#katara would love stardust

[theredhairedmonkey]

I feel like a lot of the debate around whether Callum's deepest truth is "Love" or "Rayla" is really missing the point, which is why the obnoxiously smug yet weirdly angry and aggrieved memes (here and here) seem to revolve entirely around semantics.

For starters, nobody is asking people to simply take their word that the show runners said Callum's deepest truth is love. They simply point to their comments at the 2024 SDCC. Second, and more importantly, because the showrunners also said "Callum comes to the realization that [Rayla] is his center and guiding star," rather than suggesting Callum's deep truth is one and not the other, these are not mutually exclusive ideas, but complementary aspects of a single, profound concept.  (as I said before).

One doesn't have to go very far to know what that means - this is an idea that is carried over from ATLA.

You have indeed felt a great loss, but love is a form of energy and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads love for you has not left this world, it is still inside of your heart, and is reborn as new love.

In Aang's vision, we see the love of the Air Nomads transform into Katara. This transformation doesn't negate or diminish his love for the Air Nomads; instead, it demonstrates love's capacity to evolve and find new expressions. Love isn't wasted or destroyed, but transformed. Love is a fundamental force in the world, whether manifested towards a specific person, people, or idea.

Rayla currently represents the most potent embodiment of this fundamental force in his life. Had Callum sought his deepest truth at different points in his life, it might have manifested as his parents, as Ezran or, in the future, potentially his children. Yet in each case, the underlying truth would remain the same: a vision of "stardust held together by love."

The showrunners' statement that Rayla is Callum's "center and guiding star" underscores the personal manifestation of this universal force. Rayla represents the current focal point of Callum's understanding and experience of love, but this doesn't contradict the idea that Callum's deepest truth is love.

[saturnincs]

➢ tagged by : @amaarok​ ➢ tagging : @strsinthesky​ @knifethrown​ @hastolead​ idk whoever else wants to do this!!

( bold  =  always / often  |  italics  =  sometimes / conditionally )

KATARA

ARIES:   bonfires, competitiveness,  hand veins, loud laughs,  messy hair,  sneaking out at 2am, abandoned beaches, stray dogs,  candle lights,  body language,  creaking floorboards,  ouija boards,  having no regrets,  karaoke nights out.

TAURUS:   house plants,  oversized sweaters,  soft hands,  fuzzy socks,  visiting big cities, snoozing your alarm clock,  the color yellow,  vanilla-scented candles,  aloe vera,  fruit smoothies,  baking cookies,  the mom friend, loves the ukulele.

GEMINI:   femme fatale movies,  in love with female villains,  sharp eyeliner,  quick-witted, does things out of spite,  do no harm but take no shit,  in love with dogs,  probably cries during sad movies but won’t admit it,  easily excited, ripped jeans.

CANCER:   mermaids,  easily infatuated by love, smelling flowers,  picnics in open fields, gets sad when thinking about the past,  impressed easily,  daydreaming in class, plucking fresh fruit,  loves fashion,  would die for their friends.

LEO:   confident in what they do,  kill them with kindness,  high ponytails,  probably wants to visit paris once,  not afraid to tell the truth,  in love with cute animals,  the one to lift others up,  good at teamwork,  the warm feeling of summer,  dragons.

VIRGO:   pastel markers,  the smell of lavender, has a welcoming vibe around them,  actually organized, scrunchies,  neat notes, loves going to museums,  probably into photography, neutral colors,  handwritten letters,  stardust.

LIBRA:   soft blankets,  cuddling the ones you love,  always standing up for your friends,  hopeless romantic,  can be very distant,  can be a little dramatic,  pretty hair,  dresses nicely,   tries to be popular on social media,  optimistic,  humorous.

SCORPIO:   cottages in the woods,  in love with greek mythology,   vintage t-shirts,  really emotional but doesn’t want anyone to know,  determined,  moonlight, pretty handwriting, into the retro aesthetic, rainy days,  doesn’t judge people,  cats.

SAGITTARIUS:   always ready for an adventure, street smart,  wants to travel the world someday, doesn’t easily trust people,  alcohol,  paintbrushes, can’t sit still, untied shoelaces, tangled up earphones,  blasting music at midnight,  eye-gazing.

CAPRICORN:   cold aura,   coffee is what keeps them going,  probably hasn’t slept in two days, actually a big softie, high-waisted jeans,  cute pet videos,  small apartments, has too many notebooks,  often goes to the library,  writing essays.

