#Idk if this rambling is coherent at all but I had an awesome time writing it

[tuiyla]

She-Ra’s like, really good, people

It’s been over a week since She-Ra season 5 came out and I binged it and this is not going to be coherent but I just want to rant about it a bit before writing some more structured metas. I deffo wanna write about Catradora and how I think SPoP is the true spiritual successor to the Avatar.

But first, let me just scream about how good this show is. I already started rewatching it, pretty much straight after finishing it, and I don’t rewatch tv shows often. The exception is Avatar (seen it like 15 times) and sitcoms. But She-Ra is so layered that I felt like I needed to watch it again just to appreciate the dynamics even more.

I already enjoyed the first season but it kept getting better and better. I’m not in love with the art style and it’s definitely for a younger demographic overall than my other favourite animated shows, but like any good kids’ show it balances tone well. It doesn’t talk down to its target demographic but also includes more traditionally mature themes in a digestible and entertaining way. Not all the jokes landed for me but as the series went on I learned to appreciate the tone and the type of humour She-Ra goes for.

It’s funny to me because this is definitely the type of show I would have rejected as a kid, with all the princesses I would have deemed it “too girly” and therefore not for me because screw gender roles. There’s a degree of internalized sexism to that, for sure, a rejection of the feminine because it’s always been seen as less somehow. But there’s also a truth that, at least in my childhood of the late 90s and early 00s, children’s media targeted at girls often had a poor quality to it, at least when compared to “boys’ stuff”.

She-Ra is not only a clever, heartfelt, complex story, it also transcends that binary of having to be either for girls or boys. I know most of modern animation rejects that as well, but She-Ra embraces so many traditionally feminine qualities while also going beyond gender roles and even the gender binary. This show is so queer, man, and I love it. It’s especially impressive when you consider the source material that was literally just the girly version of He-Man. I have no beef with 80s She-Ra, haven’t seen much of it, but this is such an upgrade.

That being said, I would have loved to watch She-Ra as a kid. I’m so incredibly envious of kids, aged around 10, who get to watch this show as they’re growing up. But I am so, so, so happy for them and for the future of animation that shows like She-Ra can be made now, that they’re being made. I’m going to go into spoilers soon, but just before that: She-Ra’s a perfectly enjoyable show in many aspects. I think the worldbuilding’s pretty cool, the story feels coherent and planned out, it’s lighthearted and so genuine. That’s the word that I ultimately choose to describe the series: genuine.

I feel like so much of TV aims to be dark and gritty nowadays, animation included, and though that’s slowly turning to dark comedy or a balance between fun and serious, it’s still the norm. At some point in the last decade, creators became terrified of being judged as cheesy. Even something like the MCU bathes in bathos to avoid being cheesy. But She-Ra proves that creators shouldn’t be afraid of being genuine, of basing characters and storylines on the simple power of love. Like, it’s such a cliché trope but I think that’s mostly because it has become stale.

Noelle Stevenson has talked about the importance of love in her story and I’m so grateful for that. Through, She-Ra, she’s truly proven how powerful love can be in a story and how it doesn’t have to be cheesy. It’s just so unabashedly genuine. The power of love and friendship literally saves the day several times but it’s always so genuine and more importantly it always makes sense that it doesn’t get boring. If the foundation wasn’t there, then I’d say “well this is just super cheesy”. But the show makes a point of building relationships and making them the focal point of the story.

Alright, so, spoilers because I need to talk about character arcs and THAT KISS and just everything. I really need to write more in depth about Adora and Catra and their relationship but for now I feel like it’s so important to appreciate how they’re developed. Everything from their shared childhood to their trauma with Shadow Weaver and the finding their way back to each other, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It’s so well-written and believable. Ngl, I do have some minor issues with Catra’s redemption arc. Let’s just say that on a scale from Kylo Ren to Zuko, she’s definitely closer to Zuko. I also appreciate Shadow Weaver’s death scene and how it allows them to move on. I didn’t see that one as Death as Redemption and it shouldn’t be. Again and again the show made it clear that she was abuse towards both girls and nothing will negate that.

