#and while i still like the catra adora romance i wish there was like... more of it

[cherrymoonvol6]

.

[kyndaris]

Oh! Bento, My Bento!

After a slew of interactions with less than stellar individuals on Hinge, I started to despair whether or not dating was for me and if I ought to put an end to this strange experiment of mine to find a significant other. In fact, after having someone just talk at me about how great Japanese light novels were in comparison to 'western literature,' I changed my dating preferences to women only.

Why, you may ask?

Well, I was exhausted by men. And two, because for a while I've been questioning whether or not if I wanted a man in my life.

Confession time.

During high school and even at university, I never had crushes on anyone. In Year 8, I was told that another classmate might have had a crush on me, but while I tried to suss out their interest because I was flattered by the fact (although I thought I was toad in terms of the looks department - and I honestly still think I am), I never did get a proper read of his interests and began to doubt the claims made by my friends.

In fact, for a lot of my life, I've been told by others whether or not I've 'crushed' on others. But when I try to explore my own feelings on the matter, I've not thought of them as romantic. In fact, romance is a thing I've struggled to understand.

How DO you know if you like someone in that way? I've certainly never wanted to jump anyone's bones and the mere thought of engaging in those acts turns me off.

It's why I've often wondered if I was asexual. After watching a video where a YouTuber explained their own personal experience, I'm starting to think I truly do sit on that asexual spectrum.

But men, women or anything in between, that hasn't precluded me from romancing fictional characters. And in fact, I've enjoyed my time with many a great digital construct be that Garrus Vakkarian or Riku or Morrigan. Then, of course, there's the fact that I ship any and all types of relationships although some of my favourites in recent history has been Imogen Temult x Laudna, Catra x Adora, Kaz xInej, Arenza x Grey and Tifa Lockhart x Cloud Strife (although, I wouldn't mind Tifa and Aerith somehow becoming a pair in Remake). Of course, I also read some very questionable ships like Jacob Seed x Female Deputy...so take what I enjoy reading with a grain of salt - particularly if it has anything to do with AO3. There's a lot of messed up stuff on there.

So, don't read it!

You've been warned, dear readers.

Still, it was the trip that I went on in March this year that solidified that perhaps my interests were a little bit fruity. Despite the fact that the woman was married, there was something magnetic about her personality and I wanted to be around her. Sure, I wasn't going to immediately jump her bones but I did want to know as much as I could about her.

And when I think about a few of the interactions in the past, it's been the same. I might not have admitted it to myself but during a trip to China camp back in 2008, there was another girl that I really wanted to get to know better. It was somewhat disappointing to know that she was also popular with the boys too, but a part of me wished that we would be best friends.

Did it mean I wanted to be romantically entangled with her?

Who knows. I was unsure of my actual feelings at the time though I knew there was a strange sort of obsession on my part to be a really good friend to them.

But the wider implications passed me by.

I didn't know if that made me gay or not. In fact, I never truly pondered that question properly until now. Especially when in high school, a friend pretended (or at least I thought they were pretending) to be overly amorous with me and I never felt inclined to return it.

Heterosexuality had always defined my understanding of romance and I never much challenged it until more recently.

In any case, back to my dating!

Before I was unceremoniously kidnapped by a group of my friends for an impromptu road trip down to Canberra for Oz Comic-Con (and thereby proving White Coat correct that maybe I do go to a lot of conventions), I met up with another hopeful at a small cafe in Chippendale called Something for Jess before we toured the Oh!Bento exhibit at the Japanese Foundation.

This man, from a purely objective standpoint, was probably one of the better candidates that I'd met. Dikotter (my code name for him) had a good job as a software engineer, was always intent on self-improvement and had his own interests that didn't become his entire personality. There was a maturity to Dikotter that I appreciated and found common ground with - especially when it came to our discussions after we toured the Oh! Bento exhibit and Fortress and were sitting at a dessert bar for nigh on two hours.

Dikotter was a man that didn't just talk at me about his latest hyperfixation or how strange it was that he had such 'normie' work colleagues that didn't understand video games. Rather, he was much more introspective and was able to provide more thought-provoking questions than I'd expected.

In fact, I probably came off as the less intelligent of the pair of us as he asked what I might do if I had access to a billion dollars.

He also respected that I didn't feel comfortable talking about my job and we somehow ended up on a semi-serious conversation about dictators and the echoes of current China with Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution.

Hence the codename.

We had both read Frank Dikotter's work on modern Chinese history. And that's not something I ever thought I would share with anyone I've met on any of my dates. Most of the time, I've had the same discourse on favourite video games as men try to think of something interesting to talk about without realising how quickly they limit themselves by making these things the dominant subject.

So, yes, meeting a fellow intellectual and one that knew how to dress well (or at least not in an unironed shirt and cargo pants) and was good at making conversation/ a lively debate on the pitfalls of socialism/ communism was something I most definitely appreciated even though I wasn't sure if we had any romantic chemistry.

Does this mean there might be hope for Dikotter? Maybe.

As yet, I'm still unsure where I swing when it comes to pursuing a relationship. Do I actually fancy the fairer sex? I, honestly, don't know. But I'm also hesitant to commit to Dikotter in saying that we'd be endgame.

A part of that may come from my ambivalence in terms of romantic relationships but I think that if we do become friends, it will definitely be a much more interesting partnership than I've known with most except on the odd occasion when I chat with individuals much older than I am and who have a wealth of life experience to draw on for their thoughts and opinions.

[zutaralesbian]

in honor of pride month: what are your top 10 favorite canon lgbt ships?

1. Catra and Adora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

These two are everything to me. Best friends to enemies to lovers. The way the show mostly revolves around them as characters and what they mean to each other. The way they loved each other in an environment not made for love and now finally have a chance to be with each other the way they always wanted too. They are everything I want in a ship and their haters are so boring and tasteless

2. Eve and Villanelle (Killing Eve)

Enemies to lovers excellence and my first introduction to toxic yuri. These two really could have been the ship of dreams for me and I’ll forever be angry that they were in the hands of a homophobic straight woman that fucked everything up in the end. (Sally Woodward Gentle my disdain for you has no limits). That said, I still love them. Such an excellent dynamic. They deserved better.

3. Ian and Mickey (Shameless US)

The only m/m ship I really go hard for tbh. (I’m very female character oriented usually so getting me invested in a dynamic that doesn’t have a woman in it can be very difficult). But the fact that I love these two as much as I do just shows they are superior. Kings of angst that finally after years got their happy ending.

4. Max and Chloe (Life is Strange)

One of my first big wlw ships and I still have so much love and fondness for them. I do enjoy Chloe/Rachel too and all their tragic messiness. But something about Chloe/Max just seems so soulmate like to me. So yeah…I do have a preference and it’s them.

5. Ead and Sabran (Priory of the Orange Tree)

Book ship so I’m not including a gif. These two are my favorite literary lgbt ship ever. The yearning. The forbidden love. The Pride and Prejudice vibes. The slow-burn. If you’re a wlw who loves fantasy, I highly recommend reading this book. It has asoiaf vibes but without the misogyny and pedo propaganda.

6. Max and Eleanor (Black Sails)

Ugh the tragedy of these two. The messy fallout of their breakup. Their chemistry was 🔥 and while I understand why their relationship fell out, I wish we had gotten to see more of it. They’re also both my favorite characters on the show so there’s that

7. Max and Anne (Black Sails)

While I have my Max/Eleanor bias I do acknowledge that these two are objectively the best romance on the show. Also served some great angst and are about two women who are SA survivors at the hands of men coming together and falling in love.

8. Gideon and Harrow (The Locked Tomb series)

Another book ship so no gif. These two genuinely make me insane. Very twisted enemies to lovers. They are insane for each other even more than I’m insane for them. The books aren’t for everyone but I really do recommend giving them a try if you like unhinged and problematic sapphics.

9. Rue and Jules (Euphoria)

Mostly for their S1 dynamic because I haaate what Sam Levinson did to them in S2. Imagine having a wlw couple with this much chemistry and fumbling it so bad? Truly loser behavior. That said, I still hold fondness for them and what they could have been.

10. David and Patrick (Schitt’s Creek)

Alright, I’ll include another m/m ship 😂 These two are a great example of how a ship can be healthy but not boring at the same time. Patrick’s coming out episode and how David reacted to him being closeted is also probably my favorite coming out storyline ever.

[misssakurapetal28]

Blank version on DeviantART ----> HERE.

I actaully did this meme a while back before the show ended, so I decided to update and share. I also added BROTP and Friendship!

Ships under the cut!

Disclaimer: THESE ARE ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINIONS ABOUT SHIPS! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISAGREE, BUT IF YOU TRY TO START ANYTHING ON THIS POST OR BE RUDE OR DISREPECTFUL ABOUT IT, YOU WILL BE BLOCKED!

OTP

Glimmadora (Glimmer x Adora) - I have a a couple of reasons for shipping these two, but for short, they just seem more natural to me and it made more sense for them to be endgame due to the events of season 4. Healthier, cuter, and should’ve been canon in my opinion. 

Glimbow (Glimmer x Bow) - Glimbow tends to even be liked to “get Glim and Bow out of way for the sake of CA”, or hated because of “heteronormality”. However for me, I like Glimbow because it’s just plain cute! Also I do like the “childhood friends to lovers” troupe. Even though I do appreciate their friendship, I still have a soft spot for them as a romance :)

BowKyle (Bow x Kyle) - Recently, I hardcore started to ship them! I just think they would be very sweet together, they both can be there for each other and listen to each other. This is part of the reason why I REALLY wished Kyle’s trauma was more of a focus and that he and Bow interacted more outside of that one episode! Honestly, I find them two more appealing than any other ships with Kyle. If Glimmadora were to happen, I would totally make them canon.

Perfuma x Scorpia - Some people may think that these two came out of nowhere, and that may be. However, I still think it’s sweet and makes sense story wise. Scorpia needs some more confidence and love, and who better to give it to her than Pefuma? :) Scorpia’s also a doll and will value someone like Perfuma! They just feel right together, what can I say?

Perfuma x Huntara - If I had to choose someone else for Perfuma, probably Huntara. I see it as a opposites attract kind of thing, and I like the development they had in that episode. 

Like

BowStar (Bow x Jewelstar) - Saw a couple of people around shipping these two dorks together and it did grow on me. However, since they didn’t have much interaction in canon and Jewelstar only appeared in ONE episode (still mad about that), my love for them has gone down for them recently. It’s a cute ship, but I ship Bow with others better. 

Seamista (Mermista x Seahawk) - It’s a okay and interesting ship. Even though my feelings for it can flip back and forth from time to time, it’s overall a fine ship. I just wish the two had a bit more of a buildup and chemistry instead of Seahawk’s affections for Mermista treated as a joke the whole time. 

Mermista x Perfuma - Simple opposites attract and can add a hell lot of humor in my opinion! Why not?

Entrapdak (Entrapta x Hordak) - Nice ship. The two had alot of development through the series and never abused each other. I’m glad they ended up together in the end and I hope Hordak becomes a better person, with Entrapta’s help perhaps?

Adora x Lonnie - A very underrated ship and I wished we saw more insight of their relationship growing up.

Spinerella x Netossa - Nice LGBT ship. Healthy, straight-forward and thee two look great together :) Also like how the two compete against each other sometimes, but is still a healthy functional married couple. It’s something that I would like for AppleDash to be. 

Okay

Hordak x Catra - Leading more to dislike, but I’m mostly neutral on it. Even though the two are terrible together, I do belive that they did care for one another at some point, even if only a little bit. 

Catra x Double Trouble - Seen it around and I’m okay with it. Not my cup of tea, but it doesn’t bother me at all. At least DY would call Catra out on her bullcrap. 

Adora x Scorpia - Always was salty of that fact that Scorpia was instant friends with Swiftwind (Adora’s animal companion) and Glimmer (Adora’s best friend), but not Adora herself. I understand that not everyone has to be friends, but the only real reason why Scorpia even hated Adora was because “she was a terrible friend to Catra”, but that should’ve been over with when Scorpia crossed to the good side, right? I always saw a possible relationship between the two kind of pulling a “Korrasami” (leaving the (jerk) boyfriend/girlfriend and ending up with each other). 

