#except for shadow weaver

[coffeecalliope]

This isn't a shitpost, it fits.

So was no one going to tell me that She-Ra and the Processes of Power is Halo for the girlies?

[fagh0g]

fuck it we ball (make black arm hybrid ocs)

[yourhighness6]

Unpopular opinion but I think in SPOP S2E3 Catra was genuinely trying to protect Entrapta from Hordak after almost being suffocated in the same episode by him

I think the main obstacle to Catra's perspective redemption arc at this point isn't her tendency towards violence or her constant anger, as those are classic character flaws before redemption arcs, but her manipulation tactics and her capacity to treat other people like shit. This is kind of an uncommon way of presenting these sorts of characters, who are often shown as being kind of "dumb" while having a repressed natural kindness. Catra certainly isn't "dumb", she's incredibly intelligent, an excellent strategist, and extremely careful with her words. In this scene I saw not the first glimpse but one of the first of a girl who genuinely cares about those close to her (besides Adora) and may be worthy of redemption. Catra clearly does have a heart, but I'm interested to see exactly how this plays out, as Noelle Stevenson took a huge risk by giving her these traits.

[discommunicator]

In Wrongworld there are neither chocolate nor milk(that is from cows) so choccy milk is not supposed to be a thing but I decide to let the world have its own drink for the sake of the meme - which looks, smells and tastes exactly like thick chocolate milk except it's primarily made of vegetable extracts we don't know

Apparently Fume Witch is the one who came up with the recipe for this drink and shared it with the Shadow Witch Triplets who run their own tea shop, making this 'tea' one of their best sellers

And no, it's not bad for health, it might be even beneficial for mortals since it's rich in anti-aging elements and such, though it practically has no effect other than feeling fresh on hex weaver kin(most Wrongworld witches are from hex weavers) since they already live semi-permanently by nature

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hello! deeply enjoy your writing and portrayal of characters! We've had sick reader but if you feel up to it may I ask for reader looking after sick shadow milk cookie? I don't know if he could get sick as easily, but there's also a possibility that he's pretending bc he wants to be doted on and doesn't know how to ask for attention directly lol, whichever way you want to take the scenario! Tysm!

Thank you! I'll make this a reverse fic of that one I wrote (where Smilk gets the "spice sickness" instead but Reader's got not clue if he's actually ill or making it up)

.............

"Oooohhhh...the paaaaiiin. This may be my final hour, my dearest. The curtain calls! Tell Candy Apple Cookie and Black Sapphire Cookie they were the best minions anyone..could ask for....."

"...Shadow Milk Cookie, c'mon. You're not dying." You shake your head, amused by the antics your partner currently displayed as he laid in bed, snuggled beneath a handful of blankets. Even without all his ruffles and usual jester outfit on, he felt unusually warm--like he'd melt at any moment.

Somehow he contracted an illness from the storm that was raging over the Land of Spice, having a coughing fit nonstop ever since you two returned to the spire. Rumor Weaver caught wind of his condition and was gossiping about it to the other inhabitants, suspecting that Burning Spice Cookie had given it to him on purpose after they had a disagreement.

Of course, he allowed her to believe what she wanted, as right now he felt too "sick" to do anything else except wallow in bed and have you tend to his every need.

You were almost certain that this was his way of obtaining your affections and attention. He's too prideful to ask you for a simple kiss like a normal cookie would.

It was hard to know which parts of this he was faking, although judging from his watery eyes, specs of spice flakes in his blue dough, and sniffles..there was some truth to his ailment. And the fact that he was willing to trust you enough to be seen like this indicated how serious it was.

"Eat some of this." Picking up a bowl of cool lassi--which a Kulfi child had given you before your departure--you stirred it around a little bit. "It'll soothe your aching throat."

You offered him the spoon, but he just looked at you in disgust. "You don't think I can feed myself?"

"....well, if you insist on-"

"I'm kidding." With a small grunt, he sat up and waited, his cheeks appearing a bit flushed. You couldn't tell if it they were reflections of his sickness or emotions, although he didn't say anything more.

"Very well." You chuckled, spoonfeeding the creamy yogurt to him, tilting his chin up. "You know...I'm starting to think you enjoy this."

"Heh...feel like I'm tormenting you yet? Forcing you to tend to my every need?" He quietly rasped. "You don't seem all that concerned that I might just be faking 99 percent of this."

"Sure, maybe. But I'm just focused on the one percent chance that you possibly aren't."

He remained unusually quiet after that, even as you helped him finish the remaining lassi. His throat did feel a lot less scratchy, but he decided to lay back down, already feeling exhaustion catching up to him.

As his hair spilled all over the pillow, many blue eyes blinked up at you, half-lidded just like his actual eyes were.

You hummed and set the bowl back on the nightstand, taking this as your cue to get up and leave him be-

When suddenly he grabbed your wrist and pulled you down onto the bed beside him. Before you could even ask what on earthbread he was doing, he had his arms wrapped around you tightly, keeping you trapped in his hold as he cuddled into your chest.

"Who said you could leave?"

"I-I..uh..." You were a bit flustered. "I figured you wanted to rest"

"Yeah, but...I just...I don't wanna be alone. Please stay.." He quietly expressed, sounding a little sad and worried that you were going to try to leave him anyways.

Maybe he was actually delirious from the spice sickness, and his true feelings were finally being laid bare in front of you. But you decided not to question it and instead smiled.

"Oh, Shadow Milk Cookie. You could have just asked." You chuckled softly, hugging him closely as you rested your chin on top of his head. "I'll stay as long as you want me to. But if this gets me sick, I'm blaming you, alright?"

"......."

"Dearest?"

His lack of response indicated that he had quickly fallen asleep, which surprised you considering how often he was on-guard, or touted that he never needed sleep.