From what I can tell, the fandom really latched onto Catra, even when it wasn’t clear whether she’d get a redemption arc. I think that’s important, because unlike some characters in animation, Catra’s actions were almost always framed appropriately. There was always an understanding as to where she’s coming from, how she’s acting from a place of hurt, and yet her actions weren’t justified. They weren’t suddenly all okay just because she’s hurt, too. I especially loved in the season 3 finale when Adora was allowed to finally say no, to say that Catra’s actions were not her fault. That season as a whole was beautiful, like, episode three when Adora’s struggling so much and Catra has the opportunity for a better life but she still fails to choose her own happiness because she’s too bitter over SW and Adora? It’s poetic cinema. I love that angst, so well done.

It would be so easy to misfire in Catra’s storyline and either a) write off all the awful things she does because she’s just “misunderstood” or b) irredeemably stuck in her abusive environment with no hope of escape. They balanced quite well there and managed to handle such a complex character with delicacy. I’m quite happy with how Catra was portrayed because on the one hand, she’s painfully relatable to me and I assume to many others. The audience can see their own mistakes reflected in her character because we’ve all been too stubborn, done things out of spite, refused to acknowledge that we were wrong because we were hurting so much. At the same time, I always felt like the show gave me enough space to judge Catra’s actions and acknowledge that she was in the wrong. I honestly think I would have been a better adjusted teenager is if saw this show just before my angsty years, lol.

I’m going to write more about Adora at some other point but I love how vulnerable she’s allowed to be. Protagonists never used to be my favourite characters because they all seemed the same, with two major categories: the stereotypical male hero who can do no wrong or the angsty boi who can be shitty and the text still frames him as awesome. It’s only recently with series like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra that I go “damn, protagonists can be like that, huh.” Adora is a dumb jock who tries so hard and she deserves all the hugs in the world.

Also, Catradora? Breathtaking, amazing, groundbreaking. No doubt She-Ra needed shows like Adventure Time, LoK, Steven Universe and the likes to pave the way but still, it went there. I saw people be anxious about whether they were gonna be queerbaited, but I always, idk, knew? Trusted? That She-Ra would follow through. I didn’t wait six years for Bubbline to happen for Catradora to not get their big damn kiss. The series has been so effortlessly queer from the get-go that it just made sense that they were always heading there. I did see a gif of the kiss before watching s5 and ngl, that spoiler kind of bummed me out in a way that I wanted to be surprised. But even before I saw that I wasn’t worried. And the context of their journey in season 5? That cannot be spoiled by a simple gif. You have to experience that to fully appreciate it and that is the marker of good storytelling.

I understand that, though this should be the norm by now, Noelle Stevenson still had to be smart about how she approached the execs and she wasn’t sure this could happen. I cannot tell you how happy I am about what she said regarding how Catradora was so integral to the story that the execs couldn’t not allow it. That’s so brilliant, and it feels so natural in the story. Queer love saves the day and it’s not ambiguous, it cannot be censored because you lose a part of the story without it. You did it, Noelle, you funky little lesbian, what an icon. I can’t wait to see more stuff from her.

In other news, I appreciated other characters as well, like how all the princesses got to be different and awesome in their own unique way. Season 5 was great for so many characters, Mermista got so much to work with and Spinnerella and Netossa got so much more characterization than in previous seasons. Glimmer continued to be the third most important character in the story and I’m happy about all the relationships that also got to be canon. Good characters and dynamics all around, no wonder since the show is built on that.

Such a satisfying conclusion and one that makes you feel like this is just part one of a much bigger story. Such genuine, heartfelt moments, well-developed characters, complex themes explored in a respectful and digestible way, and such an unapologetically fun show. Melissa Fumero as a side character? Yes please. Catra’s new haircut? Heck yeah! She-Ra’s new design? Oh my.