Scorpia x Glimmer - I thought their interactions were cute and they seem to work well together considering the little time they had together :)

Scorpia x Catra - Something I did ship in the past (and yes, I heard of that scrapped Scorpta scene and we were robbed), but ever since seasons 3 and 4, I lost interest in it because of how Catra treated Scorpia within that time. I’m glad Scorpia never went back to her, even when she wanted to. Scorpia deserves a better friend and companion. 

Dislike 

Kyle x Rogelio - Something I was ok with at first, but now I think I dislike it. It doesn’t really seem like Rogelio cares THAT MUCH for Kyle, otherwise he would speak out for him more and attend to his side. I get that they grew up in the Horde, but still. I just think Kyle deserves someone better suited for him and to be more “intone” with his needs.

Adora x Catra - I have expressed my distaste for CA in the past, but to make it short: It’s very poorly developed, overrated, focuses on Catra WAY TOO MUCH, It’s not equal at all, doesn’t hold Catra for any real consequences other than “making Adora sad”, and it’s too abusive in the past for there to be a relationship between them now. I was so close to really liking CA, but Noelle competely missed it’s mark. 

Glimmer x Catra - I tend to dislike these two together for similar reasons to CA. Also, Catra is partly to blame for Angella’s sacrifice. 

Hate 

Kyle x Lonnie x Rogelio - I hate this ship. It’s bad enough that I dislike Kyle x Rogelio, but they have to add Lonnie to it??? Lonnie hasn’t shown ANY INTEREST in either Kyle or Rogelio. Maybe I suport them as a team, but not as a ship. 

BroTP/Friendship

Adora, Glimmer and Bow (The Friendship Squad (and partly Catra)) - The Best Friend Squad is just precious ^^ They been through thick and thin together. Sure they’ve had their trials and tribulations, but in the end, they made it out ok. As for them with Catra? As much as I would like a friendship between all 4 of them, it doesn’t make sense in canon. Season 5 only really works as a separate thing from the whole series. For it to be a continuation of season 4, it doesn’t click. 

Adora and Kyle - I think Adora and Kyle would make for a great friendship. Both have doubts about their selves, but would be the kind of people that would give the other confidence. I think it would even get Adora to recognize that Kyle is actaully not that bad at all??? And why she haven’t ever considered it before??? Heck, I’m really starting to buy into the “lost siblings” theory with these two (probably far fetched, but meh. Still an interesting headcanon). 

Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio - Even terrible as a relationship, it’s ok as a friendship. 

Scorpia, Entrapta and Catra - Liked this trio in the past. Really wished that Catra realized (or at least took in consideration) of this friendship and dropped her obsession with Adora. 

Seahawk and Scorpia - Liked their interactions in that episode! I hope they got to talk and bond a lot after the war! 

[cirusthecitrus]

15, 26 for the salt about spop?

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? Alright, I can’t tell if it’s really an “unpopular”opinion, but spop became too romance-focused in the end. I think it’s one of the main reasons why s5 is bad feels so detached from the rest of the show

I’m truly happy for people whose favorite ship got more screentime, but that screentime should’ve been used for something more important. Like, we still know nothing about Etheria, The First Ones, Mara’s rebellion, Horde Prime - even how the Heart actually works - but hey, look at all those cute Scorpfuma and Seamista scenes! S5 wasted so much time on characters who’ve been sidelined for 4 seasons and were never that important to the story, but even then none of them got any actual development and were pushed back to the background right after(looking at Spinerella and Netossa). And I feel bad for saying this, but in my opinion Glimbow scenes and love confessions were also a waste of time and their romance added nothing to these characters (it also came out of nowhere?? maybe it’s just me but I couldn’t see any romantic undertones until s5?? i thought they were meant to stay bffs?) Glimbow is a cute ship, but still, It’d be better if instead of this we could get a proper reunion between Glimmer and Micah or, I dunno, get Bow an actual character arc :/  Shipping moments and relationship drama for the sake of drama does not equal character development. That worked more like a distraction from other questionable writing choises and problems with the show. (btw no matter how i feel about both pairings, I’m not mentioning entrapdak stuff and catradora speedrun since AT LEAST in both cases their relationships are important to the story and are essential parts of their characters’ arcs) And while the writers were playing around with shipping stuff, they completely forgot about other relationships. And I mean friendships and family bonds. In first 4 seasons our main characters wouldn’t stop yelling about the importance of friendship, and then look at s5. Remember all the talking about Adora and Swift Wind’s special bond? Well, turns out Swifty is so unimportant to Adora that he kinda became a background character and in the final episode he was just... standing there, alongside Wrongie who was also swept aside the second he stopped being useful. But when the writers actually try to talk about friendship, or explore/develop any other type of relationship that isn’t romantic they make everything even worse. Just think about Entrapta and the princesses and that godawful episode that I wish didn’t exsist... everything is so wrong with their so called “friendship”, and it sends a very harmful message to the audience, especially to neurodivergent kids A few other examples of crew-ra prioritizing romance in s5: - Reunions we did see: Catra and Adora, Glimmer and Bow (and Adora), Entrapta and Hordak, Spinerella & Netossa, Sea Hawk & Mermista. Reunions we never got to see on screen: Entrapta and Scorpia, Micah and Casta (+ Hordak and Imp, The Horde trio and Adora, Catra and Double Trouble - not even offscreen) And that’s an interesting pattern, to say at least; -  The only ones who could get through to chipped characters and help them fight the mind control were their love interests (meanwhile no one cared about chipped Mermista in Return to the Fright Zone and later Glimmer couldn’t get through to her own father, even for a second!); -  The only “main” character who didn’t get paired up with anybody is Frosta and only because she’s a child; And the most telling example is that the Heart of Etheria was stopped by True Love’s Kiss, but if you think about it, technically Adora still did it on her own (Catra was basically just a moral support), while none of her friends played any big role in the final. When you look at the last episode it seems that the main message of the show is that romantic relationships matter the most and only romantic love can save the world. And that’s so weird, especially in comparison to s1 final where the alliance wins thanks to teamwork and power of friendship. And that was supposed to be one of main themes of the show, right? Friendship? But in season 5 - no teamwork and no power of friendship/platonic love, it is all about cute romance now

26. Most shippable character? I’d say Adora! I dunno if it has something to do with her being the main character, but she has chemistry with so many characters - Catra, Glimmer, Scorpia, Mermista, Starla - the list goes on. I, personally, used to change my preferable Adora ship every season :D Oh, and the second shippable character must be DT. Just look at all the fun crack ships alone!

[kittyprincessofcats]

She-Ra S5 E05 - Save the Cat

ARE YOU READY TO HEAR MY THOUGHTS ON THE BEST SHE-RA EPISODE EVER? SO AM I!

Sorry this took so long. I was pretty nervous to talk about this episode, to be honest, because I love it so much and was scared I’d forget something or wouldn’t do it justice. Don’t know if I still need to say this at this point (since it’s been so long), but there will be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post!

- First of all, and I’ve already talked about this in my review of Stranded, but I need to say it again: Just the premise that Adora is going back to save Catra from Horde Prime really makes their story come full circle: Back in the pilot, Adora left the Horde without Catra, and Catra has been accusing her of “leaving her behind” ever since. In Catra’s mind, Adora leaving the Horde meant that Adora didn’t care about her, and it’s been a huge source of grief and bitterness for her. And now, so many seasons later, even after Catra has hurt so many people, even after she’s asked Adora not to come for her, Adora is literally walking up to Horde Prime himself (way more dangerous than Hordak’s version of the Horde) and endangering her mission and the entire world because she doesn’t want to leave Catra behind again. Because Catra means that much to her. It’s such good storytelling! If Corridors was what started Catra’s redemption, then I think Save the Cat is what redeemed Adora in Catra’s eyes (or at least, what made her understand that Adora does care about her).

- I love how determined Adora looks in that beginning shot. That’s the look of a girl about to go save her gf!

- I thought it was a bit strange that the clones didn’t notice that Adora’s talking to the others on her way to Prime, but since Prime later reveals he knows her friends are there, they probably actually did notice and just didn’t say anything.

- I wish they’d kept that scene of Glimmer having a more elaborate flashback, but I get that they just didn’t have the time for it.

- I love how Entrapta just goes *heart eyes* at the many clones. And Bow asking if they’d believe they’re the inspectors 😂 - great way to bring back that gag.

- “You would never risk the safety of your Catra.” PRIME SHIPS IT. No, seriously though - Prime says he “sees all” (and we know he’s seen Catra’s thoughts) and he said “your” Catra. This, and some other lines in this episode, made me realize it would be canon. (Also, fun fact, because I watched some bits of this show in other languages for fun: As awful as the French dub is for changing that “Kyle had a crush on Rogelio” line to “Catra had a crush on Rogelio”, in this instant they did really well: In French, Prime goes a step further and says “your precious Catra” instead of just “your Catra”.)

- The way Prime touches his clones is so creepy.

- Entrapta asking Wrong Hordak (thinking he’s Hordak) if he recognizes her made me so emotional. I wasn’t even that into Entrapdak back in s2/s3, but the way their relationship was written in season 5 really made me ship it. It’s about the PINING, the LONGING, the TRAGEDY, the way his memories of her make him overcome two mindwipes... I’m here for it!

- I always wonder if it hurts Entrapta when someone grabs her by the hair. Since her hair is magical and all that.

- “We’re not keeping him.” “But we broke him! We’re responsible for him now.” Okay, I love Wrong Hordak. I love how Bow talks about ‘keeping’ him as if he was a pet. And I also like how Entrapta immediately realizes how useful having him around could be. Also, I love that they name him “Wrong Hordak” and seriously just keep calling him that. 😂

- “I don’t fight for the first ones. I fight for my home, for myself and for my friends.” I honestly really like that the show never showed us the first ones or Adora’s birth family. Not that it would necessarily be a bad thing, but I like the message that it doesn’t really matter where she came from - Etheria is her home and what she’s fighting for and that’s enough.

- “Of course, your Catra.” He said it again!

- “She hoped you would come for her, poor thing.” Oh, the angst is real, I love it! Just thinking about Catra (who’d told Adora to stay away) eventually getting so scared that she started to wish Adora would come for her after all... I love angsty stuff like this.

- Oh, that first look of Catra with the gelled back hair and green eyes is so properly creepy.

- When Wrong Hordak complained about the ship being designed “so that it may only be navigated by one who access to the hivemind” it reminded me of Entrapta’s castle that only she can navigate. I think some people have pointed out before that Entrapta and Horde Prime are foils to each other (especially when it comes to Hordak), so that’s a really nice parallel there.

- How did Glimmer manage to open that door when she’s running from the clones? I thought only the clones could open them? Is that a mistake, or is there some canon explanation?

- “What did you do to her?” Oh, I love it when Adora’s so worried about Catra. These two and how cute they are will be the death of me.

- Oh, Prime’s so creepy when he touches Catra... I love him as a villain, but I love to hate him, you know?

- “My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don’t want to leave.” Can we talk about the parallel between this line, and Catra insisting back in season 1 (in Promise, I think) that she doesn’t want to leave the Horde?

- “You broke my heart.” I mean, come on! That’s gay!

- Catra and Adora’s fight is so tragic because it’s the first time they’re fighting but both genuinely don’t want to hurt each other.

- “I’m not leaving without you.” Exactly what Catra wanted to hear from Adora back in The Sword Part 2 - You know what I said in the beginning of this post about their story coming full circle?

- “I don’t wanna hurt you!” “But you have already hurt me.” This is supreme lesbian drama, and it’s so good! (I’ve been waiting so long for a show to give a lesbian romance this kind of attention!)

- Adora’s terrified expression when Catra almost lets herself fall is so painful. And the way she hugs Catra afterwards... my heart.

- Catra and Horde Prime talking together is creepy in just the right way.

- “I always hated that guy in particular.” Hell yes, Glimmer!