Then again, you didn't wanna question anything and spoil this rare moment of intimacy. So you just kept watch over him until sleep eventually came for you, too.

Even if you also contracted the spice sickness because of this, it was well worth it.

[carto0ncritter]

I'm sorry but I genuinely can't understand how people can look at Stolitz and Catradora and think these ships are healthy in any way, shape or form.

Stolas r*ped Blitzø. No, consent given in a life-or-death situation doesn't count

Stolas is racist towards imps, and this didn't change even when he "fell in love" with Blitzø

Stolas doesn't appreciate or respect Moxxie and Millie in the slightest (and was disappointed that his "Prince Charming" wasn't the one to rescue him)

He looks down on Blitzø and calls him things like "impish little plaything" and "his big dicked Blitzy" and doesn't stop treating him like shit even when Blitzø says loud and clear that he hates being talked down on like this (DUH)

The only thing Stolas knows about Blitzø is that he hates books and the only thing Blitzø knows about Stolas is that he's a boring bookworm. Keep in mind, the two figured this out about each other while they were kids, 25 YEARS AGO, after Blitzø was bought so that he could be Stolas' "friend" for ONE DAY

Stolas doesn't love Blitzø for Blitzø. Stolas loves the *idea* of Blitzø. The bird man wants to live a romance that is just like the romances in his cheesy novels. He wants to ride into the sunset with his one true love. He wants grand romantic gestures. He wants his "Prince Charming". Except, Blitzø isn't the type of guy for such sappy displays of affection, he never was. Especially combined with his trauma. And as soon as that other imp guy asked him to dance, Stolas not only accepted the offer, but Blitzø was no longer on his mind. And no, I don't think being drunk is proof that Stolas didn't mean what he had told Blitzø. Drunk people find it easier to say what's really on their mind after all

Blitzø fell in love with his abuser. This makes sense, actually. The guy always pushed everyone away and never got to experience true love, and now that he has the chance to be "wanted," even if the "relationship" is toxic, he finds it hard to let it go

As for Catradora, the things I wanna say about this ship have already been said throughout the years, but it all boils down to these things:

Catra mentally, emotionally and physically abused Adora

Catra had no problem ending the whole entire universe if it meant she'd finally be better than Adora

Catra was a war criminal and a fascist

Catra was responsible for what happened to Glimmer's mom and never apologized, let alone faced consequences

Their relationship was toxic even when they were kids

They were both raised by Shadow Weaver and were the only ones in the Horde who saw her as a mother figure, thus making the ship straight up incest, with even the official source material calling them sisters (adoptive siblings ARE REAL SIBLINGS!!!)

Catra got exactly what she wanted in the end (the girl she's always been obsessed with and dependent on) and, once again, faced 0 consequences for her actions

The show (and C//A stans) fetishizes abuse. As a SA survivor, I felt physically sick during the final episode, where the abuser ends up with her victim/sister and they kiss

In short, these ships are disgusting and the lgbt community deserves better representation

[clash-of-moonbeams]

Anybody else ever think about how convenient it was that Micah, Scorpia, and Mermista were chipped in S5? You know, before the Best Friend Squad, Best Girl Entrapta, and Catra landed back on Etheria?

No seriously, how CONVENIENT that it was those three specifically that couldn’t interact freely one-on-one with Catra once she, the Best Friend Squad, and Best Girl Entrapta touched back down on Etheria. Catra caused Angella to be trapped between two dimensions, treated Scorpia like sh*t, and conquered Mermista’s kingdom. And yet Micah and Mermista never got to interact with her, and Scorpia just seemed to insta-forgive at the end of S5. Well, that’s not TOTALLY true, after being de-chipped Mermista looks around and sees Hordak and Catra and is like “So we’re just ok with this?”. The most reasonable question EVER.

So much was lost because Catra was not able to properly interact with these three (not to mention Glimmer only got to really interact with the father she lost at a young age RIGHT at the end). We see Catra apologizing to both Adora and Entrapta (not GOOD apologies where she acknowledges all she’s done against them and sincere remorse for her actions, but apologies nonetheless), but she never really does this with anybody else. She kind of tries with a chipped Scorpia, but the latter is chipped so that doesn’t go anywhere, and by the end she never even finished he apology before Scorpia hugged her.

No complicated feelings, no confrontations, no visible grudges being held (except for Perfuma in that one episode). But why, you ask, am I insisting upon this? Catra still apologized, or at least tried to, in Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia’s cases. She doesn’t even really know Micah and Mermista anyway!

That’s kind of the point.

Catra only tries to apologize to those who she personally knew, she doesn’t actually acknowledge to harm she’s done to people outside of them. She never apologized for Angella, never apologized to Bow for all the things she did to him, heck she didn’t even try to apologize to Frosta for “ruining Princess Prom”. She just let Adora tell the others that she jumped sides and that she was cool now. And nobody really batted an eye (except for Perfuma in that one episode). Part of why Catra’s so-called redemption arcs sucks is because she’s barely made to really be confronted with all the bad she’s done, and try to atone for it.

Because she hurt EVERYBODY in the Princess Alliance in some way, and she doesn’t even offer a small apology? I know why Mermista and Micah especially were chipped, it’s because those two could hold a GRUDGE. We saw it with Mermista and Entrapta, and we saw it when Micah just glared at Shadow Weaver when he was saved by her. But of course, Catra’s “redemption arc” mostly revolves around ADORA, as does everything with her, especially because Catradora was shoved into S5 and they were sprinting to make that goal. You know, despite how that goal made no narrative sense, especially because before S5 Adora didn’t seem to have any romantic feelings for Catra, but that’s something for another time.