AQUARIUS:   loves to paint & do any kind of art,  wants to live at the seaside,  knows a lot of random facts,  shares food, messy notes,  bullshits an entire essay, graffiti, has their own distinct style,  wants to live their life like they want to.

PISCES:   old teddy bears,  unsent love letters,  mom-jeans,  loves to sing, feels at home by the ocean,  writes poetry,  hard worker,  always up for deep conversations, probably did the stupid thing,  open curtains, a soft breeze.

[sky-kiss]

Azula for the character thing

A/N: Here it goes.

_____

How I feel about this character: I do love Azula. I don’t think I love her with the same passion as a lot of her fans but I adore her as a character. In my opinion, Azula is an excellent example of a female character done well. Whereas I have issues with Katara because so MUCH of her storyline is her pointing out that she’s not like other girls; she’s strong, raw, raw, Azula’s gender rarely factors in to her identity. She is a powerful character and she happens to be a girl. Her sex doesn’t define her and god I wish we had more of that. She’s well written; she’s clever. She’s  brutal, efficient, and she’s badass. And she looks good doing all of that.

I think…because of those things she does get a little more attention then she maybe deserves. But as a character, she’s fantastic. I love her story. I love her slow and steady devolution. I love that the show doesn’t shy away from the fact that she’s been emotionally abused/manipulated, that she’s an abuser herself…it’s all pretty impressive and make her very unique.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: This is difficult for me. Within the context of canon, I don’t think I ship Azula with anyone. She’s a beautiful girl but she’s never struck me as being particularly sexual. I guess Azula/Power or Azula/Healthy Mental Conditions, is my Azula OTP.

If we open it up to fanon then  I do enjoy the idea of her and Sokka together. The Fire Fam all need their stabilizing elements. Mai is this for Zuko; Ursa was ( in my fantasy world) this for Ozai. Sokka could be that for Azula. I will say that I do not ship them immediately post series; I personally believe Azula would to focus on getting her own shit in order and Sokka would need to world through his  feelings of uh…distaste for precious murder babe. But when they are both older, they could be sassy and enjoy each other’s company.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Mai and Ty Lee are perfect babes and I want them all to be friends again. I know it’ll take a lot since…well, they aren’t on great terms. But I desire this for them all.

Also. Super random, but I think that she could be great friends with Toph. If Azula ever graduated to either anti-villain or anti-hero status, she’d make a great snark bro for Toph, who is arguably a nominal hero herself.

My unpopular opinion about this character: …this feels like a trap. Alright, unpopular opinion. A safe…ish one. I don’t think Azula’s a very sexual person naturally. I don’t think she couldn’t or wouldn’t fall in love; she for sure can and will. But like…I dunno. It’s hard for me to see her actively pursuing someone for something other than power or curiousity.

Also, I think when it finally did hit her she would be hella awkward. And for all her bravado and confidence and snark, if the person did something truly sweet which caught her off guard she’d just…need a few minutes to try and compute.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:  I want Azula to get a redemption story. But I want this to happen from building on all her past crimes. Let the girl own the shit she did in canon and use it move forward. Let her start making amends. Let her rebuild her relationship with Zuko.

Also, I don’t personally want her to become a good good guy. I would love for her to keep her sass and dark sense of humor. Like, for her to sit on Zuko’s council and be that kind of shady friend who is quick to suggest the pragmatic or potentially brutal thing. She would put her country first and be a great like…reality check compared to the rest of the Gaang who kind of just believe in rainbows and stardust and the power of love.

Also I really just want my daughter to be healthy, is that too much to ask?

[grassangel]

Meme for Shippers: 2, 10, 17, 26, 32 (any fandom) :D

Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life:

Answered already here

Do you ship any characters that have never met?

Yes, plenty. Lokane used to be one, technically the Thirteenth Doctor/Missy and the Thirteenth Doctor/River Song haven’t met yet. One notable one though is Calcifer & Yvaine from the books Howl’s Moving Castle and Stardust. They’re both falling stars and they both land in pastoral fantasy lands. I think Yvaine would be so pleased to have the company of another sibling. (If you want a proper ship, I suppose Howl/Yvaine would work.) A ship that isn’t a crossover ship? Eurus Holmes/Mary Morstan from Sherlock. Eurus/Irene is also nice, but I like the idea of giving the younger Holmeses a Watson each.