I’m not even like, super into She-Ra, and I usually don’t write so much about things I only watch casually. But this show is so good and important that I had to rant. And I will write more about it eventually, but for now I needed to get all of this out. I’d give it a better structure but if I really get into I might never end up posting it so for now here, have this ramble of love. She-Ra, of all shows, deserves that.

[tyzerman91]

Never Let You Go

Request:  Hi honey can I ask for Sidney Crosby imagine, please? where he gets jealous and end up making it up to you kissing you not to let you go and he cries and stuff, please?💛 ps. Don't stop writing you're doing awesome 🔥

A/N: First off, thank you!! You’re very nice to me. (And every time I say this..er, type this I think of Goon, anyways...) But seriously, I love you guys. 

Second (and please don’t hate me) but as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not really a Penguins fan so if I ever get anything wrong let me know. (Side note, I actually really enjoyed writing about Sid...IDK why because I’m really not a fan. Let’s not tell my main team or side team or other side team this).

Lastly, I hope this fits what you were asking for. 

Word Count: 1570

You had been dating Sidney for 2 years. You met, by accident, at a Pittsburg/Washington game. You were trying to find your way out of the PPG Paints Arena and got lost. Ok, well lost is an understatement. Whoever directed you down the hall and to the left needed to be fired.  Amid your confusion, you ran, literally, into Sidney.

“Lost?” He held a hand out to help you up?

“What gave it away?” You asked sarcastically. “The deer in the headlights look or the jersey?”

“Both of those are very good points, but neither.” He smiled. “You’re headed to the locker room and unless we added someone to our roster, you’re not on it.”

He offered to help you find your way, to which you gladly accepted you had been walking around for at least an hour. He made small talk, asking what brought you to the game if you enjoyed the game, little things. It didn’t take long to make it to your car, you seriously needed help with your directional skills, and with a quick ‘thanks’ you began your drive home to DC.

 You don’t know how he did it, you’re not sure you even want to know, but somehow, he found where you worked. You put it down to the fact that somewhere in your office, someone was a fan and helped, at least that’s what you told yourself the first day the flowers showed up.

Every day for three weeks a new bouquet of flowers would show up. The same message on the card.

Thinking of you, Sid

Sure, it was a little weird you’d only talked to the guy for 20 minutes one time. But it was also super sweet. You’d been in serious relationships and never gotten flowers just because. So, you embraced it.

 Then on the Monday that marked the 4th week, the message changed. This time it wasn’t a printed message, this time it was a hand-written message on a card attached to the vase.

(Y/N),

This is going to sound crazy because it probably is you probably don’t even remember me, but I can’t stop thinking about you. You’ve been running through my mind since the night at the arena where you got lost. I didn’t get a chance to ask then, so I’m asking now-

I’d really like to take you out for dinner. I know you’re busy with work (I did a little research and found you, I hope that isn’t too weird) and it’s the middle of the season for me, but I think we could find the time. I can even come to you.

You can call me. Or text me, if you prefer. My number is XXX-XXX-XXX.

-Sid (From Pittsburg, I play for the Penguins #87 just in case you don’t remember me)

 You did eventually text him. Why? You don’t have the slightest clue.

To #87: Hey, it’s (Y/N). Thank you for the flowers, they are lovely.

From #87: Not at lovely as you.

From #87: Is this you agreeing to dinner?

From #87: Or telling me to get lost?

To #87: I’m free Wednesday.

 That was the first of many, many dates. Date number 87 (which happened to be after they lost to the Rangers in the playoffs and his jersey number) he asked you to officially be his girlfriend.

 Spoiler: You said yes.

 And you’ve been with him since. It’s been nothing short of amazing. The following year he led his team to the Championship (again) only this time they went all the way. You were right beside him the whole way and couldn’t have been happier. You didn’t think you could ever be prouder of him, then he went is repeated history.

 It was the second round of the playoffs and really the worst thing that could happen happened. Pittsburg was playing Washington.

