#like i genuinely have no desire to watch it out of spite at this point

[lyriumsings]

there are no words for how hard i hope the flash tanks i hope it tanks harder than shazam 2 i hope it makes morbius look like a blockbuster

[secriden]

Wild take, but when Style says, "It's okay to love," I really don't think it's actually about love at all.

Let's consider the context leading up to this point: Fadel drives Style to an abandoned factory in the woods and leaves him alone to go and brood for a while. At least part of Fadel's goal is to scare Style, to give him a hint that Fadel is more dangerous than he seems.

But Style doesn't back down, doesn't go running, evidences no sense of self-preservation or worry; and at least on some level it's a clear sign that he trusts Fadel. Despite Fadel literally punching him in the stomach; despite Fadel mocking Style's honest and wanton desire; despite Fadel chasing him away, he still trusts Fadel to keep him safe.

Imagine how frustrated Fadel must be feeling. Style was only gone for one morning, but it was enough for Fadel to become painfully aware that he did not actually want Style gone from his life. He knows now that he won't have the strength to keep refusing Style's relentless pursuit, so he needs Style to be the one to walk away from him instead.

And I think this was a final, last-ditch attempt to make Style run away.

Notice that Fadel starts out rather threatening: "I don't like you messing up my life. My life has been planned out. You're disrupting it." At this point, Fadel could have still turned this violent; attack Style and leave him injured in an abandoned warehouse, and I'm not sure that wasn't still on Fadel's mind at this point. He's incredibly aggressive at first: shoving Style back against the bar, caging Style in between his rigid arms, rattling the metal frame behind Style to show his anger.

But oh, in the heat of the moment, the truth slips out. Fadel is admitting that Style has the power to bring change into his highly regimented and structured life. He's admitting that his desire to keep Style in his life has eclipsed his need for control and structure, in spite of himself.

The truth breaks Fadel open in ways that none of Style's machinations and schemes could. He finally recognises that it is his own feelings that are the true cause of his anger and frustration.

This is the point when Fadel finally gives up on the idea of hurting Style to chase him away. His voice softens (Joong's delivery of "I miss you" makes me weep), his shoulders finally relax, he stops caging Style against the bar and instead it's almost a tentative suggestion of a desire to hold Style.

And I think Style understood this on some instinctive level. Because if you watch Style very carefully, there's a moment of genuine fear when Fadel first shoves him against the bar and then he takes a grim breath like he's fighting off a sense of despair at the at the start of Fadel's rant. Like he could tell this one was going to be a 'make or break' kind of situation.

But when Fadel begins to unravel, when he admits that he was looking for Style when he was gone, there's this almost hopeful, anticipatory look that slowly blooms on Style's face. He's so hungry to see where this goes, and he's gets this intense almost wild look on his face when Fadel pauses to search for his words.

It's incredibly important that Style waited at this point. Style, who talks endlessly and without thought. Style, who demands that his story and his thoughts are aired first. Style, who has been telling Fadel this lie time and time again before Fadel’s feelings made it true... Stops. Waits. Stays silent. Because Fadel had to get there himself or not at all.

Dunk does something incredibly subtle here, but it blew me away: Style does not blink once throughout the entirety of Fadel's rant UNTIL he says "I don't like that I miss you". And that's when Style finally blinks as if it’s finally safe to take his eyes off Fadel. As if there's a wave of relief washing over him as the tension (and sense of danger) finally breaks.

He also does this incredible thing where he softens the look he's giving Fadel right before he drops his eyes down to Fadel's lips. (Joong has always been excellent at this, but Dunk didn’t really get that many opportunities to do this in previous roles). Style is treating this moment so carefully, and there's a purposefulness to this kiss that was entirely absent from the ones Style initiated in the locker room in episode 2.

I also think it's really important that Style was the one to kiss Fadel here. Not just because it juxtaposes the kiss in the store room, but also because Style has shown a strong preference for Fadel taking the initiative. He has been consistently creating opportunities for Fadel to lay hands on him, right from episode 1 when he put the Heart Burger pin on his chest and put his arms behind his head in welcome (and surrender).

But for this to be a functional relationship, Style has to take ownership of his own desire for Fadel. He cannot remain physically passive any longer, because this is the start of something bigger than just the thrill of being wanted. Style is looking beyond what he wants, potentially for the first time, to what his partner needs.

And I wonder, is this maybe the first time Fadel has allowed himself to be kissed since his ex left? There's something so fragile in the wide-shot. The way Fadel only has one hand barely touching Style's hip, while he's still got his other hand clenched tightly around the metal bar like he's desperately holding onto a lifeline. I have so many emotions about this.

Which is why I think this line wasn't really about love at all. This was Style responding to the vulnerability he sees in Fadel and offering reassurance in return. Because Fadel is strong and doesn't need protection, but oh yes he does, for it is his heart that is in danger of shattering.

There's an incredible line in episode 13 of Love In The Air, when Sky (in the aftermath of an extremely traumatic event and after finally revealing the full truth that he was sure would drive Prapai away) turns to Prapai and asks, "P'Pai, can I really love you?" Sky is asking if his fragile heart is really going to be safe in Prapai's hands.

And I think this is exactly what Style is getting at here: He's telling Fadel It's okay to love me. That Style is safe to love. That Fadel can take the risk to let Style into his heart because Style isn't going to take it lightly.

And it's this reassurance that finally allows Fadel to let go: both figuratively (as he starts to take control of the kiss and the encounter) and literally (as he transfers his hold from the metal bar to Style's body). Even the contrast in the wider shots between the kiss before Style says "It's okay to love" and after is startling.

This wasn't really a love confession, not in the conventional understanding of it. But for Fadel, who's mother "loves" Bison and himself for their utility and usefulness, perhaps the assurance of safety is more important.

And for Style, who seems so naive and inexperienced and ignorant of the way the world works in ways that suggest he's never truly had to grow up, this is far more significant. Because he's taking responsibility of someone else's heart for the first time in a way that I don't think he's ever allowed himself before. I said before that Style would be forced to grow up and I do believe this is what we are seeing here.

So no, I don't think this was the moment of "falling in love" but I do think this was the start of something real and meaningful and purposeful that could have eventually blossomed into love for the both of them.

[therainscene]

I've described myself in the past as "overly-queerbaited" as a way of explaining why it took me so long to come around to Byler endgame as a legitimate possibility... but that's kind of a misleading way of putting it.

Truth is, I've always been too much of a cynical fuck to fall for queerbait... or any other story that promises positive queer rep.

[Sherlock couldn't touch me; I saw this cringe homophobia coming from a mile away. Fans mistaking straight anxiety jokes for meaningful gay subtext was clearly doomed to end in mockery. Nobody deserved to be treated like that... but god, it was easy to predict.]

I think it's a symptom of having grown up under Section 28 -- feeling like I'm being unreasonable for wanting to see queerness normalized is such an ingrained habit that even today I instinctively recoil like a vampire touching sunlight whenever an optimistic queer story falls unrequested into my lap.

But I'm hardly alone in feeling this way -- many queer Millennial and Gen-X fans of Stranger Things are against the idea of Byler because it would ruin the catharsis of watching the gay boy growing up in the same era as we did slowly succumb to the same despair that we did.

[For those who haven't played the VR game: Vecna is speaking in this screenshot.]

There's genuine comfort to be found in painful stories -- this type of catharsis is practically the cornerstone of horror as a genre -- so I can't really fault myself or anyone else for wanting it, despite the obnoxious oversaturation of disappointing queer endings in media.

This is the nostalgia show, after all -- and like it or not, for many middle-aged queers in the target audience, nostalgia is shot through with the pain of homophobia and loneliness.

But do you know who else is a hurt queer(-coded) adult who resents happy endings? This cynical fuck:

Henry personifies despair and loneliness and the dark urge to take our pain out on others -- and when Will is in the picture, I would argue that he also represents internalized homophobia.

Will might represent who we were -- but Henry represents who we've let ourselves turn into.

And I don't think many of us want to admit to that, because that would involve questioning why we have so much in common with the literal villain of the show; why we're still so consumed with self-pity after 20+ years that we're obsessing over the fate of some kid.

I'm not suggesting that wanting a less-than-fairytale ending for a fictional gay boy is equivalent to being a child killer lol. It's perfectly valid to want to see your pain acknowledged, and stories which appeal to that desire deserve to exist.

But between Henry's connection to Will and the cycle of abuse themes of the show, it's clear that this particular story simply isn't about wallowing in the bleakness of growing up gay in the 80s, but about self-actualizing in spite of it all.

So I just can't bring myself to want a "relatable" ending for Will.

As much as I struggle to enjoy positive queer rep, I don't want to be so cynical. I'd thrown up so many walls to protect myself as a teenager that I forgot how desperately I wanted to see just one of those painful queer stories end on the same uplifting note that straight stories were always entitled to: with true love overcoming the odds, saving the day, and living happily ever after.

[But I'm A Cheerleader, a surprisingly fun movie about conversion therapy, is proof that stories like this did exist when I was a teen... but finding them in the pre- and early-internet days amidst so much censorship was a tall order.]

What makes Stranger Things different from most queer stories -- and what allowed it to pierce through my defenses and stab me in the gut -- is that it perfectly mimics those bleak, acceptable-to-the-censors stories from my youth -- only this time, the secret uplifting gay plot twist is real.

Not for the sake of shock value or of grabbing some empty woke points at the last second, but because the plan all along was to slap the audience in the face for believing homophobic lies about the existence of queer happiness.

That's some gourmet catharsis, if you ask me.

