#mad multishipper on the loose!

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Shipping Challenges

Are you getting a bit tired of the same old pairings? Would you like to see something new and different? Do you want to see how many people you can piss off, freak out, or have proclaim you their new best friend?

May I make some suggestions*:

1. Thomas Barrow x Jack Courtnay

Yes, everyone knows what a crush Thomas had on our dear blind soldier boy, but have you ever considered the irony that maybe Edward was the straight one in the family? That maybe Thomas would have even more in common with Edward’s hated little brother? What’s Jack really like, anyway? Mary and Edith would probably have said similar things about each other, but their fans - and neutral parties - agree they’re pretty decent people...or at least one of them is. What’s going on there anyway?

2. Thomas Barrow x Richard Clarkson

Yeah, okay, you may have run across this one. I have, but is it just me or is it nearly always toxic? Generally comes with a non-con tag, which is fine in and of itself, but there’s so much more you can do here! Lady Edith was ready to marry a man her father’s age, and in the queer community age differences were pretty common. Why not explore what, exactly, makes the good doctor so sympathetic to ‘that sort’? I have seen one (1) person try this in a healthy manner! I challenge everyone else to try it!

3. Guy Dexter x Chris Webster

C’mon, you know you want to!

4. Guy Dexter x Richard Ellis

Because there are only about a million fifty ways you can do this! Prequels! Sequels! Straight up AUs! And only about three quarters of them will get you banned from the fandom! LIVE DANGEROUSLY! Odds are good you will win the Fandom Love Of Your Life and a Fandom Arch Nemesis all in one go!

5. Thomas Barrow x Charles Blake

Is there a single thing about this pairing to hang your hat on? Near as I can remember, no! Not a damn thing! That means there’s nothing stopping you! Imagine all of the fun that the working-class-bloke-who-wants-to-be-a-toff and the toff-who-wants-to-be-a-working-class-bloke could have together!

-

And I think that will do me for now. Knowing me, I’ll probably be back at some later date with more later**.

* Before everyone asks why, if I want to see these so badly, I don’t write them myself. Have you seen my WIP folder? I’ve actually started some of these - multiple times! - but they are buried under.......everything else. If we have to wait for me to do it, it’ll never happen.

** No, I have not had too much sugar, why do you ask such a silly question? This is definitely not me crashing from a sugar high.

[orionsangel86]

Who do you think is better suited for dating Morpheus: Johanna or Hob?

Lol controversial ask! Jokes. I am guessing this came off the back of my response to the Calliope post the other week where I mentioned that I am loosely a Dreamling shipper but lean more towards Morphanna currently. I guess I need to specify that it very much depends on my mood because I am a Sandman multishipper at heart but feel different ships serve different purposes regarding Dream. I struggle to stretch them beyond the purposes I have set aside for them. Also it's Dreamling week and so one look at my blog would definitely give the assumption that I am a huge Dreamling shipper but that isn't actually the case. What I am is a Morpheus stan and everything else is peripheral to my focus on him and his story.

But sure lets dig into this. Honest answer? Neither because Morpheus is terrible and his track record alone is enough proof that he should never date anyone ever.

(jokes)

If we want to be sticklers for comic canon here, neither is suited because there are particular blockers in place for both ships.

For Morphanna the blocker is the rule that states that an Endless can not love a mortal. We have the Nada situation to show us what happens when they do. (Sun gets big mad and throws fireballs at the Earth)

For Dreamling the blocker is less carved into stone but its still gonna be a biggy for certain readers/audiences, being that Morpheus is not gay/bi/pan/queer whatever you wanna call him. For all intents and purposes in comic canon he's as straight as a ruler. However whilst we only ever see Morpheus's lovers as powerful, confident, beautiful female presenting immortal beings, we can throw in the tried and true argument we can apply to all of Neil Gaiman's non human beings which is that since he is not a human cis male, he technically can't be straight and since he has multiple forms and is as old as the universe itself, attraction is probably a very different thing to Morpheus than it is to any of us. It's entirely plausible that he could fall in love with a man shaped being (I actually have a meta in progress about Morpheus' potential queerness - sure it may ruffle some feathers but since I do this for fun and not to please anyone but myself I don't give a damn and will post it one day).