Talk about a pairing you’ve stopped shipping romantically.

Oooh, this is hard. I have a whole list of ships which I vacillate between sex/romantic shipping and platonic shipping (or plain don’t know how I ship it), I don’t think I have any ones that permanently switched from romantic to platonic, and I tend to multiship rather than dropping ships entirely.Katara/Zuko might fit the bill? I shipped it before I watched book 3, but the way Katara held a grudge, even when Zuko joined the Gaang, just made me think it would boil over too quickly and too often. So I don’t ship it now, at least immediately after the series. I have a soft spot for an older Zuko and Katara finding companionship in each other after they’ve mellowed a bit.

Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you’re more drawn to?

I used to never have a clear answer for this, aside from polyships. But I think it was Bog/Marianne from Strange Magic that made me realise, to quote Steve Rogers, that it’s people with shared life experiences I enjoy shipping. Characters who have similar backgrounds, or have parallels in their history. Kind of alongside that, I also like relationships where they can learn from each other, or shore up each others weaknesses. For example in the MCU I like Steve/Natasha because Steve’s optimism and steadfastness balances out Natasha’s cynicism and pragmatism, plus the way they’ve both been used by their countries for various purposes and they way they’ve likely felt their bodies are not their own. Meanwhile with Jane and Loki, they’re both too clever for their own good and both have something to prove. But they both have a one size fits all approach to solving problems, which doesn’t work well for the issues they face: Jane asks questions and approaches things head on and directly, while Loki thinks he knows what is going on and tries to work around and manipulate the situation.

Share five must-read fics. (any fandom)

in no particular order: write this number down (you can call it anytime) by pocky_slash

I’m pretty sure this is my platonic ideal of a post X-men: First Class fic. There’s Wanda and Pietro, there’s the school, there’s a slow and gradual coming together of Charles and Erik as their priorities align more.

Overlapping Spaces by khilari, Persephone_Kore

Jane and Loki friendship fic! I am sure I sound like a broken record reccing this again, but I love their friendship in this, the way they work together. It’s why I ship it, and even though this isn’t Lokane, it’s so fulfilling on so many levels. There’s world building for Asgard and what makes Asgardians who they are, there’s a lot of Frigga, there’s Jane building her bridge and Loki becoming more confident in his place as a prince and the responsibilities that comes with that.

An Ever-Fixed Mark by imperfectcircle

The singular best sedoretu fic. I feel if you’re into polyshipping and want some neat AU ideas, sedoretus inevitably come up and this will get recced as an example of how to write sedoretu fic.

Keeping Score by Anarfea

It’s this or A Dangerous Love by redbuttonhole, and while both have Mary, who is anathema to most of the Sherlock fandom, I love her. And both these fics explore her relationship with Sherlock, and the toxic way John loves both Mary and John. Both were written pre-s4 and I feel it’s testament to how well the authors have captured that side of John that they still stand up.

Not a moment too soon by lloydsglasses

Plus the sort-of-sequel But the moment has been prepared for. Because yes, the Doctor is nonbinary and genderfluid, but also sometimes you just want a good trans narrative about self discovery. And this is that for Twelve.

[moonlightmolly]

Fandom Tag Meme

Thank you to @gallihafry for tagging me! Sorry it took me so long to do this!

1. Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s):

I've never been super into shipping (I've actually distanced myself from a few fandoms because some of the shippers were so rude to people). I've found that most of my favorite relationships on Doctor Who have been mainly platonic ones, like the friendships between Eleven and Amy, Ten and Donna, and Twelve and Bill. The exception to this is Doctor x Clara. I liked her with Eleven, but she and Twelve are just brilliant together. And even this pairing is a little different than most because Clara and Twelve never kiss or do anything overtly romantic (at least not onscreen). And I think that's what appeals to me about it. It's clear that they love each other more than life itself, but their relationship defies categories and stereotypes.

2. A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind (bonus points: who was that person).

I can't think of any.

3. A pairing you used to love, but it all fell apart for you.

I wouldn’t say it all fell apart for me because I still like River x Doctor (The Husbands of River Song is my favorite Christmas Special), but the whole "You're destined to fall in love with me" aspect bothers me because I'm a big believer in free will. However, I do really love the idea of River loving the Doctor throughout his different incarnations, in spite of the huge changes in personality and appearance. Apparently, there’s a Big Finish story where River goes on an adventure with Six and Seven, which sounds pretty entertaining. And I have absolutely nothing against Alex Kingston herself. I got to see her at a panel in my hometown a year ago (my first ever Doctor Who panel!), and she’s so funny and charismatic. I think even my Dad enjoyed listening to her, even though he’s not a Doctor Who fan. And her hair is even more amazing in person.

4. Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what?

Not yet, unfortunately. However, I'm planning on getting Photoshop soon, so maybe I will someday. 🙂

5. What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

I've loved Star Wars since childhood. I think I was around seven when I watched A New Hope for the first time. It’s still my favorite Star Wars movie.

6. Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it?

I think it was either Raven x Beast Boy (Teen Titans) or Aang x Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender).

7. Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over Tumblr.

It was a gifset of Vincent and the Doctor that sparked my interest in Doctor Who. Also, I printed out a Twelfth Doctor quote and put it on the bulletin board over my desk before I ever started watching the show. It was his "scared is a superpower" quote from Listen, which is now one of my favorite episodes.

8. Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike).

While I don't hate any of the Doctor's companions, Rose Tyler is my least favorite. Her possessiveness of the Doctor bugged me. However, I liked her friendship with Nine and I know she played a critical role in healing him after the Time War.

9. Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

I have to agree with @gallihafry here: 1) Less hatred of the showrunners. Constructive criticism is good, personal attacks are not. 2) More respect towards those with differing viewpoints. 3) Kind of ties in with 2, but less "us vs them" attitudes when it comes to ships. We can become so divided over characters and ships that we forget that we all love the same show.

10. Choose a song at random; which ship or character does it remind you of?

"Answer" by Sarah McLachlan makes me think of Twelve and Clara. If I had any video editing skills, I'd make a video for them with that song (and probably cry a lot).

11. A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.

This would obviously be an AU ship, but I really love the idea of Donna x Nine. It all started with this artwork by Kelly Yates. I bought a t-shirt with this on it, and my favorite little detail is the heart between Donna and Nine. I can totally picture those two together, rocking their leather jackets and sassing their way through time and space. They’d probably get into a big argument at some point, then one of them (probably Donna) would randomly interrupt the whole thing with a kiss. How cute would that be? Okay, now I really want to see some Donna x Nine fanart.

12. Your most scandalous headcanon for your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s).

I only recently became a Whouffaldi shipper, so nothing yet.

13. Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)?

I believe that Twelve has a Scottish accent because of Amy, and no one will ever convince me otherwise. It kind of makes me hope that Thirteen will have an accent like Clara's. I really like the idea of remembering a companion through a trait like that.

14. 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms.

I’ve already listed some in this post, but I left out some good ones, so I'm glad this question is here!

Ellen Ripley (Alien) Amy Pond (Doctor Who) Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle) Furiosa (Mad Max: Fury Road)

15. 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms.

Whouffaldi (Doctor Who), Sherlolly (Sherlock), and Ellie x Alec (Broadchurch)

16. 5 favorite ships.

Since I’ve already listed my three main romantic ships, I’m going to use this space to list my favorite platonic ships!

Amy & Eleven

Donna & Ten

Bill & Twelve

Red & Liz (The Blacklist)

Sherlock & Watson (Sherlock, Elementary)

17. Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged).

Time for a little soapbox rant. One thing that really irritates me is the attitude that platonic relationships can't be as interesting and complex as romantic ones. The majority of my favorite fictional relationships are platonic, but I wouldn't call any of them boring. What's even more upsetting is when people attack writers for not making their ship canon. It's fine to disagree with the direction of a show or story, but as I said above, personal attacks are never okay. This is something I've run into in multiple fandoms, unfortunately. However, the people I follow, along with my followers and mutuals, are giving me hope that not all fandoms have to be that way. I’m thankful for the community I’ve found here. Y’all are helping my attitude both toward fandoms and (for those of you close to my age) toward my age group in general. I have a history of disliking other millennials. But I’m learning that it’s not fair to generalize just because I’ve had some bad experiences in the past. Seriously, thank you, everyone, for the follows, likes, reblogs, tags, comments, etc. Whether you know it or not, you’re helping me heal. 😊

Well, that got rather long and personal! Congrats if you read this whole thing.

I’m going to tag: @impossible-stardust, @gallifreyland, @twelveclaraisreal, @lullapiee, and @sea-sands. This is purely for fun, don’t feel pressured to participate.