Just the possibility that my inner child might finally be vindicated has allowed me to truly let myself want the things I want for the first time in 20 years -- and that's the first step towards finally crawling back out into the sunlight.

Happy Pride Month, everyone. 🌈

[hellofeanor]

I know some people are upset about this, but

Adar had a complete and narratively satisfactory character arc and here's why.

(I'm saying "narratively satisfactory" because it satisfies his purpose in the narrative even if we think he deserved better.)

The two main problems I had with Adar's arc throughout most of S2 were as follows: his decisions to release Halbrand and then rabidly charge into Eregion after Sauron make no sense, and his character was inconsistent with what was established in S1. I complained about both of these things at length with people who were willing to listen, and some people who just smiled and nodded. But certain things in ep 6 made me start to rethink, one line in episode 7 really stood out, and the events of ep 8 put everything into perspective. So let's explore.

In 6, we have the scene of Adar and Galadriel speaking about Sauron. The major theme here is that he worms his way inside people's minds, insidiously exerting his will over them. Both characters at this point acknowledge this as fact. And in light of this revelation, Adar's "decision" to free Halbrand starts to make a little more sense. All it took was that one interaction for Sauron to get back inside Adar's mind and start influencing him again. There's no reason for Adar to do any of what he does in S2 unless he's under Sauron's control. Galadriel even says it herself: this is what Sauron wants. But Adar's mind and judgment are too clouded to see.

In 7, there's one critical line. "You think it was only you who put yourself in my power?" It's Annatar speaking to Celebrimbor, but he might as well be speaking to anybody here. It's pretty telling that this line shows up in most of the character-specific teasers, including Adar's.

Which brings us to 8, where everything comes together. Adar has Nenya, which has been shown to have healing powers, and a lot of people theorized that this might lead to him reverting back to an elven form. Which is exactly what happened. But the ring didn't only heal him physically.

Previously, we've seen Galadriel gain clarity of mind through Nenya: she better understands Sauron's ploy, and her part in it, and how she fell right into his trap. The exact same thing happens with Adar. When we first see him, crouching next to a rock, hiding his face, he's not just hiding his elven transformation. He looks like he's genuinely crushed. Not by seeing himself as an elf, but from the sudden ring-given clarity and the realization that he's been used by Sauron all along. His motivation and personality do a complete 180 here, and this isn't a plot hole or a contrivance. It's meant to show that the ring healed his mind as well as his body, shaking off Sauron's influence, and he's suddenly, for the first time all season, back to where he was at the end of S1. He's himself again. The searing desire to kill Sauron is gone, and he just wants to return to Mordor and build a home for his children.

He may have taken the ring because he thought it would help him kill Sauron, but in the end, it just helps him come to his senses.

Unfortunately for him, his actions can't be undone, and by sending the uruk to war, he's put them, as Annatar says 'under my control'. The minute Annatar asks Glûg what his name is, and Glûg falters in killing him, it's over. Sauron has control of the uruk again. He's wormed his way in. How do we know this for sure?

Adar's children wouldn't have set up that elaborate ruse to assassinate him. If this were all their doing, they would have just stabbed him and been done with it. The foreshadowing all season hints that Glûg may disagree with Adar's orders, but probably would never have done anything about it without a strong push from Sauron. The scheme was all Sauron and Sauron's control. Sauron orchestrates Adar's death in the exact same way Adar killed Sauron in ep 1, specifically out of spite. Sauron even appears to watch Adar's final moments: he wants Adar to know.

Is it a shitty way to die? Yes.

Is it a shitty plot twist undeserved out of nowhere? No, because the entire season has been setting us up for this moment. Hell, even some pieces in S1 have been setting us up for this moment. Halbrand could have killed Adar way back when, but at some point must have decided that Adar was more useful alive for a while longer, and a more elaborate form of revenge was in order. Sauron gains control of Adar and uses him as a puppet warlord against the elves while at the same time setting Adar up for the ultimate betrayal at the hands of his own children once he's no longer useful.

I actually love this. It's a horrible way to go, and I'm sad to see the end of this character, but it's a complete arc for him and makes sense within the narrative. It doesn't feel cheap or undeserved or at all surprising to me. It's sad, but satisfying.

RIP Adar, you will be missed. But at least you died... uh... feeling betrayed by your own kind as a result of your own actions that you realized too late were orchestrated by the guy you hate most. And if that isn't top tier tragedy, I don't know what is.

[bigmakxp]

Monty isn’t jealous, envious or wants to take Freddy’s place nor does he hate him either.

Spoilers for Ruin btw!!

So the popular theory right now that everyone’s claiming to be canon is that Monty was jealous of Bonnie and Freddy and decommissioned Bonnie to be in the band and makes his way up in the band and take Freddy’s place as well. The most popular reason for this theory is because of the Monty Golf ARcade game that shows Monty as the lead while Freddy’s in the trash. At first glance, I can see why people fall for this and think Monty wants Freddy’s place in the band but there’s some evidence that suggests otherwise.

1. The faz watch message Monty mischief makes it clear that Monty has missed main stage performances more than once to stay in Monty Golf, The place where he was once just a one man band in his own attraction (info thanks to ruin). If people are claiming that he was the one who decommissioned Bonnie out of spite or malice or fame why would he bail on his position that he went to such “great lengths” to get? Like I’m genuinely curious how it fits.

2. People never talk about this. Just moments before in the game we heard Vanessa threatening to scrap Freddy if he was involved protecting Gregory and Monty would run the shows. Now I know she said that his casing would be slapped on a new endo and it would be a temporary thing but his endo, Freddy’s true essence and person (or robot) would be scrapped thrown in the trash. Sound familiar? A certain AR game depicting just that? Nope not a clue.. /s

3. So your not convinced still? Fine. One of the endings of security breach has Gregory and Freddy driving off in a van and just who did they put in Freddy’s position as the lead? Yup. Monty. And they created an entirely new animatronic as a 4th member, glamrock mr. hippo. The decisions of fazbear entertainment is… questionable. But this proves that game is not Monty’s true intentions or desires it’s more of the company’s desires if anything. He might just be pushed into situations that he has little control over.

So in Ruin, in the Monty golf ride there’s a scene of cardboard cutouts of Bonnie, chica, Roxanne and Freddy, the original four glamrocks while Monty is looking in admiration and starry eyes. However, Freddy’s is in the shadows so people assume that Monty definitely dislikes Freddy. I think people are reading to into this though as this could have another meaning too. Call this a bit on the nose here but hear me out.

Freddy is the only one who is not present in the pizzaplex or the entirety of the ruin story. Or at least his proper head isn’t and there’s a headless prototype attacking you. Point is every cutout that has lights on them is still in the pizzaplex activated or deactivated and that includes Bonnie.

It’s just astounding that people draw these conclusions about Monty based on sources that probably weren’t even made by him or might not reflect his personality and claim it as canon. The information that we get in ruin still makes most of Monty’s character vague and non-confirming. As much as I try to accept the theories that Monty really does envy Freddy and decommissioned Bonnie on purpose I just can’t. Cause a lot of the contrasting evidence sticks out like a sore thumb.

I’d like some feedback on this whether you agree or disagree I’d like to hear different pov and interpretations on this.

[another-day]

its time for to review something i’ve been waiting for for four years now

finally, i am very happy to say, we have EPISODE IN REVIEW for the fresh new episode of SEASON TWO EPISODE 15!!!!

spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched it already!!!!

i feel like i knew where this episode was going from the start, but we’ll get there ;]

first off; taco was such an interesting character in this episode, and i’m really glad they took the time to flesh her out!!!

obviously yeah she has a whole song about her desires and all, but even through dialogue and interactions she is taken care of very well and i really appreciate that!!

her desires are still humanised even though she’s the anti-hero of the season, and i think it really shows you that she was a contestant too at one point, and she had a negative experience with the show. does this mean i don’t think she was totally manipulating the final four? not in the slightest, but its still peculiar.

this time skip had me a little confused, because from paintbrush’s statement in regard to lightbulb “missing a lot”, one can assume that season three already ended

i’m hoping this’ll be explained at some point but i’m just confused!!!

i could essentially guarantee she was going to be eliminated from this line alone, probably by her own choice. lightbulb has a tendency to fixate somewhat on things she finds important in sentences, so i knew from here.

LOOOOOK AT HIIIIIM HE’S HERE!!!!

okay but for real; this was a masterful song, and i absolutely adored all of the musical progressions and just EVERYTHING. Rheagan Rizio’s vocals were amazing and the song was totally captivating, i love it.

this scene was incredibly interesting to me, this being the moment after suitcase says she genuinely befriended balloon and didn’t do it out of spite.

its like taco forgets people have different desires, and almost believes them to reason things the same way she does, because she knows that if she were in suitcase’s situation at that point that she would’ve done it out of spite, SO INTERESTING!!!!

this was one of my favourite scenes by far, because it brings to light an underlying storyline that has been there since the beginning

knife has been trying to be a better person throughout season two, and this is where that kind of comes crashing down for him. its something so rarely brought up, but bringing it into fruition like this was a fantastic choice, especially when his beliefs of “getting better” are immediately brought down, because his “better” may not be what actually is “better” overall.

ough,,,,,, season two episode twelve parallel save me i love these two so much i had to include it

i had a feeling after episode 14 that lightbulb would be out in this episode, because she was mentally at the weakest point she’d ever been in, but now i can see how much mental strength it must’ve taken to leave behind something that has been such a constant in her life for something that she found mattered to her much more.

she’s such a wonderful character, and i know people will be upset, but she’ll be far happier like this, and that’s already made very clear in later scenes

and to finish, there he is again !!!!

i’m so happy they’re canonically friends too!!!

but overall, taco’s development has been so interesting this episode. i really think she’s starting to fully understand what she wants now, and i suppose now i can only hope she’ll actually talk to them about it next episode

i freaked when i saw this

its not the fact that mephone has his name saved only as steve cobs, but the fact that he has it saved at all.

i understand that this could just be an embedded contact from creation, but i still feel that cobs wouldn’t just put his name in as such, and that mephone wouldn’t have just deleted it by his own accord.

also the fact that COBS is calling HIM. steve cobs has been shown to show little to no interest in mephone following season one, rather focusing on his newer phone models, so what triggered this? if the timeskip is correct, then i’d like to assume its the prime shimmer that influenced him to call mephone. i dunno why, but its a thought yknow!!!

but in conclusion, this was a spectacular episode. a friend of mine screen recorded the entirety of taco’s song so i am very excited to listen to that again, and i hope to see you all next time oooooon… episode in review!!!!