Anyway, that said the show could easily do away with both these blockers. We haven't had Nada's tale yet so whats to say the Endless are forbidden from loving mortals in the show universe? Nothing. The show could also easily confirm Dream has had past male presenting lovers (my money would be on Oberon in a threeway situation with Titania - or Pharamond if he shows up.)

So putting those elements aside, who is better suited to Morpheus?

In Johanna's corner we have the following;

She generally fits the archetype of past lovers and therefore could be considered Morpheus's "type" - beautiful, confident, argumentative, not phased by his status, not submissive to him, puts him in his place (listen we all know Morpheus has a submissive kink its practically carved into comic text lol).

Well versed with his "world" and supernatural creatures and can hold her own against them - being a Constantine has its benefits.

She cares - underneath her tough exterior its clear she has a good heart. She was able to bring him down to Earth, to give a human perspective that he needed at that point.

Flawed characters - Johanna considers herself a bad person and compares herself to Roderick Burgess. But Dream is quick to dismiss this. The truth is that Johanna may be messy and a bit of a disaster, but she is very selfless and good at her core. This could be a good thing as it could help Dream to see the good in humanity that he has been missing. Its clear she already helped with this in the show, but going forward, a relationship between them could help even further accelerate his change and make him a better being.

She encouraged the development of his relationship with Matthew. Something else he needed which she saw before he did. Basically she's smart enough to figure out what he needs, and when to press the issue or not. (she dropped the topic of his imprisonment as soon as he deflected to her photo).

She understands heartbreak and messy relationships - I think Johanna would be well suited to Morpheus because she is just as broken as he is, with almost as messy a relationship history. They have common ground there.

"It never ends well does it?" "What? Love?" She's realistic about relationships, which Morpheus - being Dream - needs. She can ground him, at least for a little while.

Johanna is also a powerful ally to have on side, it makes for excellent storytelling to bring her into the narrative regarding Lucifer and the stories revolving around Hell. She's competent, highly skilled, and I think he finds her impressive.

For Hob consider the following:

Friends first - for someone with such a terrible track record of past lovers, finding love in a friend is something Morpheus doesn't appear to have tried before, and this could be exactly what he needs. Dream and Hob have a shared history over 6 centuries, and those are strong foundations to build a relationship on, especially since they've already basically been through the big break up fight and heartbreak and are already in the rekindling phase.

Stories for the storyteller - the beauty of Hob's role is that he is Dream's respite from his world. The visits with Hob are the one time the Prince of Stories gets to sit and listen to stories himself. There must be peace in that, and we all know Dream desperately seeks peace.

Blind Devotion - Hob is patient, and he will wait for Dream. One thing that I think a lot of Morpheus's past lovers had in common is that they struggled to stick out the periods of time when he would throw himself into his work and basically forget about them. The relationships fizzled out after the honeymoon phase because Dream couldn't sustain that, even though once you have his love you have it forever. With Hob that wouldn't be an issue. He is the man who waited. Who never gave up hope that Dream would return even after he was stood up, and when he did return, Hob smiled and joked. It was all okay. Morpheus needs a relationship with that level of chill.

Flawed characters - Unlike Johanna, I think its safe to say that Hob is a very flawed character. He is selfish, greedy, self centered and ignorant to a lot of what takes place around him. Whilst he does grow and improve over time, his flaws are still a huge part of his character. Morpheus is also very far from perfect and it is this that makes them so well suited. There is almost an equal footing there. Hob could potentially see Morpheus's POV when it comes to the grander schemes, but at the same time, it is clear from their journey together in the show that they have a tendency to make each other better.

Grieving fathers - now this is an important one and its something I feel the comic failed to see the potential of. A huge part of the Sandman story is Morpheus struggling to come to terms with his grief over his son. Grief is a central theme. Of all the characters in the comic who Morpheus comes to meet, Hob is one of maybe two that share that experience - being a father whose son died too soon. I think the other character in comic who suffers this same grief is Shakespeare, which is an interesting parallel and one worth exploring. The show adds Roderick Burgess into the equation - making a fathers grief for his dead son the trigger for Dream's own imprisonment. The show emphasises the theme of grief far beyond the comic, which is definitely worth further exploration in a separate meta. The point is that Hob sits in this very small circle of characters who have shared Dream's experience. Hob is therefore in a prime position to help Dream where they can grow and learn to heal together.