You loved Sidney. But Washington was your home team. So, to prevent any altercations, you just didn’t wear any jersey to the games.

 “I know, for some god-awful reason, Washington is your favorite team. But seriously (Y/N), you’re my girlfriend. I don’t see why would won’t just wear my jersey?” Sid was seething.

“We talked about this Sid. I love you and I support you. But Washington is my home team. I support them too.” You sighed. You didn’t understand why he was getting so upset.

“You might as well wear fucking Wilson’s jersey then, (Y/N)!” He stormed off. The rational part of you said you should just suck it up and put your Penguins jersey on, but the other part (and let’s face it the more dominant part) of you wanted to give him a reason to be mad. So, you walked into your closet and pulled your Wilson jersey off the hanger.

 You sat in your seat. It was your favourite spot, right next to the bench next to the glass. You loved being close to the action. As the game progressed you got more and more worried. Sidney was pissed, the team was pissed, hell you were pissed and that’s saying something because Washington was winning. You really should be happy.

Washington won 5-2 pushing the series to game 7.

 You were outside the locker rooms waiting for Sidney when Tom walked out.

“Hey (Y/N).” He greeted you.

“Good game tonight Wilson.”

“Thanks.” He shrugged. “But, uh, shouldn’t you be wearing-“

“I’d rather not talk about it.” You wave him off. “Don’t worry, my boys will get you next game.”

“We’ll see.” He laughs and gives you a hug.

 “Get your hands off my girlfriend before I remove them for you,” Sidney growls from behind you. “Now.”

Tom releases you and send you an apologetic look before turning around and leaving.

Sidney brushes past you and begins to walk to the exit, you have to run to catch up with him.

“What the hell?” You ask. He ignores you. “Right, real mature Sidney.”

 The ride home is silent. He doesn’t even look at you. You’re torn between screaming at him for being an ass and pulling him close because of the loss tonight. He gets out of the car without a word and walks inside with his head down. You follow him. Between walking inside the house and taking your shoes off you lose track of him.

 You search the house and finally find him sitting on the bed, his head in his hands.

“Sid?” You ask softly, walking into the room. He mumbles a response. You can’t make out what he’s saying. “Baby, are you ok?”

“Please don’t leave me.” He said a little louder, lifting his head. You can see the wet marks on his face. He’s crying. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Oh, Sid what put that thought in your head?” You sit beside him, pulling him close. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t help it. I’m jealous of every single person who gets even a second of your attention. You’re way too good for me and I’m scared one day you’ll wake up and realize it.” He’s still crying, but his works are more coherent. “And I got so angry at you before the game. All because you didn’t want to wear a jersey. And I yelled at you. I actually yelled at you and told you to wear Wilsons.”

 “Baby, every couple fights sometimes.” You brush his hair back. “We’re ok. One little fight isn’t going to end us.”

“And I played like shit. We lost.” He’s rambling. “And you wore his jersey and they won and you were hugging him and I-“

“I promise I won’t wear it again. 87 for life.”

“I’m sorry I got angry.” He mumbles into your shoulder. “I’m sorry I was jealous and doubted you.”

“I’m yours. Anytime you start to get jealous, remember that. I’m not going anywhere.” You kiss the top of his head.

  You woke up the next morning alone. You sat up and looked around. The shower wasn’t running. You began to panic, where did he run off to.  Just when you were about to call the police and report a kidnapped NHL star he walked into the bedroom.

 “So, I thought about how I acted.” He began. “And I wanted to make it up to you. I took my stress over the playoffs out on you and I shouldn’t have. You’ve been nothing less than amazing.”

“Sid…” You trail off.

“Quite (Y/N), I’m being romantic here.” He laughs giving you a quick kiss. “Now, if you would be so kind as to follow me to the media room.”

 You roll your eyes at his theatrics. But follow.

You are in awe. The house is covered in flowers. He must have spent half the night setting this up. The media room is dim, candles are lit giving it a soft glow.