[findafight]

tbh i think ppl that genuinely think steve dragged her there kind of take nancy's behavior at the party in the best light/take nancy at her word bc,,,, we see nancy excited for the party to the point of spending time making a costume and encouraging jonathan to come only for her to start lashing out at steve right after they get there. like i always felt so bad for him when tommy and billy start harassing him and nancy literally rolls her eyes and just stalks off only to start heavily drinking specifically to spite steve given what she says about how she's just acting normal like he wanted (also that smug look she sends him right after continuing to drink). idk the way nancy starts acting out (this makes her sound like a 5 y/o throwing a tantrum but,,,, if the shoe fits) could make it seem as if she's been forced to do something against her will when taken out of context but in context she's literally just acting like a huge asshole to her boyfriend bc she's upset about something she hasn't even told him about. i get upset when i think about it too much bc ppl focus way more on the bullshit scene (for obvious reasons) but nancy really was treating steve like shit that whole night.

yeah like. Owens talks about "the anniversary effect", and I think that's hitting Nancy hard, and so she's lashing out! She's a teenager and she doesn't know how to handle her grief and her desire for justice. That's fine and she deserves to yell and cry about it. But she also isn't communicating what she actually needs from Steve because I don't think she really realized it until she saw the redhead in the library. And dropping that on him and kind of freaking out about it at school wasn't really the most appropriate place to have a deep discussion on what to do. (idk why people view this as steve just flat out refusing to talk about it ever, it's clear to me he's nervous about it because they're at school and he doesn't want to be overheard and doesn't want to risk the government hurting them/their families)

We see Steve do his best to support Nancy by going to the dinners with the Hollands, and also encouraging her to go to the party, after we have been shown Nancy talking about it and inviting Jonathan and excited for it. He is engaging her with something she was looking forward to. idk why people view this as steve just flat out refusing to talk about it ever, it's clear to me he's nervous about it because they're at school and he doesn't want to be overheard and doesn't want to risk the government hurting them/their families. Yeah maybe if she had asked him to come with her on the plan to entrap Owens he would have said no, but at least he would have known where she was at and what she was thinking, instead of the sudden one-off talk they had in the library.

I guess if people only watched tina's party and not anything that came before they could see nancy as completely correct and that steve was pretending while she didn't want to (instead of mostly pretending with Steve and having had one freak out about it in a place that people could overhear) and that he dragged her there. But it's astounding that people can watch Nancy smile and give the flyer to Jon and still say Steve was a bad boyfriend for taking her.

She is definitely drinking vindictively in the scene, even though for all Steve knows Nancy genuinely wanted to go and have fun at the party. He's trying to get her to slow down and idk I've seen some takes as this showing Steve is controlling but legitimately what the fuck else are you going to do when you see someone you care about (friend/partner/whatever) ignoring you and being kind of an ass and drinking way too much while obviously upset about something. Of course he would encourage her to slow down!

He doesn't know what's wrong because Nancy actually has a habit of not talking or communicating to her boyfriend what is upsetting her. Nancy is so over pretending but she has only barely broached that with Steve. He did try to shut it down, but I don't remember him saying he was unwilling to talk about it, just that it was a bad idea, and that Nancy was coming with this "tear the lab down" thing from nowhere.

Part of the problem is that Nancy had feelings for Jonathan and didn't know what to do about that, and so decided that actually, everything was Steve's fault, because he wanted to be normal, he wanted to go to the party and have fun, he wanted to date and be in love, when, to drunk Nancy's mind, she wanted none of that. (even though we are shown that that isn't true) So she's going to drink and she's going to have fun and she's not even in love. (idk it depends on the day for me if nancy was faking the whole time or did, at some point, fall in love with him and then out of love.) The whole party scene is a mess for Stancy and poor Steve has no idea why his girlfriend is drinking too much and suddenly acting like they're fighting when there's no reason to. and then he gets yelled at and told she's pretending to love him.

[animentality]

you've put the idea of reo/shidou in my head and now it won't leave me alone. so thanks for that.

i just like the idea of reo trying to convince himself that one instinctive football genius is as good as any other, that it doesn't have to be nagi, while also being so deeply in denial about his desire for nagi and about being gay that he's managed to convince himself that hooking up with shidou isn't gay if a) he hates the guy and b) he's just using him to get back at nagi. (shidou, of course, thinks it's all good laugh)

SEE I actually really like Shidou x Reo a lot, and it's partially because I encountered a really cute fanfic for it early on, so I was rather smitten.

But I also think that there's a goldmine of content in the idea of a quick rebound.

Nagi's dismal of Reo in Second Selection is pretty brutal, and it's hard for me to re read and watch. So my coping mechanism is to imagine Reo being sort of... swept away very quickly by a guy who actually expresses some interest in him (after six months of being interested in a lazy guy, who just didn't return his obsession as openly).

Also Shidou is a fascinating choice because he's a genius too, but he's the total opposite of Nagi. He's ferociously passionate about soccer, to the point of utter irrationality and insanity, and where Nagi's creativity fails him, Shidou is nothing but creative!

plus I like the angst of like... Reo is definitely at least a little fond of Kunigami for trying to cheer him up after Nagi leaves.

Shidou is the one who spitefully knocks Kunigami out, and takes Reo.

the tension that could exist there... oomphies.

could be great.

Plus Reo is insecure about his worth. Kunigami being knocked out, purely because Shidou was feeling spiteful, is really intriguing. Or even the rewrite of, maybe Shidou makes Reo feel like he has some worth after all. Maybe he genuinely just likes Reo AND wanted to spite Kunigami.

maybe Reo is moody and dislikes him initially but then Shidou wins him over with some aggression.

maybe Reo's not used to a guy who's very interested in him, you know?

flips the script.

I just think I'm so interested in RyuReo because poor Reo deserves to have a man pursuing him as doggedly as he was pursuing Nagi.

like it bothers me that in canon they made up so fast.

Reo deserved a little more groveling, you know?

Nagi didn't appreciate what he had... and I don't like how he's been forgiven so instantly.

there should be some groveling.

Nagi should be made jealous goddamnit.

their relationship still feels one sided.

Nagi just has to say some nice words and Reo immediately hops back into his arms. literally.

Make that man work for it and show him you have other options, boo!!!

but anyway. yeah.

it's my favorite crack ship.

it's utter nonsense but at least the potential is there.

they also do technically interact during u-20.

[supermarine-silvally]

Questions 1 through 15 from the relationship asks for Yara and Ace, maybe? 💚

Aaaahhh tysm Dolly!! This genuinely made me feel so much better to type out!

1)How did they meet and what were their first impressions of each other?

They technically met on the Whitebeard Pirates— Yara had joined Whitebeard’s crew about two-and-a-half years or so before Ace did and had worked her way up from apprentice to full crewmember by the time that Ace and the Spade Pirates got into their initial clash with Whitebeard. Speaking of which… It’s so funny to look back on it but Yara HATED Ace at first because of his repeated attempts to kill Whitebeard, her captain/surrogate father. A lot of the Whitebeard Pirates weren’t bothered by Ace, knowing that he wasn’t nearly strong enough to hurt Whitebeard, but Yara was. She treated him as if he had the plague and wouldn’t go near him or talk to him. That started to change once Thatch roped her in to helping train Ace’s observation haki and she started to spend a little more time with him, at the same time that he was starting to come out of his initial angry, angsty phase following his initial defeat at Whitebeard’s hands and his battles with Whitebeard transformed from assassination attempts into genuine combat based on mutual respect. Ace on the other hand never had any ill will towards Yara at any point, even when he was shunning the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates’ attempts to reach him. He just thought she was super pretty and cool tbh… also she just gave off Sad Lonely Vibes that reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger, before he had Luffy to take care of.

2) What kind of dynamic do they have with each other?

They have the most black cat/golden retriever energy lmao Ace can be goofy and fun-loving and super affectionate, whereas Yara tends to be a lot more reserved (she’s basically Mihawk Jr, let’s be real lol) but she loves the attention he gives her and she does give him a lot of love in return, in her own way. Mostly through reassurances when he starts to struggle with his self-worth. (I don’t wanna give too much away about Ace’s past but so much of it is genuinely heartbreaking, my poor boy)

3) What do others think of them?

The other Whitebeard Pirates were relieved when they FINALLY figured it out and got together. Marco and Thatch were pretty relentless with the teasing. Whitebeard was happy that two of his “children” managed to find love in spite of everything that had gone wrong in their lives. Luffy adored Yara the moment she offered him a snack (package of dried meat) that she happened to have in her bag and immediately accepted her as his sister (in law)— though he would’ve done so anyways, meat or no meat, as long as Ace is happy.