Whilst he doesn't fit the archetype for Dream's past lovers, the differences Hob provides could prove to be just what Dream needs. He is still a handsome man (and God knows Dream gave him bedroom eyes in 1789) and he still ticks certain boxes regarding dominance, confidence, and an ability to hold his own in a fight. "You need not have come to my defence" suuuuure Dream but you did enjoy it nevertheless! Therefore attraction isn't an issue.

Conclusion?

Both Johanna and Hob tick certain boxes to meet the requirements for "love interest" and could easily be positioned that way for Dream. When I really dig down into it I think it depends on what fans are looking for in a Dream ship as to which character is best suited.

I love Morphanna for how messy it is. Yes, Johanna cares and has a good moral centre, but placing her into a certain role within the bounds of the canon story could actually be bad for Dream going forward. I see it as a dramatic relationship. It would be passionate, fiery, dramatic, chaotic, and will end in heartbreak.

I say this because ultimately Johanna doesn't do commitment. This is a clearly defined character trait in the show. Commitment is something she struggles with. Whereas Morpheus is all about commitment. He doesn't appear to do anything BUT commit to people and comes on extremely strong. I love exploring this dynamic between them. I think it would work brilliantly as a canon ship and I am still resolutely behind the idea that Johanna should replace Thessaly in canon and be the trigger for the rainsoaked Dreaming and the Brief Lives disaster trip.

So whilst I 100% ship Morphanna, I think I only ship it on a temporary basis. I struggle to imagine a future where they can have a happy ending and be together long term. Instead I see an ending where after all is said and done, Johanna stands and tells her story at the Wake, and mourns the creature she loved, and has to go on struggling to understand her role in his downfall. If we are seeking an alternative ending where Morpheus lives, I still struggle to see him settling down with Johanna as she is a mortal and I cannot imagine her ever choosing immortality or giving up her job as someone who saves people from the supernatural. She will never be Morpheus's queen. It just doesn't suit her character.

When it comes to Hob, as much as it sometimes irks me to admit it, he is very well suited for Morpheus even in an endgame/alternative happy ending way. Foundations based in centuries of growing friendship, his patience and ability to wait for Morpheus to get his head out of his ass, his being unphased at practically all the weirdness and oddities that Dream's world brings with it. The fact is, Hob is Dream's best friend. This is something that Dream needs so much more than a lover. Not only that but he is a friend who has shared history, shared grief, shared pain, blind devotion, and he is immortal. Hob will stay by Dream's side forever if he has the chance. So long as he still gets to live. Whether you see it as purely platonic, queer platonic, non sexual romantic, or fully romantic and sexual, they are in it for the long term.

Whereas Morphanna for me is a quick burning fiery passionate love affair that ends in tears and A LOT of rain, Dreamling is a very slow burn. I struggle with canon based fics that have them falling into bed shortly after the 2022 reunion because it feels out of character to me. If Dreamling were to happen, it would need to take practically the entire comic run story to get to that point. Hob's devotion to Dream is clear, but his awareness of its romantic potential is not yet there. I always return to Hob's dream in Sunday Mourning when I think of Dreamling, because for me, that is where a relationship between them would actually start, rather than end. Because I think it would take a huge event like Morpheus's actual death for them to pull their heads out of their asses and get together. Because you see even with all the arguments and debates and highly emotional opinions thrown around, I still feel deep down like Sunday Mourning is telling us that Morpheus escaped. He got out the narrative and is free from his cage, and now he's set for his own adventure off in the stars. The only person I can realistically imagine him taking with him is Hob Gadling.

At the end of the day these are my opinions. I want canon Morphanna, I just want it to end with a horrible messy break up because I want that drama. I am unsure if I want Dreamling in canon, but I do hope that if the show ends similarly to the comic, that we will get those scenes in Sunday Mourning and have them be extremely emotionally charged - if ever there is a Dreamling love confession, that is where it belongs. I can only really analyse my opinions on these ships based on canon but I am aware that fandom is a big sandbox and people can do what they want always with these characters. Please don't ever let my opinions deter you from shipping them to your hearts content in any way you feel like.

So I guess the TL:DR is that they are both suited in different ways. Morphanna is a mid story passionate love affair that I adore and want to end in disaster. Dreamling is an endgame slow burn friends to lovers that has the potential to go long term.