“We’re going to watch Miracle because I know that’s your favourite movie and snuggle all day.”

“This definitely makes up for everything.” You hug him. “Now let’s go watch Team USA kick butt.”

 You traveled to Nashville for game 6 of the championship.

 They did it. They won for the second year in a row he had led his team to victory.

You made your way through the crowd to the ice. Sidney skated to you. He was quick to pick you up and spin you.

“You did it!” You exclaimed. He just smiles and kisses you.

“I’m never letting you go. Never.”

[lymanjosh]

do you have any tips on bringing up ADHD to a therapist? I desperately need help for it but I don’t want my concerns dismissed because stuff like adderall is heavily misused :(

i had like two pages of an answer for this (and it was coherent, even, if you can believe it) and then i refreshed the page like a dumbass so this is take 2, which is Less Coherent and im sorry but theres nothing i can do about it

so im not an authority on the subject or anything, and i don’t know your situation, and also ive been diagnosed for like 2 weeks, so you can pretty much take everything i say with a grain of salt. what im gonna do is im gonna run through my own experience / what i wish i did differently / what im doing now, and i hope it helps, and you can totally feel free to come back if you wanna talk more at all once im finished!! and i really hope that at least something i say here is of help to you

also this is gonna be rambly and im sorry about that but i don’t know any other way to be. im gonna preemptively forgive myself because youre like me so you get it but im sure it’s not easy to read so for that i apologize.

tldr: know concretely why you think you have ADHD and what treatment options you want to pursue, do like 3 times more research than you think you need to do, write down all your symptoms in advance, cite your past history of mental health treatment if you have one, and try not to worry too much. if your therapist is any good at their job they’ll know you’re not just drug-seeking, and they’ll recognize the symptoms and problems you discuss when you bring them up in the context of ADHD. probably you’ll be okay, and you’ll get the treatment you need.

so i spent most of my teen years in a drug-addled haze. i was depressed and anxious because i couldn’t Fucking Do Anything, and my parents were worried so they took me to the doctor, and the doctor was worried so she sent me to another doctor, and this continued for a long time and i was on like 4 different antidepressants and 4 different antipsychotics and also some anti-anxiety meds between the ages of like 15 and 16. it was heavily traumatic and also not fun, and the reason all this happened was that nobody stopped to think that maybe i might share some genes with my dad, who has been diagnosed inattentive since before i was born.

right off the bat i should have been way more up in arms about self-advocating, which is something you’re clearly doing, so that’s awesome and you should give yourself a pat on the back because that’s really difficult in the mental health industry especially when you’re already fighting your own brain on most things. 

hopefully you haven’t been through a wringer of false diagnoses and nonsensical prescriptions, but if you have, then you can guilt your doctor a little bit. “i was traumatized! i was given dangerous psychoactive drugs during a critical phase of neural development! you have to give me stimulants to atone for your sins!” phrase it exactly like that, it’s like a silver bullet. in all seriousness if you ahve past diagnoses of anxiety or depression or anything to do with emotional dysregulation that can help your case, because you can point out that a) these things are common misdiagnoses for adhd, and b) the symptoms for these things logically emerge from things like emotional hyperarousal and rejection-sensitive dysphoria. 

what i should have done, and what i think you should do, is write down your symptoms in advance, because then you won’t have to spend an hour hemming and hawing and trying to thnk of them all in the doctor’s office. i did not do this. it didn’t prove to be a problem because my doctor was kinda irresponsible but i really should have done this, just for my own benefit.

when i actually brought it up to my doctor that i might have adhd i had a couple different things going for me. i was talking to my GP, and not my therapist; im not in therapy (which you can probably tell) because therapists creep me out, but i think physicians are probably more inclined to throw drugs at it than therapists are. my GP was also brand new to my case– i had never even met the guy before. i mentioned my history of mental health treatment, and i also mentioned my dad being diagnosed, and im also a girl (girls are chronically underdiagnosed and extremely likely to be misdiagnosed with either anxiety or depression), so i had some concrete facts to support why i had suspicions. i had also done a shit ton of research beforehand, so i advise you to do that– know concretely why you think you have adhd and what treatment options you want to pursue.