4) Do they have the same love language as each other?

They don’t, but they know each others’ love languages really well, so it doesn’t ever become an issue. (I think I had it as: Ace— giving: gift-giving, receiving: words of affirmation; Yara— giving: acts of service, receiving: physical touch).

5) Is their joint future bright or bleak?

Well, I can’t say too much without dropping some MAJOR One Piece spoilers, but I like writing them with a bright future where they end up very happy together for the rest of their days.

6) How close are they physically?

Ace is very physically affectionate, which Yara really loves since she’s very touch-starved. He initiates the vast majority of it, but she absolutely soaks it up when he does. She loves playing with his hair and tracing the freckles on his cheeks (she has a major thing for Ace’s freckles. He’s just too adorable).

7) Do they have a desire to protect each other?

Oh, yeah. The New World (the second half of the Grand Line, where the Four Emperors live) is full of danger and they’re constantly getting into tough battles and having to watch the other’s back. Ace is probably more protective than Yara is because of his Big Brother Instincts, but he knows that stepping on Yara’s toes in battle would not bode well for him afterwards.

8) Do they prefer being alone, together, or with others?

Their favourite thing is being alone together! Ace is the life of the party so he’s always happy to be around whoever and Yara prefers being by herself most of the time, so they kind of meet in the middle there lol

9) Do they laugh at each other?

Good-naturedly, yes. Ace does silly things constantly. Yara tries not to laugh, but she can’t help it. He’s just such a goofball and a sweetheart. Even if she’s laughing at him rather than with him, he considers it a major win just to hear her laugh. He thinks it’s the sweetest sound in the world.

10) Who would win in a fight?

Physically? Ahhh I hate to say it, but Ace. He’s ridiculously strong, considering he’s got a Logia-type Devil Fruit and all three forms of haki, including the rare conqueror’s haki. There’s been quite a bit of debate amongst the fandom about just how strong Ace is, but considering he was once asked to join the Seven Warlords at the ripe age of 17 and fought on equal terms with one of them (Jinbe) for five days straight, the general consensus is that he’s pretty OP. Unfortunately for Yara, I’m not sure if she could match that if they ever were to fight seriously.

Verbally? Yara. Every single time. She’s petty and stubborn and won’t hold back from going for the jugular if need be. Ace can also be very stubborn, but when it comes to Yara being angry with him, he folds like a cheap deck of cards lmao

11) Who is a better liar?

Yara. She has a pretty good poker face and if anyone dares accuse her of lying, she turns on the Dracule Death Glare lol

12) Who is a better caregiver?

Yara, because she has a cooler head than Ace does. Whenever she’s hurt/sick, he’ll be zooming around low-key panicking and just wanting her to get better ASAP. If the situation is reversed, Yara is a lot better at calmly assessing just what he needs and delivering it to him efficiently.

13) Who is a better dancer?

Probably Yara, given that she has probably had to pay a lot more attention to stuff like timing and footwork due to her training as a swordswoman.

14) Who is a better cook?

Neither of them really cook but I think Yara would be more responsible in the kitchen. Ace would probably get impatient and try to heat something up with his Devil Fruit powers and end up incinerating it in the process.

15) Who has better fashion sense?

Yara. She’s a Dracule. It runs in the family.

ask game here!

One Piece nakama: @auxiliarydetective @oneirataxia-girl @xoteajays

[beevean]

I guess my main issue is that I get different fundemental vibes from them

Other M is written like absolute dog shit, but it feels to me like it was mostly due to Sakamoto going on an ego trip believing he was writing cinema while not thinking well enough about the implications of his writing. I feel genuine, honest to god incompetence from the writing, but one that at least comes from a "good place". Because the idea of showing a more vulnerable side to Samus is not bad, in fact plenty of Metroid games deal with Samus being placed in vulnerable positions, it's just that the story utterly fails at showing us why Adam is so special, focusing way too much on his gruff military persona and not at all on his more supposedly caring side, while also focusing far too much on Samus' weakness and completely forgetting to build her back up again. Add to this the phenomenally awful gameplay/story integration of the authorization mechanic which makes it look like Adam had no qualms watching Samus suffer without her upgrades with her being perfectly fine with being put through hell for senpai's desires,and the laughably rushed ending that prevents her from accomplishing abything, and you have a relationship that comes off as incredibly abusive, which is awful and incredibly demeaning to Samus

But with NFCV I don't have this feeling. Hector's treatment is very deliberate, you can FEEL Ellis stroking his dick with every line, there's actual spite and venom coming from the script, and while the end result may be vile on both accounts I take more issue with the story that was purposefully written to be disgusting for the wrong reasons, than with the one that that ended up like this out of sheer ineptitude. With the latter it feels like the result of several very bad writing mistakes culminating in something that is abhorrent, while with the former it's abhorrent at the very roots and idea

Oh and you know, Other M was eventually followed up by the likes of Dread, so Samus' characterization was implicitly recognized as a bad move in the long run, prompting the character to get rerailed

Hector's character drama was followed up in S4 with Lenector, and this is pretty much what the character will amount to in the eyes of many fans, so in the end only one of the two stories dealt truly permanent damage

Again not defending OM here, I'm just saying thst on a scale of shit I can't bring myself to put it higher than most stuff from NFCV

This we can agree with. Again, I was not defending NFCV by any means lol, and I certainly would not put OM higher on a shit scale, just pointing out how similarly and uncomfortably the two characters got fucked over. But you're right that Sakamoto at least did it out of genuine passion, albeit very much misplaced: his intention was to flesh out Samus, and he did want the fans to like her, he just... grossly misunderstood everything. Ellis more or less admitted that he wrote out of ego and spite, making clear at every line that he wanted the viewers to laugh at a victim of abuse and torture because as a stupid manchild he deserved it (and I'm still sure Lenector in its "tragically wholesome" version was the product of executive meddling), and that makes his work reprehensible and indefensible.

I can still say that the scene where Samus flops on the floor like a fish after getting shot and Hector getting stepped on after being beaten and flashing his dick give me similar vibes of "you didn't need to do that" :P but yes, from this angle I see your point better.

[demystifiedstardust]

My 30 days of linktypes challenge

Day 22: How has your linking experience been so far? Positive? Negative? Mixed?

Offline, my experience has been great.

Online... I've been trying to keep this positive. I've been trying. Really, really trying.

But... I can't do it anymore, not for today’s topic. I'm going to be real, and I'm going to be raw.

Cw negativity, alterhuman respectability politics, the KFF situation, community gatekeeping, general kin drama, overall intense accusatory tone at the general community, no tone tags, essay-length post

These content warnings are so readers can make an informed decision on if they want to expose themselves to this rant. By opening the readmore, you acknowledge these content warnings.

My experience online leaves a lot to be desired.

The linking tags can be glacial, so I peek into larger adjacent tags as well. But... I'm not into flags or coining or mood/stimboards, and I've got no interest in the currently trending quadrobics and masks because it's mostly not relevant to my identity, so a lot of what's left, other than reading about experiences (which I love to read!) are... discourse, infighting, and vagueposting drama, a never-ending hydra of malaise that self-perpetuates (watch this very post get vagued by someone, guaranteed).

Usually the discourse hydra balances itself out by the sense of community, but my sense of belonging is at a 15-year low. Alterhumanity is supposed to be inclusive, but let's be real, in practice it's for therians and kin exclusively, and maaaaaybe plurality if you squint. I don't fit those boxes, and as a result I feel barely tolerated, much less welcome (and that's before factoring in community trends and demographics).

I appreciate the occasional positivity post that catches my view, genuinely, even when it usually boils down to “THIS LABEL IS VALID!”. I wish I could take them to heart; I struggle to do so when I feel so unwanted and quarantined in the first place. Admitting any degree of voluntariness at all has always been controversial as long as I've been lurking fictionfolk spaces, and there's an undercurrent of pressure to not admit it, lest the community be seen as advanced roleplay.

Moreover, particularly to this part of myself, I have no memories of a past or concurrent life as Aether, which is another pillar of experience that is standard enough to be assumed. Talking about and comparing memories is a huge chunk of the fictionfolk community experience that is inaccessible to me, and it does evoke judgment in others when I have no memories to share. I only have my mundane earthly life. While my experiencing of strong emotions and intense longing for things that can never be in this world are common experiences amongst these spaces, they play second fiddle to the golden standard of memories, a narrative that forms the core of the fictionfolk community.

It has always felt like my options have been either to weave lies about myself and actually get to participate--and what's the point of that when it's a self-reflection and self-actualization thing to begin with (for me, at least)?--or tell the truth upfront and hope that people who won't give me grief over my "lesser" experience just... magically find me before I burn out again.

Okay, I have no pretty transition for this. That was the sad, mopey, emo part written days ago. Now for the bitter and indignatious resentment.

In the time between the creation of this blog and the closure of my last blog (which was shortly before the massive Kin Is Involuntary push, circa Covid times), it feels like I got ejected from my own space. I'm obviously mourning it on some level, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm also spiteful. Instead of actually addressing the ROOT PROBLEM of KFF bastardizing "identify as" into "identify with" and the increasing ableism of KFF, the response of the kin community was to redefine kin to throw those with voluntary and quoiluntary experiences under the bus. To the surprise of absolutely no one, redefining kinity by throwing us under the bus did not solve the KFF problems, because splitting us off was only nominally about addressing KFF; in practice, it was about sending a very particular message. It was about telling voluntaries and quoiluntaries that our identities aren't serious enough for you and that we're not welcome in kin spaces. 