- “She was afraid in the end. And she suffered. Perhaps I will make her my new vessel, though she would not last me long.” Oh, the angst hurts so good, I love it! (Why do I love seeing my faves suffer?) Also, this slicked back hairstyle on Catra looks kind of amazing.

- “Why did you come back? We both know I don’t matter.” “You matter to me.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Yes, tell her, Adora! Tell her you care! Don’t let her talk herself down like that!

- “Come on, Catra! You’ve never listened to anyone in your life. Are you really going to start now?” I love how this is what gets through to her. I could also just quote the entire dialogue from here because everything about it is pure perfection:

Catra: “You’re such an idiot.”

Adora: [smiling and crying] “Yeah. I know.”

Catra: [laughs]

Adora: “I’m going to take you home.”

Catra: “Promise?”

Adora: “I promise.”

Catra: “Adora...”

I mean, what do I even say to that? Catra affectionately calling Adora an idiot, the callback to Promise, how Adora doesn’t hesitate to say “I promise”, how Catra breaks free of Prime’s control... it’s all so perfect. 😭

- Adora just not hesitating to jump after Catra - that’s love, holy shit!

- God, Aimee’s voice acting when Adora cradles Catra... so good. (And that’s their childhood theme playing in the background.) Didn’t Aimee (or someone else?) say on Twitter that that was intentional since your most vulnerable moments make you feel like a child again, or something like that?

- Adora’s transformation into She-Ra gives me chills every single time. Best scene in the entire show, don’t @ me (or at least second best after the kiss). The way she cradles Catra’s lifeless body, Horde Prime’s taunting words, and then she opens those glowing eyes... amazing. And what makes it even better is that this is her first proper transformation after breaking the sword. We got a tease of it in Stranded, but this is when She-Ra really comes back, and it’s her love for Catra that enables her to transform. PERFECTION.

- “You miscalculated.” Yeah, you miscalculated how gay she is.

- Entrapta whistling Darla over like a dog is amazing. 😂

- Adora carrying Catra bridal style while that epic music plays... I’m living!

- Also, side-note: Adora’s new She-Ra look is SO MUCH BETTER than the old one! She also seems a lot stronger now - look at that fancy stuff she can do with the new sword! (I like the idea that the Sword of Protection was only holding her true power back.)

- That healing scene! Adora’s healed people before, but it’s never looked this gay. And Catra waking up and saying “Hey Adora” is just so fitting.

- That hug... I’m not crying, you’re crying. They’re finally together! And Catra’s clinging to Adora so tightly! 😭 Also, she’s purring! (When I first watched this ep with my sisters, one of them literally went “Finally!” at this moment - mood.)

- Hordak finding the LUVD-Crystal and saying Entrapta’s name also gives me chills. I also just realized that he thought Entrapta was dead until this moment - holy hell!

- One more thing I love about this episode is that their plan to save Catra actually worked. Because it’s a plan that seems so stupid and risky at first, and while you’re watching you kind of expect it to go completely wrong and expect Horde Prime to catch them... and then it seems like he does, only for Adora and her friends to turn things around and succeed. I love that.

- Another thing worth pointing out is the whole symbolism of Catra’s death and rebirth and how it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life.

So yeah, this is the best She-Ra episode ever, I rest my case. Before I watched season 5, I expected it to be gay (I even estimated the chances of Catradora becoming canon at around 70%), but I didn’t expect it to be THIS gay. This episode went beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. Horde Prime saying “your Catra” twice, that whole “You broke my heart / Prime has set me free of that pain” talk, Adora being so scared for Catra during their fight and so determined to save her, the whole “I’m going to take you home / I promise” part, Adora jumping after Catra and cradling her in her arms, her love for Catra bringing back She-Ra, the bridal carry, the healing scene, the hug, and I could go on. Noelle said on twitter that there were two versions of this episode and the gay version is what we ended up getting - AND IT SHOWS.

This is when I knew for sure that Catradora was going to be canon. Before season 5, I gave it a chance of 70%. After those little hints in the first few episodes, I said 80%. But after Save the Cat, I was 100% sure. I basically already considered it canon after this. I kept wondering how it would happen, but the "if" wasn’t a question to me anymore - so I decided to just lean back and enjoy the ride through the rest of the season :)

[Previous episode]  [Next episode]

[spookyboogie3]

The trope Last Minute Hookup shouldn’t be used for LGBTQ+ relationships.

AND DEFENDING MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS.

I DO NOT hate any of these pairings. A good many of them could have been handled differently by the creators, writers, and networks. But this isnt me hating the relationships or characters or shows. Just going off about how they shouldnt have been tacked on at the end of their respective series. 

As of writing this all of these shows have ended their original runs. Except for Supernatural which is on its last few episodes. And Supergirl, which announced its coming to end with season 6.

LGBTQ characters and relationships aren’t as common in the media as straight-cis characters and relationships. Sure things are improving but a lot of networks and writers still don’t fully understand why representation is important why they can’t keep using the same throwaway tropes they’ve been using for the straight-cis relationships.

You could name any piece of media and find and name one character that isn’t LGBTQ+, but you can’t do this with LGBTQ+ characters. We haven’t gotten to the point where they are as common as non-LGBTQ characters.

I have a whole paper I wrote on why asexual representation is important to have in the media and the same logic applies to any part of the LGBTQ+ or anything that falls under minority.

Back to the topic on hand. The trope of “Last Minute Hookup.”

Its exactly what it sounds like. Characters get to together at the very end of the story. These characters could have a on and off again relationship, lots of ship teasing, the classic “Will They or Wont They?” trope. What makes it different for non-LGBT characters in relationships to do this, we know what these relationships look like. Not to say the that both Non and LGBT relationship cant have similar struggles, however members of the LGBTQ+ community know how hard it is to feel like your identity and self matters and is normal.

I know that the whole “will they, wont they” thing is done for drama and networks and showrunners think if they give the fans what they want that they’ll start losing viewers and they have nothing to look forward to. Which is true to some degree. But most of this comes from the writers not knowing how to fucking write relationships.

Let’s just focus on whats it like to be in a non-straight relationship.

Heres an example: you have an action series, with 2 male leads and halfway through the show, they get together. Cool. Now you have a Battle Couple.

By making LGBTQ relationships happen at the end of a series that’s already had plenty of other non-LGBTQ relationships happen before it, it makes it look like the people in charge don’t care for it or were afraid of backlash. But it’s the end of the series so its not like they can get the show cancelled or anything. (The only people who are going to lash out at LGBT couple or characters are homophobic people, we don’t want them around any way so just make stuff super gay, so they’ll leave)

This is especially a problem when the writer and network have spent the whole series queerbaiting the audience with these characters.

��Side note for anyone is doesn’t actually know what queerbaiting is:

It’s a marketing technique used in entertainment, which the writer or creators hint at but then don’t actually depict sex-same romance or LGBTQ representation. They do this to attract (bait) the LGBT/queer or straight ally audience into the show with the suggestion of representation but at the same time avoiding this as not alienate other audience members *cough* (homophobes) *cough*

Definition is from Wikipedia, not a reliable source says my highschool teachers and college professors but fuck em

The Legend of Korra is a great example of Last-Minute Hookup. Korra and Asami had VERY little ship teasing, and that was in the last 2 books/seasons. Any thing that was perceived as romantic came from the fans wearing shipping goggles. So to a lot of people just casually watching, yes this looked like it came out of nowhere. Nickelodeon had some serious balls to say how brave they were for putting 2 girls into a romantic relationship.

Theres a few problems with this.

A. It never actually aired on TV (to my knowledge). The last 2 seasons of Korra were put on Nicks website.

B. The confirmation that this Korrasami was canon had to come from the creators on twitter because of how unclear it was.

C. The show did the bare minimum when it came to hooking them up in the series. They walk off holding hands (very cute btw). They didn’t even get a kiss. Aang and Katara had a Last Minute Hookup at the end of ATLA after 3 seasons of ship tease and THEY GOT A KISS. Hell the original end of LoK*, has Korra and Mako kissing. *(the first season, they didn’t know they were getting more seasons at the time, no matter what you hear the writers say, they’re full of shit)

D. Anything continuation of Korra has come in the form of comics, which her and Asami are in a fairly well written relationship. Yes, they do kiss. Yes it would’ve been great to see this stuff happen in series.

A show that handles this a little bit better is Adventure Time. Not by much though. It implied several times that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline have history together and its shown more and more in its last few seasons that there is some ship tease happening. However its not until the finale where they kiss, and they are shown in the last minute of the show cuddling together in Marcy’s house. HBO has picked up Adventure Time and has a miniseries called Adventure Time: Distant Lands, where Bubblegum and Marceline’s past relationship is shown.  

I had brought up in my original post about being upset with networks making LGBTQ+ relationships canon in the last season/episode. I originally had Catradora tagged. While Catra and Adora have history together, they did not become official couple until the end of the series.

Yes, I was wrong about the network making things canon in the last episode as they’ve always had ship tease with each other, and it probably was the writers’ intent to put them together by the end. They do technically fall under the Last-Minute Hookup, however.

I wanna talk about Once Upon a Time really quick. Fans of the show were hoping and wishing for an LGBTQ couple for the show as a lot of characters, especially Regina and Emma, have alot Ho Yay moments. The showrunners weren’t going to put those two together, for whatever reasons they may have for that (im indifferent on all the shipping going on with this show). The showrunners thought to put two characters together, and hoo boy did it not make people happy. The characters they put together are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Ruby the red riding hood, which would be fine if they had properly been developed.

The entire episode they did this in was a mess. They stopped the current arc during the season 5 episode ‘Ruby Slippers,’ to go over the characters that haven’t been seen in years, Dorothy was introduced and last seen in season 3, and Ruby was introduced in season 1 and was last seen in season 5 before ‘Ruby Slippers’. The characters get together in the same episode the meet in and are never seen again. The characters barely interacted, barely got along, and showed little to no ship tease or interest in each other and BOOM they are in love and together aaaaaannnnndd they’re gone. Other than having One Million Moms, a Christian fundamentalist organization, protest against the show and want it taken off the air (yes this really happened). The fans weren’t please with this development of the characters either.  

(also Mulan was right there and already knew Ruby from a previous episode, and Mulan already is established to like girls as shown by her being in love with Aurora. Don’t know why the writers didn’t just put these 2 together but whatever I guess)

So they tried again in season 7 with MadArcher. The characters of Alice, a version of Alice in Wonderland from another realm (its complicated) and Robin, the daughter of Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch (it’s also complicated). And the writers did a lot better here. Both characters were allowed to have time together and have a history together too and it was done over the whole season. Not just one episode.

Now even though the writers decided to do something different with the last season and it could be detached from the previous 6 seasons, MadArcher is not really a Last Minute Hookup per say but still falls under my thing about it being the last season so who gives a fuck if One Million Moms gets mad us and tries to get us cancelled again.

 I would like to say I have never watched a single episode of Supernatural in my life. I may one day. But as of right now my knowledge of it is coming primary from what ive seen on tumblr. You know a great source for doing research and looking for reliable information among the piles of shitposting.

From what I know from fans, the writers of Supernatural have been queer baiting for years. I mean it’s the CW, I’m not that surprised. What also wouldn’t surprise me, that by the end of the series Castiel is back and he and Dean actually start and relationship or strongly hint at starting one. I actually fear for the writer lives if they threw out a confession scene after years of queerbaiting and potential ship tease (debatable) and they don’t put them together. Fans are going to be angrier than they probably ever have been with this show and the showrunners and writers really would be known for queer baiting.

From what I know about how previous shows have done and if anyone that has ever worked on this show wants to continue living, Castiel will be back from Super Hell (is that what yall are calling it?) and he will get together with Dean. And they will fall under the Last-Minute Hookup trope and my networks make LGBTQ relationships canon last season.

 One last show I want to talk about is Supergirl, which in has been recently announced that the 6th season will be the last. The show started on CBS but moved to the CW after the end of season 1. So more CW bullshit. There is no confirmation about whether the CW or any of the Supergirl writers are planning to do this, its all speculation. Supergirl is more LGBTQ friendly than some other shows on the Network. One of the main characters came out a few years ago and had a girlfriend a season and has had plenty of hookups with other ladies around the Arrowverse. They even introduced a trans-woman superhero in the form of Dreamer.

