD) ~Bolin x Opal Beifong (she’s a good match for him finally) ~Kai x Jinora (kinda cute) ~Sokka x Suki (prefer her over yue with him because they got more screentime) ~Tenzin x Pema (she didn’t ‘steal’ him, they’re just more compatible) ~Tonraq + Senna (they’re great parents together) ~President Raiko x Buttercup Raiko (background af but still canon)

Pairings I actively ship:

~Azula x Ty Lee (that Grey DeLisle also likes it makes me happy) ~Bumi (Aang's son) x Lin Beifong (opposites attract xD) ~Ghazan x Ming-Hua (it was sort of hinted at in canon) ~Hakoda x Bato (domestic warrior husbands) ~Huan Beifong x Eska (these two emos belong together xD) ~Firelord Sozin x Avatar Roku (so. much. angst) ~Tahno x Desna (okay but tell me this wouldn’t work) ~Uncle Iroh x June (this is just too cute ^.^) ~Xin-Fu x Master Yu (the crackship potential is too strong) ~Yakone x His wife (I named her Ila just because) ~Zaheer x P'Li (canon and actually pretty healthy for a villainship) ~Prince Zuko x Mai (everyone hates Mai and I don’t get it :c)

Top tier pairings:

~Aiwei x Suyin Beifong (an affair that ends in betrayal) ~Bataar Jr. Beifong x Kuvira (canon and delicious) ~Earth Queen Hou-Ting x Gun (i’m sorry to gun but i had to do it to em) ~Korra x Asami Sato (unexpected in a good way) ~Mako x Prince Wu (was this not canon? it seemed canon xD) ~Firelord Ozai x Princess Ursa (he’s not very nice to her though so it’s onesided) ~Vaatu x Raava (the ultimate enemies to lovers dichotomy >:D) ~Varrick x Zhu Li (you can pry them from my cold dead hands)

OTPs:

~Amon x Councilman Tarrlok (codependent in the worst and best way) ~Long Feng x Earth King Kuei (he kept kuei under his influence too well) ~Wan Shi Tong x Unalaq (there is no heterosexual explanation for their bond) ~Admiral Zhao x Princess Ursa (she's married to his boss but he’s in love with her)

Oh and I also have a crossover ship for Koh the Face Stealer but I'm not sure where to put it so I'll mention it here: 

~Koh x No Face (from Spirited Away. the face-spirit theme just fits)

[middleofnowhere92]

For the ask game, could you do Zuko X Aang please? :3

Yaaas, Zukaang! Also, I’m working on your other ask. I’m just a procrastinator. 

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? Either a few years or forever. They both get on each other’s nerves, so they would have to put in work. 

How quickly did/will they fall in love? It look them forever to figure out they were in love. 

How was their first kiss? Passionate. Cause they finally figure out that they like each other. 

Wedding:

Who proposed? Aang, Zuko has commitment issues. 

Who is the best man/men? Sokka, Toph and Azula. 

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? Katara, Ty Lee and Mai

Who did the most planning? Aang

Who stressed the most? Both!

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? Zhao and Koh the Face Stealer. Oh and Ozai. #duh

NSFW Below

Sex:

Who is on top? They switch!

Who is the one to instigate things? Aang is such a flirt. 

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? They could go awhile! Aang has high energy and Zuko is disciplined enough to hold off. 

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? I don’t think they sit there and count, but it naturally works out. 

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? 0

How many children will they adopt? 3-4

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? Both!

Who is the stricter parent? This is a tie. I could see both of them, being a little lax. Zuko would probably struggle with how strict he wants to be since his dad was King Trash Panda. 

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? N/A. They would just show them how to do it safely. “Oh, you’re jumping off the top of the slide? Bend your knees on impact mate!”

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? Aang

Who is the more loved parent? Aang, but Zuko would grow on the kids when they’re adults. 

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Aang

Who cried the most at graduation? Zuko

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? Zuko. Aang has a strong moral compass and would probably be like, ya’ll little assholes deserve it. Unless it was undeserved than Papa Aang would go grab em. 

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? Aang

Who is the most picky in their food choice? Aang

Who does the grocery shopping? Aang

How often do they bake desserts? once or twice a week

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? 50/50

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? Zuko does big gestures to make up for the fact that he’s not super affectionate. 

Who is more likely to suggest going out? Aang

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? Both. #himbos. 

Chores:

Who cleans the room? Both. 

Who is really against chores? Aang. Zuko does it on autopilot. 

Who cleans up after the pets? Aang. 

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? Aang. 

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? Zuko

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? Aang

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? Both! Especially together..wink wink

Who takes the dog out for a walk? Aang

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? Aang decorates for all holidays. 

What are their goals for the relationship? To not annoy the shit out of each other and be happy. 

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? Aang

Who plays the most pranks? Aang. Poor Zuko

Send me a ship for the this

[paristexaz]

This scene is so important to me. Azula read Mai like an open book and proved that Mai is not emotionless. Both Azula and Zuko could see Mai’s life for what it was, abusive. Mai thinks her childhood was fine as she was surrounded by nothing but materialism but what is it all worth when you are told your whole life to shut up and stay still? Not to speak unless spoken? That is emotionally crippling for anyone let alone a small child. Unfortunately Mai has normalized this. When anti Mai’s think she’s telling Zuko to shut up (which she doesn’t, that’s a very false narrative) it’s not her being an asshole to Zuko or being downright abusive. This is an unhealthy learned pattern of behavior which is eerily familiar (x)

Emotionally and psychologically abused people seldom realize who their abusers are or that they are being abused in the first place. Yet somewhere, down in their subconcious, if you will, there’s something that doesn’t click. It is something Mai realizes but can’t put her finger on it. It hurts her when Azula puts the puzzles together because it’s true. She reacts accordingly and this 14 year old insanely clever girl just psychoanalysed her in just a matter of seconds. As  someone who has gone through psychoanalysis let me tell you what a whild emotionally trip it is. It forces you to confront those suppressed feelings of pain that you usually do not want to confront (keeping your emotions bottled up inside).

On another wild take, not many might see the parallels, but I recommend people to read Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca which deals with emotional abuse and I theorize Michi and Mai are a milder version. The cold housekeeper Mrs. Danvers belittles, talks down to, ignores and basically makes the main character, The second Mrs. de Winter, feeling like she’s nothing (ironically the main character doesn’t have a first name. When you are made into feeling like you’re nothing, you become nothing which becomes the case of The Second Mrs. de Winters). And they deal with it in different ways but end up becoming emotional wrecks.

But what really interests me is how Azula saw through Mai’s little speech about how good of a childhood she had and got whatever she wanted. Azula IS a people person. She reads people like open books and Azula proved that Mai could not stand a chance against Koh the Face Stealer. This is what makes Mai’s line more interesting to me in The Boiling Rock Part 2 because there’s 2 meanings to it. “I guess you don’t know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.”

1.) She openly declares her love and loyalty to Zuko

but also 2.) It’s getting back at Azula. It contrasts how Azula read her back at The Beach. It’s ironic knowing that Azula brought her from the emotional repressed place to somewhere were she is forced to deal with the abuse she dealt with.

But also I personally think Azula knew Mai was that close to Zuko. Azula is not stupid. Sure she is prone to mistakes but Azula knew Mai wasn’t as easy to work on like Ty Lee was. Azula always knew back in her head. I can’t be fooled to think anything otherwise.