Can you imagine how it felt for me to return to this? A decade of being quiet about my voluntary and quoiluntariness and bending to the pressure of respectability politics, and all it took was a break of a few years to push me out of the label I had given up my voice for. The kin community decided for me that my experience has less meaning than theirs*. It's very telling that the label the kin community offered like a olive branch to "fix" the problem has that very community debating the overall validity of the very label they themselves offered, TO THIS DAY. 

I also want you to think about who linking terminology is most widely spread by, pushed by, and policed by. I’ll give you a hint: look at posts telling others that they need to call themselves linkers, and take a peek at the poster’s blog or profile. Were most linking terms even coined by voluntaries and quoiluntaries? I honestly don’t know, but in light of the context of how linking terms came to be, I have a feeling the answer is no. 

I could try to keep asserting myself as kin, as I've seen some other voluntaries and quoiluntaries do, but the kin community has been crystal clear about wanting me out of it, so I will respect its right to not be associated with me. Honestly, it's mutual now. Do you think I want to keep using the language of the community who has already shown me exactly how little they think of me and others like me?

I've enjoyed the journaling aspect of this blog so far. But the overarching climate of the alterhuman community across every online space–not just Tumblr–makes it one of the most hostile communities I've ever been in**. The alterhuman community performatively roleplays acceptance for those that feel othered and preaches personal authenticity while feverishly curating a space where you must experience your authentic and highly-personal identity in the correct way. If there were another pre-existing community willing to accept me being literally a fictional being as a serious long-term part of my selfhood, I'd jump ship to there in a heartbeart and leave the memories behind. I have been trying so, so hard to put a positive spin on linking, in spite of the rigid social stratification baked into it, because I craved acceptance. 

But you know what?

I deserve more than this. I deserve a community who values me. I'm better than staying here in this community who wants to create a validity hierarchy of the goddamn experience of selfhood. As long as this community remains obsessed with what constitutes the “right” way to experience life, I have no home here.

Not all that long ago, I thought the alterhuman community would be a safe space for me to thrive. I thought it was a place that, because it was a gathering of those othered by human society and human bodies, would understand me and accept me for who I am. I’m embarrassed for believing it in the first place, but I’m more embarrassed for believing it for so long in the face of evidence to the contrary.

I can recognize when I need to leave the room. In order to grow, the only solution for me is to stop interacting with the community and move on.*** For myself and my own good, I’m done entertaining the illusion that this is my in-group. It hurts to say it, but this was never my in-group to begin with, because alterhumanity never had respect for the authentic me. It is painful to recognize, but acceptance is the first step of moving on with my life.

My offline life is far from glamorous. If I had to choose a few words to describe my offline community, I would call it judgemental, rural, and insular. Even so, change starts with me. This is why I've been trying to cultivate the fictional and monster-creature sides of myself offline. Baring my soul offline requires bravery, but the online alterhuman community has given me little benefit for the soul I’ve poured out to it over the years. I can’t keep living like this. I refuse to keep living like this.

I deserve more.

*Hmm, this is starting to remind me of another group of alterhuman-identifying folks with an awfully similar problem of being pushed out of the supposedly inclusive alterhuman umbrella… it’s almost like this is a recurring problem…

**Tumblr is still by and far the calmest fictionfolk community with regular traffic and meaningful discussion that I've ever experienced. I feel like that speaks volumes by itself about what kind of environment this community fosters at large.

***Not that anyone needed my input or permission, but I don't blame anyone who was watching me for alterhuman community reasons for unfollowing or blocking me for this rant. My sense of self isn't going anywhere and I plan to continue to talk about my fictionhood and not-so-human experiences, but this probably isn’t what you signed up to see. I'm going to finish off my 30 days challenge before tackling the detangling of myself from the alterhuman ecosystem of labels and vocabulary. 

To fictionfolk: If you're thinking about dropping into my notifications, keep in mind that approximately 15 years ago, the fledgling fictionkin community was my community. You don't need to tell me about what it was like, because I was there. I already know what it was like. I lived it. My experience probably wasn't one-to-one with your experience, but it is still my lived experience. You cannot and will not convince me my lived experience is wrong.

To trolls and butthurt shit-stirrers with no reading comprehension skills: I'm just going to block you.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #62: Hauteville!Nicolò di Genova

My major problem - the one that keeps me from actually writing any of the terrible fic ideas I have - is that I hyperfixate on details. Case in point, I was reading Crusaders by Dan Jones as background for eventual TOG headcanons - and was hit by how much the physical description of Bohemond I of Antioch resembled Nicky. So, naturally, I thought, why not?

Or: What if Nicolò di Genova was the bastard son of that famous crusader, Prince Bohemond I of Antioch?

Bear with me:

Eldest son of the Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard (aka "The Terror of the World"), Bohemond was declared a bastard when his parents' marriage was invalidated and, "discovered that the most reliable way to get ahead in the world was with a sword in one's hand, and he had been blessed with the physicality and family connections to do just that" (55). Alternately described, "a fine figure even among the greatest," "a hero of great stature," and "spiteful, malevolent, deceitful, treacherous, inconstant, greedy, bitter, [and] a congenial liar," even his detractors were forced to admit, "he was magnetically beautiful: tall, broad-chested and handsome, with large hands and a solid stance, captivating light blue eyes and a fair complexion, his hair cut short around his ears and his chin shaved quite smooth, both provocatively out of keeping with a world in which tresses and beards were the usual symbols of machismo" (54).

Naturally, having just finished watching The Old Guard for approximately the eighth time, I thought, who does that sound like? Luckily the timeline seems to work, and thus this headcanon was born.

Just imagine it:

Bohemond was born between 1050 and 1058. If the date was on the earlier side of things (or he was a bit precocious), it's not impossible for him to have fathered a bastard child born c. 1069. The mother is quickly married off to a minor noble in Genoa, earning her child the appellation di Genova.

As a child Nicolò saw little of his father, but was encouraged to follow in his footsteps. He received perhaps the best military education available at the time given his Hauteville relations and proved to be a prodigal swordsman. Unlike his extended male kin, however, Nicky had little desire to carve a principality out for himself.

Given the choice, Nicky would rather join a monastery than a military campaign. There are a variety of reasons for this, ranging from not wanting to be assassinated as a potential rival to a legitimate brother or cousin's throne to monasteries being great centers of learning to genuine religious feeling, but no religious house would dare cross his father or grandfather by allowing him to take holy orders without their permission. Which neither would ever give. Nicky was more useful to them as a knight than an abbot or bishop.

This stalemate goes on for a while, until the First Crusade. Although left behind in Italy to finish the siege of Amalfi in 1097, Nicky was summoned to the Holy Lands by his father after the siege of Antioch to help solidify his new position as prince of the same. Nicky delayed as long as possible, finally sailing to Jaffa in June 1099 with Guglielmo Embriaco to relieve the siege of Jerusalem.

Joe and Nicky kill each other for the first time on night of 14 July 1099, after the outer walls are breached (93). They repeat the process several times through the night, moving further and further away from the city each time. On the morning of 15 July they realize they're soulmates lay down arms, make their way back to the city, and arrive just in time to see the walls of Jerusalem fall.

They each die multiple times trying to protect the innocents caught up in the fighting and it's at that moment they each realize how easily they could fall in love with the other - though neither acts on their feelings until they arrive at Cairo some weeks later, having decided to leave the fighting behind and search the world together for answers to their immortality.

They go from Cairo to Alexandria to Tripoli to Mahdia, moving slowly and staying in each place for months to do research and earn coin for the next leg of the journey.

They are preparing to leave for Algiers when news arrives that Bohemond I has died, leaving the principality of Antioch to his infant son, Bohemond II, under the administration of his nephew Tancred. This should be the one and only moment Nicky has doubts about traveling with Joe, as Nicky considers returning to the Holy Land to protect the half-brother he's never met from those who might take advantage of a young ruler and leverage this guardianship to bring peace to the war-torn region. It is an agonizing night until Nicky realizes he made his decision long ago, and that he'd rather travel with someone who loves him and doing good where they can than fight for a land he's never seen for people who only ever saw him a weapon.

Nicky and Joe continue like this for several more years, going from Algiers to Tangier to Marrakesh to Al-Andalus to Sicily (where Joe finally learns Nicky is a descendant of those Hautevilles), finally making it to Constantinople shortly before the Second Crusade.

Honestly this is where this particular headcanon starts burning out, because I love the idea of Joe and Nicky's lives being shaped by (and shaping) the Crusades and as such is a part of all my headcanons for these two. (That, and Ibn Battuta-like journeys in between, visiting Aden, Mogadishu, and Mombasa before the Third and settling in Constantinople just in time for the Fourth.)

Specific to this headcanon is Nicky's journey being less one of religious deradicalization - though that is part of it - than confrontation of the consequences of his family's actions throughout the Mediterranean. Some part of him will always think that his immortality is necessary atonement for his and his family's sins, though that part grows less as the centuries pass.

Bonuses include: 1) Nicky confronting his cousin Tancred for failing to contain the violence in favor of ransacking the Dome of the Rock (95). Despite feeling betrayed - honestly having thought better of Tancred, - Nicky choses to walk away rather than kill his cousin. Years later, history will somehow mutate this into the basis for Jerusalem Delivered, getting all the important details wrong in the process; 2) Although not his mother tongue, Old Norman is the language Nicky always reverts to when needing particularly strong curse words. He blames his father for this; and 3) His highly annotated original copy of the Alexiad found its way into historians' hands in the 1800s and is considered an important contemporary Italo-Norman reading of the text. There is considerable academic debate as to the annotator's identity, with no one ever having gotten close to the truth.