Anyway, Catra was barely made to acknowledge any wrong she had done to the supposed love of her life and the only two allies she had in the Horde. So it really doesn’t surprise me that she wasn’t made to acknowledge the wrong she did to everybody else (except Shadow Weaver, Catra didn’t have anything to apologize about there) by the writers. Catra was handled with kid gloves, and meanwhile Entrapta did NOT get that luxury.

I’m not saying Entrapta didn’t do anything wrong, but geez did the princesses hold more of a grudge for her than Catra. With some ableism splashed in there too, yikes. And yet, Entrapta actually worked on herself and did her best to atone. She risked her safety trying to get the location of Horde Prime’s ship, she tried to be more sensitive to other’s feelings. She fixed Mara’s ship so they could travel to space, she found a way to de-program the chips, she even visibly reined in her love and fascination for tech in order to get those chips off. Meanwhile, what did Catra do that showed that she was making a change to the Rebelion? To prove she was trying to atone?

The most she does is let them slip by without detection from HP’s forces, and that’s not even her doing, it’s MELOG’S!

Tl;Dr: Catra’s redemption was hastily done and poorly written. Nowhere can that be more found than the fact Micah, Scorpia, and Mermista were not able to confront her with their grievances and make her realize the affects she had on other people BESIDES those in her personal life

[bluedandylyon]

Rewatch Rambles (tm)

Season 1

Razz

It’s just so sad bc Adora and Catra are both missing each other, but ppl only talk about Catra's grief bc it’s explicit, like she goes to their shared bunk, cries and rips their sheets, her feelings are explicit.

Adora deals with the separation by completely not dealing with it. And it's not entirely her fault, she gets no time to do it. In one day her entire life is flipped around and she is immediately asked by Glimmer to figure out the She-Ra stuff so her mom lets her stay.

She doesn’t have a single second to really mourn and process the abandonment of her home and her best friend. She has to figure out how to mold herself into a useful person to prove her worth to the rebellion, something she is already prone to bc she has no inherent self-worth from her upbringing.

But also Catra is SURROUNDED by reminders of Adora. It's like staying in the same home u shared with an ex. Ppl bring her up, their bunkbed has their doodles on it, nothing changed for Catra except that the most important person in her life left the life they shared together.

Adora is having so many new experiences that she legit can't stop for a second and really think about all she's lost.

“I left my whole life behind looking for answers about who I’m supposed to be I need u to tell me what to do” bc Adora was raised to literally never think for herself. There is no space for her wants, she is so used to other ppl telling her what to think and do she’s freaking out.

Also "who I'm supposed to be" is such an important piece of dialogue. There is no "existing" for Adora, no living her life, just fulfilling other ppl's expectations for her life.

Her scared and defensive little face when Razz tells her she is afraid. She's so programmed to not show any signs of vulnerability :(

“Stop waiting for someone to tell you what the right thing to do it, you’re a smart girl, what do YOU think?” And Adora is in shock bc no one “superior” to her has ever asked her what she thinks.

God, let me freak out about this exchange for a second. The fact that the animators dedicated so many frames to this, shows how important this interaction is

Catra looks so wary at first, but in the second picture she almost looks... angry at herself? For not moving away? For craving that affection she's sure she won't get but maybe it will be different this time? And she's so vulnerable from just losing Adora, comfort is what she needs rn.

And then she's so surprised bc it looks like she will be getting that affection. SW is reaching for her hair, something we know she does when she gives Catra manipulative affection, like on Light Spinner.

Side note: I hate this show! 😀

SW knows Catra is reeling from Adora's absence and is just twisting the knife by taunting the possibility of affection and taking it away to get Catra to tell her where Adora is and what happened.

I feel like it's so easy for Adora to say this bc she already thought she was doing this with the Horde, defending Etheria I mean.

Look at her face though, the burden and responsibility she knows she's putting on her shoulders by saying this. It's almost like... resignation to her destiny, to her purpose.

Other side note: this and "who was that girl" are two of the funniest jokes in this show fr.

“You would vouch for her? Take responsibility for her?” IM SURE THIS PHRASE WONT ADD TO ADORA’S NEED TO ALWAYS BE PERFECT !!!! 

Her face is literally like "oh okay so I need to be perfect to not disappoint Glimmer and Angella and not get kicked out of my new home now"

Love how her real name is not even used for her oath!!! That's horrible!!!! She is She-Ra of the rebellion now, she can't afford to be Adora anymore.

It’s just nuts bc both Adora and Catra get kind of a distant mentor in this episode, in Razz and Hordak. They are both people who believe in their ability when others didn’t (bright moon ppl and Shadow Weaver). But it’s also like Catra doesn’t get a choice almost? Like Hordak makes the decision about being force captain FOR her vs Adora choosing to pledge herself to the rebellion when Razz encourages her to think for herself. 

Also re: Catra’s theme cuz it’s the first time we hear it. It’s cool bc the leading harmonies are like this cool, badass electric guitar and strings, but the underlying beat is like REALLY anxiety inducing and it makes you feel uneasy, it’s not confident, it’s desperate. It shows that Catra is putting on this front for being cunning and cruel and evil but there is a lot of anxiety and insecurity behind that.

I also realized that it’s the almost the same as she-ra’s theme but in a lower key and with some modifications which it nutzzzzzz SUNNA WEHRMEIJER

THE WOMAN THAT U ARE

[aprillikesthings]

The entire plot of She-Ra would be kind of hilarious from the POV of a random Horde soldier the same age/cohort of cadets as Catra and Adora (we know there's more we see on screen whose names we never learn)

Because just imagine

You grow up and sleep in the same bunk room and those two are constantly sharing the same bed, and Adora is at least friendly with everyone but if you're TOO friendly Catra hisses at you and threatens to cut you

Shadow Weaver is obviously obsessed with Adora and using Catra to control her (...and vent her own anger whenever she feels like it), so you just uhhh stay out of that as much as you can

And then one day right after Adora makes Force Captain she disappears and both Shadow Weaver and Catra lose their fucking minds about it, as if there's not dozens of other Horde soldiers, why is it always about Adora

Oh and there's some new tall blonde princess named She-Ra who keeps kicking the Horde's asses?