I love them both for their specific purposes, believe they both are suited for those purposes, but never the other way around. I hope this satisfies your question! :)

[bloodyshadow1]

beaujester week 2020 favorite canon moments

since it’s the first day of beaujester week 2020 and I have some fanfics for some of the other days, but not this one, I’m just gonna talk about my favorite beaujester/sappheau canon moments in the show in no particular order.  

1st the moment on the ship in ep 46.  It was just really sweet that after the disaster, Beau going to talk to Jester and make sure she’s okay.  She also goes there with the intent to let Jester know that she’s sorry for calling her a bad liar, she just wants Jester to know that she doesn’t have to put up a front for them.  She talks about Jester as a person on her own instead of a jester, that she will care about Jester and wants to see her when she lets loose.  It’s very respectful from the beginning to the end where Beau makes sure that Jester is okay with talking or would be willing to give her space if she wanted some alone time and in the end Jester hugging Beau around the waist from behind.  It was the first pc I love you drop and I think it was what turned me from a pure beauyasha shipper to a multishipper who ships beaujester as my second favorite ship

2nd I would say the talk in the Cameruth Cottage after Beau gets back form the library in ep 89.  It’s just really sweet since Jester seemed really down at the prospect of Beau not wanting to be her roommate and thinking Beau was mad at her for whatever reason, while Beau doesn’t get why Jester thought she could do anything to make her mad at her.  It’s just a really sweet moment because it’s already been revealed a couple eps ago that Beau has a crush on Jester in canon and it’s Laura who initiated it.  Whatever choices they’ve made since, it was a huge boon for the beaujester shippers because it made it seem like it wasn’t completely onesided.  Even though they end up disagreeing on a lot fo things, they still hammer out that they respect each other and care about each other.

3rd in ep 48 with the wizard tower, Nott/Veth is just insulting Beau out of nowhere and Jester immediately comes to her aid disputing all of Nott’s claims, telling her that she doesn’t ruin everything and when Nott says Beau is unappealing to look at Jester insists that Beau is Beautiful.  as she does Beau/marisha blows Jester/Laura a kiss, making her stumble in her defense of Beau in a really cute moment.  It was short but it really highlighted their relationship, Beau would often get shit on by other members of the party or shit on herself because of her low self esteem issues and then Jester would come in and both argue with the person and reassure Beau that she is amazing and beautiful.

4th all of Kamordah and meeting the Lionetts, as someone whose favorite character is Beau, it was hard to watch, but really good to get her backstory and see the family that made her into the woman before the Mighty Nein helped her be the woman she could be. it’s hard to get through, but Jester is always by Beau’s side checking in, she does the most consoling Beau with her awful father, Marisha even saying on talks that Jester saved Beau. Just the whole arc is Beau feeling awful from meeting her parents to offering to go away as an offering to Isharnai and Jester checkmating her all over the place with love, support, and a brilliant use of cupcake is the one to save Beau and stop her from leaving.  The way she says it wasn’t okay for Beau to offer up leaving, that they would be miserable if she left, it was just a really good example of how 

5th and last because I have to get back to writing for the other days, the crush admission that Beau has for Jester with Nott in ep 85.  The whole ep is just a great ep for Beaujester shippers, from trying to protect her against the Inevitable End and helping her with confronting the Gentleman with him being her father, but Beau’s admission that she as a crush on Jester out loud in game.  There was a growing attraction with Beau getting more and more comfortable with complimenting Jester, not just her being great at magic or a good friend but also on her looks.  This cumulated in Beau confessing to Nott that she has a crush on Jester.  it is just a really sweet moment and the way Beau just lists the things she loves about Jester, she fun, she makes beau laugh, beau likes her ridiculous plans, she thinks Jester is complicated and layered. She doesn’t even mention Jester’s looks or her muscles, it’s just a far cry from the mostly superficial interests Beau has had in most other women other than Yasha. Beau saying that she’s had the fantasy of Jester realizing she likes girls and being Jester’s sapphic awakening was really funny and really sad since it’s a feeling a lot of sapphic women feel growing up when they realize their feelings towards their best friends isn't’ so platonic. 

just my favorite moments between our favorite blue girls.  Beaujester/Sappheau is my 2nd place ship in the mighty Nein campaign, only Beauyasha is a higher ship and only slightly.  my pie and the sky dream would be for an ot3 between them but I doubt that’s going to happen, can’t hurt to dream. I know it kind of hurts that it seems like Beaujester isn’t going to happen now that Ashley is back and Travis has kind of accepted Fjord and Jester together, but you don’t need a ship to be canon to love it.  Honestly, as much as I love Ashley being back, if Blindspot was on for another year, I have no doubt that Beaujester would be on of the biggest ships in the fandom, it was one of the biggest after all and I personally believe it’s the best Jester ship

So these are mine. tell me what you think, what are your favorite sappheau moments if you want to talk about our girls

[funeralfeastanon]

I would like to expand the Durarara and Baccano ask game to the rest of the questions :D

Can do, anon. ;)

Ask game is here. Questions 1, 3, 7 and 17 have already been answered here. Spoiler warning as usual.