That's all I really have that's specific to this character background - as I said, a lot of what happens after their first deaths is consistent across TOG headcanons for me. It's just getting them to Jerusalem that fluctuates. As always, feel free to adopt this bun, just link back if you do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

hi it's me again lol i started watching spy x family and omfg. i get the hype now. it's so good

matchup(s) for spy x family, bsd and haikyuu pls!! i added some more details

some facts abt my appearance lol: im 4'9 (i am fr), kind of chubby, brown filipino, dark brown hair. also im an istj. 5w6 based on a quiz i took some months ago.

in terms of personality, im naturally quiet lol i can't help it. even when im around ppl i like, im still on the listeners side unless i have something good to say. otherwise im sorry but you'll have to be the one to start convos 😭

my jokes are mean so im kind of afraid to joke around unless ik they can argue back jokingly. and aren't sensitive. i'm also kind of blunt to the point that it's sometimes a problem. i'll apologize obv but man it makes me a little antisocial lol

in spite of istj stereotypes, i (try to) give my criticism very gently. i try to make sure that the other person knows im not judging or insulting but giving advice. i'm blunt but not that blunt

i like helping ppl out & taking care of others, actually. i like feeling appreciated/needed by others. tbh, it's why im aiming to become a nurse if i pass the exams. if i don't, i still want something along those lines. :))

hobbies: reading (aka prowling around in libraries), watching shows, i like cooking too but idk if it counts bc i don't have many opportunities to do it

aesthetic: coquette, femme fatale sort of thing. laces, bows, frills, etc. i like everything on me modest tho

likes : coffee, any hot drink, reading (tho i don't have the mind power these days lol) , scary movies, ghost hunting videos, history docs, romance but with awkward fmcs. taking walks, and... pink.

dislikes : cluttered spaces (i can't handle stuff just being thrown around. i need even a bit of organisation. not much of a clean freak but i need to know where everything is), crowded and noisy places, non-specific instructions (stresses me out fr), not submitting stuff on time bc its embarrassing, awkward situations (ex. meeting someone for the first time)

have a great timezone!! hope ur food is always warm unless u want it cold 🍲

Hi! Thank you for your request! I took out the Bungo Stary Dogs matchup since you mentioned you've already got one before. Sorry this took so long. I hope you like your matchups!

In Spy x Family, I match you with...

This was a close call between Loid and Yuri, but I think you’d get along slightly better with Loid due to his less boisterous personality.

Loid loves cooking with you and taking walks. There’s not a lot in his life that he finds relaxing but spending quality time with you doing something as mundane as walking or cooking helps him take a load off.

Very clean so no need to worry about clutter. He does his fair share of housekeeping, so you also don’t have to worry about being run off your feet trying to keep the house clean all by yourself.

Admires your desire to help people. That’s one of the main reasons he became a spy, so he values that trait in others greatly. It makes him feel like he can trust you.

Loid is amazing at making you feel needed and appreciated without forcing you to work too hard for it. You hung up his coat for him? Thank you so much. You set the table for dinner before he got home? That’s great, it means you can cook together and have dinner earlier now.

In Haikyuu, I match you with...

You and Kiyoko are the quiet (and kind of intimidating) power couple. While you can both be a bit standoffish, you do like helping people and genuinely care about those close to you.

I see Kiyoko as someone who enjoys watching history documentaries and ghost hunting videos. They’re very different from what people think of when they see her, but I think she finds them intriguing.

Loves taking walks with you! There’s nothing better than being able to finish up with the volleyball team and walking home with the person you care about most.

Speaking of the volleyball team, there’s absolutely no way there’s ever going to be a peaceful or quiet moment with them around. If you’re still uncomfortable in noisy places like this, Kiyoko’s more than happy to meet up with you somewhere quieter.

Sometimes she needs to vent about school or her commitments with the team so she’s very grateful you’re there to lend an ear. Please know that she’s there for you if you ever need to talk as well.

[spacecadetspe]

A snippet from last year...

Sept. 5, 2023

Not a whole lot on the dream front recently.  Just one memorable moment.

I caught W's cold when he came home with me, and spent the long weekend miserable and mostly confined to my apartment.  I had little energy or desire to go out, and the poor kid was getting cabin fever by staying indoors.  Unfortunately, my grandfather had Covid, and my mother had been exposed, so that precluded any possibility of us visiting them.

My new job has been wonderful.  I'm making friends, and my team seems incredibly grateful that I am intelligent and adaptable.  It doesn't always feel like I am, but the  genuine appreciation and compassion they have for me makes me feel perfectly at home.  So my coworkers teased me affectionately about my cough and then bade me go home and rest, as if they were tertiary parents.  I really could get used to it here.

W was less than pleased that I wanted to stay home.  Without his phone, he grew anxious and listless, and although I offered him activities to do instead, he finally reached a breaking point where he told me that X paid more attention to him when they were FaceTiming than when they were together in person.  That just about broke my heart, so I sat up, fully prepared to listen and give feedback in spite of not feeling well.  He was feeling neglected, and my refusal to let him dive into his phone again had left him without an emotional outlet.  So when I sat up to listen, he broke down in tears.  I think he's begun to realize how superficial his relationship is with his father, and that's especially hard.  I don't envy him what he's going through; I've been through it once, myself.  But I understand that it's something he's going to have to discover on his own.

Fortitude voiced his concerns on how the boy is going to mature, and who he's going to decide to keep contact with once he's an adult.  I'll admit, it shook me a little.  But know I'm doing the right thing.  I have to believe that.  I'm growing; I've changed nearly every part of who I was, just so I could be better for my son.

Only once during the weekend did I experience a fever-dream.  I have been enjoying two- and three-hour naps during my illness, but only the first rendered a dream.  I remember sitting and talking with Phantasos, and I found myself in a position where I felt like I trusted him enough to take him by the hand.  His response was to lift my hand and kiss me on the knuckles, and in the moment I felt myself freeze.  A sensation of horror lurched through my body.

"Was this not what you wanted?" I heard him ask.

"I don't know," I said.  "I'm not sure I'm ready for this."  I slowly pulled my hand away.

"What's wrong?"

I sighed.  "I don't know... after all that's happened with you and Morpheus and Phobetor, I just thought it'd be different.  I expected something different."

He scoffed.  "Well, what did you expect?  Accolades?  A medal?"

I returned my gaze to him.  "It's not you.  Not at all.  It's nothing you've done."  I watched his gaze soften.  "I have this... infinitely small place inside me that, at some point I can't remember, got hurt.  And for just that moment, you touched upon it, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to form a bond with someone again, not knowing if I was going to hurt the same way every time I tried.  And all of this hurt... from people I don't even talk to anymore.  People I don't even remember."  I crossed my arms protectively over my chest.  I slowly shook my head.  "I just... I wanted to matter... to people who didn't even care.  And I expected... to feel better about giving something my all, rather than feeling more hurt."

Fortitude held me while I cried it all out, and after that I felt much better.  Phantasos came by the next day to tell me his mati jewelry had touched me and subsequently sparked a vision that included that nasty echo chamber I'd been trying to navigate.  When he finally interviewed me, however, I was just relieved to have found a way out.

Vassilios has warned me a couple times about the depth of Phantasos' reach, but I can't quite understand what he's warning me about.  He performs magic on a level comparable with Morpheus, and he performs soul magic as well, which is where he gets his mati.  I wonder if that's why I've been so tired lately; perhaps he's drawing on some energy of mine.  I'd say at least I'm sleeping better, but I don't want to be tired all the time.  Maybe a couple more days of rest and I'll be better...

[fkinavocado]

I was watching My Policeman again recently and I have something to say.

I feel like the character Tom in some aspect is similar to Harry. Harry got fame and success in the music industry at a very young age and that is why he had to stop his studies. At that time I think he would have liked the fact that he doesn't have academic pressure anymore like every kid lol but now that he is a lot older and wiser I think he has a bit of regret regarding that. That is why he seems so enthusiastic and eager to learn, whenever he talks about the books he reads in the interviews, his frequent museum visits and stuff like that. Tom was kinda similar.