What do you mean that's also Adora??? THE FUCK???

Oh and look Catra is still weirdly obsessed with her and the two of them seem to start every battle only to run off and fight each other, for fucks sake they should just bang already, you're tired of getting beat to shit because of those two

Anyway at some point Shadow Weaver is gone and then Catra is too, for a while; but oh nope ha ha there she is again

Also at some point some kinda portal thing opens up and everything is HELLA WEIRD and then suddenly everything is back to normal

Except after that Catra's giving orders ALL THE TIME, and she gets meaner and meaner and if anyone tries to talk to her about it they also get shouted at

And then Catra and Hordak disappear, then Horde Prime shows up, and the world almost ends but it doesn't and the Fright Zone is covered in plants for some reason??? Wow the sky is bright without all that pollution. Weird.

And then you find out that the reason the world didn't end is ....Catra and Adora had a make-out somewhere underground and also, now Catra is glued to She-Ra's side and making goo-goo eyes at her

LIKE. The plot of She-Ra would be absolutely batshit from their POV and I can't stop laughing about it, like what do you MEAN I've been sent to fight in battle over and over because these two dipshits couldn't just tell each other they wanted to bang for MULTIPLE YEARS

[antispopausandstuff]

if the show utilized Adora's knowledge on the Horde, she could've had some of the coolest planning // action // combat scenes.

for example, i was imagining a scenario where the Horde has civilians captive and our heroes are on a time crunch before the innocents become husks, so fighting isn't an option. they have to be careful, invisible, unseen and unheard.

Adora knows there are exactly 10,001 soldiers making rotations every 10 minutes ( Bow makes a question of why that specific number and she simply says "precautions" before resuming ), and that every possible opening is covered by tight security, except one. the ventilation system.

"our only problem will be Catra and Shadow Weaver. i'm not sure of Catra's activity since we last saw each other, but i don't want to give her a chance to spring on us. with her senses, she can sniff us out, so we could use mog and water to throw off her sense of smell. as for hearing, we'll have to avoid common rooms she'd be in, to reduce as much risk as possible. luckily, there's not many. she's not the strongest or fastest, but she's unpredictable and stubborn. i can handle her, but it'd just be easier to avoid her."

and for Shadow Weaver:

"Shadow Weaver's our biggest problem. she can see through the dark, manipulate you with her mind games, and is a powerful sorceress. when she detects us, and she will, Glimmer, you need to turn us invisible. can you do that?"

Glimmer nods, a determined grin on her face. "absolutely."

"good. a weakness of hers is that her magic requires build-up. it's why it's so powerful. worst case scenario, we have a few seconds to completely disarm her and knock her down, but that is the absolute last resort, and not something we should sought after. Shadow Weaver's unforgiving and merciless. one wrong move, and you could be finished. i've seen it myself. so, no matter what, do everything you can to stay hidden."

some other things, location of the civilians, how to get there, etc., etc.

'Roll With It' was a terrible episode, and a lot of it was because no one but Adora was taking the war seriously, but she was treated like she was overreacting for doing so. they had barely survived the Battle of Brightmoon, yet it changes nothing.

Adora should've been offering suggestions in plans from the start to eventually being in charge, given all her knowledge, but it was used maybe only twice, and that was in the first two seasons.

like, Vi's streetsmarts and living in Zaun helped her navigate, blend in, and know how to get information. she's more than just muscles.

and so is Adora, but SPOP ( neither the show or fandom ) hardly ever cared about that. because she doesn't have knowledge of certain things, due to being sheltered, and sometimes mispronounces certain things ( which everyone does ), she's suddenly seen as dumb.

she doesn't have knowledge of parties, then she's a cute dummy.

Catra doesn't have knowledge of parties, then it's suddenly important that she was sheltered and that her excitement is both adorable and sad.

[mortish-writes]

I'm considering adding another route following the first seven nights. I've gotten various requests over the past few weeks and this encompasses most of the types of story lines that have been requested. Each of these routes would come with a unique prologue and MC. I'll explain each one below.

M/F/M - Storyline where Valdricht and Serax aren't in a relationship. You can choose to be with both of them in an MFM relationship or split off with one. I think the trickiest aspect of this one is the MF options. Valdricht/MC would be a piece of cake, but if it's just you and Serax, it'll be really difficult to get him to engage with the epic gods and monsters story line. He'd rather laze about a brothel and tell stories of slaying dragons than actually slaying them. It might be kind of fun to write all the ways he attempts to avoid doing anything that will advance the plot. It might also turn into a brothel simulator.

Priest - You'd play as a male MC raised within the Elodari faith with a backstory that's pretty intense. Your overall story line would be similar to that of the Heretic route, except with the added struggle of adapting to the female body given to you by The Weaver.

Female Serax - Why does this need its own route? Can't we just click a button and make Serax a lady? Girl, please. It needs an entirely different backstory for Serax, Valdricht, and the MC. Tbh I've given this one the least amount of thought, probably because I know it would be the most fun and I don't want to distract myself. And by least amount of thought, I mean that I have a 20k word outline.

Cultist - Oh boy. Here's some BoS lore for you. This was supposed to be the original story route alongside the Heretic route. I'd planned to do a Light vs Darkness MC route where you could be raised in the Elodari faith as a vestal or raised by fanatical Duskweaver cultists. I realized that it would mean a lot more writing and I'd be significantly delaying the demo launch, so I scrapped it. But it's all still outlined and it's quite different. Rather than being a Cinderella-esque story, you're a venerated child and you're raised in a hidden place with the knowledge that you'll be the mother of a god. To sum it up, you'd play as a sheltered shadow princess.