Let’s talk SuperCorp. Lena Luthor was introduced in the 2nd season and has been a major character in Kara’s life ever since her introduction. Even if she isn’t involved in the plot, Kara always goes to her to talk and check in on her and worry about her. They are best friends. Since the 2 have met, there has been plenty of Les Yay going on. The writers seem to be aware of the fans wanting SuperCorp to be canon and they keep throwing in moments like Kara and Lena struggling together or Kara carrying Lena bridal style.

Why I bring this up after the announcement of Supergirl’s final season to start next year. We may get SuperCorp. Kara has a relationship with William in the show and not a single person likes this relationship. The writers may scrap it and get put Kara and Lena together for the final season. This is a big maybe though. The Supergirl writers and crew get called out a lot for queerbaiting.

   Let me know if you guys have any other examples of last season/last episode LGBTQ+ hookup.

And please let me know if you see any mistakes. This was all done in one sitting so I may have some things wrong.

Also check out the video by @aretheygayvideos on this topic too.

[bow-woahh]

If you’re still doing the game, chapter 6 from the grocery store onward?

Send me your favorite scene/chapter from one of my works and I’ll post a DVD commentary on it.

ask and you shall receive!

Little bit of background info, this chapter is obviously part one of two, chapter six being it's better if I calm down, and chapter 7 being the rest of the line: it's better if I lash out. If you listened to the song full stop, you might have already known that lmao

I felt like these two chapters worked well being split into two parts (I mean imagine how long it would have been if it wasn't ... like no thank you) because of the overarching themes across them and most importantly, the plot line with her mom and the readers not knowing what's putting her on edge in chapter 6. It was so much fun to play around with and hint that there was clearly something bothering her. I think in my outline, before I found the official title this chapter was called "calm before the storm" because that truly is what it is, there's a lot of nice, fun moments, but it's clear there is something bad on the way.

Anyway, tangent over, commentary time!

They caught a bus to get to the closest grocery store, which was still a twenty minute journey away, so Catra ignored Diego for most of the ride, listening to music and texting Adora.

When I was originally outlining chapters and everything, the grocery scene wasn't planned in to this chapter (I just love giving myself more to do). I have a section in my outline document where it's kinda just a thought dump of things I want to happen possibly at some point, because I think it'd be cool or cute or whatever. This was one of those instances, and because this chapter felt a bit bare bones at first (the final product was not in the slightest) I added this in as it felt like a great way to introduce Adora and Diego and since Catra and Adora are still fairly early in their relationship here, it just worked so well, because they truly didn't expect to see each other.

“Hey, hi! I knew you said you were going shopping, but I didn’t think—well I guess it does make sense since you live in Alwyn but—”

Okay, time for context no one asked for! Bright Moon is the city they are in (obviously) and Frighton (the Fright Zone) is the neighbouring city. Bright Moon is kinda split into lower city, upper city and mid/center city (guess which kinda classes live where). Alwyn and Elberon (where Catra and Adora live respectively) are more lower city, so they are typically where poorer people live, though there are some nice places there I'm sure. Just not many.

Adora said, “Loser? Nah, Catra’s actually super cool, trust me.” She looked at Adora, properly, for the first time in a few minutes, and found her staring back at her with a fond smile.

Adora's piss poor attempt at flirting. Jk, but I do think this moment is v cute and I just love how Adora defended Catra, even though it's just her younger cousin being stupid. We love to see it.

Once again Diego beat her to it, opening the door and saying, “Sure!” before jumping out and slamming it shut.

[Context for this line: Adora asked if they needed help taking the bags out of her truck.] Honestly, Diego's really cute here. He really admires Adora and looks up to her so he's taking every possible opportunity to talk to her, and be around her.

“You know you could've left, like, ages ago, right Grayskull?"

“Yeah well,” Adora did that little shrug she always did. “I didn't mind.”

Narrowing her eyes for a moment, Catra said slowly, “Alright. Well, you can go now. And I should probably head in.”

She turned to go inside, when Adora grabbed her wrist. “Wait.”

Ahhh I love this whole section of dialogue so I had to talk about it. These two are just... useless. What I love about them, and writing them in specifically this, is the constant push and pull with them, how they can never just explicitly say whar they want, either in fear they'll be judged and rejected or because they don't even fully understand what they want to begin with. With Catra and Adora, as much as one can say something like "You should go" the other will always hesitate to, will always have something at the tip of their tongue that they're not quite saying, or like here, will literally tell them to stay, using words or otherwise. They want each other but aren't quite ready to admit it yet. And I just think that's beautiful.

Also the grabbing of the wrist and the "Wait"? Pretty sure that was an accidental reference to the "stay" scene in Taking Control but it's so ingrained into my brain I'm sure it was subconscious.

“Do you wanna get out of here?”

This line is just so... teenage romance vibes and I love it

Even though they had been talking nonstop for days now, and had seen each other just the other day, there was a palpable tension in the air, one that Catra wasn’t exactly sure how to deal with.

The said tension was definitely more on Adora's end than Catra's, because obviously, Catra is still hiding things (or more accurately, just not sharing them) and although Adora wants to pretend to be fine with it, the closer she gets, the more she wants to know what the truth is, she doesn't want to listen to the lies and rumours anymore.

Adora studied her face for a moment, before saying carefully, “Well, I, uh, have a ton of old gear I’ve been meaning to get rid of, but maybe you could ask him if he wants it? It’d be a good start.”

Catra hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I'm sure he'd like that. I'll, uh, see what he says and get back to you.”

“Great!” Adora beamed.

Another little moment I love because Adora is just so considerate here and understands that Catra doesn't want to delve into things like money issues. She also gets Catra isn't one to accept handouts but the way she puts it isn't ‘let me help you out’ but more ‘you'd be doing me a favour’. Adora understands how she feels. She gets it.

“Why did he think you were texting your ‘boyfriend’ by the way?” Adora asked, and Catra felt her heart drop to her stomach. She hadn’t thought Adora had been paying attention to what Diego said (arguably nobody should ever pay attention to anything he says, ever) but of course she had, because once again, Catra had underestimated Adora’s observational skills.

“Because he's a stupid kid who doesn't know what he's talking about.”

Honestly Diego isn't that far from the truth he just needs to turn that 'boy' in boyfriend to girl.

Also the fact Adora is asking about this.... interesting. Catra's answer.....very defensive and also interesting. Once again they're so many unspoken words and subtext layered in all of this. It's like a tiered cake.

“That? Oh, nah. I don't—it's not really any of her business, y'know?” Catra replied, staring just past Adora’s shoulder.

Catra is replying to Adora asking whether or not Serenia knows she's a lesbian and, well, obviously what she said wasn't true. Well it was, technically, but she's ommiting the real reason. As I've already at least slightly portrayed, Catra has a complicated relationship with her sexuality, and I don't want to spoil it but that will definitely be explored more in the future, and Serenia definitely plays a part in it, being her guardian after all.

“I guess it was always kind of obvious. I never looked at guys the same way I look at girls—my first crush was some girl in like elementary, although I didn't realise at the time, and they just continued from there. I thought all girls had crushes on other girls at some point, that wishing I was a guy so I could be with them was what everyone did. When I realised they didn't, that it was weird, I spent all my time convincing myself I just wanted to be my celebrity crush and not be with them, until I actually kissed a girl for the first time. Then I couldn't exactly ignore it. I still tried to though. Especially when—well yeah, I tried to deny it for a while. But then, I guess I got tired. Of lying to myself.”

This whole paragraph is just... yes. No one has ever asked Catra how she knew, but more importantly, Catra has never wanted to answer this question, and if it were anyone else asking, she would have definitely shut it down, or answered with something short and simple. It's because it's Adora, and because she's growing more comfortable with her, to the point where she doesn't mind, even wants to share these types of details about herself. That vulnerability is even more important in chapter 7, so this was a stepping stone of sorts for her.

“So, uh, how about you? Not that I’m saying that you’re—but since you asked…” She cursed at herself internally when Adora's expression morphed into one of surprise, eyes slightly widening. 

“Oh, me? I, um—I don't really know. Is that weird? I just haven't ever really thought too much about it. I guess my main priorities are school, lacrosse, and work.”

God, it's in moments like these where I wish I wrote from Adora's perspective as well. Because there's a lot to unpack here. She's not lying when she says this, I do think this is partially how she feels. But, some could argue it's so obvious how much she likes Catra, and she's definitely admired some women before. So. I'll leave it at that because otherwise I'll say too much.

Quickly though, back to the what I said about writing in Adora's perspective... saying this here and here only because I don't know if it'll happen but I did have an idea to make a sequel of sorts, from her perspective. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The smooth stream had been interrupted once Adora had asked if Catra's had any plans next week, with Halloween coming up. The relaxed, open demeanor that Adora had seen for the past few hours had almost instantly closed up again, and she could hardly focus on what Adora was saying anymore.

Now that Chapter 7 is out, why she reacted this way obviously makes a lot of sense, but to add more of a commentary to it, as we saw throughout this chapter she was trying her best to ignore her emotions about her mom's death anniversary because for once things were going well and therefore she had other things to focus on. Adora mentioning Halloween forced Catra to acknowledge it, along with the memories that come with her mothers death.

“Promise you won't ditch me?”

“I, Adora Grayskull, promise not to ditch you,” she said, hand on heart.

We love a good promise cameo.

“Did you really get kicked out? Of Horde High?”

Catra should have been expecting this to come up once again. It was bound to. With all the rumours. Especially when Sparkles seemed to be a fan with how she brought it up on Sunday.

I've already talked a bit about the rumours and how they arose in my chap 1 commentary, but really I wanted to talk about Glimmer here, since her scene was before the grocery scene and I have a lot to say about this one. Initially when I wrote it, the scene was a fairly quick altercation that kinda lacked a real punch, but after spending a little more time on it after my beta pointed some things out...it hit hard. I know there is a fuck Glimmer train at the moment because, yeah, Glimmer is pretty mean in that scene. And other scenes. I don't know why I love writing Glimmer as her S4 self so much, but it's fun to play around with okay? I like how she can take on an almost antagonistic role at times.

Glimmer thinks what she is doing is to the benefit of her own friend, by pointing out all of Catra's faults and the fact that she's from the Horde, but I also think there's a little jealousy there. No Glimmer doesn't like Adora, but she is quite a possessive friend, so I can't imagine she likes the fact Adora is spending so much time with someone she doesn't know, and to add to it, she's got the worst reputation in the school. So.

Catra thought back to the moment, and remembered what had provoked it, all the way back in eighth grade. “Yeah. I'd say they did.”

Exclusive for Tumblr gang only, but yes they did on fact deserve it because they called Catra the d-slur. This was during a time where she was really struggling with her sexuality so at the time, this cut deep.

As Catra lay in bed that night, she found her mind wandering back to Adora's handshake, how they had held on for just a little too long, mismatched eyes staring into blue ones. How such a casual touch had brought back that burning sensation, that need to be closer.

Ah...the handshake. There is literally no other reason for this other than the fact they are gay. This chapter along with the next are especially important for their development physically—they get a lot more comfortable touching each other in passing but at the same time they still have to find a reason to touch each other (hence the handshake). Either way, it helps break another barrier in their relationship, and this is even moreso the case in chapter 7. I don't know if you noticed, but that chapter is full of small touches and more, but they couldn't have gotten there if it wasn't for the little steps along the way.

Boy that was a long one! I hope you guys enjoyed this, I know I said chap 8 would be out soon but schools really kicking my ass, trying to find a balance is hard. Nevertheless, it will be out asap, I appreciate your patience! (:

[girlbossgaslightguillermo]

this love lasts so long

(A modern Catradora childhood romance AU)

Adora is cleaning through her old things when she sees the drawings. She doesn’t remember the girl’s face very clearly, but she remembers the feeling of warmth that came with childhood innocence and first love. Catra, she knows. She’d almost forgotten about the girl with the defiant eyes that masked just a little bit of fear. But now as she cleans through her old belongings, cardboard boxes that were never unboxed ten years ago when they had shifted to this city that had been so new to her, she sees the drawings. She’d thought that they had been lost to her forever, but they’re there, a little dusty, and the colours are smudged, but they’re there.