Idk but I find this so endearing. How adorable 😭🥹

i get what you mean, though i don't agree entirely. tom was really unrefined, especially in the book, i don't know if he actually had a desire to broaden his horizons, he just used it as a pretext for spending time with patrick, and pretended to like his world to get in his good graces.

whereas i think harry might have picked up books to read to impress one of his exes (as per his own admission) but it wasn't for lack of interest that he didn't do it sooner, more like lack of time being on the road with the band so much. and or course there was that initial relief to be off the hook academically, who wouldn't be at 16. but you can tell he's genuinely trying to cultivate himself more and more and yeah i do think he feels he's missed out a bit early on, but he's more than made up for it. plus, getting to travel as much as he does, meeting so many ppl in so many walks of life really makes for an amazing cultural baggage. it teaches you so much, stuff you can't learn unless through personal experience really. he could always go get a degree but not all of us get to walk in his shoes. he shouldn't have any regrets in this regard.

what i'm saying is, tom was falling asleep at the opera. harry makes a point of cultivating himself in spite of lack of time, risky public attendance etc. i really appreciate this about him. how adorable indeed

[testudoaubrei-blog]

Well, it’s not quite a master’s thesis, but this is (the first of) a series of posts on why Catra and Adora are the best love story in the history of kids TV animation and maybe the greatest love story in the history of TV. This may in some ways be faint praise - romance on TV is generally not very good compared with books or movies. Often it’s just some will they/won’t they sexual tension that is defused by getting characters together and re-heightened by breaking them up. TV is full of nearly shark jumping pointless dramas like Sam and Diane (Cheers, holy fuck am I dating myself, though that was technically before my time), Ross and Rachel (Friends, which was no Cheers) etc, but also some less annoying couples like Ben and Leslie (Parks and Rec) or Amy and Jake (Bk99) who are mostly just kind of cute and fun. Other shows, like the X-Files, teased viewers for years with unresolved sexual tension. In kids shows most romances are, appropriate for their target viewers, mild, sweet relationships based more on self-conscious flirting and blushing than on complex and conflicted feelings or deep passions - which is pretty realistic when the characters are young teens or even mid-teens. Some of these relationships are really well done - Finn and Flame Princess, Dipper and Pacifica (yeah I ship them), the early stages of Katara and Aang (before the showrunners imbued this childhood crush with cosmic significance), Steven and Connie, etc. Catra and Adora, though, are different. Their love story is not a side plot or a sub plot, it’s the heart of the show. It isn’t a childhood crush, it’s a very messy and passionate relationship between two young adults. She-Ra is an emotionally complex lesbian romance just as much as it is a thrilling action/adventure show. Everything about their relationship is baked into the show’s plot, its themes, hell even its musical score. The dramatic tension between Catra and Adora is not the result of stretching out a flirtation for ratings, but a coherent dramatic arc that runs through the entire show. As Noelle said, he made Catradora so central that execs couldn’t take it out without ruining the show. And the show is better for it. In this series of posts I’m going to try to show why, as well as showing why She-Ra is such a fantastic love story.

First off, let’s talk about how Catra and Adora’s character arcs are foils for each other, and how they come together and apart through the series. This is actually a post that I’ve been working on for a while but I keep summarizing the show rather than cutting to the chase, so I’m not going to recite many plot points so much as sketch out what’s going on with the dramatic structure at the time. But also, let’s talk about what each character’s arc is saying, and how they are commenting on each other. Spoiler alert: Catra’s arc is a subversion and critique of stories of empowerment through ruthless self-assertion and revenge, while Adora’s arc is a subversion and critique of chosen one narratives and stories of self-denial and self-transcendence.

When the show starts, Adora and Catra are shown as rivals and friends - their first scene starts the recurring motif of them reaching out for each other as one of them dangles above an abyss, as well as establishing their flirtatious banter and easy camaraderie. We quickly learn that these two young women plan to conquer the world together. These scenes and later flashbacks show Catra and Adora as deeply enmeshed in each others lives, to the point where neither of them (but especially Catra) have clear identities outside of one another. There is so much genuine love on both sides before Adora leaves, but also resentment, envy and fear, especially on Catra’s side, as well as a protectiveness on Adora’s side that deprives Catra of her autonomy. They are both being abused by Shadow Weaver - Catra physically  and emotionally, Adora emotionally. It wouldn’t be too much to say that Shadow Weaver holds Catra hostage to control Adora (this is why critiques that Adora abandoned Catra to be abused are actually kind of messed up, since they accept Shadow Weaver’s premise that Adora is responsible for what Shadow Weaver does to Catra). In addition, Catra and Adora actually see the world incredibly differently. Adora already sees the world in terms of right, wrong and her destiny to right wrongs - this is why it’s important for her  to accept the Horde’s obvious lies - she couldn’t keep living if she didn’t. Catra, on the other hand, sees the world solely in terms of survival and personal loyalty - everything for her is about preserving herself and the person she cares about - Adora.

Then, when Adora finds the sword, she leaves because it’s the right thing to do. Catra doesn’t even have a concept of ‘the right thing to do’ being something she should care about, or perhaps, something she can care about as an irredeemably evil, awful fuck-up. So at Thaymor neither one understands where the other is coming from, and Catra and Adora begin to part. This is the first turning point in their relationship. Adora chooses duty over what she desires, Catra chooses to protect herself (such as she sees it) and nurse her sense of betrayal and abandonment.

Their relationship until Promise is a kind of weird Frenemy thing that is fascinating to watch and sold me on the show. Neither one wants to fully admit to themselves that the other is now their enemy, neither one has given up on changing the other’s mind. Each is furious at the other, and desperate to see her again at the same time. There’s a lot of heartache and just as much sexual tension, especially at Princess Prom. Both of them come alive when they fight each other (more about that in a later post). But they’re already growing apart - Adora embracing her destiny as She-Ra, Catra rising in the ranks for the Horde. Adora now has the purpose she always wanted, plus other friends and a sense of being chosen to do something great, while Catra now has power - the means to protect herself from people like Shadow Weaver as well as the vindication she had always been denied, and even the opportunity to beat Shadow Weaver at her own game.

The next turning point is Promise. Holy fuck, this episode. It’s an episode that is even more heartbreaking after you’ve watched the show because you know just how much worse things are going to get, and yet, it’s a necessary part of both of their character arcs. Even through season 1 Catra and Adora had remained very much enmeshed in each others lives in an increasingly fucked up way as they grew apart but refused to turn away from each other. Even though they aren’t -exactly- a romantic couple (Adora doesn’t recognize and acknowledge her feelings until the last episode of Season 5), Season 1 of She-Ra is one of the worst breakups I have seen on TV. As I said in a couple of previous posts, this is the kind of shit that the Mountain Goats write songs about. Everything that was poisoning their love for each other even before episode 1 bubbles to the surface and combines with them fighting on opposite sides of the war to make a truly fucked up situation. In the end, it’s Catra that makes the choice to turn away from Adora. This isn’t a -good- decision. It’s spiteful, and destructive, and based on an outright deluded understanding of their relationship (inspired by Light Hope’s manipulations and her own issues), but it’s in some ways a necessary decision. Catra has been so wrapped up in Adora for so long that she isn’t going to be able to figure out who -she- is without cutting Adora out of her life. And the same is true of Adora.

But each of them do this in about the worst way possible. Catra embraces destruction, ambition, manipulation and outright cruelty, turning the tactics of her abusers against them and against everyone around her. She first triumphs over Shadow Weaver and manipulates Entrapta into trying to corrupt Etheria itself. Meanwhile Adora ‘lets go’ and commits herself to the self-denying mantle of She-Ra. Over the next several seasons, their respective paths will nearly lead both Catra and Adora to their deaths (in the Season 4 finale).

For the next season (counting season 2 and 3 as one) Catra and Adora are still closely linked, but as enemies. Still, there’s more than enough flirtation between them (that ‘Hey Catra’ in the first episode of Season 2 is something else), and especially on Adora’s side we see her hold back with Catra, and often take responsibility for the harm Catra inflicts, just like she had when they were kids. Yet they still drift apart - after facing off every other episode in Season 1, they spend less and less time on screen together through season 2 and 3. Catra continues her ascent to power and descent into villainy while Adora becomes more of a stressed out mess as she takes the fate of the world and the wellbeing of everyone she cares about on her admittedly broad shoulders. Catra’s one moment of vulnerability is rewarded by Shadow Weaver’s betrayal and her exile, then Catra triumphs in ruthless badass fashion through sheer desperation and aggression. In the Crimson Wastes, we see Catra at her most independent, and she almost seems happy. But once Adora shows up and Catra hears about Shadow Weaver, she’s sucked back into the worst of her resentments, and she makes very clear that being happy is less important to her than making sure Adora is miserable.

This changes everything. Catra completely breaks with reality and tries to kill Adora, herself and the world rather than lose to Adora and Shadow Weaver (I do think it’s important to remember that she does that after Shadow Weaver nearly kills her). Catra betrays everyone around her when she exiles Entrapta, threatens Scopria and lies to Hordak. Then she flips the switch. When Adora tries to fix things, Catra fights to her own death to make sure that the world disintegrates with her. For her part, Adora fights first to understand what is wrong with the world and then to fix it. Finally she tells Catra that destroying the world is her choice and she has to live with it, decks her, and then sees her off with a death glare once the portal is closed. With this, Adora writes Catra off even if, as she says later, she never never hated her. By doing that, Adora casts off the guilt that had dogged her and takes responsibility for her own life rather than someone else’s - this is actually a huge step for her, and one that will become more important in Season 4.

Season 4 is in many ways the nadir of their relationship. They only see each other once during the entire season, in Fluterrina, when Adora tries to blast Catra, much to the latter’s shock. There’s a sense in that scene that Catra is trying to have the same flirtatious enmity she used to have with Adora, and Adora is having none of it. Catra almost seems hurt by this, which is an early hint at how isolated Catra is beginning to feel. Catra spends the rest of the season at her highest and lowest. On the one hand she spends most of 12 episodes winning by every standard she has ever claimed to care about, besting Hordak himself in single combat and making herself co-ruler of the Horde and coming within a day’s march of ending the Rebellion. In many ways it is the ultimate empowerment fantasy - the abused young woman has defeated her abusers, showed up everyone who doubted her and forced everyone to respect her. But I think it’s striking that the show starts with her and Adora dreaming of conquering the world together and in Season 4 Catra nearly succeeds in conquering it alone, almost like she was trying to live out her old shared fantasy while proving she didn’t need her former best friend. 