Anyway, I'll run this poll again later. I think that your opinions might change as you get to know the characters better.

Night IV is coming along well. The intimate scene took some turns I didn't expect and came out even better than I'd hoped. I'm still playing with the Zealot route to see if there's any possibility for that on Night IV, but I don't think there's any scenario in which it feels like intimacy is something she genuinely wants, rather than feels obligated to engage in because of The Weaver. Having grown up on my grandma's stash of 70's bodice rippers about women getting abducted by hot pirates and highland lairds, I could easily write that sort of scene, but I think it would offend modern sensibilities. I'll give it some more thought once I wrap up the main route.

-Mortish

[i-made-another-blog]

i only just realised in this episode that catra doesn't have a horde symbol anywhere on her (except when she had the force captain badge), while adora and scorpia have giant symbols on their backs (which don't come off, unlike a badge)

not having it is probably a deliberate way for her to disrespect authority, same with talking back to shadow weaver & hordak

the second she sees a crimson waste inhabitant wearing a jacket with a symbol of some other group she doesn't know though, she wants that. she doesn't display the horde symbol on herself unless it's a badge of her authority, but she'll proudly show off someone else's. she doesn't necessarily want to be a leader in the horde, just anywhere, as long as that role has more authority than shadow weaver or adora can get

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i'm just gonna say it. hordak was more redeemable than catra.

no, i haven't forgotten that he was a tyrannical warlord who conquered and destroyed like half of etheria. i'm not saying any of it was justified or that he deserves to get off scot-free.

i just think that hordak had more moments of humanity. we know what he was but there were less instances of hordak being straight-up sadistic on screen. there were actually no instances of hordak attacking anyone, except for that one time in s4 when he attacked catra (which she 100% deserved).

whereas he did have moments of genuine kindness and compassion. he took adora in, when he had the choice to abandon her and leave her to her death. granted, he raised her as a child soldier in the horde, but she was alive thanks to him, nonetheless.

he takes care of imp as he would take care of a child. even when he gets angry, he rarely intentionally hurts people like catra did. the most he did was scream at them. which is not good either, mind you, but it's something that he could work on. it wasn't cruel and destructive like catra's temper.

he also treated entrapta with great care and respect. after a moment of fury, he quiets down and lets entrapta help him. when entrapta mentions in an offhand manner that she was also a defect (or something along that line, i forget), hordak was first concerned and then rightfully furious at whoever dared to demean her like that.

he needed a little push from imp but he expressed his gratitude towards entrapta and treated her as an equal from then on. he even risked his own physical health to protect entrapta. when catra sent entrapta to beast island and double trouble told him about it later on, hordak was ready to murder catra for daring to hurt the one person who understood and loved him.

later in s5, we see what exactly hordak went through at the hands of his creator. although like every other character, his trauma was pushed aside for catra's, you could still see how hard he had it. horde prime was worse than shadow weaver, when it came to abuse. and despite all that, hordak was still able to show kindness to a few people in his life.

of course, that doesn't erase everything he did to the people of etheria. it doesn't erase the toxic environment he created for the children in the horde. but i feel like a villain with some moments of compassion is a lot more promising than a villain who relentlessly hurts and tortures people, not showing even an ounce of regret.

[reddeaddamnation]

"Possession vs Obsession" - Sub-Zero x reader x Scorpion - Chapter I

"Father, I will not stand for this!" Bi Han lashed out, voice booming throughout the Lin Kuei temple, as he paced around angrily "You think me to be some sort of child who can't decide for himself who to wed?!" His eyes challenged those of his elder. If it was anyone else, Sub Zero would quickly be put in his place, but his father was a just and kind man, who thought of the future of the Lin Kuei, his sons and the peace between clans. For it was in an endless war between the Lin Kuei and the clan of Shadow-weavers that took the lives many from both sides. And peace would finally be achieved between both elders, who dreamed of a brighter future, since Y/N's father stepped into power.

"My word is final." His father cut him off, voice denying the opportunity to argue "You are the future of this clan and I will not allow anymore bloodshed between our clans, not now, not after you."

Y/N waited nervously at the entrance of the temple, shaking her legs back and forth on the bench she sat on. The Shadow-weavers delegation had long since left, leaving her alone in this unknown place. She didn't know if these people were friends or enemies at this liminal point in time. She could either not survive until morning or live a tolerable life among them. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Her head snapped in the direction from where they came from.

"Hello." A boy with ashen hair approached with a smile. He didn't look familiar to the other Lin Kuei. "It's nice to meet you." The girl smiled shyly, hesitantly, but didn't answer. "I'm sorry about my brother. He can be...well...like himself..." he chuckled quietly "But I promise, we aren't all like that. I assure you, we want to stop fighting and enjoy peace." He motioned to the bench, asking silently if he could sit and she moved over to the side to give him space. "My name is Thomas." He introduced himself. "I'm Y/N." They shook hands, smiling. "It's nice to meet a friendly face." Y/N scoffed and returned to staring at the canyons among the mountain. "I apologize again if Bi Han scared you. He really left a bad impression." Thomas grimaced at the memory of his brother lashing out, not even acknowledging her presence when they were introduced to each other.

"I'm not exactly dying to be here either." Y/N murmured, irony in her words "He didn't need to remind me why I don't want this." Thomas stayed quiet for a moment "Well, I wish I could help you, but the least I can do is make your life here bearable." He suggested, smiling warmly "If you need anything or just want to talk, I'll be here for you. I know what it's like to be new." She looked at him puzzled "I'm not...I was adopted by the Grand Master... I know from experience Bi Han doesn't like change."