2 - My favourite aspect of the story.

This goes for both Durarara!! and Baccano!: I appreciate the complete lack of a “main character.” Instead we have all these intertwining stories of multiple people who are each their own “main character” and are often not fully aware of how important they or everyone else are in the grand scheme of things. To spice things up, the characters have varied personalities, moral codes, motives and goals that clash with each other. It’s chaos and I love it.

The anime adaptation of Baccano! does it better in my opinion though, since it decides to have several loosely connected arcs, all with their own ensemble cast and taking place in different years, take place all at once and somehow makes it work as a coherent whole.

4 - My favourite male character.

Izaya Orihara from Durarara!! and Claire Stanfield from Baccano!, for fairly similiar reasons. Namely, they are both crazy bastards having way too much fun doing what they do best - manipulating the various people and factions in Ikebukuro for kicks and brutally murdering two groups of train hijackers respectively.

Their roles in their respective stories are interesting too, where Izaya is the closest thing Durarara!! has to a main villain/mastermind (for awhile) but Claire is a “hero” protecting his train.

5 - My favourite female character.

Celty Sturluson from Durarara!! and Rachel from Baccano!.

I was intrigued by the Headless Rider from the beginning, but what I didn’t expect was for her to be one of the few fairly sane, well adjusted and genuinely heroic people in Ikebukuro. When an immortal fae who literally lost her own head looks normal in comparison, you know your city district is a madhouse.

As for Rachel, she is also one of the more normal people in the story, as a resourceful informant who just wants to hitch a ride and stay out of trouble, but damn, does she have nerves of titanium, calmly coming to the hostages’ rescue while unarmed. It also takes a special kind of person to befriend Claire Stanfield.

6 - My favourite villain.

Uh. I already used Izaya, so I guess I’ll give some love to Mikado Ryuugamine and his slow descent into darkness. Who would’ve though the supposedly normal highschooler would set someone on fire one day?

For Baccano!, the award goes to Ladd Russo, yet another complete lunatic enjoying himself way too much.

8 - A character I think needs more love.

Hm, well I already gave some love to Rachel, so�� Eve Genoard. It takes guts for a little girl to try to shoot a mafioso for killing her brother. Yeah, her brother was a terrible person and she didn’t end up shooting the guy herself, but still.

For Durarara!!, Tom Tanaka deserves recognition for being one of the other sane people in Ikebukuro and a fantastic friend to Shizuo.

9 - What I ship.

I ship the canon Baccano! pairings mostly. However, I’m a Durarara!! multishipper, though not really invested in any of them, so these are the things I lowkey ship: Celty/Shinra, Shinra/Izaya, Izaya/Shizuo, Izaya/Namie, Shizuo/Vorona, Masaomi/Mikado/Anri and Erika/Walker.

10 - My favourite canon relationships (romantic, familial, platonic, antagonistic, etc).

Celty and Shinra are the healthiest couple in Durarara!! and considering Shinra is a mad scientist in love with a headless woman since childhood, that’s saying something!

My other favourite relationships all involve Shizuo Heiwajima, ha ha. He really does try his best to be a good brother to Kasuka even if his temper and Kasuka’s emotionlessness get in the way, his friendship with Celty is adorable and his deep hatred of Izaya and general simple-mindedness leaving him immune to his mindgames, driving Izaya up a wall in turn, is very entertaining.

Baccano! has the iconic couple in Isaac and Miria, who are so attached at the hip that it’s impossible to think about them seperately and who share one big heart and one tiny braincell. Of the others, I like Firo and Maiza’s almost father-son relationship, the weird friendship Rachel has with Claire and Claire and Ladd trying to out-crazy eachother never gets old.

11 - My favourite group/faction.