At the same time, Catra is clearly miserable. She’s always been unhappy, but in Season 4 we see her completely isolated and lying to herself and everyone who will listen in a desperate attempt to justify her actions. Turning the tactics of Hordak and Shadow Weaver against them to gain power and then against Scorpia and Entrapta to maintain it haven’t vindicated Catra, they’ve made her more and more alone as Entrapta is exiled and Scorpia drifts away. Meanwhile Catra reaches out to Double Trouble, and her interactions with them reek of a kind of desperate desire to have someone in her life (the feeling of their interaction is of an unhealthy casual relationship where one partner becomes emotionally invested and the other takes advantage of that while denying the other the closeness they desire). As people leave her, one after the other, it becomes clearer and clearer that Catra doesn’t want power at all - she wants connection, friendship, love, and power is a very poor replacement. As I said in my long Catra rant, Season 4 is both her ‘Walter White as a Catgirl’ season and the beginning of her redemption. Everything comes to head when Sparkles destroys everything Catra has tried to achieve, Double Trouble delivers those harsh truths and Horde Prime shows up and makes it all irrelevant, just highlighting how futile all her struggles and sacrifices and crimes have been.

Meanwhile Adora spends Season 4 becoming her own her and her own woman. After telling off Catra, she grows more and more disillusioned with Light Hope and critical of Glimmer (though the latter has more than a shade of her old habit of taking responsibility for others - Adora’s development is not linear). She’s gained the courage and confidence to strike out her own path, not just follow a destiny. At the season’s end she once again breaks with her best friend to do what is right, and discards the destiny that she was being prepared for. But in this case she isn’t chasing one packaged destiny for another, instead she’s making her own choice and literally shattering the thing that she thought gave her life purpose. It’s badass, and heartbreaking, and along with decking Catra and jumping after Catra into the abyss (see below) it’s the perfect Adora moment.

In many ways Season 5 starts with Catra and Adora farther apart than they have ever been. They aren’t even enemies anymore, they’re completely out of each other’s lives. And both Catra and Adora are lost at the beginning of Season 5 - Catra is useless and alone on Prime’s ship, completely defeated despite ostensibly being on the winning side, and she goes through the motions of her normal plotting without any particular conviction and none of her normal flair. Meanwhile Adora is even more miserable and self-destructive than usual, throwing herself at Horde Bots and working herself until she drops of exhaustion. In a very real way they both stay lost until they have a chance to help the other. Catra takes responsibility for what she’s done and what she can do, saves Glimmer (at least partly for Adora’s sake), apologizes to Adora, and sacrifices herself. Adora only seems to come alive when she decides to turn around, face Prime, and save the cat. And when she does, Catra and Adora’s arcs, which had separated so completely in season 4, come crashing back together to end the series.

Adora during Save the Cat is such a contrast with the uncertain, hesitant and self-destructive wreck we’ve seen so far in Season 5. This is possibly her craziest plan in 3 years of mostly cazy plans, but she never wavers or questions herself. Even when Chipped Catra appears and we see Adora’s heart break while we watch, Adora doesn’t back down or relent. She keeps at it even as the tears stream down her face. She fights better trying to save Catra without She-Ra’s powers than she fought at the Battle of Bright Moon with them. Catra’s just about as desperate - we see her cry and plead, and now is probably as good a time to any to point out how amazing a job both VAs did throughout the show, but especially in this episode, and how good a job the board artists did. 

Seeing each other for the first time in a year, and only the second time since Catra blew everything up, Catra and Adora are probably the rawest and least restrained we’ve ever seen them. There’s barely any banter, no bravado, and no pretense that they are anything other than two women who desperately need each other (Prime doesn’t help with ‘You broke my heart’.) Then Catra is flung to her death, Adora jumps after her, breaks both her legs in the fall (we see her crawl to Catra, as though she couldn’t walk) and becomes the real She-Ra. It’s such a triumphant and deeply queer moment seeing a woman transformed into a warrior goddess to protect the woman she loves, and it’s the reason that, as dark as it is, Save the Cat is my Comfort Food episode.

Let’s not sleep on Taking Control, though. This episode is like a microcosm of what this show does best, especially the A plot with Catra and Adora. Catra’s reversion to lashing out at everyone and her refusal to be open to Adora shows just how much of a struggle this whole ‘being good and trying to connect to people’ thing is. Catra’s outburst gives Adora a chance to stand up for herself and refuse to be Catra’s punching bag, while also not trying to control her. Adora’s ultimatum gives Catra a chance to reach out to Adora (quite literally), and allow herself to be vulnerable. In this episode, we see just how far Catra and Adora have come since the messed up stew of their relationship in Season 1. Adora lets Catra be responsible for her own actions; Catra lets herself be vulnerable to Adora and takes responsibility for her actions. They’re both better people and better friends and better partners than they were, and the show has shown this in a strikingly nuanced and realistic way. 

The important thing to note in the next few episodes of Season 5 isn’t just how much closer Catra and Adora get to each other and how much they flirt (So much. So much, y’all) but just how -happy- they are. We see both of them transformed in the other’s presence. Basically, since they’ve parted, both Catra and Adora have been defined in no small part by how miserable they often are. They have both had their triumphs and their lighter moments, but there’s been a sense of melancholy dogging both Catra and Adora since episode 1. And now that they’re together again, that lifts, somewhat. Catra’s verbal barbs have lost their venom, and she can openly show how much she cares for Adora and even Bow and Glimmer. She’s still herself - snarky, cynical, somewhat devious - but she’s not engaged in a self-destructive zero-sum struggle with everyone around her. Meanwhile Adora has spent 4 seasons being a neurotic and sometimes nearly joyless mess who takes responsibility for everything and often doesn’t let herself enjoy anything other than the odd BFS group hug (exceptions include trying to uh...impress Huntara and reveling with the butterfly ladies of Elberron in Flutterina).  Around Catra, though, she’s a cocky, swaggering jock who gives as good as she gets. It’s a side of Adora we’ve only seen hints of before, and one that’s so much more confident and joyful even as the world is ending around her. Apart, Catra had tried to protect and vindicate herself with power and conquest, while Adora had tried to forget herself in duty and sacrifice. Together, they can be themselves again. This dynamic is crucial to the show’s portrayal of Catra and Adora’s romance because it doesn’t just show how much they love each other, but how they’re -good- for each other now that they’ve grown as people, and that they are so much better than they were when they were apart.

Until Shadow Weaver shows up. Their old abuser reintroduces tensions but even then things are different than they were. Now Catra isn’t just resentful of how Shadow Weaver prefers Adora - she’s  protective of Adora, which is clearest in Failsafe when she calls Shadow Weaver out for being willing to sacrifice Adora. And while Adora takes the Failsafe, it isn’t to follow her destiny or because she has a death wish - it’s because she loves her friends, and she is the only one who has any hope of doing this and living (though Catra’s suggestion that Shadow Weaver take it is a good one). And finally, when Catra leaves Adora, it isn’t because she hates Adora, nor, despite what she says, is it because she really thinks that Adora chose Shadow Weaver. At least, not exactly. It’s because Catra loves Adora, and can admit that to herself, and can’t stay around and watch the woman she loves sacrifice herself rather than choosing Catra. Before Catra leaves, she asks Adora ‘What do you want?” It’s a question that echoes Shadow Weaver’s speech in Episode 1: ‘isn’t this what you always wanted since you could want anything?’ As much as Adora has grown as a person, and defined herself and stood up for what she thinks is right, she still has never answered that question - it’s never been ‘what do I want’ but ‘what do I have to do?’ and that’s how Adora answers Catra’s question. This is Adora’s last gasp as a self-transcending hero, letting go of what she wants (not that she ever dared articulate what that was) in order to do what must be done. And it nearly kills her and dooms the universe, because Adora can’t be the hero that she needs to be by being anyone less than herself.

But it’s losing Catra that inspires Adora to tell off Shadow Weaver for good (not that she’d ever really warmed to her after season 1). And it’s love for Adora that inspires Catra to stand up to Shadow Weaver and demand that she do the right thing. In both cases, Catra and Adora aren’t just standing up to their abuser, but holding her to account for the harm she’s caused, and it’s the love that they have for each other that inspires them to do this. In Catra’s case in particular her refusal to let Shadow Weaver weasel out of finding Adora is a much greater triumph over Shadow Weaver than beating her up and breaking her mask in Season 1 - it’s proof not so much to Shadow Weaver but to Catra herself that Catra really is better than this and that she deserves better than this. It’s not turning her abuser’s tactics against her, but truly holding her to a moral standard and demanding that she do the right thing.

And then there’s Catra and Adora together at the heart. Catra has already come back for Adora and stayed to the end, choosing to die with her even if she can’t share a life together (not out of some death wish, but because Adora needs her). And Adora, who’s been avoiding answering the question for three fucking years, finally let’s herself want Catra when Catra finally confesses her love (breaking the last of her self-protective shields) and asks Adora to stay -for her-. And by admitting what she wants, Adora can truly be at peace with herself and be the hero she needs to be, lesbianism saves the universe, The End.

So anyway, that’s how Catra and Adora’s stories are woven together and how they compliment and comment on each other. Narrativiely, Adora and Catra start together, come apart, find something of themselves, and truly find themselves and each other when they are reunited. Thematically, they are critiquing seemingly opposing narrative tropes - empowerment narratives and narratives of self sacrifice. But by showing the flaws in both types of story and showing how neither self-seeking empowerment nor self-negating self sacrifice can actually make us happy, She-Ra asks and answers more profound questions than most prestige dramas for adults do. I’ll get into how the show sells the idea that the power of love can bring us happiness (and save the world) in a future post. But next up, I’m going to celebrate just how much Catra and Adora’s relationship revels in ambiguity, complexity and contradiction and so tells a grown up love story in a kid’s show.