Y/N stared at him silently, not knowing what to say, except just nodding in understanding. "But don't worry. I'm sure everything will be okay with you two." Thomas reassured with a smile again "Have you met our other brother? Kuai Liang?" Y/N shook her head no. "Let's go find him. You shouldn't be alone and sulking. I'll show you around."

Thomas was a breath of fresh air for her. A friendly face and warm heart, unlike these frozen wastelands. She missed her home so. This mountain was cold. Freezing in a different way. The caverns, where her clan temple was built were also cold, yet cozy. The shadows embraced her and kept her warm and safe. Up here, out in the open, she felt vulnerable. It was unnatural. The boy who wielded smoke was talking as they walked but she didn't hear him. She only wished to find a shadowy corner to hide in.

"What?" She shook her head out of her trance when Thomas asked for her attention. "Can you show me a power your clan can do?" He asked with a grin. Y/N giggled. With a gracious raise of her arm, the shade of a tree twisted and scurried to form a ball in her open palm, snaking up her body. Thomas watched in awe. Her fingers danced around the ball, shaping and forming it until a bird was created. It took flight when the girl pushed it away with her hand and it returned to the shadow of the tree. "Impressive. I bet you have amazing warriors." He commented. "I was trained by the Grand Master himself." She shrugged as if it was nothing and grinned.

"That was impressive indeed." A new voice frightened her "I would love to see what you can do in combat." A man with black hair, tied in a bun approached them. He was dressed in yellow, unlike the blue uniform usual Lin Kuei warriors wear. He bowed his head lightly at her to show respect "Don't misunderstand me. That was not an invitation." He smirked.

"This is who I told you about." Thomas introduced. But Y/N didn't hear him. She was lost in his intense gaze, jaw ajar and eyes wide from the sight of him. She felt her knees weak, almost bending from the intensity. Someone was calling her name. But it came as an echo. This man only had to say a handful of words... and she was lost... how was it possible? His demeanor projected intensity as a whole. Fire. Bi Han also had the intense and dominant demeanor, but... he was cold. Unwelcoming...

"Y/N?" Kuai Liang's worried voice brought her back to reality. Even though she wished to hear it over and over again, as his voice sounded like the end of an ice age within her. She giggled nervously. Thankfully, her blushing face could be explained by the freezing bite of the ice cold air. "I...yes...that's me." She paced around in her place anxiously. The two boys shared a look. "Are you feeling alright?" Kuai Liang asked, worry tainting his beautiful eyes. "I...uh..." the girl started, trying not to sound too ridiculous "It's quite cold...I suppose I'm just not used to the weather."

The boys looked at each other again, puzzled. Scorpion was first to let it go and spoke. "I'm sure today was stressful for you. Would you like me to escort you inside to rest?" Her heart skipped a beat at the proposition. She smiled, stuttering out an affirmative sentence, hoping he doesn't catch on to her nervousness. "If you need help with anything, don't be afraid to tell me or Thomas." Nodding again, mindlessly, she allowed him to lead the way towards the room she will be staying in.

Of course, with her husband-to-be, about whom she had completely forgotten until he reminded her of his presence by almost barging into the room late into the evening and laying eyes on her. For a time, she thought he won't speak. "Don't think I will accept this arrangement just because my father said I must." He broke the silence, voice as cold as the powers he wielded. Y/N rolled her eyes, but chose to not argue any more than she needed to. "The thought hasn't even crossed my mind." She sneered sarcastically and turned her back on him. "I tolerate you, girl." His voice came as a warning "Don't change that." A scoff made his eye twitch in irritation "That's not my decision to make."

Bi Han stepped closer to her, slowly, calculating. "Choose your words carefully." Y/N sighed and turned around to face him. "Should I make space for you in this room or will you prefer to be sleeping elsewhere?"

[that-ari-blogger]

Where Do We Go Now? (Horde Prime)

The fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power begins on a pretty dire note. I’m not going to spoil the series in this introduction, so go watch the show if you don’t know what I mean, but suffice to say that this isn’t the best of circumstances.

Except, it’s not actually the worst of circumstances either. Things are bad, don’t get me wrong, but if you are really obtuse, you can see a balance emerge here, and I am nothing if not obtuse.

Let me explain.

Spoilers Ahead: (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Star Wars Skeleton Crew)

She-Ra is a story about escaping the cycle of abuse, most clearly exemplified by the horde, but also through Light Hope and Shadow Weaver. From a certain point of view, season five opens with that being accomplished.

Catra is on the other side of the galaxy to Shadow Weaver. She has lost that power that corrupted her, and she has a nominal friend in Glimmer.

For all intents and purposes, the Horde has been defeated. Hordak is no more, and this new enemy is so aesthetically and practically different from its predecessor that it doesn’t feel like the same thing at all.

Light Hope has been set free, She Ra no longer inhibits Adora or acts to control her, and she is showing incredible combat skill without it.

Those are the stated goals of the series and the thematic endpoints of every idea that the series was building up towards.

If it wasn’t for Horde Prime, the series could have ended with the last season and been genuinely quite satisfying. The characters claw their way out of the tragedy, Glimmer was tragically lost, Catra couldn’t be saved.

Instead, the series kept on going and scaled itself up a bit. We suddenly see the full scope of everything, and despite their escape, our characters are still barreling towards tragedy. Breaking free didn’t matter, or at least wasn’t everything.

I think that every season in this show has a different thematic angle to be read through. A different question to ask.

Season one, for example, asked “how do relationships change?” As such, the season spent a lot of time developing the history of Shadow Weaver and Micah, as well as the fall of Entrapta and of course the focus on Adora and Catra. But it also showed the gaining alliance of the Rebels in the context of the previous fall.

In contrast, season four asked “what about everyone else?”