I love the concept of the Dollars in Durarara!!, as a gang made up of (mostly) anonymous people from all over Ikebukuro ready to act on requests given via cellphone messages in a surprisingly coordinated manner, they have the potential to be very dangerous. Hopefully its more morally upstanding members can stop Mikado from doing anything too bad.

As for Baccano!, I love Jaccuzi and his friendly neighbourhood gangsters, they might have tried to rob a train but dammit, they will protect it from the other really bad hijakers.

12 - Most iconic scene.

Durarara!!: Shizuo hurling a vending machine at Izaya.

Baccano!: Isaac and Miria trying to steal a museum by stealing its door, while posing for the security cameras in mummy disguises. That or the scene where Firo’s finger gets cut off only to immediately regenerate.

13 - My favourite scene.

Durarara!!: I think I mentioned it already, but the scene where Mikado reveals himself as the leader of the Dollars and the faceless gray masses bloom in colour as members.

Baccano!: it’s a very unimportant scene in the grand scheme of things, but Firo taking down several men without dropping his hat never fails to make me smile.

14 - My favourite story arc (for serialised works) or favourite act (for self-contained works).

I’m having difficulty dividing Durarara!! into distinct arcs but overall I enjoyed the events shown in the first season the most. Regarding Baccano!, my favourite is the Flying Pussyfoot/Trainjacking segment. I mean, you have a violent cult trying to get their leader out of prison, a group of psychos looking for a massacre, a street gang and a pair of incompetent loony thieves all independently deciding to target the same train. Which happens to have an assassin, an informant and several immortals on board. Watch the fireworks!

15 - My favourite plot twist.

Durarara!!: I already used “Mikado is the Dollars leader” for favourite scene, so I guess “Masaomi is the Yellow Scarves leader” comes in here.

Baccano!: the Rail Tracer being revealed as the random and supposedly killed conductor who is actually Claire Stanfield the assassin. The execution was perfect.

16 - What I’d like to or would have liked to see happen.

Oh man, I really need to catch up on both series, especially Baccano! since I didn’t read past what was already covered in the anime. So, no answer for this one because for all I know what I want to happen already happened lol.

[shell-senji]

Whoa...how the holy hell did I get that many followers?

I jest, I jest. I mean, I think y’all might have a couple screws loose, but then, so do I, so we’re all mad here.  Don’t know how you stumbled upon my ragtag makeshift of a blog, but however it happened, you should be aware of a couple things, in no particular order:

I am a disorganized hot mess, albeit one who does attempt to tag her posts, though I cannot guarantee spoilers will always be tagged. You’ve been warned. This is a multisubject, multifandom blog, so you’ll see ALL kinds of things. Sometimes lots of one thing, if it’s my new hyperfocus. So if you came for a specific focus... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I’m a multishipper -- basically, if it’s well written, you’ve got a pretty decent chance of selling me on it. I do have a couple NOTPs or NahhhTPs, but I’m pretty openminded, so if you’ve got issues with some pairings, be they canon or not, heads up. I'll post what I want when I want without apologies. 

I’m a freelance copy editor, and I frequently rant vent about my work. Which is frequently erotic romance. So things can be NSFW-ish at times, and if you get squicked out over discussions of things like sex, shape-shifters, ménage, various parts of anatomy, or grammar/punctuation/mechanics, I may not be your cup of tea.

Last, but most certainly not least, if you are the teensiest little bit offended by profanity, you ain’t gonna like it here...personally, I find expletives to be fan-fucking-tastic (an example of infixation, where my linguists at?). 

For those of you who haven’t tucked tail and run, 

[sorikaied]

okay now that i’ve had a few hrs to like process some of that final season in my head (and much needed sleep), thought i would just comment on a few things that like... stayed in my head the most afterwards, plus some minor complaints. so spoilers below if you haven’t watched the new s.pop season yet

first of all, i think it’s a good thing i didn’t go in with high expectations. while yes, i was generally excited to see how it would end, and the two teaser clips that were posted on the dreamworks tv channel (which has since been renamed but details), i wasn’t like “i’m hoping that x ship becomes canon” or whatever kind of major hope. i think what i really wanted, was to feel okay with the ending. satisfied with the way the finale came to a close for all the characters involved. and i can say that i was.