you might benefit from talking about it with your doctor before your therapist, but idk that might just be my fear of therapists talking. i think a doctor is less likely to want to taco bout it than a therapist but that may just be my specific experience– you know your situation better than i do. and admittedly a therapist is more likely to, like, Know You and know what you’re talking about when you say (for example) that you’ve always struggled with emotional dysregulation, or whatever.

something else that might help you– i wish i had done this not because i don’t want to look like a drug-seeker but because i Miss Coffee– is to bring up non-stimulant treatments like strattera (for adults) or kapvay or intuniv (both for children but sometimes prescribed to adults) because it’ll show you’ve done your homework and it might be a point against writing you off. stimulants are usually the first resort for adhd, so it’s highly likely you’ll end up on adderall or another stimulant, but it’s good to bring up as an option. might also be good to research it as a serious course of action, especially if you suffer with anxiety, because stimulants are likely to make you more anxious.

i would also advise you not to fixate on adderall? idk enough about your situation to know if you’ve done that but it’s good to be open to other medications and treatment plans bc if adderall doesn’t work for you it doesn’t work and there’s not a ton you can do about it. you should for sure read up on other treatments– you might find one that sounds more appealing, or at the very least you’ll know what to think if your doctor brings up another one unexpectedly.

so i brought up to my doctor that i might have adhd and he immediately plonked a questionnaire in front of me. i filled it out (spoiler alert most of my answers were “often”) and he was like “oh this is textbook, let’s get you on adderall” which like WHAT. i didn’t even ask about adderall. like im not gonna argue with you but let’s talk about this first before we break out the stimulant medication. but i’ve been on it for a couple days and no major side effects yet so maybe he was right who knows. anyway he was super irresponsible don’t let your doctor just prescribe you meds at random go through the side effects. always ask about the side effects. i get such bad headaches after it wears off. i have one now and its Bad. 

but as an addendum you should for sure be prepared to use other coping mechanisms. i’ve started using a bullet journal since i was diagnosed which i’ve found works really well, and youtube channels like howtoadhd are really helpful to me!! i try to use the meds sparingly because i Don’t Like taking pills and also bc adderall can be habit forming, and because i hope to eventually be able to function without it, and i advise you to think of it the same way. drugs don’t have to be a permanent fixture in your life– you can use it as a temporary tool while you build up the necessary coping mechanisms and mental pathways to function without it. adhd isn’t broken brain, it’s just brain on hard mode, if you know what i mean. i try to think of the meds as training wheels– i learn to function with it, and then i gradually learn to function without it. so idk if that’s a useful way to think about it for you but to me it feels more hopeful than resigning myself to a lifetime on more drugs. idk. 

but even if you’re okay with that, adderall isn’t gonna make you functional (it might. kinda feel like you’re magically functional. that’s how i feel right now, that is to say when im not headaching.) so you have to have systems in place to make it easier for yourself. some kind of productivity app might help ig (i used ike for like 3 days and then my phone died and i forgot to charge it for a week because that happens to me sometimes, but i liked ike!) but i like analog todo lists. feels good checking stuff off. either way is good though. 

also get your phone to send you alerts. also rearrange your stuff. like, make the world around you conducive to your functioning. do your best to create and live in a space that enables you to do the things you need to do. get accommodations at school if you need to (i haven’t done this and can’t tell you how but there are a ton of online tutorials and you can probably just google your school + accessibility, or something, and that’s assuming you even go to school)

but yeah i hope any of that was helpful to you and im sorry to make you do 1 million hours of deciphering my shitty informal writing style and i love you and i want to help you please come back and let me know how everything goes bc im gonna worry about you otherwise