That’s why I pointedly avoided discussing Catra and Adora in detail. The season was about Glimmer and Light Hope and Perfuma and Scorpia. It was about everyone who was tangentially related to the main story but was being broken down because of it. Season four was a season concerned with collateral damage.

Which brings us to season five, and to the question: “where do we go now?”

The events I mentioned at the start of this are only positive from a certain point of view. To everyone else they are either negative or simply different. Everything is up in the air, everything has changed.

Last season, the show wrapped up, and now we are on a different story entirely. We are in a different place in the galaxy, the villain is different in every way imaginable. We have a different arrangement of characters. We have a different genre aesthetic, moving from quirky fantasy to full science fiction

My reading of this season is that it is the hardest step of removing oneself from the cycle of abuse: deprogramming.

The new Horde is aesthetically a modern or psuedo-modern cult, and the verb for breaking free from that is "deprogramming".

This is a story about what happens after someone escapes from that cycle of abuse in the physical sense, and suddenly has to resolve how they act. These are new situations that provide the characters with an opportunity to be whatever they want, and this is the story of those characters making those choices.

Put simply: “What do you want?”

Catra and Adora come into centre stage with mirrors of each other, specifically through their echoes of their previous deeds.

Both react to this new circumstance through changing next to nothing about themselves. They are on the path to redemption, sure, but neither seems to acknowledge that this is a wholly different situation.

“The Horde's the Horde, even in space. As long as I'm of value to Horde Prime, I've got a place in this world. I can work my way up here, just like I did before.”

This gets pointed out in the story as an insane thing to say. But it highlights Catra’s mindset in a concise way to remind the audience and explain her to new viewers.

Catra’s life has been ruined by her desperation for power. She wants to be safe, but instead of seeking that out, she takes the feeling of safety instead, and she does that through clinging to power. I will stress that safety and the emotions associated with it are different things, and Catra’s actions are more in line with an addict looking for one more hit of that dopamine gained from feeling secure.

If she wanted to actually be safe, she would have left the Horde way back in episode two. But if all characters always did the logical thing, then the story wouldn't exist. This isn't a plot hole, it's a character beat.

The key here, as gets stated by Glimmer, is that the feeling of safety is hollow. That ignorance is going to get Catra killed or worse.

Adora weilds a staff in this episode, which has two meanings. One, it's about as far from a sword in how it's used as possible. At least, far from a longsword like that of She-Ra, greatswords are a bit different. It's a different fighting style that has different strengths and weaknesses. But also, we've seen Adora wield a staff before. In episode one. When she was with the Horde.

Similarly, Adora is wrestling with the fallout of no-longer being She-Ra by falling further into her hero complex. She has to save everyone and will burn herself down to feel any warmth. She doesn’t sleep, and devotes herself to duty to take her mind off the situation.

The lesson she learns is that she is not alone, but there’s something else, and it’s the really small moment of the kid with the doll.

The child is obviously enamoured with Adora, and they carry the doll of She-Ra because to them, the two people are one and the same. To them, Adora hasn’t lost anything. To them, that admiration hasn’t gone anywhere.

I will remind you of what we know about She-Ra. Most recently, the First Ones claimed that they chose Etheria because it had She-Ra. But earlier on in the series, Madam Razz said this:

“She-Ra was here long before your people arrived.”

Adora never heard this, as it was spoken to Mara, but the point stands for the audience. Adora hasn’t lost She-Ra, she has shaken off the thing that controlled that part of her life. Now she needs to learn to do it a different way.

In other words, she needs to relearn how she interacts with the world. She needs to deprogram herself of everything the First Ones and the Horde taught her.

Speaking of deprogramming, this episode is named for it’s villain, and there’s something important to discuss about that.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is a series about growing up and leaving your bubble. It is about preconceptions and imagination. It is about change.

Part of how it explores this theme is the villain, Jod Na Nawood.

Jod is introduced as a heroic mentour in the first cliff hanger of the episode. But for the rest of the series until his true motivations are revealed, he is the most obviously suspicious character in the series. To the point where the kids notice.

There is a consistent thing with blue and red lighting in this series, in that everything keeps trying to shoot Jod in blue, but he keeps changing the scene or moving towards the red. For someone who's entire thing is helplessness and forced evil, he certainly makes a lot of bad decisions. Put simply, he is telling you the world is awful while actively removing any good in it. It's the childish excuse: "It's not my fault, it was like this when I found it." No. No it was not.

Obviously, this plays into that idea of not reading a book by its cover. But this is a character who keeps coming up with names and monikers, and who wears a mask at every opportunity. There is more to this man yet.

Then we get the final episode, and we get his backstory, and remarkably, he is wrong about everything.

He claims the galaxy is cruel and uncaring and that there are “a few pinpricks of light”, and yet everyone in the show has been kind to him except the people he actively did harm to. He caused his own misfortune, and people are still kind to him. The kids break him out of jail, their parents save them even at great personal cost. Jod Na Nawood is wrong, and the series ends by flooding him with light just to get the message across.

This is not a morally grey character. This is a villain with a cohesive backstory. Nuance and moral greyness are not the same thing.

But here’s the key thing, Jod is a child who never grew up. He is forever trapped in a moment that the Galaxy isn’t anymore. He says the world is awful and then takes steps to make it worse, and that final shot of his defeat makes it abundantly clear.

Jude Law is hot, but he’s also an incredible actor. If you combine that with good cinematography, you get a moment where the camera looks directly at him as the light illuminates his expression, leaving nowhere to hide, and he looks like a scared child recovering from a tantrum. He looks about to cry. He looks like he's about to say "it's not fair".

There's something to be said for the simplicity of Jod's design in comparison to the rest of Star Wars. Jaba is a slug gangster, Darth Vader has the hat and the cape, and Jod has the helmet. But when you take that away, which the show keeps doing, he's just some guy. He wears clothes that are slightly too big for him, and he has a big ol' gap over his chest. He's vulnerable.