The first one is one of the earlier ones, done in messy crayon and Adora can almost recall the day Catra drew it.

“Catra!” Adora calls, her voice a little unsure. She stumbles around, looking for her friend. “Catra, where are you?” A twig breaks under her foot, and she almost jumps at the sound. She knows Catra is safe, and that Catra can take care of herself, but she worries anyway. She’s always worried about Catra. “Catra, I miss you,” she finally whines, hoping that it will draw her best friend out of whatever new hiding place she’d found.

“Hey, Adora,” comes a voice from above and Adora yelps. Catra quickly jumps from the branch she had been crouching on and Adora tries not to worry. She knows, rationally, that Catra is agile and quick, that she lands lightly on her feet and will not sprain her ankle.

“Adora, do you want to see the drawing I made?” Catra asks and Adora loves her friend in this moment. Catra is so excited, so energetic, and she makes Adora laugh and what more can a seven year old ask for in a friend?

“You know I do,” she replies excitedly as Catra opens her hand to show a piece of paper that’s been folded too many times.

“Look, that’s the tree next to the creek, the old one that you hate! And that’s me, up in a branch teasing you. And that’s you, asking me to come down,” Catra points out. Adora thinks this is the best drawing she’s ever seen. There are squiggly dark lines to show the waves in the water, and at this age, neither of them realise that creeks don’t have waves. The drawing is crude, but the colouring is neat and Adora likes how green everything is, even though in real life, the woods are more brown and yellow.

“Catra, I love it! You’re so good at drawing and colouring,” she says and notices the way her best friend blushes at the compliment, probably ready to dismiss it. Adora likes making Catra blush like this, she thinks it makes Catra happy.

“Yeah, well you can keep it. I don’t think Mom will be very happy about the drawing anyway.” And Adora wonders why Catra’s mother would be sad about a drawing, but she does not say anything. She thanks Catra and beams at her and Catra beams back and that is that.

Adora turns the sheet of paper to see the writing on the back, written in ink in her own shaky handwriting.

Picture me in the trees,

I hit my peak at seven feet.

She remembers now, that she had never been agile, or at least not as agile as Catra used to be. She remembers how she could never climb past seven feet, even as Catra scaled the taller trees with barely a scratch to show for it.

The second picture is a little better. Adora thinks they were eight or nine when this happened.

“Hey, Catra. Do you think we should build a swing on that large, scary tree by the creek?” Adora asks, as she and Catra are sitting near the ixora bushes.

Catra pauses in her flower-crown making. “Yeah! Do you have a tyre we can use? We’ll also need some rope. Do you think you can get some?”

“Yeah, I think we can find some and then we’ll make a big swing and we’ll fly into the sky!” Adora exclaims, waving her hands about in a flying motion and Catra laughs in joy. Adora loves these moments of happiness and she returns to stringing daisies, satisfied now that she’s made Catra laugh again.

They’d never ended up making that swing, not after they realised that they’d need an adult to help out and Catra had been too afraid to ask Shadow Weaver, while Adora didn’t want to bother her new foster parents. After all, she’d only been with them for one and a half years and they could always change their mind about her and she didn’t want to go back to her foster home. But the next day, Catra had shoved a drawing, this drawing, into Adora’s hands. The difference between this one and the older drawing is stark. This one is done with pencil, each line carefully sketched, with much more detail than the previous drawing which had outlines drawn in crayon. Everything is coloured in with colour pencils, and even though Catra and Adora aren’t in this one, Adora remembers how excited she’d been to see the drawing because of how easily she could picture the two of them swinging near the creek. There’s writing on the back of this one too:

I was high, in the sky,

With Etheria under me.

The third drawing is of a tea party in Catra’s house. The drawing is happy enough, but it breaks Adora’s heart, because this was the first time she’d been to Catra’s house.

Catra and Adora are playing at high society, with Catra wrapped up in a thin scarf that she wears like an overflowing skirt. She holds out a teacup, her pinky out, and pretends to sip at her tea. Adora giggles. Eleven years old and the world seems so bright to them.

“Lady Adora of Etheria,” Catra says.

“Lady Catra of the Horde,” Adora replies.

“Hey, how come I’m from the Horde?” Catra asks, with a confused frown, putting down her teacup.

“Well, we can’t be from the same place, can we? There can’t be two ladies in the same city.”

Adora puts down her cup too, eager to talk about the formalities of being a Lady in this fantasy world they’ve created.

“No, I think that’s princesses. Besides, Etheria isn’t a city, dummy. It’s a country. We can both be ladies from Etheria.” Catra says, rolling her eyes at her friend’s naivete.

“We can’t both be princesses of the same place?”

“Well, maybe if we’re married, we can be!”

“Then I change my mind. I want to be princess Adora of Etheria. You can be my wife! Then we’re both princesses.” Catra lights up at this perfect solution to their predicament, but before she can confirm that she loves this idea, there’s the sound of a key turning in a lock and suddenly, Catra shrinks.

“Quick, it’s my Mom,” she says, hurriedly taking off the scarf she had draped around her shorts. She bites her lips, as though bracing for something and Adora can’t quite understand why Catra seems so scared. Adora has never met Catra’s mother, but she has always pictured the woman as someone nice to have raised her best friend.

“Catra, who is this?” comes a biting voice. Catra’s mom sounds cold, almost, but Adora holds her cool and smiles at her anyway.

“Hi, Mrs. Catra! My name’s Adora. I’m Catra’s best friend.” Catra’s mother gives her a sharp look, almost glaring for a second before schooling her expression into one of neutrality and then finally breaking out into a smile.

“Adora, you can call me Shadow Weaver. It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear. I’m so sorry about Catra, she can be quite a nuisance. I’ll tell her not to bother you anymore.” Adora doesn’t think of Catra as a nuisance- why would Shadow Weaver imply that? But she knows when she isn’t wanted so she smiles an uncertain smile at a now gloomy Catra and pretends like she doesn’t hear Shadow Weaver yelling through the door, the words muffled.

At 26, Adora understands this better. She can’t remember any of the details, but she knows now what Catra was going through. She turns the page and sure enough, there’s writing on the back:

I’ve been meaning to tell you,

I think your house might be haunted,

Your mom is always mad,

And that must be why.

Back then, things seemed so much simpler, but equally horrifying. As an adult, Adora knows what was happening was child abuse. As a child, she just hated seeing her friend unhappy and knew that Shadow Weaver made Catra more unhappy than anything else.

The last drawing brings a smile to her face, though. It’s divided into two parts, and is done quite well. The first one depicts them as pirates, and has been outlined in ballpoint pen, so the ink still stands. Each stroke is confident, and Catra has become quite the artist at the age of thirteen. The second one shows them in a foreign setting and is bursting with colour. Neither Catra nor Adora had known what India looked like when Adora suggested they run away there, but they knew it was a place far, far away from Catra’s home and they thought it was a place where they could be happy.

“I wish you lived with me, Catra. Maybe things wouldn’t be that bad, then.” Adora states, sitting behind her friend on the grass. There they are, at the tender age of thirteen, the threshold of childhood and a life that is neither childhood nor adulthood.

“I wish I lived with you too, Adora,” Catra says sullenly, plucking at the grass in front of her. Adora sticks her tongue out as she gathers more strands of Catra’s hair. There they are, at the precipice of so-called womanhood, both of them so unaware of the years that will follow, years of high school and crushes, of studying for college instead of playing around, years that they will spend without each other, milestones that they will not achieve together.

“If things were up to me, we would be pirates! We’d sail the high seas, just you and me and nobody else. I think it would be fun.”

“Well, if it were up to me, we’d run away. Maybe we’ll go somewhere far away, like India.”

“What’s India like?” Adora asks.

“I don’t know,” Catra replies. “Away, I suppose.”

“I think it’d be hot. Well, your braids are done! The right one is a little thicker, but I just learned how to make fishtail braids, so they’re not perfect. But, uh, you look very pretty,” Adora says as Catra turns to face her.

Catra reaches to the back of her head, feeling the rough pattern of her braids with her hand. “I think they’re lovely, Adora. Thank you,” she says, smiling warmly. And Adora knows that this is more than just her liking Catra as a friend. They’ve known each other for six years, and Adora loves Catra.

It happens quick, and isn’t even a real kiss, just two mouths against each other, but Adora thinks, ‘soft’, and Adora thinks, ‘yes’, and Adora thinks, ‘more’. Catra pulls away, but she’s smiling, almost shy.

“I love you,” Adora says.

“You’re such an idiot. But I love you too. I guess, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” And Adora smiles giddily at Catra. She wonders whether this makes them girlfriends. She wonders if two girls can even be girlfriends. She thinks that she wants Catra to be her girlfriend. She knows that she loves Catra in a way that can’t be put into words, the kind that she reads about in folklore.

The next day, Catra hands Adora a drawing and they kiss again. Adora thinks that they’re getting the hang of this kissing thing. It’s less awkward, now. That is the last time they see each other.

Adora doesn’t even realise she’s crying until she sees the tear stain on the page. A few days after the kiss, her foster parents had found out that they wouldn’t be able to keep her, especially now that they were expecting a child. Things had worked out in the end, with Angela and Micah adopting her almost immediately, but she never got to say goodbye. She’d sent letters to Catra, later, and none of them had been returned. She’d forgotten all about the girl she’d loved as a child, but now that she thinks of Catra again, it feels like everything happened just yesterday.

She doesn’t know how long she spends looking at the drawings, and she doesn’t remember when she sat down, but Glimmer finds her curled in on herself. Adora is grateful to her adoptive sister for not asking any questions and simply sitting next to her until Adora can tell her what she wants. Glimmer holds Adora as she cries and lets out her feelings, feelings she thought she’d gained closure over a decade ago.

“Glimmer?”

“Yes, Adora?”

“Do you think you can help me find someone? It’s an old friend from The Horde.”

“Of course, Adora. I’ll ask Bow or Entrapta to get on it.”

Adora smiles shakily and gets up, picking up the pages with her. She keeps them on her new desk, and the last one reads:

Your braids like a pattern,

Love you to the moon and Saturn

Passed down like folk songs

The love lasts so long.

[sheblah]

002 for DT x Bow (I'm interested now ansnsn) and 003 Bow '3'

002 | Bow / Double Trouble

When I started shipping them: Long after S4 dropped, at some point when I was planning a certain future!fic. It's not a DoubleBow fic, but I realized it could easily become one, and the idea hasn't left me since.

My thoughts: This is definitely a weird ship as of S4, but if you can get past the weirdness, it has a lot of potential to be interesting above all else.

What makes me happy about them: They're opposites morally, but they're both smart, both have high emotional intelligence, and both have led successful double lives at some point... though one was a bit higher risk than the other lol. I can't see it progressing past the stage of surprise attraction and earnest (possibly platonic) personal discussion. Like, dating? Marriage?? Not likely. But uncovering the amoral mercenary's personal history and realizing you can actually sympathize with them, and you want to know more about them? Realizing the bleeding heart archer understands you better than you thought, and actually seems to care about you for some reason? That's the good stuff.

What makes me sad about them: They've barely even looked at each other in canon.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: There really... aren't... any fics about them? I think? So what's annoying is I have to write them myself lmao.