i think my one real letdown honestly is the fact that adora didn’t really have much of a... “growth” in realizing what shera meant to her, or that line from madam razz on how shera isn’t the sword but adora. like... the show lightly touched on that, and kind of connected that the reason why adora was able to connect to shera again was because of catra, but i also wish it wasn’t?? at least... not just because of her. don’t get me wrong, this new season made me feel okay with the ship again because of what they did with catra (a point i will touch upon in a further paragraph), but maybe that’s just me. i think i wanted to see how adora would’ve closed her personal arc and her “destiny” in regards to her own worth alone but yknow... it’s still a kid’s show and they can only try and do so much in the series with it ending

i did appreciate that this was probably the most netossa and spinnerella have ever spoken in a season since they’re debut, and gods despite all the canon couples, or hinted at couples, i love spinnetossa the most and they just... my soft wives... even with all the angst. also netossa got some fleshing out ??? albeit minor but like... seeing a bit of her tactical prowess??? amazing. phenomenal. extraordinary. legendary

everyone else was also just... GREAT. entrapta was so endearing and just... so her and i loved every moment of it. the scorpia and perfuma dynamic was also like... so nice ??? scorpia finally having a really good and positive friend in her life??? sign me the fuck up. wrong hordak was absolutely PHENOMENAL he made me laugh the entire time and i loved it. also the star sibs? it’s sad they were only in one ep but all of their designs were great and i loved them all please bring them back

oh yeah, and redemptions happened this season. and after watching a video from the sin squad abt the concern of how the show would tackle redemptions (and if they were gonna get any) from catra, shadow weaver, and hordak, i had kept that in mind. given that there’s only 13 eps and there’s still a whole lot of stuff going on, i can tell that some “redemptions” weren’t as fulfilling as others, or felt like it was... not enough in some cases?? i think i kinda feel that the most with hordak??? sorta??? i mean i think i was trying to see what the show would do with catra, because around a certain point of the series, as intrigued as i was with her character, i also was feeling a bit... uncomfortable, which resulted in me pulling back in shipping her with adora until she worked some of her shit out. and don’t get me wrong, i do think that catra still has a lot more to work on. but again, they did the best with her redemption in the amt of time that they had so i can’t really complain much. shadow weaver’s redemption was... okay it may be my personal fave. i always found such an interest in her character as a villain. like yeah, she’s incredibly toxic and manipulative, but i love interesting villains. and her redemption happening through sacrifice to save catra who can save adora because she knows how important those two are to each other is just... so good. yeah, that doesn’t excuse all the bad shit she’s done, but i can feel satisfied with her ending. so yeah, i wasn’t really disappointed with how these three had their redemptions played out

the new shera look was also just... amazing. i liked how it felt like, in a way, it showed how adora had come into the role on her own, versus her old look which was tied to what the first ones wanted her to be (as well as mara in the past before her sacrifice). i almost forgot to mention that

the final episode made me tear up a lot, but it really hit when like... the glimmer vs micah scene was going on as well as the catradora moment (but im also an emotional sap sooo yeah)

okay finally, for now, i wanted to just briefly touch on the canon ships of the series. first of all, not mad abt any of them. seamista was pretty much “canon” but it felt more validated with sea hawk’s i love you and i love them. glimbow wasn’t really surprising for me. i mean, i’ve always been a multishipper so i always liked glimbow (and glimmadora and bowadora or whatever they’re ship name was), but i’m glad to see glimbow canon. say what you will abt childhood friends becoming lovers being an overused trope in fiction, i will still eat it up. i will say that glimmer just saying “i love you” kinda almost randomly was a bit shocking but i also figured, they’re in for the fight of their lives and it’s better to say it now then to not say something. and finally, catradora. honestly, it was either going to become canon or not, and i was okay with either choices depending on how things played out. the fact that it was canon was nice and a big step for more lgtbq+ rep in children’s media. like i sorta mentioned when i talked abt redemptions, i do think that like... the way they handled catra did soften me up to being okay to openly enjoy the pairing again. still, i also think they did... rush into it, but again, they’re trying to tie up loose ends so makes sense

i know there’s more to say, and there’s other things i left out, but all in all, i am really happy with the show as a whole. i never watched the original series, but what they did with this rendition was absolutely great and i know i’ll be rewatching it eventually. i may be slightly sad that adam doesn’t make a cameo but it would’ve been impossible to bring in he-man with everything, so that’s what aus are for

and yeah, that’s my review/random thoughts of the last of she-ra. what a great run that was