Jod is not good at scheming, he got defeated by children. He’s not particularly charismatic, he lost his crew repeatedly. He’s not a good leader, see my previous point. He’s a traumatised child who refused to grow beyond that.

In that sense, he is a thematic opposite to the main characters. They represent hope (a new hope, you might say), and he represents stagnation. The series asks which idea will prevail, and Jod’s does not.

In She-Ra, the villain is Horde prime, who acts as the symbol of isolation and lack of agency.

Everyone around him is a vessel for his will. He is another version of Shadow Weaver turning her victims into another version of herself. Horde Prime does that literally with the mind chips that will become more important later on in the series.

His interaction with Glimmer is all about confining her. He limits her magic, he shows her images he knows will break her. He messes with her free will.

He's also an eejit. Catra was willing to give him the weapon practically for free. But no, he took the extra effort because he wanted to feel powerful. He's petty and cruel, and he's blind. He's got so many eyes, but he can't see the easiest rout to his plan when it is handed to him on a platter.

This has been a story so far about taking your own agency and being your own person, and Horde Prime is the person who says “no actually, you shouldn’t do that.”

His throne room is a vast emptiness, his power set is about embracing oblivion.

In that way, Horde Prime is a thematic opposite to the themes of the series. The story has been teaching our characters to be free, and Horde Prime tries to get them to surrender.

We will see which idea comes out on top.

Final Thoughts

I want to talk about Shadow Weaver for a moment. This is a season that delves into redemption, and it offers that to everyone, Shadow Weaver included. We will see how that ends, but for the moment, there is an interesting dichotomy.

I think Shadow Weaver does care about Micah and Catra. She saves Micah’s life in this episode. But she doesn’t care enough to do anything about it. She doesn’t care enough to change her ways. Redemption is offered, and she doesn’t take it.

I think that sets up the concept rather well. Redemption is not just something that is offered, it is something that you have to take agency in. You have to redeem yourself. You can get help, and honey, you will need it. But, you have to do most of the work.

I think that makes Catra’s story a bit more impactful.

Next week, I will be looking at Launch, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[girl4music]

YES! Finally! Catra’s redemption! I’ve been waiting for this moment for the whole fucking show. I knew it had to take a long time but I didn’t expect 4 full seasons.

So they’ve got 1 season (technically 10 episodes) to really make something out of this redemption arc for Catra. We all knew she cared. That she was only so awful to people because she didn’t want to feel weakened and without purpose. But taking her out of her familiar and comfortable environment and completely stripping her of her friends (or those that tried to be her friends) would have an immense effect on her. Would make her go the opposite way because she’s got nothing left to prove except the fact that she could do one good thing. Unlike Hordak or Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime has no use or value for Catra unless she’s of the Horde Hive Mind. Unless she’s completely erased of all autonomy…. Just like Hordak. She knows she doesn’t want that. No autonomous being in their right conscious mind would want that.

So they did all that well. I don’t think it needed to take 4 full seasons but… the point is that she’s turned the corner now and she’s ready to help the Rebellion even at the cost of her own safety and well-being. So heroic.

And her heroic efforts won’t be in vain because now they have to return the favour. They have to save her.

I’m assuming (I don’t know for sure) that from this, this is when Catra and Adora reconcile their differences, become friends again and hopefully… fall in love. I mean strong and deep feelings for each other were always there no matter which side of the spectrum they fell on. Hate or love. In fact I would say that’s the only reason why the hatred was that intense between these lead characters. Because it was formed from and by such an intense love for each other ever since they were kids. So it has to come to the forefront at some point otherwise there wouldn’t be any reason to make it so intense. It’s a culmination of so much left unsaid, unheard, undone and I know you can’t just do it without all the build-up.

After all, that’s exactly how you do enemies-to-lovers.

Or… friends-to-enemies-to-lovers. It’s complicated. But the aim of the game is to show the intensity of feelings there no matter which is on the side of “good” or “evil”.

They’ve done that well and then some. Now they have to show what all of that intensity was cultivated from.

And the answer always is love. Deep romantic true love.

I could make a million predictions on this because there’s so many ways you can do this. But the best way - in my opinion - is to put them both in dire straights and then have them prove to each other what’s more important to each other. The mission or each other.

Now the mission as it stands now - from this episode and onwards - would be to escape Horde Prime’s clutches and return to Etheria to the other Princesses and leave Catra to deal with her betrayal on her own.

But they won’t do that because that undermines the lesson of the mission as a whole. To protect their own.

Catra is one of their own now that she saved them. This is what makes the difference between good and evil. The good guys don’t ever leave one of their own behind.

The arguments of the greater good always falls to love and when you’re put in those dire straights - one thing has to be accomplished from the narrative undertaking.

That is that the greater good and love aren’t conciliable. Even in a kids TV show the honesty of that is important.

In all respects leaving Catra behind would be the greater good thing to do for the betterment of Etheria.

But it wouldn’t be the right thing to do between them. Between the love that’s there and always has been there between them. It would still feel very wrong.

So the prediction is that they’ll save her because how could they not after she’s risked herself to save them?

And even if she didn’t - how could Adora not want to? Strong, deep and intense feelings determine the plan whether it be for the mission or against the mission.

That’s the way I’ve always known it anyway but then I’ve always had the best example of what true love really is and all my mindset, personality and worldview is informed by that representation of what true love is.

It goes beyond the greater good. It goes beyond destiny. It goes beyond life itself. It’s that profound.

If I didn’t have that lesson ingrained into me from when I was a child, then I would say leave the cat behind and get on with your lives in the way you deserve to live them. But that’s not who I am and it never has been.