Things I look for in fanfic: If there was fanfic, I would want to see it explore how different they are while also drawing unexpected similarities, and emphasis on how unprepared they are for how much they suddenly care about each other. Would also love to see how jarring it is - for Bow specifically. They could be talking, nice and friendly, everything's going well, and then suddenly DT says something that brings Bow to a screeching halt and reminds him that DT is not a good person. Then he's left trying to reconcile everything he knows about them - how can they be so amiable, and fun, and even kind in their own weird way, but still enjoy other people's suffering? How can they just be chatting with him and calling him pet names when they were perfectly okay helping the Horde a matter of months ago? And is it even okay for him to be their friend, knowing all this? Just a terrible inner conflict. And frankly, DT would probably find it amusing. But all of that can be perfectly platonic. Ship-wise, I'd like to see Bow get extremely flustered from DT's flirting, because he has not at all exercised his romance muscle during the war and their flirt-o-meter only goes to 10. Also, Bow realizing with some alarm that DT is actually pretty?? And tall?? And their strange lizard behaviors are quickly becoming endearing to him??

My wishlist: Actually the above is p much a wishlist oops but as far as S5 goes PLEASE let them talk to each other ONCE.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: For Bow, Glimmer (I prefer them as friends honestly but I'd be okay with a ship too). For DT, Catra, or various other people, or no one at all.

My happily ever after for them: Bow convinces DT to give up the mercenary life by offering a place to stay and a stable food source so they no longer have to do whatever it takes to survive. DT starts to unlearn their "it's you or me" mentality and open up to Bow and reluctantly gets adopted by his dads who can never have enough children.

003 | Bow

How I feel about this character: Best boy. Could befriend anyone. Eminently shippable. Underappreciated.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Glimmer, Perfuma, DT.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Glimmer, Adora, also DT cause it would be interesting romance or no.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Idk I think me and the fandom are pretty unanimous in our love for this guy. I guess I just think there are some nice "dark" aspects to his character too, and I'd like to see them explored more. I mean this guy fooled his parents with an elaborate ruse for years. He has a huge capacity for deception, and is especially good at it because he's usually very honest so no one would expect it from him. And even though his family comes off as happy and supportive, he felt his dads' love was fragile enough that that ridiculous ruse was necessary. That's fun stuff, let's talk about that!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I really wanted the pulse weapon in S4E4 to have a more severe impact on him. He basically took a small nuke point-blank. I would've liked to see some of the episode dedicated to his recovery and the rest of the team realizing how much they rely on him.

Favorite friendship for this character: Best Friend Squad forever. And eventually Catra post-series because she needs a good influence in her life.

My crossover ship: i truly can't think of any, i think I'll ignore this question on future asks lol

[redrikki]

🏳️‍🌈 PRIDE 2020 IS DONE!! 🏳️‍🌈 

Here’s an updated list of my Queer-focused fic.

Unsurprisingly, I’ve written a few stories focusing on queer characters and romances.

Agent Carter

Because Girls Love Girls (The Soulmate City Remix) - There’s something in the water and the next thing Angie knows, she’s waking up with the name Margaret Carter wrapped around her wrist. (Angie Martinelli/Peggy Carter)

One Last Kiss (The Final Storm Remix) - You never forget your first kiss with your nemesis. Dottie won’t forget her last either. At Howard Stark’s funeral, she puts a few things in the ground. (Peggy Carter/Dottie Underwood)

Avatar: Legend of Korra

Girl, Gotten (The Heroine After Remix) - As long as Asami’s the hero, Korra’s okay being the love interest. (Korra/Asami Sato)

Leaves on the Wind - Korra, Asami, and the next Avatar (past Korra/Asami Sato)

Ten-Thousand Words (Which Once See the Light of Day) - There are things they can’t say.  There are things they wont say. There are actions which speak louder than words.  A series of short stories about the ladies of Legend of Korra. (bisexual Asami Sato/Mako, various het pairings)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Playing with Fire (The Dubiously Consensual Remix) - People didn’t tell Azula no. (Azula/Ty Lee)

Battlestar Galactica

Persephone on New Caprica - It’s winter on New Caprica and they’re all Persephone here.  A collection of short stories. (bisexual Felix Gaeta/Eight, various het pairings) Trigger warning: non-con/dub con

Batwoman (TV)

Trapped in the Closet - Kate was never afraid to come out to her father, but she is now. Episode tag to the season 1 finale. (lesbian Kate Kane)

Black Lightning (TV)

Comic Book Life - Comic book Thunder’s boyfriend knew what his woman did, so why couldn’t Anissa tell her girlfriend? (Anissa Pierce/Grace Choi)

Truth Will Out - Anissa’s in the closet about her superhero life. Three times she thought about telling Grace and one time she actually did. (Anissa Pierce/Grace Choi)

Maybe Baby - "Ever think about what kind of power's you and Grace's kids would have?" Jen asked, raising possibilities Anissa had never considered before. (Anissa Pierce/Grace Choi, Jennifer Pierce)

Sleeping Beauty - Grace had been in coma for over a month now, but Anissa still couldn’t help thinking each visit that this would be the one where she woke up. Maybe today it would be. (Anissa Pierce/Grace Choi)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Short and to the Mr. Pointy - Collection of drabbles set across all 7 seasons. (Willow Rosenberg/Tara McClay, Willow Rosenberg/Kennedy, Willow Rosenberg/Oz, Larry/Xander Harris, various het pairings)

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

The Beast You Made of Me - The Waverider’s resident shapeshifters compare notes. (Mona Wu, Genderfluid Charile)

Neither Should You (The Real People Remix) - Rescuing her clones was the right thing to do. They deserved the right to live their lives and make their own choices. Ava just wished they’d stop sleeping with Gary. (Ava Sharpe/Sara Lance, Ava Clones/Gary Green, implied Gary Green/John Constantine)

Downton Abbey

The Hedgehog’s Dilemma - Thomas Barrow’s daemon is a hedgehog. “Mind my spikes.” Five warnings, four relationships and one revelation. (Thomas Barrow/Duke of Crowborrough, Thomas Barrow/Edward Courtney, Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent)

Snakes and Lions - Hogwarts AU. In Thomas, Jimmy finds that courage isn’t exclusive to Gryffindors.  Now if only he could find some himself. (Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent)

Kipo and the Age of Wonerbeasts

The Hero Was You - Benson likes Troy and Troy likes Benson. Great! Now all Benson has to do is figure out what to do about it. (Benson/Troy)

Miraculous Ladybug

Better Than Ice Cream - Orange, mint, and raspberry could be a tasty combination. The solution to every love triangle should be polyamory, but sometimes it’s just not that simple. Spoilers for Love-Eater. (Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste/Kagami Tsurugi)

Orphan Black

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl - There’s something magical about Uncle Felix’s flat.  Maybe it’s all the art. (Kira Manning, gay Felix Dawkins, lesbian Cosima Niehaus)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra (Modesty) Shorts - Three very short Catra/Adora stories. (Catra/Adora)

Parting Strands - Looking out for each other had been their thing, but Adora's starting to suspect that's over. Her thoughts during that scene in "Promise." (Catra/Adora)

Spider-man (Ultimates verse)

Fingertips That Might Ignite - Peter is straight like a straight thing.  Jessica isn’t sure what she is. (Jessica Drew/Johnny Storm, Jessica Drew/OFC)

Gonna Share My Tin Man Heart - Kitty moves in and Kitty moves out. Jessica falls in love somewhere along the way. (Jessica Drew/Kitty Pride)

Star Wars

For Amidala - Her handmaidens had all poured so much of themselves into Amidala, it was like they were part of her now. Padmé didn’t know if she had the strength to let one go. (Padmé/Her Handmaidens)

Dateline Felucia - Embedded with the troops on Felucia, a reporter from HoloNet News paints an intimate portrait of the men of the 212th Attack Battalion. (Obi-Wan/Cody, Waxer/Boil)

Tag - Sabine and Ketsu, bounty hunters extraordinaire, argue about how to sign their work. (Sabine Wren/Ketsu Onyo)

When I Was Your Age - Kanan, Ezra, and the fruits of a misspent youth. (Pansexual Kanan Jarrus)

Stranger Things

Date Night - Everyone and her mother seems to think they’re together and Robin’s getting pretty sick of it. (lesbian Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington)

Umbrella Academy (TV)

Iconic - When Vanya learns Klaus is gay from a magazine, she’s angry for more than just one reason. (lesbian Vanya & pansexual Klaus Hargreeves)

Feed Your Head - Three shitty things young Klaus did for drugs and one thing they did for him. (pansexual Klaus Hargreeves)

White Collar

Eyes on the Target (The Solid Ground Remix) - Peter asked Diana to keep an eye on Neal for him while he’s stuck in jail. It could be going better. (lesbian Diana Barrigan, Neal Caffrey)

Wonder Woman (2017)

After the Glory Fades (The Last Lesson Learned Remix) - Glory fades, but what truly matters remains. Diana takes a moment to remember everything her aunt taught her. (Bisexual Diana, past Antiope/Menalippe )

[wearejustvisiting]

Well I watched season 5 of She-Ra

I really liked it! But there are spoilers under the cut, so don’t say I didn’t warn ya. 

This season was very...VERY...VEEERRY reminiscent of Halo: Reach to me. I have no clue why that is. Maybe it’s the shot of Catra looking out of Horde Prime’s ship while the world is ON ACTUAL FIRE.

Entrapta was a HUGE deal this season, and I REALLY like that. I love entrapta, and it’s nice to see her come back in a big way this season. 

THE FIGHT BETWEEN ADORA AND CATRA.

THE FIGHT. 

BETWEEN

ADORA AND CATRA.

Shadow Weaver still a dick but she got her good death, and you know what? That’s all we can really ask for. She was shady until the end, but man, did she pull through...kiiinda wish we never saw her face, though. idk why. 

BOW and GLIMMER!? I honestly never saw it coming, I thought the two were just really good friends! Leave it to Noelle Stevenson to cram all the STRAIGHT romance into the last season, lol. Also, that’s two bisexuals right there. They may be an m/f relationship but they’re both bi and truly? Good for them. Good for them. 

Still not sure how I feel about Seamista being almost certainly a thing, but...ehh, it’ll grow on me. 

Entrapdak happened. I am not allowed to state my feelings on this. I will not. 

I didn’t think Catradora was going to be endgame until around S3, and S4 made it all the more satisfying. I shipped Glimmadora for a while, but I sort of turned around to Catradora a while ago. Over all, I am satisfied. 

I had no opinions on Double Trouble in S4. And I have none for them here. Truly a middle of the road character. But I thought their reveal was cool. 

Overall I thought it was good. 

And it gave me an itch to write. I might be getting back into Fanfiction. Like, my first ever multi-chapter one. 

TL;DR:  liked it so much it revived my interest in an ages old hobby I have not indulged in years. 

Noelle, I know you’re not reading this. 

But you are a warm and beautiful human. That is how I truly feel. 

[rebelcourtesan]

My Thoughts on Redemption in Season 5 of She-Ra

Our three candidates are Catra, Hordak, and Shadow Weaver.  

I’m not against redemption arcs, but for me redemption shouldn’t be as simple as “I’m on your side now!”  “Yay!  Let’s be bestest friends!” 

All the shit they have done doesn’t just get swept under the rug.  The years of war that Hordak brought shouldn’t be ignored by all of the characters, Shadow Weaver’s abuse and manipulation not be forgotten, and Catra’s actions not so easily forgiven.

And also, these characters shouldn’t go down the redeeming path without losing what what made them so fascinating.  

To he deserving of redemption, the character must recognize their actions as wrong, wish to make amends without benefit to themselves, and has no wish to cause further harm.  

If Hordak is to be redeem, it will be Entrapta that sets him down the path, which began back in season 3 with her open acceptance of him.  

Living his life as a clone of a hive mind, he was either an outlier that found his own consciousness or came across it naturally through unforeseen events.  His ‘defect’ as a clone is what sets in motion the events we see in SPOP.  Upon crash landing on an alien planet, he sets himself on a mission of self-worth and proving himself to a brother he could never please.  For years, he wallow in self-loathing and doubt of his worth until Entrapta openly befriends him in a beautiful show of acceptance.  

I’ve already spoke at great length about their growing romance.  Going forward, once Hordak is reunited with Entrapta, my prediction is he’s going to go through a state of severe depression from the open and brutal rejection of the being whom he had struggle for so long to appease.  It is going be through Entrapta’s love and acceptance that will break him out of his melancholy and set him on the path to redemption.

It may not seem like it, more like survival because if Horde Prime should get his hands on Hordak again, it’s likely he’ll do away with the defect once and for all.  So Hordak is going to be in a position to help the Rebellion against Horde Prime which will make him quite instrumental as he would know more about the Imperial Horde’s inner workings.  

Yet, this would begin as a benefit to himself, but it can transition to something he would do solely for Entrapta.  He may project his desperate need for acceptance onto her, but also find it in others.  I can easily see Bow, who is ever quick to offer his friendship to enemies (Kyle and Catra and Adora, when they first met her).  

Honestly, I don’t think he’s going to be an openly accepted member of the Rebellion or BFF squad.  Realistically, (Granted this is a kid’s show) he won’t be accepted by everyone because of the years of pain he had caused with the Evil Horde.  When the show ends, I strongly believes he will leave Etheria to undo the damaged caused by Horde Prime by teaching freed clones to become individuals and dismantling the Empire by returning freedom to the universe.  

And maybe Entrapta will by his side.

It’s harder for me to make predictions for Catra.  After Double Trouble’s earth shattering “It’s not them, it’s you” speech, it depends on what Catra wants to do with that revelation.  

Was it enough to push her to changing her ways or is it going to take another trigger?  Perhaps its seeing Glimmer getting abused while she’s the favored girl in Horde Prime’s eye.  The one thing that Catra had yearned for was acceptance and validation from a parental/authority figure.  Shadow Weaver never gave it to her and Hordak only gave it to her after she betrayed Entrapta and outright lied and deceived her way into Hordak’s graces.

Horde Prime gives her the validation she so craves while Glimmer is locked away in her ‘guest chambers’, but she’s still not happy.  

If she’s to start the path of redemption, then it would have to be through Glimmer, the one she has wronged the most.  True, she has caused many problems for Adora, abused Scorpia, and betrayed Entrapta, but she was the cause of Glimmer losing her mother and pushed her to using a Weapon of Mass Destruction to destroy the Horde.  

It’ll be an uneasy alliance of mutual benefit to be freed to Horde Prime, but it’s a good place to start.  However, Catra would have to make amends with the others she had hurt.  I can see Scorpia and Entrapta forgiving Catra easily, but Adora will have a hard time trusting her after years(?) of fighting each other on opposing sides.  

Don’t forget, the first season Adora saw Catra as someone as still being manipulated by the Horde and Shadow Weaver and had hoped she would come over to the Rebellion side with her, then in season 2 thru 3 it became a bitter rivalry between them.  

Then at the end of season 3, when Catra opened the portal out of spite, it crossed over into outright enemies.  It won’t be as easy to transition back into friends/lovers so quickly.  It might take the whole season for that to happen.  

And above all, if she wishes for redemption, her pattern of abusive behavior and allow herself to care for others and let them care for her.

I have very mixed feelings about Shadow Weaver.  Good villain, but terrible mother figure.  She’s the cause of the rivalry between Catra and Adora and is the instrument of most of Catra’s issues.  Not to mention, being the likely cause behind the Horde’s success in subjugating most of Etheria.  

She’s a manipulative, power hungry witch who uses the potential in others to realize her own goals.  Twice she had switched sides.  She tried to gain power through Micah and when that backfired, she switched to the Horde.  When Catra imprisoned her, she switched sides to the Rebellion and weaseled herself into being Queen Glimmer’s mentor.  

I wouldn’t trust this person not to offer her services to Horde Prime, but the biggest difference is that Horde Prime is a self-confident narcissist who’ll see no need of a mentor or advisor.  So if she tries that, she’s going to get screwed over royally which she’ll deserve.  

If she’s going to be redeemed, she has to be sorry for her actions.  Thus far, I’ve seen no sign of remorse on her part for her treatment of Adora and Catra and betrayals.  

I do see her aiding the Rebellion against Horde Prime for survival.  I’m not sure what the writers have in store for her, but we got less than two weeks until we find out.    

[valen-but-not-tine]

tezz, blake, agura, and mermista for that ask meme pls?

Fair warning a lot more of the questions have to deal with shipping than I thought when I first reblogged the ask meme this is for a /while/ ago, and I’m not really a big romance person (except one of these is in a HUGE ship of mine and I’m certain that was intentional ave.

got long, it was a long meme, and 4 characters

Tezz Volitov

What I like about them

well. that’s really hard to answer. to quote you, avery when I mentioned having trouble w this question, “I like him because he’s Tezz”

He’s everything that normally annoys me but done well to where it doesn’t?

cocky arrogant tech savvy bastard. but he has extremely strong sense of morals. Like boy took one look at the red sentients and was immediately ready to fight a war by himself and dedicated himself to being a one man rebellion.

What I dislike about them

how long it took me to answer the first question, he’s not my normal type, like for real I think his archetype normally annoys me, but for some reason the exact way he’s written gets around that.

Favourite moment

the entirety of the episode “Lord of the Kharamanos” Tezz making friends with tromp and once again showing his strong sense of morals with his absolute refusal to leave the kharamanos alone to fight the Vandals. I think this ties into why I love him so much, normally his archetype would have been the one willing to leave them to fend for themselves, helping them is a risk, but Tezz doesn’t even consider leaving, and is insulted by Vert considering it for even a moment.

Least favourite moment

The best quality version of his introductory episode on youtube is cut into 2 parts and the uploader split it /right/ in the middle of dialogue.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

BACK! STORY! what’s his family life like? what did he eat when he was stranded?

An interesting AU for this character

This is pretty general for bf5 as a show, but in the the bf5 fused webisode “Cold Fusion” Sage is shown making an instruction type video for if they lose, somebody else could potentially take up the fight, and she deletes it at the end as Vert tells her the war will end with them. But what if she hadn’t. And then. what if they had lost? Tezz wasn’t part of the team yet, if the bf5 lost before he joined, but someone else (Grace?) found the video and picked up the fight, and then he joined? I don’t have much thought (well actually I have more than I’d like to admit) put into this idea, but ever since seeing that 50 second webisode, I’ve had that hmm what if idea in my head, and the only way I can really “see” it happening is if there was a similar situation to the shadowzone episode, where our bf5 meet the group that took up the fight when they died, team led by grace, with tezz, zen, and the rest of the group is ocs, but if this were a plotline I’d love for one of the team to be one of Agura’s brothers who came looking for her when she dropped off the face of the planet.

A crossover

umm I was really into storm hawks at the same time as I was into bf5, tho bf5 has withstood the test of time, so combining the 2 is something I’ve put some thought into before, but really w bf5′s setup of being able to go to different dimensions battlezones writing a crossover for really any show wouldn’t be hard.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

I don’t have a lot of ships for bf5 as a whole, if I had to say one Tezz/Sherman, I love the interaction where someone asks if tezz is the brains of the operation and sherman says tezz is the left brain and he (sherman) is the right

Other ships?

Tezz/AJ I guess, in the finale when they sent the og team in bc “they started it, you should be the ones to end it” they had some cute interactions

BROTP

Tezz and Tromp, lord of the kharamanos gave us so much good tezz content.

NOTP

bf5 didn’t have a lot of romance, so there was never a set up that made me go NO but anyone with zoom is a full stop for me, there’s no canonical ages, but zoom reads as 16 to me, and most of the other cast as young adults, but adults.

An assortment of headcanons!

He’s Autistic!

Boy had a Bad Home Life, the boy was like 9 when he got himself stranded in a battlezone, and wanted to get back to earth because it’s where he’s from, but he /never/ mentions getting back to people. like it’s one thing if his parents just let him do whatever and he was experimenting in his free time, but he didn’t try to find anyone when he got back. and he immediately was ride or die for the bf5. the show probably just didn’t have time to touch on it, but with what we were given I can not see him having a good relationship with his family.

Blake (asuming Belladonna)

What I like about them

Listen I love revolutionaries. love me some characters fighting for a cause. Blake don’t back down.

What I dislike about them

how much Sun is tolerated lol

Favourite moment

When she stared her abusive ex in the eyes after he asked “what made her think she could win this time” and said “I don’t have a choice, I have people who actually care about me, and I promised I’d never leave them agian. So I’m not dying now!”

you tell him blake

Least favourite moment

90% of the scenes she shares w sun lol. why couldn’t we get more time with her parents? oh right sun took up any time they could have had lol.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

fambly.

An interesting AU for this character

au where Adam never touched her.

A crossover

She-ra and the princesses of power, blake/yang and catra/adora, blonde jock and their cat gfs interacting

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

Uh Bumbleby without a doubt. they’re the slow burn we never get with queer couples, and while they’re not “canon” yet, that’s because they’re a slow burn, and they’re getting proper developement, but even so, them having feelings for each other is canon, to a point where Arryn Zech, Blake’s va got a motherfucking bee tattoo. like they’re /the/ main couple of rwby, Arryn mentioned Yang as someone who was in love with blake at a panel and had to be reminded to mention Sun. that’s cast tho, their interactions in show?

Yin/yang symbolism where they’re both both at different times, beauty and the beast allusions, character with abandonment issues/character who has a tendency to run, excellent fighting synergy? I could literally talk about how much this ship means to me for hours (you’ve heard a lot of it sporadically ave) and it truly means a lot to me, I’m not normally a romancey person, but something about a show I was into before knowing (or really admitting to myself) that I was queer giving me that rep? in 2 of my favorite characters? I’m used to seeing shows w queer rep bc I heard there was rep and decided to check it out, but Bumbleby seemingly happened around me already here. they’re not a queer bait. one of them isn’t going to die. and they love each other so much.

Other ships?

Listen. no other possible ship for blake (or yang) holds a candle (ha sweet burning the candle reference) to bumbleby. I’m not gonna go into it explicitly, bc the person who sent this ask isn’t there yet >:) but (as much as irl, friendship is just as important as romantic relationships, and I hate the idea of romance being “more”) the show has built up yang and blake in such a way that if anyone else wanted to be even considered they’d have to compete with the other. if you’re considering getting into rwby, Heroes and Monsters was the ep that a lot of the fan base realized that hey, they’re actually doing bees? and that’s bc there’s a scene that is so powerful with the 2 of them. from a storytelling perspective no other ship has the substance to compete with the bees.

BROTP

Blacksun. Blake and Sun work better as friends than they ever could as romantic partners, Sun has feelings for Blake, but they’ve always been one sided, and the only time he’s been on screen that didn’t have me rolling my eyes or wishing he’d leave blake alone so her parents who she hasn’t seen in years could maybe get some of the screentime he’s hogging was when he was recovering from being injured and blake is all “this is why I had to leave, my friends get hurt bc of me” and he was like “that’s our decision to make, I’d do it again, and I know Yang would do the same” like yeah he continues to flirt while in menagerie (sp?), but as soon as he realizes that she didn’t run off to fight the white fang alone he spends his time trying to get her to go back to her team.

NOTP

Tauradonna. I’ve also seen the “ship” called Animal Abuse and ouch if that doesn’t just hit the nail on it’s head.

An assortment of headcanons!

when blake and yang kiss for the first time her ears are going to twitch.

Bi

Agura Ibaden

What I like about them

listen the second thing she does in the show is tear a robots head off do I need to give more words than that?

What I dislike about them

I mean one of my only complaints w bf5 is I want more girls, does that count? I wanted to know more about her backstory in general too, like 5 brothers? at least one nephew? warrior princess? give me

Favourite moment

The first time Vert isn’t there and Stanford challenges her right to be second in command and she just shuts him down hard and takes charge.

Least favourite moment

uhhhhh. idk whatever made agura/stanford a bigish ship in the fandom

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

Listen. The toy line, which technically yeah sure not technically canon, but the toyline. calls her a warrior princess. was this just to sell toys? yeah probably. am I still intrigued. most definitely. Is Agura a motherfucking princess!!??

An interesting AU for this character

I can’t use the au I used for tezz, cause she’d be dead in that one. hmm. I just had a galaxy brain idea but what if everyone on the team got weapons with their vehicles and not just vert.

Give Agura a big sword.

OH SHIT I forgot about an idea I’ve had in the past but I don’t want to erase the give sword idea, one of those swapped aus shows have, agura and tezz are swapped tezz is on the team since the begining, is a little better w people, not by much he’s still but he didn’t spend his childhood alone fighting robots and sentients, and Agura got stuck on Vandal and becomes warlord within a year. Basically, trapped on alien planet--> I run this now. by time bf5 meet the vandals they’re allies not conquerors.

A crossover

yeah really just read what I wrote for tezz’s, the only way agura’s would change is if she’s a warrior princess like xena that could be fun, but cars and bf5′s whole thing would be super out of place.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

don’t really have any, Agura/Grace if I have to

Other ships?

Agura/Sage

BROTP

Agura and the Cortez brothers!

NOTP

any straight ship with her is lame

An assortment of headcanons!

I know I’m not over the toyline but like. what if she was just a princess the entire fucking time. and was just way chill about it. imagine the shutdown

Stanford: ~I’m 189th in line for the throne~

Agura: cool I’m 2nd, but if it becomes relevant before my nephew is an adult I’ll be acting monarch until he’s old enough for the responsibility.

Stanford.exe has stopped responding

Mermista

What I like about them

I like swimming, she’s a mermaid

What I dislike about them

she’s vaguely got rude older sister in a sit com where the younger brother is the main character written by people who don’t have siblings, but like not really?

Favourite moment

“mermista will swim through the sewer system” “I’m sorry mermista will what?” but she still does it.

Least favourite moment

hhmmm not sure, she was in 5 episodes and I liked her, I guess early on when I saw her and sea hawk interact before I knew what their relationship was like and I thought she genuinely didn’t like him her intro scene was kinda :/

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

well I’m expecting a princess with fire powers eventually (I haven’t seen original she-ra so I don’t know if that’s an accurate assumption) and fire/ water powers are always cool to see interacting.

An interesting AU for this character

maybe I’ve been reading too much of that she-ra dnd blog but she’s an eldritch knight with the control water cantrip and that’s gud

A crossover

it’d be neat to see her and Lapis Lazuli interact

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

Mermista/Sea Hawk. It’s a twist on what we normally see where the guy in a het relationship is emotionally distant and the girl does all the emotional labor, but even then mermista obviously cares about sea hawk a lot, she is just not comfortable expressing affection, and he respects her boundaries and absolutely adores her.

Other ships?

did you see how she looked at adora after she transformed into she-ra? I don’t actually ship them but every princess is gay for she-ra

BROTP

With what we have so far I’d like to say frosta, just cause water/ice powers.

NOTP

I don’t think I’ve seen anything with her that I had a negative reaction too   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I mean I guess frosta, we don’t have confirmed ages for any of them except for forsta who is decidedly way younger than the other princesses.

An assortment of headcanons!

the girl is bi

she had the mermaid tail before the people legs, and the tail is the default setting

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Weekly Blog Post #1 -Goodbye 2018 and Welcome 2019

1/11/2019

Dear Future me,

I’m a bit late starting this (which I have no excuse for), but the gist is that I’ve decided that from now on I’m going to make a blog post every week as a way to document and look back on all the good and possibly not good things happening in my life. There's no formula here, it’s mainly be just a free for all to talk about my week and the things I enjoy.

That being said, This first entry will be a bit different and quite a bit longer than normal, as I reflect back on the recently ended 2018. This year stretched on unusually long as Trumps Politics became a raging dumpster fire threatening a country wide collapse on a weekly basis, and authoritarian began spreading further throughout the rest of the World. For me personally, I

-wrote a 26 page thesis that I will never look at again

-graduated from UC with a Neuroscience degree

-served a term as a research assistant taking care of mice

-worked at then quit my job at Staples

-Got a job at the IRS

-Got suspended from my job at the IRS due to a government shutdown that is still in effect

-started dating for the first time (though no girlfriend as of yet)

-grew even closer to my friends as we typically hung out at least twice a week

-entered a DnD campaign

-Got suspended from playing said DnD campaign

-Discovered I like Sushi

-Went to my first concert since middle school (Panic! at the Disco and Hayley Kiyoko)

-Stayed at a cabin with my friends where we played strip jenga and got lost hiking in the woods for 8 miles in a thunderstorm

-Got a mysterious disease that lasted 2 weeks from said hike

-Grew my hair out then cut 10 inches off and donated it

-My best friend got engaged, My sister went to Sweden, and my brother moved to Toledo

-Watching my puppy Cocoa grow up (though we technically got her late 2017)

And probably a lot more that I can’t remember at the moment. As per usual I spent a lot of 2018 consuming media like the nerd that I am, so I’m going to spend the rest of this far too long entry ranking my favorite things I saw/read in 2018. These will be ranked by pure enjoyment, not overall quality, and aren't meant to be an objective best of list. I just want to talk about things I like. So:

Top 5 Movies

Honorable mention- Hereditary, a fantastic and deeply unsettling film that was one of the most emotionally charged viewing experiences I’ve ever had. It would be high on the list if I had actually watched in 2018, but I only just now watched it and had made the list before hand. Still, one of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen.

5-Venom-Movie was a fucking mess but it was pretty fun. I love the concept of the Symbiotes.

4-A Quiet Place-A movie with almost no sound/verbal dialogue and a great sense of suspense

3-Black Panther-Amazing sense of Style, Amazing Villain, A great Cultural achievement  

2-Deadpool 2- Fantastic sense of humor, inventive fights, first big screen lgbt+ superheroes

1-Into the Spiderverse-Best animation I've seen in maybe a decade, Everything about this movie is surprisingly amazing, from the soundtrack to the character designs to the emotional resonance. This Movie can’t come out on DVD fast enough.

Top 5 Cartoons

Honorable Mention -Voltron-Disappointing Finale but 7th season had an amazing Keith/Shiro fight scene and Lotor, arguably one of the best characters in the series.

5-Rick and Morty-Not my favorite season but still smart, rewatchable, and unique episodes.

4-She Ra- Great characters and designs with the Catra/Adora conflict elevating the Series.

3-Bobs Burgers- Consistently good, funny, and relatable, My whole family enjoys it.

2-Steven Universe- Finally getting answers to alien plot, excellent art, plenty of lgbt goodness

1-Hilda-An incredibly inventive new series with a truly unique and empathetic fantasy world, adorable art, a wonderful mother-daughter relationship and some of my new favorite creature designs. The atmosphere this series creates is one I want to live in forever.

Top 5 TV Shows

Honorable Mention- Killing Eve, Like Hereditary I did not watch this until 2019, but I adored Villanelle’s strange psychopathy and the very lesbian tension between her and Eve.

Honorable Mention-The Haunting of the Hill House-Great character building episodes, neat effects, and a great building tension, an underwhelming finale brings it down a bit.

5-Stranger Things-Inferior to the 1st season but still great characters and interesting plot

4-Game of Thrones-Lots of plot contrivances but every episode was still massively entertaining.

3-Good Place-Genuinely great twist with creative ideas and a solid critique of moral philosophy

2-Dirk Gently-Batshit insane, quirky, hilarious, with absolutely amazing characters and writing.

1-Brooklyn 99-One of the best shows on TV, every episode is hilarious and heartfelt, I love every cast member. Ontop of having an amazing sense of humor, B99 is one of the most progressive shows on television, and continually address relevant issues in a tactful and good natured way.

Top 5 Anime

Honorable Mention-Zombieland Saga- a fun show with a creative spin on the idol genre, the heartfelt relations between the characters were a highlight, as was the presence of a trans idol.

5-Aggretsuko-Incredibly relatable with adorable and lovable characters.

4-Mo Dao Zu Shi-Unique setting with a great protagonist and a slow build gay romance

3-Devilman Crybaby-An unforgettable and highly enthralling experience, plus I’m gay for Miko

2-Megalo Box-Probably Deserves to be #1  for its fantastic sense of style, tension, amazingly choreographed fights, lovable protagonist and ‘Antagonist’, and incredible pacing.

1-Reincarnated Slime-This anime is just the ultimate escapist fantasy. Every week I look forward to watching the stupidly op and likable protagonist make friends with everyone he meets, build a peaceful city from scratch, overpower everyone with neat abilities, try his best to avoid conflicts, and comment on how hot everyone around him is. It's the equivalent of playing an RPG and doing every side quest you can to make everyone happy, I love it. It's just very Chill and pretty.

Top 5 Comics

Honorable Mention-Space Battle Lunchtime-Cute lgbt+ characters and fun concept, but short for now

5-Moonstruck-My ideal fantasy world with fun and vibrant fantasy designs and a highly diverse cast of lgbt+ characters, but only just beginning with a lot of room for further character development. 

4-Trust-fantastic art and an intriguing setting with a mysterious but interesting plot

3-MotorCity-Stylish protagonist with an adorable girlfriend and an interesting supernatural twist.

2-Saga-Creative and exciting space opera that introduces lots of likable characters and then kills them.

1-The Adventure Zone-My favorite Fantasy Story of all time getting translated into a visual medium. While the first Volume was not quite as good as the Podcast (Though I don’t believe that’s possible anyway), it still had much of the great humor and characters with some lovely art and a condensed story.

Top 5 Web Series

Honorable Mention- Game Grumps-Not sure if I want to count Lets Plays but this channel brings me so much joy. House Party, Doodle Doods, and the 10 Minute Power Hours were highlights.

5-Monster Pop-Great colorful character designs and complex character conflicts with ample lgbt+ content

4-Buzzfeed Unsolved-very interesting and weird events with hilarious commentary, the hosts have a great chemistry and play well off each other.

3-Their Story-My favorite lesbians, stylish, cute, and fun, wish it updated more often.

2-19 Days-Amazing slow build romances with incredibly fun characters and interactions, Grade A Homoerotic tension. 

1-Ava's Demon-Some of my favorite art and character designs in any Media, The plot is amazing and fairly unpredictable, I feel incredibly excited every time I see it has updated.

Well that’s all for now. Next time will be my favorite ships of 2018, as their were some interesting couples this year.

[teaandsmut]

Salt.

The first part of this chapter really got me back up in my Catradora feels, and in turn back into my disappointment about how their relationship actually went in the show. I was a Catradora shipper once upon a time. And although I would have always liked Glitra more for various reasons, I really wish I could enjoy how the Catradora stuff went in Season 5. 

If it was up to me, I’d have had Catra start her change of heart during Season 4, even if the outcomes were the same. I’d have actually de-prioritised the Catradora aspect of Season 5, have Catra get some development through her interactions with other people, then have Catra and Adora realise some new things about each other while they were back together so that their relationship could actually evolve on-screen rather than all being about their old relationship and it being nice to be back with their bff. I’d have had Adora obviously miss Catra more, worry about her in Season 1, and be more visibly sad (rather than a bit tetchy and grumpy) about what happened as time went on. I’d have given them some interactions in Season 4 where they realised that they liked each other now, not just still. I’d have let their feelings for each other grow and evolve rather than just resurface.

I’ve said this a few times here and there but I think that Catradora ended up being less “childhood friends -> enemies -> lovers” and more “childhood friends -> enemies -> childhood friends -> lovers”. I find the childhood friends part very boring in any ship, except as an extra angst source; it’s the interest of the enemies to lovers part that I like. I don’t think we saw them evolve into lovers from being enemies without it being almost entirely about their childhood. I don’t feel like we actually saw a romance for them really. We were informed about it.

Ah, I have reached the “difficult conversations” chapter and have made myself sad. Not least because the way I have chosen to write Catra and Adora is very sad as someone who is ultimately rooting for them to properly repair the deep rifts in their friendship as much as possible. Obviously I’m writing it, so in theory I could just make them say and do whatever I want, but I want it to feel right and believable. I really hope they can sort their issues out in this fic, or get off to a good start. Friendship angst often hits me harder than romantic angst, which is maybe why this is bringing me down.

I’ll have to throw some lighter moments into this chapter, I think! Or maybe it’s actually not that sad and I’m just sad because it’s late and I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in a while. Or maybe it’s because I was reminded today of a friendship that ended badly but for reasons I still don’t understand.